by Mae Doyle
I know that he’s saying these things with the intention of hurting me but that doesn’t make his words cut any less. “Big words from an asshole who locked me out of my room last night. And stole my history report. Oh, and don’t let me forget the maggots.” We’re both standing now, my chest heaving as I gasp for air.
Teague doesn’t blink as I throw the accusations at him, but the last one makes him raise an eyebrow. “I had nothing to do with the maggots.”
“Liar!” Stepping forward, I plant my hands on his chest and shove as hard as I can, but it’s like shoving a brick wall. He doesn’t step backwards, and I shove him again, harder this time, leaning into him with all of my might.
“I didn’t do the maggots.” His voice sounds almost sad, and I look up at him in surprise, but the emotion on his face is gone by the time I lock eyes with him. “But everything else? Yeah, I did that Nora.” Teague catches me by surprise when he grips my chin and forces my head up to look at him. “You just need to be taken down a notch.”
I want to fight and pull my chin from his hand, but my skin feels seared to his. My breathing slows and I can’t rip my eyes away from him. “Liar.” My voice is quiet but I know from the flash in Teague’s eyes that he hears me.
“That was all Bethany, Nora. Maggots are a little gross, even for me.”
“I figured that you probably just scooped them out from under your bed. Seems like a fitting place for someone like you to sleep, and there’s plenty of room for you to store them there.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I know that I’ve made a mistake.
His eyes widen and I can see the sharp jagged lines of his irises. “Under my bed, Nora? That’s a little specific, isn’t it?” When he lets go of my chin, I take a step back, my breathing heavy and fast. “What do you know about my room, hmm?”
“Nothing.” It takes all of my control not to clamp my hand down on my pocket. Any movement and I know that he’ll want to see what I have hidden away in there, and I want to avoid that confrontation for as long as possible. “It was just a guess.”
“Mmhmm.” He grunts at me and, fast as a snake, reaches out and grabs my wrist. “Well, I have just a guess, but I bet that’s a knife in your pocket, so why don’t you hand it to me and then tell me where you were last night.”
A knife? I wish that it was a knife. It would give me some way to protect myself from him instead of feeling like I’m constantly being pushed towards the edge with no way to stop my fall. “It’s not a knife. And I just went out for a walk, that’s all.”
“A walk? Or a drive?” He pulls my wrist towards him, lacing our fingers together. Swallowing hard, I tear my eyes from our hands and look back up at him.
“A walk.”
“I don’t like lying, Nora.” He frowns, his forehead creasing a little as he looks at me and waits for a response. “I like it better when you’re honest with me. So try again.”
I consider lying again but it’s obvious that he knows I got in a car with someone. The only consolation that I have is that he doesn’t know who I was with or where we went. As long as I can keep Jeremy out of the picture and keep Teague from finding out that I know about the storage unit then I’ll be okay.
Because if he knows that I know about the storage unit, then he’ll know that know all about his dark little secrets. And I’m not sure that I’m ready to play those cards quite yet.
“Fine. A drive.” He squeezes his fingers together, trapping mine in his grip. The pain makes me want to pull my hand away from him, but my pride keeps me still. I won’t let him know that he’s hurting me, even though I have to bite my bottom lip to keep from crying out as he squeezes tighter.
He nods, like I’ve given him a piece of information that he was expecting, which, I guess, I did. “Who drove you, Nora? And where did you go?”
Shaking my head, I step back, trying desperately to pull my hand from his. “I don’t want to talk about it, Teague.”
He watches me as I step away from him. “Oh, but I do, Nora. Your business is my business, you see. Is that where you got the knife?”
He’s really concerned that I have a knife in my pocket, and I think about correcting him, but then I wonder if I can use that to my advantage. He’ll obviously find out the truth eventually, but it’s worth a shot. “Yes.” The lie flows easily from my mouth, and Teague tilts his head to look at me, but he doesn’t question me. “That’s where I got it. And I’m not telling you who drove me because I don’t want you to kill them.”
