by V. F. Mason
Startled, I saw how Patricia had snapped a picture of me with her flashy new camera and laughed.
“What are you doing?” For some reason, the bite I just took was very bitter in my mouth, and nothing like the sweetness I expected.
“Taking a picture, duh.” She rolled her eyes and took another one, and then I noticed other girls from our school had come over and were laughing with her.
“But why?”
“Oh, I didn’t mention it, did I? For my charity project for school, of course. You know, we will have your picture on the stand with the sign: “Help those in need.” I’m sure you will have more snacks then, too. Maybe someone will even give you their old clothes.” The girls kept on laughing, and Patricia grew bored of taking pictures and put it behind her. “Come on, girls. My job here is done.” She turned away, but I could still hear voices.
“OMG, did you see her face? It was priceless!”
“Yeah, good for her. She is trashy, just like her folks.”
“Not to mention the clothes.”
“Yeah, the only reason she isn’t bullied is because of Nick.”
“OMG, Nick is one hot dude. I wish I could . . .” They were now too far away for me to hear them, and I desperately tried to hold my tears at bay.
I threw the remaining sweet treat into the trash bin and vowed to myself that someday they would all regret the shit they’d done to me. They would want to be like me, and I would prove them wrong. I was nothing like my parents.
Someday I would leave this awful place and never come back.
Someday I would be at the top and they would all be jealous of my life and eat their words.
Someday.
Ryan
Exhausted, I leaned back in the chair. I’d spent the majority of the day dealing with international calls and going over contracts. I may have come here to be with Bella, but I still had to take care of my hotels.
It was funny, really, how the one thing I hated the most somehow ended up being the very thing I loved to do.
The painful feeling in my stomach was a huge sign that I hadn’t had food since lunch, and since it was way past dinner, that was a hard limit for me. I went to the kitchen and turned on the lights.
It was clean, as always, and everything was put in order. Marie liked to run things in a certain way and never changed her habits.
I was in the middle of my steak and potatoes, which had been left for me in the fridge, when I heard the soft footsteps of bare feet and she entered the room.
It was easier to call her she, than by her name.
Every time I thought Bella was here in my house, it made me want to go to her, hold her to myself, and never let her go.
I was a hot mess who constantly thought about her, and thank God there was enough work. It kept me away from her.
We had spoken several times these last two weeks. I knew she’d had a couple of sessions with Drake and had followed his instructions. Usually, I just checked on her progress.
I always made sure we were never alone in the same room alone.
She was wearing pink pajamas; cotton shorts and a white t-shirt that was slightly loose on her, and her hair was down in waves and slightly wet. She’d probably just taken a shower.
“Hey,” she said, but didn’t move from the doorway.
“Hey,” I answered softly and raised a brow. “Are you gonna stand there and watch?” She blushed. I had no idea my girl still knew how to blush.
“Yes, I mean no. I…I was just thirsty and wanted to drink something warm.” That made me frown.
“There is no proper heating in your room?” My voice was a bit harsh and I could see she didn’t like it, but I couldn’t help it.
The house was warm all over, and I hated the idea that she suffered in the cold and her body was…
Don’t think about her body, buddy.
“No, not at all. It’s warm. It’s just that—” she closed her mouth abruptly and shook her head. “Never mind. I think I’m not that thirsty anymore. I’ll leave you to your dinner alone.” She turned around and was about to leave when, against my better judgment, I stopped her.
“You can stay if you want. I don’t mind.” She looked over her shoulder and there was something in her eyes that I couldn’t quite catch.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Believe it or not, I don’t exactly like to be alone all the time.” I tried to joke, but it sounded flat. I still remembered the time I had asked her to have lunch together and she had no reaction, but the expression of horror on her face had done all the talking.
I never made that kind of mistake again.
With a slight hesitation, she came back, took the pot, made herself some tea, and sat down near me at the table. She didn’t look me in the eyes, and for some reason that was damned amusing.
“Where are we?” She played with the lip of her cup, her finger making circles on the top.
“What do you mean?” It was hard to focus when she did that; it made me think about being the one on the receiving end of her attention.
You are insane, Ryan. The last thing she needs right now is sex—or your attention, for that matter.
“I know the ranch is yours and all, but where exactly are we? I have no phone, and I didn’t ask anyone. I would like to know my location, you know.” She sounded vulnerable.
Now this was difficult. I had no idea how she would take the news, but I had a feeling there was no choice to make.
“Texas.” She snapped her eyes at me and took a deep breath.
“Where in Texas?” Her voice was calm, too calm, if the emotions in her eyes were anything to judge by.
“Moonlight Rose Town.” She stood up abruptly.
“What? You brought me to my freaking home town?” She was now filled with anger and breathing hard. “I promised myself I would never come back to this fucking town that screwed me and my brother over, and here I am!” She moved the cup to the sink and I wondered how she didn’t shatter it, but she was careful with it. “And what a ridiculous name it’s got! Like we have any rare roses left here anyway!” Good point, but still—
“Really, Bella—”
“No! You have no idea what it was like to grow up in this town, and you’ve brought me here?”
