The Halo Series Boxed Set

by Kimberly Knight

  “I know, I know. But Avery is so …” She trailed off, leaning against the closed door of the room.

  “I know, he’s great. And so is Easton,” I said, sitting on the end of one of the twin beds.

  “Okay, tell me about this kiss.”

  “We were dancing at the ball. Wait, how long were you two at the ball?”

  “I don’t know, not that long.” She blushed.

  “Of course not. Anyway, we were dancing for a long time. Took breaks to eat and get drinks. We were laughing and having a good time, and I forgot that it was the last night we would have together, and then it was as if he remembered, and he said it wasn’t goodbye. I said that I knew it wasn’t, and then he cupped my face with both hands and kissed me.

  “It was the best first kiss that I’ve ever had. His mouth felt right against mine. I didn’t feel any physical sparks like I read about in those damn books, but there was just something about it that felt—perfect. And then stupid fucking Jared popped in my head, and I thought about karma. And I don’t want to start something with Easton when I’m with Jared, you know?”

  “You love him.”

  “Who?”

  “Easton. You love Easton.”

  “Nic …”

  “You love Easton, and I fucking approve. When we get home, you need to break up with Jared and come with me to New York next weekend.”

  I didn’t respond because I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Breaking up with Jared wasn’t going to be easy if I went with that choice, and if I tried dating Easton, he was over four hours away. Was that going to make me happy?

  By the time our plane touched down in Boston, Nicole had told me every detail of her weeklong fuck fest with Avery. It was nothing new for us to tell each other every detail of our lives, but her story took up the whole five and a half hour plane ride home.

  As we taxied to the gate, I turned on my cell and waited for it to boot up. I hadn’t turned it on since we’d left home eight days prior. Missed texts and voicemails popped up with fifty-seven unread emails. Being away from reality for eight days was bittersweet.

  I dialed Jared to let him know that we had landed and to be ready for us at the curb outside baggage claim. There was no answer. I tried again, but there was still no answer.

  “What the fuck?” I said, staring at the phone after hitting the End button when Jared’s voicemail came on.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Jared’s not answering.”

  I tried again and still no answer, so I left a voicemail that we’d landed and to be waiting. I also sent a text for good measure.

  “If he doesn’t show, I’m going to beat the shit out of him,” Nicole said, reaching for her carry-on bag in the overhead bin.

  “He wouldn’t leave us. He knows we’re coming home today. I even printed the itinerary and put it on the fridge. He’s coming.”

  We exited the plane and made our way to baggage claim. I tried Jared again, but still no answer.

  “I’m glad you’re breaking up with him,” Nicole said as we waited for our bags at the carousel.

  “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”

  “Why? You fell in love with Easton and he wants you, too.”

  “Yeah, but what if he just wants me for sex and doesn’t want a relationship? What if I’m throwing away a stable relationship for a fling?”

  Nicole reached for her bag as it approached on the belt. “Listen to me. Jared is a piece of shit. Fuck, B, he isn’t even answering his phone right now and I will bet you a million dollars that he won’t show or will come very, very late. If things don’t work out with Easton, then at least you took a chance. You deserve so much more than lazy ass Jared.”

  She was right. I wasn’t having doubts about breaking up with Jared, but it was going to be hard. No one wants their heart crushed, and he didn’t have anywhere else to go but to his mother’s, who only had a one bedroom apartment. Things would be awkward for a few days until he moved out—or I moved out. Whatever we decided.

  “That’s my bag,” I said, pointing to it. Nicole reached down and picked it up for me. My shoulder was still hurting, and I was popping the pain pills like they were Tic Tacs.

  I tried Jared again with no answer. When we walked out to the curb, he was nowhere in sight.

  “That fucking asshole. How could he not show up?” Nicole huffed.

  I was in shock myself. Was he hurt? Did something happen to him while I was away? I had no missed voicemails, texts or emails from him, his mom or any of his friends to let me know that something bad had happened to him. I started to freak out.