“Fair enough. I probably would, you know, and it’s nice to see that you have a bit of a soft spot for Jeremy.” He sounds bitter and I shiver as his voice cuts through me. It’s not that Teague has a lot of friends, but there seems to be something about Jeremy that really sets him off.
My heart sinks. How in the hell does he know that Jeremy is the one who drove me? Before I can open my mouth to ask him or argue, he continues.
“So, just hand me what’s in your pocket, Nora, and I’ll go easy on him. That, or you know your other option.”
Run.
The bastard wants me to run, knowing full well that he can easily catch me. I can’t get away from him, and we both know it. My only other option is to fight. If he thinks that this really is a knife, then I might be able to use that to my advantage.
Keeping my face stony and calm, I shove my hand into my pocket and wrap my fingers around the key. It’s not sharp enough to cut him, but I might be able to hold him off for a moment. It’s not like he’s going to let me get away, but at least I’ll be able to mark him.
Hurt him.
Like I know that he wants to hurt me.
Quickly, and without changing the expression on my face so that he won’t be warned, I pull the key from my pocket and swipe through the air at him, trying to hit in him in the face. He sees me coming and jerks his head back, but I still manage to connect with his face. The tip and cuts of the key catch his soft skin, although they don’t cut deep slashes like I had hoped.
Even though the key failed me, it still left its mark, and Teague screams and clamps his hand on his check, but before he does, I see that there are red scratches that are already starting to bleed. He should look scary and less attractive marked like this, but there’s something about the way the red stands out on his face that makes me shiver.
He’s just so hot, no matter what. No matter if he’s covered in dirt or has scratches on his face, there’s something undeniably sexy about Teague Ward, and my body won’t let me forget it, no matter how much my mind is screaming at me to let it go.
“Is that…a key?” His face darkens as he frowns. I’m still gripping the key in my hand, holding it out from my body, my fingers clenching it tightly to make sure that I don’t accidentally drop it. “Let me see the key, Nora.”
He reaches out for the key and I take a step back. I know what happens if he gets the key. He’ll recognize it, I’m sure of it. And once that happens…I swallow, hard, and glance around, trying to decide if I should make a run for it.
It’s what he wants, and I know that.
I don’t want to give him what he wants.
But I can’t just stand here and wait for him to figure out what I took from his room. That I broke into his mini storage unit. That I know his secret.
My feet start moving before I’ve even had time to think about trying to run away. Turning, I start to run, even though I know that I’m not going to make it very far.
I’m right.
Before I’ve taken more than ten steps, Teague has his arm wrapped around my stomach and is pulling me back to him. “Let me go!” Flailing my arms, I try to strike him in the face again, and when that doesn’t work, I start kicking backward, hoping to land a hit on his shin.
Or his dick.
“Stop. Fighting.” He hisses in my ear, his lips barely touching my skin, and I freeze. I can’t help the fact that there’s something about him that makes my body turn traitor. The only problem is that now he has me right where he wants me.
Taking a deep breath, I pull my arm back and launch the key. We both watch as it flies through the air, catching a little bit of the sun that’s breaking through the leaves. It lands with a splash in a creek, and I feel all of the air rush out of me as Teague picks me up by the stomach and pulls me over to look for it.
Teague
“What key was it, Nora? Tell me where you got it!” My blood pressure is through the roof. I’ve got her skinny little body held tight against mine so that she can’t get away while we go and look for whatever it is that she threw. She struggled at first, which I loved, but now hangs limp over my arm as I drag her towards the creek.
The bitch has impeccable aim to be able to land it in the creek, and I groan as I pull her up to it. There’s been a lot of rain recently, so it’s swollen on the banks, the water running faster than it usually does. I don’t know what key she threw into it, but there’s a very small chance that I’ll be able to find it.
“What key was it, Nora?” letting go of her stomach, I spin her around so that she’s facing me. She has her eyes clamped shut so she doesn’t have to look at me and has her fists down by her side. The thought of her trying to actually fight me off sends a thrill through my body. Without her glaring at me, I get a moment to really look at her.
