All the lights are off downstairs, and I’m guessing Dad went to bed or he went out again, so I’m startled when I enter the kitchen to find him nursing a whiskey in the darkness. My heart pounds against my ribcage, and tears stab the back of my eyes, but I refuse to shed any more tears in front of him. I pour myself a glass of water, conscious he’s watching me like a hawk. Garnering courage, I turn and face him. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”
I want him to apologize so I know some part of the man I used to know, and respect, is still in there somewhere.
My eyes have grown accustomed to the dark, and I can see him staring straight at me as he replies. “Your mother is not being committed and that’s final.” He stands up, draining the rest of his drink. “And if you ever come at me like that again, you’ll be sorry.” He walks to me, leaning into my face. I can scarcely breathe over the lump jammed in my throat. The hostile sneer on his face terrifies me, and I’m shaking all over. “She is my wife, my responsibility, and I will handle her my way. If you don’t like it, you know where the door is.”
My lip wobbles, and tears pool in my eyes despite my previous determination. I run out of the room and straight out the front door. I don’t know where I’m going, only that I need to get away from the house. From him.
I race across the road in front of our house without looking. The screeching of tires elevates my heart rate to coronary-inducing territory, and I stand motionless, captured in the full beam of headlights. A black SUV, with tinted windows, shudders to a standstill literally right in front of me. I stare at the dark windows for a split second before I take off, hopping the fence and running through the long grass as if my life depends on it.
CHAPTER TEN
ShawnLevi
The girl materializes in front of me out of nowhere, and I slam on the brakes, expletives peppering the air. Terror has a vice grip on my heart as I white-knuckle the steering wheel, pressing my foot flat to the pedal, praying I can stop in time. Noticing my car, she stops in the middle of the road as if she has a death wish. The SUV screams to a halt mere inches from her body.
Air whooshes out of my mouth in grateful relief, and I collapse over the wheel. Adrenaline floods my body, and my heart rate is off the charts. Rubbing a palm over my angst-ridden chest, I catch a fleeting glimpse of the girl before she dives over the fence into the adjoining field.
Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, that was Dakota.
What the actual fuck?
I pull my car over to the side of the road and park. Without pausing to think about it, I jump out and take off after her.
She’s stumbling her way through the long grass, veering unsteadily on her feet. When she reaches a large oak tree in the middle of the field, she drops out of sight. I run faster, only slowing down as I approach.
She’s on her knees, with her arms clutched around her torso, rocking back and forth as she struggles to breathe. She looks up when she hears my approach, and I notice the dried tearstains on her face and the lost look in her panicked eyes.
I don’t hesitate. Dropping down, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my lap. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
I’d like to know why the hell she was racing across the road in the pitch-dark dressed in only a flimsy dress and cardigan and in her bare feet. Debris adheres to the soles of her feet, and I reach over, carefully brushing them off.
Her breath oozes out in panicked spurts, and her chest wheezes. I run my hand up and down her back. “Breathe, Dakota. Nice and slow.” I inhale and exhale deeply, encouraging her to do the same. She pins me with the saddest blue eyes, and I sweep my thumb across her cheek, caressing her soft skin. “In and out, babe. Just focus on your breathing. Draw it into your lungs and let it out nice and slow.” Her breathing starts to even out, and the raspy, wheezy sound in her chest pitters out.
“How are you here?” she croaks after a bit, resting her head on my chest.
I wrap my arms more tightly around her waist, keeping her close. “I was on my way back from a friend’s place, and I had to pull in to get gas. You live here?”
She nods. “My whole life. My house is just over there.” She points across the road.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” I joke, trying to lighten the atmosphere while I toy with the long strands of her wavy blonde hair.
“One might be inclined to think you’re stalking me.”
I know she’s only teasing, but that word causes goose bumps to sprout all over my arms. “Or it’s a complete coincidence,” I say, even though I don’t believe in such things.
