I watch the little boy pick his nose and wipe it on the sleeve of his sleeping mother who sits across from me in coach.
Reaching forward, I grab the plastic cup off my tray and take down what’s left of the brown liquid. As I sit it down, I see the pretty redhead walk toward me. “Miss?” I say lifting my left hand as she walks past me.
“Yes, sir?” She stops and smiles at me sweetly. She bends over a little more than she needs to, and I have a feeling it’s to show me the twins. I avoid looking at them even though it’s kinda hard not to.
“Another one.” I lift my empty glass.
“I’m sorry, sir. But we have a limit. And you have reached it.”
I growl. “Two drinks?” I’m six-foot-two and weigh two hundred and fifty pounds. Do they really think two glasses of bourbon is gonna get me drunk?
She smiles sheepishly. “I’m sorry. Would you like a water?”
“No!” I shift in my seat as I dig into my back pocket. I pull out my wallet and her dark eyebrows, which don’t match her red hair, shoot up in question. I pull out a twenty-dollar bill and hold it up as I look into her green eyes. They look dull compared to Skye’s. “I want another bourbon,” I say quietly but firmly.
She takes a quick look around the plane before she snatches it out of my hand and whispers, “Yes, sir.”
“Do you need anything, babe?” I ask turning to my right to look at Skye. She shakes her head as she looks straight ahead. I think she’s still in shock over leaving town so soon. She hasn’t even asked me where we are going.
I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans. I can’t stop sweating bullets and my heart pounds in my chest. I feel like I’m gonna have a heart attack at any moment.
I’m going home. I haven’t been home in years. And when I say years, I mean thirteen years to be exact. After graduation, Case and I hit the road to get out of that god-forsaken town and never went back. What was there to go back to? Broken memories? Broken hearts? That town tore apart after Nicole was taken. People eventually gave up hope that we would ever find her, but they never went back to their old lives. The ones where they believed nothing bad could happen in their small town.
Now, I’m going back for the woman who sits beside me, Skye. It seems ironic really. Left that town because of a woman, and now, I’m returning because of a woman.
The flight attendant comes back, and I take the drink from her hand before she can even set it on my tray. I lift the plastic cup to my lips and gulp it down. When I set the empty glass on my tray, I place another twenty under it. She takes it when she comes by without a word only to come back seconds later replacing it with another drink.
I take a deep breath to try to calm my nerves before I down another drink.
***
I keep myself busy looking down at my phone checking emails as the cab drives Skye and me from the airport to my parents’ house. Ignoring any spot that could make me think of Nicole. I mean she’s always on my mind anyway, but it’s different now. Now that I’m back home, I can see places that remind me of her.
The cab slows to a stop, and I look up to see the house that makes me physically ill. I can feel the bile in my throat, but I swallow it down. I pay the cab fare and thank him as I get out of the car taking our suitcases with me.
It’s early, like six in the morning early. And my parents have no idea that I’m coming, much less with a woman. “Where are we, Brecken?” She finally speaks. Her voice is soft as she looks around the unfamiliar place.
“A safe place,” is all I say. I may want to turn and run, but this really is the safest place in the world for her at the moment.
As I walk up to the front door, I feel my legs get heavier and heavier. As if I have cinderblocks tied to them and I’m tossing myself into the ocean. That’s what I’m doing, right? I’m willing throwing myself into the deep, knowing that I may not come out alive. But then again, I’d have to be alive to die. And I died a long time ago.
I knock on the door as I clear my throat. I reach out and take Skye’s hand in mind. “Babe, it’s six in the morning,” she whispers.
I look down at her, and her words ease my nervousness a little. It was the first time she’s called me babe. And I loved the way it sounded. “I know.”
“Are they expecting us?” she asks.
I shake my head and let out a long breath. “No.”
The front door swings open. My mom stands there in front of me, looking a little older than she did thirteen years ago, but still just like my mother. Her brown hair has a little gray, but it still lays past her shoulders. Her blue eyes are still just as bright as I remember them. And she’s wearing her favorite pajamas that my father got her on her birthday my senior year.
