by J. S. Cooper
When We Were Us
J. S. Cooper
Copyright © 2020 by J. S. Cooper
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Blurb
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Acknowledgments
Blurb
He says I owe him a debt. And he’s come to collect what he’s owed.
When you’re young, anything is possible.
Love is pure magic, and time seems to stand still.
I remember those days like I remember seeing my first rainbow.
When the sky was bleak, he painted it full of color.
We came from different worlds.
We had no business ever interacting.
He was the wolf with glowing eyes and a cocky grin.
I was the innocent sheep that he wanted to eat up.
I knew he was trouble, but then he went and saved my life.
I was in the wrong place at the right time.
Or so I thought.
I didn’t realize that he was the leader of the pack.
He saved me from himself.
Only, young love never lasts. Sometimes you grow up and move on.
That’s what I did.
But now he’s back. Meaner. Stronger. Full of darkness instead of light.
This time he’s not here to save me. This time he’s here to make me pay.
Prologue
Let me tell you a story. It’s about a man with jet black hair and dazzling emerald green eyes and a woman with long brown hair and eyes that looked like the moon. At least that’s what the boy said. On nights when the sky was dark, he would call her his moon-eyed girl. They were young when they met and young when they parted. During nights when the cold wind seeped into their bones, they held each other close; their hearts beating as one. And on days when the sun was bright, they floated through the sky on fluffy clouds with beautiful smiles that never left their faces. This boy and this girl, they were always together. She believed they were meant to be. That their meeting had been destined in the stars. But then one night the sky was dark and ominous, and there were no stars in the sky. And the moon-eyed girl realized that it wasn’t a prince charming that had found her, but a devious devil.
Sometimes the prince in your story isn’t the good guy.
I can still remember the villain that tried to claim me as his.
His name was Luca. It suited him. My dark, handsome savior.
It feels like just yesterday we were sitting in a bar, he was buying me a drink. I thought I was falling in love. It’s funny how attraction can make you ignore the signs.
He was tall, attractive, the sort of man that made you go weak in the knees. The way he looked at me, the way he kissed me, I thought it was meant to be. I thought we were forever.
But then I noticed the men watching us and the way Luca seemed to change before my eyes. My warm savior was cold, was dangerous, was calculating in ways that I would never have believed possible.
I started to do some research and it made me scared. Luca was darker than I thought. We argued and he said it was all in my head. I believed him. I gave in to him. I submitted to him.
And then I saw him with my own two eyes. He wasn’t a good guy. He was the bad guy. I fled as fast as I could, my heart breaking as I ran. And he let me go.
But now he’s back and he wants to make me pay for leaving him. He says he still loves me, but I think what he really wants is to exact his revenge and I don’t know what to do.
Sometimes, the end is just the beginning. Some love stories bring you light, but some love stories shroud you in darkness. Some love stories should never be told. Their love story has only just begun.
EIGHT YEARS AGO
Chapter 1
Luca
She was walking down Garfield Place in Park Slope when I saw her, holding a book in one hand and two plastic bags in the other. Her head was bent and her long light brown hair hung down her back, cascading like waves as the wind brushed past her. I knew that she was going to fall about a minute before she actually did. I watched as she tripped on a large piece of rock and came flying toward me. Her body hit me hard before she fell to the ground, her bags falling with her, but the book remained in her hand. I walked over to her slowly, as she sat there dazed and confused, her legs sprawled out on the dirty concrete.
“You should watch where you’re going,” I said, suddenly taken aback by the brightness of the green eyes that peered up at me. She was even more stunning close up than she’d seemed from afar. A light of pureness emanated from her and I knew that I should step away, but I couldn’t.
“I was,” she said, blinking up at me, her eyes narrowing as light blinded her. I shifted to the right so that I could block the sun from shining directly into her face. “Thank you.” She smiled, her pink lips widening in a sincere way that told me she had no idea that I was bad news. “It’s sure sunny today.”
“I didn’t think you noticed anything other than what you were reading.” I looked at the book in her hand. “That book must be very interesting, you haven’t looked up from it once.”
“It’s the last Harry Potter book.” She wrinkled her nose as she took my offered hand and stood up. “I’m late to the party and only started the series last week.”
“I see.”
“I suppose you read the books years ago.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I have no interest in fiction.” I reached down and grabbed her bags, picking up some of the fruit that had rolled into the street. “Wash these when you get home.”
“I will. Thank you.” She nodded as she took the bags from me. “I should get home. My mom will be waiting.”
“You sure you’re going to get home okay? Maybe I should walk you.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that.” She shook her head and looked down at her book. I had a feeling she’d rather be reading than talking to me. But that wasn’t going to happen.
“It would be my pleasure,” I said. “Let me take your bags.”
“Oh, okay.” Her expression betrayed the calmness in her voice. She was nervous of me, the knight in shining armor that had come to help her and guide her home. “If you’re sure.” She smiled and bit down on her lower lip. That was her first mistake.
