He looks at me with confusion on his face at first, but shakes his head and walks straight past me, not even waiting for me to answer the question he asked me when I crashed into him, leaving me standing in the open doorway like some weirdo.
Oh okay, so maybe he doesn’t remember me.
Perfect. Maybe I can do this job after all? That’s if the Blackwood’s even want me after the way I’ve just made a scene.
With my tail between my legs and with shame clouding my face, I shut the door with a quiet click and head back into the kitchen, only I’m stopped in my tracks when I come face to face with Allie.
“Look, whatever that was just then, don’t worry about it. We’ve all got secrets and pasts. I’ve read your C.V and I’ve spoken to your previous employers already. I only wanted you to come along tonight to introduce myself and my husband and arrange for you to spend some time with Syren to see how you get along. The job’s yours, that’s if you want it of course?”
Is she nuts? Of course I want the job, I just need to make sure Liam never finds out my surname and that I can rein in my need to kill him in the process. I’m twenty-four-years old, I can handle this.
“I’m in.”
Chapter Five
Liam
The last thing I expected when I walked up the steps to Connor’s house, was to nearly get knocked back down them by some little spitfire in a rush to get the hell out of there. Usually young girls would do anything to be in Connor’s company. Only, when I stopped her from running away completely and looked at her, there was something about her that made my spine tingle and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She must’ve thought I was a proper nut job when I just stared at her then walked off, saying nothing. As Allie approached the girl, taking one last glance at her over my shoulder, I could see she was struggling with something. Leaving them to it, I go straight to the fridge, pull a beer out and uncap it, taking a large mouthful.
“What’s with the runaway in your hallway?” I ask Connor, who looks like he doesn’t even have a clue what just happened in his own house. He’s sitting at the kitchen island with his head is buried in a newspaper.
Not answering me, I’m pretty sure it hasn’t even registered with him that I’m here and drinking his beer.
“Hello, earth to Connor. Is there anyone home?” I say, as I wave a hand between him and the paper he’s engrossed in.
Snapping his head up, he shakes his head and finally acknowledges me.
“Sorry fuckface, I was just reading an article that’s been written about the tour, but it’s not important. What’s up?”
“I said, what’s with little miss runaway in your hall?”
The man seriously hasn’t a clue what I’m talking about right now.
“What the fuck are you on about knobhead? Are you still pissed?” he asks me with humour in his voice.
“You know what, forget I said anything because you are totally clueless. How long have you had your head buried in that thing?” I say, indicating to the newspaper.
“Oh, this? It’s nothing, L. I just need to stop worrying about every little thing that’s written about me. Just ignore me. What’s going on anyway?”
As I’m about to start to speak, I’m brought to a halt by Allie walking into the kitchen with a megawatt smile on her face, followed by the fireball who only ten minutes ago was on her way out of here. She lowers her head and pulls her long chestnut brown hair over one shoulder covering the side of her face that's close to me.
That feeling I had at the front door comes back full force, only this time it’s not just my spine that’s tingling, but my dick as well.
What the hell!
I haven’t even been introduced to the girl yet, and I’m already getting a semi in my jeans.
“Guy’s this is…”
“Mel. My names Mel.” The firecracker says, cutting Allie off and stepping forward offering Connor her hand in greeting. Not once does she look at me, and I don’t know if I should be offended or not.
“Mel is going to be our new nanny. So, can you please inform Max that she is off limits, I don’t want him scaring the poor girl,” she warns us.
“This is Liam, but we call him L. The guy’s like to congregate at our house for some reason, but I’m sure you’ll get used to it in time,” Allie tells the girl, who I now know is called Mel and nothing else.
She whispers a, “Hi.” but still doesn’t look at me.
This chick is weird.
Not wanting to freak her out, I just say hi back.
“Come on Mel, let me take you to meet Syren. I’ll warn you now, he’s just like his daddy… a handful.” Allie laughs, as she pulls Mel by the arm and spins her around to head out of the kitchen. That’s when I see her face. The wind gets knocked out of me, my breathing is practically non-existent. Talking is way out of the question.
She may be an adult now, but she’s never looked more like her sister than she does right now. The only difference is her hair isn’t as red as Steph’s.
What the hell!!
What is she doing here?
Surely, she knew she would see me and I’d want to know about Stephanie.
“Dude? Yo, L? You doing okay there buddy?” Connor is now in front of me, concern written all over his face.
I give a slight nod of my head, speech is still not happening. My throat has gone tight and my eyes still can’t believe what they have just seen.
I thought being with these guys for the past ten years nothing could surprise me anymore, I guess I was wrong, because I’ve just had the biggest shock ever.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost mate, you’re whiter than white.”
He couldn’t be more spot on even if he tried, I have seen a ghost.
The hot sweats hit me hard, I have to leave, I can’t deal with this right now. I mean it’s her sister, if I had to hazard a guess; I’d say she would love nothing more than to chop my dick off and feed it to me for the way I left her sister hanging.
