The Moreau Estates

by Danielle James

  “Don’t stay all day, Bella.”

  “I won’t. I just want to take her the gifts I got her.”

  “I’ll talk to your father. Go.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I bolted to my room for Riri’s gifts, then I rushed to her mother’s house.

  **

  “Krissy!” Riri squealed then threw her arms around me. She looked beautiful as usual. Dark curls framed her face and her smile was bright. “I’m so happy to see you.” She pulled me into her room and closed the door. “Did you see Uncle Colton?” She waggled her arched brows and I groaned. “What’s that face for? That’s not the Uncle-Colton-just-blew-my-back-out face.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s the I’m-not-talking-to-that-bastard-anymore face.” I set the gift bags on the floor and fell on the bed. “Open your presents first.”

  “I feel like shit because I couldn’t get you or Roman anything for Christmas. I’m so sorry, Krissy.”

  “Girl, I don’t care about that. Open your damn gifts.” It made me happy to make her happy. I couldn’t have ever asked for a better friend than Zuri. I got her a bracelet to match mine. Maybe it was cheesy to get matching best friends bracelets but they were twenty-four-carat gold and they were dope.

  I beamed when she put it on immediately. The gold shone beautifully against her mocha skin. The next gift I got her was a new journal. She told me Roman had gotten her twelve. Show-off.

  “Now, can you tell me what’s up with you and Colton? Do I have to cut him? I told you I would,” she grimaced.

  “You might have to. I think my dad fucked him up pretty bad though,” I cringed. Riri’s deep brown eyes grew big as she inched closer to me on the bed. Sunlight glinted off the gold bracelet on her wrist. Hers said best and mine said, friends.

  “What the fuck is going on? Evidently, I’ve missed a hell of a lot. Your dad found out about Colton, you’re not speaking to him, and there was a fight?” She seemed completely surprised.

  “I haven’t seen Colton since we fucked around in November. We talked and he made promises but he flaked over and over. I don’t know why I was shocked. I don’t know why I even cared. His sex game was mediocre at best. He never made me cum.”

  “Wait…what?” Riri squeaked, slamming her hand down on a fluffy pink pillow. “Krissy, you told me that Colton was amazing. You couldn’t think straight when he wasn’t there. You wanted me to help you figure out how to get him back to your house so you could see him again. Remember? I told you to make up a story about him leaving something behind at your house.”

  “I remember, Riri. He was supposed to come. He didn’t. It was the beginning of the flake fest.” I couldn’t roll my eyes hard enough.

  “He never showed? That dick hole.”

  “I know.”

  “Well, what’s this shit about him not making you cum? That’s absolute garbage, and you know it. You told me sex was amazing with you two.” Zuri was poking holes in everything I told her, left and right.

  “The first time it was good but I didn’t cum. I thought it was just a thing. Some girls don’t cum when they have sex. Not a big deal. It happened the second and third times too,” I said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me he was being so selfish? I thought you were over there living your best life.” I glanced at our bracelets and felt a pang of guilt for making her think everything was perfectly peachy.

  “I don’t know, Riri…I thought maybe things would get better with me and Colton. I didn’t want to bother you with it. Look at all the shit you’re already going through with Roman and your dad. Me being miserable and dealing with a douche isn’t exactly top priority.

  Plus a part of me was hoping to find what you found with Roman. If it wasn’t love, it could have been…something. It was just a bunch of trash though.”

  Zuri stood up and folded her arms. I could sense her anger starting to rise. “Krissy, you’re my sister. Remember how you bitched at me for not telling you about Roman at first? Remember? We don’t keep things from each other. Now you’re doing the exact thing you fussed at me for.

  I don’t care what I’m going through. What you’re going through is important too. If you can’t tell me then who can you tell?”

  She was right.

  I stood up and wrung my hands together. I hated when she was mad at me. It made me feel like shit.

  “I’m sorry, Riri,” I said quietly.

