Chasing Red Series, Book 1

by Isabelle Ronin

  I darted inside the washroom before he saw me. Running into one of the stalls, I locked it and sat on the toilet cover, wrapping my arms around myself.

  This is pathetic, I thought sourly, but I didn’t leave.

  So what if he saw me? I would have to face him sooner or later. I couldn’t hide from him forever. But I couldn’t see him…not right now. Not even tomorrow, or next week. Or next month.

  I think I’m ready to move to Japan now, or Indonesia, maybe. I hear it’s a very beautiful country.

  I stiffened when I heard the bathroom door open.

  “Veronica?”

  What the hell?

  “I know you’re in there. Please. I just want to talk.”

  I don’t. I really don’t.

  I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself. It was impossible. Adrenaline had already flooded my system.

  When I opened the door, Beatrice-Rose was waiting for me.

  The sight of her made me angry, with her innocent-looking eyes and her beautiful face. Her face was her weapon, I realized. She used it to dupe people into thinking she was harmless, when in truth she was as cunning as a snake.

  “Hi.” She spoke softly, biting her lip. She looked…guilty.

  I narrowed my eyes at her.

  “I just want to apologize for last night. I’m so sorry,” she pleaded, looking contrite. “It was my fault. Caleb had nothing to do with it. The kiss…last night…wasn’t his fault. It was mine.”

  The kiss.

  What kiss?

  Caleb told me he didn’t sleep with her… Oh my God.

  “It was only going to be a kiss, I swear. But…one thing led to another, like it always does with me and Caleb, and before we knew it, we were all over each other. I’m so sorry, Veronica. Caleb and I…he and I…had sex last night. I don’t hold him responsible, and you shouldn’t either. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean to ruin your relationship. It just happened. It always happens.”

  My throat closed up, and my limbs felt cold and numb. I stared at her unblinkingly, at her eyes filled with apology and sincerity.

  It lasted only a second, and I would have missed it if I had blinked, but the side of her lip lifted in a triumphant smirk.

  My palm tingled.

  “Veronica, I hope you now understand that Caleb and I will always—”

  She didn’t finish what she was going to say because I walked right up to her, lifted my hand, and slapped her across the face—hard. Her head snapped to the side.

  I could see the red mark and the imprint of my fingers on her white cheek.

  Her mouth opened in shock, her hand covering the spot where I’d slapped her. When she turned to face me, her eyes were filled with hate.

  “Drop the act,” I said quietly.

  “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Veronica.”

  Her innocent mask was back in place. I dug my nails into my palms, resisting the urge to punch her. Maybe knock out a few of her teeth.

  “I know your type,” I said. “You may have fooled everyone, but you don’t fool me.”

  Beatrice-Rose licked her lips, shaking her head. “You’re mistaken. I know you’re hurt that he broke up with you last night, but he and I… We loved each other even before you came in the picture. Caleb is—”

  “You’re pathetic,” I bit out. I realized at that moment that I’d had enough. This girl wasn’t worth another second of my time.

  I forced myself to walk away steadily. I was so angry I started to shake.

  I pushed open the door and stepped out of the washroom. My vision was fuzzy, but I kept going.

  “Red.”

  I whirled around so fast that Caleb had to grasp my arms to steady me. Shocked, hurt, and confused, I stared at him. What was he doing here?

  And then it hit me.

  He’d called me a coward when he was the coward. Did he send Beatrice-Rose inside to talk to me while he waited outside? He didn’t even have the courage to tell me himself.

  In the back of my mind, I was hoping he hadn’t lied, that he’d told me the truth yesterday…but I was right all along. Caleb had lied to me.

  He said he didn’t sleep with her. But he did. He did. He did.

  Furious, I pushed him away. Then I slapped him in the face. Hurt and confusion reflected in his eyes as he looked at me.

  “I hate you,” I lashed out at him. “I fucking hate you.”

  I turned away from him. When I heard the washroom door open and Beatrice-Rose’s shocked voice calling for Caleb, I ran.

