by G N Wright
I make my way back to the car and find him leaning against it waiting for me.
He nods as I approach, “Everything okay?”
I nod in response, unable to voice the mixed feelings I’m experiencing right now after going toe to toe with both Elliot and Marcus.
“He’s gonna be heading home,” he says and we both know he is referring to Marcus not Elliot.
“You should be there when he gets back,” I say, finding my voice again. I consider Lincoln a friend, but Marcus is his family. I know how hard he is finding this divide between us all. I don’t want to add to it any more than I already have. He looks unsure so I continue, “It’s fine, Superman, honestly, just drop me home and go be there for him, he needs you more than I do.”
He nods and then surprises me by giving me a hug. My shock causes me to freeze awkwardly in his arms. When he pulls back, I can tell this kind of affection isn’t something he shows often. He isn’t touchy and overly friendly like Jace, he is more reserved and closed off, so the fact that he is opening up to me more and more everyday warms my heart.
“Let’s go,” he says, and I nod as we climb into the SUV and head back to the house.
Once inside I know there is only one solution to cheer up my day and I am grateful when I find Cassie and Helen already in the kitchen.
“Mommyyyy,” her little voice screeches loud and it speaks right to my heart and soothes me like it always does. It's amazing how someone so small can impact your life so greatly. She really is everything to me. I go to her, immediately sweeping her into my arms, as I come to stand next to Helen. They have a bunch of ingredients laid out on the counter.
“Sassy Girl, what do we have here?” I say, as I nuzzle into her hair stealing a cuddle, as she squeezes around my neck tight before pulling back.
“Cakes, Mommy, cakes!” She squeals excitedly.
“Want to join us, little rose?” Helen asks. I nod with a smile.
“An afternoon of baking with my two favorite girls?” I question, “There is no where I’d rather be,” I tell them honestly.
Chapter 16
MARCUS
Idrive around for hours trying to settle my thoughts. I am drowning in them. So many thoughts, so many questions, so many variables. I need to get to the bottom of what happened that night. That is where it all started, and it just spiralled from there. I can’t sit back and keep waiting for answers. I need to take them and that starts with my brothers and hers.
It’s late by the time I get home, I park my bike in the garage at our building. I spy both Jace’s Dodge and Linc’s SUV, so I know they are home, and an exchange with them is long overdue.
We haven’t been avoiding each other, more like I haven’t had anything to say to them, until now. I stalk in the door and both their gazes lift to me immediately. Neither are what I was expecting. They don’t look pissed or angry at me, in fact, they look as defeated as I feel. It’s time to cut the shit between us all.
I don’t want to talk about what has gone on between us or Jace kissing Elle, no. I have bigger fish to fry right now and it’s time I was let back into the fold.
“What did Elliot Donovan do?” I ask loudly, cutting past all the niceties and getting straight to the point.
“Erm...think you’re gonna have to be slightly more specific there, Bossman,” Jace snorts, while continuing to drag on the joint in his hand. Clearly, he’s stoned and the itch to ream him out right here, is as fierce as him locking lips with Elle last night, which plays on repeat in my head. But I can’t be distracted again.
“What did Elliot Donovan do to Elle?” I specify and they both give each other a look, it’s a knowing look and it fucking pisses me off. Jace goes to speak first but I cut him off, “Jace, don’t give me any bullshit right now, not today,” and that is all it takes to stop him from continuing.
I swing my gaze to Lincoln as he clears his throat, “You know, we can’t answer that for you brother,” he starts and before I can reply he continues, “But if you would stop being so reckless and thoughtless you would already know.”
“Oh yeah, how's that?” I ask.
“If you put your own emotions aside, you could have figured it out or Elle would have trusted you enough to tell you.”
“Oh, so she can’t trust me who she has known practically her whole life, but she can trust the two of you, who she has only known for a few weeks?”
“Maybe that's the point,” Jace interrupts, “Maybe, because we don’t know her, we see the bigger picture.”
