by Linzvon C
“Ah man, I’ve not been here since I last came with you,” he admitted sheepishly as I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Surely there had been other girls? He waited for me, swinging his keys around his finger as I climbed out, landing on the floor with a thud. We walked into the cafe which was fairly quiet- not many people knew of it, you certainly had to be a local. We got a gorgeous window seat overlooking the bay and I sighed happily. It was actually nice to be here, even with Luke.
“So now I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to be completely honest with me,” he said seriously, and I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.
“If its anything about you and me-”
He cut me off with his hand in the air, blinking slowly.
“It’s not.”
I sat back in my chair as I clasped my hands together.
“Ok, so go on then?”
He sat forward, his hands meeting in a steeple motion as he gazed at me. Our eyes met as he spoke, and he held my gaze as he watched my reaction.
“What happened in New York? Tell me.”
I dropped my eyes from his as I gave a short laugh.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Luke.”
I was grateful when the waitress brought our coffees over, as I watched her with a great deal of interest. Luke however kept his eyes on mine, murmuring a thanks as she left.
“Why are you lying to me?” his voice was low as I sighed, irritated.
“What does it matter to you Luke?” I snapped. “I thought we were here to remedy our shit, not create more.”
He sat back as he studied me, his fingers pressed to his lips.
“Did he hurt you?” his voice was hollow as I screwed my face up in response.
“What? No, don’t be absurd.”
“That’s what girls that are abused say.”
I stared at him, my mouth agape.
“Luke, you have this wrong. It wasn’t Cal,” I sipped my latte, wincing at the heat. “Cal would never hurt me.”
“If it wasn’t him, who was it?” he demanded, refusing to let the matter drop. I folded my arms as I gazed at him.
“If I tell you, you have to swear to not tell a soul.”
He made a cross over his chest as he stared at me, his expression hardening as though he was preparing himself for the worst news he’d ever received. I took a deep breath and met his eyes.
“I’m fucking serious Luke, I will never forgive you if you tell a soul. If you love me at all, you won’t tell anyone.”
“Gretch, you are scaring me now. What the fuck happened? I won’t tell anyone.”
“I was kidnapped.”
His eyes widened as his mouth fell open, his hands reaching for mine over the table.
“Are you being fucking serious right now?” he hissed quietly as I nodded. “Who the fuck by? What did they do to you?”
He sat patiently listening to me as I poured it all out, and I had to admit, it felt so good to finally speak to someone about it who wasn’t Cal.
“What did Cal do about it?” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes wild with anger.
“Do? He came and got me. What more can he do Luke, it’s the fucking mob,” I retaliated angrily as he sat back in his chair in shock, gazing out of the window whilst he rubbed his chin.
“I don’t care. What did he do?”
His voice had a hardness to it, and I blinked in surprise. Cal had done the right thing, left it alone. I knew that yet sitting here in front of Luke, I suddenly felt like someone had to do something in my honour. I shook my head as he met my eyes again, hatred filled in his eyes.
“This is his fault. You can’t see it, I know that. But listen to me, it is,” he sighed as he reached for my hand, holding it tightly.
“I’m going to tell you this once, and I want you to remember it for the rest of your life. If you ever need me, ever, I don’t care if I’m married with kids, you ring me. Yeah?”
I nodded slowly as he released my hand, the warmth of his touch gone.
“Mob or not, I’d bury anyone that touched a hair on your head.”
“Thank you but I have got Cal and-”
“Yes he’s a vicious fucker. But he isn’t the only one that loves you, and sometimes you may just need someone else to turn to.”
I nodded as he smiled at me.
“We can be friends you know. It just means I can’t have you the way I want, but at least I have you in some capacity. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Chapter 20- NYC
Cal’s POV
When it is cold in New York, its fucking freezing. It literally jumps from one extreme to the other here, blistering summers leading straight into icy winters. I shivered as I made my way into the damp basement, my eyes slowly accustoming to the dark. I heard a whimper from the far corner of the room, followed by the sound of a steel boot cracking into bone. I winced as I walked in, my fingers running along the wall as I searched for the light switch I knew was there. I felt the smooth plastic under my fingers as I flipped the switch, the room suddenly illuminated by a harsh light.
“Johnny,” I said slowly, as I took in the man hunched on the floor in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest as he sobbed silently. “Hey Johnny, look at me.”
It was a difficult thing to ask of him, considering both of his eyes were swollen so much he couldn’t open them, let alone see. I smiled as I leaned down next to him, my rage burning through my veins.
“I just wanted to have a conversation with you. Why have you been so hard to find?”
My voice hid my anger well as I spoke softly, almost soothingly.
