Painted Lines

by Brei Betzold

“Okay, and Thayne we need to talk soon.”

  He sighed and bit his lip. “I know, and I know what you’re going to say. Just can we wait until we’re both in San Diego? I know you need time, it won’t change anything between us. Just give us this time now, when we’re both living in the same city full-time we can deal with the rest.”

  “If you’re sure,” I said uncertainly.

  “I am, and I love you, Bella.”

  I leaned up and brushed my lips against his, “Love you too, be back in a while.”

  I walked out of the house climbing in his car heading for his apartment to pick up Nikki, who I had already called. On the drive over I thought over what Thayne said, we both understood that I wasn’t in a place to pursue this much further. I had to get my life straight before we did that, but just enjoying each other for this time before reality sets in sounded like a good idea. Then again, it may make things more difficult later on. Who knows? But I was going to enjoy this time while I had it, we could deal with the future later.

  I pulled up in front of the apartment and looked around for Nikki. She said she would be outside waiting for me, but I didn’t see her anywhere. I turned off the car and made my way up the stairs to their apartment. She had probably decided to change her outfit, again. I really did not understand teenage girls, maybe it was because I never really was one, or because I was raised and surrounded by men. I didn’t think I would ever understand the need to go through every piece of clothing you own just to go out shopping.

  I knocked on the door and waited for Nikki to open the door, only there was nothing. I knocked harder this time, when she once again didn’t answer I sighed. She had better be ready to go. I couldn’t stay out long before my phone started ringing with Thayne wanting to know where I was.

  I tried the doorknob and it turned in my hand, I walked in shaking my head at the girl.

  “You know,” I called, “your brother would have a stroke if he knew you kept the door unlocked while here by yourself.” I shut and locked the door. Then went in search of Nikki, I heard a noise from her room and groaned. “You had better be dressed and ready, we don’t have much time.”

  I walked in her room and jolted to a stop. Nikki laid on her bed, her arms were duct taped together, her lips taped close and eyes wild. I immediately started searching around the room for whoever had done this, then I heard his voice behind me.

  “Well, well little one, you’ve grown up to be as beautiful as I knew you would.”

  My stomach lurched at the sound of that name rolling off his tongue. Nikki’s face paled further and her eyes widened. I felt him grab me by the hair and pull me back towards him, I was numb to the pain, fear had taken hold. I couldn’t let fear take whole, I reminded myself, if I did then both Nikki and I would be hurt. I tried releasing it, letting everything that I had been taught surface hoping that I would be able to get us out of here. I let him pull me out of the room and push me towards Thayne’s room. I didn’t fight him, I didn’t struggle, I wanted him away from Nikki.

  He shoved me on Thayne’s bed. I fell back and stared into those ice blue soulless eyes that frequented my nightmares. I tried to battle my fear back again, I couldn’t let the memories take whole, I took a deep breath and sat up in the bed.

  “What do you want?”

  “Oh, well I had hoped to have more time with you but they never let you go anywhere without someone. I heard her call you and thought now was the perfect time to get back what’s mine.”

  “What’s yours?” I asked incredulously.

  “I’ve been watching you” he said calmly “with him.”

  “You mean Thayne?”

  “Yes you fucking whore, I mean my best friend, who you’ve been fucking” he screamed. “You’ve been fucking him here in this bed, little one, was he good? Did he get you off? Did you scream for him like you did for me?” He pulled back and slapped me nearly knocking me off the bed “well since he thought he could take what was mine, I’ll take something of his. How about that little one? How do you think your lover will feel knowing that I fucked you in his bed, then fucked his sister and he couldn’t stop it?” He reached up and trailed a finger across my cheek “I’ll enjoy fucking you again, little one” he murmured then shoved me down on the bed.

  “Why?” I whispered.

  “Why what?”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He looked at me oddly “because you belong to me.”

  I shook my head “no” I swallowed “I don’t.”

