by J B Heller
I decided to leave it for now, I’d call him later. I’d been neglecting going on my run lately, since I’d been spending all my spare time with Dex. I went upstairs and put on my running clothes, then headed off to the park. It was a really nice day, not too hot and there was a steady breeze, perfect weather for running. I did my stretches on the grass, enjoying the sun’s rays on my face, and then went over to the running trail.
Running cleared my head. It was invigorating, the wind blew my hair around and cooled the sweat gathering on my body. The circuit usually took me about an hour, but today it took a little longer. Probably because it took longer to clear my mind and get in the zone. Thoughts of Dex in his surly mood kept sweeping over me.
Walking back up to my car I decided I would go see Gabe after I had cleaned up, and see if he had made any headway in Isabella’s case. The drive home didn’t take long, maybe five minutes. I took a quick shower, dressed in my black skinny jeans and a grey tank. I grabbed my keys off the dresser and threw on my red converse before heading out the door.
Ivy welcomed me when I arrived at Gabe’s office. “Hi Ivy, how’s it going?”
“Oh, umm not too bad thanks Sloan. You want to see Gabe? I’ll warn you, he’s been in a bad mood all week. Slamming doors, muttering to himself and all that stuff. I’m a little worried about him. But he won’t tell me what’s wrong. Maybe you can cheer him up. Seeing you usually brightens his day.”
She had a sad smile on her face. I felt sorry for her. Gabe had better wake up to what was right in front of him before she moved on. Not that I saw that happening anytime soon. “I’ll talk to him, see what I can find out.”
With that I strode into Gabe’s office like I owned the place. I slammed the door behind me. He was sitting behind his desk flicking through some files. Without looking up he started raving. “Not now Ivy, I don’t have time. I got shit to do. I’m fine, alright, just leave it alone.”
“Leave what alone?”
He wasn’t expecting me, so he was startled when it was my voice that answered him. He glanced at me then back down at his desk quickly. He was trying to hide his face from me, but too late, I had already seen the look in his eyes.
I knew that look, he’d done something he didn’t want me to know about. “What did you do? I know that look. What don’t you want me to know?”
He had schooled his features now. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no look, I barely glanced at you.”
“I know, but I saw it. So spill.”
He rolled his eyes at me in an attempt to make light of it. Not going to happen. “Gabe, I know when you’re hiding something from me, and you are, so just tell me now, before I have to hurt you.”
He wouldn’t look at me; his attention was everywhere else but me. He had never been able to lie to me. I don’t know why? He lied a lot in his line of work, he was good at it. He cleared his throat and ran his hand around the collar of his tight shirt, it showed all his gloriously defined muscles. That sight used to have me all twisted up with anticipation, but it didn’t do anything for me now, not even a little twinge of wanting.
“Really Sloan, I think you’re imagining things. Now I’m pretty busy so do you need something? Did you realise the pretty boy isn’t enough for you, do you need me to do something for you?”
His attempt to change the subject might just work in my favour. There was one sure fire way to get him to talk, and fast. Well, it made all men talk pretty fast. I called out my inner sex kitten, a seductive smile spread across my face. I tilted my head to watch him as I sauntered around his desk and came to a stop in front of him.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. His eyes raked over my body. I had always liked the way Gabe looked at me. It was like he was in awe or something. He licked his lips before speaking. “What are you doing Sloan? I thought all you wanted was your douchey little boyfriend now days?”
I leaned down resting my palms on the arms of his chair. As turned on as I knew he was I was going to have to sell it a little more before I made my move, he still suspected I was up to something. I was now level with his face. I breathed out across his lips, he shivered, and then skimming my nose along his jaw line I whispered in his ear. “Are you going to show me what I’ve been missing, or do I need to go find one of my other friends?”
I knew the mention of going to someone else for what I supposedly needed would do the trick. Gabe had his hands around my waist instantly, dragging me forward. Our chests crushed together and he closed his eyes while he inhaled the scent of my body wash.
