She surprisingly accepts my advice and I don’t miss the shudder that works its way up her spine. “You might be right. Last time we talked, he grabbed my wrists so roughly, I—”
I feel fury growing inside me, hot and consuming, like everything that has to do with Kaya. I’d like to comfort her, to take her in my arms and tell her that I’ll protect her, that I’ll never let anyone hurt her ever again. But I can’t, I can’t let my fondness for her show. I can’t because if I did, I don’t know that I could keep my feelings in check, and I can’t because I know that my feelings for her aren’t reciprocated. So as usual, my reaction sounds more like a vicious attack than a bid to protect her. “Really? So that bastard put his hands on you, he goes spreading around disgusting rumors and what’s the first thing you do? You try to confront him alone at a party where he’ll probably be getting shit faced? Well done, sis. That’s a very smart move!” I see the pain on her face at my words. “Why are you always such an asshole, Chase?”
Because what’s the alternative, kiss you? Tell you that I love you and I want to protect you? Kick the shit out of anyone that ever touches you, including my two best friends?
I don’t say any of it of course, what comes out of my mouth is: “Because you’re a careless little girl who thinks she can go around and play adult games and then cries when she gets into these messes. What that douche bag wants is attention. He wants to get a reaction out of you by spreading those lies. If he doesn’t get any, you’ll see that he’ll stop. He has no friends around here anyway, so he has no one else to tell. Just leave him the fuck alone and he’ll stop.”
She nods, her eyes full of unshed tears. “I’m also worried about what Parker and Bryce might do if they hear the rumors. They know I haven’t been sleeping with Marc but—”
Again, I’d like to hug her and soothe her worries, I’d like to be her safe place, the harbor during a storm but I can’t afford to be that. The only way I’ve survived my feelings for Kaya, has been to keep my distance and our situation isn’t going to change any time soon. Her lack of feelings for me isn’t going to change any time soon. So I harden my expression, every time I speak one more harsh word to her, I die inside a little bit, but it’s the only way I know to keep going.
“Don’t say anything. I’ll speak to them and make sure we bury this shit storm before things get worse.”
She lifts her gaze to me and all I want to do is cup her face with my hands and touch my lips to hers, instead I clench my fists and grit my teeth. “Go home, Kaya,” I scowl and look at her form walking away from me. I’ll protect her, no matter what.
Chase
I HAVE A PLAN TO SHUT that douche bag up and I need my twin’s help to put it into action.
Obviously I know full well that I need to wait for the morning to talk to Reid, because while I don’t tend to drink, my brother drowns his sorrows in as much booze as he can keep down.
So predictably, at the end of the party he’s totally shit-faced.
I finally find Bryce and Parker, they’re looking for Kaya all over the house, so I break the news to them that she’s gone home. “She was tired, so I told her to go home,” they’re about to leave to follow after her, talk about being pussy whipped. But I stop them by putting a hand on Bryce’s shoulder. “Dude, I need your help. I saw Reid outside, he’s fucking wasted. We should get him home.” My friends nod and it takes the three of us to drag my twin brother out of the house and into my car.
Parker and Bryce follow us in Parker’s Jeep and as I drive the short distance up the hill, I keep throwing sideways glances at my brother.
His eyes are closed but I know that he’s awake, he just doesn’t want to talk, he never wants to talk lately.
And you know what they say, be careful what you wish for? That’s the goddam truth because when we park in the driveway and our friends come to help me drag Reid’s sorry ass into the house, my brother begins running his fucking big mouth.
“He fucked her and I want to kill that motherfucker! That bastard, with his hands all over my girl ... my girl.”
Parker and Bryce look at each other and immediately come to the wrong conclusion. “Yeah, dude, we know. We’ve seen that Marc guy with Jasmine. Sorry, we can only imagine how infuriating that must be.”
Bryce agrees with Parker. “Yeah, obviously the rumors about her, that she has no loyalty and she’s basically looking for someone with a fat wallet must be true.”
