by Nicky Shanks
I wipe a tear from my eye. “That’s gorgeous.”
She giggles. “I’m sure I read it on a fortune cookie somewhere.”
I laugh through my tears and we go back to stuffing our faces with the delicious spread of food surrounding us. I don’t want to keep pushing her until she gets annoyed with me and shuts me out completely.
“Oh, I never asked you…how do you know Lucy?”
I freeze. “Oh…I, uh…we grew up together.”
“You did? That’s awesome!”
I laugh nervously. “Yeah, we had lunch after she moved to town, but she never spoke to me after that. I’m not sure what that’s about.”
She waves me off. “I’m sure she’s just busy. I don’t see her as being petty like that.”
“How do you know her?” I ask.
“Oh, she was dating Casey for a short period of time but broke it off with him. I met her through him but I haven’t really hung out with her other than class.”
I snort. “She broke up with him because he’s in love with you too?”
Her cheeks flush. “Something like that.” She looks at the clock on the wall next to us. “Oh, I better finish up and grab Oliver. Staci won’t like that I’ve made her wait so long to start our girls’ night. We’re detoxing ourselves from men.”
I laugh. “Sounds brutal.”
We collect our trash and clean up our table before waving at the cafeteria workers as we leave the room. The ride back up to Brandon’s room is awkward again, like we’re going full circle on the openness we just had minutes before.
Brandon and Oliver both look like they’re up to something when we enter the room.
“Hey, girls.” Brandon chuckles. “Did you bring any more ice cream?”
“How long have you been awake?” I ignore his question. “I would’ve come sooner.”
He waves me off. “Jackson’s been keeping me company. He shared his food because he’s a good man.”
Oliver chuckles. “Something like that.” He looks at Julie and reaches for her hand. “You ready to get going? It’s getting late.”
She nods. “Ready.”
I watch them say their goodbyes and when the door closes behind them, I get a bad feeling.
“What’s wrong?” Brandon asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t know; something isn’t right. He’s hiding something.”
He groans. “Don’t get into that. It’s none of our business.”
“He’s hiding something,” I say again, glaring at him. “Something bad.”
And I’m going to find out what it is.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Brandon
My mouth feels like I’ve been eating moist sandpaper when I wake up. The room is dimly lit and I expect to see Heather curled in the chair next to me, sleeping soundly. Instead it’s Oliver, and he’s scrolling through his phone, not paying attention to me shuffling around in the bed. I push the button to sit up so I can be at eye level with him and he finally notices, putting his phone away and clearing his throat so the awkward conversations can begin.
“Hey…how you feelin’?” He tries his best to make small talk, but we both know it’s going to take more than something like this to get us to see eye to eye. “I, uh…Heather and Julie went down to get something to eat.” He shakes a brown bag at me. “You ready for a cheeseburger?”
I groan. “Anything is better than the shit they serve the patients here.”
He hands the bag to me and I start to inhale the fries before unwrapping the burger. The smell of the greasy goodness in front of me makes my stomach grumble and he laughs, standing up to grab me some water and turn the overhead lights on. I take the water from him and put it beside me before shoving the food in my mouth so we won’t have to have a conversation.
He goes back to looking at his phone like I don’t even exist.
“So, you got stuck babysitting me, huh?” I smash the wrapper of the cheeseburger between my hands. I put the bag on the table next to me and pick up the glass of water.
He nods. “Something like that. Heather didn’t want to leave you alone and Julie insisted on Heather getting something to eat, so…here I am.” He holds his hands in the air.
“Well, thanks.”
He snickers and crosses his arms over his chest. “Don’t thank me yet. Don’t get this twisted—I still fucking can’t stand you for what you’ve done to Julie. Saving her from those crazy fucking good-for-nothing drug addicts was decent enough—even for you—but that doesn’t erase all the bad shit you’ve done to her. Heather wants to be friends with us, fine. But you better watch it and tread lightly.”
I take a drink of the water and put the glass back down. “So you’re going to ruin it for everyone because you can’t get over something you weren’t even a part of?”
He growls. “You smacked her around, manipulated her…made her think that she was nothing…and forced her into marrying you. I’m not ruining shit for anyone.”
I’m suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “You know about that?”
He nods. “I know about that.”
“Why haven’t you said anything until now?”
He clears his throat. “Because I don’t find it necessary to remind Julie that someone can be that malicious and scary. I want her to trust me; I don’t need to give her a constant reminder that she can’t fully be mine until she breaks free from your mistake. She deserves better than that.”
I nod. “Yeah, but she also deserves to be told the truth.”
He laughs. “Right? She really does.” He glares at me and then sighs loudly. “Look, the way Julie is, I’m sure her and Heather are best friends by now. Which means—no matter how fucked up it is—we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I’m going to keep this to myself until I feel like it’s the right time to tell her, and you’ll do the same, yeah? Your only job is to get it taken care of.”
