Slade shakes his head, still not wanting to let this happen but he pulls back, allowing me to go against his better judgment. I nod, giving him my silent thanks and letting him know that I can handle this. I’m strong enough, at least, I hope I am.
I pull away and as I turn to face Lucien, I feel all the emotions from over the last thirteen years creeping up on me.
I can do this. I can face my demon.
I make my way toward Lucien, my eyes trailing over the puddle of blood beneath him that runs down the drive back toward the burning house. I can’t help but think back over the past thirteen years of neglect, pain, and suffering all caused at this man’s hands.
Blake and I didn’t deserve the life we had. While it may have been showered with money and privilege, it wasn’t the life that was ever intended for us. We were supposed to be raised just outside of Haven Falls with our parents who loved and adored us. We might have had everything we ever needed with Maria and Lucien, but with our parents, we would have had the world.
My eyes trail back over his chest, taking in the way that he’s clutching at it, his hands both covered in blood. Knowing that staring at the spilled blood isn’t going to be good for my mental health, I cut my eyes back to meet his.
Lucien stares at me, pain on his face, and fear heavy in his eyes. “Please,” he begs with a whisper, struggling to get the word out.
He has to be fooling himself if he thinks I’m about to get down on my hands and knees and save his life. If this were any other time, he’d have never dreamed of uttering that one word but I guess desperation makes us do things we never thought we were capable of. Last night, desperation had me killing a man and jumping from a second-story window, and tonight, it has me watching the life slowly drain out of a monster.
I don’t doubt that I’m going to need therapy after this, but that knowledge doesn’t hold me back. I have to see this through.
I crouch down, hovering above him where I know he can see me. “I win,” I tell him, firm and confident. “You will never hurt me or any other woman again and when I walk away from here tonight, you’ll be gone and I’ll never think of you again. But you, do you know where you’re going? Because there’s a special place in hell for people like you and I can promise you, the devil is going to have you regretting every decision you ever made. I hope you burn down there, I hope you suffer, and I hope your world is so full of pain that you spend eternity in the worst kind of agony.”
He doesn’t move, doesn’t talk but I see the understanding and fear in his eyes. He knows I’m right and he knows exactly where he’s going. “You’re done.”
Lucien’s hand snaps out and his fingers pathetically attempt to grip my ankle. “Help…me…”
I hear a scuffle behind me but I don’t dare look back. I do not doubt that it’s Slade desperate to get to me and crush Lucien’s wrist for having the audacity to touch me.
I ignore the boys, knowing they’d have Slade under control and look down at my bloodied ankle before staring back at Lucien. “I will never help you. Understand me, Lucien,” I murmur into the night. “You will die here tonight.”
He swallows hard and as I watch him, I spare a thought for Blake. He wanted revenge so badly. My hand falls to the back pocket of my jeans and I pull out my knife, twisting it between my fingers as I contemplate just how much damage I can do to my soul in one night.
I could crush his leg like he did to Blake, give him that last few minutes of agony before he dies. Maybe I could cut off his penis for all the young women he’s hurt, or maybe I could simply slice my knife along his throat and end it right now.
I know Blake would get a kick out of me crushing his leg, but what do I get? That’s not going to help me heal in any sort of way, it might make me feel better for all of three seconds, but when looking at the big picture, it’s enough just to know he’s gone.
How much of myself do I have to sacrifice for this man?
I won’t do it anymore.
Blake will be okay. I know he declared that he wants revenge but that was just speaking out of anger. He’s not a petty guy like I am. He’s bigger than that. Blake’s head is screwed on correctly and I refuse to bring him down to my level. He might hate that he didn’t get a chance to punish Lucien the way that he saw fit, but he’ll also be able to move on and heal in peace knowing that he’ll never have to look over his shoulder again.
Lucien’s hand falls away from my ankle as his eyes grow heavy. It won’t be long now. Maybe another thirty seconds or so and the bastard will begin his descent into hell.
I rise out of my crouch and take the bottom of my shirt in my hand and begin rubbing my fingerprints off my knife as Slade, Damian, Rivers, and Noah all step in around me. Slade’s hand falls to my waist and he looks down at his father. “I’ll see you in hell,” he mutters just moments before I toss my knife down against Lucien’s chest.
From now on, I don’t need it.
My fight is over.
That knife once used to bring me protection and a link to my father, those traits are gone now and all that’s left is blood. I’ll find another way to connect with my dad.
“Come on,” Slade murmurs. “The police are on their way.”
I nod, listening out and sure enough, the sirens are heard in the distance. Slade’s hand finds mine and as we go to step away, I watch as Lucien takes his final breath, ending it once and for all.
My eyes close as Slade pulls me away with the boys at my back. The closure tears through my body like a drug and for the first time in thirteen years I finally feel free.
My head falls upon Slade’s chest as we walk straight out the front gate. “It’s over,” I murmur. “It’s finally over.”
Slade presses a soft kiss to my forehead as the boys walk silently behind us. “It is,” he promises, holding me tighter as his words swell within my chest, lighting me up and filling me with joy. “Now let me take you home where you belong.”
I’ve never heard sweeter words.