Reid shakes his head, confused and when our eyes meet, I shake my head at him. I know that he isn’t talking about Jasmine Wheeler. I know that he couldn’t care less about Jasmine and if I had to bet, I’d put all my money on the fact that Reid wasn’t even fucking her. He just needed a buffer, someone that would keep Kaya away from him. And Kaya is the one he’s referring to but our friends don’t pick up on it, and I think that for everybody’s sake, it’s better if they continue to believe that Reid’s heartbreak is over Jasmine.
But this is the thing about my brother: when he’s drunk he can’t keep his fucking mouth shut, so he blabs that he isn’t talking about Jasmine. “It’s not Jasmine! Marc fucked Kaya. He said he fucked Kaya and then she cheated on him with you two. He called her a filthy—”
As soon as Parker and Bryce hear Reid’s slurred words, they predictably hit the roof but they don’t believe Marc’s vicious accusations. “That’s complete bullshit! Kaya didn’t sleep with that asshole!” Bryce’s tone is full of outrage.
“He wishes! He’s just salty because Kaya doesn’t like him back!” Parker agrees. And what do you fucking know, a part of me kinda understands the way Marc must feel. I was rejected by Kaya too, and I know how much it hurts. Obviously in my case it wouldn’t have made any difference even if she had liked me back, because once our parents got married, Dad was clear about what kind of behavior he expected from me and Reid when it came to our stepsister.
“That’s it! That douche is dead meat! We’ll see how much he can run his filthy mouth with a broken jaw.”
I see the fury in Bryce’s gaze and that’s when I realize how much he must care about Kaya. Bryce is an easygoing, friendly guy and I’ve seen him angry in very few occasions the whole time I’ve known him. For him to want to resort to violence, it must mean that his feelings for Kaya are more serious than just a summer fling.
“Yeah, someone should teach that scumbag not to stalk and then slander a girl just because she said no.” Parker agrees and his quieter reaction troubles me even more because this is how Parker has always reacted right before getting into a fight.
So Kaya was right that my friends care about her and that they’d want to take matters into their own hands if they learned about Marc’s despicable lies. I feel a pang of guilt for not believing her immediately when she told me that she hadn’t slept with that bastard and that cements my determination to fix this for her and to keep the guys she cares about out of trouble.
“Guys, can you take care of Reid please? Make sure he doesn’t choke on his own vomit or something? I need to take a walk to clear my thoughts, to find the right way to nip this bullshit in the bud.”
I exit the house from the back door and my feet carry me out of our stretch of private beach and all the way back toward the house party we just left.
I have a hunch that I know where I’ll find Marc.
If he hopes to hook up with Jasmine, I know he won’t take her to his place or go to hers. His parents are very old fashioned and conservative and I’m sure he’ll try to avoid feeding any rumors about him having a relationship with the notorious town slut. This is also why any of the hotels and B&Bs in Star Cove are out of the question: here everyone knows everyone. So it’s either Shell Cove or Whisper Point. And if the asshole’s been drinking, I seriously doubt that he’d drive one town over for a quick fuck.
Chase
BINGO!
It’s pretty late, so Whisper Point is deserted aside from one very recognizable car. Marc’s car.
I should totally feel like a cree
p, interrupting whatever is happening in the sporty convertible but I don’t even stop to think about it.
All I care about is stopping that douche from spreading his vicious lies about the girl I love.
I knock on the steamed up car window and I brace myself for whatever x-rated scene I’ll be confronted with when I open the car door after receiving no answer.
To my surprise, Marc is alone in the car and I can’t help the sardonic laugh that erupts on my lips at the pathetic view. “What’s up, loser, you can’t even seal the deal with Jasmine Wheeler? Did she see what must be the smallest cock in town and left you with the only fuck you’ll ever get? Your hand?”
When the asshole doesn’t reply, I grab him by his collar and the waistband of his jeans and drag him out of his car, throwing him on the concrete at my feet. When Marc lifts his head, I notice a huge shiner on his left eye and wonder if he got into a fight at the party or if he managed to get rejected by Jasmine and that’s the result of his unwanted advances.
