Twisted Fate (Twisted Fate Series Book 1)

by Emery Jacobs

  “Hmmm… did you ask Mom before you brought the slut home for Thanksgiving?”

  She looks from me to Ryker and then back to me. She knows. Somehow, she found out I’ve been sleeping with Jack. She’s right. Maybe I am a slut. But what does that make her?

  “Not today, Ivy. Not today. It’s Thanksgiving, and Jovie is here with me. So don’t start your evil shit, or I will embarrass you in front of everybody. And you know I can,” he says.

  He leans in toward me, whispering, “Just ignore her. She’s a bitch. She can’t help it. She was born that way. Plus she’s mad because Jack didn’t show up. So she’s taking it out on everybody else.”

  “I understand,” I mumble.

  I glance back at Ivy’s glowering face and smile. Why? Mostly because she’s a bitch. But more importantly because Jack didn’t show.

  Lunch is uneventful. Ryker is sweet. He includes me in conversations, introduces me to his parents, and defends me each time Ivy throws an insult my way.

  After lunch, he gives me a tour of the house. I learn that this is actually his family’s home where he grew up. We make our way upstairs for the final leg of the tour that happens to end in his former bedroom. Of course, it does. He opens the door, and I am surrounded by all things Ryker. Two electric guitars lean against the bay window. A huge wooden-framed bed with sheets of music scattered all over the mattress. A drum set sits in the center of the room, and some type of surround sound system in the back corner with four speakers placed in different locations in the room. This room is perfect. And even though I don’t know him well, I’m positive this room screams Ryker Cole.

  “Your dad looks good. Is he feeling better? You know, from the night of the gallery crawl when he had to go to the hospital.”

  I didn’t want to mention anything at dinner because I don’t know what’s wrong with him. Since his dad and mom were so welcoming and friendly, choosing my words carefully was a top priority.

  “Yeah, he’s much better. He was in a fire as a kid and it caused him to have permanent lung problems. But he has also smoked for twenty years too, so that doesn’t help either. But he’s good now,” he says as he closes the door.

  I walk over to the bay window overlooking the backyard. My heart’s racing and my stomach’s churning. Not anxiety. Genuine nerves. No butterflies or sweaty palms, but fear that Ryker wants more. And I’m afraid more is gonna be in this room on his bed. I can’t do it. I just can’t.

  His touch is gentle as he turns my body slightly until I’m facing him. Blue eyes are all I can focus on.

  “What do you think?” he whispers before he moves his hand to my face.

  “What do I think about—” I can’t finish because, in a split second, his lips are on mine. And it’s not so bad. It’s actually not bad at all.

  His lips are soft, gentle like his touch. My eyes drift shut as I skim my fingers up his chest and around his neck. He backs me up until I’m pressed against the window. His hand moves from my face, slides down my arm and waist until he grips my leg. Lifting it, he wraps my leg around his waist and presses his erection into my— Holy shit.

  I wiggle trying to free myself from his hold. But he apparently thinks I’m squirming for a different reason. He presses against me harder as his hand finds my ass. He grips it tight, so tight it feels like his fingers are touching my bare skin. His mouth moves from my lips to my chin and along my jaw toward my ear. Heavy breathing becomes moaning just as his lips find my ear. All of his movements are smooth, as though each is carefully planned. As if he plotted to get what he wants. The rubbing, grinding and moaning are causing me to lose it. My mind is giving into my raging lust.

  Jack. He is all I can see behind my closed eyes. I tell myself that I don’t care if he’s fucking Ivy or whoever the hell else. I’m not doing this with Ryker, so I grasp his arms and push him away. He moves without hesitation. Those blue eyes are now dark with desire, and I’m sorry that I let it go this far.

  “I can’t do this. I’m sorry if I led you to think differently,” I whisper.

  Staring into my eyes before he leans in and places a kiss on my cheek, he mumbles, “It’s because of him, isn’t it?”

  I swallow hard. Take a deep and focus on the question. Him? Hmmm…

  “Him?” I ask.