Chapter 20
I grab hold of the door handle and gently push it open. “Oh,” Blake’s cheerful voice rumbles from inside the hospital room. “So, you were serious about that sponge bath.”
Eww. Gross.
I choke back vomit and throw the door the rest of the way. “Are you fucking kidding me? Is that what you’ve been up to since I’ve been away?”
“SKYLAH!” His eyes bug out of his head as he tries to scramble out of his bed but fails as his broken, heavy leg keeps him glued to the bed. “Get your stupid ass over here.”
I laugh as I bound toward my baby brother and throw my arms around him. He holds me tight, his head smooshed into my hair. “Fuck, you smell like a bonfire!” he says, trying to aim his face away from my body. “I missed you. How could you be so stupid?”
“Me stupid?” I demand. “Are you not the idiot who gave Slade the address?”
“I’m not apologizing for that. I’d rather have you than him,” he says, glancing up over my shoulder and looking at Slade. “No offense.”
“None taken,” comes rumbling from the door.
I try my best to ignore Blake’s comments and focus on the fact that I have him in my arms. I really did miss this little turd. Emotions start to well up inside me and before I know it, Blake is desperately trying to push me away. “Eww, are you crying on me?”
“Shut up and hug me, dipshit.”
Blake groans but I know he secretly loves it. He’d never actually admit it though, but because today is special and I’m finally free, he’ll let me do whatever the hell I want.
When I finally pull back, I look down at Blake’s leg. “How are you feeling? Has there been much progress in the last two weeks?”
Blake gapes at me as though I just asked him to lick Damian’s asshole. “Are you kidding?”
My brows furrow in confusion. “Umm…no? I want to know what the doctor has said.”
“You disappear for two weeks to live with your rapist, there was some kind of s
howdown where Slade got shot, you got your dumb-ass hitched to a millionaire and then call me with some shit about running away and needing back-up for a shady plan you refused to talk about.”
I cringe and fall back into the seat by his bed, narrowing my eyes at him. “Right…so, you actually wanted to know about all of that?”
“Um…yes. Are you fucking insane? Of course, I need to know.”
I groan and lean back, wondering where the hell to start, “Do you want the long version where I explain exactly how I killed Marcus Mahony and how Maria ended up shooting Lucien, or do you want the short one where I skip over all of that shit.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he gapes. “You killed him?”
I press my lips into a tight line and nod, looking down at the hands that don’t seem like my own anymore. “Yeah, I did.”
“Shit, Sky,” he whispers, throwing back his blanket and patting the side of his bed beside him. “Come here.”
Relief settles through me as I fly out of my seat and curl in beside my brother. I was so worried he would hate me or be scared of the person I am now, but he accepts me and loves me just the way I am, the way that he’s always done.
I go over my recap of the last two weeks and by the end of it, there are tears in my eyes and a whole lot of emotions that I have no idea how to even understand, but as Blake hugs me tighter and reminds me that no matter what kind of stupid bullshit I get myself involved in he’ll always love me, I feel somewhat at ease.
“You did what you had to do,” he tells me, squeezing my arm. “If you didn’t, we’d spend forever looking over our shoulders and watching our backs. That’s no way to live, Skylah. You’ve opened our world to a better future, one we were never going to get, one you fought for, and for that, I will always be grateful. I don’t care that Lucien’s leg didn’t get crushed and I don’t care that I never got a chance to get revenge, all that matter is that it’s over and that both Marcus and Lucien are now rotting in hell, right where they belong.”
I squish my face into his chest, sniffling as I wipe my tears on his shirt. “I was worried you were going to hate me.”
He scoffs as though I’m ridiculous. “I always knew you were an idiot, but you’re a bigger idiot for thinking I could ever hate you.”
“You mean that?”
“Which part? The idiot part or the hating you part? Because I meant them both.”
I roll my eyes as I feel my world finally starting to right itself. I’m sure it’s going to take a while to forget all the bullshit that has plagued our lives for the past thirteen years but now we finally have a chance to move on. Today is the starting point for the rest of our lives and I couldn’t be happier. We’re finally going to have it all.
“So, were you ever going to tell me what the doctor said?” I ask, needing to think about something else.
Blake shuffles around in his bed and pushes me off him so he can pull the blanket back and show me his leg. “Look at it,” he boasts, proud of how far he’s come. “I get to go home next week, but the pins will stay for a while longer. The doctor thinks I should be able to make a full recovery.”
My eyes widen as I practically scramble to the end of the bed to get a close-up look of his leg. “Are you serious?” I squeal, amazed by his recovery so far. “That’s incredible.”
“Yeah, apart from worrying about you, everything else has been alright here. Though, I still haven’t figured out which of you fuckers told Kathleen that I was in the hospital. She hasn’t left me the fuck alone.”
I think back to the party the night Lucien showed up and I can’t help but feel that it was such a long time ago when in reality, it was only two weeks ago. So much has happened since then. I laugh as I recall the moment. “You can thank Damian and his loud mouth for that. He let it slip at that party.”
Blake shakes his head, pressing his lips into a tight line. “I should have known,” he murmurs. “But speaking of that party, Roman Westbrock is doing alright. He’s a few doors down. His friends are here all the time, loud and obnoxious just as expected, but at least he’s not dead.”
