“Don’t tempt me, Chloe.”
I sighed. After all we’d been through, it seemed silly to go back to having a normal relationship where I saw him at school, and we went out on weekends. We were so far past that. But, like him, I now had to do things I didn’t want to so we could keep up appearances and make people believe everything was totally normal.
Taking his hand in mine, I laced our fingers and rested my head on his shoulder. “I can call you later, right?”
“You can call me whenever you want.” He caressed my cheek, kissed the top of my head, and then shifted the truck into drive.
“You realize you’re going to have to meet my aunt and uncle. Again.”
He laughed. “I think I can manage. Maybe this time it will go a little smoother.”
A moment later, Trent pulled into the driveway. I straightened and stared at the house that had quickly become my home. A two-story, Victorian house with pristine siding and powder blue shutters. Wraparound porch with one of those quaint wooden swings. Memories of my first time here flooded me…
Abby barging out the front door all wild hair and even wilder excitement. Hugging me like my arrival had been the greatest thing to ever happen to her. My reluctance as I clung to my mother’s urn. Aunt Beth shooing her away. “Scary” Uncle Dean assessing me from the doorway.
I closed my eyes, soaking it all in. I was finally home.
“You okay?” Trent asked.
“Yeah.” I opened my eyes and smiled at him.
“Want me to walk you to the front door?”
“No, but thank you.” I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, not trusting myself to do more. “I love you,” I whispered.
His face broke into a gorgeous smile. “I love you. Now, go see your family and call me later, okay?”
Nodding, I opened the truck door and hopped out—the action so familiar it was second nature. How many times had Trent driven me home like this? How many times had I climbed out of his truck, reluctant to leave him? And how many times had he managed to get out and around to my side of the truck before I was even all the way out of the seat?
Exactly like he’d done right now. Still, I gasped with surprise. He pushed the seat forward and removed my suitcase, setting it on the ground near my feet. It was packed full of clothes Whitney had given me, along with my mother’s urn.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You’d better go before I change my mind about this.” He winked.
I grabbed the suitcase handle, my palm suddenly sweaty. “Bye,” I whispered, and then by some power I didn’t know I possessed, I walked away from him. My heart pounded harder and louder with each step I took.
Abby had left the campsite earlier than I had, and she’d come home. The plan was for me to show up and surprise everyone, and she was going to make sure Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean didn’t leave the house. I swallowed my nerves and knocked on the door. And then I waited. When no one answered, I knocked again.
All their vehicles were here, so I knew they were home. Finally, the door swung open, and Aunt Beth stood in front of me. Her hair was piled into a messy bun on the top of her head; she had an apron on over her shorts and T-shirt, and she was covered in flour.
“Honestly, Chloe. You live here. Why are you knocking on the door?” she said, exasperated. She turned and walked away.
I stared at her, mouth open, eyes wide. Had Abby spilled my secret? Were Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean expecting me? I snapped my mouth closed.
Then, Aunt Beth froze before slowly turning around. “Chloe?”
“Surprise,” I said.
She shrieked—now I knew where Abby got it from—and rushed back toward me, flinging her arms around me in a hug. She squeezed me so tight I thought she might break my ribs, but I hugged her back just as tightly. Aunt Beth held me for a ridiculously long time before holding me out at arm’s length.
“I can’t believe you’re really here.” She peeked around me. “Is your father here, too? Did he bring you back?”
“No.” My stomach twisted at the thought of having to explain everything again. “The friend I spent the summer with just dropped me off.”
“Dean! Abby!” She twisted around and hollered over her shoulder. “Get out here! Chloe’s home!”
Those two small words—Chloe’s home—had tears pooling in my eyes. From the very first moment I’d arrived here, they had welcomed me and loved me like I was one of their own. Mom would have been happy to know that, to know I was safe and cared for and loved.
Uncle Dean appeared behind Aunt Beth, and when he saw me, he guided her out of the way and crushed me in a bear hug. “It’s good to see you, kid,” he said in his usual brusque tone.
“Thanks,” I choked out, unable to breathe with how hard he was hugging me. Thankfully, he released me a second later. “It’s good to see you, too. I’ve missed both of you so much.” I wiped at my tears.
“Oh, Chloe, sweetie.” Aunt Beth embraced me again, this time much softer. “Don’t cry. Everything’s okay. You’re home now.” She rubbed my back. “For good.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m home.”
“Chloe!” Abby shouted. “Oh, my God. You’re home!”
Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean stepped aside, knowing their daughter rivaled the force of a hurricane when she was this excited. I braced myself, and she lunged at me, arms open. I hugged her, laughing. She was really over-selling her “surprise” at seeing me, but I guessed anything less might have raised suspicion with her parents.
“Your room is exactly the same as you left it. We didn’t do anything to it. Well, except clean it.” Abby laughed, grabbed my hand, and dragged me inside. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Abby.” Aunt Beth sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling the entire time.
Uncle Dean carried my suitcase inside, and Aunt Beth swung the door closed.
Abby had me halfway up the stairs when Aunt Beth said, “Go get settled, and then come back down, okay? I want to hear all about California and your summer.”
“Okay,” I said.