Before he could get too carried away and actually kiss me I grabbed his balls in a vice grip. He tried pushing me away but I applied a little pressure and he froze. “What the hell Sloan!”
I kept my voice neutral and quiet. “What have you done Gabe?”
“Nothing! I told you! Now let go of my balls!!”
“I don’t believe you, so you either tell me, or you’ll be icing your balls for the next few days.” Just to make sure he knew I wasn’t screwing around I gave them a good squeeze. I swear I heard a whimper escape him.
“You’re crazy you know that.”
“Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy, I know I’m crazy, therefore I’m not crazy.”
He looked so confused, I’d been dying to use that line for a long time. His eyebrows bunched together and he let out a deep breath as my fist tightened on his precious baby makers. “Go easy. I might want kids some day!”
“Then if I were you, I would start talking.”
Sweat was gathering across his brow. I didn’t think I’d have to go this far to get him to tell me whatever it was he was hiding. He really, really didn’t want me to know. Which only made my need to know stronger. So I gave them a good squeeze this time.
“ALRIGHT! Just let go and I’ll tell you.”
I wasn’t stupid, I knew as soon as I let him go I would lose my leverage. “I think I’ll just hold on to these for now.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“I’m waiting.”
“I told the pretty boy if he wants me to tell him where his sister is he has to walk away from you.” He said it all so fast. I thought I may have misheard him. But he was braced for my reaction, so I had heard correctly.
My vision blurred then all I could see was red. In my mind I had already detached his balls from his body. But there was something I had to know first. In the most even voice I could manage I asked the only thing I needed to know. “What did he say?”
“He grabbed my shirt and asked me if I was fucking insane.”
I sighed with relief, Dex wasn’t leaving me. Letting go of Gabe’s balls I drew my right arm back and punched him in the nose. I felt and heard the bone crunch beneath my small fist. I may be small, but I know how to pack a punch, and just the right place to land one when I want to cause pain. Blood was pouring out of Gabe’s now broken nose.
I was so mad I got in his face and started yelling. “You are insane! What the hell is wrong with you? I thought we were friends. But you’re trying to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Why would you do that? No one and I mean no one has ever had a fraction of the impact in my life that Dex has. I didn’t even know I had a heart until him. And you’re trying to take that away from me. Screw you! Do your job, find Isabella then you can fuck the hell off. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
I was panting by the time I finished my rant. I could feel the blood pumping in my veins. The asshole had the nerve to try holding my hand. I snatched it back from his grasp. “Don’t touch me.”
“Sloan, baby, I’m sorry, but, I love you. I just know he’s not good for you. Listen to me, I know everything there is to know about you and I still, love you. He won’t, when he finds out, he won’t be able to stomach it.”
I froze. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He knows everything there is to know about me? No, he couldn’t. No one knows.
Next thing I know, Gabe is h
olding me upright by my shoulders. I was hyperventilating.
No, he can’t know. No one knows. No one can ever know.
I heard a soft voice somewhere in the room, it must have been Ivy. She sounded so far away. “What happened? You’re bleeding! What’s wrong with Sloan? Should I call an ambulance?”
Questions, so many questions….
I couldn’t see straight. It wasn’t Gabe standing in front of me, holding me, it was them.
I had to fight! I couldn’t let this happen.
NO, not again. I had to fight!
I swung my arms around, trying to hit him, make him lose his grip on me, anything. I thrashed violently. He was talking, telling me to stop, no, I couldn’t stop. I fought harder. I kicked my leg out, but I didn’t make contact. He wrapped his arms around me so tight I couldn’t move anymore.
Silent tears streamed down my cheeks as I accepted my fate, but my mind couldn’t go through this again.
Everything went black.
Gabe
Sloan went limp in my arms. I shook her gently, but she didn’t respond. She was out cold. What the hell had just happened? I carried her over to the couch against the wall in my office. I lay her down as gently as I could.
