“I got in,” Tully murmurs, suddenly not caring as much as she rubs her hips and ends up on all fours in her attempt to get back to her feet.
“I figured from all that squealing that’s what was going on,” Violet smirks, walking around to help her daughter up. “I know it’s exciting and all but did you really need to send your bed to the grave?”
“It was an accident,” she says. “If I knew the bed was going to break, I would have gone and jumped on Noah’s.”
I chuckle under my breath. Noah’s bed is pretty damn sturdy. There’s no way we could have broken that.
Violet gets Tully to her feet and instantly wraps her arms around her. “Congratulations, baby. I knew you could do it.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly do it,” she says. “Noah was the one who applied and made me appear like some kind of shining star.”
“You are a shining star,” Violet says proudly. “But I do think you owe it to your brother to head down to the fire station and let him know. He’ll be pissed if he finds out you made him wait.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Tully laughs as she scurries around her room, searching for the acceptance letter that she knows Noah will demand to see. She looks back at me. “Are you coming?”
“I wouldn’t miss seeing his reaction for the world.”
“Alright," Violet says. ‘"Just hurry back. I know your brother insisted that he pay for your tuition fees but I won’t allow him to do that. You need to find yourself a job and chip in. You’re not getting a free ride.”
“Ok,” Tully says proudly before grabbing my hand and hauling me out the door with Ari following along. “We’ll be back in a bit.”
We hurry out up the hallway and into the living room where we have to stop and help Ari get her shoes on, only, as usual, she insists on tying her shoelaces herself. I sit on the coffee table, waiting impatiently as Tully goes over the details of making the bunny ears.
A familiar name on the television draws my attention and I glance up to find a picture of Kelly on the midday news report. My mouth drops open as footage of what must be her home, is raided by cops and she’s led out the door in handcuffs.
I scramble around for the remote and quickly turn it up while situating myself in front of Ari so she can’t see the screen, though it wouldn’t really matter because her attention is solely on her shoes.
I listen in as the reporter tells us about the Haven Falls local being caught with an excessive amount of drugs and due to her prior arrests, court hearings, and probationary period being violated, she’ll now be heading straight for the slammer.
I can’t help but gape at the screen. I could have sworn she had gotten herself clean and she doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman to be dealing. She’s seemed more of the kind to get herself dosed up and then doze off.
I look back at Tully. “Are you hearing this?”
“Yeah, but…who is that?”
My eyes drop down to Ari before glancing up at Tully. ‘Her mom,’ I mouth silently.
Tully’s eyes go wide and she pushes up from the ground, cringing before clutching onto her hip. She steps right into my side. “Are you sure?” she whispers.
I look at her blankly. “Of course, I’m sure. She was my mom for eighteen freaking years, remember?”
“I know, but…you know?”
“No. I don’t know.”
My phone buzzes in my jeans and I pull it out as I continue watching the screen, only glancing down when it’s right up in my face. I open the text and gape down at it. It’s an unknown number, but there’s no mistaking who it’s from.
Unknown – Looks like Mommy Dearest is on her way to spend a little quality time with your other Mommy Dearest. You can thank me later.
Holy. Shit.
I knew it. Kelly was clean. Anton set her up and my gut is telling me that’s because I told him to make her pay.
What the hell have I done? I never meant for this to happen. I figure he would scare her a little, let her know what would happen if she ever came near Ari again, but setting her up and putting her in prison? No. That’s too much.
“I, um…I should head home and tell dad about this,” I tell her, flicking my gaze down to Ari. “Do you think you could hold onto her for a bit? I’ll come by later and pick her up.”
“Sure,” she says. “Whatever’s easiest.”
With that, I say a quick goodbye to Aria and head out the door, feeling like absolute shit. Kelly is an awful person who has treated my little sister like trash, but prison? I don’t know. Personally, I’d love for her to rot away there, but being responsible for putting her away for a crime she didn’t actually commit is going to sit on my conscious for the rest of my life.
I get into my car and I’m home before I even realize it. I don’t think I was able to concentrate on a damn thing on the drive over here.
I notice dad’s truck in the drive and let out a breath. He got home this morning and was exhausted which was why I took Ari out for the day. I figured he just needs some rest and time to himself to get over the craziness of the past few weeks. I mean, I know I have.
Pushing through the door, the very first thing I notice is that the house is in complete darkness despite it being the middle of the day. All the curtains are pulled and every one of the lights are off.
“The fuck?” I grumble under my breath.
I walk past all the windows and tear open the curtains. I get if dad wanted to get a good sleep in but this is taking it a bit far.
I come into the kitchen and have to stop myself as I find dad sitting at the stool under the counter with a bottle of whiskey and one hell of a sorry expression on his face.
“Dad?” I question, stepping into the kitchen to put myself on the other side of the counter to look directly at him.
It’s as though he doesn’t hear me. “Dad?” I repeat.
His only response is to reach for the bottle of whiskey and pour it down his throat. He swallows it like water and slams the bottle back down on the counter, surprising me that it didn’t shatter. “Dad? What the fuck is going on?”
