Twisted (Torn Series)

by Robinson, K. A.

  I had been clean for almost four years now, but I still missed it at times. When things got tough in life, my first instinct was to light up and send myself into a peaceful oblivion. Not that I would ever admit to that out loud; if Chloe ever found out that little tidbit of information I knew she’d leave me in a heartbeat. Living with her mother, she had dealt with drugs and alcohol her entire life and I wasn’t about to let it happen again.

  It still seemed surreal to me even after three months of being together that she was finally mine. I knew I didn’t deserve someone like her, but I sure as hell wasn’t giving her up. I was too damn selfish for that. I wasn’t sure what I had done in life to find someone like her, but I wasn’t about to start asking questions, I just thanked my lucky stars.

  I made a few more laps around the pool before making my way to the side and lifting myself out of the water. Swimming really had helped calm me, and I felt relaxed for the first time in days. Sure, we were far from done with her mother and I would be leaving tomorrow, but I knew Jordan and Danny would protect her while we were apart.

  I quickly changed back into my clothes and laid my swim trunks out by the pool to dry before making my way back around to the front of the house. Just as I reached the front door, it opened and Andrea came storming out. She completely ignored me as she made her way past me and down the black-top to her car. She jumped into her car and was gone in the blink of an eye. I shook my head as I watched her speed down the rest of the driveway once she made it past the gate.

  I stepped inside to see Danny and Jordan still sitting in the same spots as when I had left them. I took a seat on the couch and turned to Danny, “What was that all about?”

  “What? You mean Andrea storming out of here?” He asked.

  “Yeah, she almost ran me over trying to get out the door. She looked pissed.”

  Jordan gave me an easy grin. “That might have been my fault. I kind of got her stirred up. She came in here to complain to us about Jen kicking her out so she could talk to Chloe. Said how unfair it was since she brought Chloe here. I kindly told her to go fuck herself.”

  I laughed. “Nice, it’s a shame that I missed that show.”

  “Yeah it is, that woman is insane! Wait until I tell Chloe, she’ll get a kick out of it!” Jordan said as he continued to grin.

  “I’ll get a kick out of what, Jordan?” Chloe asked from the doorway.

  I jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to look at her. She was grinning from ear to ear, and I took that as a good sign.

  “I take it everything went well?” I asked.

  She made her way over to me and kissed me on the lips with enough fire to make my dick twitch.

  “Oh, it went better than well. I’d say perfect is a better description. Everything is going to be taken care of.”

  I smiled up at her; it felt like things might finally start falling into place for us after all.

  Chapter Five

  Chloe

  I looked down at my aunt in total confusion; if she wasn’t planning on sharing any of her wealth with my mom, then why was my mom under the impression she would be getting her share? I knew my mom wasn’t lying to me because she wouldn’t have tracked me down the way she had if she wasn’t getting something from it.

  “Aunt Jen, I’m confused. My mom told me you were leaving both of us a large amount of money.”

  She sighed. “Of course she did, that’s what I told her. It was the only way I knew she’d look for you. I have so many regrets when it comes to you and I had to find you before it was too late.”

  “If you’re not giving us money, then why did you want me here?”

  Her words blew me away; I had this whole speech about why she shouldn’t give my mother anything, and here she was telling me it was all a ruse. And what regrets could she possibly be talking about? Sure, I hadn’t been around my aunt much, but when I was she had always been kind to me, even letting me stay with her for a while after my mother left that summer.

  “Chloe, I’ve never done right by you. I knew what your mother was like and I never once stepped in to protect you. She would come here from time to time, asking for money to help buy you things, but in my heart I knew you’d never see a dime of it. I just kept hoping that she would change her ways and be the kind of mother you deserved. That summer you came with her I was so excited to see you both together. I thought maybe things were starting to look up for the two of you, but you looked so skinny and I could see the pain hiding behind your eyes. I thought it was strange how you kept yourself covered up all the time, but when you wore shorts that day and I saw the fading bruises you didn’t think anyone would notice, I went crazy on your mother. I told her to get out and that I never wanted to see her again. Naturally, she left and didn’t bother to take you with her. You seemed so happy to be here with us, and I wanted you to stay, but I knew you missed your home and your friends. I didn’t want to take you away from the life you had built for yourself, so I helped you get home, thinking I was doing the right thing.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes, “Oh Aunt Jen, don’t ever think any of this was your fault. You barely knew me and I’m not your responsibility. I did fine on my own once she was gone and I’m happy now. I really am.”

  “It doesn’t matter; I still should have taken care of you. Right after you left, my doctor found the cancer and I spent all my time in treatments. After a few months we thought we had it beat and I went into remission. I had so much to deal with, but I never forgot about you. The only thing I knew for sure was that you were in West Virginia, but your mother would never tell me where exactly. I searched for you for months, but your mom had nothing to her name; no taxes, utilities, insurance, nothing that I could use to track you down with.”

  I didn’t know what to say; living all those years being abused by my mom when I had someone out there who cared enough to search for me was mind blowing.

