“I needed to warn you,” she started. “Your father’s court case with Anthony Monroe regarding the land dispute and oil drilling has turned quite nasty. Your father is making it personal, and the media are out for blood. I wanted you to know in case they decide to start bothering you for information.”
I screwed my eyes shut, and groaned. “You’re not serious, mom? Has dad lost his fucking mind?”
“Language,” my mother berated. “And I don’t know what your father is thinking. It can go either way, like most things like this tend to do when the media get involved. I wanted you to be aware of what was going on, before you saw it splashed on the news.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised at this turn of events. Not really. My father had a habit of twisting things to his advantage, and he relished any opportunity to drag Anthony Monroe’s name through the mud.
I wondered if Kennedy knew anything about it, but then realized I’d decided not to care about her anymore. I was still harboring some anger after I’d spotted her in the parking lot sitting on the tailgate of some guys’ truck. They looked friendly, and the way he’d had his arm around her suggested that they were more than friends.
I guess I’d never meant that much to her after all, if it only took her a fucking week to move on. It hurt like hell to see her with someone else, especially after the way I’d been feeling sorry for myself this week. But that was over now.
“Dane?” My mother’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I shook my head.
“Sorry mom, I’m here.”
“You’ll let me know if anything happens, won’t you?”
I placed my empty beer bottle on our coffee table, and sat back. “Yeah, mom, I will. Don’t worry.”
“Okay, sweetheart. I have to go now, but call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” I promised. “Talk to you soon.”
I threw my phone back on the table and held my head in my hands. I was exhausted. I’d been doing everything I possibly could this week to keep from going back to Kennedy, and I’d been holding on to the tiniest sliver of hope that she was struggling like I was.
Guess not.
“What has daddy dearest done this time?” Asked Reid.
“I don’t really know, but it has something to do with Anthony Monroe. My mom wanted to give me a heads up in case we saw it on the news.”
“I wish your dad would give that shit a rest man. Do you think Kennedy knows?”
I stiffened. I didn’t want to care whether or not she knew, but I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something happened to her as a result of the feud between our fathers. She was as much an innocent in all of it as I was.
“I’m not sure, but I should probably go talk to her.” I stood up from the sofa without giving myself a chance to back out, and promptly ignored the puzzled look on Reid’s face. I was angry, frustrated, and tired, and yet I was still looking for an excuse to see the girl who kept me up at night, and messed with my head the way no one else had.
I opened the door just as Kennedy’s friend Ashley walked past, and was hit with an idea. I was about to immortalize my name in the Douchebag Hall of Fame.
“Hey,” I said.
Ashley startled, and then smiled at me. She was a stunner, with her long legs, olive colored skin, and long brown hair. Being a model ensured she wasn’t hard up for male attention, and her intelligence certainly didn’t hurt either. But she wasn’t my type. I’d developed a taste for something more particular. More singular.
Blonde hair with purple tips.
Green eyes.
A body that made you want to sin.
“Hey Dane,” she giggled nervously.
I doubted my plan for a split second, and then I thought fuck it.
“You got plans tonight?” I asked.
Her eyes widened, and she stood a little taller. “No?”
Despite not feeling it, or feeling her, my mouth turned up into the grin that I knew got the girls. “You do now. Have dinner with me. We can get to know each other better.”
“Okay,” she replied without hesitating. “What time should I be ready?”
“I’ll fetch you at say, seven?”
“Perfect.”
She walked away, and I’d forgotten about my plan to speak to Kennedy. This plan sounded a whole lot better.
I think.
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES into dinner, I realized that I’d made a mistake. Sure, Ashley was a beautiful girl, and it was obvious she was extremely intelligent, but we had absolutely nothing in common. I asked myself through every awkward silence – and there were many – why I was subjecting either of us to this special kind of sadism, and the answer was always the same.
It wasn’t the date itself, but rather what happened afterwards. If my timing were on point, it would be worth the pre-torture. I did the gentlemanly thing and paid for our food, and then drove Ashley back to our dorms. It was barely nine thirty when we stopped outside mine and Reid’s apartment door.
“So…” Ashley rocked back and forth on her heels.
I rubbed the back of my neck.
“I had a nice time,” she said quickly. It was an ineffective attempt at diffusing the uncomfortable atmosphere, but I applauded her valiant effort.
“Uh, yeah, I did too.”
We stared at each other for a beat, and then I heard keys jingling. I looked up and saw Kennedy walking down the hallway towards her door.
Perfect timing.
She looked up.
That was my cue.
I wrapped my arm around Ashley’s waist, and tugged her to me, sealing my mouth over hers. I kissed her with extra enthusiasm, which she seemed to return, while never taking my eyes off Kennedy. She watched me devour her friends lips, listened to her moan while my tongue traced the contours of her mouth.
That was what I’d been betting on. The hurt and duplicity colliding in her eyes.
Now she knew how I felt when I saw her with another guy only days after I’d had her. I saw her withdraw into herself, and when she slammed their apartment door closed, I pulled away from Ashley and walked into mine and Reid’s’ apartment.