She fists a hand in my shirt, and a delicate fragrance tickles my nostrils. She smells like sunsets and orange blossom and a million forbidden things. “The old me would have called it fate,” she whispers.
I tip her chin up gently. “The old you?” The inflection in my tone hints to my curiosity.
She stares up at the bleak, starless night sky. “Do you ever feel like you’re lost inside yourself?”
“All the time,” I honestly admit.
“How do you find the right path back?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out myself.” She looks into my eyes, probing the truth. I cup her face, examining her eyes for my own truth. She conveys so much with her eyes. I see the strength of her emotions, but I don’t understand what’s behind it. Where the hurt is coming from, and who caused it. “Why were you running across the road in the dark? And why is your cheek all red and blotchy?”
She averts her eyes and climbs out of my lap. I instantly regret pushing her. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she whispers, stepping away as she starts to withdraw into her shell.
I stand up and take her hand, pleased when her fingers link through mine. I’m not even sure if she realizes she’s done it. “No problem,” I lie, because it’s not okay, but she’s vulnerable right now, and I won’t force her to confess if she’s not ready to. “But if you ever do, you know where I am.”
What the fuck am I doing?
I think I’ve lost my mind.
Since I left the Morgans’ house, I’ve been thinking about what Devin said.
About keeping her safe by keeping her away from me, and here I am, only a few hours later, already making promises I shouldn’t keep. It’s just, when I’m with her, I get lost in her. Lost in possibility, and something I’ve never stopped to consider.
It’s far too dangerous and risky, for both of us, but I’m not sure I know how to put a stop to it.
We walk silently, hand in hand, through the tall grass and out onto the road. I pin her to my side, looking left and right, before we cross over to the other side.
A large, well-maintained two-story cream brick house sits on an elevated position a few feet away. There’s a triple garage off to one side and an outdoor seated area on the other. “I’m okay now,” she says, slipping her hand out of mine. “Thank you.”
“I’ll walk you to the door,” I insist, retaking her hand.
She has her mouth open to reply when a man with short dark blond hair appears out of nowhere on the sidewalk. “Get in the house, Dakota,” he hisses, glowering at me.
“Dad.”
“Now.”
“No.” She holds her ground, removing her hand from mine and crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m an adult and you don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Don’t talk back, girl, or you’ll be sorry.”
“I’m heading back to the city,” I tell her, deliberately ignoring her prick of a father. “I’m happy to give you a ride back to your dorm.”
“Over my dead body!” he roars, shoving me.
My hands ball up at my side, and it won’t take much more to provoke me into using my fists. “Touch me again and you’ll be sorry.”
He snorts, grabbing Dakota roughly by the arm. She attempts to wriggle out of his
grasp, but he keeps a firm hold of her. “You’d better not be messing around with this punk ass.” He sends me a derisory look. “Have you forgotten what I told you? Unless it’s Cole, boys are forbidden.”
Yeah, because Cole is such a stellar choice for his daughter. What a jerk.
“It’s not what you’re thinking. Levi is a friend and classmate.”
He gives me a more thorough once-over, and I straighten my spine, narrowing my eyes as I return the favor. “My daughter is off-limits. Don’t come back here.”
He starts dragging her away, and I see red, sprinting after him and grabbing him by the elbow. “Your daughter can think for herself, and if you don’t take your hands off her, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
He shucks out of my grip, dusting his sleeves like I’ve just contaminated him. “Get the hell off my property or I’m calling the cops.”
I cross my arms over my chest, smirking at him. “Go right ahead. I’d love you to explain the mark on her cheek.”
Dakota steps in between us. “Levi, don’t.” Her eyes plead with me. “Please just go.”
“I don’t want to leave you here with him.”
“I’m okay.” She lightly touches my arm. “It’s not how it looks.”
