by Sam Crescent
“You killed him.”
“I didn’t do anything of the sort. Your grandfather took care of everything. You were snooping for a reason. There’s nothing to stop us. No proof. You, dear boy, are turning into a pain. Do you know what we do with pains?”
Drake got to his feet. “I don’t care what you do. There’s nothing you can do to me. You both need me more than I need you.”
His mother snorted. “You really believe that?”
“Yes, otherwise you’d have gotten rid of me long ago and thought of the payout long before now.”
“Okay. You do have a valid point. You’re right. For the most part, you are safe and sound. You see, the thing is, Drake, you have a weakness and it’s that weakness you show off that will get you killed.”
“I don’t have a weakness.”
“Your poor girl who lives not too far from here. You really think we need to hurt you, when all it will take is striking out at her and her parents? They have no way of protecting themselves. No money and so much debt. We could make their lives even worse.”
He wanted to slap her. To lash out and strike her face, to scare her. To do anything so she would be afraid of him. “What do you want?”
“You see? That wasn’t so hard now was it? One day you’ll see it’s going to be easier to just do as you’re told. I did.”
“I never want to be part of this, or you.”
“Son, you’re already part of it. There is no getting away from who you are, or what one day you’re going to be capable of. You think we’re bad, but believe me, there are far worse people out there, willing to do far worse than us. We’re like little puppies in the market.”
“I doubt that. Stop dawdling. Tell me what you want.”
“It’s simple. Turn your back on her and never look at her again. It’s not hard to do.”
“I love her.” He didn’t beg or plead. Simply stated a fact. His feelings for Pru were love.
“Aw, it’s so cute. How you think you’ve got feelings. There will be plenty of cunts along the way to keep you occupied, some who actually have experience in sucking a cock. Now, stop being a dick, get yourself together, and get the fuck out of my room. You’re never going to find anything. Not here, not anywhere, so stop snooping.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hopeless
Pru stayed home for the rest of the week. Her parents refused to talk to her and she was fine with that. The more she allowed herself to think of their intervention at the beach house, the angrier she got with them.
She was supposed to be their daughter, and rather than protect her, they were more than happy to step aside while those vile people spread their hatred at her. Sean came to visit her, but she ignored him. He brought her homework, which she always did when he was watching her.
He tried to talk to her, and after a couple of hours each night, he would finally get the picture and leave. Without her cell phone, she wasn’t able to call Drake, and he still hadn’t come to see her. No late-night visits. She stared out the window, looking across the street, but saw no signs of him waiting for her.
With her bag on her shoulder, she walked downstairs, ignoring her parents, just like they were doing with her. Two could play that game. She grabbed a couple of slices of toast with no butter or jam and left.
Sean rolled his car toward her, and she ignored him, biting into her toast.
“You can’t keep doing this, Pru. It’s not like you.”
She took a bite of her toast. She could do whatever the hell she wanted to.
“Do you really think you and Drake had any kind of future? You’re wrong. I can’t even believe you thought about being with him when I’m standing right here in fucking front of you.”
She finished off her toast without giving him a look.
“To the likes of him, you’re never going to be good enough. How can you even allow yourself to be with someone who only sees you as a means to an end?”
She kept on ignoring him, not wanting anything to do with him. They came to a crossroads and Sean swung his car around, blocking up her path.
She paused, watching him as he climbed out of his car and grabbed her arms. “Will you stop this? It doesn’t make you look tough.”
Pru couldn’t believe it. She laughed at him. “You think I’m doing this to make myself look tough? Are you freaking kidding me right now?”
“I don’t get you, Pru. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you.”
“There isn’t anything going on with me right now, Sean.”
“I’m your best friend.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Don’t do this.”
“You know what a best friend does?” she asked.
“Pru, I don—”
“They don’t go trying to hurt them by taking away one of the people they love. That’s right, Sean. What I had with Drake wasn’t us messing around. I love him. I know he feels the same way about me, and because you didn’t come to me, you could have ruined that for the two of us.”
“You never told me.”
“Because I knew you’d act like this, and I didn’t know if I could trust you. Actually, I wanted to tell you. Drake said you wouldn’t understand and so I agreed with him. Do you really think this is easy for me? Having feelings for a guy who has spent every single day I’ve been here bullying me? No, it wasn’t, but I got over it. You know what? I don’t want to talk to you. Not here. Not now. I need to be alone.” She pushed his hands away and started walking away.
“I’m going to always be here for you, Pru. I’m not going anywhere.”
She didn’t stop but kept on moving forward. It was all she could do. Her family didn’t understand her. Sean kept on following her in his car, and she didn’t acknowledge him. Not even as he kept on talking to her, trying to reason with her. She didn’t want to be reasoned with.