“Brecken.” She gasps, placing her hand over her mouth. Tears start to fill her blue eyes, and I hate myself even more than I already did.
“Hey, Momma.” My voice is rough with emotion, and her small body shakes as she opens up her arms and rushes toward me.
I let go of Skye to wrap my arms around my mother. She hugs me tightly and for much longer than she would have if I had seen her more often. And I feel like that small kid again. The one who wants his mother to soothe a bad situation. The one where all you need is a hug and some homemade cookies and the boo-boo is all better.
“Oh, my God,” she says tightening her arms around me as if I may blow away.
She pulls away quickly but keeps her hands on my shoulders. “Mom,” I say with a smile on my face. “It’s been a long time,” I say looking down at her.
“A long time?” she asks as a tear runs down her cheek. “It’s been …” She adds up the years. “Thirteen years.”
“You haven’t seen your mother in thirteen years?”
My mom and I both look over at Skye. Her eyes are wide as she stares at me. “Brecken,” my mom says my name excitedly. “Who is your friend?”
Skye turns to face her, and she smiles. It’s fake. I can tell, but my mother doesn’t. “Hello, ma’am. My name is Skye.”
My mom ignores Skye’s offered hand and pulls her in for a hug. And I remind myself that is why I’m here. For her. Skye’s life is in danger. If they arrest her for being a suspect, it could take me forever to get her out. And I was telling her the truth when I said that I can’t find Tiffany’s killer if she’s in jail. We just need to lay low and wait and see what evidence they try to pin on Skye. Once we know what it is, we can figure out how to handle it and go back home.
My mom lets go of her but grabs her hand.
“I’m sorry we’re here so early,” Skye says softly.
My mom waves a hand in the air with that big smile still on her face. “Oh, no worries. We were awake.” She then turns to face the house and starts to call for my dad. “Teddy. Teddy.” She yanks Skye into the house.
I follow them. It smells the same way I remember it. Like fresh linen. Peaceful and calm. I never realized how much I missed that smell until now.
“Teddy!” she yells again.
“What are you yelling about, Margaret? It’s too early,” he growls as we enter the kitchen.
“Brecken,” she says excitedly. “He’s home.”
My father looks up from the newspaper he’s reading while sitting at the kitchen table. He stares at me for a few long seconds before he places the paper on the table, removes his black rimmed glasses, and stands from the table. “Son,” he says softly, and I leave Skye with my mother to walk over to him.
“Hey, Pops,” I say as I open my arms and grab him for a big hug.
“What are you doing here?” my father asks, still sounding shocked but a big smile on his face.
Trying to protect another woman that I’ve fallen for. “Couldn’t miss your anniversary,” I decide to say, but my father knows it’s a lie. He always could.
“Isn’t it a blessing?” my mother says from behind me as my father hugs me tightly and slaps my back.
“It’s so good to see you.” He pulls away and looks me up and down. “God, you’ve gotten
big.” He laughs.
“Teddy,” my mother says with that same excitement. “This is Skye.” She all but shoves Skye forward. “She came with Brecken.”
Skye hides her laugh as she places her hand to her mouth and fakes a cough. It’s good to see that smile on her face again. “Hello, sir.” She reaches out her hand.
My father pulls her in for a hug too, ignoring her hand. “Call me Teddy,” he tells her.
My mother actually claps as she watches them exchange the hug, and I realize just how much I have missed. Just how much pain I have caused them by being gone. I’m a horrible person. But I’ve never claimed to be otherwise.
“Who’s hungry?” my mother asks. “I’ll cook a big breakfast.” She walks past me and to the kitchen.
Skye pulls away from my dad and turns to face my mother. “Would you like some help?”
My mother stops and smiles at her and my chest tightens. She used to give Nicole that same adoring smile when she would come over. I feel sick. “Absolutely.”
