This new level of loneliness made her realize how foolish her decision was to move up to the remote mountains. She wondered, if this all fell through if she could get in touch with the realty company so they could continue leasing the cabin to vacationers. Chloe pressed her fingers against her eyes as she tried to rub out the image of Gavin lying lifeless on the cellar floor.
How had she expected to live like this in the first place? Chloe missed her family and old life back in Atlanta too much. How could she have predicted that this life change would be for the best? Her resolve to be a recluse cracked under the ache in her chest, the yearning for company. Gavin had been there since the first day, and she’d never had to think about being alone until now.
Chloe stood up from her desk and stretched her stiff limbs, willing life and warmth back into them as she hobbled to the kitchen. Glancing out the window, she saw what a nice day it was outside. It was such a nice day that she wanted to share it with Gavin, or anyone at this point.
She sighed and walked aimlessly back into the living room. Picking up her cell phone, she scrolled through her contact lists, searching for any old friends who might still want to talk to her. Surely someone would be open to even a shallow conversation about shoes or the newest fashions. Normally, Chloe despised that kind of talk, but as she had already admitted to herself, she was desperate.
When she reached halfway through the alphabet, she saw her mother’s phone number and couldn’t hit the dial button fast enough. Chloe sat down on the sofa, anxiously waiting as the other line kept ringing and ringing. She knew that her parents would be headed this way to celebrate Thanksgiving with her. Hopefully, they were in an area that had a signal or weren't too busy sightseeing to chat for a bit.
The call went to her mother’s voicemail. Chloe let her mother’s automated message drift around her mind, closing her eyes to envision her mother there with her, giving the instructions to leave a message after the tone. She had heard it so many times before, but it sounded so much sweeter and cheerful now than ever before. It had been a long time since she had heard anything so light and happy.
When the tone came, Chloe almost forgot it was her turn to speak.
“Hey mom, it’s me,” she began. “I just thought I’d call to see how you were. We haven’t talked in a while, and a lot has happened that I want to tell you.” Chloe paused, quickly weighing the consequences of what she would say next.
“I met a guy in town. He’s really great, and I want to tell you all about him. Call me back.”
Chloe tapped the red circle and ended her message. Leaving that message did little to soothe her. Now she was even more eager to hear from her mother.
The decision to mention Gavin might have been a mistake. What could she possibly tell her? That he was a vampire now, but in a few days, he might not be? That he ate squirrels at midnight but had gorgeous eyes and a gentle heart?
No, Chloe would have to lie through her teeth and tell her mom everything else about Gavin that her parents would see when they came for the holidays. Chloe didn’t like lying to them, but this time, it was an absolute necessity. It wasn’t like she was trying to hide a broken vase or bad report card. There was a line she couldn’t cross when it came to revealing who Gavin was. As far as they would know, he came from England and aspired to be a writer just like she was.
But then, what if Chloe told her parents all about Gavin and he didn’t make it through the detox? What would she tell them when they arrived, hoping to meet their future son-in-law and instead finding a brokenhearted daughter? They were still reeling from the last breakup with Brent.
Chloe held her head in her hands and was a little surprised to feel that her palms were nearly ice cold. Maybe it was all the typing or the fact that she hadn’t turned on the heater since she’d arrived. Fall was in full swing, bitterly cold winds and all. And soon, it would be winter, and there would be snow to shovel. It was hard to imagine the coming seasons without Gavin. She couldn’t bear it.
Maybe it was the loneliness playing tricks on her, or the exhaustion that seemed to permeate her bones, but Chloe heard something familiar coming towards the cabin. It was a car engine, revving up the steep incline as the tires ground against the gravel drive. Then, a car door opened and slammed shut.
She stood up and went to the door, needing to see if her senses were fooling her into believing she had a visitor. Maybe it was her parents or Miss Rosie from town. Either way, she was far too excited for words to know that soon, someone would speak to her and chase away the loneliness.
But, when she opened the door, all the overabounding joy gave way to terror. It wasn’t her parents or anyone else she wanted to see stepping up onto the porch.
A man, tall and attractive, stood before her, darkening her doorway. The sunlight behind him seemed to make his blonde hair glow, and his hazel eyes were bright and happy to see her. She could not return the expression.
“Hey, Chloe,” he greeted. His voice was just as she remembered, though she had never wanted to hear it again.
“What are you doing here, Brent?” she asked, trying to keep her tone level and unoffending.
“I’ve come to see you and this house you bought.”
“I didn’t buy it,” Chloe corrected, a little bit of venom seeping through. He never liked it when she corrected him. He always said he knew exactly what he was talking about. But at this point, she didn’t care what he liked or didn’t like.
“Whatever,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “I still came to see you.”
“How did you know where I was?” Chloe knew for a fact that she hadn’t told Brent about her aunt’s passing. In fact, she was sure that she had never told him about Aunt Mary Anne at all.
“Cindy told me you moved to Carter Lake, so I went asking around.”
