by T. L Smith
“And you’re one of that team?”
“I love you, man, and not in a romantic way. That’s reserved for Larry.” He chuckles and so do I. “You are my best friend, so yes… I want to help in any way I can. I’m working a few jobs right now, trying to save up some cash. Do you need work?”
“No.”
He nods. “What are you doing?”
I gesture to the table behind him, his eyes find it, and he gets up to touch the surface.
“You’ve always been gifted. Wow, this is amazing.” His hand smooths along the desk.
“Thanks.”
We continue to talk, and Sully stays for the afternoon, and he only leaves when Rylee turns up. He makes sure he speaks to her, and she laughs at his words.
And when he’s gone, she turns to me and announces, “Josh came to see me today.”
Chapter 27
Rylee
I knew what the look on his face was going to be before I came, before I opened my mouth. I took away his happiness, but he needed to know.
“What did he want?”
“He couldn’t get into the building, so he waited until Shandy and I left for lunch.” His forest-green eyes lock onto mine. “What happened to your lip?” I reach to touch it, but he recoils and takes a step back. “He asked if I could give you a message.”
“And?”
“He said you need to come visit him tonight at the house.” I shrug. “He said you’ll know which house he’s talking about.”
“You should leave,” August says.
“August…” I say his name maybe a little more loudly than I wanted and then reach for him.
“Just fucking go, Rylee,” he snaps.
My hands ball into fists at my sides. The anger pours from me as I glare at him. “No,” I scream. “No! You don’t get to dictate everything in my fucking life. My mother’s done that enough to last me a lifetime. So, no, you don’t get to do it as well. So, August Trouble, stop pushing me away.”
“I can push you away if I don’t want you,” he says, and that hits something inside me.
It hurts.
But when I look in his eyes to see if he’s telling the truth, I know he isn’t.
He’s pushing.
Again.
“Lies. You’re good at that, pushing people away, because you’ve never had love and don’t know what to do with it,” I tell him. My hand reaches out for him, but he brushes me away.
“You’re delusional,” he says with a cackle that sounds almost evil.
“No, I’m just a stupid girl in love with an even stupider boy.”
He pauses. His eyes go round as do mine. I didn’t expect to say that. I didn’t plan for that to leave my mouth. Yes, I love him. But I assumed it was a heavy crush, maybe an addiction. I’ve never felt like I do with August. With Anderson, it was convenient. With August, it’s all-consuming.
I go to bed thinking about him.
I wake up thinking about him.
He treats me well, even with all the times he’s pushed me away. He only does it because that’s all he knows. People push him away, so he reciprocates with his own version.
“I didn’t mean that.”
“You did,” he replies. “And you need to leave. Stay away from Josh. Go.”
“No.” I step up to him, my hands touch his sides, and he shakes his head while trying to pull me away from him.
“Just go. Go home to your comfortable apartment.”
“Why are you being like this? Is your favorite thing to push me away? Do you think if you do it enough, I might not come back?”
His eyes lock on mine. “There will be a time when you don’t come back. It’s a part of life.”
“Not mine. I’m like glue, baby. I’m stuck until the end of time.” This time I reach up, so my lips touch his. August doesn’t kiss me back at first, until I push my body into his, and he gives in. His lips move, and his hands find their way to the most comfortable place, my hips.
Once, I had hands on me that weren’t welcome.
Once, I had words whispered in my ear that weren’t invited.
I know now, thanks to August, that I shouldn’t accept that life.
Why would I?
He doesn’t.
Hell, August doesn’t accept anyone.
He pulls back fast, putting some distance between us then he shakes his head. “Stop it! Fuck.” One hand lifts and spears through his hair.
Someone bangs loudly on the door behind us. I step aside so he can go to it because I’ve learned not to go near his door. When he pulls it open, Paige’s father is standing on the other side.
“Is Paige here?”
“No, why?” August questions.
“She didn’t go to school today. The location is off on her phone, and I can’t get a hold of her.”
“We’ll help. I’ll drive, August.” I pull my car keys out of my pocket, and August takes them from me. Guess I’m not driving after all.
“I’ll call if I hear anything,” August finally says then closes the door in Glenn’s face. He waits a few minutes, then grabs his boots, sliding them on.
“Where should we go first?”
“You’re not going anywhere. Stay here and don’t fucking answer the door to anyone.” He rushes to the door then looks back at me. “Better yet, get your sister to pick you up.” Then he pulls on the handle and kicks the door closed behind him. I stare at the door for a moment, shocked, then go out front to my car, where he’s climbing into the driver’s seat.
“August.”
“It’s not safe where I’m going. Just. Go. Home.” He starts the car and pulls out. I watch as he drives away and run inside to grab my phone.
Rhianna picks up straight away.
“Can you come pick me up?” I know she doesn’t have a car, but Noah does.
“Umm… hello to you, too.”
The car that was here earlier pulls back into the driveway.