All she cared about was being left alone so she could deal with her own problems. Walking across the high school parking lot, she felt like everyone was staring at her. Sean finally pulled away, parking his car, and she went straight toward her locker.
Spinning in the combination, she looked inside and gathered the books she’d need for her first class.
“We need to talk,” Drake said, grabbing her arm. He slammed her locker closed and before she knew what was going on, they were inside the boys’ bathroom.
“Drake, what’s going on?”
He pushed her up against the door. His fingers sank into her hair as he claimed her lips. The kiss was passionate and everything she ever wanted, but something was off.
Pulling away from him, she stared into his eyes, seeing something was wrong.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“We’ve got to go back to pretending.”
“Why?”
“I can’t risk my parents hurting you.”
“Drake, we can’t let them win. We can’t let anyone win.”
“We’re not letting them win. I’ve got to figure this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out.”
“Nothing is what I thought it would be. You have no idea what they’re capable of.”
“Then tell me,” she said.
He pulled away and started to pace. He let out a breath and stopped in front of her. “My dad isn’t my dad.”
“What?”
“I don’t even know if I can tell you.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“I don’t want to give you up. I never want to do that, but I don’t know how I’m going to be able to keep this going. Not with my parents knowing. Everything is so fucked up.”
“Sean is always around as well. My parents allow him to visit me. I can’t believe he was the one to tell them.”
“Do you want to be with him?”
“No. I only want to be with you.”
“Then we’ve got to pretend. I can’t stop my parents from
hurting you, and they will.”
“How can they hurt me? I mean, really?”
“You like having a roof over your head, right? Food to eat?”
“Drake, this is ridiculous.”
“No, it’s not,” he said. “You have no idea how bad they can be. I do. I’ve lived with them. They only know how to cause pain and I can’t allow them to hurt you.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Good,” he said. “You have to be scared to know the truth. They’re not good people. Do you really think they got into this position for fun? Hell no. They got here because they’re fucking assholes.” He slammed his fist against the wall, making her jump from the force of it.
“Drake?”
“I’m sorry. I hate this.”
She put her hand on his back, trying to comfort him.
He pushed her hand away. “No.”
“Drake?”
“I don’t want to even consider this between the two of us.”
“I don’t understand.” She frowned.
“This is hopeless.”
“If it’s so hopeless, why are you we talking about this now? You can’t just give up.”
“But I want to!” He slammed his foot down.
Pru didn’t know what the hell to do. She laughed, then stopped before laughing again. “Okay, so you drag me into the boys’ bathroom to tell me we have no hope. Just because your parents have threatened mine.” She shook her head. “You know what, Drake? If you got what you wanted, fine. Just tell me.”
“What the hell?”
“I mean it. You got me to sleep with you. Congratulations, I fell for you, and I fell hard, but don’t try to make me think that your parents have this amazing hold on you that will force your hand to let me go. I know you. I’ve been your enemy for a long time, and you don’t allow anyone to stand in your way or to take from you!” She couldn’t stop the tears from falling. This was all a little too much for her right now. She’d been hoping to see him, to know the truth so they could work together, but he was too scared to even take a chance with her. She didn’t know how there was even a way or any possible chance for them to be together if he was too determined to fight it.
“You don’t understand.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“My parents will hurt you.”
“So what?” she yelled and Drake jerked back. “Do you think this is easy for me? After everything that went down with your disgusting parents. The way they treated me. Do you really think I want this for myself?” She shook her head. “Of course, I don’t, but I took it because I knew I wanted you. Now you’re saying I’m not good enough to fight when all of our lives, all we’ve been doing is fighting. Just admit the truth. Tell me you used me to get my virginity. To push me aside.”
He stared at her without saying a word.
She wiped at the tears.
Still … nothing.
She didn’t know how much more she could take.
“Pru,” he said.
She waited.
They could be interrupted at any moment, and still, he said nothing.
“Being with you was the best thing of my life. You’ve made me realize what a bastard I’ve been, and that’s exactly what I am,” he said.
“What?”
“A bastard.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No, you don’t understand and I can’t tell you the truth.”
She watched as he repeatedly ran his fingers through his hair.
“Drake, what’s going on? Really?”
He shook his head. “It’s over, Pru. That’s what is going on. I’m done with this. I don’t want to feel guilty about what’s going to happen, and you and I, we’re done.”
“Like that?”
“Exactly like that.”
Neither of them spoke. She stared at him, waiting. Again, he did nothing. Just watched her, and she knew it was over between them.
“I can’t be with you and we’re fooling ourselves. You and I, we’re done. I don’t want you.”
She nodded and wiped at the tears again. “Okay. You’re going to let them win.”
“It’s not about letting them win, Pru. It’s about doing what is right.”
“Really? And you’re doing what is right?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s the way you feel.”
