A Safe Place To Fall (The Fall Book 1)

by Jessica Kile

  “Embarrassed,” she admitted with a sigh. “It's not his fault; I should've locked the door but nobody was here. I thought I had time.”

  He sat down on the bed and began pulling food out of the take out bag. “Wanna tell me what you're talking about?”

  Oh crap! She had planned on not saying anything to Drew.

  “N-nothing,” she stuttered.

  “Then why are you blushing,” he countered.

  She looked around the room to avoid the conversation. Her eyes landed on the pair of drumsticks hanging on the wall. For the first time she noticed there was writing on both of them. Moving in closer for a better look, she squinted. Did that say Lars? The other one said Jeremy.

  Holy Crap!

  “You've seen Metallica and Five Finger Death Punch live?” she asked, completely distracted.

  “I was ten when I saw Metallica,” he informed her, glancing above his head at the drum sticks. “Five Finger was last year.”

  “I haven't been to one yet,” she admitted. “My parents hate rock. So, they would never pay for the tickets.”

  “Nice try,” he told her, looking back in her direction. “Spill it. What happened while I was gone?”

  Lana sighed. “Chris may have walked in on me while I was taking a bubble bath.”

  “He what?”

  “The bubbles hid all of the important stuff,” she rushed to assure him. “He didn't really see anything.”

  “Why did you lock the bedroom door,” he demanded to know. His hands now made a fist in his lap. “Did he try something?”

  “What?” Her eyes widened when his meaning sunk in. “God no!”

  He relaxed a little and picked up a taco. “So, why was the door locked?”

  Lana's shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Old habit.”

  *********************************

  Drew eyed the woman standing in front of him. At times she seemed so fragile. It was at those times that he thought this whole stalker ordeal would, in fact, break her. Locking the door to keep Chris away was proof of how much she had been affected by Shawn. He once again vowed to protect her.

  Sitting his taco aside, he reached out pulling her down on his lap. “Let's go out tomorrow night. You can ask Tracie and Ricky to join us. You know Chris is always ready for a club.”

  “Are you sure that's such a good idea?” Lana wrapped an arm around his neck.

  He smoothed his hand down and back up her bare leg. His hand would slip just up the leg of her shorts with each path. “Going out is normal. You need that right now.”

  Hell. They both needed normal right now.

  *************************************

  Chapter 16

  The club was packed; anybody could be hiding among the crowd. Lana moved closer to Drew and held his hand tighter. Why had she agreed to this? The only time she ever agreed to go to a club had been when the band was performing. Tonight they were not playing. So, why was she here?

  “Relax,” Drew demanded softly in her ear. “You're not getting out of my sight tonight. You're safe.”

  “What if he's here?” she asked, scanning the club for any signs of Shawn.

  Drew gave her a confident look. “Then I'll kick his ass again.”

  “And I'm here to help this time,” Chris cut in coming up beside them, Tammy close to his side.

  “I need a drink,” Tammy shouted to be heard over the blaring music that had picked back up.

  Chris held her hand firmly when she went to pull away. “You stay with your brother. I'll go get us all drinks.”

  “I'm perfectly capable of getting us drinks,” Tammy argued.

  “Do we have to go through this every time?” Chris led the way to a table on the side of the dance floor. “Someone could be tempted to tamper with the drinks if you go.”

  Lana sat down at the table as she watched the dueling couple. For not being in a relationship they sure sounded as if they were in one.

  Chris gently shoved on Tammy's shoulders until she was forced to sit on the stool. “Stay”

  “I'm not a dog, you know,” Tammy shouted at his retreating back.

  “Dogs listen better,” he shouted back over his shoulder.

  Tammy growled. “He is so infuriating!”

  “He's right,” Drew stated, sitting in between the two women. “If he hadn't gone I would have.”

  Tammy rolled her eyes. “How can you stand living with these two?”

  “I'm just staying with them,” Lana reminded her as she continually scanned her surroundings.

  “Where's your friends?” the other girl asked. “I thought they were coming with us tonight?”

  Chris came back to the table with their drinks before Lana could respond. Her eyes widened when he handed her a huge margarita.

  “Dude, you know Lana doesn't drink,” Drew complained, taking the glass from her.

  “It's okay,” Lana broke in, reaching for her glass before a fight could start. “It looks good.”

  “Are you sure?” Drew seemed doubtful as he relinquished her glass. “I can go get you a soda.”

  “She's sure,” Tammy interjected. She took Chris' hand and attempted to pull him off of his stool. “Come dance with me.”

  Lana watched the couple make their way to the dance floor. How could they not be in a relationship? They fit together like they were meant to be. Chris was protective of Drew's sister. Why was he fighting what was bound to happen?

  Drew tugged on a strand of her hair. “If you keep watching them I'm gonna start thinking I need to be worried.”

  She gave him an as if look. “For your information I was just thinking they made a cute couple.”

  He made a gagging noise. “That's just sick.”

  Lana took a long sip of her sweet drink before asking, “Why is that so sick?”

  “Aside from the fact that we're talking about my sister?” He was eyeing the dancing couple himself. “He's not good for her.”

