by Caitlyn Dare
The noise that rips from Ace’s throat is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. He stares at me for a beat, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. All the color drains from his face before he drops his head into his hands.
Glancing at Conner, my chest tightens as I find his eyes full of unshed tears.
“Ace, please, don’t blame yourself,” I say, surprised at the weight that feels like it’s been lifted from my shoulders. “I know you made me stay there because you thought you were doing the right thing. And under any other circumstances it was where I needed to be. I was a sickly kid, we all know that, but—”
“I left you there. I left you there to be…” he trails off as Remi rubs his back.
Walking over, I drop down on the coffee table before them. Remi takes my hand, and after a second Conner joins us, but he doesn’t take up the spare spot on the couch. Instead, he sits beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulder.
“Ace,” I say, reaching out for his shoulder. “It’s okay.”
“Bullshit. None of this is okay. I was meant to be looking after you, not leaving you to be…” He pushes to stand and pulls me into his arms.
He holds me for long seconds, his body trembling with his pent-up anger before he releases me and storms from the pool house.
“Ace,” Remi calls.
“Just give him a few minutes, Princess,” Conner whispers.
Spinning, I fall down beside Remi and pull her onto my lap. She has tears streaming down her face, and if I’m being honest, I could use her warmth right now.
She wraps her arms around my neck and snuggles into my chest as Conner joins us, gathering us both up in his arms.
“How bad, Cole?” he asks after long minutes. “Like, how far did they…”
Our eyes meet, and he sucks in a breath. The answer must be written all over my face. “Everything.”
“Fuck. How didn’t we know this?”
“I didn’t want you to. I was ashamed. Disgusted. It wasn’t until I was older that I even really understood… and by then, I couldn’t deal with it. I also knew that it would kill Ace. He did everything for us, and yet that shit was still happening.”
“Does Hadley know?” Remi asks, her soft voice making my heart constrict, not to mention hearing her name.
“I haven’t told her specifically, no, but she knows something happened.”
“Fucking hell. No wonder you’re so screwed up,” Conner says.
“Yeah, thanks for that, bro.”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You know I love you beyond words.”
“Yeah, yeah, so you keep telling me.”
“While you two share the love, I’m gonna go…” Remi pushes from my lap and disappears out the door to find Ace.
Both Conner and I fall back on the couch and put our feet up on the coffee table.
“Well, that was depressing for a Sunday morning.”
“Try living with it.”
“Fuck, I didn’t mean…”
“Con, it’s fine. Well, it’s not. It’s fucked-up, but it is what it is. It’s done. It’s in the past. It’s time to embrace it for what it is and try to stop it from ruining the future.”
“The future? You going for it at Colton U?”
“Yeah, I think I am. It felt right, ya know? Like it could really be home. What about you?”
“I guess I’d better go pull out my Colton application,” he jokes.
“Seriously, what are you thinking? You’re the smart one, you should have a plan.”
He smiles, telling me that he has more plans than he’s telling me about. “I’ve got options.”
“Well, you need to decide soon. Applications are due in a few weeks.”
“Yeah, I got plenty of time. What about everything else?”
“You mean Hadley, right?”
“Yeah. I need to know if I can swoop in yet… ow,” he complains, rubbing the spot on the back of his head that my hand just collided with.
“Hands off my fucking girl, asshole.”
“Been there, done that… ow. Seriously, cut that shit out,” he moans, edging away from me.
“Me?” I hiss. “Hadley is mine. You need to fucking remember that. Go find your own girl.”
“I’m only busting your balls, bro. Hads is my sister, same as Remi. What I really want to know, though, is what you’re going to do about getting her back, because I fucking miss her, and I know for a fact that she misses your moody ass.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, fuck knows why, but… ow. She’s alone now, Cole. She needs you to pull your head out of your ass and fight for her.”
I nod, knowing his words are true. It’s what I need to do and what I fully intend on doing. “I’m out. I need to talk to James.”
“Shit you gonna tell him what you just told us?”
“Sure am. Got a few other things to talk to him about as well.” With a wink, I walk out of the pool house. Ace and Remi are curled up together on one of the loungers, Remi successfully distracting him with her tongue down his throat. I smile at them, but I can’t deny that I’m not engulfed with jealousy.
I had that, and I fucked it right up.
The conversation I have with James, although a long time coming, is much easier than I was expecting. I opened up about the past, and, much like Ace, he blamed himself. I wasn’t quite as insistent that it had nothing to do with him, because really, he could have rescued us. But the past is the past, and I need to start leaving it there.
He agreed to look into the couple of requests I had for him. If he was surprised by them, he didn’t show it. I wonder if he’s got a better read on me than I thought he had.
I reluctantly went back to school on Monday. It was exactly as I was expecting, full of suspicious, intrigued stares and whispers behind my back.
James did as he promised and kept the details of my… accident, under the radar. But kids talk, and people soon started putting two and two together. Thankfully, though, most of them are scared of me, so all gossip stopped when I walked into a room or down the hallway.