“Calm down.” My voice was harsh and cold. She had to stop her hysterics.
“I won’t calm down!” Now she screamed, and I stood up and backed her to the wall. She let out a gasp of surprise.
“Keep your voice down. I don’t need you to wake up the whole house.”
“Let me go!” she hissed, but she lowered her voice this time.
“When you calm down, I will.” We were both breathing hard now, and I noticed the position we were in, me holding her against the wall so tightly that my body was flush against hers and her hands were in my hands, because I wanted for her to stop struggling.
This was no good.
We looked each other in the eyes and I was struck with those violet eyes of hers. I had never seen the color on another woman before or after her. It was so easy to get lost in her and in this.
But this was wrong.
I leaned back, let her go, and took a step back, trying to calm myself. One of us needed to be sane, and right now, that would have to be me.
“You don’t need to go into town. You can spend all your time here. What difference does it make?” She shifted her focus on something behind my shoulder.
“It just is. I hate this town. You will never understand.”
“Let’s not make assumptions of what I do and don’t understand.” She took a second, and then pulled herself away from the wall and made it to the door.
“I’m sorry, but I want to be alone right now, if you don’t mind. I know I have no choice in the matter, but I still don’t like it. Good night.”
“Good night.” Before I could even finish my sentence, she’d fled from the kitchen and left me standing there alone.
Some people in town had not b
een kind to her, but every place had those kind of people. The majority of townsfolk were good and worked hard. It was a beautiful place to live, but she couldn’t see it because she had some kind of fucked-up perception. I wondered if there would be a time when she saw things differently.
And my thoughts had nothing to do with the town this time.
Annabella
The next day, I was still majorly pissed that we were in my hometown. I couldn’t believe they’d brought me here. The girls and Jeremy knew I hated the place.
Well, girl, apparently no one cares.
However, when I took a shower and was drying my hair in front of the bathroom mirror, it got me thinking about one important fact, and I couldn’t let go of it.
If he had a home ranch here, that meant he grew up here. No one just moved to this city, and especially not guys like him. Yes, the ranch was isolated and it was probably hard to get to, but still.
He couldn’t be that much older than me, which meant at some point we were together in school. So we knew each other before. Who the hell was this guy? I didn’t know any Nate/Nathaniel in our school. Did he change his name or something? God knows this town would do that to a person.
It was ten o’clock in the morning, and I quickly ran downstairs to grab some food. Sure enough, Marie was there making me a plate with eggs, toast, and fruit.
Seriously, I would probably gain some weight by staying here. Maybe he had some kind of gym down here? That would be appreciated.
“Good, you’re here. Sit down.”
“Thanks.” The woman was really great; she was always kind and warm. At least I didn’t see judgment—or pity, for that matter—in her eyes.
Refreshing if you asked me.
“You’re welcome, kiddo.” I grabbed my cup with that God-awful tea and tried not to wince at the taste. Seriously, what the hell?
Apparently Dr. Parker, who was my nutritionist, thought coffee was inappropriate, and no amount of begging could change that—I tried.
“So, I had no idea we were in Moonlight Rose.” I didn’t remember her, but she must have been from here, right?
“Yeah, I was shocked when my boy wanted to buy a house here as well. Never heard about this town before.” She was still baking something and her back was to me, so she couldn’t have seen my shocked expression.
My boy?
“Why? Does it make a difference for you?”
“Kind of.” I didn’t know if I wanted to share anything with her, but then, why the hell not? I wanted to talk with someone, and so far, she was the nicest of them all, well, her and Drake, but he didn’t talk much, so it was hard to tell for sure. “I grew up here.” There was a look of surprise in her eyes and she took her cup from the counter and sat down next to me.
“I had no idea about that. My boy never told me.”
“I left this town when I was fifteen and never looked back.” I grabbed my fork and started eating, because I didn’t really know what to do with my hands.
“Why not? Your parents must still live here.” That made me tense, because my parents were never a good thing to talk about.
“They both died in a fire a few years back.” And just because I didn’t know how to shut up I continued, “Apparently, there was a fight over a bottle of whiskey with their friends, and one thing led to another and the fire started. There was no way to save anyone, and there was nothing left of the bodies.” My voice was cold, hostile even. Nick went to the funeral, but I refused to do that. Our parents meant nothing to me. After all the shit they made us go through, it was a rather ironic ending. It was behind me, and I never wanted to come back to them. Some people were beyond redemption, and that was the kind of people they were.
“I see.” Her hand squeezed mine a little bit, and I had the feeling she knew what I’d gone through.
No one knew though, except my girls. It wasn’t exactly my favorite topic of conversation with anyone.
“I wish my kids visited me more often, but they are busy in college.”
“Oh, I had no idea you had family.” Which was ridiculous if you thought about it; she had this motherly aura around her and so much love to give.