“So, what’s your name?” I looked over at her as we walked. “And don’t tell me Hermione Granger.”
“Wait, how did you know if you haven’t read the book?”
“I don’t live in a cave.” I grinned. “I make it my business to know everything. So what’s your name?”
“Anabel.”
“Nice to meet you, Anabel,” I sai
d her name slowly and deliberately, loving the way it sounded on my lips. “I’m Luca.”
“Nice to meet you, Luca.” She smiled and her green eyes surveyed me as we walked. “I’m just a couple of blocks away, so it’s not too far of a walk.”
“I don’t mind.” I shrugged. “I have all day.” That wasn’t technically true, but for this, I had all the time in the world.
“So do you live around here?” she asked. “Do you go to school?”
“School?” I threw my head back and laughed. “I haven’t been in school in years. Are you in college then?”
“No.” She shook her head and blushed. “I’m in high school.”
“High school?” I raised an eyebrow. I hadn’t been expecting that, but I should have. She looked too innocent and pure to have had much life experience.
“Well, I’m graduating in a couple of months. I’m going to Columbia in the fall.” She beamed. “It will be fun. I’ll move to Manhattan then.”
“So you’ll be leaving Brooklyn?” I frowned. I didn’t like the sound of that. I lived in Brooklyn. Granted, Manhattan wasn’t that far away, but I needed her close, where I could keep an eye on her. “How old are you?” I asked, but I didn’t care. Her age wouldn’t affect my plans for her or us.
“Seventeen.” She was far too open and honest. “I’ll be eighteen next week.”
How convenient. What shall we do to celebrate the day I will make you mine? “That’s awesome, any fun plans?”
“I’ll most probably go to dinner with my parents.” She shrugged. “It’s sort of our thing.”
“Will your boyfriend be joining?”
“No, I don’t have one.” She shook her head shyly. Lucky for the nonexistent boyfriend that he didn’t exist because if he had, he would have been in trouble.
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’m sure you’ll have one soon.”
“Oh, I’m not looking.” She chewed down on her lower lip. “My parents don’t want me dating until I graduate from college.”
“Until you graduate from college?” So she was untouched? Even better.
“They don’t want me to be distracted from going for my goals. I’m going to be a doctor or a lawyer.”
“A lawyer?” I raised an eyebrow. I couldn’t stand lawyers.
“Yeah. So Luca, are you a professional?”
“No.” I shook my head. The less she knew about me, the better.
“Do you work?” Her eyes looked at me for a longer period of time. Now she was more curious.
“Yes, I have my own business.”
“That’s cool. What do you do?”
Didn’t she know it was rude to ask too many questions? I paused for a few seconds, thinking about how to answer her. I abhorred lying, but sometimes a lie was best for both people. “You ever heard of Al Capone or Fatty Arbuckle?” I asked with a cocky grin, deciding the best tactic was straight-up honesty.
“Who hasn’t heard of Al Capone?” She laughed. “Why?”
“Well, I’m in the same profession as them. I’m in the mafia.”
“Oh funny,” she said with a laugh. “Sure you are.”
She didn’t believe me, and I was relieved. She didn’t seem like the sort of girl that would be happy dating a guy in the mafia. Not that we were dating, yet.
“Oh, I’m on this street,” she said as we stopped at the corner. “You don’t have to walk with me anymore. I’m only a few doors down from here.”
“I’ll walk you to your door. I am a gentleman.”
“Oh, okay.” She nodded and smiled. “That’s very nice of you.”
“No problem.” We walked about two hundred yards and then stopped in front of a brownstone. Number 3500. “Is this you?”
“Yes, thank you, Luca.” She reached forward to grab her bags and our fingers brushed. A charge of electricity darted through me and she must have felt it because I noticed her eyes widening as she stepped back slightly.
“Well, I hope you have a nice rest of your day.” I gave her a small nod and a smile. “Keep your eyes on the road and not on your book.”
“I will,” she said, hesitating as she waited for me to say something else. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”
“You too.” I knew she was waiting for me to ask her for her number. Or to ask her on a date. She was curious about me. And from the way her eyes darted along my face, I could tell she found me attractive. I wasn’t vain, but I knew that women liked me. I was blessed with a full head of dark brown silky hair, vivid green eyes, and a face that betrayed my Italian heritage. I’d been compared to a Roman god many times. “Ciao.” I lifted up my hand, gave her a small wave and turned around. I started walking again and then stopped and looked back at her. She was still standing there watching me.
“If fate wants us to meet again, we will,” I said with a small smile. “I don’t want to get you into trouble with your parents.” My voice was gentle. “So I won’t ask you out. Goodbye, Anabel.”