Marc sneers at me. “What the fuck do you want, asshole? Did you come over here to finish your brother’s work? That bastard got drunk and decided to take a swing at me, he just got lucky and caught me by surprise. All this fucking trouble for that slut that everyone’s been banging? Goddamn, she’d probably have us both at the same time if we made it worth her while!” I know he’s talking about Jasmine but his spiteful tone doesn’t do anything to soothe the fury that brought me here. If anything, his words just stoke a fire that I was trying to keep contained.
I lift the spineless prick by the collar of his polo shirt with one hand and punch him hard, aiming for the eye that my brother didn’t hit. Marc grunts in pain, staggering backward when I let go of his shirt. “Someone should have taught you to respect women, you fucking piece of shit!”
Disbelief is coloring Marc’s tone, when he looks at me. “Are you really trying to get into a fight with me over Jasmine Wheeler?”
I shake my head and hit him again with a quick hook aimed at his jaw this time. The impact of my knuckles against his jaw hurts like a bitch but it feels good at the same time. “The first one was for Jasmine but that was for Kaya! You motherfucking liar! It would’ve been disgusting the way you were running your mouth about fucking her if it were true but lying about sleeping with her? That’s fucking pathetic!” A pleased grin spreads across his face and he chuckles. “Is that what she said? That I didn’t sleep with her? And you believe the little dirty whore? She’s the one who’s lying, like she’s lying about dating Bryce, like she won’t admit that she’s fucking both your friends.”
I shake my head, I know what he’s trying to do. But you know what? He’s shit out of luck because Kaya would have had no reason to admit about being with both my friends but deny sleeping with Marc. I saw it in her eyes: she was worried about me judging her but she told me the truth. “We both know that you haven’t fucked my sister. You kissed her once and that was enough to turn her off you, loser. I don’t care that she hurt your pride, you’re gonna stop spreading lies about her and you’re gonna apologize to her. This bullshit ends now!”
So I don’t know if this guy is stupid or completely crazy or if he’s blinded by his hatred for Kaya to the point of being downright foolish. Because he flat out refuses to do the right thing and he provokes me.
“How cute, you believe her! Dude, I guarantee you that she let me fuck her more than once. Until she caught the eyes of your friends and decided to ditch me. She’s lying to you, like she lied to me when she dumped me saying that she wasn’t ready for a boyfriend and she had no one else. She was obviously cheating on me already. I guess in her eyes two college football players were cooler than a West Point cadet. What did she do to convince you to believe her, did she suck your cock? Or did she let you join her and your two friends? I bet that little slut loves to have every hole stuffed with dick—”
Dick.
That’s the last words he utters before I punch him in the mouth, twice in rapid succession. He spits blood on the concrete and what I think might be a tooth. He splutters and coughs, still laughing when he speaks next. I swear this guy has got a fucking death wish.
“If you think beating me up will make me stop telling everyone what a filthy whore Kaya is and how she fucked me over and then broke my heart, you’re wasting your time.”
I know I should walk away, before I do something I can’t take back, but hearing her name on his lips and the disgusting expletives he’s using to describe her, makes something inside me snap. I’m on him in the blink of an eye and I start using his face like a punching bag, hitting him with my fists over and over. After a few hits, I almost black out, I don’t know where I am and what’s happening, all I can feel is bone against bone, my knuckles against flesh, cartilage and the slimy wetness of blood.
Marc falls down and I keep hitting him, kneeling on his chest and the asshole keeps laughing after every blow, even when his breathing starts coming out in raspy, gurgling wheezes. I keep hitting his face, wanting him to be quiet, knowing that I should stop.
I can’t stop. He hurt Kaya and he has no intention to quit, so neither can I.
“What the fuck? Dude, you’re gonna kill him!”
It takes both Parker and Bryce to yank me off of Marc’s still form.