“Can you or not?” I ask.
Sully gets out of the car and makes his way to the front door.
“Yes. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Thanks.” I hang up, grabbing my bag. “August just left.”
“Look, I don’t know if this is true, but I guess it might be,” he rushes the words out.
“What?”
“Josh has Paige. And if I know August, he’s figured that out, too. And that’s where he’s heading.”
“Josh,” I mutter. “He asked him to go to a house. Which house might that be?”
“It wouldn’t be where he’s living, probably the other property he used to let August crash at every now and then.”
“Where?”
“You can’t go there. You don’t know them. You aren’t in that world. He would’ve left you behind for a reason. Let August handle it.”
“Last time he did something for that man, he was sent away, so… no, I will not. Where. Is. It?”
“August will kill me if I tell you. It’s not a place for you to go alone.”
My sister pulls up in the driveway.
“I’m not alone. So tell me where?”
Rhianna gets out of the car and comes over to us as Sully tells me where. “I should call someone, right?” Sully says. “Do something so he doesn’t get in trouble.”
“No, don’t call anyone just yet,” Rhianna says and turns to me. “What’s happening?”
“August is about to do something that’ll land him back where he doesn’t want to go,” I say to her.
“Rylee,” Sully says as I step off to the car. “Be careful. The August you may walk in on is different from the one you know. He’s calm now, but he was never calm before. It’s what made him so dangerous.” I don’t take his words in because August may be a lot of things but a danger to me is not one of them.
I trust that man with my life. I would trust him with anyone I love. That’s how much faith I have in him.
“I should call Noah.”
“You probably should,�
�� I tell her.
I don’t know what we might possibly walk in on.
Sully is right. I don’t know that part of August’s life.
But I have faith he’ll get Paige back.
Chapter 28
August
I hear her cry. It’s sharp and direct. Pain. That’s all I can hear from her screams, and my hands bunch up into fists. The gun in my hand is squeezed tight from the pressure as I push through the old door.
“Paige,” I say her name, but all I get back in return are cries. Her cries.
“You came. I knew you would.” Josh’s voice taunts me. “They all think you’re a badass, but what they don’t know is you’re overprotective of those you care for. Including this cute little thing.”
Paige screams again, her cries now even louder as I start moving closer.
“Come out, Josh,” I yell.
“You really think I’m that dumb? No, August. I know better than that. I may have gotten you the first time, but I have a feeling you know better now.”
I do. Under no circumstances would I be stupid enough to believe that Josh has anyone’s better interest at heart than his own.
He’s known for doing everything for himself.
Only himself.
No one else matters.
“I really thought by throwing you in prison I wouldn’t have to worry about you again, but here you are… causing fucking trouble, yet again,” Josh says.
I hear Paige’s soft cries.
“If you leave, and I mean leave, August, I will let her go.”
He’s lying.
Josh is a liar.
“We both know you’re lying. Do you really think I am eighteen again and dumb enough to believe your lies?”
The floor creaks in the old house and Josh comes through a broken door, but in front of him he’s holding my sister, whose eyes are bright red from crying.
“No. Seems you’re playing on the other side of the tracks lately. We aren’t good enough for you anymore. No, you’re playing with the rich kids now. Don’t think we haven’t heard you’re with that pretty little brunette.”
My back straightens at the mention of Rylee.
“What I would do to her. You see, I don’t particularly like them this young.” Josh pulls on Paige, making her whimper. “I prefer them older, more Rylee’s age, a bit more seasoned but still young enough to break, so they heal faster, and I can play all over again.”
Josh is known for beating up his lovers, most of them end up in the hospital, and none report him. He scares them way too much for them to ever say anything.
“I’m going to kill you tonight. You know that, right?”
“You make threats when I have access to something you want?” Josh’s other hand holds a small pocket knife, and he brings it to Paige’s arm. She stays still, breathing in and holding her breath before he starts to apply pressure. I see blood start to well around the point where the blade pierces her skin.
“I learned that if you cut it this way, and deep enough, you die.” He starts slicing into her arm. “How long do you think she has before she blacks out?”
The gun in my hand shakes, but there isn’t anything I can do. He has Paige directly in front of him. She looks at me with sad eyes and I know she realizes this as well.
“Have you ever seen a loved one die, watched the light fall from their eyes?”
I don’t answer him. Instead, I take one step closer.
“I watched my mother die this way. She slit her own wrists in front of me, and I watched. It’s a fascinating thing to see life draining away. To know the second life leaves her body, and knowing full well she isn’t coming back.” He pauses. “Fascinating.”
“You are fucked up.”
“We know this. You are, too. Just in a different way, though, right?” He smirks. “I heard you like to play, especially with that rich girl.”
He has no idea what he is talking about.
Paige’s eyes close, and I can see she’s becoming tired. A small pool of blood is spreading on the floor beneath her, and there’s fuck all I can do about it.