  “Yes, Jovie. Him. As in Jack. The reason you won’t do this is because of Jack, isn’t it?”

  “Why would you think that? I mean what would make you ask me such a crazy question?”

  He laughs—then moves in a little closer—again.

  “Everybody knows. It’s not a secret. I just want you to admit it,” he says.

  “Look, Ryker. I like you. I mean this—what we just did was borderline amazing. But I’m not that kind of girl. We’ve been on one date. And today has been great, but still. It’s too soon for me to have sex with you.” I’m a terrible liar. I rub the side of my face before tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. See—I’m getting fidgety. This is what I do when I don’t tell the truth. I want to scream, yes, it’s because of him. But I can’t. At least not at this point, anyway.

  “I understand. But I want you to know that I think you’re pretty great. And beautiful. Did I mention how beautiful you are?”

  The blood rushes to my face. It’s flushing—I’m sure a bright red. I look down toward my feet so he doesn’t notice. But he quickly places his finger under my chin and lifts my face to where looking into his eyes is unavoidable.

  “Please be careful with him. Jack’s my friend. He’s had this thing with my sister off and on for a few years. But he has issues. And his problems run deep. You deserve so much more than what he’s got to offer you.” He kisses me lightly on the forehead before continuing. “He’s not gonna take you out and treat you the way you deserve. He’ll keep you around as long as you don’t become too attached. And when you do, he’ll walk away and never look back.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” falls from my mouth. What’s up with everybody protecting me from Jack? Is he really that bad? Poor guy. I actually feel sorry for him.

  I move around Ryker, leaving him leaning against the window.

  As I reach the door, he says, “I want to take you out. Spend time with you. That’s what I have to offer. And the other, yeah, I want that too. But I’d never hide you from the world. Keep you around just to fuck and then do the same with three or four others at the same time. You deserve to be the only one, not one of four.”

  My eyes fill with tears as I open the door and walk across the hall to the bathroom. As I reach for the knob to the door, it opens. Damn it. Pale green eyes looking directly into my blue ones. A smirk follows before the words begin to roll off her tongue.

  “Remember the first night we met? At Jake’s bar?” Ivy asks.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Obviously, you don’t, because I told you that night to stay away from my brother. You didn’t listen—”

  “No, you didn’t tell me to stay away. As I recall, you said he wasn’t interested, which is completely untrue—because, as you can see, he is.”

  “I’m telling you this now… stay away from my brother. He has plenty of groupie sluts to choose from, and he doesn’t need another one.”

  “I’m not going to stand here and argue with you about your brother. I’m not interested in anything more than friendship. So don’t worry yourself about me.”

  Forget the bathroom. My tears have dried and steam is rising from the top of my head. I’ve got to get the hell away from this crazy bitch before I say more than I should. I walk down the hall, and just as I reach the staircase, she spews her evil confession so loudly that everyone in this house now knows the truth.

  “I know you’re fucking Jack.”

  I stop in my tracks. I’m paralyzed. Numbness from my feet shooting up my legs to my waist. No feeling at all. Then she’s behind me. Her perfume is strong, bold, a smell that causes my throat to tickle.

  Her body is inches from mine as she bends down near my ear and
says, “He told me last night as I rode his dick so fucking hard. I promised him the release that he so desperately wanted for the truth. I bet you don’t have that kind of control over him. Do you? No truth. No orgasm. Plain and simple. So he gave me what I asked for… the truth. And then I was kind enough to let him fill me with his release.”

  I suddenly need to cough, to cry… to run and hide. No, not because of anxiety, but because of hurt. He fucked me last night. Did he sleep with her first? I can’t even think about it anymore. She’s a cruel bitch, but I’m afraid I’ll cry if I continue this conversation with her. And the last thing I want is for her to see me cry.

  “Ivy! Leave her the fuck alone. I warned you.”

  It’s Ryker. He’s trying to look out for me. If for no other reason, because of Ivy, I could never be in a relationship with Ryker. She would destroy me. I’m just not that strong. My feet and legs regain feeling so I take a few steps toward the stairs. She’s still not done. She just can’t let it go.