  “Can you please tell me the truth about what’s going on with you from now on? I could have told you not to fuck with Colton if he kept avoiding you, Krissy. You can’t find something like what I have with Roman if you’re dealing with guys like Colton.”

  “God, you’re absolutely right.” I swallowed and looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

  “Ugh, you make me sick. Come here.” She opened her arms and we crashed together in a hug.

  “You know what was weird though, Riri?” I sat down on the bed again and fingered the blanket beneath me.

  “What?”

  “Colton told my dad about us. He owned up to it. I wasn’t expecting that.” Zuri eyed me for a few quiet seconds then pursed her full lips together.

  “Krissy, don’t let that make you think he’s different than what he is. He’s full of shit. I know you. You like to see the good in people. You’re an optimist and it’s so beautiful. It’s like clouds in the sky but clouds in the sky don’t hold weight. Colton isn’t a good guy if he fucked you and left you alone after that.”

  I sat there with her words and mulled them over while she texted Roman back and forth, grinning the entire time. She was right but I couldn’t help but wonder what made Colton tell Dad the truth. I admired the truth so much and I especially admired it when it was told in the face of a threat.

  “Roman’s going to the bar with Matt tonight. Those two are good for each other,” Riri said with a smile.

  Hearing Matt’s name made my body react. I pressed my hands between my knees and smiled a little in return. “Yeah, Matt’s a good guy,” I replied.

  “He is. You must still have a crush on him with the way you look right now.” She pointed out with a smirk.

  “How can I not have a crush on him? He’s gorgeous.”

  “He is. Him and Roman together are dangerous.” Now that was a fact I couldn’t argue with. Roman was off-limits for me totally because he was Zuri’s but he was fine as hell.

  I opened my mouth to tell Riri about how close I’d gotten to Matt when my phone dinged with a text from Colton. I started to delete the text thread and block his number but I wanted to know why he stepped up and told my father.

  I stared at the text for a few minutes, trying to decide if I should answer him.

  Colton: Hey, punk…can we talk? Lunch. My treat.

  Riri looked down at my phone and then at me. “Krissy Lucas, if you go to lunch with him I will hurt you.”

  “I just want to ask him something,” I reasoned with her as my fingers typed out a reply.

  Me: Okay. Deal.

  Colton: Meet me in twenty minutes at Lucky’s.

  “You can ask him right now through a text. You don’t have to go see him.” Riri’s voice broke my concentration and I looked up at her.

  “We’re going for lunch. I’m not going to fuck him on the table.”

  “You’re being stupid. I want that on record. When you’re head is in my lap and I’m stroking your hair while you cry…I want to be able to hold this moment over your head once the tears are gone.”

  “How is lunch going to result in me sobbing on your lap?” I quizzed as I grabbed my purse.

  “I don’t know, we’ll find out though. Text me when you’re done being stupid. Love you.” I rolled my eyes at her and got ready to go. Lunch would be harmless. I just had to ask him a question.

  **

  I showed up at Lucky’s and checked the time. I didn’t see Colton there at all. I started to kick myself already for showing up. Riri was right. I was being stupid.

  “What’s up, Kris?” Colton’s voi
ce came from behind me, smooth and deep. I spun around and eyed him without a smile. I didn’t have a reason to smile at him.

  He must have been trying to hide the damage my father did to his face because his baseball cap was pulled low. “I can’t even have a hug?” He held open his long, tattooed arms and I shook my head. “Okay, fair enough. Come on, let’s grab a seat.” He led me to a table with his hand on the small of my back and I itched to move it away.

  All I could hear in my head were Matt’s words that I belonged to him and nobody else was supposed to touch me. I sat across from Colton at a round table that held menus and a condiment basket.

  “I thought you were going to write me off like Joe did.” He took his hat off and a purple and blue bruise came into view under his left eye.

  “Damn. Dad fucked you up,” I mused.

  “Yeah. I can’t really blame him. Krissy, I’m sorry for everything.”

