by Olivia Snow
Keep It Safe
KIS Series
Olivia Snow
Keep It Safe
Copyright © 2014 by Olivia Snow. All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: December 2014
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
www.limitlesspublishing.com
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1502937049
ISBN-10: 1502937042
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To anyone who read Keep It Secret...
This one is for you.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
Prologue
Vanessa
Seven months ago
“How could you do this to me, your own flesh and blood? You’re like a sister to me! I mean, if you did this to me what’s stopped you from doing it to my mom? I wouldn’t put it past you to sleep with my dad. You two always did have a ‘special’ type of relationship, right? How long has it been going on?” I shouted in the middle of the foyer, unable to stop myself.
“Okay, that’s enough! I’m sorry I betrayed you by sleeping with your boyfriend, but Gabriel and I had more than something physical. You have to understand he fixed something in me that was broken, something no one had ever come close to doing. It came at the cost of losing you, and I’ll never be able to forgive myself for breaking your heart.
“You’re the last person I would ever want to hurt, please believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you. As for accusing me of having an affair with your father? You’ve crossed the line there, Van. I let you belittle me, hit me, make my life at school miserable. Not to mention here at home, but it’s enough! I fucked up and I’m so sorry I did this to you.”
Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness, but I had no compassion left. After losing Gabriel, I found out he and Ava were messing around behind my back. And when I say messing around, I mean having sex. How is this my life?
I shook my head in disbelief. “See, I would maybe believe your apology if it wasn’t followed by a but. You are selfish and self-absorbed. You can’t see past your own big-ass ego. Anything you say is worth shit!” I stepped closer to her with my fist clenched. I was ready to punch her, again. Ava wasn’t one to back down from a physical fight or any form of fight for that matter, so she stepped right up to me without reluctance.
“I will knock your ass into next Tuesday, Vanessa. Don’t think I won’t. I’ve had enough of your fucking mouth.”
“I’m not afraid of you anymore, Ava.” The words came out through my teeth. I didn’t care about the future. All I knew was that I was mad, boiling with rage and it needed to come out somehow. Preferably, all over Ava’s pretty face. Daddy appeared out of nowhere, gently pulling us apart.
“All right, I’ve heard plenty,” he said. “It’s been a month of this constant arguing and yelling. You two are going around in circles! I’ve allowed it to happen for this long because I thought you would get past it, obviously that’s not happening.”
Aunt Rose tugged Ava’s arm to get her attention. “I agree, Ava. Baby, I think you should leave. Not because I want you to, but because you have business to attend to in Sicily. I think some time away from Colorado would do you some good.”
Ava swallowed hard before turning her attention to her mother.
There was a sickening part of me that wanted her to stay. I wanted to be the cause of her suffering on a daily basis. Another part of me didn’t want her to go because then I’d truly be alone. Ava’s presence provided a diversion; instead of being sad all the time I was angry. If she left, I’d have nothing but the sadness.
Chapter One
Ava
Present day
“Noccioline? Peanuts?” The female flight attendant asked.
“No, grazie.” I smiled tightly, and she nodded before asking the person behind me.
I was on my way back to the states, Colorado. Vail. Home—even though nothing felt like home these days. Since my father’s death six years ago, nothing has felt like home.
A lot has happened since I left, since Gabriel’s death. Losing Gabriel gave me the opportunity to evaluate what I was doing with my life, how I was living it. Instead of becoming submersed in alcohol, sex, and drugs again, I cleaned myself up. I would become a better person for him and live the life he was robbed of. He was my inspiration for living, and for not killing myself slowly with alcohol.
I’ve been sober for eight months now, ever since I left. It wasn’t easy; I was pushed to my limits. Those days passed in a blur. I had to increase my appointments with Dr. Parker to three times a week because we were both concerned I would relapse. Vanessa had even gone so far as to write whore with red paint on my locker.
For a while, she and Katherine Alexander had been joined at the hip. I was driven into isolation, and not even Mallory or Talon would talk to me. Soon after the locker incident, I had dropped out and earned my G.E.D. It seemed as if I had nowhere to go, and no one to guide me.
I was lost, so I jumped at the opportunity to go to Sicily. It had given me some sort of direction, at least for now.
But then Rose called last week and told me something was going on with Vanessa. I hesitated before telling her I was on my way. After all, we were family, and I was supposed to do anything for family. At least, that’s how I was raised. Even if the majority of your family disliked you, if they needed you, you went to them.
