by Maegan Abel
“He wasn’t ready. It wasn’t time. And now that he has you…” Tish trailed off and I lifted my eyes to his face. “We all heard the fight the night you went to work. He was jealous. I guess we should’ve expected it but the point is, he’s not that person anymore. One thing you have to know about Zane is that when he loves, he loves with everything he has. When he hurts, it’s soul-crushing and he carries the pain with him for a long time.”
Nodding my understanding, the memory of Zane’s tattoo and our discussion about it came to my mind. “It can’t rain all the time,” I whispered.
Tish’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Exactly.”
I sighed. “You’re right. He’s different. I guess I’m just waiting for the bottom to fall out, you know? Pessimist that I am.” I gave him a small smile.
“Well stop. We’re going to get through this and when it’s over and this fucker is spending the rest of his miserable life behind bars, we’re going to go home and you’re going to leave it all here. Understand?”
I nodded again, just about to speak when the text alert on my phone rang out from the duffel bag I’d dropped when I entered the room. Knowing the message was probably from Zane, I couldn’t help but breathe out a sigh. I was sure he was checking to see if we were in the motel yet. He was such a worrier when it came to all this.
Grabbing my bag, I rifled through until I found my phone. When I pulled it out, I frowned at the screen. It wasn’t from Zane, it was from Kaitlyn.
“What’s wrong?” Tish asked, moving to stand beside me.
“It’s from my… it’s from Kaitlyn. Apparently, the prosecutor told her I was coming to the trial and she wants to see me.” I sighed, dropping onto the bed.
“Do you want to see her?” Tish asked cautiously.
“No. Yes.” I sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Do you blame Kaitlyn?”
His direct question made my head snap up, my defensiveness rising. “For what? Being fourteen and not knowing what the right thing to do was? She tried to talk to me. She thought my parents were doing what was best. She didn’t know any better.”
Tish just smiled in response and I sighed, letting the phone fall to the mattress beside me as I laid back, pulling my feet up to rest my heels on the edge of the bed. “I want to see Kaitlyn but I don’t want to see my parents. Does that make me a horrible person?”
“Not at all. It’s your choice, Lee. I’m not gonna tell you what to do one way or another. If you want to see Kaitlyn, then I say go for it. If you told me you didn’t want to see any of them, I’d say that’s fine and we’d just chill in this room until we have to go to the courthouse. I’m here for you. I don’t give two shits about anyone else.”
I grabbed my phone, shooting out a text to Kaitlyn with the name of the motel and our room number before I could change my mind. I gave her specific instructions not to give out the information or I would move my location and not give it to her again. My phone immediately chirped in my hand.
On my way!
The use of the exclamation point almost annoyed me as I remembered my sister’s always peppy personality. I was the quiet one growing up, the one that preferred to observe from a distance and didn’t speak in large groups unless I had something specific I wanted to say. Our friends were really her friends who hung out with me because she didn’t want me just sitting in a corner by myself. But honestly, after five years, the proof that her spirit was still intact enough to keep that positive energy was a relief.
Tish offered to order a pizza while we waited for Kaitlyn’s arrival but my stomach, even empty of all contents, protested the thought. I didn’t bother to change out of the shorts and tank top I’d had on for the last leg of our drive, still feeling too tired to care. At least I could honestly use the fact that I was tired to keep this meeting with Kaitlyn short.
When the soft knock sounded, I swallowed hard. Tish started to rise from his spot on the bed closer to the door but I shook my head. “I can do this.”
“Make sure you check first,” he warned and I nodded, standing on my toes to reach the peephole. Kaitlyn stood on the other side of the door, glancing to her right and biting her lip nervously as she waited.
I lowered myself and nodded at Tish again. I closed my eyes, taking a breath to steady myself before I opened the door. Kaitlyn smiled the moment she saw me and though I expected her to rush inside or try to hug me, she did neither. Her hands were clasped in front of her, her fingers threaded as she tugged at them.
“Hi, Kaity,” I said, hoping to break the tension between us. I hadn’t been very nice to her when she’d shown up in Vegas and she honestly didn’t deserve the way I’d treated her.
“Okay, Ky. Don’t be mad…”
I instantly tensed at Kaitlyn’s words as a movement beside the door caught my attention. I covered my mouth with both hands, the nausea returning in full force at the sight of the woman who, though she looked a little older, I recognized immediately.
“Oh my God.” She breathed the words and I felt my knees buckle. Warm hands grabbed my upper arms and my weight fell against Tish’s body. I had been so distracted, I hadn’t even heard him come up behind me. “It is you. It’s really you.”
Before I could react, she engulfed me in a hug. It was awkward, both because I was too emotionally shocked to respond and because Tish didn’t relinquish his hold on me. Kaitlyn watched as our aunt sobbed against me, her grip tight. When she finally released me, she seemed to notice Tish for the first time. She took a step back, her eyes moving from him to me, to his grip on my arms.
I felt the tension building then and I realized Tish was probably worried about who this was or how I would react to the unexpected guest. I sighed, pushing slightly into him so he’d step back and we could move from the doorway. “You might as well come in.”