  My vision blurred. I didn’t know where I was going. I just wanted to get the hell away from him. From them.

  I lost my breath when I collided with a hard object and strong arms wrapped around me.

  “We have to stop meeting like this, Angel Face. Hey, what’s wrong?”

  Damon.

  “I’m going to start bringing tissues with me if you keep this up,” he teased.

  “Get your fucking hands off her!”

  I spun around when I heard Caleb’s furious voice. Damon’s arms only tightened around me.

  “I said, get your fucking hands off her,” Caleb repeated, his voice sharp with warning. His eyes were wild and blazing with anger as they zeroed in on Damon’s arms around me.

  “What if I don’t want to?” Damon challenged.

  “No,” I murmured. “Just let go, Damon. I don’t want trouble.” I tried to pry open his arms, but he wasn’t budging.

  There was a daredevil gleam in his eye as he whispered, “Oh, I think trouble is your middle name.”

  I watched in horror as Caleb threw the first punch, snapping Damon’s head back. Damon relaxed his hold on me, and I stepped away, horrified.

  He cupped his jaw, moving it from side to side, checking if anything was broken. “You’re going to pay for that, Lockhart.”

  He lunged at Caleb, punching him in the stomach. They both went insane after that. I tried to get between them to stop them, but someone yanked me away.

  “Stop! Stop! Get your hands off me!” I screamed.

  “Sorry, but I’d pay to see this.” The sadism in the voice made me look behind me.

  “You!” I spat out.

  It was Caleb’s teammate who had brought him home the other night. The creep. He held me too tightly, my back facing him.

  “Me.” He winked. “I’m Justin, by the way. I don’t think we were properly introduced last time.”

  “I don’t care who you are.” I struggled against his hold. “Stop them!”

  Damon grabbed Caleb from behind in a firm choke hold. Caleb responded by driving his elbow into Damon’s stomach. I shut my eyes.

  “Why?” Justin asked.

  Was he serious?

  “Let go of me!”

  “You’re not breaking this up. I’ve never seen Caleb this mad before. You sure did a number on him, sweetheart.”

  My skin crawled as I felt his hot breath on my neck.

  Inspired, I relaxed my body, indicating I wouldn’t struggle anymore. When his hold on me loosened, I clenched my fist and elbowed him in the stomach as hard as I could—just like I’d seen Caleb do.

  He let go of me, clutching his stomach in pain. “You bitch!”

  “You’ll get more than that if you touch me again, asshole.”

  I refused to rub my arms to ease the pain from his hard grip. I could feel bruises forming already, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

  When I spotted security coming to break up the fight, I let out a relieved sigh. But my mouth dropped open when I turned and saw Caleb. He looked livid, his mouth formed into a snarl as he glowered at Damon. I could see a bruise forming on his right eye.

  Damon was sprawled on the floor, propping himself up on one elbow, his hand massa
ging his jaw. He had a lopsided grin and blood on his lips.

  My first instinct was to go to Caleb. Stepping toward him, I froze when I saw Beatrice-Rose run to him.

  Something inside me cracked. I looked away.

  “You okay, Angel Face?” Damon asked from behind me. I should be the one asking him that. He got into this because of me. I turned to face him. He rose, still massaging his jaw.

  “Damon, I’m so sorry.”

  “Red.”

  Caleb. My back was to him, but I could just picture the pleading look on his handsome face by the sound of his voice. I closed my eyes tightly, blocking the image. I had to walk away.

  “Let’s go,” I told Damon.

  Caleb didn’t follow me this time.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Beatrice-Rose

  “Dad?”

  He sat in his wheelchair, staring through his window at a spot in the garden. Dazed with drugs, he didn’t hear me. His eyes were glassy, his skin dry and pale. The nurse had tried to comb his hair, but it was all wrong. My dad never combed his hair to the side. It was always combed back.

  Stupid nurses. We paid them so well, and yet they couldn’t do their work properly.