My biggest issue was Hadley. She avoided me for the most part, or at least it felt like she was. But when we did cross paths, I couldn’t help my body craving her, my muscles desperate to reach out and pull her to me.
The sadness that was in her eyes gutted me, but anytime I took a step toward her, she spun on her heels and marched in the other direction.
Conner filled me in on the details of her split from her parents, so I know she has the weight of the world on her shoulders right now. I just hope James makes good on his word and manages to do what I’ve asked of him. Her life shouldn’t be any harder than necessary. She deserves so much better than the hand she’s been dealt.
“Yo, bro. You taking a shit?” Conner calls through the gap in my bathroom door not long after we’ve got back from school Thursday evening. Coach has let me back to training, and seeing as the final game is this Saturday, he’s really putting us through our paces.
“No, asshole. I’m in the shower,” I bark back.
Ignoring me, he pushes the door open and strolls in as if I’m not standing here naked.
“Do you mind?”
“Not really. I’ve seen your tiny cock plenty of times. Listen…” Groaning to myself, I turn my back on him and continue what I was doing. “Hadley just texted me.” I still at the mention of her name. “Yeah, fucker. I thought that might get your attention.
“Go on.”
“She needs a ride home from work tonight. Thing is, I’m really busy with homework and shit, and I’m not going to be able to make it. So I was wondering if you…”
“I’m there. What time?”
“Forty-five minutes. Give that a good clean, you know, just in case.” He nods toward my junk with a smirk.
“Get the fuck out, asshole.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “I’m going, I’m going. Does she dig the piercing? I might think about…” He ducks out of the room just before
my shower gel collides with his head.
“That nearly hit me,” he complains.
“It was meant to,” I shout back with a laugh.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Hadley
“Keeping up?” Jeb asks me as I lean against the service counter to catch my breath. The afternoon rush finally seems to be slowing.
“Is it like this every Thursday?”
“It’s always our busiest day of the week. Don’t ask me why, but people love their coffee and cake on a Thursday.” He gives me a rare smile. “Why don’t you get those tables cleaned off, and I’ll deal with this mess.”
With a nod, I set to work, cleaning, spraying and fixing the tables. I’ve worked every afternoon for three hours after school. It isn’t much, but it’s a start. And the tips are surprisingly good.
I’m straightening out a table when a hand lands on my shoulder. “Conner, I told you—” The words die on my tongue as I come face to face with Tim.
“What are you doing here?” I blurt out.
“It’s good to see you too, Dove.” He flashes me a blinding smile, but I don’t return it.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
“We need to talk.” His expression turns grim.
“I have nothing to say to you.” I glance around, but it’s quiet, except for a couple of customers deep in their own conversations. “This is my place of work, Tim. You have no right coming in here like this.” My body trembles and I step back, putting some distance between us.
“You owe me ten minutes at least.” His tone is sharper, and part of me wants to ask what the hell his problem is, but I’m at work. Not to mention, the rest of me just wants to get far, far away from him.
I can’t put my finger on it, but something feels off.
“How did you know where to find me, Tim? Did you speak to my parents? Because I—”
“A mutual friend.” He winks, then crowds me against the table, grabbing my arm. “We need to talk. Let’s go.”
“Get the hell off me,” I startle, yanking my arm free.
Jeb notices and rushes over to us. “Hadley, is there a problem here?”
“Tim was just leaving, weren’t you?” I narrow my eyes.
“I’m not leaving until you talk to—“
“Oh, big guy.” Jeb pulls to his full height. “Either you can leave peacefully, or I can call the police and have your ass arrested.”
“Fine.” Tim releases me with a sneer. “I’m going.” He storms out of the shop and takes off down the street.
“Guy troubles?”
“I... I’m sorry about that.” I hug myself tight.
“Are you okay?” He touches my arm, and I flinch. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He doesn’t know the half of it.
Tim is here, in Sterling Bay.
Another shudder rolls through me.
“Look, why don’t you take five, catch your breath. I’ll manage out here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Go. And if he comes back, I’m calling the police, okay?”
I nod, relief settling into my bones. I’m safe here. Jeb will look out for me, and maybe I can call Conner to give me a ride back to the dorms.
But then what?
Tim could still be out there, watching me. He obviously knows where I work, does he know where I live too?
Oh God, what am I going to do?
Telling myself not to panic, I take some calming breaths. Conner will give me a ride back to the dorms, and then tomorrow, I’ll tell Miss Jones. She’ll know what to do.
At least, I hope she will.
Two hours later, we’re done. Hilary is out of town for the night, so she asked me to stay with Jeb to close up.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, surprising me.
Jeb hadn’t said anything about what happened when I’d slipped back into the shop after taking five minutes.
“Not really.”
“Understood.” He flicks the light switches.
“You’ve got a ride home?”
“To the dorms, yeah.”
“What’s that like, boarding at the school? Although I imagine it’s more like a five-star hotel.” He smirks.