Pressing my back against the door, I sighed, and let my head fall back. “Shit,” I muttered.
My stomach sank, and regret coursed its way through my veins. That was a mistake.
And I needed to drink because I was an asshole.
Let’s have a toast to the douchebags, let’s have a toast to the assholes, I sang in my head. Kanye West sure knew what he was talking about.
I stepped towards the fridge when I heard a moan. My feet stopped, and my ears perked.
I heard it again.
It was coming from Reid’s’ room.
And the fucker had left his door open.
After a third moan echoed through the apartment I walked over to his door, intent on closing it, when I saw what was going on. Reid was on his back, with a girl riding him, her long midnight black hair cascading down her bare back.
Reid lifted his head, and spotted me at the door. Wrong timing, and I was sure he thought I was taking a peek. “Dane! What the fuck man!” He bellowed. The girls’ head turned and my jaw dropped.
“Jade???”
“Dane, get the fuck out!”
I quickly shut the door, standing open-mouthed. There was a commotion on the other side and I stepped aside just in time to remove myself from Jade’s path. She was half dressed, completely flustered and…angry?
“Have you ever heard of knocking?” She snapped, flying past me while trying to put her shoes on. I was still speechless.
“I…I…” I sputtered. “The door was open!”
“So you thought you’d watch like some kind of pervert?”
Reid barreled past me, heading straight for Jade. “Wait, you can’t leave. We still have to talk!”
“Ha!” Laughed Jade. “I’m not talking while he is here,” she glared hatefully, “I’m going back next door.”
“Me?” I asked in
credulously. “Why are you upset with me? You’re the one caught screwing my best friend!”
“Kind of ironic, don’t you think?” She bit back. Her words took a minute to sink, but when they did, I realized why she was angry with me, and it had nothing to do with what I’d just walked in on.
“She told you,” I said under my breath. Unfortunately Jade still heard me.
“Yes, she did, and you know what, Dane? You don’t deserve her. You never did.”
Jade turned to leave, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“That’s rich,” I sneered, allowing my anger from earlier to make an appearance. “She’s already moved on.”
Jade’s brows dipped into a frown, and she shook my hand off her arm. “What makes you think that?”
“I saw her, this afternoon. She was already with some other guy. She looked real broken up about us when he had his arms around her.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.
Jade reared back, and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I was starting to feel like I had.
“Will one of you care to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Reid interjected.
We both ignored him, and then Jade spoke. “The guy you saw her with is a very good friend of hers, who drove all the way here from Madison, Georgia, to check up on her because her grandparents are worried about her. She’s a fucking mess because of you, and you just had to make it a whole lot worse by asking our roommate on a date. You know, I would have rooted for you, but you royally fucked up the best thing that could have happened to you.”
Jade turned her head towards Reid. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I have some things to work out.”
Then she left, leaving both Reid and I dumbfounded.
Reid rubbed his hand down his face, and dressed in only a pair of his boxer briefs he really looked ridiculous.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “That was…”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“You want to tell me what the fuck just happened?”
I looked at my best friend, and decided it was time for a chat. I needed to get some of this shit off my chest before it completely consumed me. I’d fucked up, and anyone could tell me how to fix it, it was Reid.
“Grab a beer,” I said, turning towards the living room. “It’s going to be a long night.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Kennedy
I DIDN’T KNOW whether I wanted to scream, cry, throw something, or curl up into the fetal position and wait for…I don’t know what.
My bedroom door opened, and I knew it was Jade before she said anything. She lifted my comforter, and climbed into bed behind me.
“He kissed her,” I said, not bothering to turn around. “He kissed her in front of me, like he wanted me to see it.”
Jade brought her arm around my waist, and gave my hand a squeeze. “I have to tell you something.”
I twisted my head so that I could see her face, frowning when I saw her hesitation. She was chewing on her bottom lip, a sure telltale sign that I wasn’t going to like whatever it was she needed to tell me.
“He did it on purpose. He only asked Ashley out because he saw you with Beau earlier and assumed you’d just moved on.”
I turned my head towards my window, the moon casting muted light on the outside world. I’d spent many nights watching Dane sleep while the moonlight danced on his body. He’d looked so peaceful, so still. It was hard to believe he was the same guy who’d not only asked my roommate out, but kissed her too when he knew I was watching, just to hurt me.
“I’m not sure it matters anymore,” I replied. I wanted to fight back, I really did, but I didn’t have it in me to keep going back-and-forth with Dane.
“Wait,” I looked at Jade from over my shoulder, “How do you know that’s why he did it?”
“Uh,” she winced, “He told me about seeing you with Beau, and I kind of put two and two together.”
“When did you talk to him?”
“It was about an hour ago,” she replied. I wanted to ask her what she was doing next door, but decided better of it. I had a feeling she wouldn’t have told me anyway, since it most likely included Reid, and whole lot of non-talking activities. I didn’t want to fall asleep with that knowledge in my head.
I closed my eyes, and prayed that I would fall asleep soon. I wanted this night to be over.