  “Uh huh. I only came here for one thing, Colton. I wanted to ask why you came clean. Why did you do that when you knew Dad would flip out and fight you?”

  “It had to happen. I couldn’t let everything spiral out of control then lie to my best friend. I had to man up.” His eyes were sparkling in the sun. Those goddamn sea foam green eyes. All they did was hold lies. I don’t know why I was looking at them like they had potential…like Colton had potential. He was just someone to scratch the itch. He barely did that.

  “Well, thank you for stepping up. At least you did one redeeming thing,” I said, rolling my eyes. A waitress came over to take our orders but I refused. I didn’t want to make it seem like everything was good between Colton and me.

  “She’ll have a chicken quesadilla and iced tea…sweet.” Colton winked those lying eyes at the waitress and she giggled.

  “I don’t want anything,” I hissed at him after she left.

  “Kris, this is how adults handle things. We have a disagreement and then we talk about it, put it behind us, and move on. What better way to do that than with lunch?”

  “I’m literally turning eighteen next week, Colton.”

  “Being an adult doesn’t magically happen overnight once your eighteenth birthday rolls around. You’re so cute with all the turning eighteen shit, punk.” I rolled my eyes at him and folded my arms.

  “I’m not eating. I just wanted to ask you some questions. You’ve answered them. Thank you. I’m leaving now.”

  “Kris, wait…I want to talk to you about something else. I want to try a real relationship with you. I shouldn’t have brushed you off like that. Sit down, please…” His words shocked me and weighed me down so that I fell back into my chair.

  “What?” I frowned. “Colton, you don’t do relationships. Stop with the bullshit.”

  “Maybe it’s time I changed that. I’m getting older and you’re special. Maybe that scared me before…I don’t know.

  Everything is out in the open though and it’s the best time to move forward…together.” He reached across the table and held my hand but I slid it out of his grasp.

  “Colton…no. I can’t be with you. You fucked me then ignored me for weeks while you lied to me and told me you’d come see me. Then you show up to my house on Christmas with a bitch. I’m supposed to believe you’ve had some major epiphany overnight? Nah.” I couldn’t believe him. Although, nothing he did should have shocked me.

  “I get it. I’m sorry, Krissy.” He looked around the bustling restaurant and leaned across the table so I could hear him. “Look, after being with you I realized I’ve never been with anyone better…I can’t just let that go.”

  “So basically,” I said, raising my voice on purpose since he wanted to be quiet.

  “Kris, lower your voice,” he urged.

  “No thanks. So basically, what you’re telling me is that I’m the best pussy you’ve ever had and other bitches can’t quite cut it. So, you’d like to lock me down so I can be yours and you can treat me like shit on a regular basis? Sound about right?” Colton groaned and slid a tattooed hand down his face.

  “Kris, don’t be so fucking vulgar in public,” he reprimanded with a scowl.

  “Fuck that!” I was going to show him what vulgar in public looked like. It was just in time for the waitress to bring our food back too. I felt my cheeks heating with rage and I had to release it some kind of way.

  Like I said, my parents birthed a flame.

  “You’re not going to avoid me for nearly a month then show up to tell me I have the best pussy you’ve ever been inside of and you want a relationship.” The waitress glared at Colton and looked at me.

  “Girl, leave his ass alone. The fine ones are always assholes.” We slapped hands and I folded my arms, looking at Colton from across the table. I think every woman in a ten-foot radius was shooting daggers at him with their eyes. Good.

  “Stop acting like a fucking brat. I hurt you. I get it. I’m a dick for that. I want to make it right though. Doesn’t that count for something?” He asked.

  “No,” I spat.

  “Hey, hun. I put a little Long Island in your iced tea if you know what I mean.” The waitress set a cold, tall glass in front of me and winked before rubbing my shoulder.

  “She’s not twenty-one,” Colton grumbled.

  “She’s old enough to deal with a dick like you then she’s old enough to drink. You look too old for her anyway.” She eyed him suspiciously.