He nodded.
She did the same, nibbling on her lip. “Fine. Then you can stop pulling me into the bathroom. I don’t want to see you again or have anything to do with you. You and I are done.” She walked past him.
Drake didn’t stop her from leaving.
Once outside the bathroom, she didn’t know what else to do. People stood outside their lockers and all of them looked happy. She shouldn’t care. She should have expected something like this to happen, but she couldn’t have known this would. How could she have ever planned for something like this?
Drake didn’t want her. She had to move on.
She heard the door open and glanced behind her to see Drake standing there. He had this cocky look on his face, and she wanted to hate him, but she knew what kind of man he really was, and he was giving up.
There was no way she was staying in school. Not today. Not after what just happened. She had to get away from the school, from him. Without looking back, she walked right out of the main doors just as Sean entered.
“Pru, what’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Where are you going?” Sean asked, following her.
“Leave me alone.”
“I know you’re pissed at me. You can’t keep on walking away from me.”
She was aware of people watching her but she had to get away. How could she spend the day walking around school with Drake there?
Girls would be all over him and after being with him, she couldn’t see that. She wanted to hate him more than anything. To go back to the way she once felt about him. “I’m not staying in school. I’m not going to classes today.”
“You can’t just quit school.”
“Watch me.”
“Pru, come on. Don’t be like this.”
“Why don’t you go and tell my parents I’m not sticking around? Isn’t that what you like to do? Go and tell someone I’m not being a good girl. I’m not being exactly how you want me to be?” She stopped to glare at him.
“That’s not fair.”
“No, you know what isn’t fair? Your best friend going out of his way to hurt you. That’s not fair, which is exactly what you’ve done. Why didn’t you come to me? Why did you have to go to them?” she asked. Tears filled her eyes, she was so angry at him.
He didn’t say anything.
She shook her head. “You know what, I don’t want to talk to you. We’ve got nothing to say to each other.”
“Don’t walk away.” He grabbed her arm and she pushed him away.
“No, you don’t get to pretend anymore. I know who you really are, Sean, and guess what, I don’t like him.” She turned on her heel and walked away.
There was no reason for her to stick around. What was the point? Seeing Drake every single day would kill her. Especially if he started to date other girls and she didn’t know if she could handle him being with anyone else. She swiped away her tears, wishing this day could have gone better but knowing there was nothing she could do to change it.
Sean had messed it up and Drake wasn’t willing to fight for them. She wasn’t going to waste her time when no one else wanted to. She had to move on. Only, she didn’t know what to do next. Nothing was keeping her in town.
Sure, she had to graduate, but she could do that in a different town. Pru’s mind was made up. There was no way she was going to allow Drake’s parents to control her. Without looking back at the school, she walked the short distance home. It wasn’t too far, not when she needed to clear her mind.
Entering her home, she held onto the door handle and looked into the room. Nothing had changed since the morni
ng, but she felt different now. Drake had ended things, and she accepted it.
“Who is it?” her mother said, shouting from downstairs.
Rather than answering, Pru closed the door and headed for her room, only to stop when she saw her mother sitting on her bed.
“Mom?”
“Pru, it’s you.” Her mother sniffled. “I was just making your bed. You know, making sure everything is fine.”
“Were you snooping?”
“No. I wasn’t. I know this looks bad. I wanted to come and make sure everything was fine. You know, do the motherly thing.”
Pru snorted. “Yeah, sure you did. I’m sure you’d have no problem snooping in my things if Drake’s parents asked you to. You let them talk to me like I was trash. Why not make me feel like it as well?”
She didn’t know what she expected but her mother broke down in tears. She dropped down to the bed and covered her face with her hands. Pru paused, not knowing what to do. She couldn’t recall a time her mother was like this. It seemed a little surreal to see her broken, sad.
“Mom?”
“Don’t, okay? It’s fine. Honestly. I shouldn’t be surprised.” Her mother sniffled. “I hate this.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You know, when I had you, I was the happiest woman in the world. I had this little baby and she was the most precious thing to me.”
“Was?”
“You still are, Pru. Your father and I, we didn’t have a lot. We’ve never had a lot but here, we have to fight for everything. We live paycheck to paycheck and we can’t give you the life that boy has. His parents can come and go. No one controls them.” Her mother growled. “I hate them so much. I hated every second of when I stood in that room. My little girl was in love, but his parents, they’re monsters.”
Tears filled Pru’s eyes. She didn’t know what to say, not as her mother groaned. “You must think I’m a coward for letting them do what they did.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I know. I can’t say I blame you. Who’d want to talk to her parents who meekly stood by while they called their daughter a slut and a whore?” Her mother groaned again. “I can’t believe I did nothing. I just stood there like it meant nothing. I’m so sorry, Pru. So, so sorry.”