I look between the two of them and they both share the same expression on their face. “So, you both know then,” I say and it’s not a question so neither of them answer. “Okay then,” I say and turn to leave.
“Where are you going?” Linc asks, and I don’t bother stopping to answer him.
“To be reckless and get answers,” I reply, before I’m out of the door and back on my way. I don’t hesitate in going for my car instead of my bike and I am putting it in drive and flooring it away from home before I can second guess what I’m doing.
It takes about fifteen minutes to get across town to the hill and it's a drive that is sickly familiar, once I get into the North Side of town. My dad and I used to drive this way home almost every day when we lived here. I push those memories aside until I find myself on track to Elle’s house or should I say Zack Royton’s? Who even knows at this point?
I arrive at the gates and take it in properly for the first time. The house is enclosed with a huge wall that has to be at least twenty feet tall and the large iron gates look more secure than a prison. I know the only way I was able to slip in last time was just pure timing and good luck. I won’t be so lucky again. I pull up to the front of the gates and notice an intercom, so I quickly wind down my window and press it.
There is a crackle of interference before a stern voice comes through the speaker, “Name?” Is all I hear.
“Marcus Riviera.” There’s no point trying to hide who I am. I’m almost sure everyone in there will know who I am by now, after what happened a couple of weeks ago. There is a pause, and no one answers me and just when I think I am going to have to buzz again, the gates start opening up slowly. Once they are wide enough, I drive through them and down the long road until I get to the front of the house.
It’s newer than most of the houses in North Hill and stands wide and tall across two floors. The front has large pillars on either side of the big black door and all the windows are trimmed in black too. I wonder mildly how long it’s been here and who lived here before they did.
I park and make my way to the front door but before I can knock it swings open and reveals Zack Royton.
“Little late for a house call,” he says, simply. It’s only then I register that I have no clue what time it is so I just shrug. “Are you drunk?” He asks, and I laugh until I realize how serious he is.
“No,” I say seriously before adding, “Hungover as shit but not drunk.”
“Are you calm?” He replies, and it’s then I can truly see it. I mean I felt it the day he hit me but now I really see it. That brotherly instinct. He wouldn’t let me close to Elle again if he felt like I would hurt her.
“Yes,” I reply, and he nods.
“Then you can come in,” he replies, stepping back and gesturing for me to enter. He nods his head over my shoulder, and I turn to see two guards that I didn’t notice approach us, turning and walking away. Very tight security.
I enter and stand in the hallway as he shuts the door and turns to look at me. We both silently assess each other before I break it, “Where is she?”
He doesn’t respond for a few seconds before he says, “You and I should talk first, come with me,” he doesn’t wait before walking further into the house and I have no choice but to follow.
I follow him into what looks like a home office and as I enter and shut the door behind us, he gestures to a trolley in the corner that has a decanter, of what I presume is whiskey, and four upside do
wn empty glasses.
“Want one?” He asks.
“Will I need one?” I reply, in return and his only response is to turn over two of the glasses and pour us both a drink. I guess that answers my question. He hands me the glass and gestures to the chair in front of the desk, as he takes a seat behind it.
“I’m sure you have questions for me?” he starts, as he swills the amber liquid around his tumbler before he takes a sip. When I just sit there, unsure of where to even start, he continues “I knew your father.”
Four words I never expected. What the fuck? How the hell did he know my dad?
“How?” I force the word past my shock.
He shrugs slightly before placing his glass on the desk and clasping his hands together with a serious look on his face, like he is unsure of what to say.
“Michael found me,” he says, simply.
“Why weren’t you with Elle and your mom?” I ask, quickly.
He frowns, “I wasn’t with Elle and Sarah King because I didn’t know about them.” I can tell from his tone, that me referring to Mrs. King as his mom, pissed him off. He continues, “I was adopted at six weeks old by my mom and dad,” he says, before adding “Helen and Arthur Royton, you met them last time you were here.”