Placing my beer down on the kitchen side, I manage to spit out a sentence. “I… I need to go dude, I have shit to do.”
Connor looks at me like he doesn’t believe a word I’ve just said, but lets it slide. I can’t believe this is happening. I have questions. I have this strong urge to grab her by the shoulders and demand that she tells me where Stephanie is so I can go and see her. What’s more confusing to me is the feelings I’m getting when Melissa is near, I shouldn’t be feeling like that. Even if it did happen before I realised it was her. It’s no excuse, the only woman who’s ever made me feel like that was Steph, so for Mel to make me feel that way, well let’s just say it’s some scary shit.
Shit, I’m not prepared to even comprehend right now.
I make my way to the door, eager to get out of there, but I’m stopped short when Allie calls my name from the stairs behind me. Turning around, I close my eyes and take a deep breath before answering her.
“What’s up Al?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral.
I fail miserably, especially when a slim figure stops at the top of the stairs.
She doesn’t get time to hide her face this time, I see it clear as day.
It’s her.
Melissa Wright.
My heart stops, my breathing is again non-existent.
If this isn’t karma, then I don’t know what is.
I don’t bother waiting for Allie to answer me, I bolt straight out of the front door and into my car.
This cannot be fucking happening!
Chapter Six
Melissa
Well, so much for him not recognising me, my plan sunk like the Titanic did.
Spectacularly.
He didn’t have to say anything for him to tell me that me being here is a horrible idea, it was written all over his face. He thinks I’ve done it on purpose, that I’m here purely because I want something from him.
I don’t, all I want it a job.
It’s clear that Allie doesn’t know
about Liam’s past or she would’ve realised there was a tension between the two of us, I’m still standing on the top stair, my legs refusing to move.
He left. Just walked out, no goodbye or anything. Then again, I shouldn’t really expect anything less from him, it’s what he’s good at. Turning his back and walking away.
“Mel, you coming?” I hear Allie ask me.
Shaking my Liam funk away, I nod my head and force my wobbly legs to carry me down the stairs. If my head wasn’t so full of Liam Williams, I could’ve actually taken in my surroundings properly. Allie and Connor have an amazing home. It’s large, yet simple. I’ve just spent the last ten minutes with Syren in his bedroom and that little boy is so adorable. You can tell his mother and father worship him, his bedroom is full of all thing's music. He’s got guitars hanging on his walls that must’ve cost a small fortune, the kid is only three! The most important thing is we got on, he didn’t scream when Allie stepped out the room for a few moments. He didn’t demand that I leave, what he actually did was pat the floor next to where he was sitting and started to show me the toys he was playing with. Apart from the fact that he looks every inch like his dad, I saw no trouble in him at all, but really, how much can you tell when you’ve only spent ten minutes in that person’s company?
Liam spent two years in our family, we all thought we knew him. We all let him in, welcomed him into our home. My parents even treated him like the son they never had, included him in everything. From Christmases, to family parties, even holidays they let him join us on. It just goes to show no matter how much time you spend with a person, you never really truly know them. He treated my sister like the queen she was when they were together, they very rarely argued and if they did they would be making up within the hour.
Trust me, we shared a wall. I heard everything when I was in my room. I was never really jealous of Steph, she was my role model in life. She was beautiful, clever and everything she did, she excelled at. The only time I felt a ping of jealousy, was when she met Liam. I was at the awkward age when you couldn’t tell if I had boobs or not, my skin was breaking out in spots all the time and I just wanted a boy to look at me the way he looked at her.
After going over everything with Allie about my employment, I thank her again for this amazing opportunity and head out.
Come on, Mel. You’re stronger than this. You can do this.
I give myself a little pep talk as I get into my car, putting it into gear I reverse out of my parking spot and drive back the way I came in, before everything went tits up.
The automatic gates open up, allowing me to get my car through and onto the quiet little road. Only I don’t get very far. Standing next to his car across the road is Liam.
He’s just standing there, arms folded across his chest, a frown marking his features.
Fuck me, when did he get so bloody sexy.
No… no! I can’t think of him like that. He’s not mine. He belongs to my sister, he was her life.
I also know, if I get out of this car and acknowledge him I’m going to have to give him answers. He still thinks she’s alive and living her life. I may not like the fact that he left her but breaking him altogether was never going to be my intention. I always thought I would never see him again, I’m totally unprepared for this. Taking this job was supposed to be a fresh start for me, it was supposed to be my time to live my life.
Now it looks like I’m going to have to open up old wounds, let’s just hope neither one of us bleeds out whilst I do it
Chapter Seven
Liam
After I sped off out of Connors drive, I realised I couldn’t just drive away and pretend that my past hadn’t finally caught up with me. I’m a grown ass man now, it’s time I faced the music.
