Mine : You Can't Help Who You Fall In Love With... (The Winterburg Series Book 1)

by Linzvonc

  I shook my head, aware that I needed to get used to seeing Luke considering I was spending the entire summer here. It may be easier without Cal around, I suppose. It didn’t stop my heart from racing when we walked in, my eyes automatically scanning the room for him.

  He was leaning against the bar with a soda in his hands, his football jersey still on from practice. I knew he was now playing football professionally, and that he was fantastic at it. I smiled as he raised his soda in my direction before turning to Rosie, who bit her lip nervously.

  “Are you guys good? I don’t want any drama.”

  I found an empty booth at the opposite end, and made a beeline for it, grateful it was out of his eye line. I gave her a reassuring look as I pulled my phone out to see if Cal had texted to say he had landed yet.

  Nothing.

  “We’ll be fine,” I stated, my eyes flickering over to the direction he was in.

  We ordered our usual lattes and Rosie listened as I regaled her with tales of New York, leaving out the part where I was kidnapped.

  “Your life is so interesting and mine is so boring,” she moaned as she slid out of the booth. “I’m just heading to the ladies,” she flashed me a smile as she walked away, and I sipped my latte.

  “No Cal tonight?”

  I looked up, dread coursing through my veins.

  Luke studied me, his electric-blue eyes burning into mine.

  “I just wanted to ask if we could catch up, I feel bad about the other day,” he looked at the floor before he met my eyes, and I saw the sincerity in them.

  I swallowed knowing I should say no, but it would make things easier around here if we were cool. Plus, Cal wasn’t here, and he wouldn’t know about it.

  “Okay, sure. Is tomorrow any good?” I offered and his eyes lit up.

  “Yeah, you still have the same number? I can come and pick you up if you like, say ten a.m.? If you still get up early that is.”

  I chewed on the inside of my lip as I nodded.

  “Yeah, same number. Ten is fine. Thanks,” I realized I was talking like a robot, and I tried to relax as he turned to see Rosie heading over to us, concern on her face.

  I felt for our friends, it must be hard for them when we were all together.

  It was fine, I decided. I was going to smooth this over so we could all have the best summer ever.

  Right?

  Part Two: Chapter Nineteen

  GRETCHEN

  I was glad my parents were at work, for if they’d have seen Luke pulling up, they would have had a heart attack, I’m sure.

  I pulled the door shut behind me, glad I had dressed down. I wasn’t about to give him any ideas, so I had my grey joggers on with a loose hoodie, refusing to even wear makeup.

  No way was he thinking there was more to this than there was.

  I took a deep breath as I switched my phone to silent, making my way to the Ford Ranger.

  He sat in the driver’s seat watching me with a smile on his lips, wearing a dark red leather jacket that oddly resembled the one Brad Pitt wore in Fight Club.

  Don’t stare, Gretchen.

  He was hot, there was no denying that, but just as I had hurt him, he had hurt me. Cheating on me for an entire year was shitty; and my heart was with Cal, who would always be my one and only.

  I suppose it was usual for exes to still admire each other, as long as nothing was done about it.

  “How can you still look so beautiful in your loungewear? Man, girls must hate you,” he laughed as I climbed in the truck, pulling the door shut behind me. I clipped my belt in as I shot him a warning smile.

  “Less of the beautiful. You said no funny business.”

  He held his hands up as he pushed the car into drive, pulling away easily. “So, New York,” he said, glancing over to me as we drove through the familiar streets, my heart aching with memory after memory.

  “Yeah, it’s a big ass city.”

  This was ridiculous.

  When were we going to just get to it?

  He seemed to read my mind as he sighed, turning onto the freeway.

  “Okay, Gretch, here’s the thing. You know I still love you, there’s no denying that,” his bluntness surprised me.

  If he had loved me in the first place, then he wouldn’t have cheated with Krystal, I thought with annoyance.

  But I guess either way, it didn’t matter anymore.

  I stared straight ahead as he continued to speak.