His eyes flick up to mine making it clear that he’s been drinking since the second he got home. “What the fuck is going on?” he demands. “You’re not my fucking kid, that’s what.”
“Are you kidding me?” I shriek, unable to believe what I’m hearing. “What happened to that whole ‘you’ll always be my daughter’ bullshit you were spouting the other night?”
“Exactly that,” he tells me, taking another drink. “All bullshit. All the fucking work I put into raising you and you’re not mine. You don’t share my blood. You’re Anton’s problem now.”
The comments sting and deep down I know he’s just saying it because he’s hurt and had way too much to drink, but it doesn’t change the way his words are making me feel absolutely worthless.
I gape at him as he grabs the bottle once again. “I should have known. You look nothing like me.”
I snap and snatch the bottle right from his hand, launching it across the room until it shatters against the dining room wall. “Fuck you,” I yell. “Fuck you so goddamn much. Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that?” I step around the counter and get right in his face. “I get it. You’re hurt and the last few weeks have been absolute shit. It’s been hard for everyone, not just you. I lost my little fucking sister and I got nothing from you, just scowls or disgust every time you walked past me, but guess what? I was able to hold it the fuck together because that’s the way you raised me. I fucking love you dad, but right now, I couldn’t hate you more. Yes, Anton is my biological father, but you are my dad.”
His jaw clenches but I don’t give him a chance to fight me on it. “Your pity party is over. It’s time to grow the hell up and move on. If you can’t stand the sight of me, knowing I’m not yours, then it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m moving in with Anton, but that doesn’t change the fact that you need to man up and be there for Aria. She is your baby and she’
s going to need you more than ever and I hope to God you can somehow manage to appear like the father I had growing up because right now, you’re nothing but a disappointment.”
I walk straight past him and turn in the kitchen doorway to look back at him. “I came home to tell you that Kelly was arrested and it’s most likely on me, but what the hell do you care? You’re too drunk to even remember this shit tomorrow morning. I’ll be keeping Aria with me tonight at Tully’s. Hopefully, by morning, you’ll have grown the hell up.”
With that, I walk straight back out the door, hating how my heart is breaking.
Chapter 11
Noah’s hand slowly trails up the back of my thigh leaving me wondering why the hell we’re still fully clothed as his lips move against mine. I sink into him. It’s been way too long since we’ve been able to fool around like careless teenagers.
Our lives have been crazy but now with Aria back and life going back to how it’s supposed to be, I feel as though we can finally get on with our lives. There’s no more stressing, no more school, nothing that could possibly come to tear us down. We’ve suffered through just about everything people our age could possibly suffer through and I love that we all seem to have come out the other end stronger, wiser, and ready to take on the world.
Noah’s hand slips up the back of my shirt and a breathy moan pulls from within me. There’s nothing quite like the feel of his skin on mine, even if it is just a hand on my back. No matter what, I absolutely love it.
Needing more of me, he pushes the fabric of my shirt up my body and I suck in a breath, hesitating for the briefest moment. Are we alone? Because I sure as hell don’t want to be caught getting naked on the couch in the middle of his family’s living room. I’ve done some questionable things in my life but this…I don’t know. I’m not feeling like being drowned in a world of embarrassment today.
I dropped off Aria with dad this morning which was interesting. He was certainly sober, but he looked like absolute shit and from the guilty expression on his face, I’d dare say that he regretted yesterday deeply, but I wasn’t ready to forgive and forget so I turned on my heel and left.
I haven’t seen Tully all day so there’s a possibility that she could still be in her room fast asleep on her broken bed. She was out late last night and I’m pretty sure she was with Spencer or Aiden. Hell maybe both. I don’t know but at least she’s out enjoying her summer as she should be.
As for his parents…I’m really hoping they’re at work.
Noah’s hands pause, sensing my hesitation. “What’s wrong?” he murmurs, slightly pulling back to see my eyes.
“We’re alone, right?”
“Mmhmm. Tully left just before you got here.”
“Probably to spend the day flirting with Spencer.”
“Really? You’re going to ruin this by talking about my sister with Spencer?”
My lips lift into a smirk before I lower myself back down to him, capturing his lips in mine and letting him know that nothing is holding us back.
Noah’s hand continues traveling up, taking my shirt with it as his other finds my ass and gives it a firm squeeze. I feel him harden beneath me and I groan with anticipation. My shirt comes up over my head and is tossed aside before he reaches for my bra and snaps it open with the quickest flick of his practiced fingers.
Needing to feel him, my fingertips slip under his shirt and I melt into the feel of his toned abs. He’s carved from stone, perfectly sculptured just for me. I’ve got to have more.
I push his shirt up and he raises his body off the couch, helping me to pull it over his head before we both go crashing back down, his lips never once leaving mine.
Noah’s hand runs down my back and over my ass before slipping between my legs and making me groan into him as he teases me with the promise of what he can offer.
These damn fucking jeans. I need to get rid of them or this game is going to be over before it even begins.
As if sensing my thoughts, Noah dives for the button of my jeans and I wait impatiently, cursing myself for my obsession with too tight jeans.