Deciding it was now or never, I pulled out of the gates and parked my car on the side of the road and waited. I knew she wouldn’t be far behind me, her interview thingy with Allie has got to be nearly finished.
So I sat and waited, and when the nerves finally got the better of me, I climbed from my car and paced the concrete. When I heard an engine revving from the other side of the gates I knew she was leaving. That was when my stomach started going ninety miles per hour, my skin started to become clammy and I’ve never felt so sick in my entire life.
This is my chance, this could be my lifeline to getting Steph back. I have to make her see how sorry I am, that I never meant to hurt her sister. That I will do anything for a second chance.
I will not screw this up.
I can’t.
Leaning against my car door, I fold my arms across my chest just as the gates open.
This should be fun.
Let’s see how long it takes her to notice me standing here.
3… 2… I don’t even get to one before she sees me waiting. Her eyes go wide, and even through the windshield I see her throat bob up and down with a hard swallow. I don’t move, making it clear that I’m not going anywhere and she has two choices, either face me now or I’ll just come back ten times harder till I get what I want.
Choosing the latter, she parks her car directly behind mine before pushing her door open and stepping out. Shutting the door, she just stands there with her hands behind her back, saying nothing.
This is bullshit.
Taking matters into my own hands, I make the first move, but before I get the chance to say anything or approach her my world comes crashing down around me, as two words I never thought I would hear leave her lips.
“She’s dead.”
My heart stops with aching thud, it splinters into tiny fragments and disperses beneath my ribs. Pain like I’ve never felt before takes over my entire body, someone might as well have stabbed me in the chest, I’m sure it would be less painful than this. My skin feels like it’s on fire, I just want to peel it off me and scream for this all to stop. My knees hit the floor, hard, my body a dead weight that can no longer be held up.
This has to be some sick joke she’s playing on me, her version of revenge for leaving her sister behind. I would’ve been told if she had died, someone from my family would’ve got in contact with me, even if it was just to tell me this information.
Surely no-one is that cruel and wouldn’t tell me. It’s not like I’m that hard to get a hold of. The band is always in some newspaper or on some TV show, it doesn’t take a genius to get in contact with one of us and leave a message.
At this point I can’t move; my entire body is now failing me. Everything hurts.
I blink a few times, you know, just to make sure I’m still actually alive and this isn’t some weird outer body experience I’m having.
Melissa takes a step toward me and somehow, I manage to lift a hand up to stop her, I can’t be anywhere near her right now. She can’t come crashing into my life, drop a bombshell like that on me and expect me to talk to her. For everything to be honkey-fucking-dory, no bloody way.
Forcing myself up on unsteady legs, using the side of my car as leverage, I get into it and somehow manage to drive myself home.
Letting myself in, I head straight to the kitchen and swipe the nearest and strongest bottle of alcohol I have in my cupboard, which just so happens to be a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka. Hopefully it will make me more numb than I already am. I don’t want to feel. I want to pretend that she’s on this earth, living and happy. Before I get mind numbingly drunk, I call the one person who I know, no matter how much she despises what I did, she will tell me the truth, a truth I know deep down is very real.
Dialling Demi’s number, I hold the phone in one hand and the vodka in another, taking a large mouthful as I wait for her to answer.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my long-lost brother the rock god, and to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Her sarcasm just rolls off my shoulders, I haven’t got time for her shit, so I come out and give it to her straight.
“Is it true? Is she dead?”.
My questions are met with complete and utter silence, but I don
’t miss the sharp intake of breath down the line, confirming all I need to know. That’s when I finally let the first tear fall from my eye and down my cheek.
Letting the phone slide from my fingers, it drops to the kitchen floor with a clatter, but I couldn’t give two fucks right now. I just stand there in complete shock for what feels like forever. I know what has to be done now.
Going to the cupboard under the sink, I grab what I need before I head back to the front door making sure it’s locked so no one can get in and drag my heavy body up the stairs.
I need to see her.
I need to feel that she’s still with me.
I was supposed to have time still. I was supposed to be able to fix the mess I left behind. I’m not a bad person, she understood what I wanted for my life… for our life and she allowed me to follow my dream to make it happen. It’s just somewhere along the way I forgot who I was and where I came from. I forgot all that mattered to me. Including the people I held dear to me too.
No longer able to take the crushing pain that’s overtaking my body, I unlock the door to Steph’s room, step in, and then lock it behind me. I need to be where she is, the need I have inside of me to be with her right now is so strong, and nothing is going to stop me from doing this.
Everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve achieved with the guys for the last ten years means nothing to me if she isn’t on this earth breathing and living her life.
Placing the vodka and the pot of sleeping pills I collected before I came up here by the closed door, I start circling the room, running my fingers over every single inch of the wallpaper. Her face was mesmerising, her bright green eyes sparkled every time we were together.
When I’ve finally finished walking around the room for the fourth time, I realise it’s time to do what my heart is telling me to do.
Syren's Rebirth (Syren Series) Page 3