  “You’re with Cal, that’s just how it is. But that doesn’t mean I can turn off how I feel for you. I haven’t seen you since we left school and I just handled it badly the other night. I apologize.”

  I nodded, relieved in the direction the conversation seemed to be taking.

  “Thank you,” I said as he smiled at me reassuringly.

  “I thought we could head to that little cafe overlooking the sea,” he pointed towards the hills that rolled in front of us and I nodded. I knew the place, he used to take me there when we were dating.

  “That’s fine.”

  I wanted to say more, but the guilt at even being in his presence alone made me feel sick with nerves. Cal would leave me, after sawing Luke’s head off with a rusty blade. We drove in silence for a while until he pulled into a dirt track that led to the cafe, his tires guiding us towards the parking lot despite the gravel.

  “Ah, man! I’ve not been here since I last came with you,” he admitted sheepishly as I lifted my eyebrows in surprise.

  Surely there had been other girls?

  “Not even Krystal?” I said.

  Luke narrowed his eyes then as he shook his head.

  “It was never like that between me and Krystal. I’m sorry I was such a jackass, Gretchen. I majorly fucked up…” his words trailed off as he waited for me.

  He swung his keys around his finger as I climbed out, landing on the floor with a thud.

  “It’s in the past, Luke. We’ve all moved on,” I said pointedly, as we walked into the cafe.

  Luke grunted in response, and the conversation ended there.

  It was quiet—few people knew of it. You had to be a local.

  We got a gorgeous window seat overlooking the bay, and I sighed happily. It was nice to be here, even with Luke.

  “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with me,” he said seriously, and I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

  “If it’s anything about you and me—”

  He cut me off with his hand in the air, blinking slowly.

  “It’s not.”

  I sat back in my chair as I clasped my hands together.

  “Okay, go on then?”

  He sat forward, his hands meeting in a steeple motion as he gazed at me. Our eyes met as he spoke, and he held my gaze as he watched my reaction.

  “What happened in New York? Tell me.”

  I dropped my eyes from his as I gave a short laugh. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Luke.”

  The waitress brought our coffees and I watched her with interest.

  Luke however kept his eyes on mine, murmuring a thanks as she left.

  “Why are you lying to me?” his voice was low as I sighed, irritated.

  “What does it matter to you, Luke?” I snapped. “I thought we were here to remedy our shit, not create more.”

  He sat back as he studied me, his fingers pressed to his lips.

  “Did he hurt you?” his voice was hollow as I screwed my face up in response.

  “What? No, don’t be absurd.”

  “That’s what abused girls say.”

  I stared at him, my mouth agape. “Luke, you have this wrong. It wasn’t Cal,” I sipped my latte, wincing at the heat. “Cal would never hurt me.”

  “If it wasn’t him, who was it?!” he demanded, refusing to let the matter drop.

  I folded my arms as I gazed at him. “If I tell you, you need to swear not to tell a soul.”

  He made a cross over his chest as he stared at me, h
is expression hardening as though he was preparing himself for the worst news he’d ever received.

  I took a deep breath and met his eyes.

  “I’m fucking serious, Luke; I will never forgive you if you tell anyone. If you care for me at all, you won’t.”

  “Gretch, you’re scaring me now. What the fuck happened? I won’t tell anyone.”

  “I was kidnapped.”

  His eyes widened as his mouth fell open, his hands reaching for mine over the table.

  “Are you being fucking serious right now?” he hissed quietly as I nodded. “Who the fuck by? What did they do to you?”

  He sat listening to me as I poured it all out, and I had to admit, it felt so good to speak to someone about it who wasn’t Cal.

  “What did Cal do about it?” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes wild with anger.

  “Do? He came and got me. What more can he do Luke, it’s the fucking mob,” I exclaimed as he sat back in his chair in shock, gazing out of the window whilst he rubbed his chin.

  “I don’t care. What did he do?”

  His voice had a hardness to it, and I blinked in surprise.

  Cal had done the right thing; left it alone.