  “I hope you haven’t fucked her, my dear sweet brother. Because you know she’s been fucking Jack and God knows who else.” She lets out a cackle. God, such an irritating laugh. But so appropriate for her. I continue down the stairs leaving them to finish the conversation that I no longer want any part of. As soon as I find Layla, we head outside toward the car. I fall into the passenger’s seat and cry.

  Chapter 20

  Jack

  She’s standing at my front door at seven o’clock just like she promised. Beautiful, but with an air of sadness. Swollen red eyes and flushed cheeks greet me as she walks into my condo. I didn’t think she would show. Ryker called me about two hours ago and filled me in on today’s Thanksgiving fiasco.

  “I’m glad you came,” I say as I reach for her hand. She pulls back like holding my hand is the last thing she wants to do tonight.

  “I said I would, so I’m here. You have something to show me?”

  She’s not happy with me. Not at all.

  “Yeah, it’s in the studio.”

  “Studio?” Her eyebrows rise as her eyes dart around the room.

  She’s confused. And it’s fucking adorable. I’ve never shown her my art. It’s mostly private. Only for me, but now that I took a leap out into the art world, I’m loosening up some. What little bit of exposure I got that night from my first showing gave me just enough confidence to branch out. Design things out of my comfort zone. Comfort zone meaning people and faces. Now, I want to show the world I can do more. So much more.

  “I converted the basement into a small studio. It’s where I draw—design the art for Southern Stain. It’s also, where I paint. You know like the art from my showing.”

  “Oh,” is all that tumbles from her perfect lips.

  “Follow me,” I reach for her hand again, but she steps away.

  I don’t know what she wants. She shows up here tonight, but yet she’s distant. Very non-Jovie. I hate to be a dick, but she knew what she was getting into from the beginning. And now, here we are at what I assume to be the end, and she’s acting like a damn girlfriend.

  We walk down the narrow staircase. Once she steps off the last step, her face lights up. She moves slowly toward the wall and takes in every painting. Every sketch.

  “It’s over here.”

  “What?” She turns away from the wall to face me.

  “The painting. The one I want you to see.”

  She walks toward me, and when she sees the oversized canvas, her lips curl up into a breath-taking smile.

  Walking away from her isn’t going to be easy. The feelings I have let myself develop over the last few weeks are borderline pathetic. I know I shouldn’t have fucked her in my bed—mistake number one. Mistake number two—every night. In my bed every night. What the hell is wrong with me? I let my constant need to protect her override every rational bone in my body. And the sex. Well, fucking unbelievable doesn’t give it justice.

  “Jack, it’s beautiful. You’re talented. I mean really good,” she says.

  “I couldn’t stop thinking about that night. That place is so damn peaceful. I decided to paint it.”

  “I love it. The dock, the water, with the tree and the moon. It’s perfect. Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For showing me this painting. I know how private you are about certain things. Well, pretty much everything. But you took me to this place and now you’re letting me see it again—through your eyes. So, thank you.” She smiles as her fingers move along the border of the canvas.

  Why does she have to be so fucking perfect? These types of thoughts will get me in trouble. Make me think I want more than I actually do. Even if I’m willing to overlook a rule or two, it will never work. Because it can’t. I won’t allow it long term. So I’m about to do this now rather than later. To be honest, it’s gonna suck.

  “I know what happened at the Cole’s today,” I say.

  “No, Jack. You don’t know what happened today. The only thing you know is what someone else told you. And I assume that someone was Ivy.”

  “It doesn’t matter how I know or who told me. What matters is that this thing we have is becoming complicated. And I don’t do complicated.”

  She steps away from the painting and looks directly into my eyes.

  “It’s only complicated if you allow it to be. But what happened today at the Cole’s was nothing short of humiliating. And I refuse to continue whatever this rule induced fuck buddy system you have going here with multiple females. It’s just not for me.”