“Goodbye, Luca,” she said, her cheeks tinged with pink. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but before she could get the words out, I left. I could feel her eyes burning into my back as I walked away, and I resisted the urge to turn back again. There would be time to give Anabel what she wanted. Now was not the time. I already knew that fate had a plan for us to meet up on Saturday night. Anabel just didn’t know that I had a direct line to her future.
“Luca, where are you going?” Giorgio’s pudgy fingers grabbed for a piece of chocolate cake as he gazed at me. “I thought you were going to stay and play video games.”
“Not tonight.” I shook my head. “Tell your mom I said thanks for dinner.”
“I thought we were going to grab some beers and...” His voice was muffled as he chewed on the still-warm dessert. Giorgio had been my best friend since we were seven. His father had worked for my grandfather and his mother had looked after me since I was a kid. While the two of us never had much in common and were exact opposites, we had an unspoken bond. Giorgio looked up to me in a way that made me feel like a king. I kept him around because he was loyal and someone that I knew would always have my back, though I found it hard to rely on anyone for anything that was truly deep.
“I’m going to meet a girl,” I said finally, letting him in on my plans for the night.
“That girl we saw by the store that day?” Giorgio was a pig, but sometimes he was far more astute than I gave him credit for.
“Which girl?”
“The one you stared at in awe, the blonde one.” He looked over at me, his eyes keen. “She was pretty, and I saw you staring at her for a long time. And then you took me back to that store four more times in two weeks.” He blinked. “I figured you liked her.”
He knew then. Knew that I’d been watching her, trying to figure her out. He hadn’t said anything, which surprised me. Giorgio was the sort of guy that usually said what he was thinking. He was nineteen, just one year younger than me, but he reminded me of someone much younger. He was a part of our world, but his mother had coddled him. He was far too trusting and far too chatty, but maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe he did know how to keep his mouth shut when it counted.
“She’s not a blonde. She’s a brunette. Her hair is just very light. The color of dark sand.”
“Uhm, okay. So you finally worked up the courage to talk to her? I didn’t notice you guys together.” He frowned and put the cake back down on the plate. “When did you talk to her?” He seemed annoyed with himself and I walked back to the table to stare down at him.
“You seem surprised. Have you been watching me?” The hostility in my voice was clear.
“Yes.” He nodded and stood up. “We’re targets. I need to watch everyone around us to make sure we aren’t ambushed.”
“Targets?” I cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Everyone knows you’re going to be the next capo.” He shrugged. “And as your best friend, I expect, well, hope to be one of your underbosses.”
“You expect m
e to make you an underboss?” I laughed. “Giorgio, you care more about cake than you do anything else.”
“I know her name is Anabel Forbes. I know she’s seventeen and about to turn eighteen. I know she lives in Park Slope. I know she has long light brown hair and green eyes that some might compare to leaves in a dark forest. I know she’s early admission to Columbia University. And that she’s set to graduate with a 4.3 GPA and valedictorian of her high school.” He paused, unblinking, as he gazed at me. “I might like cake, but I ain’t no dumbass.”
“You know a lot about her.” I grabbed a napkin from the table and crumpled it in my hands. “Why do you know so much?”
“I’ve got your back, Luca. I need to know everyone that you find an interest in. Make sure they’re safe. She’s not in our world, but you already know that.”
“So you know that I accidentally bumped into her then?”
“I didn’t know that. I don’t follow you.” Giorgio laughed suddenly as he shook his head. “I’m not a creeper. So you bumped into her and asked her on a date?”
“No.” I laughed. “She doesn’t even know that the date’s happening.”
“Oh?” He frowned. “How’s that?”
“She’s the sort of girl that believes in fairy tales and goblins, she believes in wizards and witches, and I need her to believe that this is fate or destiny or whatever.” I shrugged. I didn’t know how to explain it. From the first time I’d seen her in the store, I’d been attracted to her. The way she’d smiled at the homeless guy asking for money or food and then ordered him a sandwich and gotten him chips, a cookie, and a drink on the side. The way she’d said please and thank you to the cashier, as if she meant it and the way she’d looked at me and smiled as she’d walked past me with her bags. She hadn’t known it then, but that had been enough to pull me in. I’d gone to that grocery store twenty times after that and actually seen her six times and watched her from afar. I’d known after my last sighting that I’d have to meet her and had planned my accidental bump. But that had been nothing compared to what I had planned for tonight. A part of me thought that I should go the normal route. Ask her on a date, get to know her, see if she liked me, but I was scared. Scared she’d say no. Scared she’d find me boring and too unintelligent. Scared she wouldn’t want to see me again. I needed to give her a reason to feel connected to me. I needed to give her a reason to fall for me. I knew it was crazy. Knew I was crazy, but this was the first time I’d ever felt this way. The first time I’d ever felt an attraction so immediate and deep that it felt like she was a part of me that was missing. I wasn’t one to believe in love at first sight or soul mates, but she felt like a missing part of me and I needed to find out why.