Chloe’s lips scrunched with disgust. What right did he have to go asking for her around town? Not only would there be rumors all over the place, but he shouldn’t have tried to find her in the first place. What would everyone think of her? If he talked to Miss Rosie or Bob at all, what would they think of her now with some strange guy marching into town asking where she was like a stalker?
Then, at the same time, she cursed her old roommate, Cindy, in her mind for leaking such confidential information to her ex-boyfriend. Brent had probably spun some pathetic story to get the truth out of her.
“You’re not welcome here. Please leave my property before I call the police.”
Realistically, it would take nearly fifteen minutes for any cop cars to make it up the mountain, if they could make it up at all. And by then, Chloe was liable to strangle Brent—or throw him into the cellar.
Brent tossed his head back and gave a huff of a laugh. “Come on, Chloe. I just want to talk. I came all this way from Atlanta to–”
“And you can go all the way back and think about why I’m turning you away now.”
His face went cold like it often did when he was about to lose his temper. “The least you could do is tell me why you up and left to move out into the middle of nowhere just to spite me.”
Chloe’s eyes went wide. “You think I moved out here to spite you?” she cried, remembering how he had always made everything she did into some attack or offense. “My aunt died and left me this house.”
He shrugged his shoulders again, his neatly pressed shirt crinkling with the motion. “Couldn’t you have sold it or something?”
Chloe waved her hand towards the inside of the cabin. “This is part of my childhood, Brent. I wouldn’t just sell it.”
Brent made the same gesture, but it was filled with disdain like this piece of her history was nothing more than a pile of garbage. “You never told me about this place. How could it mean so much more to you than Atlanta and all your friends? You know you left all of them behind, too.”
Chloe balled her hands into fists, feeling a fireball kindle inside her for her ex’s ignorance. “What friends, Brent?” she shrieked. “You know damned wel
l I have none now because of you!”
Brent’s pale eyebrows angled downward into a scowl. “I can’t believe, after all this time, you’re still blaming me for something I didn’t do.”
“You did do it, Brent! I told you this already. You forced me to stay home with you when I promised to–” Chloe stopped herself, knowing that this argument would lead to nothing.
She threw up her hands in surrender and turned to close the front door. “I’m not getting into this with you. Leave!”
But Brent was too quick and blocked the threshold with his body, keeping her from locking him out. “No, I’m not leaving. And I’m going to set the record straight with you,” he said, pointing an accusing finger in her face just like he had done the night she left. “You made a choice to stay home with me. You could have gone.”
Chloe batted his hand out of the way. “No, you manipulated me and made me feel that if I left, you’d be all alone without me. You played on my feelings, knowing if you put on that face, I’d feel guilty and stay.”
Brent scoffed. “I didn’t do anything like that!”
“Yes, you did!” Chloe yelled, knowing that there was no one to disturb on this side of the mountains but the birds and squirrels. “Every time I needed to be somewhere, you gave me those sad eyes and pouted, saying ‘Ok, if you have to go, I guess I’ll just be here watching the movie by myself’,” she mocked.
“Was it wrong of me to want to spend time with you? We’re a couple, and that’s what couples do.”
Chloe couldn’t help but laugh and wag a finger at him with the best sassy attitude she could muster. “No, Brent. We’re not a couple. Couples build each other up and support one another no matter what. We broke up. I’m not spending any more time with you. I wasted years of my life, catering to you, and I’m done.”
She made another attempt to close the door, but Brent’s hand smacked the face of the door and held it open.
“When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I love you? I just want to be with you. Is that so wrong?”
Chloe could feel her face turn red with rage. “No, what’s wrong is you pinning me against the wall and forcing sex on me when I needed to go to my friend’s college graduation!”
“I don’t recall you ever saying that you didn’t want it.”
“I let you take me because I felt like I had to make up for not being there when you wanted me.”
“And that was an even trade. What was the problem?”
Her eyes went misty with angry tears. “The problem was that she wouldn’t speak to me again after I told her that I missed one of the biggest moments of her life because my boyfriend wanted to do me on the kitchen counter!”
“Then she wasn’t a very good friend. She should have understood.”
Chloe’s jaw dropped in disbelief. After all of this time, he still thought he was in the right. This arrogant and selfish man in front of her was still convinced that she was the offender here.
“Listen, I didn’t come to argue.” He held up his free hand in petition. “I came here to take you back to Atlanta with me. I just got a promotion and a fat bonus check. I want to take you to Hawaii so we can work things out.”
Even now, Brent was trying to steal her away from things she really wanted to do and the place she needed to be. She just told him that her aunt had died and this place held a special place in her heart. There was no way she was going to leave, especially for him.
And she knew exactly what would happen once they got to Hawaii. He’d leave her to go off and do his own thing, ignore her during dinner to stare at some blonde across the room, accuse her of things she didn’t do, and then make her feel like all their problems were her fault.
No, not this time. Not ever again.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Brent.” Her voice was oddly calm now but still filled with pure defiance.
“Why not?” he asked, his voice so full of hope. “It’s warm in Hawaii this time of year. It’ll be great.”
Chloe bit her lips together, once more debating whether or not to tell the truth. “I’m with someone, Brent. I’m not leaving him for you.”