  “Listen, I’ll tell you the entire story when your shift is over,” I assured her. We chatted for a few minutes and I found out her name was Tiffany and she was going to the community college ten minutes away from the Moreau Estates.

  Looks like trash ass men brought women together.

  “Okay, you made your little scene, are you done? Can we work things out now? Let me take you somewhere…private.” He was flashing me a perfect smile and before it would have made me melt but no smile was better than Matt’s smile.

  “Private so we can fuck?” I asked, stifling a yawn.

  “So we can talk without you causing a scene,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Right…then I’m sure no fucking would take place.” I looked at him with an unmoving expression.

  “Come on, let’s go.” He stood up and dropped money on the table, then held his hand out for mine. Yeah…no fucking way.

  I stood up and walked by him, leaving his hand hanging in the air. I heard him rush to catch up with me and he caught me in the parking lot. Before I could reach my car, he spun me around and locked on to my waist.

  The sunlight really brought out the purple of his bruise. “Kris, let me prove to you that I’m serious.” He touched my face and I tipped my head to one side to avoid his hand. Colton’s bright eyes honed in on my neck like a fucking hawk.

  He yanked on the collar of my turtleneck sweater and glared at me. Anger darkened his sea foam pools like a storm rolling in. I sighed and brushed his hand away from me.

  “Who the fuck put hickeys all over your neck?” His nostrils flared like he could smell Matt on me or something. Fucking testosterone…

  “Not you,” I quipped.

  “Clearly not me. Is that what you do, Kris? You get hurt and you run off to find the nearest dick to console you?” His voice was rough and combative. I took my keys out and laughed at him.

  “Oh, now you’re mad because someone else was touching me? You brought a whole date to my house last night!” I squeaked.

  “So this is your way of getting back at me? Did you fuck him, Krissy?” He asked in a low growl.

  “What you’re not going to do is police my vagina. If I want to pass it out on Halloween…I will. It’s not your place to get angry over it. I don’t belong to you.”

  “Well let me change that. Leave that other motherfucker alone and be mine. We’ll straighten out shit with Joel and Carmen. I’m getting a job nearby so seeing you won’t be a problem. I can see you all the time.” He said it like I was supposed to jump for joy.

  “Oh…I can’t contain my excitement, Co
lton.”

  “Let everything sink in and we’ll meet for lunch again tomorrow.”

  “No. We won’t,” I laughed.

  “Why not? Does your other boyfriend need his pussy appointment?” He seethed.

  “Goodbye, Colton.” I steered myself toward my car and opened the door. I could feel his eyes probing me as I got in.

  “I’ll call you,” he said. I rolled my eyes and pulled off. Fuck him and all his bullshit.

  **

  MATT

  Every time I tried to talk to Eve, she was busy with Ray. All she would tell me was that he was having a crisis and she had to be there for him. I wanted to tell her that things between us were done. I was over the thrill of fucking with a married woman and to be honest, I shouldn’t have fallen into that trap in the first place.

  I was a sucker for heat and passion though.

  It made me wonder if that’s what was going on between Krissy and me. Was she another flash of blinding light that brought intrigue because of the level of danger that went along with it? Things felt different with her though. Different than they did with Eve. Different than they did with any other woman I’d ever been with.

  Even sitting across from Liam in his living room while he bitched and whined about creating a resume, my mind was on Krissy. She was turning eighteen and I couldn’t even go to her party because it would raise a ton of red flags. I sent her a text at midnight though. I was up thinking about her anyway.

  “Hey, are you listening to me, dick face?” Liam shoved me to the side and I blinked, focusing on him for a moment.

  “What’s up, bro?”

  “What the fuck are you thinking about? It’s the thick ass seventeen-year-old, isn’t it?” He waggled his brows at me.

  “She’s eighteen today and her name is Krissy.” I huffed, kicking my feet up on the coffee table.

  “So that is who you’re thinking about?” He smirked.

  “Yes.”

  “Have you fucked her yet?” Suddenly the need to finish his resume took a back seat to hearing about Krissy.