I’m conflicted, but I can’t force her hand. We’re barely even friends, and I’ve no right to demand anything of her, but I don’t like this. At all. I lower my head, whispering in her ear. “Are you sure? If you’re in trouble, I can help.”
“I’m sure.” She nods, urging me to let this go with her eyes. “I’ll talk to you Monday.”
Reluctantly, I leave. As I’m pulling away from the curb, I tap in Devin’s number. He answers immediately. “Text me Dakota’s number and don’t ask any questions. I’m not in the mood.”
“Okay, but don’t do anything stupid,” he replies, before hanging up.
A few seconds later my cell pings, and I pull over once I’m well out of sight of her house. I tap out a quick text to her.
“It’s Levi. Keep my number and use it if you need to.”
She replies a minute later with a simple “Thanks.”
As I drive back to my penthouse, I fight an internal battle.
Climbing into bed, I’m no closer to a decision.
My head warns me to steer clear. That I’ve enough of my own problems without getting sucked into someone else’s.
But my heart can’t forget my midnight dancer, and I want to be there for her in all the ways I shouldn’t.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dakota
Dad spends all of Sunday attempting to lecture me about Levi. But I tune him out. It’s all stuff I’ve heard before, and he doesn’t need to warn me about strangers. I get it. And maybe I’m naïve, plain stupid, or my will to survive isn’t as strong as I thought, but I don’t believe Levi is a danger to me.
The way he held me last night, out by the tree, and the tender look in his eyes is not something that can be faked. And I saw something in him. Something that hints at his pain. And I can tell he gets it.
Perhaps I misjudged him.
Maybe I should get to know him.
Because when he was holding me, I didn’t hurt so much. I didn’t feel so alone.
When Dad goes to work on Monday, I swing into action. I lied and told him I didn’t have any early classes, so I had an excuse for sticking around when I normally return to campus on Sunday night. Thankfully, he accepted it without interrogation.
Muriel comes to watch Mom while I go with Dr. Nevin to meet with an attorney friend of his to set everything in motion. The attorney tells me he’ll draft the necessary paperwork to petition the court, and there isn’t much more I can do for now.
I spend the afternoon with Mom, reluctantly leaving before Dad returns. She hasn’t spoken another word since Saturday night, and the lucidity she displayed is gone too. I hate the thought of sending her to a psychiatric facility, but after my Dad’s behavior Sunday night, I now know it’s the safest place for her.
“So, guess who was wondering where you were yesterday?” Tabs says, waggling her brows as we wait for the prof to show for our taxation class on Tuesday morning.
“Please tell me it was Liam or Chris Hemsworth?” I joke.
“While I approve of the tag team, and I’m so with you, girlfriend,” Tabs agrees, her eyes twinkling, “I cannot make those dreams come true. However, I can tell you that our very own resident sex god was asking where you were, and he looked seriously worried.”
I don’t need to ask her who she’s referring to. “He didn’t, ah, say anything else, did he?” I know Levi is friendly with Tabs, and I should’ve thought to ask him to keep what happened Saturday night to himself, but it never crossed my mind.
Her brows knit together. “Like what? Is there something I don’t know?”
Damn, that girl has finely tuned antennae. “Nope. I was just curious.”
She shoulder-bumps me. “Admit it. You like him.”
“Why do you care about this so much?”
“Because I’m thinking of setting up a matchmaking business on campus and you’re my practice run.”
My mouth falls open. “What the what?”
She titters. “Man, you are way too easy to wind up. I’m kidding. I just want to see you happy, and you looked really happy Friday night when you were sucking face with him.”
The prof clears his throat, and I whisper one final comment. “He’s growing on me, and that’s all I’m admitting to.”
By lunchtime, I’m eating my words.
“Five o’clock,” Elsa says under her breath, when we’re seated in the cafeteria. “And he’s coming right this way.”
I jerk my head up, watching Levi stride in our direction. Butterflies swarm my chest, and my heart speeds up. I send him a shy smile as he approaches.