Parker keeps me still in a vise like grip but I have no intention to hit that fucker again.
Bryce lifts Marc off the floor and I’m both surprised and relieved to see that he can stand upright, even if his face is a bloody pulp.
He laughs at me, honestly the guy is fucking insane or he must be on something.
“Is this how you were thinking about helping Kaya? Chase, what the—” Bryce helps Marc lean against his car and then turns to me, his green eyes flashing with shocked horror. I’m horrified too, somewhere, deep down. But emotionally I’m mainly numb, the only thing I can really feel is physical pain, my hands hurt and throb, as bloody as Marc’s face. Good, I deserve it and I’d take this kind of pain over the one I’ve been feeling inside any fucking day.
“Chase, go home. Go home and don’t leave your room until we know how big a mess you’ve made. Let’s get Marc home and let’s get him patched up.” Parker takes control of the situation and for the first time in my life, I’m grateful for his quiet strength, for his ability to think straight when the situation requires it.
Bryce helps a barely conscious Marc into the back seat of the Jeep. “I mean it, Chase. Put some ice on those hands and don’t go anywhere, don’t talk to anyone until we come back.”
I take a shaky breath. “You should take him to the ER.”
Bryce shakes his dark blond head. “Let’s have a look at him first. If we take him to the hospital the cops will be called. We’ll take him if it’s necessary. Let Parker take a look at him first. And let us talk to him, to find out if he wants to go to the cops, in which case we’ll have to get your dad involved because you’ll need a fucking lawyer.”
Parker nods. “Yeah, let us clean up this mess. We’ll see how bad it is. He’s still breathing and hopefully there’s no concussion.”
Right, Parker is pre-med.
So I walk back to the house, alone with my own thoughts. I should be feeling guilty but I don’t.
21.
Secret Note
Kaya
I’M A NERVOUS WRECK. Something is going on, I know it. I heard the guys come in earlier, they dragged in a wasted Reid.
Bryce and Parker dropped him in the bathtub of his en suite bathroom and then left the house again.
Chase was here briefly too but left by himself. I hope Chase didn’t betray me and told the others about the shit Marc’s been saying about me. I’m too worried that the boys will confront him, I don’t want them to get in trouble. I’ve decided that Marc isn’t worth it. If he ruins my reputation or if any of it reaches my parents’ ears, I’ll just tell the truth and God help me. I haven’t done anything wrong, I haven’t cheated on Marc and I haven’t lied to anyone. The only lie I e
ver told Marc was that I wasn’t ready for a boyfriend but I said that to avoid hurting him by telling him that I didn’t feel attracted to him.
With every minute that passes, I spiral more and more into a restless anxiety: the guys aren’t back, Nic isn’t answering her phone and all I’ve got left to do is to check on Reid.
He’s snoring lightly in his bathtub and doesn’t even wake up when I summon all my courage and swipe a gentle hand over his sweaty forehead. I haven’t touched Reid in ages and the contact with his skin makes my heart pick up its pace.
My nose twitches at the strong smell of liquor that emanates from his pores and I decide to go get a bottle of water to leave on the floor by his side, in case he wakes up.
I step into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge and that’s when the patio door to the backyard slides open and a tall figure enters the dark room.
The only light is the one coming from the open fridge, but I immediately recognize Chase and as my eyes travel down his powerful, muscled frame, I notice the blood on his hands and I reach him in two fast strides.
“Chase, what happened? You’re bleeding!” I try to touch his hands but he recoils from my touch, wincing.
“I’m all right.” He mutters with that tone of his that doesn’t leave any room for discussion.
“No, you’re not all right. How did you—”
His voice is dripping with irritation when he takes a further step back from me.
“I told you I’m all right. If you want to make yourself useful, get me a pack of frozen peas or a steak, something cold.”
I shake my head. “You’re bleeding, we need to clean that up first. Possibly disinfect it before we put ice on it. Wait here.”
Forbidden (Perfect for them Book 1) Page 20