All I had to do was stick to the story I’d told everyone else, and I’d be fine. Everything would be fine. I could do this.
Abby practically kicked my bedroom door down and dragged me inside. I stopped and spun around. They hadn’t been lying—everything was exactly as I’d left it.
They really were waiting for me to come home; there hadn’t been a single doubt in any of their minds that this was where I belonged. Fresh tears filled my eyes, and I swiped at them before they could fall.
“Those better be happy tears,” Abby said as she flopped down on my bed.
“They are.” I laughed and flopped down next to her.
We lay there in blissful silence, both of us staring up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe school starts in three weeks,” she said.
“Me either. But it’s our senior year. It will go by fast.” I folded my hands on my stomach, perfectly content to stay right here all day.
Abby turned her head so she was looking at me. “I’m really glad you’re back, Chloe. I missed you so much.”
“Me too.” I turned my head toward her so we were face to face. “It feels so good to be home,” I said.
Abby yawned. “Camping was fun, but I did not sleep.”
“It was fun, wasn’t it?” I sighed and turned to once again stare at the ceiling. “We should do it again before school starts.”
“Definitely.”
Silence enveloped us, and I closed my eyes, letting the moment settle over me. I was finally home. It felt like it had taken forever to get back here, like I’d been gone years rather than months. Now that I was back, though, there wasn’t anything that could make me leave again.
“I like your friends,” Abby said, her voice cutting through the quiet. “Whitney seems like a lot of fun.”
“She is.” I rubbed my hands over my face, sudden exhaustion weighing me down.
“I still
don’t get it, though,” she said.
I cringed, and a knot formed in my stomach. I knew she wasn’t going to buy into the stupid story we’d told her. Abby was smarter than that.
“Don’t get what?” I asked, forcing my voice to remain calm.
“You never mentioned Whitney to me,” she said. “Not once. You told me about Simon and Olivia and how much you hated it there, but absolutely no mention of Whitney. Why is that?” She turned her head to look at me.
I sighed, refusing to meet her gaze.
“And then you don’t tell anyone you’re traveling with her for the summer until after you were already gone. Then, we’re supposed to believe that Trent and his family just happen to live in the same town as you? A town that’s so small most people don’t even know it exists. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
My heart thumped violently in my chest, and I momentarily closed my eyes. What was I supposed to tell her that was going to make this more believable? This would be so much easier if I could just tell her the truth about everything.
“Look,” I said, finally facing at her. “Living with my father really messed with my head, Abby. I was miserable almost the entire time, and like Whitney told you, she didn’t even show up until school was almost over. My friendship with her happened so fast, and Dad seemed a lot more eager to let me go with her rather than come home, so I figured why not? If I was gone, he couldn’t force me to stay in Malibu. It was my only way out of there.”
Abby fell silent, and I did, too, waiting for the inevitable follow-up questions I knew she’d have.
“You could have told me sooner,” she said.
“You’re right. I should have,” I said, hoping an apology would appease her. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded, then averted her gaze back to the ceiling. “Still think it’s super strange that your boyfriend happens to live here now, too.”
I forced a laugh. “Yeah, that is kinda strange, huh?” I stared up at the ceiling again. “I’m glad he is, though, because it would’ve sucked big time if I had to stay in California just to be closer to my boyfriend.”
“He seems pretty cool.” She nudged me.
“He’s…” I didn’t even have words for what he meant to me. “Amazing.”
“Amazingly hot.” She giggled.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but he’s a lot more than that. He’s nice and funny, and I know he cares about me.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“So, what’s up with this job of yours?” I asked. “How did you manage to get an entire weekend off?”
“Oh, yeah, it was just temporary. The club hired a ton of us for a sixty-day trial period. They kept a few people, but the majority of us didn’t make the cut.” She sat up and looked around my room. “Which I guess worked out for me. I can spend the rest of the summer with you.”
I grinned, excitement replacing my exhaustion. There was still three weeks before school started, which meant I had three weeks to do whatever I wanted with my friends.
She settled onto her back again, but our peace was short lived when Aunt Beth yelled at us that dinner was ready. Time to sell them my lies. My stomach twisted with unease, and I worried I might not be able to eat because of it. I really did hate lying.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Catching Up
DINNER TURNED INTO THE GRAND INQUISITION with as many questions as Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean had asked. I stuck to the story, flawlessly, and embellished where necessary, but there wasn’t a single moment when I worried they didn’t believe me. Maybe I was getting better at this whole lying thing; though that wasn’t something I should be proud of.
It helped that Abby didn’t jump in and ask anything that would throw me off or make Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean suspicious.
“Sounds like you had a pretty eventful summer,” Uncle Dean said. He pushed his empty plate away and rubbed his belly.
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun.” I smiled and finished the last bite of spaghetti on my plate.
“I just wish you would have called.” Aunt Beth frowned. “We were worried sick.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I did tell Abby.” I looked at her for a little help, but all she did was shrug. “And Dad said he’d talked to you, so I assumed you knew.” I swirled my fork through the leftover sauce on my plate.
“Well, your father isn’t exactly the chatty type. Trying to get any answers from him was like trying to give a cat a pedicure,” Aunt Beth said.