  After waiting forty-five minutes (with multiple calls and texts to Jared), Nicole and I took one of the waiting taxis home. We decided that she would take me home first to make sure he wasn’t dead in the apartment or something horrific like that. Both of us were coming up with bad scenarios. Yes, Jared was a lazy person, but I never thought he would forget me at the airport after I’d been gone for such a long time.

  We arrived at my apartment, and Nicole helped me with my bags. Fear was running through me as I slipped my key in the door and slowly opened it. I had watched too much Law and Order for my own good. I opened the door, and Nicole and I eyed each other with raised eyebrows, not saying a word as we stepped in, looking around. The apartment looked just like I had left it. Like Jared hadn’t stayed there at all.

  “Looks like he cleaned. That’s a plus,” Nicole said.

  “No, it looks like I left it. The mail that I set on the breakfast bar before we left is in the same place. The candles on the coffee table are in the same place. My bed is made. Jared never makes the bed.”

  “Why would he not stay here if he lives here?”

  “Beats the hell out of me. Maybe he stayed at his mom’s because he didn’t want to be alone?”

  “Yeah … maybe,” Nicole said, still looking around the apartment.

  After we’d scoped it out, she left since she had the taxi waiting. We both had to be at work early the next morning, and it was getting late. It was a little after eleven, and Jared still hadn’t called or shown up. I didn’t know what else to do other than to call his mom.

  “Hey, Lisa, it’s Brooke.”

  “Oh, hi honey. Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know. Sorry for calling so late, but I just got home from my trip and Jared didn’t pick me up. I was wondering if he was there at your house?”

  “No, I’m afraid he isn’t here. He was here earlier doing his laundry, but he didn’t mention anything about needing to pick you up at the airport.”

  “That’s okay. He probably forgot and is with one of the guys. I took a taxi, so I’ll just wait for him. Thank you again and sorry for calling so late.”

  I hung up the phone and took a shower. It was close to midnight by the time I crawled into bed, hoping he would show up and that he was okay. Scenarios were running through my head, and I tried calling him one last time with no answer before sleep took over. I was exhausted and emotionally drained.

  I woke up the next morning to a text from Jared:

  Jared: Hey, babe! I’m glad you made it back from your trip safely. Sorry I didn’t pick you up. My mom fell and broker her wrist, so I was taking care of her, and it slipped my mind that you were coming home yesterday. I slept on the couch not to wake you. I’ll see you tonight.

  Seriously, a text? I got out of bed, looking into the living room, but there was no sign that he had slept on the couch like he’d said. And the mom lie? Seriously? Why was he lying?

  Me: I called your mom last night, but she didn’t say anything about you helping her. In fact, she told me that she hadn’t seen you since you did laundry and her place earlier in the day. What the fuck is going on, Jared?

  I waited for a reply back, but it never came. I was pissed and wanted to strangle him.

  “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re back,” Lucy squealed, pulling me into her office. “Tell me all about the cruise.”

 
“It was great. Nicole and I went to a private island in Puerto Vallarta, zip-lining in Mazatlán, and I saw my sister in Cabo. We ate so much food and danced a lot at night. It was unforgettable,” I said, plopping into the chair in front of her desk.

  There was no way that I would tell her about Easton. Lucy didn’t need to know everything in my personal life, and I really didn’t want to talk about the cruise since I didn’t know what Jared was up to, so I made my story short and sweet. I didn’t want to be at work. I wanted to be in the arms of Easton as he told me everything would be okay. I wanted to break up with Jared, and Jared not picking us up at the airport, not coming home and lying, was more of a reason to do so.

  Lucy caught me up on everything that happened while I was away from the office. As she finished telling me about some drama with Ian and Mike, my cell buzzed in my hand.

  Nicole:

  Nicole: Dr. Sam can see you at 11. See you then.

  Nicole hadn’t asked if I wanted to see her doctor, but my shoulder was still bothering me—especially from the massage that I’d really wanted—and I needed some relief. With everything going on, I couldn’t focus on work anyway.

