by R. Linda
“Don’t think you’re special. I’m only here because I have to work with these people for now. Had to make a good impression.” I was such a bitch. It was like I couldn’t turn it off, even though I tried hard to. I guessed because I knew how they felt about me and that nothing I could say or do would ever make things right between us, I figured there was no point in trying.
“Right, well, enjoy your night, then.” Bailey rolled her eyes and turned back to Ryder, who was pointedly ignoring me.
Sally, the school’s receptionist, came over and began talking to Bailey about the baby and her plans for after she finished tomorrow, to which Bailey replied she was resting and taking it easy and trying to get as much sleep as possible before the little one’s arrival. That conversation prompted every other female staff member to pounce and start gushing over Bailey and the baby she hadn’t even had.
It was my cue to make myself scarce, and apparently Ryder’s too. The bartender gave him a beer, and he moved away from the group of women surrounding Bailey. He headed straight for me.
“Christina.”
“Ryder.”
“How are you?” He practically choked on the words, screwed his face up as though the simple question tasted bad in his mouth. I stared at him, surprised he’d even ask how I was. It wasn’t like he’d care.
I sipped my water and eyed him warily. I didn’t trust him, and he certainly didn’t trust me. “Great, actually.”
“Are you living in town?”
“Storm Cove.” I took a breath and continued. “Why are you talking to me? I’d have thought you’d come over here and threaten me to stay away from Bailey or something.”
He chuckled, those famous dimples appearing on his cheeks, and he suddenly reminded me of the young man he used to be, with the boyish good looks and bad attitude. I guessed he hadn’t changed much over the years. “Oh, there’s a threat coming, don’t you worry.”
I gulped and shifted my feet nervously as he stepped closer. Years ago, he wouldn’t have intimidated me at all. Or at least I wouldn’t have let myself believe I was intimidated. Now, though, it was a different story. I’d seen firsthand how far he’d go to protect Bailey.
“But for some unknown fucking reason, Bailey begged me to give you a chance.”
I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Bailey asked him to give a me chance. Why would she do that?
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” he said, as though he knew what I was thinking. “Damn pregnancy hormones make the woman crazy and irrational. And in the interest of keeping my balls firmly attached to my body, I’m going to humour her and be nice to you.” He leaned in and brought his mouth close to my ear. “You mess with her again, or anyone else I care about, I will make your life. A. Living. Hell. I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. And I don’t want you anywhere near my family or friends. So, stay away, and we’ll get along peachy.” He pulled back and stared at me with narrowed eyes, arms folded across his chest. “Understood?”
I nodded.
“Great.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and grinned. “Have a lovely night.”
He walked off and left me standing in the middle of the dancefloor. My knees were trembling, and I could barely stand upright. He meant every word he said. I knew it. He was fiercely protective of Bailey and the people he loved, and I knew from experience he’d lay down his life or freedom for them.
He was the one person I maybe wanted to make amends with. Somehow.
“Want to dance?” Carter appeared out of nowhere.
“Umm…” I looked around, and no one was dancing. “I should get going.”
“It’s early. Come on. Let’s liven this party up.” He took my hand and pulled me to him.
Bennett was creeping around outside. Ryder was glaring daggers at me. Carter was right there in front of me. Free. Willing.
“What the hell?”
Chapter Ten
Bennett
Her date was not a doctor. Did she really think I didn’t recognise our PE teacher, even from this distance? I laughed as I sent her the message calling her a liar. She ignored it, naturally, trying to make me jealous like I was sure she was jealous of Audrey. She said she didn’t want to play any more games, yet she seemed to be playing them more than I was.
“I’ve never seen the roadhouse so busy!” Audrey huffed as she pulled herself onto the top of the water tower. “There are cars everywhere out there.”
“Took you long enough,” I said when she came to sit beside me. “I was about to leave.”
“Sorry, we, ahh…got held up.”
“I bet you did.” I elbowed her gently in the side and made her laugh.
“Shut up.” She ducked her head. “What made you decide to come here?”
“Well, after the other day when we were here, I thought it would be a pretty cool place to stargaze, and who better to stare at the stars with than my bro.”
I really just wanted time alone with her, away from the watchful eyes of Brody and the Kellermans, to make sure she was okay after her panic attack the other day. We’d not had much time together, since Brody had insisted on taking her to school and picking her up every day because he was worried. Like I couldn’t handle it. But he was working tonight and dropped her here to hang out with me.
“Stargazing?”
“Yep.” I lay down on my back and rested my head on the pillows I brought with me.
“You have a pillow?”
“I have two, if you want one?” I handed her a pillow and moved over, giving her room to lie down as well.
“You have pillows?”
“Yeah, for work.”
“Work?”
“Uh-huh, so I can sleep out the back when I get tired. Or come up here on my break.” What Jeremy didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
“How do you like the garage?”
“So far so good.”
She shuffled around and tried to get comfortable. “Don’t suppose you brought a mattress too?”
“Quit complaining.”