Brent donned a look of disbelief and shook his head, looking around for some explanation as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. “You wasted no time, huh?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, propping a hand on her hip.
“I never took you for the type to rebound that fast.”
Once again, Chloe had to decide on a moment’s notice whether or not to tell someone else about Gavin. Brent had no right to know about her personal life and especially about Gavin. But maybe, just maybe, this would be the thing to push him over the edge and show him that he had absolutely no chance with Chloe. Not now, not ever. And Gavin would be the tool she’d use to get him off the mountain and as far away from her as possible.
“Compared to you, he’s a god,” she began, letting her words float to Brent with sensual inflections as if Gavin were there right now, pleasuring her in a way that Brent never could.
“Oh?” he said, egging her on for more, all the while, murder brewing in his eyes.
“Yes. He’s charming and ruggedly handsome. His body is chiseled and strong. Oh, you should see him naked, too,” she swooned. “And best of all, he actually cares about me. He has since the first day we met. He believes in my writing and wants me to succeed, whether he is by my side or not. He’s twenty times the man you ever were.”
Chloe didn’t see Brent’s hand come soaring her way before it made contact with her face.
“So, you’ve turned into a slut? I should have gotten more use out of you before you went and screwed everything up.”
She covered the deep red mark on her face with her hand as she felt her skin tingle and slightly swell from the impact. Her ears were ringing, but she heard him quite clearly.
Chloe marveled that Brent picked just one thing from her speech rather than listening to the whole. If he had ever loved her, Brent would have respected the fact that she’d found a better man and left. But now, his fragile pride was being attacked, and he couldn’t take that.
“I demand you leave, Brent. I’m not going with you, and I never will.” All anger left her tone, leaving an even sound devoid of malice or anything else that he could use against her. All she would give him were words. Goading his pride obviously wouldn’t work, and she was out of ideas.
“I’m not leaving without you. This new boyfriend can go to hell for all I care.”
Brent seized her wrist and began pulling her out of the doorway and down the porch, his fingers bruising her flesh. As thin as he was, he was still able to throw her around. It took a moment for her to realize that she was halfway to his truck before she acted, thrashing against him violently.
She screamed and scratched at him like a wild animal, the heels of her slippers digging into the dusty gravel beneath her feet. All the while, Brent kept grumbling threats against her and her new lover, practically ignoring the fact that she was fighting him the whole way.
When Chloe realized she was at the passenger side door, she opened her mouth and chomped down as hard as she could on the hand that gripped her wrist. She felt the skin give way and her teeth sink in. The iron flavor of blood grazed over her tongue as Brent hollered out more obscenities.
His hold loosened just a bit, and she was able to break free. With all the clumsiness and gracelessness that was typical of her, Chloe scrambled back up the driveway to the porch, panting and whimpering the whole way.
She faintly heard Brent trying to charge after her, but somehow, she managed to get back into the cabin and shut the door before he had a chance to get to the porch. Her trembling fingers worked the numerous locks, and Chloe was thankful for the precautions she had taken in her first few days at the cabin.
Backing away, she heard Brent banging his fists on the door as he ordered her to let him in. With heart racing and mind frantic, she tried to come up with a plan.
&nb
sp; Going out the back door would solve nothing. He would find his way around soon enough. Upstairs was a dead-end street if he broke down the door, and she knew that he would. Brent may not be strong, but when he wanted something, he found a way to get it.
If she couldn’t go out, and she couldn’t go up, the only other way was down. Chloe rushed towards the hatch door in the kitchen and stared at the padlock for a moment.
Was it worth it? Would she be safe?
Chloe heard the wood on the front door crack, and she didn’t have to think twice. She snatched the padlock key from the kitchen counter and quickly let herself down into the cellar.
She waited on the ladder, trying to calm her breathing, holding it if necessary. Not a single sound came from the darkness around her. All she could hear was her thrumming heartbeat and the commotion that Brent was making above her.
He shouted at her, and then the front door came crashing down. She flinched as she listened to him shout and scream, turn over furniture, and tear up her home. Her thoughts went to her laptop and Gavin’s manuscripts. Their futures, their lives’ work was on that desk.
She could stand Brent’s insults, his abusive, controlling personality; she could even take Gavin staring at her with his hungry vampire eyes. But she couldn’t stand the thought of losing everything they had worked so hard for.
Chloe leaned her head against one of the rungs on the ladder and tried not to cry, listening for the crunch of metal or shredding of paper. Brent’s heavy footsteps trailed up the stairs, and some of his rampage was muffled by the distance.
Slowly, she lowered herself down the ladder and sat against one of the walls, drawing her knees to her chest and trying desperately not to panic.
She wasn’t terrified by the fact that she was in a dark cellar with a sleeping vampire that hadn’t eaten in days. No, she felt that she was far safer with Gavin than the monster that was tearing his way through her cabin right now.
Brent’s words echoed in her mind about how it was her own fault for losing her friends in Atlanta. He had a point that it had ultimately been her decision to stay with Brent when she’d needed to be somewhere else. She could have had a backbone and turned him down.
Passions Page 30