“Paige.” I say her name, and she glances up at me and offers me the saddest of smiles. “Drop.” She does as I say but doesn’t get far as Josh holds her firmly in place, but it’s enough that I raise the gun and shoot anyway.
The bullet pierces his shoulder, and he ricochets backward. He lets her go, and they both fall to the floor. I reach out, pulling Paige away from him, and quickly remove my shirt and wrap it around her wrist to slow the blood loss. “You’ll be okay. It’ll be okay,” I tell her.
Paige nods and turns her head back to Josh, who’s slowly sitting up.
I stand and rush over to him with my gun raised.
“Don’t you want to know more about Rylee? I know things—” Before he can say another word, I shoot him straight in the head.
I don’t need to know any more words.
“August.”
I walk back to Paige and kneel next to her as I pull out my phone. I call an ambulance and sit with her as we wait.
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
I brush her hair away. “You don’t have to apologize.” She trembles in my arms.
As I hear the siren in the distance, the door to the old house opens and in steps Rylee, her face stricken with fear. She hurries over and drops down, inspecting her.
“What can I do?” she asks.
“Nothing. An ambulance is on its way.”
She nods, her eyes roaming me, and I know she sees the damage I’ve done, the blood splatters that cover my body—none of it mine—a mixture of both Josh’s and Paige’s.
“Josh…” she says as her eyes fall to where he’s lying in a pool of dark red blood. She sucks in a heavy breath as the ambulance and police arrive. I lift Paige and hand her over to the EMTs, so they don’t walk any farther in and see Josh. Even though I know where this is heading—me, back in prison, away from her.
Dark eyes, so dark they match my soul, stare back at me.
“I have to go and never come back.”
Rylee’s eyes go wide, and I resist the urge to take her into my arms and tell her everything will be all right and that she is it for me.
She’s made me breathe again.
She made me see again.
And most of all, she’s made me love.
Chapter 29
Rylee
His hand brushes my face. Oh, how beautiful this man is. One of the guys makes a noise, and August checks behind him, his beautiful forest-green eyes leaving me.
I reach for him, touching his face, and he turns back to me.
I need to see him.
I want him to see me.
We are inevitable.
August is, and always will be, my beautiful poison.
With one look, one glance, the poison manifests, spreads through your system and takes hold. And I’m a slave to it.
“Don’t go.”
“It never would’ve worked anyway, rich girl. You and me, we are on two different planets.”
“No,” I cry, reaching for him.
August steps back, so I can no longer touch him. He once told me my touch eases all his pain. That it makes him feel whole again.
His touch does that to me and more.
We never should have been, yet we are.
August’s name is called, and he shakes his head. He won’t let me touch him again. I just want him to know I’m here, that whatever it is, we can do it together.
August’s eyes lock onto mine.
“You are everything and more to me. You know that, right?” His hand twitches at his side, and I know he wants to touch me, but he resists.
“Then stay,” I cry.
He shakes his head. “I’m not a good man, rich girl, you know this. I tried, and I failed. I wasn’t made that way.”
The tears fall faster. “You are. You are the best of men. Better than any man I know.” I hear a door open behind me. His eyes leav
e mine, and when he looks away, I reach for his face and pull it back to me. “Stay with me. Don’t leave me.” His eyes close at my touch, but he’s fast, gripping my hand and pulling it away from his face.
“You’ll fall in love, have babies, and live a good life,” he says. “But none of those things can ever happen with me.”
A hand touches my back, and I know who it is straight away.
“Go with your sister. Go back to your life, rich girl.”
“You are my life.” I cry harder. Tears are falling so fast from my eyes. I can feel the wetness building on my shirt.
“No, I was merely a moment in time. Passing by like a night star. We both knew it could never work. That we can’t ever work. We are from two different sides of the tracks. And no matter how hard I try, I can never make it over to your side.”
I step back at his words, and Rhianna grips me from behind.
“It’s time to go. We have to go,” Rhianna says with urgency.
“You can still leave. You can go,” I say to him.
August looks down at his clothes. Blood has soaked into them. “No, I can’t.”
“Ry, we have to go,” Rhianna says from behind me.
I reach for him fast enough that he can’t stop me, my lips touch his, and he doesn’t pull back.
Kissing August is like asking for air but struggling to accept it. Because you know if you do, you may never have that feeling again, but if you don’t, you may just die.
He is by far the best kisser I have had, and his lips are the last I ever want to touch mine.
I feel Rhianna’s hands leave my shoulders as I push myself up and onto August. My body covering his as I try to climb him. I want to be as close as humanly possible.
He has to know.
He has to know we are meant to be together.
Nothing can get in our way.
Nothing.
My lips feel bruised with how hard I kiss him, and he kisses me back with the same ferocity.
As if he knows, just knows, that this is it.
This is our last kiss.
The sirens are closer, and tears run down my cheeks, but I’m unable to pull away.