“Leo, I’m sorry-”
“Sorry? For what?” I asked curiously, as I leaned closer to him, my ear close to his mouth.
“For taking her. I was just following orders.”
I nodded as I stroked his hair, matted with blood and sweat.
“You broke into my house. You took my girl to a fucking mob pit and you have the audacity to think an apology will cut it?”
There was silence as he sobbed, knowing his fate was sealed. I met the eyes of Eugene, his captor, as he watched me patiently. Eugene was a wiry man, with the strength you wouldn’t assign to him or his frame- but he was an absolute psychopath. I knew that Johnny had suffered already, despite the orders being to leave that to me. I nodded at Eugene who grinned sadistically as he pulled the silencer out of his pocket.
“Eugene here, he is just following orders too. Good speaking to you.”
I looked at him with disgust as I stood, commanding Eugene to make it quick, and as clean as possible. The last thing I needed was blood all over the fucking walls again.
I climbed the stairs, realising I was tense with anger. Johnny had to pay for taking her, nothing was forgivable. I understood that Lucia had suffered, but this was nothing to do with Gretchen. I left the house, whistling as I skipped down the steps. The wind bit into me, icy fingers curling around my body as I jogged back to midtown. I checked my watch and was pleased to see I hadn’t wasted too much time with him, I would make my appointment in plenty of time.
Excellent.
Chapter 21- Cousin
Cal’s POV
“How are you doing cousin?”
The voice drawled down the line as I rubbed my brow with irritation. What did this little shit want now? I tightened my jaw as I sighed heavily, preparing myself for his bullshit.
“What the fuck are you calling me for?”
I growled down the phone as he tutted, making me want to smash his face into next week. Sadly, that wasn’t yet invented, as advanced as technology was, a punch couldn’t travel over the airwaves.
Pity.
“I’ve just had breakfast with our beautiful Gretchen, she’s like a fine wine my man, she simply seems to get better with age. But I’m worried about her.”
I tightened my grip around the phone as I closed my eyes, regret filling my chest at the thought of him anywhere near her.
“You better be lying,” I said through gritted teeth, my eyes scanning the airport for an update on my flight. It had been delayed by an hour and I was getting restless, now I had this punk giving me grief.
“No, I mean this whole kidnapping shit,” he waited, clearly enjoying every moment of proving what he knew.
FUCK.
“Keep away from her. Do you understand me?”
“But don’t you think it’s time you admitted I was right all those years ago? I’m better for her than you. She would have a simple life with me, marriage, pop out some babies- Fuck, I’d enjoy making those though- no kidnaps, no mob. Just a picket fence and warm apple pie.”
I pulled the phone away and almost snapped it as I ended the call, my vision temporarily blurred with anger as I dialled Gretchen’s number.
“Hey baby!” she sang down the phone as I tried to speak clearly.
“Why did you tell him Gretchen?”
I heard her suck in her breath sharply, and I knew then that she would never have told me about meeting him. My heart hurt, knowing she could betray me so easily.
“Just like that, huh? I’ve been gone a day, and you are with him.”
Her voice broke as she began to cry, and I held my head in my hands.
“Come back Cal,” she begged, sobbing quietly. “I just needed someone to talk to-”
“Yeah? You’ve got friends Gretchen. You’ve got me,” I growled angrily as I noticed my flight being announced over the tannoy. “I have to go,” I hung up, making my way to the departure gate. I was in two minds whether to go and drown my sorrows at a bar or go back to that shitty town and blast my cousins fucking head off.
The latter idea appealed more than whiskey, so I boarded the aircraft, jamming my seatbelt on as a slender brunette slipped into the seat beside me, her eyes running over me appreciatively.
“Wow, looks like I won the seat lottery,” she smirked, her tongue sliding over her full lips as I watched her carefully. She didn’t turn me on like Gretchen did, and that annoyed me even more. I considered fucking her in the tiny toilet just to destroy every aspect of my relationship, but I decided against it.
“Lady, with all due respect, I don’t wanna hear any more noise from your mouth,” I snapped as she narrowed her eyes at me, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’.
Fucking women.
Chapter 22- Not Again.
Gretchen.
I was going to fucking murder Luke.
I dialled an uber and went straight to his house, banging on the door. I didn’t give a shit if his parents were in or not, I wanted to kill that piece of shit. He opened the door lazily, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. I pushed him hard in the chest, causing him to fall back slightly as his expression changed to that of anger.
“What the fuck?” he cried as I pushed him again, anger brimming in my veins so much I was shaking. Tears fell down my face as I pointed at him, my finger close to his face.
“You fucking bastard. You told Cal,” I spat, as he folded his arms in front of him.
“Yes, I did. Because I’m worried about you,” he was calm now, the anger gone from his face.
