“You survived! I was honestly waiting to get a call from you freaking out and begging to be taken back to land.”
I shot Mckayla a halfhearted glare and sat down next to Alexis. “Whatever. It was actually really cool, but now that I can say I’ve done it, I never have to again.”
They all laughed before breaking out in discussion of plans for the rest of the day. Mike mentioned that the guys wanted to take a buffalo tour, which sounded less appealing than snorkeling again. Mckayla suggested relaxing and lying out for the rest of the afternoon.
Talia looked at her like she was insane. “We can do that back home. We should do something more exciting!”
Mike spoke up. “Then go snorkeling with Cassie and Caleb. There’s another group going out together after lunch.”
I was shocked when Talia simply nodded at Mike’s suggestion. Had I not just finished telling them I’d never do that again? They were all crazy.
Alexis stood up and called for Justin and Mark to come sit with us. “Hey, guys, are you planning on going on the tour, or do you want to go snorkeling?”
Apparently Alexis had lost her mind right along with Talia. Was I the only one who knew the danger lurking in the water?
“We’ll go snorkeling with you girls if you want. I’ll go tell Caleb to save four spaces.” Mark turned and searched the patio for Caleb while Justin sat next to Alexis.
Sean had been quiet throughout the discussion and finally got Mckayla’s attention. “Would you mind if I went on the tour with Mike?”
She looked at him with adoring eyes. “I’ll miss you, but it’s okay. Aubrey and I need some girl time.”
He smiled and nodded to Mike. Maybe a bromance was brewing there.
I was relieved to be spending the rest of the day lying out. Vacations were meant for relaxation, and I needed it after the past couple of weeks.
After lunch, we separated and went off in various directions. We found a beautiful beach close by and laid out our towels.
Just as I was getting comfortable, Mckayla broke the silence. “What was going on with you last night? I know you didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone, but Tucker? Really?”
I groaned and kept my eyes closed. “He just invited me to hang out for the night. Andy told me he stayed the night here with another girl. Obviously nothing’s going to happen with us.”
“But why him?”
I could sense her moving, but kept my eyes closed, acting calm. “I wanted to meet more people on this trip. I know nobody approves of him, and trust me when I say I would never date him. I just wanted to hang out with someone new without having to go through you guys.”
“You want to hang out with other people?” She sounded hurt, and I instantly regretted the way I’d worded it. I opened my eyes and found her staring at me with a scowl.
“That’s not what I meant! I just mean everyone knows me as your cousin, or Mike’s friend. I wanted to just be me for a night. Tucker was actually pretty fun, but I’m not planning on trading you guys in any time soon.” I winked and lay back down since she seemed to relax.
“Fine, I guess I understand. We’ve kind of kept you to ourselves, but we just love you so much!”
I laughed with her and rotated to lie on my stomach. “I love you all, too.”
After hours of rotating, we decided to go back to the boat and shower before everyone else got back. As we were getting ready for the bonfire, the other girls came shuffling in. Talia and Alexis were talking excitedly about each fish they saw, but stopped when Cassie came in looking flushed.
Talia stopped midsentence and pointed at her. “We saw you two seconds ago. What happened?”
Cassie’s blush deepened, and she giggled. “Caleb kissed me.”
Screams broke out, and we tackled her in a hug and landed on the bed. Luckily the door was already closed, or the guys staying in the front room would have gotten an eyeful.
Alexis pulled up first and took Cassie’s face in both her hands. “Details woman!”
More giggling broke out as we untangled ourselves from each other and waited for her to spill. “He took me to the flybridge while everyone else came down here, and he told me how much fun he’s had with me and how happy he is that were officially a couple. Then he kissed me.” She shrugged shyly and looked at the bedspread she was rubbing her hand across.
We broke out in a chorus of “aw”s before there was a knock on the door.
I stood to open it and stepped back as Caleb walked in. “Are you guys okay in here?” He smirked like he knew exactly what was going on.
I nodded and tried not to smile too wide. “Yup, we’re just getting ready now.”
“Mhmm. Well, the boat will start taking people back for the bonfire in a few, so hurry it up.”
We agreed. I shut the door and fell against it, laughing.
Cassie stood and shook her head. “That’s so embarrassing! He totally knew I told you guys everything!”
Talia stood and grabbed her things on her way into the bathroom. “Whatever. He’s probably feeling pretty good about himself now.”
We broke out in laughter again, and Cassie’s faced reached a new level of red.
I was on my best behavior at the bonfire. There had been enough drama over last night, so I stuck close to the girls tonight. After a few s’mores, I started feeling sick.
“You were in the sun a lot today; you’re probably just dehydrated.” Mckayla’s logic sounded right, but I wanted to lie down. She put her hand on my forehead and sighed. “You’re on fire, hon. Do you want me to walk you back to the dock?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want anyone to miss out because of me.
I stood and told the girls goodbye. I hoped to avoid Mike, since I knew he would protest me making the five-minute walk alone. I slid into the darkness outside the reach of the campfire easily.