Ivy was still standing in the open doorway, staring at us. I could see the questions in her eyes. But I didn’t know what to tell her. “Gabe? What should I do? Should I call an ambulance? Her boyfriend? Someone?”
I didn’t think she needed an ambulance, and I really didn’t want to see Dex. Shit. I had to call someone. Her sister! “She has a sister.” I slid Sloan’s phone out of her pocket and handed it to Ivy, without taking my eyes off Sloan. “Her name’s Stella, call her.”
I scanned Sloan’s face, she was tense even in her unconscious state. I could hear Ivy asking me something but I was too focused on Sloan. Finally looking away from her, I turned my head towards Ivy. She was nervously switching from one foot to the other, and chewing her bottom lip.
“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked.
“What should I tell her?” She said, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Just tell her that Sloan’s at my office and she needs her to come down here right now.”
Ivy was nodding as she walked back out to the front room where her desk was, staring down at the screen of the phone scrolling through the contacts. A few minutes later I could hear her talking to Stella but I wasn’t interested enough to listen too hard. My gaze was fixed on Sloan again.
I brushed her hair off her face with shaking hands. I had done this to her.
This wasn’t the reaction I anticipated from her when I told her I knew about her past. I expected her to fly into a rage and beat my arse, I knew she could. But not this. She was afraid of me, terrified. The look in her eyes before she passed out will haunt me for the rest of my life. Absolute terror followed by complete and utter hopelessness.
Stella
I was out the door and in my car within seconds of hearing someone else’s voice on the other end of Sloan’s call. Brayden was only moments behind me. I hadn’t said anything other than I’m on my way to the girl on the other end before hanging up.
I punched the address into my GPS and sped out of the entry of the apartment complex I lived in. Bray sat with his hand pressed against my leg, but said nothing. When we pulled up out the front of Gabe’s office I noticed his other hand clench into a fist. I was clearly missing a piece of this puzzle, but I wasn’t going to waste time asking questions when my sister needed me.
As soon as I reached the door to the office I burst in scanning the room for Sloan. I couldn’t see her in the main area, but I did see a short blonde woman peering into the connecting office. She had heard me come in and she turned to greet me. I assumed this was Gabe’s office girl Ivy, who had called me.
She did a double take when she saw me. I was used to it by now. When people knew one of us it always took them by surprise when they met the other. Even if they knew we were twins, I suppose seeing us together solidified the fact.
Ivy still hadn’t said anything so I just walked past her into the other room, the sight before me took my breath away for a moment. But before I could say or do anything Bray had pushed past me and had Gabe pinned against the wall by his throat.
I didn’t spare him a glance, all I could see was my other half laying still and pale on the couch. Her chest was moving so I knew she was alive. I had never seen her so vulnerable. This was much worse than the melt-down she had when she found out who Dex’s father was.
I rushed to her side, tears had gathered in my eyes as I crouched down beside her. I quickly asked Ivy to get me a wet cloth to put on her forehead. With one hand I held hers, with the other I stroked her cheek. I had no idea what had happened here, but I was going to find out. I got to my feet and looked over to where Bray still had Gabe against the wall. I loved him even more in this moment.
I stalked over to them, resting my hand on Brays shoulder and gently pushing him backwards he released Gabe and stepped away from him. Gabe didn’t move as I took Bray’s place in front of him. The colour in his face was returning to normal by the time I spoke. “What happened to her? What did you do?”
I poked his chest with each word. I doubt it he even felt it. His chest was so a solid wall of muscle. “I didn’t do anything to her, I swear Stella. We were having an argument and I told her something I had done and she just went a little crazy. I knew she wouldn’t like what I had to say, but I didn’t think she would skitz out on me. She started hyperventilating and hitting me, then she passed out.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. What could he possibly have done to warrant that kind of reaction?