Nora is beautiful, there’s no doubt. Her long lashes rest on her cheeks and she has bright spots of red in them from running. Without thinking, I reach up and run my hand through her hair, letting the soft strands run through my fingers.
“Nora, look at me.” I admit, talking quietly to her is not what I want to do, but I keep my voice even and soft. After a moment, her eyes flutter open and she stares at me. “Nora, tell me what you threw. I know that it wasn’t a knife. Where did you get the key?”
Blood is starting to dry on my skin. The cuts feel shallow and rough, not smooth and deeper the way they would if she had cut me with a knife. It’s more like she scraped away my skin, and it burns. I resist reaching up and touching them.
She shakes her head. Taking a deep breath, I resist the urge to shake her until she agrees to do what I’ve asked. “Okay, then tell me this. It was a key, wasn’t it?”
She pauses for a moment but finally answers me. “Yes.”
Good. We’re getting somewhere. “Okay, where did you get it, whatever key it was?”
Her face flushes and she looks down at her shoes. The fact that she won’t even tell me that has me worried. It makes me wonder if she stole the thing. Who would she be able to steal from?
Ice runs through my veins as I think about all of the times that I’ve left my room unlocked in the morning while having breakfast. I try to make sure to lock it when I know that she’ll be home alone, but it’s too easy to go downstairs for a bite to eat without thinking about her having access to my things.
Or when I drop her off at home and go for a hike by myself.
“Nora. Did you take a key from my room?” She doesn’t answer, but the way that she flinches away from me tells me the truth. She took something, and she’s terrified of what she’s done.
Rage replaces the calm I feel and I grab her by the shoulders, spinning her back around. She screams as I force her to walk to the edge of the water, and when I sweep her legs out from her, she goes down onto her knees, a grunt escaping her.
“What key did you steal from me, Nora?” I’m yelling, but I don’t care that my words are echoing through the forest. I’m pissed and I want Nora to be scared. Scared enough to tell me what key she stole.
She shakes her head, twisting around so that she can look up at me. “Please, Teague,” she says, but I don’t let her finish.
Growling, I grab the back of her head and turn her back around before shoving her forward and down, dunking her head into the water. It’s freezing cold and she sputters as it hits her face. Her body twists in my grip and I almost lose control of her a few times, but I grip her shirt with my other hand and force her head down deeper.
Bubbles rise up around her as she fights against me, but I’m stronger and I have the added benefit of standing over her. “Tell me what key you took!” I scream at her, even though I know that she can’t hear me. After a moment, I pull her up, throwing her back onto the bank of the creek.
Water streams down her face and her hair is stuck to her head. Nora gasps, a chilling sound, as she’s finally able to breathe again, then brushes the hair off of her face. Each breath she takes sounds like she’s fighting for it and something moves in me.
I swear, it feels like compassion, but that doesn’t make sense. How can I have compassion for someone I hate as much as Nora? It’s okay if I want to fuck her, but caring for her is something that I never expected, and I’m not okay with it.
Bending over, she pants, her fingers digging into the dirt as she tries to clear her head and catch her breath. Walking over to her, I lift my foot and plant it on her shoulder, forcing her to fall down in the dirt. She does, the air escaping her lungs in a loud gasp.
“Tell me what key it was.” Slowly, I start to grind my foot into her back. She’s so soft, so breakable. There’s nothing stopping me from simply ruining Nora out here. Except, if I do that, I won’t get the answers that I deserve. I know that she took some key from me, and I have to know exactly which one it was. I have my worries, and I’m not going to be able to rest until I know for sure. Nora can’t be allowed to leave here without telling me the truth.
Slowly, she plants her hands under her chest and pushes up, trying to force me off of her. I take my shoe from her back and lean down, squatting so that I’m eye level with her. She doesn’t look so gorgeous now. Her mascara has run down her cheeks and she has a stray leaf stuck in her hair. When I pluck it out, she flinches.
