Honest.
She could deal with her issues with D later.
Andre, Brennen, and D were sitting in the small waiting room when Danick and Rhyder ran in, nearly colliding with the opposite wall in their haste to suddenly stop.
Carter chuckled, walking in behind them. He propped his shoulder against the wall. “Any news?” His eyes narrowed as he watched Danick and Rhyder attempt to sit down in the vacant chairs without turning green.
Brennen shook his head. “Mom and Dad are in there with her now.” He hid a smile as he watched the Corelsand boys turn white, then green, making a sudden beeline for the nearest bathroom at a dead run. “I guess D wasn’t the only one who had a bit to drink tonight.”
Drinking was the least of his problems tonight. Actually, it had probably caused a good portion of his problems tonight.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Bite me, Bren,” he automatically replied. He had changed out of his bloody clothes before coming to the hospital with these knuckleheads, but he could still feel it on his skin.
It was a feeling he never wanted to feel again.
This should have never happened. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been drunk tonight, opened his mouth, and opened a particular can of worms best left closed. If that hadn’t have happened, maybe Shanna would be tucked in safely at Del Corbott’s house right now instead of in the hospital.
More than likely, though, this would have happened some other night and turned out worse.
He sighed. Either way, they were both scarred for life. She would just happen to be physically as well as emotionally scarred.
D looked up as he heard footsteps heading in their direction. His father came into view, a smile on his face. Danick and Rhyder weren’t that far behind him.
“She’s awake and will be fine,” he said. “No permanent damage.” His gaze swept over them. “The Corelsand children will be staying at the house until Lisa gets back from Arizona and can get the house ready to take on three more teenagers. I was ordered to tell you Zeke is stoked to have you guys under the same roof as him.”
Oh, crap.
Well, this just got a little more awkward than he was comfortable with.
Finley’s smile widened. “You six are going to spend this morning, starting at six, moving all of the Corelsand’s things from the house here and in Suffield into Lisa’s and our house. Zeke, Nile, and Jarrett will be there to help.”
They all groaned. That was less than three hours from now. Apparently, this was their punishment for a night out drinking. The triplets were just along for the ride.
Finley pulled D to the side while the others celebrated and started working on a game plan for the move. D was confused, but went with it.
His father just probably wanted to make sure he was all right.
Dude, he was so far off base…
D watched as his father leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “There wouldn’t be anything else about tonight you’d like to tell me about, is there?”
He was going somewhere with this and D wasn’t going to like where.
Flashes of cornering Shanna in the bedroom, kissing her, arguing with her, and then…
He shook his head, forcing that line of thinking out of his brain. That would only complicate matters even more. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dad.”
Hey, just because he was sixteen and a junior in high school didn’t mean his father was immune to kicking his ass for stupid, drunken decisions.
Finley arched an eyebrow. “So, nothing is going on between you and Shanna that I should know about?”
Well, about that…
Hey, wait a minute. What the hell was this? His father had something on his mind and it was very unusual for his old man to beat around the bush like this.
Yeah, this couldn’t be good.
Yes, there is something you should know…but since I’ve had a traumatic enough night, I have the hangover from hell, and I am too emotionally drained to play twenty questions…I am going to go with the safe answer and say…
“Like what?” D leaned against the wall opposite his father, mimicking his stance.
Finley sighed. “I see that I am going to have to drag the answer out of you. Fine. We’ll play it your way for now.” He shot his son a look that clearly stated that he was not amused. “I’m not as out of the loop as you think I am, son. I know something happened between you and Shanna prior to tonight, but I let it go hoping you would come to me about it. I can also tell that something happened between the two of you tonight. You wouldn’t have been strolling around the Corelsand house and she would’ve been at Del’s instead of at home otherwise.”
Finley raised a hand as D opened his mouth, signaling his son to hold that thought. “And, before you protest too hard, let me just throw out there for the hell of it that she had been avoiding you like you contracted an infectious disease over the last few months. While your relationship with her has always been tenuous at best, I knew something was up.”
Well, Shanna had stopped avoiding him, technically. Now, all she thought of him was that he was a heartless bastard that preyed on his best friend’s baby sister while his girlfriend was downstairs. Oh, yeah. He couldn’t forget the part about having an alcohol related lapse in judgment in the form of a one night stand and bailing on her like the room had suddenly burst into flames around them and his life depended on escaping the scene.
Wow, that made him feel like a criminal. And a colossal jackass. As a matter of fact, so did this line of questioning from his father.
D ran a hand through his short mass of curls. “Shanna and I have always had a certain, ah, attitude towards one another that really does leave a lot to be desired in the communication department,” he grudgedly admitted.
That was an understatement of epic proportions. If she wasn’t threatening to cut off his manhood, she was asleep.