I nod, recognizing his reference to the elder couple who were present the day I discovered Cassie.
“They were always honest with me about not being my biological parents but that didn’t change anything for me. As far as I was concerned, if my biological parents didn’t want me, I didn’t want them.”
“Is Elle’s dad your father?” I wonder out loud.
“No.”
“Is mine?” I panic, trying to figure out my dad's part in this.
“No,” he says again, and I seem to be getting more questions than answers.
“Then how did he become involved?”
“Michael contacted me directly when I was eighteen, he told me about Elle. At first, I wasn’t interested but then when I got used to the idea of her, I got curious,” he supplies, with a shrug before adding, “Apparently, Michael had always kept in touch with my parents and they all decided to keep me in the dark until the time was right.”
“Until the time was right for what?” I ask.
“For me to meet Elle. I wasn’t interested at first but then things changed.”
“And when did you meet her?” I ask, gritting my teeth, afraid I already knew the answer.
“I’m the one who took her from Black Hallows.”
I huff out a breathy laugh, unsure of what to even make of this whole situation. He took her from Hallows, from me. I should be mad, but I have a loop of conversations I have heard from Elle playing on repeat in the back of my mind and it keeps me wondering.
“Why?” It’s the only word I can come up with.
“Michael called me, told me--” he pauses briefly before continuing, “He told me she needed me, and I came,” he says, like it's just that simple. Like he didn’t change the course of things by doing that.
“Why did she need you?” I ask, warily as I replay the conversations, I’ve heard Elle have over in my head. I think about the day with her parents, what Lincoln has told me and how Jace has been acting. None of it makes any sense.
He remains silent so I push on, “Where does Elliot Donovan come into this? If this town was what she needed to escape, why has she come back? What happened to make her leave?” The questions barrel out of me as dark thoughts start consuming my mind, but I shut them down.
“They aren’t questions for me, Marcus,” he replies, grimly.
I nod knowing he means that it's something only Elle can tell me if she chooses to. I suddenly have the desperate urge to see her now more than ever. We have both walked away from one another, but that’s over now.
“Where is she?” I ask, standing up.
He stares up at me, silently assessing me before he sighs, stands himself, comes out from behind the desk, and heads towards the door.
“Come with me,” he says before walking out. I follow behind him in silence as he leads me through the house and towards a large set of glass doors. He puts a code into a keypad at the side and it beeps, and the doors click open. He waits until I’m next to him before nodding out the doors, it's only then I look out and across the grass at the back of the house to find another large house. Nowhere near the size of the mansion we are standing in, but still, large by most people’s standards.
“Up the stairs, to the top floor, last door on the left, code for the house is 1208,” he says, gesturing for me to exit.
I take a deep breath and look between him and the house before offering him a nod and making my way outside. The cold October air bites into my skin but it's a welcome pain, it reminds me that I’m alive, that I have something to live for.
I walk across the grass until I hit the path for the house, bypassing a large swimming pool. The house is dark and it’s only then I look at my phone and see it's almost 11pm. Fuck, probably way too late to even be thinking about doing this, but I’m here now.
I take a deep breath one more time and then punch in the code Zack gave me.
It’s only once inside and up the stairs I realize the code is my birthday. I don’t know what to think of that, so I just follow the directions that Zack gave me the rest of the way in the house.
I stand in front of the door for ten minutes. When Zack gave me directions to this room, I just presumed he’d meant Elle’s, but the sign on the door reads ‘Princess Cassie’. Fuck. What do I do? Is Elle in there? I mean, she must be otherwise why would he have told me to come here. The ache in my chest appears again and the tightness of it has me rubbing at it. Can I do this? Do I have a choice? If I want answers then I have to open this door.