“Worried about me? If you were worried about me, you wouldn’t have told Cal I had been with you when he had been out of town for one day!” I screeched, aware I sounded like a crazy person. I wanted to punch the smirk from his face as he gazed at me with a look of pity on his face.
“Babe-”
“Don’t fucking call me babe,” I snapped.
“Ok. Gretchen, you need to understand something. I care about you, a lot. It’s his fault that you were in that situation. He deserves to be fucking told.”
He stepped closer to me as I moved backwards, holding up my hand in a way of warning him not to come any closer.
“You also need to ask yourself, why you were with me the day after he left town.”
I blinked rapidly, his words causing me to feel sick. He thought I was in love with him still. This was too much; the man was clearly insane. His blue eyes burned into mine as I struggled to speak, suddenly very aware that whatever I said made no difference, he wouldn’t listen.
“I’m leaving,” I turned on my heel and strode towards the door as he suddenly grabbed me, pressing his mouth to mine. He pushed his tongue into my mouth as I tried to push him away, anger giving me strength I didn’t know I had.
“How fucking dare you!” I pushed him away as he pulled me back towards him, his arms holding me tightly.
“Do you know what, maybe I’m done with fucking asking.”
I frowned as he kissed me again, pushing me against the wall as his hands roamed over my body. I brought my knee up to his crotch, hard. He doubled over in pain as I pushed past him, running out of the door. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I ran down the street, terrified he was going to chase me. I didn’t look back as I ran, streets whizzing past me, adrenaline keeping me going. I slowed after a while, a stitch crippling my stomach as I pulled my phone out and dialled an uber.
I couldn’t believe what Luke had just done. I couldn’t believe I let myself fall for his shit, and I could see how he had gotten progressively worse as he grew older. My stomach turned as I remembered his hands all over my body, and I closed my eyes. I just wanted Cal. I dialled his number only to hear the voicemail and I began to cry. I knew he would be beyond angry, and I had the fear in my stomach that he would just not come back for me.
He’d done it before, he could do it again.
I kept checking the road, making sure I couldn’t see Luke. Eventually my cab arrived, and I climbed in, slamming the door shut with relief as I gave my address. I tried Cal again, and sent him a text.
I know you are mad, but please call me. x
The cab reached my house and I slid out, tiredness weighing me down suddenly. I made my way inside and made a beeline for my bedroom. My head hurt from thinking, and my heart hurt from loving. I needed Cal. I cradled my phone as I fell asleep, waiting to hear it ring or beep with every fibre of my being.
I woke later, the room now dark. Something had woken me up, but I couldn’t figure out what. I grabbed my phone as I sat up, to see no missed calls or texts. It was 1am.
“Hey,” came a voice from the corner of my room, and I shrieked, jumping from my bed as I made a run for the door. I felt arms around me as I recognised the scent, my heart jumping from my chest.
“Cal?” I moaned as I felt fresh tears begin to fall down my face.
“Jesus baby calm down. Where’s the fucking light switch?” He mumbled as I flicked it on, revealing his intense green gaze, his eyes filled with concern.
“I’m so sorry Cal,” I cried as he held me, his hands in my hair as he kissed my head softly. I buried my face in his chest as I inhaled his scent, masculine and strong.
“Do you still have feelings for him Gretchen?”
I pulled away and met his eyes as I shook my head wildly.
“Absolutely not. I just wanted to make things right, and instead it went very fucking wrong.”
He frowned as he watched me, his hands pulling me away from him slightly.
“What happened?” he demanded, his voice dangerously low.
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly very dry. I couldn’t tell him. I knew for a fact he would probably kill Luke, and I didn’t want to carry the guilt around with me forever. Instead I just explained that I felt terrible for betraying him, and that I thought he wouldn’t come back. That much was true, I just left out the fact Luke tried to sexually assault me.
“I could never, ever leave you again. You really need to appreciate the fact that I love you, Gretchen, so much.”
I never grew tired of hearing him say that to me, but tonight it seemed to hold more meaning. I wasn’t sure why, maybe it was something to do with the fact I felt I had nearly lost him again, but something felt different. He wiped my tears away with his thumb before kissing me softly on the lips, a smile breaking out on my face as he did. He h
ad the ability to remove any stress from me just by being in the room, his very presence calmed me. I climbed into bed and threw back the covers for him to join me as I yawned, feeling deliriously happy that he was back where he belonged- with me. I lifted up so he could slide his arm beneath me, pulling me close to his now bare chest as he sighed contentedly.
“I’m so glad you weren’t gone long. I genuinely hate sleeping without you,” I mumbled sleepily as he ran his fingers up and down my arm, the comfort it gave making my eyes close with delight.