“As of late, we’ve had some run-ins that we decided not to deal with and tonight…” he continued, rubbing the heels of his hands over his eyes. “Well, let’s just say we dealt with them. It may not have been the most productive way to solve the issue, but we can’t take it back and we will both have to live with it.”
Finley raised an eyebrow, shooting his son a knowing look. “Care to elaborate, son?”
Nope. I choose life.
“Not really. I’m good. Honest. It’s between us. In case you haven’t noticed, we teenagers tend to like to keep things from our parents and prefer to make our own mistakes.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard something along those lines in the last two decades of raising children,” Finley said dryly. He laughed. “In other words, you would rather live than tell me you slept with your best friend’s thirteen-year-old sister.”
Well, when put that way…
Yeah, that pretty much covered it.
Wait—what?!
How the hell had he come up with that?
“Yeah, I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dad.” D scrubbed a hand over his face, his cheeks heating up against his will. His father knew he wasn’t innocent by any means, but still. It was embarrassing.
Come on, now. The triplets were his older brothers. Of course they passed their player ways onto him. He just wasn’t going there with his father about her. If he asked him about any other girl he’d been with, he’d sing like a canary and ask how much detail he really wanted. When it came to her, the truth was his and his alone to know.
“I think we’ve already established that I’m not stupid son.”
If only you were. This conversation would never have taken place.
“I never said you were, Dad,” D groaned out through his hands.
“Denton, look at me, son.” D uncovered his face, looking in the general direction of Finley. “Look, I’m not going to lecture you. I’m pretty sure we’ve had the safe sex talk more than once…” D groaned, covering his face again as Finley chuckled. “And, we both know Shanna isn’
t exactly a saint or just some young girl you drunkenly took advantage of. It’s been a long enough night for you, so all I’m going to say to you is this: I really, really hope to hell this wasn’t an instance of you being a typical hormonal teenage boy who takes what he wants without thinking about what his actions do to the other party involved or the potential devastating consequences. And I sure as hell hope your actions meant more than a quick roll in the hay. Both of you deserve more and you both deserve the truth. So, do me a favor and be completely honest with her and yourself.”
D uncovered his face and stared at his father like he’d never seen him before. Who was this man and what had he done with his father?
“Oh, and Denton? I really hope you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into, because I really don’t need to lecture you. Her living under the same roof as you for a few months should be punishment enough.” Finley held his son’s stare. “Understood?”
God, he really wished he didn’t understand.
“Loud and clear.”
“So…here’s the million dollar question of the night. What about Veronica, you know, your”—Finley covered his mouth and mimed coughing—“girlfriend?”
D swore and pushed away from the wall. Turning on his heel, he headed back to the waiting room to catch a ride back home with Carter without another word to his father.
CHAPTER 12
August 1999
Shanna walked into the kitchen, spotted D, turned on her heel and walked right back out.
D prayed for patience as he set his cereal bowl down on the counter and started after. Ever since that night back in June, she’d been avoiding him—déjà vu here—like he had contracted the plague. Again.
While it was really grating on his already thin patience, it was actually pretty entertaining to watch. After all, she did live in his basement.
Unless she was forced to, she didn’t so much as breathe in his direction. Let alone say a word to him. It was like history was repeating itself all over again. He had dealt with it at first because had figured she needed some space after the attack.
After the first month, he started to believe it was personal and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she was attempting to get over a traumatic event. By the end of the second month, he realized that this was going to be the norm until she moved in with Lisa.
Hell, she’d turned fourteen a couple of weeks ago and he hadn’t even been able to wish her a happy birthday because she’d refused to come out of her room until he’d left for work. Yeah, he wasn’t even going to go into what happened on his seventeenth birthday last month.
After two months of living under the same roof as her, which was freaking awkward in its own right, her avoiding him and nothing getting resolved was getting old fast.
He grabbed her arm before she yanked open the basement door. She swore and fought to get her arm out of his grasp. He let go, smiled, and pushed her back against the wall. He slapped both hands down on either side of her head and stared down at her.
She stopped struggling, her back stiffening. He had, once again, managed to effortlessly cage her in.
“Now, would you like to tell me why the hell talking to me has become so damn hard?” he demanded. “I mean, you really have never had an issue calling me names or telling me exactly what you thought of me in the past. I will take that over the deafening silence.”
She studied his chest, pretending to read the lettering on his shirt. She was purposely avoiding eye contact with him. She knew he could read her like an open book.
“Shanna.” He spoke her name with patience, almost like he was talking to a shy toddler. There was an undertone of pure frustration in that one word. “My face is up here. Look me in the eye and tell me the truth. That’s all I want. I can take whatever it is. I’m a big boy. Promise.”
Her light green eyes met his blue ones, her cheeks turning slightly red. “I can’t, D. Please.”
He heard the fear and hurt in her voice. A small piece of his heart broke for what this, what he, was doing to her. While he felt for her, he also knew there was something she was hiding from him. She was afraid to tell him what it was.