I curl my fingers around the handle and press down as softly as I can. I’m not sure if Elle is going to be asleep or not but I can guarantee that Cassie will be and the last thing I want to do is wake her. I push it open as gently as I can and feel relief when it doesn’t make a noise. I step inside and push the door closed behind me.
The room is dark, and the only light is coming from a small nightlight on the stand next to the bed, but it allows me enough light to see around the room. I was right Cassie is asleep, but so is Elle. I find the two of them tangled together, Elle curled protectively around her, in a big spoon, little spoon situation and it makes me smile for the first time in weeks. I curse silently as it really hits me, for the first time. Elle is a Mom, she has a living, breathing daughter that is not only dependent on her but also completely devoted. Just like she is to her. I don’t even need to see them together to know that it’s all over this room.
The walls are covered in children’s’ artwork and pictures of them together. There is a bookshelf on one side of the bed filled with books of all sizes, a toy chest overflowing with toys, and stuffed animals. Next to the light on the nightstand, is a framed picture of the two of them pulling silly faces and the word ‘besties’ is printed on the frame.
I look back at the two of them curled together and I feel such a mixture of emotions. I imagined this would be my life one day, coming home from work to my family, to Elle. Now, here she is having it with someone else. Fuck it hurts, yet I can’t bring myself to care enough to leave. Yes, she lied to me, and I have no idea what is going on. Where the truth starts or the lies end, but if I keep walking away, I am never going to find out.
I take one last look at them and gently pull the duvet to cover them more. Elle sighs, cuddling in closer to Cassie, as a lock of hair drops across her forehead. I lean in and softly brush it away from her and she turns downwards, slightly offering me more of the back of her neck. I notice something there and lean even closer to take a look, immediately wishing I hadn’t.
Just below her hairline is a small tattoo of a star with the words ‘make a wish’ in script arched above it and an intertwined E and M beneath it. E and M, Elle and Marcus, the star, the quote, the tattoo is for me, for us.
&
nbsp; Not wanting to linger any closer and wake her, I move quietly across the room and drop into an armchair in the corner. I need answers and the only way I will get them is if I stay. I sit there for hours watching them. I don’t know when, but at some point, I must have fallen asleep, because next thing I know I am opening my eyes to be greeted with the miniature version of Elle standing right in front of me watching me sleep.
I almost have a heart attack; how did she even get over here without me hearing? Are kids supposed to be creepy? Is this like a thing they do? Are they actually little ninjas sent to scare you? As soon as my eyes lock with hers, she smiles, lighting up her whole face. Fuck, she looks so much like Elle. I open my mouth to speak when she dives onto my lap and covers my mouth with her tiny hands.
“Ssssshh...Mommy sleeping,” she says, with a giggle and a not so quiet whisper. I can’t help but smile. I look over to the bed and sure enough, Elle is still fast asleep, looking as peaceful as an angel. I bring my gaze back to Cassie and nod; she slowly drops her hands from my mouth. I don’t say anything, one, because she told me to be quiet and two because I haven’t got any fucking clue how to talk to a child.
She doesn’t seem to mind my silence as she jumps off my lap and speaks again.
“Come on, tea party,” she says, as she pulls on my arm and when I stand, she drags me across the room to a small table that has four child size chairs around it. She pushes me down into one before I can even agree or disagree. She rushes over to the bed and grabs a pink rag doll and an orange giraffe before rushing back to the table. She places them into the two seats on one side and then takes a seat next to me.
I have never felt awkward around a girl before, but I guess there is a first time for everything. She takes the teapot and proceeds to fake pour us all a drink and then passes one to me. I can’t help but laugh at what is happening right now, the king of the South Side Rebels is having a fucking tea party. I should care, but the smile on her face squashes any other thoughts in my mind. It’s a smile that makes me feel like I would willingly do anything for her, it’s exactly how I used to feel about Elle. Do I still feel like that? I look into the eyes of the little girl, who is half King and half Donovan, and for the first time it feels like that fact doesn’t bother me so much.