“It’s... okay, I guess.” The lie rolls off my tongue.
I’ve never liked being there. It’s closer to a prison than a hotel, but I don’t tell him that. But it’s all I have now.
“I’ll wait with you until your friend gets here.” Jeb pulls open the door but quickly staggers back. It isn’t until he’s falling that I realize that Tim is looming over him.
“Jeb!” I shriek as his body lands with a resounding thud. He groans, and then nothing.
“Oh my God, what did you do?” I back up, fear trickling down my spine.
“None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you.” He shuts the door and hangs the ‘closed’ sign before twisting the blinds.
My eyes dart between him and Jeb, who is still out cold on the floor. The gentle rise and fall of his chest gives me some reassurance, but nothing about this is good.
“Tim, this is crazy... you’re scaring me.”
He prowls toward me with a menacing smile. “Innocent little dove. But you aren’t so innocent, are you?” He spits the words. “Did you really think you could abort my baby and get away with it?”
“W-what?” Emotion slams into me. “I didn’t... that’s not what happen—”
“DON’T FUCKING LIE TO ME,” he roars, the words reverberating deep inside me. “I know the truth. I know everything.”
“But that’s not what happened. My parents, they—”
“Hid you here so I couldn’t get to you.”
A strangled laugh spills from my lips but quickly dies as he grabs me around the throat and pins me to the wall.
“You couldn’t be more wrong if you tried,” I spit. “My parents weren’t hiding me. They banished me here because of you!”
For a second, his mask of rage slips, confusion clouding his eyes. But then it’s gone, replaced with nothing but burning hatred.
“You should have told me,” he hisses.
“They wouldn’t let me. They told me you wanted nothing to do with me, that I jeopardized everything. They even made me sign a contract.”
“A contract?”
“Yes, your parents and my—“
His grasp on my throat tightens. “Stop fucking lying. You killed my child. My. Heir. You think you just get to walk away from that?”
My vision begins to dim. He’s squeezing so tight, and it hurts. God, it hurts.
“Tim, please,” I croak, trying to claw at his hands, but he presses his body against mine, caging me in.
“I’m going to destroy you, Dove. Pluck every feather from your wings so no one ever wants you again.”
Bile rushes up my throat at his cruel, callous words. This isn’t the Tim I once knew.
This is a monster.
And I’m his prey.
“Tim, please.” I can barely get the words out as I desperately fight for breath.
My eyes flutter shut as my body gives up, the haunting fingers of darkness edging into my consciousness.
This is it... the thought surfaces. I’ve survived so much, but, in the end, it’ll be Tim, the first boy I ever loved, who destroys me.
Like a dream, I slowly sink into the abyss.
“Hadley, NO!”
I hear him, but it’s too late. I’m slipping under.
“Hadley, Dove, I’m here, I’ve got you.” Strong arms envelop me, pulling me down.
“Dove, stay with me, please... I need you, I need you so fucking much.”
“C-Cole?” My eyes flutter open, finding dark, stormy ones staring down at me.
“Hadley?” Relief washes over him. “You’re okay?”
“T-Tim, he’s—”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you anymore, I promise.” Cole flicks his head to the body on the floor.
“Is he... dead?” Fear chokes me.
“Not yet, no.” Protectiveness glitters in Cole’s eyes. “When I saw him in here, with his hands around your throat... fuck, Hadley, I almost—”
“But you didn’t.” I press myself closer to him, needing to know this is real. Needing to know that Cole is here.
“Ugh, what happened?”
“Jeb,” I cry, and Cole lifts me off his lap, leaning me against the wall, before going to check on him.
“It’s going to hurt for a while,” he says, helping Jeb to sit.
“Cole?” Conner’s voice rings in my ears and then he’s there, rushing into the shop. “Hadley, baby, what the fuck?”
“It’s a long story.” I grimace.
“I’m beginning to think you attract trouble.”
“Not now, Con.” I rub my head, still feeling woozy.
“Dad’s on his way with Ace and Remi,” he says to Cole. “What are we going to do with him?” Conner motions to Tim who is out cold, a trickle of blood running off his brow.
“We’ll wait for Ja—Dad.”
My heart swells.
“Come see to...”
“Jeb,” I croak.
“You got it.” Conner kisses my forehead before going over to Jeb.
“Okay?” Cole asks me.
“I think so.”
His eyes shutter as he pulls me into his arms. “I love you, Hadley. I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you too.” I cling to my beautiful, broken boy. “Thank you for saving me.” Easing back, I look him in the eye.
“You saved me too. I hope you know that, Dove.” He pushes the hair from my face, leaning in to brush his lips over mine. “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” I sigh. “Kiss me, Cole.” My fingers curl into his hoodie.
“Hadley? Cole?” Remi yells. “Oh God. Tell me he isn’t—”
“Dead?” Conner growls. “He should be.”
She rushes to my side. “Are you okay?”
“I will be.”
“Thank God Cole got here in time. We came as quickly as we could. Ace and James are—”