  She takes one last look at the painting and then returns her eyes to mine.

  “I feel sorry for you, Jack. You really need to work on fixing whatever it is that’s broken in your life. You have a beautiful soul. I’ve seen it in just this short period of time we’ve been together. You deserve to be happy. Hell, happiness is something we all deserve. I wish you luck in finding it.”

  She brings her hand to my cheek, stands on her toes, and leans in and kisses my lips softly. Then she turns around—walks upstairs. The front door opens and closes. I do nothing. No movement. I just let the best thing in my life walk away without as much as a goodbye.

  Chapter 21

  Jovie

  “I haven’t had any anxiety or panic in close to a month now. So I’m fixed—cured. Right?” I ask Dr. Birch. These meetings are getting kinda old. Same shit, different day.

  “Are you still taking your medication?”

  “No. Remember, I told you I’m not going to take that medicine. I don’t need it. I refuse to rely on a pill to fix my problems.”

  She smiles and types some bullshit into her laptop. I’m sure she’s reminding herself of how stubborn I am. And how I don’t follow the protocol like the rest of her anxiety-stricken patients do.

  “Jovie, you of all people should know how anxiety works. You’ll be fine for a while and then it’s back. I just want you to realize this before you ultimately decide against taking the medication.”

  “Yes, I do realize that, but I’m just not ready to become a zombie. I want to enjoy life.”

  “Is that what you’re doing now? Enjoying life?” She straightens her skirt as she uncrosses her legs. Her eyes follow the movement of my head as I look around the room.

  “Yes, of course, I’m enjoying life. Isn’t that what all nineteen-year-old college students do?”

  “Are you still seeing that guy? Hmmm…” she’s searching her screen looking for the identity of the person she thinks is the source of my happiness, but hopefully, she won’t find it. I don’t even want to hear the sound of his name.

  “It’s Jack, isn’t it? Are you still seeing him?” She smiles.

  “No, I’m not. It was never like that. I tried to explain that last week. We were friends and now we’re not. And I would rather not discuss him today. This session is about me, not him.”

  I’m snappy and rude. Two things that are not me. I didn’t tell her about Ivy, Ryker, and Thanksgiving. And I certainly didn’t tel
l her that I walked out of Jack’s life two weeks ago without looking back. But what really sucks is that he didn’t try to stop me. He hasn’t called or texted. No communication. So, I guess everything I’ve heard about him is true. When he’s done… well, he’s done. I meant nothing to him. All lies about wanting to protect me from my anxiety. To help me find my peaceful place was a ploy to get me into his bed every night. And it worked.

  “Jovie, I know there’s more to this story, but I’m not going to pry. I’ll give you your privacy, but if it causes you to have an increase in your anxiety, then we’ll have to discuss it.”

  “I told you my anxiety is better, much better. I just really want to focus on school right now. I feel like it is the one thing that is giving me some direction.”

  She looks down at her watch before saying, “We don’t have but about ten minutes left. I want to mention one other topic that I know you don’t want to discuss, but it’s important.”

  I know what topic it is. My dead sister. The cemetery, the fainting, and the hospital. I don’t want to discuss it. Not today and not ever. I will never go back to that gravesite again. Never.

  Standing quickly from the couch, I scan the room like a trapped animal looking for my escape. I’m sure she knows that I want out. She’s a smart lady. Sometimes too damn smart.

  “What are you doing?” she asks.

  “I’m leaving. I forgot that I have to go into work early. So I need to head out so I can change.”

  “Jovie. I understand you don’t want to discuss what happened that day at the gravesite. I’ve tried to give you some time to heal. But you can’t bury it away. It’s only a source of more problems further down the road.”

  I nod and then shrug my shoulders as if I don’t care. Because honestly, at this point, I don’t.

  “I understand, Dr. Birch. But today has been tiring. And then to come here and discuss Jack, the gravesite, and my dead sister. Well, it’s just too much. Can we please save it for next week? I promise I’ll be ready and willing to talk about anything you think we need to discuss.”