“I’m getting it taken care of.”
“Good.” He nods and checks his phone. “They’re on their way back. Let’s paint some smiles on our faces and pretend for our girls, okay?”
“Fine,” I growl. “But this isn’t over.”
He blows out air. “It’s over.”
The door opens, and Heather and Julie float into the room with us. They’re laughing and have smiles on their faces, which makes me jealous that Oliver can’t get over himself and just let things be. They stop and look at the two of us, shaking their heads.
I have to make this believable. Quickly.
“Hey, girls.” I chuckle. “Did you bring any more ice cream?”
“How long have you been awake?” Heather ignores my question. “I would’ve come sooner.”
I wave her off. “Jackson’s been keeping me company. He shared his food because he’s a good man.” I nearly choke on my words and Oliver shakes his head in annoyance, but no one notices but me.
He fakes a chuckle. “Something like that.” He looks at Julie and reaches for her hand. “You ready to get going? It’s getting late.”
She nods. “Ready.”
They say their goodbyes, and when the door closes behind them, Heather gets a sour look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know; something isn’t right. He’s hiding something.”
I groan. “Don’t get into that. It’s none of our business.”
“He’s hiding something,” she says again, glaring at me. “Something bad.”
“I said leave it alone.” My voice lowers. “Just let them be. Worry about us—not them.”
Her eyes narrow. “You know something.”
“I don’t know anything.”
She sits in the chair Oliver was in and shakes my arm. “Tell me.”
“He knows about the marriage,” I blurt out. “He knows.”
She gasps and the air in the room gets stagnant. I don’t know what’s worse: having Oliver know how I treated Julie, or him knowing I had to trick her into
marrying me when all he had to do was ask once. I’ll admit, that part pisses me off a bit. Things just seem to happen for him; everything I’ve seen since we crossed paths validates the fact that things just come easy for him…for everything.
It’s hard not to be jealous of a guy like that.
“Well, is he going to tell Julie he knows?” She narrows her eyes at me again. “You two looked pretty chummy when we walked in just now…did you tell him to shut his mouth and let it get taken care of?”
I nod. “Something like that. He’s not going to let her know he knows. He told me that much.”
She exhales softly. “Good. Julie and I had a good time in the cafeteria—we were laughing and it felt like we were headed in a good direction. I don’t want Oliver to screw that up because he can’t let anyone else near her.”
I laugh. “Let’s just worry about us for a minute, okay?” Worry fills her eyes and I know I’ve said the wrong thing. “What’s wrong?”
I take her hand in mine and pull her to the bed with me. I’m just bruised and fractured, nothing really major, so it doesn’t hurt as much as I think it will when she snuggles in beside me. She carefully puts her arm over my stomach and breathes in deep, something she does when she’s satisfied and sleepy. I smile and kiss the top of her head, feeling her grip the side of my gown.
“Nothing is wrong,” I say. “I just don’t want to lose focus on us when we’re trying to win over our new friends. Oliver is going to be a bigger challenge, but Julie will take care of that, I’m sure. I’m glad you two had fun down there.”
Heather smiles against the fabric of the gown. “We did. It was nice not having to try so hard for once.” She sits up and stares into my eyes, a serious look on her face. “Do you think we’ll ever get married?”
I nearly choke. “Why are you asking that?”
She shrugs. “Just wondering. I mean, I’m definitely not ready right now, and we made that pact to be together for a year, but…I don’t know. Sometimes I fantasize.”
“You do?”
“Well, yeah. Of course I do. Don’t you?”
I want to say the right thing here, but I’m not going to lie to her.
Do it, Brandon. Say what she wants to hear.
“I—uh, yeah, maybe sometimes.”
Her laugh fills the room and she snuggles back into her place on my stomach. “You’re such a bad liar. I can see right through you. It’s okay if you’re not there yet. I’m not angry.”
“You’re not?”
“No.” Her voice gets low and she yawns. “There’s a lifetime of things I can get mad at you for. If I pouted my lips and threw a fit every time I don’t like what you have to say, well…there’s really no point in being together, because how can we be happy?”
Jesus. This woman knows how to tug at my heartstrings.
“I love you,” I whisper, and my eyes pop open so wide the air stings them.
She lifts her head slowly and looks at me. “What?”
Oh, shit.
I clear my throat. “I—uh, well…I love you.”
I wait for something to happen.
She starts to cry but wipes her tears before they fall down her cheeks. “I love you too.”
Well. There it is.
What are the rules of love again? I lost my way with Julie. I broke all the rules of making her happy.
It’s not going to happen again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Oliver
The headlights shine on the front of Staci’s townhouse as she opens the door and waves Julie inside. I can feel Julie’s hesitation just by sitting next to her; I know she just wants to forget everything and move on with our lives.
I can’t do that.
I love her more than myself.
I can’t be with her right now.
Not when I’m lying to her and she’s lying to me.