  I knew that, yet sitting here in front of Luke, I suddenly felt like someone had to do something in my honor. I shook my head as he met my eyes again, hatred filled in his eyes.

  “This is his fault. You can’t see it, I know that. But listen to me, it is,” he sighed as he reached for my hand, gripping it. “I’m going to tell you this once, and I want you to remember it for the rest of your life. If you ever need me, ever, I don’t care if I’m married with kids, you ring me. Okay?”

  I nodded slowly as he released my hand, the warmth of his touch gone.

  “Mob or not, I’d bury anyone that touched a hair on your head.”

  “Thank you, but I’ve got Cal and—”

  “Yes, he’s a vicious fucker. But he isn’t the only one that loves you, and sometimes you may just need someone else to turn to.”

  I nodded as he smiled at me.

  “We can be friends, you know. It means I can’t have you the way I want, but at least I have you in some capacity. Agreed?” Luke said, and I nodded.

  “Agreed.”

  Part Two: Chapter Twenty

  CAL

  When it’s cold in New York, it’s fucking freezing. It jumps from one extreme to the other here, blistering summers leading straight into icy winters.

  I shivered as I made my way into the damp basement, my eyes accommodating to the dark. I heard a whimper from the far corner of the room, followed by the sound of a steel boot cracking into bone. I winced as I walked in, my fingers running along the wall as I searched for the light switch I knew was there. I felt the smooth plastic under my fingers as I flipped the switch, the room illuminated by a harsh light.

  “Johnny,” I intoned, as I took in the man hunched on the floor in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest as he sobbed. “Hey, Johnny, look at me.”

  It was a difficult thing to ask of him, considering both of his eyes were swollen so much he couldn’t open them, let alone see.

  I smiled as I leaned down next to him, my rage burning through my veins.

  “I just wanted to talk to you. Why have you been so hard to find?”

  My voice hid my anger well as I whispered, almost soothingly.

  “Leo, I’m sorry—”

  “Sorry? For what?” I asked, as I leaned closer to him, my ear close to his mouth.

  “For taking her. I was just following orders.”

  I nodded as I stroked his hair, matted with blood and sweat.

  “You broke into my house. You took my girl to a fucking mob pit and you have the audacity to think an apology will cut it?”

  There was silence as he sobbed, knowing he’d sealed his fate.

  I met the eyes of Eugene, his captor, as he watched me.

  Eugene was a wiry man, with the strength you wouldn’t assign to him or his frame—but he was an absolute psychopath. I knew that Johnny had suffered already, despite the orders being to leave that to me. I nodded at Eugene, who grinned sadistically as he pulled the silencer out of his pocket.

  “Eugene here is just following orders, too. Good talking to you.”

  I glared at him with disgust as I stood, commanding Eugene to make it quick, and as clean as possible.

  The last thing I needed was blood all over the fucking walls again.

  I climbed the stairs, my shoulders tense with anger.

  Johnny had to pay for taking her.

  Nothing was forgivable.

  I understood that Lucia had suffered, but that had nothing to do with Gretchen.

  I left the house, whistling as I skipped down the steps. The wind bit into me, icy fingers curling around my body as I jogged back to midtown. I checked my watch and smiled when I saw I hadn’t wasted too much time with him, I’d make my appointment in plenty of time.

  Excellent.

  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER

  “How are you doing cuz?” The voice drawled down the line as I rubbed my brow with irritation.

  What does this little shit want now?

  I tightened my jaw as I sighed, preparing myself for his bullshit.

  “What the fuck are you calling me for?” I growled down the phone as he tutted, making me want to smash his face into next week.

  Sadly, that was yet to be invented. As advanced as technology was, a punch couldn’t travel over the airwaves.

  Pity.

  “I’ve just had breakfast with our beautiful Gretchen, she’s like a fine wine, my man, she seems to get better with age. But I’m worried about her.”

  I tightened my grip around the phone as I closed my eyes, regret filling my chest at the thought of him anywhere near her.