  “Little one it’s my name cut into your skin” he murmured “remember that right? You screamed the entire time I put my name on your body.”

  “I -I remember” I stuttered.

  “It’s still there isn’t it?”

  I nodded.

  “Can’t wait to spread your thighs open and see my name there before I fuck you again” he said with a smile, I shuddered at the look of lust in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry about dad” he said.

  “What about him?” I asked quietly.

  “I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “Talk him out of what?”

  “Trying to get you to quit, or lose, whatever his plan was. I told him he should just leave you alone, but he wouldn’t.”

  I was in so much trouble “why wouldn’t he?”

  He shrugged “he needed that money.”

  “Why?”

  “The gambling debts.”

  I nodded “he needed the money to pay off the debts so he tried sabotaging us.”

  “Yeah, and I tried to get him to leave you out of it, but then you had to let him touch you, and well I couldn’t have that.”

  “What did you do?” I whispered.

  “I had to make you understand, you were lying with him outside, and he was touching you. Only he can’t have you, you’re mine.”

  “The rabbit.”

  “When you still didn’t stop I knew I couldn’t let that go without punishment.”

  I just stared at him, punishment, what punishment? Then visions of Stella came to mind.

  “You destroyed my bike.”

  “Yeah, you had to pay little one.”

  I shivered at the lack of emotion in his voice. He walked towards the bed reached back and slapped me hard. My ears rang, and I could taste blood in my mouth. He pulled back and slapped me again. I flinched, but let him continue, I would have to plan this just right. He continued to hit me, and I flashed back to that room, him sitting on me, beating on my chest, slapping me, punching me in the ribs, the sickening sound of bones breaking. I forced the memory back, I couldn’t allow them to take hold, I had to fight back. When he pulled back his fist to punch me, I moved quickly, striking out with my leg straight to his balls. He crumpled to the floor quickly. I stood up pausing to kick him hard once in the head, and ran to Nikki’s room.

  I immediately tried to get the tape off her ankles but it was so tight. I ran into the kitchen grabbing a knife off the counter then ran back to her. I sliced through the tape on her ankles, then her wrists works as fast as possible. Finally I grabbed the tape on her lips and pulled it off quickly, wincing at the pain I knew all too well. I grabbed her arm and pulled her off the bed pushing her out of her room—we had to leave now.

  I pushed her towards the living room, willing her to move faster. We had to get out of here now before he got back to his feet. She had just reached the front door when my head was jerked back, I screamed as my body was yanked back and my head was slammed into the floor.

  “Run,” I screamed at Nikki when I saw him standing over me. His face was red and he was breathing hard, his hand still wrapped in my hair.

  The front door slammed open and bounced off the wall closing. I let out a breath, she was safe. I could deal with everything else as long as she was safe.

  “You’re going to pay for that, little one,” he growled slamming my head back into the floor then dropping down so he was sitting on my chest. I watched as h
e pulled a knife out from someplace, and he smiled widely.

  “I had been hoping we could play for a while, but now it seems like things have changed, little one.”

  I tried one of my moves to get him off my body but with where he was sitting it made it difficult. I then tried kicking my feet up to wrap around him only he was faster, he slammed the knife into my right shoulder. I screamed as fire laced through my body, he yanked the blade out of my flesh smiling, laughing at my pain.

  “You always did like pain, little one,” he crooned before pulling his fist back. I had expected him to punch me in the face instead his fist slammed into the knife wound he had just inflicted. I shrieked as the pain and fury shot through my system.

  “We don’t have long, little one, so let’s finish this,” he murmured caressing my face with the knife then shimmied down my body. I heard the sound of feet pounding up the metal stairs outside as I watched him bring the knife back up. I reached out with my good arm but the loss of blood made me slow and clumsy. The knife streaked down into my chest, pure agony erupted throughout my body. I knew at that point that I wouldn’t leave this time alive; that he had finally fulfilled my wish all those years ago—death.