I continued along the path when I heard a snap from somewhere close behind me. I froze and listened for more movement. I only heard silence and convinced myself it was just an animal when the sound came again, closer this time.
I stopped and was considering turning back when my vision went black. My heart jumped to my throat when I realized someone was holding me against them. I threw an elbow back and made contact with a hard mass.
A male voice grunted. “What the heck, Aubrey. Why did you attack me?”
I spun and was face to face with Donny. My breathing slowed to a normal rate, but I was suddenly furious. “Don’t ever sneak up on a girl like that! I thought you were a murderer or something! Geez, Donny!”
He chuckled deeply and hugged me. “I’m sorry, little one. I thought it would be funny. Evidently it wasn’t.”
I punched his arm once before hugging him back. “Jerk. Why were you following me?”
“Talia said you were walking back alone and I couldn’t allow that, so I came to make sure you made it safely.”
I turned and continued on the path. “Good job at that. You scared me to death.”
He threw his arm around my shoulder. “I know, I’m sorry! I’ll announce myself next time.”
We reached the dock a few moments later, and instead of making sure I got on the boat and leaving, he climbed in behind me.
“Why aren’t you going back?” I didn’t want him to miss out because of me.
“I heard you were going to lie down and it sounded like a good idea. Mind if I join you?” He said it like he was suggesting something else, and broke into laughter before I could respond. “I’m kidding. I was planning on putting on a movie in the main cabin and putting together something to eat, but now that you’re sick I’ll take care of you.”
He was such a teddy bear sometimes. A large, muscular, intimidating teddy bear.
“Sounds good to me. Thanks for coming with me.”
Chapter 9
I was slaving over the stove when I heard the front door open. I stopped stirring and leaned back to see who was walking in. Carter stood there, wearing worn jeans an
d a soft-looking T-shirt that clung to his shoulders. He was holding a bouquet of white cabbage roses, my favorite.
“You brought me flowers?” I sounded like a lovesick teenager.
He grimaced. “Oh, this is awkward. These are actually for Brandon.”
I swatted him with a dish towel and took the flowers from him. “Well, he won’t appreciate them, so I’ll just take care of them.”
He moved around the kitchen as I cut the stems and arranged them in a vase I found hidden under the sink. I had to remember to ask Brandon about that later. When I turned back to the stove, Carter was looking down at the pans with his nose scrunched up.
“What is this?”
I moved next to him and bumped his hip. Taking the lid back, I covered the pan. “Chicken Marsala. What’s with the face?”
“There are mushrooms.” He still looked disgusted.
“Are you three? You can eat around them. I promise you’ll love it. Everything’s ready, so we just have to wait for Brandon.”
Carter began pulling plates and cups out of the cupboards. “I forgot to mention . . . he’s going to be late.”
“Why didn’t he call me?”
He shrugged and got out silverware. It was concerning how well he knew our kitchen. I wondered if he spent even more time here before I moved in.
“Well, we can get started, I guess.” I picked up a plate and dished out pasta and chicken and passed it to Carter.
After we sat down at the island, I watched him, waiting to see his reaction.
He grimaced slightly when he slid a mushroom to the side of the plate. He took a tentative bite and chewed slowly for a few moments. Then his face lit up, and he smiled at me as he swallowed. “You’re amazing!”
I could feel the blush spreading across my face.
“I mean, your cooking. This is the best thing I’ve had in a long time.” He was already scooping a huge piece into his mouth. I laughed at his enthusiasm and tried to act normal.
The last time we were really alone like this was at his house, the night he cooked for me after my panic attack. Soon after that, he’d kissed me on the balcony, something we hadn’t really talked about since then.
Now would be the best time to bring it up, since Brandon wouldn’t be home for a while. I took a few minutes to work up the courage as I moved food around my plate. I cleared my throat, and he met my eyes. He removed his fork from his mouth slowly, like he knew things were about to get serious.
“Can we talk?”
“You mean instead of eating?”
I stared down at my plate, suddenly enamored. “No, I mean, like, really talk.”
“I don’t understand.” He set down his fork and turned his body toward me.
“We just haven’t really talked in a while. Since . . .”
“Since we kissed?”
I froze. I wasn’t really expecting him to be so blunt.
“Aubrey, I was out of line that night. I never should have . . .”
“You regret it?” I had to interrupt him. I couldn’t hear him say that he never should have kissed me or that he didn’t mean it.
“Yes and no. I regret kissing my best friend’s little sister, but I don’t regret kissing you.”
I was silent, trying to decipher his words.
“Before your head explodes, let me finish. You’re seventeen. You’re in high school. You shouldn’t be with someone like me.”
I opened my mouth, but he held a finger up asking me to stop.
“You should be going out with guys from school and hanging out with your girlfriends. Competition season is starting soon, and you need to focus on that. You can’t afford any distractions right now. You’ve maintained a high GPA, and you need to maintain that and dance in order to get into your dream school.”
He broke eye contact and sighed. “So please, just focus on enjoying your life now. You never get this time of your life back, and I would hate myself if I was selfish enough to try to take it away from you.”