  Deciding it would be better to change the subject, Lana nodded her head towards the dance floor. “You wanna?”

  His answer was to tug her off her stool and to the dance floor.

  ***********************************

  Just feet away a guy went unnoticed as he watched another guy hold his girl close. Anger ran through his veins as he watched Lana move against the guy. Her eyes never left the blond like he was the only person on the planet. How could she?

  Didn't Lana realize what he sacrificed for her?

  He thought about the texts from the woman who actually gave him the time of day. She wanted him around. A normal guy would be satisfied by her. Hell, it wasn't as if she were lousy in bed. The girl could rock a set of sheets. The only problem was he found himself picturing Lana every time he closed his eyes. It was the only way he could find satisfaction.

  Feeling the need to let out some steam he headed back to the one woman who would welcome him with open arms.

  He found her waiting at his apartment like he knew he would. She was wrapped around his finger. Anything he wanted he could get from her.

  Why wasn't she enough?

  The apartment was not much. Just a hole in the wall. At least he had a roof over his head. The amount of money he spent on his obsession, not to mention the pills she constantly put up her nose, didn't leave him much to toss to a land lord. He didn't know if he could keep the place if his cousin didn't pay half of the rent.

  She looked up from her position on the floor by the coffee table; the straw was still held over the line of white powder. The girl could not be more different from Lana. His sweet Lana would never have an addiction as ugly as this one.

  “How did work go?” The straw dipped back down she slowly inhaled the white powder.

  He inwardly cringed as he watched his hard earned money go up her nose. “It went,” was his only reply.

  As soon as the straw hit the table, he pulled her off of the floor and into his arms. His hands found her ass and squeezed hard. “I misse
d you.”

  It was a lie. Everything with her was a lie.

  ********************************

  “We missed you last night,” Lana told Tracie as she tied her smock on.

  Tracie flipped the sign on the door over to open. “Devin had to work and I really did not want to be the odd man out.”

  Lana could understand that; just the same, she felt as if there were more to it than that. Over the last couple of weeks Tracie hadn't been acting herself. Maybe it was her brother's cancer diagnosis? That could send anybody for a loop.

  “Maybe next time,” Lana suggested.

  “Yeah, maybe,” her friend said halfheartedly.

  Lana let the subject drop for the rest of the day. The last thing she wanted was to pressure her friend into anything. She, more than anyone, understood the need to stay away from crowds. Her only concern was why Tracie all of a sudden felt that need?

  She grew increasingly concerned as the day went on. Tracie had managed to mess up four orders. Obviously, her friend had to be upset about something. When questioned the other girl had said she was worried about her brother.

  At the end of their shift Devin showed up to pick Tracie up. Lana watched the other woman wrapped herself around the man. It was nice seeing her friend so happy with someone.

  Her eyes widened in shock when Devin's hand slide up the back of Tracie's shirt revealing an ugly bruise on her back.

  What the hell?

  He saw where Lana's eyes had landed and immediately withdrew his hand allowing the shirt dropping back down.

  Something was definitely going on there. Lana knew better than to bring the bruise up around Devin. She would just have to mention it when she could get Tracie alone again. Was her friend really with an abusive guy?

  Disgusted with the thought, Lana got in her rented car and drove away. A look in the rear view mirror revealed Devin had eyes on her car.

  That night Lana sat snuggled against Drew's side watching TV. It was in that moment that she was aware of how lucky she was. Even with the craziness of everything going on with Shawn, Drew was there to protect her. Something told her that Tracie did not have the same kind of relationship with Devin.

  Drew tugged on a strand of her hair. It was a habit of his. “What's going on inside that pretty head?”

  “Something's going on with Tracie,” she informed him. Lana let her finger draw tiny circles on his stomach. “I don't trust Devin.”

  “Honey, are you sure this stuff with Shawn doesn't have you a little more on edge than you're willing to admit?”

  “She has this really nasty bruise on her back,” she told him. “I didn't imagine that.”

  “She could have fallen,” he insisted, flipping through channels on the TV. “Don't jump to conclusions.”

  Drew had a point; still, Lana could not help worrying about her friend. What if she didn't say anything to Tracie and her friend ended up dead? Deep down she felt there was something wrong. Maybe not abuse but something.

  He finally settled on an old comedy from the late nineties about seniors in high school wanting to lose their virginity. This was what she needed, a stupid comedy she could lose herself in. No drama. No tears. No violence. Just laughs.

  “Let's just forget about everything for a little bit,” Drew suggested, as he pulled her closer.

  And for a little while she did.

  It was three days before Lana had the chance to get Tracie alone to talk. Her friend missed one day of work because she was sick. Then the second day Devin spent most of the day at the shop on his computer. He made the excuse that his WiFi was out. Lana suspected he wanted to be sure she could not talk to Tracie.

  When Devin showed up again on the third day, Lana got inventive and insisted she needed Tracie's help in the back.

  “How did you get that bruise?” she demanded to know.

  Smooth. Real Smooth.

  “I don't know what you're talking about,” Tracie denied with wide eyes.