Zia Teresa, my Zio Enzo’s wife, didn’t seem to agree with me there. While sitting at the kitchen table, I had explained to her what my mother had told me and why I needed to leave. Teresa was always quick to speak her mind, and I loved that about her.
“What do you mean, you go back?” Her accent was thick. Even though I could carry on a conversation in Italian she was always adamant about improving her English and speaking it.
“Teresa.” Zio Enzo had spoken in a gentle warning, standing behind his wife with his hands on her shoulders. I ha
d known she wouldn’t want me to go.
“Zia, devo andare.” I took her hands into mine and gently squeezed.
“No, Ava you don’t have to go, to what? Ah? To abuse? To a family who, what is the word, disprezza—”
“Despises,” Enzo offered.
“Si, despises you. Perché?”
“Because it’s family, è la famiglia.”
She grunted, huffing out her reply. “Some kind of family.”
“I know you’re just saying it because you care.”
“Si.” She had taken my hands to her lips and kissed my knuckles. “Ti adoro, Ava.”
“And I you.” I had smiled at her, and at the man who looked so much like my father. He was quiet behind his wife, although he didn’t need to say what he was feeling. It was written all over his face. He agreed with her. I stood, and he’d stepped forward, taking me into his arms.
“I love you, little girl. You know you always have a home here.”
Pulling back, I sniffed, wiping away my tears.
“I know, thank you both for everything.”
“When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow, I already booked my flight.”
“The kids, they will be sad.” Teresa had looked out the window as the children ran around the lavender field behind their house. Gia squealed as her big brother Luca chased her with a dead worm in his hands. We all laughed when Luca told Gia he would make her eat it for stealing his toys.
God, I’ll miss them.
***
The night before I had left, I slept with the kids in the living room. They wanted one last night of indoor camping. Lorenzo took me to the airport.
“You call me when you arrive, yes?” he had asked, handing over my carry-on.
“Yes.”
“You know, Ava, your babbo would be so proud of you and the woman you have become. You are stronger, little girl, don’t ever forget that.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as we’d hugged. With tears in his eyes, he had pulled back, placing a hand on the side of my face.
“Be safe.”
“I will.”
While sitting on the plane, I thought about all that had transpired, and my imminent arrival. Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Bill had concocted a plan that would force Vanessa into speaking with me. I didn’t know what they had up their sleeves, but it must have been something big for Vanessa to want to speak to me.
The last thing she’d said to me was that she hated me. It made my heart ache to know I had caused her so much pain. I had messed up, and I didn’t know how to fix it between us, so I’d run. After all, that was what I was best at. My second skill, according to Aunt Cynthia, was what was between my legs.
Shit. That was what I was going back to—hate and name calling. Zia Teresa was right. I was going back to a family that despised me.
Chapter Two
Vanessa
I stepped out the shower, tugging a towel around my body. Even to this day, every time I walked in here I thought about the endless conversations Ava and I had. So much had changed in so little time.
After Gabriel’s death and Ava’s departure to Sicily, I spiraled out of control, but not to the extent Ava had after my uncle’s death. Instead, I started skipping school, and going out without my parent’s permission. Sometimes I even drank to the point where I didn’t remember anything.
I was fortunate enough to have Mallory with me every time I went out. She always kept me from doing something I’d regret or something else entirely. God, if it wasn’t for her I don’t know where I would have ended up all those nights. It destroyed me that Gabriel had passed so suddenly, but the twisted part was I felt more betrayed by Ava leaving and going to Sicily than her actually messing around with my boyfriend.
Gabriel was easy to fall in love with, so I could understand how that had happened between them. But when she left me alone, knowing she understood my pain, was detrimental. I was so mad at her one night in April that I took the keys to her truck from my dad’s study and went for a drive. Somehow, all I got out of the crash was a broken elbow, creating a nasty scar that runs down my elbow to my wrist. It took a while for me to be able to move it. Even now, I can’t move it the way I could before. The scar wasn’t the only thing that was different about me. I got an edgier haircut which was still long, but the layers were a lot more defined. I added platinum blonde and red chunky highlights, and pierced the corner of my upper lip. That sent Mother into a fit.
Inside, I still felt like the same shy Vanessa just with a little bit of a bite. I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be. The fact that I was still very young and had time to discover my true self was comforting.
I slipped into my room and dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple white t-shirt not even bothering to dry my hair or apply make-up. The intercom on my wall beeped before I heard Mother’s voice come through.