  Our Gretchen?

  “You better be lying,” I said through gritted teeth, my eyes scanning the airport for an update on my flight. They had delayed it by an hour, and I was getting restless.

  Now I have this punk giving me grief.

  “No, I mean this whole kidnapping shit,” he waited, enjoying every moment of proving what he knew.

  Fuck.

  “Keep away from her. Do you understand me?!” I muttered, my voice trembling with rage.

  “But don’t you think it’s time you admitted I was right all those years ago? I’m better for her than you. She would have a simple life with me, marriage, pop out some babies—Fuck, I’d enjoy making those though—no kidnaps, no mob. Just a picket fence and warm apple pie.”

  I pulled the phone away and almost snapped it as I ended the call, my vision blurred with anger as I dialled Gretchen’s number.

  “Hey baby!” she sang down the phone as I tried to speak calmly.

  “Why did you tell him, Gretchen?”

  I heard her suck in her breath, and I knew then that she would never have told me about meeting him. My heart hurt, knowing she could betray me.

  “Just like that, huh? I’ve been gone a day, and you are with him.”

  Her voice broke as she cried, and I held my head in my hands.

  “Come back, Cal,” she begged, sobbing. “I just needed someone to talk to—”

  “Yeah? You’ve got friends, Gretchen. You’ve got me,” I growled as I noticed my flight being announced over the speaker. “I have to go,” I hung up, making my way to the departure gate.

  I was in two minds: whether to drown my sorrows at a bar or go back to that shitty town and blast my cousin’s fucking head off.

  The latter idea appealed more than whiskey, so I boarded the plane. As I jammed my seatbelt on, a slender brunette slid into the seat beside me, her eyes running over me appreciatively.

  “Wow, looks like I won the seat lottery,” she smirked, her tongue sliding over her full lips as I studied her.

  She didn’t turn me on like Gretchen did, and that annoyed me even more. I considered fucking her in the tiny toilet just to destroy every aspect of my relationshi
p, but I decided against it.

  “Lady, with all due respect, I don’t wanna hear any more noise from your mouth,” I snapped as she narrowed her eyes at me, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’.

  Fucking women.

  Part Two: Chapter Twenty-One

  GRETCHEN

  I’m going to kill Luke.

  I called an Uber and went straight to his house, banging on the door.

  I didn’t care if his parents were in or not; I wanted to kill that piece of shit.

  He opened the door lazily, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. I pushed him hard in the chest, causing him to fall back slightly as his expression changed to that of surprise.

  “What the fuck?” he grunted as I pushed him again, rage brimming in my veins so much I was shaking. Tears fell down my face as I pointed at him, my finger close to his face.

  “You fucking bastard. You told Cal,” I spat, as he folded his arms in front of him. “You made me a promise, Luke.”

  “Yes, I told Cal. Because I’m worried about you,” his face softened as he gazed at me.

  “Worried about me? If you are so worried about me, you wouldn’t have told Cal I had been with you when he had been out of town for one day!” I screeched, aware I sounded like a crazy person.

  I wanted to punch the smirk from his face as he rubbed his neck.

  “Babe—”

  “Don’t fucking call me babe,” I snapped.

  “Okay, Gretchen, you need to understand something. I care about you a lot. It’s his fault that you were in that situation. He deserves to be fucking told,” he stepped closer to me as I moved backward, holding up my hand in a way of warning him not to come any closer.

  “You also need to ask yourself why you were with me the day after he left town.”

  I blinked, his words hitting me hard.

  He thought I was in love with him still.

  This was too much; the man was insane.

  His blue eyes burned into mine as I struggled to speak, suddenly very aware that whatever I said made no difference, he wouldn’t listen.

  “I’m leaving,” I turned on my heel and strode towards the door as he swiftly grabbed me, pressing me against the door. He searched my eyes briefly, before he pressed his mouth to mine. He drove his tongue into my mouth as I tried to shove him away, adrenaline giving me strength I didn’t know I had.