  Suspicion settled in Lana's eyes. “I saw it on your back the other day. Don't deny it.”

  “Oh, that,” the other woman said visibly relaxing. “I fell down the apartment steps the other night.”

  Lana let the subject drop against her better judgment. Until Tracie was willing to admit what was going on Lana would not be able to help her.

  Devin spent the rest of the day at the cafe with his laptop open in front of him. Lana tried hard to ignore him, but she could feel his eyes on her. Did he think he could intimidate her, get her to quit, and stay away from Tracie?

  He waited for Tracie to take a rest room break before he came up to the counter for a refill of his coffee. The way he eyed her breasts made her want to be sick.

  Lana tried to hand him his coffee without speaking but he grabbed her wrist tight when she went to move away.

  She tried to pull her arm away, but his hold only increased. “Let me go.”

  He gave an evil grin. “You're feisty. I like that.”

  Chris chose that moment to walk in the door. “Is there a problem here?”

  Devin let go of her wrist and took his coffee off the counter. “No, dude.”

  “Then I suggest you take your coffee to go,” Chris demanded moving so that he was between Devin and Lana.

  The other man cast one last menacing look at Lana before he grabbed his computer off of the table and stormed out the door.

  Chris watched him leave before turning to look at her. “What was that about?”

  “I have no idea,” Lana said, as she rubbed her sore wrist.

  His eyes narrowed as he watched her. “Are you okay?”

  Eyes still on the door, she gave a slight nod. “Just don't say anything to Drew. I don't need him going all protective.”

  He gave her an are you crazy look. “Drew needs to know about this.”

  “Devin isn't the stalker,” she said. “He's just pissed because he knows I suspect something isn't right between Tracie and him.”

  “You better be right about this,” he told her, accepting the cup of coffee she handed him. “If Drew finds out about this we're both going to be in trouble.”

  “Let me worry about Drew.” She flashed him a sweet smile and turned to start a new pot of coffee.

  Chris just shook his head and turned to leave.

  Chapter 17

  The rest of the shift did not go well at all. Tracie wasn't happy that Chris had made Devin leave the coffee shop. She insisted Devin did not mean to hurt Lana when he grabbed her arm.

  Lana wasted no time getting into her car and driving out of the parking lot. The new life she started building was slowly falling a part. First Shawn had to make a reappearance to terrorize her. Now she had the issue, whatever it was, with Devin. Unless she could prove what type of guy he really was she was going to end up losing her friend forever.

  Needing music to help calm her she turned the radio on. Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare blasted through the car's interior. Other drivers passing by probably thought she was insane because she was singing at the top of her lungs and beating on the steering wheel with one hand as she drove.

  This was her place of solitude. A place where she could get out all of her frustration, anger, and tears.

  In that moment she truly hated Devin. How could he come between her and Tracie like this? Her friend was changing, and it was all his fault. Lana could handle not being able to go out on a Saturday night with her anymore. That was a sacrifice most friendships made when one of the friends got into a new relationship. Did he really have to make their work relationship strained as well?

  Then there was Shawn. Why could he not just leave her alone? He was like a wall between her and everything she wanted in life. Just as Drew started tearing those bricks down, the messages had started. Now she felt as if she was losing her newly found freedom, even if she did have Drew by her side.

  Lana smacked the steering wheel out of anger. Who did they think they were, messing with her life this way?


  Screw them both!

  Seeing a line of traffic crossing the road at a red light up ahead she tapped on her brakes to slow down. The pedal went to the floor and she was still going as fast as she was before hitting the brakes.

  No brakes.

  As the cars got closer she shot up a prayer, to whoever could be listening, and braced for impact. Even with the seat belt on her body slammed into the steering wheel. The windshield shattered upon impact; glass came down around her head as it slammed into the dashboard.

  A moan escaped her lips as another vehicle plowed into her car from behind. Blood trickled down from a cut on her forehead. Some of the glass was poking through her clothes and laying in her hair.

  In a daze, Lana slowly sat up and looked around. The front of the car was smashed in to the point she could barely see over the hood. Sirens wailed in the distance over the shouts of the witnesses.

  Lana groaned. Drew was going to kill her, was her last thought before the darkness returned.

  *******************************************

  Drew raced to the hospital to get to Lana as soon as he heard about the accident. For now, he would over-look the fact that she had been speeding. He needed to be sure she was safe. The nurse said she had lost consciousness due to a concussion.

  When he finally found her room she was sitting up in the bed. His heart stopped at the sight of all the bruises. A bandage covered a cut above her left eye.

  He was never letting her out of his sight again.

  “Hey,” he said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “How are you doing?”

  “My head hurts,” she complained.

  “You hit pretty hard,” he told her.

  Lana grimaced. “I'm so sorry. I tried to stop but the brakes wouldn't work. I had no brakes at all.”

  The wheels in Drew's head immediately started turning, and he didn't like the direction they traveled in. If what he was thinking was reality the rules of the game had changed.

  “I wanna go home,” she whined, taking his hand into hers.

  “We have to wait for the doctor to come in,” he informed her. “If he says you can go we'll be out of here faster than you can say it.”