by K. Walker
I nodded mutely. My mouth was so dry I couldn't even form words. It sounded like they'd managed to piece together the full picture, even without me. Did that mean I wouldn't have to go to jail? They wouldn't arrest someone who was defending themselves, right?
"Good," Lucas said with a slight smile. "The police still want to talk to you, though, just to get your statement on record. My attorneys have kept them away, though. We wanted to give you time to adjust to everything and a chance to grieve before you have to relive it all. And when you do make your statement, I'll be there and so will the lawyer, okay? I'm going to do everything I can to make this as painful as possible."
This time it was my turn to look in surprise. His lawyers had been keeping the police away from me? Shit, if it had been someone like JP involved in a murder, even one in self-defense, they'd have sent in SWAT teams the moment they knew where he was.
It really did pay to be rich, huh?
"When will I have to talk to them?" I finally managed to ask. Would it be tomorrow? Next week? Next month?
"Probably sometime this week. I wanted you to start school and get settled a bit first. I figure it's not going to be pleasant to have to recount that night." Lucas reached out and put a hand on top of mine. "And I know it's not going to be easy living with it. If you ever want to talk, you can always come to me. Or if you think you need it, we can look into getting you a psychologist to help you cope."
I nodded. I didn't want to talk to him or anyone else. Not yet, anyway. But it was still nice to hear him give me that option. Even if he had practically kidnapped me from JP's place, Lucas really did seem to care.
Maybe all rich people weren't stuck-up assholes, after all.
Then again, Wes still hadn't said a single word to me, so there was that. Sebastian was nice, though, even if he was like a hyperactive monkey.
Chapter 14
A knock on my door made me jump. "Yeah?" I yelled, sitting up and brushing my clothes down. After spending all day out at the stores, when we had gotten back to the house, I had just wanted to collapse onto my bed and rest for a bit. I must've fallen asleep, though, since the sun was already starting to set.
"It's Lucas. May I come in?" he yelled through the door.
For a moment, I just blinked in surprise. This was his house and he was asking permission to come in? I couldn't remember any of Mom's boyfriends ever doing that. They'd always just insisted it was their house, so they didn't need to knock.
"Uh, sure," I yelled back.
The door opened, and Lucas appeared in the doorway. He smiled at me. "Enjoy your nap?"
Blushing, I nodded, which just made him chuckle. There was no malice in the laugh, though. He just sounded amused.
"Kathy is on her way here from the airport. I'm about to order some pizza, and then I figured we could relax by the pool. Sound good?"
I nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. I wondered what Kathy would be like. Sebastian had mentioned his brothers weren't fond of her. He didn't seem to mind her, though. "Are Sebastian and Wes joining us?"
Lucas let out a short bark of laughter. "I doubt it! They're not home. There's usually a party going on down at the beach on Friday nights, so they usually head there after school."
"Oh," I said, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. Would they expect me to go to these parties with them? I'd never been a party girl before, and getting drunk on the beach with a bunch of rich kids didn't exactly sound like fun.
And yet, at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder what would be worse - going to one of those parties or not even being invited to them. I wasn't going to school to make friends, but I also didn't want to be the school pariah.
"I'm home!" A high-pitched voice echoed from inside the house.
Mouth full of pizza, I turned to look into the kitchen through the open glass doors. Lucas smiled at me, then turned and shouted in that direction. "We're out by the pool!"
A few moments later, a woman sauntered out, wearing a short skirt and a tight blouse. It looked like if she moved the wrong way, her tits were going to come spilling out of that top! She was tall, but only because of the four-inch Stilettos that made clacking sounds as she walked. Without them, she was probably shorter than me, which was actually kind of impressive since I topped out a 5'3, same as my mother.
"There you are!" she exclaimed as if she'd been searching all over the house for him. She had just gotten home, though, since I'd heard Lucas's phone chime when the security system alerted him less than a minute ago. "I've missed you so much!"
Lucas must've seen this coming. He had set his slice of pizza aside, so when the woman threw herself into his arms, he was ready to catch her. He chuckled and shook his head, smiling. She may have been a bit dramatic, but at least she made him happy, I figured. "I've missed you, too." He kissed her on the cheek and then nodded in my direction. "Kathy, I want you to meet Bella. Bella, this is my girlfriend, Kathy Coops."
Kathy sat up and eyed me for a moment, then grinned like she'd just won the lottery. "Oh, it's so good to finally meet you! Lucas has been talking about you practically nonstop all week!"
"It's nice to meet you, too." Cheeks red, I looked down at the ground. I didn't want to tell her he had barely mentioned her to me. That just seemed rude.
"Have you gone shopping yet?" Kathy asked next.
I nodded. "Lucas took me this morning."
She turned to Lucas and pouted at him, but he just grinned and shrugged. When she turned back to me, she had that big smile plastered onto her face. "Oh, well! We'll just have to go out again! You can never have too many clothes, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure..." In truth, I probably already had more clothes than I'd ever had at one time. But again, I didn't want to be rude.
"Would you like some pizza?" Lucas asked, nodding toward the two boxes sitting on little metal tables. I hadn't thought we'd need two large pizzas just for the three of us, but Lucas assured me anything left over would be devoured by either Wes or Sebastian.