  My aunt cleared her throat before continuing. “About a year ago, the cancer came back with a vengeance. We tried everything, but nothing helped and I have accepted my fate. But I knew I had to find you before it was too late. Luck was with me when Andrea showed up on my doorstep a few months ago and started playing the loving sister when I told her I would be leaving part of my fortune to her. When I explained she wouldn’t get anything unless I found you, she put all of her time and energy into locating you, not knowing she was sealing her own fate.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at my aunt’s words. “I never would have guessed you were the manipulative type. I’m not sure whether to be proud or ashamed.”

  She started laughing, but it quickly turned into a coughing fit. I grabbed a cup of water from her bedside table and held it to her while she sipped from the straw. Talking with me was making her weaker and I felt ashamed.

  “Why don’t you rest and we can talk about this later?” I asked as I sat the cup back on the table for her.

  “No, I’m fine. I don’t know how much time I have left and I need to say what you came all this way to hear. I’ve already setup an account with over six-hundred thousand dollars in it with your name on it. Your mother thinks she is getting the same amount, and hopefully she won’t realize she’s been tricked until I’ve passed and you’re long gone. I worry about her reaction to all of this; I want you to disappear for a while once you leave here. I can’t stand the thought of her hurting you over me, but I had to do this for you. I had to make up for my wrongs Chloe.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want your money Aunt Jen, I never have. I just came here to stop you from giving anything to her. Give mine to Jordan, he deserves it more than I do.”

  She frowned. “Nonsense, you’re going to take that money if I have to force Danny to make you take it. I don’t care what you do with it; pay for your college education, buy a car, a house. It doesn’t matter, just never let her have a dime of it.”

  I leaned down and hugged her frail body. No one had ever shown me any type of kindness to this degree and I didn�
�t know what to say, how to thank her. Here she was, on her death-bed and she was more concerned with my welfare than her own.

  “Thank you, thank you so much. I don’t even know what to say,” I whispered in her ear as I pulled away.

  “You don’t have to say anything, just do one favor for me and we’ll call it even,” she said.

  “Of course, I’ll do anything you need, anything at all.”

  “I know you will, you’ve always been such a good girl. I want you to help Danny when I’m gone, he’s taking this so hard and I don’t want him to be alone. I know that he has Jordan, but he needs family. The sharks in the water will be circling the minute I’m gone, and I don’t want anyone to take advantage of my baby.”

  “I’ll stay with him for a couple of weeks, I promise. Danny has a good heart; I won’t let anything happen to him.”

  “Thank you, you’d better go before your mother tears down the door. Make sure to come back and visit me when you get a chance, but try to keep Danny occupied as much as you can,” she said as she was lost to another coughing fit.

  “I will, I love you Aunt Jen.”

  “Love you too sweetheart.”

  I made sure she was comfortable and helped her with another drink before leaving the room. I glanced around the hallway, but my mother was nowhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with her.

  I smiled as I realized my mother had been duped by not only me, but my aunt as well. Things were going to turn ugly when she found out, but I wasn’t worried. I had Drake, Danny, and Jordan to protect me, as well as Logan once we were back at school. I wasn’t the type to ask for help from others, but I knew I needed it when it came to her. She would be mad enough to physically hurt me if she got the chance, and if she had any of her friends with her at the time, things would go from bad to worse.

  Just as I made it to the top of the stairs, I saw my mother leaving and then Drake coming through the door just seconds later. I stopped and took a minute to look at him. He must have found the pool outside, because his hair was dripping wet and hanging down into his eyes as he walked from the door to the room I left him and Jordan in earlier.

  He was absolutely stunning, no doubt about it and I started to imagine myself running my hands through his wet hair. The mere thought of touching him had me excited, but I quickly pushed it away. If I didn’t, I would walk into that room and tackle him while Danny and Jordan watched. While he might enjoy it, I wasn’t sure I could say the same for the other two.

  I took my time walking down the stairs, trying to calm myself from my previous thoughts. When I reached the doorway, I stopped at the sound of Drake and Jordan laughing. While they had both agreed to try to get along, I had never expected them to be sitting together and laughing just a few hours after their fight.

  “Nice, it’s a shame that I missed that show.” I heard Drake say as he laughed.

  “Yeah it is, that woman is insane! Wait until I tell Chloe, she’ll get a kick out of it!” Jordan said.

  “I’ll get a kick out of what, Jordan?” I asked as I came around the corner and into the room.

  Three pairs of amused eyes fell onto me. I was surprised to see just how happy Drake looked.

  “I take it everything went well?” he asked.

  I made my way over to him and kissed him on the lips, letting all of my desire from the staircase flow into the kiss.

  “Oh, it went better than well. I’d say perfect is a better description. Everything is going to be taken care of.” I said as Drake broke out into a grin.

  “Glad to hear it babe.” He said as he pulled me into his lap.

  “So what was everyone laughing about when I came in?” I asked.

  Jordan started laughing again. “Nothing much, I told your mom to fuck off, she didn’t take it very well.”

  I had to laugh at the expression on his face; he looked like someone told him Christmas came early. “And why did you do that? Was she bothering you guys again?”