  I arrived at Dr. Sam’s office ten minutes before eleven and Nicole brought me to an exam room. As she checked my vitals, I filled her in on Jared. She wanted to rip his dick off for lying to me and not picking us up at the airport. I didn’t blame her.

  Dr. Sam entered the room. She was a beautiful brunette around the same age as me and Nicole. Her shoulder length dark brown hair had a few curls in it to give it some volume, and her black rimmed glasses perched on her nose.

  I started from the beginning, explaining how my shoulder had started hurting after my bowling party and how my regular doctor prescribed me muscle relaxers. I told her it was still hurting, even more so after the massage. I stared at Dr. Sam’s ruby red-stained lips as she spoke to me about the different possibilities my shoulder was hurting. She said that it could be job harelated and a result of how I sat at my desk. She instructed Nicole to bring me to X-ray and then check with the in-office physical therapist about stretches I could do for my shoulder.

  After I’d met with both the X-ray technician and the physical therapist, Nicole and I went to lunch. As we ate our salads, we decided I should act like it was no big deal that Jared lied to me and that he’d left us at the airport. When he let his guard down, I would slip two Ambien into his beer, and once he passed out, Nicole would come over with a scalpel she’d steal from work. As Jared slept, we would cut his dick off, Lorena Bobbitt style, and flee to Mexico. We giggled at the thought, but in the end we agreed the smarter choice would be for me to just break up with him.

  After an hour lunch, Nicole and I went to her office and I waited in another exam room for the results of the X-ray.

  “I’ll let Dr. Sam know we’re back and see if the results are ready,” Nicole said, closing the exam room door behind her.

  I sat in the stark white room, flipping through a Women’s Day magazine. The moment I saw Nicole’s face when she walked in with Dr. Sam, I knew something was wrong. She grabbed my hand, clenching it tight without saying a word. Dr. Sam cleared her throat and my worst fears came true.

  “Brooke, the radiologist found a mass on the X-ray.”

  “You’re the best daddy in the whole world!” Cheyenne said, hugging me as we waited in the security line at LAX.

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  I already knew I was, but I loved when she praised me instead of being annoyed with me, especially since it was extremely early in the morning.

  “Because Courtney’s at school right now, and I’m still on vacation.”

  It wasn’t a good thing that Cheyenne was missing school, but I’d decided it was better to miss a day of school rather than attending with little sleep.

  “That’s not a good thing, Peanut. It’s not good to miss school.”

  “But I am.”

  “Yes,” I nodded, taking off my shoes, “but you’ll have double homework tomorrow.”

  “What? Really?” she whined.

  “I’m sorry, Peanut, but it’s the way it happened. We have your first practice tonight. Aren’t you excited?”

  “I’m scared.”

  We paused our conversation as went through the security scanner. After we put on our shoes and grabbed all of our belongings, we walked to our gate. Avery was staring at his phone.

  “Have you heard from Nicole?”

  “Yeah, they made it back safe. Jared didn’t pick them up from the airport.”

  “What? She’s just telling you now?”

  “No, she told me last night while you were sleeping.”

  Fucking Jared. How the fuck had he left Brooke and Nicole at the airport? What kind of loser did that? I wanted to change our flight and go to Boston. I wanted to beat the shit out of him!

  “Dad?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m scared. I don’t want to go to practice,” Cheyenne said, bringing the conversation back to her and taking my thoughts away from Brooke.

  “Don’t be scared, Peanut. I’ll be there to help you.”

  “I guess,” she said, pulling her phone out of her backpack.

  “Text Nicole for Brooke’s number. I want to call her,” I said to Avery. We arrived at our gate, taking a seat to wait for boarding.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, man. Brooke would have given you her number if she wanted you to call her.”

  “I don’t care. Give me your phone, and I’ll do it.”

  “No,” he said, moving the phone out of my reach.