  My vision began to dim, the pain was excruciating. I laid on the floor of the apartment of the only man I had ever loved—dying. Wishing I had few more moments with him. I never wanted to be the girl that people would shake their heads about and think such a waste. It was never my intention to leave my family and friends with the pain I knew this would cause. It was only my intention to live my life. I wish I could have hugged Cas once more, kissed Thayne once more, told him how much I loved him, how he had helped me. I wish I could have told Saul I loved him, called Simon brother and Matt Dad. So many regrets, I never wanted to die with regrets of what could have been. I regret everything that went left unsaid between myself and those I love.

  Thayne - One year later...

  I sat at my desk looking at the photo of us taken last year while camping, neither of us realized that we were being photographed, so it looked natural. We looked happy. We were sitting closely together on a log, her head thrown back laughing, she looked beautiful. I closed my eyes trying to remember her like that instead of how she looked in my nightmares. I would never get the image of Scout lying on the floor blood covering her body, she was so pale and still, the knife still in her chest. I don’t remember much after seeing her and dropping to my knees by her prone figure. I shuddered and opened my eyes not wanting that image in my head, so instead I stared at the one of her laughing and happy.

  I would never be able to fully express the horror of that scene, nor the feeling of relief at seeing my baby sister safe. She gave me that. She willingly sacrificed herself for my sister and I would never be able to tell her how much I appreciated that sacrifice. There weren’t words sufficient enough to explain. I put the photo back on my desk. I found myself staring at it often, wishing we could go back to that day of laughing, not knowing what life had planned for us.

  I looked up when Nikki walked in my office. She wasn’t the same girl as last summer, but she was doing better. She started seeing a therapist as soon as we moved to San Diego and it seemed to help her deal with what had happened. She still woke up at night in a cold sweat after a nightmare, but the screaming had stopped.

  “You ready?” she asked quietly.

  “Yeah” I mumbled, not really sure what to expect.

  “It’ll be okay,” she said picking up on my resistance, “it’s just dinner.”

  I nodded then stood up grabbing my keys and following her out the door to my GTO. We climbed in and I drove towards Misfit Custom Bikes and Restoration. Scout’s dream had come true. They had ended up winning the competition, not that she had been able to celebrate the achievement.

  “Do you want to go home and change first?” Nikki asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Okay.”

  “You going to be okay without me for a few hours?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine with Cam, and Zadok’s walking now. I really want to see him.”

  I nodded in response, she didn’t like being alone so after school she would come and hang out at the shop or over at Cam and Simon’s place. Tonight though, she wouldn’t be able to come with me so she had planned to stay the night with Cam.

  I pulled up to their house and kissed her on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”

  “I’ll be fine, Thayne,” she said with a confidence I rarely saw from her anymore.

  She jumped out grabbing her bag then ran to the door. I waited for Cam to open the door and waved before driving away. I really didn’t know what to expect this evening, but I felt the need to find out what this was all about.

  I pulled in front of the shop and stared at the front door feeling anxious about what awaited me in there. I finally climbed out of the car and walked in the door, to the shop they had been able to buy into after winning the competition. I looked up at the sign on the shop Misfit Custom Bikes & Restoration, her dream come true. I saw Stella sitting in her spot in the shop, still not reassembled. They had rebuilt the bike during the past year and I had begun painting her a few months ago. She was turning out great. Scout would appreciate all the detail that had been put into bringing her back better than she had been.

  I turned the opposite direction from where you enter the shop and up the stairs that led to the apartment Saul had built for Scout. I hadn’t been here often, it felt as if it was haunted with ghosts I didn’t want to face so I stayed away. I knocked on the door and fidgeted waiting for someone to open it. I was tempted to turn around and run the other direction, but I took a deep breath just as the door opened.