“My husband used to be in the army and we have two beautiful kids, a boy and a girl. Twins.” She smiled. “They both study at New York University, in Film production.” She sounded very proud of them.
“And your husband? He comes to visit you here?” The light from her eyes died down a bit and there was sadness in them.
“No, he died a few years ago while serving in the Middle East.” She still suffered his loss though, it was evident for anyone who looked at her. I felt the lump in my throat; it was hard for me to speak.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Those words were whispered, and before she could say anything, I stood up, not caring that I hadn’t finished my breakfast. “I have to go. I’m not feeling so well right now.” Running away was a form of escape. I had to face the ugly truth that I wasn’t the only one in this world who’d suffered a loss, but people learned to move on.
As much as I wanted to get better to play music and not rely on drugs, I didn’t want to admit something was wrong.
To accept this meant there was something to move on from.
I couldn’t live with the fact that my brother was dead, gone from me forever.
I was afraid I’d lose my sanity if I did.
“Nicky, are you sure?” I nipped on my lower lip and looked around worriedly. I knew he believed in me and everything I did, but I just wasn’t sure.
“Baby girl, you have an amazing voice. Trust me. You need to have a guitar to play some of the notes.”
“But I don’t know how to play it.” We didn’t have any money to afford it, either, and I didn’t want him to spend his hard-earned money on such an expensive present for me, not when he needed something for the dates he’d started going out on and his other stuff.
My birthday was almost a week ago and the incident with our parents, if they could be called that. Nicky had tended to my injuries; they weren’t that deep, thank God, just bruises that really hurt. He had wanted to surprise me with the present that was supposed to be a surprise, but due to the circumstances, he had decided to postpone our trip until I felt better, and that day was today. I still felt unsure about the whole experience. He heard me sing a while ago, and although I liked doing it in the privacy of my own room, I didn’t feel like I should put it out there. Nicky would have none of it and wanted me to practice with a real guitar because that’s what most musicians did, and it was hard to convince him to do it differently.
“Megan knows how to play. She went to music school and shit. She agreed to help you out.” I looked at him skeptically and raised my brows.
“Just like that? For free?” I snapped my fingers at the gesture, not that I had anything against Megan personally. She was a good kid, actually a nerd, with very wealthy parents. She wore glasses, had a bit of extra weight, and everyone made fun of her. I never understood the cruelty of kids, but probably it was a given. I was on the receiving end of it as well and felt bad for other people who experienced it.
“Yes.” He smiled about something without sharing, and that had me stopping in the middle of the mall. He acted weird, almost as though he liked the girl.
“Nicky, what did you promise her?”
“A date.”
“She agreed to help me out if you go on a date with her?” I couldn’t say I blamed her, as my brother was considered pretty hot—gross, every time I tried to look at him in that way I wanted to puke—and he had almost the whole school going after him.
I just didn’t feel it was right to use that girl, because I doubted he was really interested in her.
“Everyone makes fun of her. A date with me will put her a bit higher on the high school totem pole. It’s a win-win situation for us. Don’t worry, baby girl, I’m not using her or anything.” Well, okay, if it was okay by her, then it was fine by me. Suddenly, I grew excited at the prospect
of buying my very own guitar. I smiled, making Nicky chuckle.
“Knew that information would put you in a good mood. Here we are, let’s go.” We entered the music shop, and a salesman, who looked like he played rock every day, smiled at us and offered to help.
Later that night, I ran my fingers through my very own, new, classic brown guitar and excitingly waited for my lessons with Megan to start.
I had the best brother ever.
Ryan
I went inside the house and hoped to fuck there wouldn’t be anyone in my way.
And yes, by anyone, I meant Bella.
Lately, she was everywhere I looked, and that was not a good thing.
Not at fucking all.
I didn’t make a habit of working on the ranch. I liked horses, riding them, and even training them, but I wasn’t engaged in the day-to-day basics. I wasn’t built for that. I knew my strong suits, and that wasn’t exactly one of them. Today, I spent five hours in the cold weather and rode Black Star. The horse was fast and provided a good workout. It helped me clear my head from my problems—and one beautiful lady in my house. My body was sore and I needed a hot shower. I went upstairs to my room, which was several feet away from Bella’s, and took off my clothes, wincing.
Shit, maybe I overdid it today.
Thankful for the hot water, I turned on the shower and stepped under it. I rested my hand on the shower wall and closed my eyes while the hot spray made the soreness and pain easier to handle.
I was so out of it that, at first, I didn’t register the sound coming from my room. But then her voice became so loud I knew for a fact she was there.
“Nate!” I quickly shut off the water, grabbed the towel to put it around my waist, and rushed into my room.
Bella was standing there, shaking, with a panicked expression and her eyes looking crazy. She was on the verge of having a fit.
“What the hell happened?” My voice was a bit rough, but I couldn’t be gentle with her when she was out of it like she was now.