  “Just do it, or I’ll tackle you right here and take it from you.”

  “Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom,” Cheyenne said.

  My head was spinning. “Let me go with you. I don’t want you to get kidnapped,” I said, standing up.

  “I won’t get kidnapped. I’m ten!”

  “You never know. Let’s go.”

  I walked her to the bathroom and waited outside while she went in and did her business. My mind kept thinking about Brooke being stranded at the airport. I wanted to talk to her and find out why Jared was such an asshole and why he had done that. If my girlfriend left on vacation for eight days, I would be at the airport early to make sure I was there when her plane arrived.

  By the time Cheyenne and I got back to the gate, they were boarding the plane already.

  “Did you get her number?”

  “No.”

  “Do it!” I said, handing my boarding pass to the attendant.

  “I’ll do it when we land. Nicole wants me to call her when we get to JFK.”

  “Fine, but you better call her as soon as we land.”

  “I will, calm down.”

  “Do it!”

  “Jesus, let my phone boot up,” Avery groaned.

  We had just landed at JFK. The entire flight I’d thought about Brooke. I thought about the way Jared had sealed his fate, and how Brooke would break up with him, and how I would swoop in and make her mine. It didn’t help that the movie Cheyenne picked to watch, Man of Steel, ended up being a love story at the end.

  I waited for Avery to text Nicole as we exited the plane; I wanted to rip the phone from his hands. “Well?” I questioned when we arrived at the baggage claim.

  “She … um, hasn’t texted me back.”

  “Call her!”

  “She’s at work. I’m sure she’ll text me back when she goes on a break or something.”

  I groaned … again. I just wanted to hear Brooke’s voice and make sure she was okay. Tell her that I was there if she wanted to talk or ask for advice on how to break up with Jared. My brain was jumbled with so many emotions that I wasn’t used to. Brooke not saying goodbye had hurt me, but I understood. I just didn’t want her walking out of my life.

  We grabbed our bags and met my dad out on the curb. By the time we arrived at my house, we had told him all about the cruise, and Cheyenne had told him all about California. Avery’s
truck was at my house, so my dad dropped us all off there. School was out for the day, and practice wasn’t for another hour, so Courtney was waiting at our doorstep.

  “I’ll see you at the gym at nine. Text me Brooke’s number when Nicole calls you back,” I said, tossing Avery his keys. Cheyenne and Courtney had already gone to Cheyenne’s room.

  “She did already.”

  “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Look, you need to sit down.”

  “Why? If she didn’t dump Jared yet, I’ll be a man and deal with it,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the kitchen counter.

  “That’s not it.”

  “Okay?”

  “You know how Brooke’s shoulder has been bothering her?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well …” he paused, taking a deep breath. “Nicole made her go to the doctor today and they took an X-ray. They, uh … they found a mass, dude.”

  I felt like the wind was knocked out of me.

  I couldn’t fathom two women who I loved dying before their time. Dana had her whole life to look forward to, but she would never see Cheyenne go to her first dance, go to prom, meet her first boyfriend (I didn’t want to think about that day), or watch me walk her down the aisle.

  I knew that I was a bad person for the way I’d treated Dana, but I had changed. I wouldn’t survive if Brooke died, too. Deep down in my heart, I knew Brooke was meant to be my forever. I wanted to wrap her in my arms forever, kiss her and tell her that everything would work out. No one had ever been there to take care of her. She was the one to always take care of everyone else, and now my other best friend was keeping me from her.

  “Get her number for me now,” I growled. I was beyond pissed. Every fiber of my being was telling me to get to Boston.

  “Nicole said it’s not a good time.”

  “I know it’s not a good time. She fucking has a tumor, Avery!”

  “Dude, don’t shoot the messenger. We’ll go this weekend. You need to spend time with C.C. You haven’t seen her in a week, and today is her first softball practice. I’m going to go see if the bar is still standing, and tomorrow we need to go through the books and make sure everything went smoothly.”