I went back over to Sloan’s side, crouching beside her again I took both her hands in mine. Ivy had put the wet cloth on her forehead while I was speaking to Gabe. I knew Sloan had secrets. She had always handled her problems herself. She never let me help her. Not that I could have. I was too lost in my own misery to be of any help anyway.
But Brayden changed all that. I was better now. Now I could finally help my sister deal with her demons.
I turned my face towards Gabe, “What did you tell her?”
He shook his head and swallowed hard. Bray had him by the throat again in an instant. Gabe quickly started nodding and clutching at Brays hands pulling them away from his throat. I knew if he really wanted Bray to back off, he could make him. He was letting Bray rough him up. He clearly blamed himself for Sloan’s current state.
“I dug around in her past. I know things, things she wanted buried forever. I knew she didn’t want anyone to know about it, I never planned on telling her that I knew. I was just trying to show her that it didn’t matter to me. I love her anyway.”
Understanding dawned on me. I knew Sloan and Gabe used to have some kind of arrangement, but Sloan was never serious about him. She was never serious about anyone until Dex. Oh God! Dex! “Bray, you need to call Dex. He needs to be here.”
I wouldn’t ask Gabe what he had found in Sloan’s past. If she had wanted me to know, she would have told me. It weighed heavy on my heart that she didn’t think she could share all of herself with me. But I knew she hadn’t kept things from me to hurt me. She had done it to protect me.
I brushed my fingers against her cheek again and spoke softly to her. “You have always been there for me, helped put me back together when I was broken, you’ve always done whatever it takes. Now let me help you.”
I leant forward resting my forehead on her shoulder. The tears I’d been holding back were now trickling down my cheeks, soaking the shoulder of Sloan’s shirt. “Please wake up now. I need you to wake up Sloan.”
She didn’t move, not even a little. I turned to Bray who had just put his phone back in his pocket. Gabe had left the room at some point. Bray came and sat on the floor beside me, slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his lap. I snuggled into his hold, never once letting go of Sloan’s hand.
When Dex walked in sometime later we wer
e still in the same position. He didn’t even look at us. I watched as the colour drained from his face when he looked at Sloan’s prone figure on the couch. I didn’t know where Gabe had gone, but right now I was glad he wasn’t here. Dex looked like he was ready to kill him. “Where is he?”
Bray answered him. “I don’t know man, he disappeared when I was on the phone to you. Haven’t seen him since. He doesn’t matter right now anyway dude. Stell can’t wake her up. You wanna try?”
His face softened and he slowly walked over to the couch. We moved out of his way so he could be close to her. He crouched down and kissed her on the cheek, then rested his against hers.
He spoke so quietly I could barely make out his words. “Hey Sweets, you wanna wake up for me? You’re scaring the shit out of me right now.”
He lifted his head and just watched her for a while, caressing her cheek. Love was shining bright in his eyes, but so was uncertainty. I felt like we were intruding, so I nudged Bray with my elbow and nodded over to the doorway. And we quietly left the room.
I couldn’t sit, so I paced. If anyone could get her to wake up I knew it was Dex.
Gabe
I couldn’t stay there while Stella talked to Sloan, trying to wake her up. I knew she would wake up when she was ready. Probably when her pretty boy arrived. It made me sick to my stomach that he could help her and I couldn’t.
Hell, I was the one that had done this to her. I knew what I had to do.
After I’d cleaned myself up, I made the necessary arrangements to have the girl brought back home. All without her father’s knowledge. It wasn’t easy, but I had made the plans weeks ago, right after I found her. So all I had to do was make the call.
I was disgusted with myself, I’d planned on using her as leverage, I felt like a dick. My love life problems weren’t her fault.
This wasn’t me. I helped people. I didn’t use them.
Getting the money it had cost me to get her here wouldn’t be a problem. But at this point, I was happy to take the financial hit myself. It didn’t make me feel any better about how I had played this, but it was a step in the right direction of showing them all how sorry I was for my behaviour.