They get halfway down my legs when there’s a knock at the door which has Noah groaning in frustration. I smile against his lips. “If we’re quiet, they might go away.”
He grins and gets back to work when there’s a second knock followed by a loud, demanding voice coming through the solid wood of the front door. “Noah Cage. This is Officer Langston and Officer Thomas from the Haven Falls Police Department. We have a warrant for your arrest. Please open the door or we will have no choice but to use force.”
What. The. Fuck. What now?
Could this summer get any fucking worse?
Noah looks up at me in confusion with his brows furrowed. “What the hell?”
I search his eyes as I pull up off him and rip my jeans back up my legs. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. I swear,” he says, getting off the couch.
The voice from the door comes again, this time clearly frustrated for having to wait. “Noah Cage?”
“Yeah, I’m coming. I’m coming,” he calls back.
Noah pulls on his shirt as I scramble around trying to find mine. He makes his way to the door and I only just get my shirt down past my stomach when he pulls it open, finding the two officers standing before us.
I hurry into Noah’s side before forcing my way in front of him and staring down the cops. “What’s this about?”
“Ma’am, please step out of the way,” the shorter of the two cops says.
“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
Noah’s hands come to my shoulders. “Henley, it’s fine. We’ll go down to the station and get some answers. It’s probably some kind of mix up.”
“No,” I demand, throwing both hands up on the doorframe and blocking their way. “I’m not moving until you tell me why the hell you’re arresting my boyfriend.”
The cop, who I’m assuming is Officer Langston from his badge, sighs. “Ma’am, please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“I’m not. As soon as you can tell me why he’s getting arrested, then I’ll happily move out of your way. Besides, don’t you have to tell him why he’s getting arrested before you arrest him?”
The other guy, Office Thomas smirks to himself. “You watch too much TV,” he says, amused before setting the record straight. “Your boyfriend is being arrested due to his involvement with crimes carried out by and for Anton Mathers.”
“Shit,” I hear murmured behind me. Noah comes down and presses a kiss to my neck. “It’s going to be ok. I’ll get it sorted.”
I turn to face Noah and gape at him as though he’s going insane. Clearly, he doesn’t quite grasp the fact that this is a big fucking deal. “It’s not something you can just get sorted. You’re getting arrested, Noah.”
“Trust me, I fucking realize that, but there’s no point freaking out about it,” he says, stepping around me. “Call my mom, ok? She’ll never forgive me if I’m not straight up about this from the start.”
“Shit, Noah,” I groan, watching him step out of the house and putting his hands behind his back so the officers can cuff him.
Officer Langston starts reading him his rights and I shake my head, unable to believe what I’m seeing. I thought Noah was in the clear where it came to Anton, but clearly, we forgot the fact that being out from under Anton’s hold means his protection goes with it and now Noah is free game.
This is not fucking good.
“Love you, Spitfire,” Noah says, grinning at me as he’s being arrested.
“Seriously? You’re smiling about this?”
“Uh huh. What can I say? There’s something amusing about the way you’re worrying about me.”
“You’re an asshole,” I tell him, turning to the cops. “You have my permission to rough him up a bit, maybe throw him in a cell with some guy called ‘Big Mike’ and leave him there overnight.”
Both officers grin before pulling
Noah away and I watch with a heavy heart as they put him in the back of their patrol car.
The second the car pulls off the curb, I’m racing for my shoes and my fucking bra. Hell, I don’t even think I’ve done my jeans up. I find my phone and have it jammed between my ear and shoulder as I head out to my car, desperate to get to the police station and make sure Noah knows what the hell he’s doing.
I mean, he was fucking smiling as though this was a walk in the park. Is he nuts? He just got arrested for Christ’s sake and all he could worry about was the look on my face while it was happening. God, I could kill him for putting me through that.
Freaking Anton. I swear, every time we take a step forward, Anton is there to push us back two more.
“Henley?” Violet’s voice says through the phone as I drop down into my Supra. “What’s going on, Sweetie? Is everything alright?”
“Noah just got arrested,” I tell her, not sugar coating anything. “The cops just took him away. I’m heading down there now to see how bad it is.”
“What?” she shrieks. "He got arrested? What the hell for?”
“Anton,” I say bluntly. "My guess is that they already knew Noah was working for him and have a good idea of his involvement, and now that Anton has let him go, that means Noah is free for all. The cops can finally charge him without Anton standing in the way.”
“Damn it,” Violet groans in frustration. “I’ll be there in twenty. If you see that idiot, tell him to keep his damn mouth shut. I’ll have to call our lawyer.”
Violet ends the call and I don’t doubt that she’s already busy dialing the lawyer.
I get my ass down to the police station and end up arriving at the same time as Noah. The patrol car is taken around back while I have no choice but to go through the front, narrowly missing my chance of seeing him.
I wonder what the hell is going through his mind. I wonder if he’s scared, or anxious, or if he’s just rolling with the punches, not fazed at all. Hell, he’s probably just pissed off that he got pulled away right when things were about to heat up as he and I both know; there’s nothing better then when things heat up. It’s as though our bodies were made for one another.
Unbreakable: Haven Falls (Book 6) Page 10