“Give me one second,” Skye tells her, and then her hand is in mine. I allow her to pull me out of the kitchen and into the living room. She places her hands on my upper arm and whispers. “Are you okay?”
I look down at her and clear my throat. “Yeah.”
“You’re lying,” she says matter-of-factly. I go to open my mouth, but she speaks. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I swallow nervously. Does this woman know me that well already? Can she see right through me? “I’m fine. Promise.” I lean down and kiss her on the forehead. When I pull away, she walks off to help my mother.
I turn to face the window overlooking the backyard. I find myself reaching out and opening the door. I walk out into the darkness and sit down on the glider. The sun should be coming up soon. I might as well sit out here and watch it.
The door opens, and I look over to see my dad coming out to join me. He hands me a coffee mug, and I thank him. He sits down beside me, and I take a sip.
“I’m glad you’re home, son,” he says looking out over the backyard.
I nod. “Me too.”
“Why do I feel like you’re lying?”
I look over at him. My dad always was my best friend before Case came along. I told him everything. He was one of those cool parents who understood their kid wasn’t gonna stay a child forever. I had my first beer with him. I had my first cigarette with him. I even dipped once with him. I never did that again.
“I’m guessing you’re here because of her.”
I look down to my mug. “Yeah,” I say with a sigh.
“Why did you bring her here?” He doesn’t sound mad, just curious. “Fiancé?” he asks.
I sigh and shake my head. “No.” Why did an image of Skye in a white dress come to mind?
“Unplanned pregnancy?”
“What?” I ask wide-eyed.
“What?” He shrugs. “You’re an adult, son. I know how these things go,” he says laughing at himself.
“No,” I say with a chuckle. “She was in trouble. I needed to get her to a safe place. This was the safest place I could think of,” I say honestly.
“That is true.” He reaches over and pats my knee. “You know you are always welcome here. We’ve missed you.”
My heart swells, but I hang my head. “I had to leave.”
“I know,” he says sitting back in the glider. “Case needed you.” I look over to him somewhat surprised by his words. “He had lost everything. Not only a sister but a mother and father.”
I sit in my car as the rain pours down on it. I squint as I stare through the window. What is he doing? Why is he just sitting there?
I had followed Case. I was coming over to his house to see him just as he was pulling out. He never even saw me, and I made the decision to follow him. He came out to the middle of nowhere and got out, put his tailgate down, and sat on it. I sit here watching torn, wanting to give him his space and wanting to know what he was up to.
He lets the rain pour down on him as it soaks him. The rain falls a little harder, and it’s hard to make him out. But I see him jump off his tailgate. And my heart stops when I look at his right hand and see he has a gun in his hand. “Fuck, Case.” I quickly reach for the door handle and open the door. I’m running in the cold rain moments later.
“Case!” I yell, my clothes already soaked and my shoes sinking into the mud.
His head snaps up. “Go away,” he yells.
I come to a stop a few feet in front of him. I breathe heavily as I look down at the gun in his hand. Then back up at him. “Please don’t do this,” I beg.
“I have to.”
“No!” I shout fisting my hands down by my side. “You don’t have to do this, Case!”
“The pain …” He swallows. “I need the pain to go away.”
I take another step toward him, and my jaw tightens. “You think I don’t feel pain?” I demand as I punch myself in the chest. “I loved Nicole,” I declare. “I fucking loved her, and now, she’s gone.” I run my hands through my wet hair as my chest rises and falls quickly. “You’re my best friend, and you’re also all I have left,” I cry out as my chest tightens. “Don’t you understand? This is what they wanted. They wanted to get away with it.” We have to find who took her. We can’t give up.
“I can’t feel her anymore,” he admits with shame. “She’s really gone.” He taps the gun against his thigh, and I swallow nervously. I have no doubt he’ll do it. I have to talk him out of it.
“I know.” I hang my head. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t save others from her fate.”