  I pushed myself up from kneeling in front of him and opened the drawer in his nightstand. He always loved his things in order. When I found his comb, I smiled and walked back to him.

  “I’m just going to fix your hair, okay, Dad?”

  I squeezed his hand, then I started combing his hair back. He used to have thick, dark hair, but it was now thin and graying. It terrified me how the people you love get old.

  I didn’t like old people. They scared me.

  “Dad? Do you remember the pet rabbit you gave me when I was four? His name was Atlas, after that Titan you told me about who carried the world on his shoulders.” I paused, feeling tears prick my eyes but held them back. “I miss your stories. You used to tell me all these fascinating stories, and I think Mom was jealous of me. Maybe that’s why she always hated me, do you think?”

  When I smoothed his hair back with my hand, his eyes fell closed. I kept at it until he relaxed.

  “I know what you did, Dad. I never told you, but I saw you that day.”

  I studied his face for any sign that he understood what I was telling him, but his eyes were closed, his face calm and expressionless.

  “I heard your car outside, and I was so excited to see you. But Mom was home and she hated it when I interrupted your time with her, so I stayed inside my room for a bit. I knew you’d come knock on my door soon anyway, bringing a present.”

  My dad always had big hands, but the ones in his lap now were thin and old, with spidery veins popping out under his skin.

  “But I waited, and you didn’t come. So I went looking for you. I went in your room. Mom told me I wasn’t allowed there, but I really missed you. You’d been gone for so long. You were gone all the time.”

  I tried to keep the resentment out of my voice. I was an expert at hiding my real feelings, but sometimes I couldn’t help something slipping through the cracks. My mom never loved me, but my dad did very much. I was his spoiled little girl. The only problem was that he was always away for business, for a party, for something. That was a long time ago and I had forgiven him for it, but the feelings of abandonment remained.

  “When I saw your suit on the floor, I picked it up. There was a hole on the sleeve, and I knew, Dad. I knew Atlas had chewed it. I was so scared. So I went to search for him. He loved to hide in your garage. Did you know that? So I went there. And I saw it. I saw the blood and white fur on your worktable. I saw the hammer you used to kill him… It was still bloody. I knew you did it because I hid under the table when I heard you come in and I saw you clean it up and I saw your face. You were upset.”

  I was scratching my arms and I knew I was bleeding from them, but I didn’t feel anything.

  “That night during supper, when you told me you had bad news to tell me, I wanted you to confess. But instead, you lied to me and told me Atlas ran away. You lied to me, Dad.”

  My knees felt weak, and I squatted in front of him, holding on to the armrests of his wheelchair for support. I was shaking. I had kept this inside for so long, and I had never forgotten about it. Why did I decide to tell him now? Maybe because I was afraid he would leave me soon. He would die, and he would leave me. Again.

  “But I want you to know that I forgive you. I understand why you lied to me. You wanted to protect me. You didn’t want me to get hurt. You didn’t want me to hate you. You didn’t want me to see what you really were. Because we all have roles to play, right, Dad?”

  He finally opened his eyes, but he didn’t speak.

  He didn’t have to. I saw in his eyes that he had heard me, and that he was grateful and sorry. And that he loved me very much.

  I got up and left.

  * * *

  We all had roles to play, and dealing with a lowlife like Justin was part of mine. I changed into a dark-red, long-sleeved dress to cover the scratches on my arms, and I told him to meet me at the photo studio on campus where I stored my equipment. I had a shoot later with a fat-ass socialite I’d met last week. She absolutely disgusted me, but she was friends with my favorite designer and she’d drop my name if I impressed her. Gotta do what you gotta do.

  Justin had a role too. Someone I could use to keep tabs on Cal when I was away in Paris or wherever my mom wanted to send me. Someone who could get rid of the hungry sluts who wanted a piece of what was mine.

  Caleb was mine. I was his first.