Well, shit. To be completely honest, I kind of forgot about Roman during all of this, yet I’m relieved as it’s one less life that Lucien was able to take. I don’t know how Roman’s life is going to change from here or if he’s the kind of guy who’ll let it slide off him like water off a duck’s back, but at least he has a shot at life and that’s all that matters.
It’s only 11 am but after the last few days I’ve had, my exhaustion quickly creeps up on me as a yawn rips out of my body. “Come on,” Slade says. “Let me take you home to rest. You can come back tomorrow and bug your brother then, but to be honest, with him coming home next week, he might need the few extra days of peace before he’s bombarded with all things Skylah.”
“Yeah, good point,” Blake mutters. “And besides, you’re going to ruin my game. I’ve got this thing going with one of the nurses and she’s going to be put off by my sister hanging around all the time.”
My mouth drops as I stare at my brother. “First off, you little turd, you have no game. She probably just feels sorry for the NBA hopeful who can’t scratch his own ass right now. And second, does she know you’re still a baby? You’re only seventeen.”
He grins. “She might have forgotten to check my birthday and is assuming I’m nineteen, but it’s fine. She’s a student. She’s twenty-one.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I groan, getting up and meeting Slade by the door. “You’re going to get that poor girl arrested.”
Blake shrugs. “She’d like that. She has daddy issues.”
Slade groans and curls his arm around my waist, pulling me toward the door. “Alright, we’re out,” he tells Blake. “I’ll bring her around again tomorrow and you two can fight over who has the biggest dick.”
I scoff. “Please, that’s not even a fight worth having. We both know I do.”
Slade groans and pushes me out the door, closing it behind him so Blake doesn’t have to listen to the repetitive sounds of the hospital.
We get about four steps down the hallway when a nurse with a big set of tits and a nasty grin on her face starts heading for Blake’s door. I watch her pass and look back over my shoulder, hoping this chick isn’t heading for Blake’s door but as she stops and reaches the handle, I see red. “HE’S SEVENTEEN,” I call at her back.
She looks my way but Slade is quick to grab me and force my attention back in front of me. “You’re such a cock-block.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever, the kid probably can’t even use it at the moment.”
“Trust me,” Slade says with a groan. “He can. He told me all about it. I swear Blake and Damian are way too open about the shit they get up to. If they weren’t at each other’s throats all the time, they’d be the perfect bitch couple.”
A shiver runs down my back at the thought of my little brother spending unnecessary time with Damian Wilder. It could only mean horrible things.
We get out to the parking lot and within moments, Slade is driving me back home. It’s only a few minutes’ drive but it feels like it takes forever and by the time he’s pulling into my empty driveway, I’m nearly asleep in the front seat.
Seeing my home has a spark lighting within me and I swing open the passenger side door before racing for my front door with tears of joy in my eyes. I never thought I’d see this place again. I never thought I’d see Slade or Blake, and I sure as hell didn’t think I’d be seeing Shaylee.
I’m so damn grateful to have them all in my life, loving me so fiercely and protectively. They’re everything I could want in a family.
Slade pulls a front door key from his pocket and I don’t even bother wondering how he got that as before I have a second to think about it, the door is open and the smell of home rushes in and smacks me in the face.
My overwhelming emotions have Slade picking me up and physically taking me inside my home as putting one foot in front of another is just too much fo
r me to handle.
He takes me in and I resist saying hello to my couch, my kitchen, the dining table, and the bathroom which has given me so many beautifully perfect showers. It takes me all of three seconds to figure out that Shaylee isn’t home but it’s a weekday. She’d be at work, most likely stressing about where the hell I am, but she’ll be home tonight and when she is, it’s time to party.
Slade walks through to my bedroom and practically collapses down on to my bed. My head hits the pillow and exhaustion takes over me. There’s nothing I've dreamed about more than being home in my own bed.
This is my happiness right here and the fact that Slade is here with his strong, loving arms wrapped around me just makes it that much better.
His forehead falls to mine and he brushes his lips over mine, making me feel things I haven’t felt for so long. “You have no idea how happy I am to have you home.”
“Trust me, I think I know,” I tell him. “I never want to leave this place again.”
He pulls me into him and I keep going until I’m lying on top of him, my hair splayed out over his chest and my knees on either side of his hips. “I missed you so much,” I murmur, struggling to keep my voice from breaking as I listen to the heavy, rhythmic thump of his heartbeat.
Slade’s hand curls around my face and he lifts my chin so that he can see my eyes. “Come here,” he murmurs, grabbing my ass and hoisting me up his body so that my face hovers right above his. “I don’t think I can last a second longer without your lips on mine.”
A smile pulls at my lips. Who am I to make the man wait?
I lower my face to his, unable to look away from his smoldering eyes. I’ve missed this connection, his touch, his love and I need it so damn bad. He’s kissed me a few times since finding me at that gas station, but it was always with an audience and always for reassurance that I was okay.
This is more. So much more and has me wanting to sleep when I’m dead.
Real Girl: Aston Creek High (Book 4) Page 15