What bothered him the most was the question he read in her eyes. “Shan, I understand where you’re coming from. Believe me when I say that I really do. I can’t do anything about it unless you talk to me.”
She looked away, then back. “Where does Veronica fall into this little equation you have written on the board? How many times have you reworked the problem to get the answer you want?”
Damn. He had seen that question coming from a mile away. He was at a loss for words, even with the advanced warning.
And, wow, there was a lot of attitude thrown in with those questions, especially considering she had been the one avoiding him like a cat avoids water.
He stepped back, his throat dry. He opened the basement door, mumbling, “Go. Hide.” His voice was hoarse, the emotions he’d been trying to keep at bay evident in his tone. “I’ll come find you later to finish this.”
She looked at him blankly. She nodded quickly when it registered that the garage door was closing and the side door was opening. She slipped into the basement without another word.
Brennen found D on the couch in the living room, his head in his hands. He looked up briefly, swore, and buried his face again.
Brennen didn’t miss the pain written all over his baby brother’s face. He had the eyes of a hawk. “You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”
“Not yet. Though, that’s a distinct possibility in the near future.” His hands muffled his response.
What? It was true. If Danick ever found out about what had transpired that night at the party, he would kill him.
And, in all honesty, D wouldn’t blame him.
Brennen dropped into the recliner across from him. “What are you and Shanna fighting about these days?”
D didn’t even bother stifling his groan. “Fighting implies we were actually talking. My life doesn’t revolve around her, thank you very much.”
“Until recently.”
“Bren, drop it. I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“C’mon. Talk me. I’m only going to be here a few more days.” Brennen was on leave from his first command. He left in a few days to go back to Norfolk, Virginia.
As much as D loved having his brother home, he really didn’t want to discuss this anymore. “I would love to tell you, but I really don’t want my last memory of you to be you lunging for my throat.”
Brennen sat up straighter in his chair. “D, look at me.”
He uncovered his face, looking at his brother.
“Have you told Shanna how you feel about her?”
Shanna collapsed onto the bed that had once belonged to Carter and stared up at the ceiling. She swiped angrily at the tears streaking her cheeks, but she knew it was to no avail. The tears were going to keep coming of their own accord until she was cried out.
She snorted, giggling hysterically as a stray thought entered her mind, distracting her from her problems for a second.
I am the perfect example of the song All Cried Out by Allure. I have become that pathetic teenage girl.
How had her life gotten so out of control? Her life hadn’t been perfect at home—actually, it rivaled the ninth level of hell—but at least there she didn’t have the biggest mistake of her life so far thrown in her face daily.
To be honest, she wasn’t angry with Cristian or Kai. They’d both openly despised her from the day she was born. And, to be fair, at least she knew what to expect from them. It was kind of hard to be mad at someone who never pretended around you and was clear about their intentions and your worth (usefulness) from the start.
She just sucked it up and dealt with the hand she was given the best she could.
Until two months ago, she’s just taken the random beatings—they were far and few between, only taking place when Kai was home visiting. Kai using her as a human punching
bag was child’s play compared to what Cristian would do to her if she fought back. Cristian really tried to control her…ah…capabilities. Everyone was fair game, except those he considered within his inner circle. That inner circle included his step-son and there was hell to pay when she broke the rules.
The only reason she had fought back that night was because she was already pissed at herself. And, if she was completely honest, a lot pissed at D.
As stupid as the mistake they’d made that night had been, the resulting anger had saved her life. She honestly hadn’t realized Kai had stabbed her until D yelled it at her.
She really needed to stop thinking about that night. It was going to drive her insane. Nothing could be done about the events of the party and it was a waiting game when it came to the consequences of what happened when she got home from the party.
Shanna pushed herself off the bed. Once vertical, the world started swimming in front of her, the earth rotating on its axis. A sharp pain, like someone was hammering an ice pick into the back of her skull, wound its way through her head.
Almost face planting on the carpet, she fumbled to get her cell phone out of her pocket. Quickly dialing the number she’d memorized in case of an emergency like this—which was extremely hard when she was seeing double of each number.
She placed the device up to her ear, listening to the loud ringing.
After the fourth ring, someone finally picked up the other end.
“Houston, we have a problem,” she mumbled into the phone.
She blacked out before the person on the other end could answer.
D entered the beautiful colonial, weaving his way through drunken kids like a pro. He was on a mission and wasn’t going to be deterred.
Shanna was at the ER with his parents. She had insisted, weakly, that he still come to the party, that she would be fine. So right now, all he wanted to do was see his girlfriend and spend some time with her.
He grabbed a drink and went in search of Veronica. He headed up the staircase off the kitchen, taking a drag off the cheap bottle of beer he’d snagged out of a cooler in the kitchen. He turned left at the top of the stairs, heading straight to Veronica’s room.
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