I laughed, but when she gave me a disapproving look, I clamped my lips shut. “You’re right. I should have called to let you know I was okay.”
“Speaking of Frank…” Aunt Beth said his name like it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Does he know you’re home? Did you let him know you’ve made it here safely?”
“Not yet. I’ll call him after dinner,” I promised.
He knew I’d made it back to Keene Valley, but I hadn’t had a chance to tell him I was back with Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean. After everything he’d done for me—even all the illegal stuff—he had a right to know where I was and that I was safe.
“Good.” Aunt Beth nodded. “Not that he deserves any courtesy after what he did.”
“Beth,” Dean warned.
“What? After what that man did…” She shook her head.
It was going to crush them when I told them I wanted to go to see my father for Christmas, but I really did want to see him. And Little Frank and Larissa; I missed those two the most. Maybe I could talk to them tonight, too. Maybe I could go visit my dad for a long weekend instead and still be here for Christmas. I’d have to talk to him about that.
“But you’re back now, and that’s all that matters,” Abby said with finality.
I gave her a grateful smile.
“We should do something to celebrate.” Aunt Beth stood and started to gather the dirty dishes. “Maybe go get some ice cream.”
Out of habit, I stood and helped carry dishes to the sink. “I’ve been traveling all day. I’m kind of exhausted. Can we do that tomorrow?” I asked, guilt stabbing at me.
They hadn’t seen me in months; all they wanted to do was spend time with me, and all I wanted to do was retreat to my room, call Trent, and hopefully pass out.
“Of course.” Aunt Beth patted my arm. “Maybe I’ll send Dean to the store. He can buy stuff for sundaes, and we can make them here. Watch a movie or something?”
“Yeah, that sounds fun,” I said.
Aunt Beth took the dishes from me. “Abby and I got this. Go call your father.”
“Okay.” I trudged upstairs, exhaustion weighing heavily on my shoulders.
I’d forgotten how tiring family meals could be, but I wasn’t complaining. Not really. Once in my room, I lay on my bed and dialed my dad’s number.
“Chloe?” he answered.
“Hey, Dad. I just wanted to let you know I’m back home with Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean. Everything’s okay. I’m okay,” I said on a rush of breath.
“Good. And those Halsteads?” he asked, a biting edge to his tone.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Why couldn’t I have a normal, simple conversation with him? “What about them?” I asked, trying to keep my tone calm.
“Where are they? Did they harm you? Are they out of your life now?” He shot rapid fire questions at me, making my head throb.
He had no idea about my relationship with Trent—I hadn’t exactly had the chance to tell him—and I wasn’t sure now was the right time, either.
“They didn’t hurt me. Despite what you think, they’re not like that.” I sat up and chewed nervously on the inside of my cheek. Should I tell him? Was I ready to deal with his reaction? No. The truth could wait.
Dad grunted. “Just stay away from them, okay?”
I didn’t answer.
“Do you need anything?” he asked.
“New clothes. I lost almost everything this summer.”
“I’ll send you some money,” he said.
“Thanks.” A kno
ck sounded on my door. I stood, crossed the room, and opened the door to reveal Abby. “Dad, I gotta go. I’ll call you again later.”
“Be safe,” he said before ending the call. No “I love you” or “I miss you.” Not that I actually expected to hear him say those words ever again, but it would have been nice.
“What’s up?” I said to Abby.
“Nothing.” She shrugged and sat on my bed. “I thought you broke your phone,” she said, giving me a questioning look.
“Uh, I did,” I said. “I got a new one a few days before I got back into town. I made Dad pay for it.” I laughed nervously.
“Oh,” she said, hesitating, and then she shrugged. “Dad just left for the store. I convinced Mom to let us watch a scary movie tonight. She hates those.”
That was a close call. Trying to keep all my lies straight was going to be brutal. I had no idea if she actually believed me or not, but unless she said something else, I was going to drop it. I sat across from Abby on my bed. My phone buzzed, indicating I had a text. My heart skipped a few beats at the sight of Trent’s name across my screen.
Trent: MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY. WHEN CAN I SEE YOU?
Smiling, I typed back a reply.
Me: MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY TOO. IDK. I added a frowning emoji. HAVING FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT TONIGHT. TOMORROW?
“Let me guess. Trent?” Abby nodded at my phone.
I glanced up and nodded. “Yeah.”
“He’s totally in love with you.” Abby hugged my pillow to her chest and rested her chin on it. “It’s so obvious. I saw the way he looked at you. He couldn’t keep his hands off you.”
“I love him, too,” I admitted. “It’s crazy considering we haven’t known each other that long, but I can’t help it. I love him. He’s the one, Abby. I know it.”
“Wow. That’s serious.”
“I know, and I can’t explain it, but I just know.”
She sighed dreamily. “You’re so lucky. If only I could find a guy like that.”
“You will.”
My phone buzzed again with another message.
Trent: TOMORROW? THAT’S WAY TOO LONG. I MIGHT DIE BEFORE THEN. He’d included a winking emoji.
Eternal Bond : (The Cursed Series, Book 3) Page 13