“What are we looking at?” she whispered.
“The stars,” I whispered back.
“There are millions of them. Wow. It’s so pretty.”
“Why are you whispering?”
“I don’t know.” She laughed softly.
We stayed there, silently looking at the stars, only occasionally speaking when we found a constellation, or what we thought looked like something.
“Hey, I see a unicorn,” Audrey exclaimed and pointed to a mass of stars that looked like, well, stars.
“You see unicorns everywhere.”
“Because they’re magical and give me hope. Nothing wrong with that.”
“No, there’s not. How are you coping after the other day?”
“Better. I’m sorry I freaked out and made you worry.”
“That’s what bros do.” I shrugged.
She did freak me out, but once we realised the cause of her panic attack, it made it easier to fix. Sort of. I just had to keep my distance from Christina, which shouldn’t have been too hard. Audrey meant more to me than anyone else, so I’d do whatever it took to make her happy.
Pathetic, really.
She wasn’t my girlfriend. She didn’t love me that way, but I still wanted to make her happy. And if that meant Christina had to be shoved out of the picture, I’d do it because I didn’t want to be the cause of her breakdowns.
Audrey had been so worried about my relationship with Christina and the effect it would have on me if anyone were to find out. Combine that with the fact that Christina was probably the only person as despised as Chace by everyone we knew, and she couldn’t cope.
“I still shouldn’t have panicked like that.”
“It just means you care.” I poked her in the ribs, teasing. “You love me.”
“Not if you’re gonna get a big head about it.” She sighed. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m a big bo
y. I won’t get hurt.”
“Still, I worry.”
I wrapped my arm around her, and she rested her head on my chest. “Let me do the worrying. You just keep looking for unicorns, okay?”
“Okay.”
Music filled the night air, and we rolled over to look at the back of the roadhouse. Light spilt out through the open door, and laughter echoed through the emptiness as two figures appeared, stumbling down the steps. They made their way over to the table where Christina had been earlier.
“They must be having a party inside,” Audrey mused.
“Oh, yeah, it’s Bailey’s goodbye work drinks or something. Jeremy was telling me about it earlier when I was in there.”
“Oh. Does that mean that…”
“Yes, and…” I squinted in the dark and looked at the two figures in the distance. A man leaned in and wrapped his arms around the petite blonde. “I think that’s her down there.”
“What?” Audrey screeched.
The laughter stopped, and Christina and Mr. Hamilton looked our way. We ducked out of sight. They shouldn’t have been able to see us all the way up here, anyway, though Christina knew precisely where I was, and I wondered whether that was her plan. Bring Mr. H. out here and put on a show to make me jealous. It wouldn’t work. I didn’t care.
“Is that Mr. Hamilton?”
“Yes.”
Audrey turned to look at me. “I’m sorry, Bennett.”
“Why? It doesn’t bother me.”
I couldn’t even convince myself that was true, so I knew Audrey wouldn’t believe me, but the fact was Christina and I were all sorts of wrong. We couldn’t happen. It broke every rule there was, and a few laws too. If she had moved on, that was great. I needed to do the same. My problem was that the only other person I could imagine myself with was lying beside me and had a boyfriend.
And having feelings for your best friend never ended well. That was why Christina had been the perfect distraction. She helped me forget those feelings, and I started to move on.
Now…
I was lost.
Maybe I should just pick a random girl from school and take her out, get my mind off the two women I absolutely couldn’t have.
Urgh.
But the girls at school were horrible. Airheads. Bimbos who spent more time looking in the mirror than they did at their textbooks. That was why I adored Audrey. She was smart, funny, beautiful—even if she didn’t believe it—and fun to be around. We clicked right away. Shame about Brody, but that was life.
“Want to get out of here? Go watch a movie?” Audrey offered.
“Sure.”
I grabbed our pillows and climbed down the creaky old ladder first.
“Catch me if I fall?” Audrey asked, her eyes wide as she stared down at the ground.
“Why did you even climb up if you’re scared?”
“Because you told me to meet you up there,” she said with a shrug, as if doing whatever I said was the most natural thing in the world.
“I’ve got you. Come on.”
I was a gentleman. I’d catch her if she fell, or at least fall with her and give her something to land on.
Once we made it to the bottom, I grabbed her hand and tugged her around the front to throw the pillows in my car, without even glancing in the direction of Christina and Mr. H. still pressed up against the picnic table.
“Want to go inside for a drink?” I turned to Audrey. “Something to eat?”
Her mouth twisted, and she shook her head.
“You sure? Bailey, Ryder, and Jeremy are inside. I feel rude, hanging around the back and not going in and at least saying hi.”
“But she’s there too.” Audrey frowned and folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes squeezed closed, and I recognised the pained expression on her face. In a matter of moments, she’d start freaking out.
“Okay. Let’s go, then. My place or yours?”
“Don’t know why you insist on asking me that every time, Bennett. It’s always my place.”