My head hurts so bad from thinking about it that I hardly hear her voice when she turns to face me and takes my hand into hers, intertwining our fingers together. “Did you hear me?”
I clear my throat. “No, sorry.”
She giggles. “I asked when you’d be back for me.”
I want to wrap her in my arms and never let her go.
“Whenever you’re ready,” I tell her. “You just call me and I’ll be here.”
She climbs into my lap with little effort and I hold her against me as tightly as I can manage. Staci notices and shuts the door to give us some privacy. My fingers run through her hair and I know I have to let her go, but I can’t make myself release the grip I have on her.
“Do you hate me for this?”
Oh, Jesus.
How can she even ask me that?
My lips find hers and I smash them together, tugging at the ends of her hair. She eases into me, tears running down her cheeks and making our lips salty as they glide against each other.
“There’s nothing—” I kiss her lips and she giggles, making my dick harden underneath her weight. “—that you can ever do—” Her thighs grip the sides of my legs and I run my hands down her back, stopping at the roundness of her ass and cupping it inside my hands. “—to make me hate you.”
Her laugh sets it off for me.
“Take me home,” she breathes into my ear. “We can deal with this shit later.”
I try so hard to let her go, I really do.
“That’s the problem: We always put our shit on the back burner until it’s too late. Let’s just take a few days to get our heads straight and have dinner to talk about everything. I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
“Me, either.” She pouts. “But if you want me to go, I’ll go.”
I stop her from sliding off of me. “Don’t get it twisted. I want you every single way I can have you.”
Her laugh makes my dick harder.
“I know that.” She winks. “But you’re right. We’re always so stupid with things, we need to slow down and do it right. Because when I marry you…” She presses her lips to mine again and moans lightly into my mouth. “It’s going to be the best day of my life.”
My heart stops beating.
“I can’t believe I found you again. I can’t believe you’re real,” I whisper, brushing her hair from her face. “You have no idea how badly I can’t lose you again.”
Staci flashes the porch light for Julie to hurry up and come inside. “She’s waiting for you. Go have your girl time and do girl things. Get ready for what’s to come.”
She laughs again and slides off of me, rubbing her thighs against my already-hard dick as she passes. I try to think about something else to make it go away.
“And what’s that?”
I clear my throat and roll down the window, letting in the much-needed chilly October air. “We’re laying it all out on the table, all our secrets. We’re moving into the new house and we’re going to start planning our wedding. In that order.”
She makes a sexy agreeing noise. “Yes, sir.”
I have to get her out of here before I change my mind.
“Oh, one more thing before I go.” She finds my eyes in the darkness. “I want you to go visit your mother at the jail.”
I have to stop myself from laughing at her. “You can’t be serious.”
“She needs you…you didn’t see her at that cabin, Oliver. She wants out of that life, she just doesn’t know how.”
I shake my head. “No fucking way. She’s not coming anywhere near you.”
“Please? For me? Just go talk to her. Just you and her.”
Her eyes are full of wonder and hope, so it’s hard to tell her no. “Okay.”
She puts her hand on the door to step out, but before she does, her eyes meet mine again and a fire burns in them. “Promise?”
I nod. “I promise. I’ll go in the morning.”
“Thank you. I love you.” She kisses my cheek and gets out of the car before I can change my mind.
Anything for you, Julie.
She waves at me fro
m the doorway and Staci gives me the finger before she closes the door behind them. I think about how we came to all of this all night, and as I drive to the police station and park in the visitor lot the next day.
Casey begged me to be his wingman to capture Nora.
I picked Julie up and felt something for her; I didn’t know then that she’s the girl with the electric eyes from my past.
Julie cut her leg and I whisked her to the hospital, where I realized I was in love with her.
She left me and then came back to me.
She told me she loves me.
She found out she might be pregnant and I almost died rushing to her after a fight.
My mother tried to extort money from me by getting to Julie…
There we go.
There’s the hatred I have for that wretched woman.
Even as I sit in a small room with a large two-way mirror behind me, the hate I have for her radiates into the room and makes it warm.
“Son,” I hear her faint voice say as the door opens. “What are you doing here?”
Here we go.
“I promised Julie I would come.” I watch her fragile body walk around the table in handcuffs, and the orange jumpsuit is three sizes too big for her. “She sees something in you that I know isn’t there.”
Veronica cries. “I know she does. She’s a good girl.”
Well, this is unexpected.
“She is. I promised her I would come, but I don’t know what she wants me to do. She thinks that you have regrets, that you were forced into kidnapping her for money. You and I both know that’s a fucking lie.”
She doesn’t look surprised. “It’s not a full lie. I do regret it. I regret letting Mac pull me into something like this for the millionth time.”
“You’ve done this before?”
She shakes her head, her brittle once-blonde hair falling in her face. “Not something like this. I’m really fucking sorry, kid. I’m a real messed-up mom, huh?”