“Vanessa, could you come down here, please.” I walked over to the machine, not before bumping into my side table and almost knocking a lamp over.
“Sweet, baby Jesus, Vanessa, you’re a walking disaster,” I said to myself. Pressing the speak button, I replied to my mother I would be down shortly. As I headed down the staircase, Dolores, our housekeeper was dusting the glass chandelier.
“Hola Dolores,” I greeted.
“Buenas tardes, señorita Saint John.” She replied with a sad smile. Dolores was almost always upbeat and happy, which made me wonder if Mother had lectured her today.
“In here, darling,” Mother called from the virtually closed den. One French door was shut completely and the other was cracked open. I heard other voices and wondered who else was inside. I couldn’t see details since the glass was covered with curtains from the inside.
Pulling the door open, I came to a stop, realizing why Dolores looked so troubled. Ava stood directly in my path on the opposite wall of the room. She was pressed against the unlit fireplace. Her arms were crossed over her chest she looked tanner than usual. Her hair was longer than it had been when she’d left. She wasn’t wearing much make-up, if any—something I wasn’t used to seeing. It made her look a lot younger. She wore dark denim shorts, and a loose black V-neck shirt with black biker boots.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” I snapped, not breaking my gaze from Ava.
“Vanessa!” both my parents exclaimed. Ava’s mouth curved in amusement.
“You think this is funny?” I started storming in her direction, but Ava stood her ground, not moving an inch. Daddy stepped in front of me, holding my shoulders with both hands.
“You have got to stop this and actually use your words and not your fists,” he warned.
“She’s laughing at me.” I moved my arm around my father to point at Ava.
“I’m not laughing at you,” she said.
I stiffened at the sound of her voice. I was happy and pissed and nervous all at the same time. My heart was glad to see her, then my brain reminded me of what she had done. How she had betrayed me by sleeping with my boyfriend, my now deceased boyfriend.
Ava grunted with a displeased smile. “I would have expected something more original from you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, stepping closer as Daddy followed my every movement.
“Dying your hair? Piercing your face? Going out, partying, drinking? That’s how you decided to act out? By taking a page out of my book? I expected better from you.” She replied and uncrossed her arms. She was disappointed in me?
“Oh, so now you know better? Just because you spent seven months in rehab, all of a sudden you’re the Mr. Miyagi of self-harm? You know better?” I scoffed.
“So now it’s a competition on whose scars are deeper? Give me a break, Vanessa, I would’ve thought you’d have a thicker skin just because of the mother you’ve got.”
“Excuse me?” Mother straightened in her seat, a finger pointed at Ava’s direction. “If it weren’t for you, and your need to sleep around, she would have never started ac
ting out in first place!”
Ava threw her head back, cackling at Mother’s words.
“You’re delusional if you think I’m the only one that’s caused Vanessa problems. Look in the mirror, lady.”
“Enough!” Aunt Rose flung her hands in the air. “Cindy, if you speak that way to Ava one more time I will walk away and take her with me. I agreed to have her help you only if you kept your mouth shut. Understood?” We all stared at Aunt Rose in disbelief. I guess I wasn’t the only one who had broken away from Mother’s grip. All our faces lifted a little as Aunt Rose lowered her arms, except Ava was still in shock. It tugged on my heart, knowing why this would surprise her. She had never been defended by anyone, least of all her own mom. Mother nodded her head as she sat back down, folding her hands over her lap without a tantrum. Impressive, Aunt Rose.
“Now, everyone needs to calm down and sit. We have a lot to discuss.” Aunt Rose said evenly.
I eyed Ava, watching her every move, worried she might pounce on me at any second. After the multiple times I had punched her in the face, I knew she was going to get me back. Once everyone was seated, Daddy moved to the edge of his chair, placing his elbows on his knees as he spoke.
“Princess, your mother and I understand that these past months have been difficult for you so we’ve let things slide that we normally wouldn’t allow. The fact you were accepted into D.U. also cushioned the blow of your reckless behavior, but since the accident, we fear that if you continue on this path, you will inevitably kill yourself.”
“Wait, what accident?” Ava asked, sitting up from her slouched position that was unavoidable on the deep-seated cream-colored Victorian sofa. Both my father and Aunt Rose sucked in a sharp breath.
“You didn’t tell her, Rose?” Dad asked.
“I didn’t have enough time to tell her. She was in rehab, William.” She seethed, turning her body in Ava’s direction.