Kathy looked at the box and wrinkled her nose. She turned to Lucas and pouted. "You didn't get me a salad or anything?"
From a pizza place? I almost blurted out. I couldn't imagine any salad coming from a place that made pizza this greasy could be anything close to healthy. But again, I kept my mouth shut. If there was one thing I'd learned living in the ghetto, it was when to keep my mouth shut. Making enemies wasn't a good way to stay alive.
"Sorry," Lucas said with a shrug. He smiled at her and didn't look too sorry to me. "I'm sure Stella has plenty of vegetables prepared in the fridge. Want me to go make you one?"
Kathy nodded. Lucas kissed her on the cheek, the headed inside to make her a salad. Why she couldn't have done it herself, I had no idea. But it really wasn't my place to get involved with their relationship.
"So, how long are you staying?" Kathy asked, her voice a bit snippy.
I shrugged. Honestly, I hadn't given it much thought. Lucas had just shown up with paperwork saying he was my legal guardian now. I assumed that meant I had to stay here at least until I was eighteen, not that I was sure where I'd go after that. Maybe back to JP, if I couldn't get into college
Kathy snorted and shook her head. "I have no idea why he was so insistent on bringing you here. It's not like you're his daughter or anything. But then again, I guess you don't much care, do you?"
I stared at her, mouth hanging open. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was she implying I was some kind of gold digger or something? I hadn't even known who Lucas was before he had shown up and dragged me here. I was doing just fine on my own before.
Before Kathy could say anything else, though, Lucas was back, carrying a tray of food. Immediately, Kathy was grinning again and started telling us all about the sights she saw while in Paris.
I sat quietly and ate my pizza, only partially listening to her story. I was still trying to figure out what was up with the sudden change in attitude once Lucas was out of earshot. Maybe Wes and Chuck w
ere right about her. But then again, I'd just met her and she'd just gotten back from a long trip, so maybe she was just tired or something.
Besides, it wasn't like it really mattered. I was just here to finish high school and figure out what I could do for college. After that, I didn't much care if I ever heard from any of these people again. And I certainly wasn't going to be sticking around just because I might get a couple of bucks out of it.
That wasn't who I was.
Chapter 15
The weekend went by way too quickly. Far too quickly, it was Monday morning, and I found myself up at the crack of dawn putting on my uniform. It felt weird, not being able to choose what I wore to school each morning. Black Hills had talked about requiring uniforms, but since almost everyone there was barely making ends meet as it was, it never went anywhere. I figured what I wore didn't really matter in the long run. School was school. Clothes didn't matter very much.
Wes was downstairs eating when I got down there. Just like on Friday, he was dressed in a t-shirt and athletic shorts. I figured he must've worn that to wrestling practice, then put on his uniform afterward. But even dressed in simple workout gear, the guy looked so damn hot.
His head came up when I walked in and must’ve noticed me looking at him. He sneered at me, and then I shivered as he ran that gaze of his up and down my body. I fought the urge to cover myself, wishing I’d chosen to wear pants instead of this stupid skirt.
Before I'd even had a chance to say good morning, Stella was handing me a plate of food. "Thank you," I said, heat rushing to my cheeks. This was something I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to.
"Enjoy," she said with a smile, then went back to cooking.
After grabbing myself a cup of coffee, I sat at the table across from Wes. Part of me wanted to sit as far away from him as possible, but the other part of me kind of enjoyed getting on his nerves. If he was going to make my life hell just for being here, then why shouldn’t I give him a taste of his own medicine?
Part of me felt a bit guilty about it. It wasn’t like he’d had any say in me being dragged here. And I doubted I'd have been thrilled if Mom had suddenly brought someone home to live with us. Lucas assured me he'd come around eventually, but so far, I hadn't seen any signs of that.
You're here for school, not to make friends with Wes, I reminded myself. I just had to get through this year of school, and then I could go to college somewhere and pretend Wes had never existed.
Lucas came down next. He was dressed in his usual suit, smiling as if he had all the energy in the world. I was lucky my eyes were open, and there he was grinning like he'd just won the lottery. "Good morning!"
"Good morning," I said automatically.
"Morning," Wes grumbled.
Moments later, Lucas was at the head of the table, his own mountain of food and steaming mug of coffee in front of him. "You two sleep well?" he asked. The two of us just shrugged in response. He didn't seem deterred by our lack of wakefulness, though. He just pointed his fork at Wes and continued talking. "Don't forget Bella is riding to school with you this morning. And you'll have to give her a ride home, too."
"What? Why?" All of a sudden, Wes was wide awake. He stared at his dad in shock, like Lucas had just told him he was selling one of Wes's kidneys or something. "Why do I have to drive her? I'm not her personal chauffeur."
"Because her car hasn't arrived yet, and Thomas will be driving me this morning. I've got a meeting on the other side of town." Lucas frowned and fixed his middle son with a look, lips pursed. "You never complain about having to give Sebastian rides to and from school. So what's one more person? Last I checked that BMW you insisted on having had four seats."
“So first, you bring her to live here and now I have to drive everywhere?”