  Everyone knew that he would marry me someday. We were perfect for each other. Our families were close, and we’d known each other our whole lives. Everyone knew—except that bitch Veronica. I hated her like I had never hated anyone in my life.

  I was on my way to the photo studio when I froze in my tracks. I watched her now as she walked through the hallway, her head bowed low. Her face was sharp, almost fox-like, with big dark eyes and a wide mouth. She wore jeans and a white tank top that made her dusky-gold skin glow, but I knew she’d gotten those clothes from the Salvation Army.

  The glow probably came from fucking Caleb day and night. I couldn’t blame her. He was irresistible. I wasn’t even jealous. He was just being a guy. Soon he’d cast her aside, and Caleb would be beside me again.

  I watched as her long, dark hair swayed behind her back, reminding me of a cheap whore.

  My mother’s voice echoed in my mind. Whores use their hair to seduce men, Beatrice-Rose. Don’t be a whore. Tie your hair appropriately, or you will get the belt.

  What did Caleb see in her?

  “She’s fucking hot,” Justin said, walking up beside me.

  I eyed him with disgust. “You’d fuck anything with a skirt.”

  “You’re not wearing a skirt, and I already fucked you.”

  “Well, I’ve had better.” I smirked at him. He hated being looked down upon. “I need you to make sure Caleb doesn’t see her. I need to talk to the bitch.”

  “Ooh. Catfight. Can I watch?”

  I held my breath as I spotted Caleb in the hallway. If he kept walking, he would see Veronica. I couldn’t let that happen.

  Caleb was an honest person, and very protective. Even when we were kids, we’d get in trouble a lot. I always begged him to lie, to make up a cover story, but he never would. He’d tell the truth and take the blame.

  And I knew he had told Veronica what happened. I knew, just from a single phone call from someone, that Veronica had left his apartment, crying her heart out. I barely stopped myself from giggling at the picture. It was a really good day for me. I would not let her steal Caleb from me again.

  “He’s going to see her,” I hissed at Justin. “Do something!”

  “He loves that ass. Not you. When will you learn to swallow it, babe?”

 
“I said, do something! Distract him. Pick a fight with him, but don’t hurt him. What am I paying you for?”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  My fingers clutched the pendant around my neck as I watched Justin approach Caleb. I turned and saw Veronica rush inside the washroom. Perfect.

  I walked in there, making sure to put on my fake I’m-so-sorry face. I just needed to make sure that she knew what happened last night. And of course, exaggerate a little bit. Just a little to push her to the edge.

  The devastation on her face when I told her I had sex with Caleb made me want to squeal with glee, but I held it in. She absolutely believed me. And why wouldn’t she?

  I was an expert at this. I’d been at it since high school ever since Caleb slept with other girls and I had to get rid of them. Oh, how I loved this game. They were all pathetic and so easy to manipulate.

  My work here was done. I should win an Oscar for this.

  I was going to find Caleb and celebrate with him—comfort him, give him what he needed—it was me he needed. No one else.

  But the bitch was smart. How the fuck did she know I was faking it? Who did she think she was, acting all righteous? She was nothing.

  When she slapped me, I wanted to drag her to the toilet and drown her, but I couldn’t let her see the real me. I had to be very careful with this game, especially when it came to my Caleb, so I let her go.

  I followed her out of the bathroom and when I saw Caleb waiting by the door, I nearly had a heart attack.

  When did he get here? Did he hear me?

  Shit.

  I ducked back into the washroom and took deep breaths to calm myself, thinking carefully about what I should do next. When I finally came out, I heard Veronica shout, “Stop them!”

  It sounded like a fight down the hallway, and when I heard Caleb’s name, I ran. I reached them just as the fight was over. Cameron was holding Caleb back. I went to him, ready to give comfort.

  My baby needed me.

  But he didn’t even look at me. Instead, he walked past me and went to her.

  Her!

  A blade sliced through my heart as I watched him go to her, begging her. The desperation in his voice, the look of love in his eyes made me want to throw up.