My heart was breaking with each word. He actually listened to me and knew what was important to me. He cared. I stopped for a moment and realized what I was thinking. I sounded delusional, but he was basically saying he liked me.
“So, I’m just supposed to pretend that there are no feelings here?” I gestured between us.
“There can’t be anything, Aubrey. That’s what you need to understand. You’re seventeen and I’m twenty-one. It’s illegal.”
I sat back, stunned. “It’s illegal for us to be together. Like, together . . .” I couldn’t even say it out loud. “But dating isn’t wrong.”
“Really? Your friends wouldn’t say anything? Brandon would be okay with it?”
Hmmm. I hadn’t even thought about how the girls would react, or Mike, let alone Brandon. Oh gosh, he would kill us both.
I let out a heavy sigh and felt myself deflate. “It meant something to me, Carter.”
Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could tell he was avoiding looking at me. “Me too.”
“So, we just go on as if nothing happened? You’re just another big brother to me?”
I watched him shudder from the corner of my eye. “No. I’m not your brother.” His voice had become deep and gruff. “I’m another friend. I’m here for you for anything, but I want you to enjoy being in high school. Enjoy being a teenager.”
“I can enjoy being a teenager, and dance, and get good grades while dating you.”
He rubbed his hand over his face, clearly as frustrated as I was. “It can’t work, okay? The sooner we accept it and move on, the better.”
“I don’t want to be with anyone else. Every guy I date hurts me, but I trust you.”
“Then don’t date anyone.” His eyes were pleading with me to listen. “I’m just asking you to understand. I don’t want to hurt you, but this is how it has to be.”
My shattered heart fell to the floor with each step he took to the door. Without a word, he let himself out, never turning back. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited. He would come back. He would never just leave like that.
Seconds had turned into minutes when I finally opened my eyes and allowed the tears to fall. He meant it. He didn’t want me.
Chapter 10
My alarm was my enemy when it went off Monday morning. I glared at it with half-open eyes, willing it to shut up on its own. No luck.
The only energy I had was wasted by flinging out one arm to turn it off. Something fell to the floor. I rolled over to the edge of the bed and saw an envelope on the floor that didn’t recognize. As carefully as I could, I slid out of bed and sat on the floor.
Turning the envelope over, I saw my name written across the center. No address, just my name. That didn’t make sense. I carefully opened it and pulled out the contents. This didn’t make sense. Did one of the girls drop this off last night?
Picture after picture of me from this weekend fell to the floor. Getting on the yacht, sitting with the girls in the room, sitting on Tucker’s lap, me in my bikini before snorkeling, lying out on the beach next to Mckayla, riding a bike through the town. They were all taken from a distance, not something a friend would take.
My breathing became shallow and my heart began racing. Not again. This couldn’t be happening!
I screamed out in frustration. Morgan was locked up! He wasn’t anywhere near me! There hadn’t been anything since the night of the formal. Why was this happening now? I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn’t realize I was crying.
Brandon burst into my room, calling my name. I sat up and looked at him from across my bed. He ran around and threw his arms around me.
“What’s wrong? Why did you scream?” He was searching my face for the answer.
I held up my hand, showing him the photos. I couldn’t speak; I could barely breathe. He took them from me and looked down, then back at me. He knew what was happening without having to ask.
My body shook with sobs, and it was becoming harder to breathe. I
looked at Brandon in desperation. His arms caught me as I fell over. He laid me down and took my face in his hands.
“Aubrey, you need to calm down. Please, just focus on breathing. Take a deep breath in.”
I tried to listen to him, but I ended up gasping repeatedly. Realizing this wasn’t working, Brandon pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest. He rubbed circles on my back as he pleaded with me to breathe.
After several minutes that felt like hours, I began to calm down. Brandon was on his phone, telling Mckayla I was going to miss school today. He hung up and made another call.
I was in a daze as he walked me into the bathroom. He started the shower and set out a new towel. Turning back to me, he put his hands on my shoulders and leaned forward to meet my eyes.
“Listen to me, Aubrey. I want you to shower and get dressed. The detectives we talked to last time are on their way over. We are going to talk to them again, but I need you back. You need to calm down. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
He dropped his hands and waited for a response. The most I could give was a slight nod. How could he promise nothing would happen? Someone had been in my room last night while I was sleeping. Someone was taking pictures of me again. I was being followed, and they knew how to get to me.
I showered and dried off with each step taking longer and longer. I didn’t bother drying my hair or fussing with makeup before slipping into sweats and a big T-shirt. Then my time was up.
Sitting across from the detectives on the ottoman, Brandon was quietly talking to them. He sat up when he saw me, and made room for me to sit next to him. I saw the photographs sitting between the detectives and was happy they were no longer in my possession.
The older-looking detective caught my eye and nodded once. “Ms. Tate, I’m sorry to see you again under these circumstances.”
Speech still seemed too difficult, so I shrugged in response.
“We’re going to do everything we can to figure out what’s going on. My partner called the facility in Chicago and confirmed that Mr. Carrington remains in maximum security and has no contact outside of his family.”
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