As we all moved further into the room, Tish released me long enough to flip the latch on the door. “Tish, this is my Aunt Denni. And you remember Kaitlyn,” I said, gesturing between them. I saw Denni straighten, the prim-and-proper training coming out as she stepped up and extended her hand to him.
“Gardenia. The girls have always called me Denni.” She surprised me by smiling at Tish. I climbed up by the headboard of my bed and curled my legs under, still feeling shaky from the ambush.
The mood was still tense as everyone settled into the room. Kaitlyn and Denni tried to carry on conversations with me, but I was distracted by all the questions I had. The silence grew longer and heavier until finally, I decided I needed to either get some answers, or ask them to leave.
“Did you know what happened?” I directed the question to Denni, my eyes locked on her face.
“The first I heard about any of it was two weeks after you went missing. When I got back to an area with cell service, my voicemail was full.” Her eyes stayed on mine as she came over and sat beside me. “I booked the plane ticket home after the first message from my niece, who was crying, obviously hurting, and begging for me to help her.”
I couldn’t contain the sob that escaped as the memories flooded my mind. I remembered leaving that message. Denni wrapped me in her arms again and this time, I returned the embrace, clinging to her the way I did when I cried to her as a child. She was always a source of strength during my childhood. I left that message in one of the most desperate moments of my life, when I felt like I had no one else to turn to.
“I never should’ve left. If I had known…” she trailed off and I started shaking my head against her. I couldn’t stop the tears, I could barely breath through the sobs, but I didn’t want her to blame herself.
Instead of reassuring her, I just held on tighter, wishing more than anything that this nightmare would end.
Sitting in the booth Conner chose at the pizza place Monday afternoon, I watched the door for Lizzie’s arrival. After confirming with my lawyer that I needed to allow Lizzie to see Conner when it was reasonable, I asked her first to meet us for lunch.
I was edgy, worried a
bout what seeing Lizzie would do to Conner but he was busy coloring as I listened to Tish on the phone, letting him fill me in on the events of the previous few days with Lili’s aunt and sister arriving.
When I saw Lizzie approaching, I took a deep breath, trying to somehow prepare myself for the day ahead. Tish noticed my reaction. “Did you tell Lili where you were going?” The directness of his question was expected.
“Where, yes. Who I was meeting, no,” I answered honestly, sighing at Conner when he crawled over the table to sit with Lizzie. She eyed my phone, rolling her eyes as she carefully loved on Conner.
“Do you really think that’s smart?”
I frowned at his condescending tone. “Do you really think she needs something else to worry about? With her aunt showing up that way, she’s already got more than enough on her plate. Besides, there’s nothing for her to worry about.”
Lizzie huffed. “Zane, seriously?” She gestured to the phone and I narrowed my eyes at her.
I heard Tish’s near growl and knew he’d heard Lizzie snap at me. “Yeah, sounds like you have the bitch leashed—” he stopped at the sound of a door opening. “I’ll call you later.” He hung up and I dropped my phone onto the table, irritated.
“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to pretend for one night that we’re a family,” Lizzie said, causing Conner to look up at her and then at me, his expression almost hopeful. It killed me.
“Stop.” My voice was low, trying to hold in my temper and not fight in front of Conner. She glanced down at him and kissed his head, reaching over the table to pull the coloring book I’d brought across to occupy him.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she whispered as I stared at the menu. I nodded in response. My phone vibrated against the table and I grabbed it, hoping it was a text from Lili. It wasn’t.
You know, we weren’t all bad.
I looked up at Lizzie, who had her phone in her palm as she watched Conner color. She was trying to talk and give respect to the fact that I didn’t want him to overhear us at the same time.
We weren’t?
She looked down at her screen and when her eyes lifted to mine, there were tears in them. Fuck. I hadn’t meant to make her cry. She glanced back at Conner before looking down at her phone again.
No. We did have good times. Remember the hotel room on prom night?
I stared at the screen, trying to avoid her eyes as the memory replayed in my mind.
Lizzie held my jacket over her hair, trying to shield herself from the freak downpour as I pulled her around the corner, tugging her to me and kissing her hard.
“Zane,” she squealed, pushing away from my drenched tuxedo. “Stop screwing around! Where are we going?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise,” I chuckled, moving down the alley and pulling her behind me. We darted out onto the far South end of The Strip. I pulled her around the last corner and into the side entrance of the hotel I’d chosen.
Guilt had inspired this entire plan. Guilt over the last year, over the mood swings and the anger and the way I had completely closed myself off to her. She looked around as I led her through the back, making my way to the elevators. She finally placed her surroundings.
“What are you planning to do? Sneak into one of these rooms?”
I shrugged, not giving anything away as I waited for the elevator to arrive. The older couple standing nearby eyed us with distaste as my shoes squeaked along the marble tiled floor and I took my dripping jacket from Lizzie, not wanting her to ruin her dress.
When the elevator closest to us opened first, I gave the couple a smug look and guided Lizzie inside, knowing they would choose to wait for the next one.
“You’re such an ass,” she laughed, catching my wink at the older man as he shook his head while the doors were closing.
“What did I do?” I asked, chuckling again as I pulled her to me.