Wes glared at his father, but Lucas glared right back at him. Clearly, this was one of those times when Lucas wasn't going to budge, even though I'd have been perfectly happy to walk to school instead of getting into a car with Wes.
But after a moment of silent glaring, Wes sighed. "Fine, but she sits in the back." Wes pushed away from the table, and picked up his plate, walking away even though he'd only eaten about half of his food. "And if she's not in the car by sixty thirty on the dot, I'm leaving without her.”
"She's right here!" I yelled after him, glaring at his back. It was one thing if he didn't like me being here, but he didn't have to act like I couldn't hear him. He didn't respond, though, and I turned back to my food. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucas watching me like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stayed quiet and started eating his own food.
After that, the only sounds were the two of us eating and Stella cleaning up from breakfast. At least, until Sebastian came running downstairs in his usual whirlwind of energy. Unlike Wes, he was already dressed in his uniform, though the shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his tie was hanging out of his pocket.
"Morning!" he said cheerily as he bounced through the kitchen to get his cereal. I had no idea how Stella could make such amazing breakfasts, and yet he still wanted cereal every morning. I was starting to think both of the brothers I'd met so far were crazy!
I finished my breakfast, then ran upstairs to grab my bag for school. I'd planned on just using the one I'd brought with me from JP's, but Lucas had nixed that idea. It wasn't the nicest looking bag in the world, but it was still functional, and I didn't see the need to go out shopping again just for a bag. Thankfully, Sebastian had butted in and offered me one of his since he apparently had four of them in his closet for some reason. I didn't really want to ask why.
It was 6:20 on the dot when I walked into the garage. Wes's BMW was parked in the middle bay, and my eyes when wide when I saw it. When Lucas had said BMW, I'd immediately known it would be something stupid expensive. But I hadn't expected an i8! Those things were like a hundred and fifty grand stock. And Wes didn't strike me as the kind of guy who would settle for a stock car.
He was leaning against the hood when I walked over, circling the car and trying not to drool. It was a bright red with grey accents, so shiny I could practically see myself in its reflection. I so desperately wanted to reach out and touch it, but I didn't dare for fear of getting fingerprints on the paint job.
When I finally looked up at Wes, he was watching me, an eyebrow raised. Heat rose to my cheeks and I avoided his gaze. Instead, I turned my attention back to the car, peering in through the windows. As I took in the gorgeous leather seats, I noticed the red trim on the dash. Eyes wide, my head snapped up to find Wes watching me.
"This is the Protonic Red edition?" I asked, mouth hanging partially opened. I'd figured he'd just wanted it painted red. I hadn't realized it was actually one of the limited-edition models! But the matching red trim on the interior solidified it for me.
For a moment, Wes just stared at me with that same raised eyebrow. Finally, he nodded, his lips curved up ever so slightly into a smile. "You know your cars."
I shrugged as I continued ogling the most beautiful car I'd ever laid eyes on. I'd never really fit in with the girls at school, even in Compton. After I'd started learning how to work on cars, I started flipping through the car mags at the gas station near our house. Guys were always shocked when I knew just about as much about cars as they did, and I was much more at home talking about tricking out cars than learning the latest make-up techniques to land myself a guy.
Glancing at my watch, I frowned. It was already 6:32 and Sebastian still wasn't out there. "I thought we were leaving at sixty thirty on the dot," I said to Wes, fixing him with a gaze. I'd busted my ass to get out here early so I wouldn't have to worry about him leaving me behind, but apparently, he wasn't as firm with his departure time as he'd made it sound.
Then again, from the look he gave me, I doubt he would have waited around if it had been me that was running behind.
"That would require Sebastian to be on time for once in his life," Wes grumbling, glaring at the still-closed door. As if those had bee
n the magic words to summon him, the door opened seconds later, Sebastian running out to join us. Wes glared at him, but Sebastian just kept grinning, like he still didn't have a care in the world. "Get in so we can leave," Wes finally said with a grumble when he saw his younger brother wasn't going to be apologizing for his tardiness.
I went to open the passenger door, but Sebastian beat me to it. It swung almost straight up, and I stared in shock for a moment. I'd seen the i8 in magazines and even a couple YouTube videos, but I'd never actually seen one up close.
Damn, it was gorgeous.
Sebastian leaned in and pulled the lever to bring the front seat forward. With a wave of his arms, he grinned at me. "Ladies first," he said as if he were being gentlemanly by allowing me to get in the backseat. Even if he wasn't as big as Wes, there was still no way his ass would fit back there.
Hell, I was tiny and it was barely enough room for me!
But, I was getting to ride in a car I had only ever seen in magazines, so you wouldn't catch me complaining! I would have curled up in the trunk if I'd had to, just for a chance to ride in this thing. It was well worth having to put up with Wes's attitude!
I was used to security at school. You didn't go to school in Compton and not have to go through metal detectors to get into the building. But when we pulled up in front of what looked like a fancy gates resort, I thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head!
Either the guard recognized Wes's car, or he had some kind of parking pass I hadn't noticed, but he waved us through, pressing a button to raise the little wooden arm blocking the entrance. Wes didn't even glance at the guy as we drove in.