  I couldn’t help but stare at her, we hadn’t spent much time together the past year both dealing with our own issues, healing but we had spent time emailing and texting getting to know one another better. We had decided to keep things social so we weren’t pulled back into something neither of us was ready for yet, but now after months of therapy she was ready to take this slowly. After Tristan was sent to prison for a very long time things had been easier, we all had some kind of closure.

  She smiled at me and I felt my heartbeat pick up. “Hi,” she said shyly.

  “Hey, Bella, you ready?”

  She nodded; her turquoise hair free from its usual ponytail and tucked behind her ears. The light glinted off her piercings—she looked amazing. I was even more in love with this girl than I had been a year ago, and I was finally able to take her on our first date. We were taking it slowly. We both had healing to do, her more than most, but it would eventually all work out.

  I reached up and ran a finger down her cheek; she was so different after what happened. She was still my Mia Bella though. I leaned down and kissed her lightly “I’ve missed you.”

  She smiled at me “I’ve missed you too.”

  At that point, though nothing could stop me from reaching out and pulling her flush against my body “this ok?” she looked up her green emerald eyes shining and she nodded. I leaned down brushing my lips against hers, keeping this kiss slow, only it didn’t matter as usual with this girl in my arms. Longing took over and quickly the kiss became more. I forced myself to pull away leaning my forehead against hers “so when are you going to make me an honest man?”

  Scout threw her head back and her musical laugh filled the hallway “eventually, if you’re good.”

  I reached down and tangled her fingers in mine I stared down at them; we had been through so much to get to this point. I had almost lost her. I had given her the time she needed to begin healing, and we have reinvented our lives. We both started over, for me a new city, new shop, for her new scars, lots of therapy, and achieving a dream. This was our second chance, our happily ever after, and I wasn’t about to screw it up.

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I need to thank coffee. Thank you for staying up with me night after night helping to keep me awake
. You, my favorite drink, are truly my best friend ever and I can never fully put into words the long lasting love affair we have. Coffee and I also need to thank our new friend into the mix, our friend we named Fast Fix Keurig. We love you.

  I need to thank my beta readers for helping me stay as sane as possible while working on this, and for reminding me to sleep. I appreciate all the input they gave me while I was writing this, even if I didn’t always agree. Thank you Holly Malgieri, Nikki Sparks, Wendy Bree Rex, and Chrissy Zent Sharp; I look forward to you reading the next.

  Ashley McNiel, thank you for all your help, I appreciate the time and effort to help me get this book finished and ready.

  I need to once again thank my editor, Tanya Keetch, The Word Maid, for all the hard work she puts in to polishing, correcting, and re correcting.

  I want to thank my awesome cover designer, Robin Harper, Wicked Cool Designs, she did an absolute amazing job with the cover as well as the swag designed for this book.

  L. Diane Wolfe, Spunk on a Stick, thank you for once again formatting for me. I always love working with you.

  There are a lot of blogs I need to thank for all the support, pimping, and continued support, if I forget someone I am sorry it wasn’t on purpose. Iloveindiebooks, So Many Books So Little Time, Flirty and Dirty, TotallyBooked, Book Avenue, Stick Girl Book Reviews, Book Junkies Anonymous, Romantic Reading Escapes, The SUBCLUB, 2 Girls Book Blog: An Asian & White Chick Walk Into a Book Blog, Wolfel’s World of Books, Under the Covers Book Blog, The Book Whore-der's Delights, Shh Mom’s Reading, Erotica Book Club, and Word.

  Shey Stahl, as always thank you for all the support, question answering, listening to me bitch, and telling me I can do this.

  So many authors to thank that I do not want to chance forgetting anyone, so thank you to each and every author who has helped me along the way. I love that we support one another in our small community, and hope to be able to pass along all that’s been done for me.

  A big thank you to my parents, without the knowledge they have passed on to me, this book wouldn’t be here today. You were right, Dad, I would eventually need to know all this information about motorcycles and cars.