I slid the room key from my pocket and she watched as I slipped it into the slot in the elevator before pressing the button for the top floor. “What did you do?” Her voice was soft and I leaned closer.
She squealed a little as I shook droplets of water from my hair into her face before kissing her, making the most of our time in the elevator together and not caring that there was a camera mounted in every corner of the small box. When the doors opened on our floor, I surprised her by reaching down, grabbing her behind her knees and lifting her into my arms.
She wrapped her hands around my neck, staying still in my arms. Given that she was almost taller than me in her heels, it made carrying her feel all the more unnatural. It wasn’t until we arrived at the door to our suite that I realized my mistake.
“Shit. I put the key back in my pocket.” As soon as I said the words, her hand slid between our bodies, grazing over my cock before reaching into my pocket and pulling out the key. “Sneaky,” I said, biting down on the shoulder closest to me.
She giggled, shifting slightly to get away from my teeth before popping the key in the lock and opening the handle. I’d booked one of the best suites they had for tonight and spent most of the day setting it up while she was primping.
“Oh my God,” she breathed, the words barely making a sound. Even through the rain, the lights of Las Vegas were visible in the massive window that dominated the space just in front of the entryway where we stood. “Zane, this is…” she trailed off, sliding from my grip. I’d wanted to carry her into the bedroom but I could see she was bent on exploring the suite in her own time.
I knew the moment the rest of the living area came into view. She gasped, her hands over her mouth as she slowly rotated to take in the wrap-around windows running from one wall all the way across the entire suite. Her heels clacked on the marble as she walked slowly forward. I kicked off my wet shoes by the door, using the wall as support as I yanked off my drenched socks as well. My eyes never left her as she moved around the bar and headed toward the window.
“This is too much,” she whispered when I stepped up behind her. We both jumped when a flash of lightning lit the sky in the distance and she leaned against me as we listened to the sound of the pounding rain against the glass. After a moment, she turned in my arms. “You didn’t need to do this, you know.”
I shrugged, pulling her into my body before kissing her deeply. I’d gone all out. When Tish realized I’d stolen his emergency credit card and nearly maxed it out to book this suite, he was going to be pissed, but the look on her face made it worth the lecture I would no doubt be getting and the months I would spend trying to pay him back.
When I started to pull away from the kiss, she groaned. I couldn’t help but smile at the sound. I knew what she wanted and we would get there, but it wouldn’t be in the living room of the suite. At least, not yet.
I led her toward the bedroom, pausing by the dining table to let her open the double doors. When she did, she gasped. Pink rose petals, her favorite, covered nearly every surface. She followed the trail of them and I walked behind her, watching as the room opened up, bringing the bed into view. She glanced in that direction before turning to take in the entire room. Thunder rumbled in the distance, not quite loud enough to cover the pounding of my heart as she turned toward the bed again, her eyes locking on the petals there.
She moved slowly, almost in a trance, until she stood at the foot of the bed. I stepped closer but kept my distance, waiting for some sort of reaction. Her silence wasn’t something I’d anticipated. Maybe this was a bad idea? She reached out slowly, running her fingers over the petals of the heart that outlined the two words I’d spelled out on the king-sized comforter.
Marry Me?
“Zane,” she whispered, not looking away from the bed. I couldn’t tell what that meant. This wasn’t going how I’d planned at all but then again, I’d had no idea what to expect. Her fingers, still exploring, moved to graze over the closed lid of the small, black velvet box that was placed below the words inside the heart. This was torture of the worst kind. I wanted to move over beside
her so I could see her expression but I was terrified.
When I heard her breath hitch, I spurred into action. Those could be tears of happiness or I could’ve been way off base with this. Marriage wasn’t something we’d ever discussed but I thought it was what she wanted. I thought it was what all girls wanted. But obviously, what the fuck did I know? This was a bad idea and I was ready to kick the shit out of Adam for talking me into it.
“Lizzi—” I was cut off by pounding on the door to the suite. I let out a huff, deciding to ignore the knocking for the girl in front of me. “Lizzie, will you say something? Or look at me?”
She spun when I spoke, blinking as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. “Yes.”
Pausing, I tried to make sense of the word. I’d wanted her to say it but I hadn’t actually expected it. “Yes? As in… yes?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding her head as a smile broke across her face. I scooped her up, spinning her around as I kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around my neck, laughing against my lips.
When I set her down, the pounding on the door came again. I rolled my eyes, already knowing who it was. I stopped her as she made to leave the bedroom. “That can wait.” I grabbed the ring box that she had yet to open, caressing her cheek with one hand before I knelt down. I hadn’t planned to get down on one knee and do this traditionally but since she didn’t see the ring yet, it felt like the right thing to do.
“Elizabeth Michelle Montgomery, I love you. I know I haven’t always been the best about showing it, but it’s true. I lost track of what was important this last year but I know now that I never would’ve made it if you hadn’t stuck by my side. I never want you anywhere else. Will you marry me?” I opened the box, knowing the ring wasn’t much. I wasn’t about to give her my mother’s ring, that thing was tainted with horrible memories. But by the way her eyes lit up, you’d have thought I was giving her the giant blue diamond from Titanic.