“Ladies.” He gives us a curt nod and a tight smile before, surprisingly, continuing on his way.
My chest deflates, and I hate that.
“Where the fuck is he going?” Tabs inquires, staring curiously at Levi as he drops into a seat at an empty table behind us. Her chair scrapes as she stands up.
“Sit back down,” I hiss, pulling at the hem of her shirt. “You are not going over there.”
“The hell I’m not.” A new scowl paints her face.
“Leave him be. He doesn’t have to sit with us if he doesn’t want to.”
Against my better judgment, I look over my shoulder. Levi is scrolling through his phone as he eats, ignoring everyone and everything around him. I don’t understand. Especially after what he said to me Saturday night.
Having already convinced myself to let him into my life, I’m thoroughly confused.
I pick at my food, halfheartedly chatting with the girls over lunch. I’m wondering if I did something to upset him or maybe he’s just having a bad day and needs some space. I’m sure that’s it. That I’m overreacting.
Except when I glance back over at his table sometime later, it’s empty, and he’s gone. He left without saying a word.
I can’t properly understand why it hurts so much. But it does.
The afternoon drags, especially the last class, when I have to watch Levi ignore me again, taking a seat in the front row, instead of sitting behind me like he usually does. Deciding I need to find out if I’ve done something to upset him, I wait at the end of my row when class ends, hoping for an opportunity to talk to him. But he gets up and walks past me as if I don’t exist.
I’m momentarily dazed, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Chasing after him, I call out his name, but he keeps walking, his long strides seeming to pick up pace as I shout out again. But he doesn’t stop or acknowledge me in any way.
My feet slow down, and I stop my forward trajectory as hurt and anger swim to the surface, forcing me to see sense. I�
�m sick of all this hot and cold bullshit he’s pulling, so screw him. I don’t need or want his kind of trouble in my life.
The next couple of days follow a similar pattern, and I’m fighting a perpetual bad mood. Levi continues to pretend like I’m invisible, so I do the same to him. He’s obviously decided he wants nothing to do with me after what he witnessed on Saturday. If he’s that judgmental, then I’m better off without him.
I haven’t danced on the roof in over a week, and I’m sleeping even worse than normal. My body is highly strung, and by Thursday, I decide it’s time to risk returning. Levi doesn’t care about me, so it’s stupid to continue to allow him to hold me back from the one enjoyment I have in my life. The attorney calls me that morning to tell me I’m needed in court the next afternoon, and I’m in a solemn mood the rest of the day. Once I do this, there’s no going back. I’m not sure how Dad’s going to react, and I’m worried about Mom, even if I know, deep down, that this is the right thing to do.
By the time I reach the roof that night, I’m considerably on edge, and I waste no time limbering up. My body rejoices as I start to move. A little stiffly at first, until I’m fully relaxed. I dance my heart out, quickly building up a sweat, throwing my body across the roof in tune to the haunting music. I twirl and twirl, my lungs filling with oxygen and my limbs reenergized. Then a familiar song plays on my cell, one I haven’t heard in a long time. The memory resurrects in my mind in absolute clarity.
“You’re so unbelievably talented,” Layla gushes after the show, pulling me in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you, little sis. Your star shone so bright on that stage tonight.”
Tears prick my eyes. My sister is the most undeniably loyal sister to have ever walked the Earth. It doesn’t matter that we are like night and day, polar opposites in so many ways. Layla is always supportive. Always championing me. Always defending me when Dad questions my choices. Still they all show up to every show, my parents included, and I know they love me, even if Dad would rather I followed Layla into accounting.
“That last song you danced was just magical,” she says with a dreamy look on her face, looping her arm though mine as we make our way out to the parking lot. “The music was so evocative, and you were like an angel gliding across the stage.” She looks at me with blatant admiration in her radiant blue eyes. “I wish you could see how you look when you’re up on that stage. How you own it. How natural you are in the spotlight.”
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