“You know, he’ll come around eventually,” said Jade. Her voice was soft, and she spoke carefully as if I was about to break into a million pieces. What she hadn’t realized yet was that I’d already done that. I didn’t reply, for fear that if I opened my mouth I’d end up telling her how desperately I wanted more with Dane, how I felt like half my soul was missing when he wasn’t with me, and how my body responded to him like it had found its’ mate. I didn’t want anyone to know that. Once I said it, there would be no going back, no retracting words already spoken. It needed to be kept inside. Safe from a world that wouldn’t understand the road I’d travelled to get to Dane, to find the man he was inside, and discover that once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that had stemmed from a lifetime of hate.
WHEN I STIRRED the following morning, the first thing I noticed was that it was raining outside. The sky flashed with lightening, and the sky thundered loudly. It was the perfect metaphor really.
I was still nowhere near finding absolution from all that had transpired with, and after Dane, but at least the world outside matched what I was feeling inside. I didn’t have to pretend and put out a sunny disposition when the last thing I was feeling was ‘sunny’.
The second thing I noticed was that Jade was gone. It was only seven thirty a.m. and that was early for her considering our classes were over. I put my robe on, tied my hair up, and headed into the kitchen to find some food. I heard a commotion outside the front door and just as I stepped towards it Jade stumbled in.
“Have you seen the news?” She asked breathlessly.
“No, why? Why are you so wet?”
“You need to see something,” she replied, ignoring my second question. I trailed behind her as she turned on our television and flicked through to the news channels.
My father’s name, and image started popping up, followed by pictures of Dane’s father. Jade turned the volume up, and then I listened to what the reporter was saying.
“What started out as a run of the mill land dispute between Brighton’s two long-standing feuding families has now become a public blood bath between Anthony Monroe, and Derek Winters. Winters, who is the plaintiff, has resulted to some rather underhanded tactics in the courtroom in attempt to get the defendant to buckle under the pressure…”
History was slowly starting to repeat itself, and I stood immobile as it all unfolded on a screen for the whole world to see.
“Two years ago Winters’ lost his only daughter in a car accident involving Monroe’s only son, Charles, and according to sources who were close to both victims, the two were engaged in an affair, unbeknownst to their families. Winter’s has requested the case be reopened for investigation after accusing the deceased, Charlie Monroe, of murder….”
Everything stopped at the word murder.
Derek Winters was accusing my brother, my dead brother, of murdering Jewel.
My lungs constricted, and I struggled for air. Why was he doing this? Why was he digging up our pasts and splashing it all over the local news? It was bad enough dealing with the press the first time when they’d found Charlie’s and Jewel’s bodies in his mangled truck.
“Kennedy?” Jade’s voice sounded far way, like I was in a tunnel, or worse, like I was drowning. Her hands came to rest on my shoulders and she moved me towards the sofa until I was sitting down.
“Turn it off,” I said, watching images of Charlie and Jewel flicking onto the screen. I couldn’t stand to hear more. Jewel and Charlie were both dead, and I couldn’t stand to hear what they were saying anymore. My brother wasn’t a murderer. He loved Jewel more than anything. They were in love.
Jade shut the
television off, and came to sit beside me just as our front door burst open. Dane filled the doorway, dressed in drenched sweats, and a grey t-shirt. His hair was dripping, and stuck to his face.
But it was his scowl that held my attention.
He stepped forward, his shoulders heaving like he’d run here, and his stance menacing.
“Is it true?” His tone was as thunderous as the weather outside.
“Is what true?” Asked Jade. She rose from her place next to me, and took a protective stance in front of me. Little did she know there was nothing she could to protect me from what was coming.
“Step aside Jade,” warned Dane. He glowered at her, but she stood firm, and folded her arms across her chest. She was preparing for a fight, but it wasn’t hers to begin with. It wasn’t really mine either, but with Charlie gone I made it mine, and I guessed Dane was doing the same for Jewel.
“I’m not going anywhere,” replied Jade. She lifted her chin, effectively saying ‘try me’. “I’m not going to let you hurt my friend.”
Dane let out a sadistic laugh that made my skin crawl. “I won’t touch her. Not after what her brother did to my sister.”
I screwed my eyes shut, and instinctively curled my hands into fists. If he wanted a fight, I’d give him one, but he had no right to throw accusations around when he didn’t know everything.
I shot to my feet, and shoved Dane backwards. “Don’t you dare say anything about Charlie when he’s not here to defend himself!”
“I asked you a fucking question, Kennedy!” He yelled. “Is what they’re saying on the news about Charlie and Jewel true?”
“Yes!” I yelled back. “They were in a relationship, but he didn’t kill her, Dane!”
He stepped back, and roughly pulled his wet hair through his fingers. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he said looking up at the ceiling. “I can’t fucking believe it.”
“Your dad must be having a field day with this,” I remarked. “Any opportunity to drag my family’s name through the mud.”
Dane’s head snapped in my direction, and he closed the gap between us. “Oh no, sweetheart. This one is all on your brother, and it has been ever since he killed my sister!”
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