  “Nah, just bitching because Jen kicked her out of the room. I think I made her mad, so she took off. The way I see it, it was a two for one special. I told her off and she left; can’t beat those odds.”

  “You’re horrible Jordan, but I love it,” I said as I settled back against Drake’s chest.

  We sat and hung out for a while, talking and watching whatever show Jordan had the television on. Even though I was desperately heartbroken over my aunt’s deteriorating condition, I felt happy, the happiest I had since my mother found me and offered me this ridiculous proposition. Things were far from over, with Danny getting the worst of it, but I felt that things might actually work out in my favor now that I had talked to my aunt.

  As Drake and I sat together on the couch, I felt his hands start roaming under my shirt, across my stomach, my ribs and my hips. I relaxed back into him and let his hands take over, calming me. I hated that he would be leaving tomorrow and since I had agreed to stay with Danny until everything was settled, I knew it would be at least a few weeks until we were together again. That thought dropped my spirits a bit and Drake must have felt my body tense up.

  “You alright baby, something bothering you?” He leaned forward and whispered in my ear as he continued to rub my stomach.

  His breath tickled and I shivered. “I’m fine, just thinking about stuff.”

  He nodded. “Want to go take a walk with me?”

  I turned and raised my eyebrows at him. From the expression on my face, he knew what I thought he was hoping for.

  “I didn’t mean that kind of walk, unless you’re up for that. If you are, I’m definitely talking about that kind of walk,” he said as he gave me that devilish smile.

  I elbowed him in the ribs as I stood. “I’ll take a walk, but that’s all you’re getting buddy,” I turned my attention to Danny and Jordan, “We’re going for a walk, we shouldn’t be gone long.”

  “She’s lying, it could be a while so don’t bother us.” Drake said as he took my hand and led me toward the door.

  I saw Jordan frown and roll his eyes, but thankfully, he said nothing.

  Once we were outside, Drake pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. His tongue came out to trace my bottom lip and I moaned at the sensation.

  I pushed him back and grinned. “I told you it wasn’t that kind of walk.”

  “Can’t blame a guy for trying can you? Let’s walk around back; they have a killer pool in the back-yard.”

  I couldn’t deny that, my aunt’s pool put smaller pools to shame. As we rounded the corner of the house, I took in just how vast it really was. I still had my bikini on under my clothes, so I stripped off my shirt and shorts and ran to the edge of pool before glancing back at Drake. “Want to go for a swim?”

  He laughed as he started walking to the changing station. “You go ahead, I think I’ll just admire the view for a while.”

  I rolled my eyes as I turned back toward the pool and dove in. The water felt warm and refreshing and I relished the sensations as they rippled across my skin. There was something about the water that just calmed and centered me, much like our spot at the “Cheat Lake”. My head broke through the surface to see Drake standing by the edge watching me with an evil glint in his eyes.

  “Drake, what are you doing?” I asked.

  He simply smiled at me as he took a few steps back to get a running start before jumping into the pool next to me. I squealed and tried to get away as the water from his cannonball hit me.

  He surfaced quickly and started laughing at me. “What’s your problem? You’re already wet anyway!”

  I splashed water at him as I made my escape. “Still, you didn’t have to splash me you idiot!” I shrieked.

  He laughed as he lunged for me. I almost escaped, but he caught my ankle at the last-minute and pulled me back to him. I thrashed around but it was useless, next to him I was no match.

  “Just where do you think you’re going?” He asked as he fought to hold onto me.
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  “Nowhere apparently, you’re holding me prisoner.” I said as I stopped struggling and let him pull me back.

  He pulled me up tight against him and kissed me softly. “I like seeing you happy and smiling, worried doesn’t suit you baby.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been such a downer, I’ve been so focused on this whole mess we haven’t even celebrated your tour. Why don’t we go out tonight and have dinner somewhere, just the two of us, to celebrate? My treat.” I said as he kissed the tip of my nose and let me go.

  “That sounds like a plan, I’d like to spend some time with you before I leave tomorrow. I need to call Jade and the guys to make sure they remember to pick me up. My luck, Adam will be driving and completely forget about me.”

  I giggled as I pictured Adam doing just that. “Jade and Eric will keep him in line. Besides, they won’t get very far without their lead singer.”

  “Good point. I still wish you were going with me tomorrow though. I hate leaving you here like this, it’s my job to protect you,” he said as a frown darkened his beautiful features.

  I lifted my hand and ran it down his cheek. He caught my hand and brought it to his lips to kiss. “Don’t worry about me, Danny and Jordan will be here with me. They won’t let me out of their sight.”

  “Still doesn’t mean I won’t worry about you. Jordan and I had a little talk while you were with your aunt. I think we’ve got things figured out between us.”

  I raised an eyebrow, “Really? Was all that laughing I heard actually male bonding?”

  He laughed, “I wouldn’t go that far, but we have an understanding I guess you could say. And I made sure that he and Danny will be around you all the time. I just hope you only have to spend a few more days here, I’m going to go insane without you around.”

  I suddenly found the water very interesting so that I didn’t have to meet his gaze. I wasn’t looking forward to telling him that I wouldn’t be with him for a few weeks.