He shakes his head. “It’s over,” he yells,
He’s mad. He’s being irrational. He’s gonna do it, and I try to think of what I can say to stop him. He’s my best friend. I fucking loved his sister, and I’ve already lost her. I can’t lose him too.
“Kill me!” I shout over the rain that continues to come down on us.
“What?”
“Kill me. You wanna die?” I look down at the gun in his hand. “Then kill me first.”
He takes a step back from me, shaking his head, and his back runs into his tailgate. “You’re crazy. I would never kill you,” he says thickly.
I point at his gun, my dark eyes narrowed and lips thinned. “If you kill yourself, it will kill a part of me. So just do it already. Kill me,” I shout, thrusting my arms out to my side.
“Stop!” he yells back, and I see his hands start to shake down by his sides.
My heart beats wildly in my chest, and I let out a long breath. My hands drop to my sides. “A life is a life, Case. What does it matter if you kill me or just yourself? Not even death can change our past. It will only change the future—the future of us finding who took the only woman we love.”
Somehow, my words got through to him. He dropped the gun and fell to his knees in the pouring rain. I fell with him. And I cried with my best friend for all the hurt we had endured. I lost Nicole, but Case had lost his sister. Then his mother and father killed themselves because they couldn’t bear the thought of their daughter being a sex slave. They left Case behind. In my eyes, they failed him. And I refused to do the same.
We packed our bags and left town for Chicago days later.
My father lets out a long breath before turning to face me. “I know losing Nicole was hard, Brecken.” My chest tightens at the way he pities me. “You lost the woman you loved. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I lost your mother. Especially the way Nicole was taken.” He pauses and licks his lips. “But in losing her, we also lost you.” He drapes his arm over my shoulder. “I know you’re not back for good, but thank you.”
“Thank you?” I ask, my throat closing.
“Thank you for coming home. I haven’t seen that smile on your mother’s face in thirteen years, and today, you answered a prayer that she never gave up hope on.”
SKYE
I stand in the kitchen helping Brecken’s mother cook breakfast, and I fee
l comfortable. I feel like I fit in here. I feel accepted. No one is judging me. No one is questioning me. It’s as if I’m part of the family. And I wonder if that’s because I missed out on a family.
“So how long have you and Brecken been dating?” his mother asks as she fries up some bacon.
I pull the milk out of the fridge. “Oh, well … uh …” Do I tell her that we are dating? I don’t wanna say ‘Oh, we’re just fucking.’ I could say I’m having him help me find my friend’s killer, but I don’t know if they know he is a cop.
She laughs at my silence. “You don’t have to be coy. You can tell me.”
I give her a nervous smile. “About a week,” I finally say keeping it vague. She can take that how she wants it.
“Oh, so not very long.” She has this big smile on her face. She hasn’t stopped since she opened the door and saw her son standing there. She said she hasn’t seen him in thirteen years. Who goes that long without seeing their family? These people seem amazing. Loving and caring. Why wouldn’t you want to come home to that?
“No. It’s new,” I say awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. I dust my hands off as I look around the kitchen. “Where is the restroom?” I ask her.
“Just down the hall. First door on the right.”
“Thank you.” I leave the kitchen, and something catches my eye. I stop as I see Brecken sitting out on a glider with his dad sitting next to him. With their backs to me, I watch them as they watch the sunrise out over the backyard. My heart breaks for him. What made him run for thirteen years? What made him decide to come back?
I finish in the bathroom and turn the light off as I walk out. An open door catches my attention as I pass by it. Stopping, I look around to find myself alone in the hallway. I press it open. My breath catches in my throat as I look around the boy’s room. It has to be Brecken’s old room. Pictures cover all the walls. They are of him—a much younger version of him. High school maybe. In some of them, he’s wearing a football jersey. Some, he’s wearing a jeans and t-shirt. But they all have one thing in common; a beautiful brunette with bright blue eyes.
Obsession (Seven Deadly Sins Book 2) Page 28