“Nora, do you want more swimming lessons, or do you want to tell me the truth?” My voice is sickeningly sweet.
“You were right.” At first, I don’t think that I hear her correctly. She’s still wheezing a little and trying to catch her breath, but there’s a flare of triumph in her eyes that makes me clench my fists. “It was a key.”
Automatically, my hand goes up to my cheek and I touch the scrapes. It makes sense. The only thing that I don’t know yet is where she got it. What key was she able to fine? After she tried to steal my truck before, I made sure to keep my extra set of keys on me at all times. There’s no way that she could have been able to steal those.
“But what key, Nora?” I’m genuinely confused, and she must hear it in my voice, because she looks up and smiles. “Tell me what key you took.” The smile on her face makes me nervous, which is not a feeling that I like to have. It tells me that she knows something that I don’t. She has something over me and I need to know answers. Now.
“You had it in your room.” With a sigh, she heaves herself up to a sitting position, calming brushing water off of her bare arms. “You thought that you had it hidden, but you didn’t, and I wanted to know what secrets you would have.”
My mind is still working overtime, trying to figure out what fucking key she’s talking about, but when she says that I had it hidden, everything makes sense. The realization of what she stole from me hits me full in the chest.
“You bitch. You took my storage unit key. What the fuck were you thinking?” Rage replaces any emotion that I have ever felt for Nora, and I lunge at her, knocking her over onto the dirt. Her neck is smooth and soft as I wrap my hands around it, gently pressing in with my thumbs.
I don’t want to kill her. Well, I do want to kill her, but I know that I can’t. I just need to make sure that she understands how badly she’s fucked up. She squirms a little as I squeeze, her hands clawing at mine, trying to pull them away from her neck. When that doesn’t work, she grabs my arms, raking her nails down them, trying to get me to let go.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” Nora tries to shake her head, but she can’t move. I’m squeezing her too tightly. I have her pinned in place. Her eyes are frantic as she looks at me, trying to beg me with them to let her
go. “Do you know what I had stored in there?”
At this, she manages a small nod, and I’m hit with the realization of where she went that night with Jeremy. Fuck. She managed to get that little asshole to take her to my storage unit. That means that she knows what’s in there, and he may, also.
I breathe deeply, closing my eyes and letting go of her neck. If I kill her now, then I won’t get the rest of the answers that I need. “Does Jeremy know what’s in the storage unit?”
She ignores me, breathing deeply, massaging her neck. “Fuck you, Teague,” she whispers, finally. Her voice sounds damaged and broken, but that’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do to her if she doesn’t tell me the truth. And if the truth is that Jeremy knows what’s in the storage building, then I’ll just have to kill him, too.
“Tell me the truth, Nora.” As gently as possible, I brush some hair from her forehead. She flinches away from my touch but keeps her eyes locked on mine. “Did you take little Jeremy with you into my storage building, or are you the only one who knows what I have locked up in there?”
After what feels like an eternity, she finally answers. “It was just me.” Relief floods through my body and I slide one finger down her cheek, caressing her. She shivers under my touch, especially when I rub her lips with my thumb.
Perfect Nora will be the end of me if I’m not careful, but part of me wouldn’t mind being destroyed by her. She’s gorgeous and deadly and now knows more about me than anyone else, including Robby. Including my mom.
We all have our secrets and I didn’t think that the person who would be able to uncover mine would be the skinny little tortured artist who moved in down the hall. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her, but I have to make up my mind, and fast.
We need to be getting back home. I can’t kill her and dump her body out here in the woods. Someone would find her, and I know that people would look to me as the primary suspect.
“Nora.” I wait until she looks at me before continuing. Her eyes are watery and sad and, for just a moment, I’m struck with guilt that I’m the one making her feel this way. All of that quickly disappears, though, when I remember that she’s the one who brought this on herself. If only she hadn’t gone into my room. If she hadn’t taken the key. If she hadn’t gone to the fucking storage building.