“I’ll surprise you one day.” I laughed and opened the car for her, knowing full well that I’d never bring Audrey back to my house on the off chance she’d run into my father.
Closing the door after Audrey climbed in, I glanced back at the roadhouse one last time and noticed a figure, hiding in the shadows, peering around the corner at us.
Christina.
Chapter Eleven
Christina
It was Bailey’s last day, and I was both excited and nervous. Excited because she’d finally be gone, and I could teach the class the way I wanted to. And nervous because she’d finally be gone, and I could teach the class the way I wanted to.
What if I screwed everything up?
I wasn’t sure what sort of reaction I’d get from Bennett when we walked into class in the morning, and I really shouldn’t have cared, but even after seeing Carter and me alone in the dark last night, I’d not heard a peep from him. I knew he saw me watching as he left with Audrey, and still he didn’t say anything.
He could be jealous and bitter and sulking, not wanting to talk to me, which meant he cared and was struggling with ending things as much as I was.
Or he genuinely didn’t care, which hurt. As much as I knew it was wrong, I wanted him to care. To fight for me. To wait for me until the end of the year when he was no longer a student.
It was selfish and stupid, but I couldn’t help it.
The morning class progressed as usual. Audrey and Bennett huddled together in the back corner, and while I took every opportunity to watch him, he barely flicked his eyes in my direction. It was like I didn’t exist. Even Audrey didn’t pay me any attention.
The staff had organised a special morning tea to send Bailey on her way, and it made me wonder what the point of the bar last night was if they were doing the same thing again today without alcohol.
I had a meeting with Bailey at lunch, to which she was late, and her excuse was the baby was super active and kicking the hell out of her. She was in a bit of pain and moving much slower than usual.
Whatever. I just wanted it over with, so I could go and eat my lunch in peace and avoid Carter before he tried to get me to go home with him again. Dude didn’t understand “no.” Granted, I may have led him on the night before, but still…no. I wasn’t interested.
The meeting was so Bailey could make sure I knew where each student was and what needed to be done before their final exams.
I rolled my eyes as she explained everything for the hundredth time, and then she did something I never expected. She apologised.
“Sorry. I guess I’m repeating myself. It’s just that these kids have worked so hard, and I’d hate for them to fail so close to the end.” She winced and rubbed her giant beach ball of a stomach, a small groan escaping her lips.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this. You have two hours left until you’re free. Relax. Put your feet up or something. You look awful.”
She chuckled. “Thanks. I feel awful.” She groaned again and rubbed her stomach. “This kid is crazy today. Ow!” She hunched over the desk and held her stomach before looking at me with wide, terrified eyes.
“What? Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “Christina, I need…” She gasped. “Ryder.”
I raised an eyebrow. Like I could find Ryder even if I wanted to.
“I think the baby’s coming.” She stood, her legs struggling to hold her up.
“But you’re not due yet.”
“Two weeks, but it can happen anytime.”
My hands trembled as she leaned on the desk for support, her other hand moving from her stomach to her back. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn’t know what to do.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” I offered weakly, taking a step away. If the baby was coming, her water could break any moment, and I wanted to be nowhere near that mess.
“No. It’ll take too long. I need to go now!”
I looked around the empty room and to
ok a deep breath. Man up, Christina. “Let’s go, then.” There was no other option. It was either that, or she had the baby in the classroom.
“You? I need Ryder.”
“He can meet us at the hospital.”
She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth with a nod. “Okay.”
Taking a tentative step closer to her, I helped her stand and hoped like hell her water didn’t break while I was next to her. With one arm around her waist, I led her out of the classroom into the empty hall. Everyone was outside or in the staff room enjoying their lunch, and I was stuck being a human walking stick for a pregnant woman who could drop that kid at any moment.
“Ahhh,” she growled through gritted teeth and leaned against the lockers.
Once the contraction passed, we resumed our slow pace toward the front doors when Bennett and Audrey, of course, appeared in the hall ahead of us.
“Bailey!” Audrey rushed over. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s having a baby. What does it look like?” I snapped. I just wanted to get her to the car as fast as possible. “Bailey, where are your keys?”
“In my bag, in the staff room. There’s no time to get them now. We have to take your…” She paused, leaned against the wall, and cried out again. “Car. Your car.”
“Ahh, no. Sorry. I don’t want that mess in my car. It’s brand new.” No way was she having a kid in my back seat. I’d never get that out of the leather.
“Move.” Bennett’s voice was deep and music to my ears. He shoved his keys in my hand and pushed me out of the way.
He lifted Bailey’s arm and put it around his neck, and in one swift move, he hoisted her into his arms. “You get my car ready,” he said to me and indicated with his head to the door. And you,” he looked at Audrey, “call Ryder and tell him to meet us at the hospital. Let’s go.”
And with that, he walked down the hall carrying Bailey as though she weighed nothing.
We got to his car, and Audrey was frantically trying to reach Ryder. “He’s not answering.”
“Jeremy,” Bailey gasped. “Try Jeremy.”