Chapter 23
Cas
“CJ!”
I hear my brother shouting at me from where I’m perched up in the new building we’ve been working on.
“Give me a sec”, I holler back down as I start making my way to the ground floor. Emmy went out this morning with Hayleigh to go dress shopping, and rather than stay home twiddling my thumbs, I decided to come to the site to get a head start. I get to the bottom to find my brother, but he isn’t alone, and I stop short when I realise who’s standing next to him.
“CJ”, Pete nods at me as he stands in the middle of the room; I return his nod.
“Pete. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
there’s something about this guy that rubs me the wrong way; a muscle ticks in his jaw, the only sign that I’ve pissed him off.
“I guess I deserved that. I just came to…apologise. Lately, my behaviour hasn’t been all that great. I realise I’ve acted like a prick to you when all you’ve done is made Emily happy…and, in turn, made Hayleigh happy”
I must look as shocked as I feel because he chuckles and holds his hand out for me to shake. I grab it, and as I shake his hand, I say, “Ok”
he nods, then turns and walks off, shouting his goodbyes as he goes.
I turn to Cole, and we both say at the same time, “What the fuck was that?”
I shook my head and said, “he must have realised how much of a dick he’s been, and Hayleigh must have told him he needed to make it right”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Regardless, it’s one less thing to worry about with everything going on.”
“CJ, you know I’m here, don’t you? If you want to talk about it, I’m also here for Emily; she’s one of us now, right?”
Cole looks at me, concerned.
I smile at him. “Be careful, big brother, or you may lose your street cred”
he rolls his eyes at me and goes to turn away, but something tugs at me.
“I’m in love with her, Cole, and it’s fucking terrifying”, I blurt out. He slowly turns back around with a massive smile on his face.
“It’s terrifying because it’s real CJ, and it’s terrifying because you have some nut job running around trying to ruin things, but we’re all here, and we’re all behind you both…”
he stops short and looks back towards where his office is, his voice is quiet as he says “…just don’t leave it too late before you tell her CJ”
and with that my big brother who isn’t one for talking about his feelings just said more and revealed more than he realised. I open up my phone and type out a message.
Me
Find anything nice? *Wiggling eyes gif*
I take a break, open my flask and pour myself a coffee while I wait for Emmy to message me back. My phone beeps, and my stomach flips; I smile as I pick it up.
Emmy
*blushing emoji* we all found something we loved today. I adore mine! I’ll show you later, when will you be home?
I’m just about to respond when the 3 little dots appear again.
Emmy
I mean your home…not that I’ve officially moved in or anything…I mean I have but that was before we…well you know
Emmy
I’m just not expecting to live here indefinitely
I smile at her ramblings, she really doesn’t get it that I want her around all of the time so I write back.
Me
Well, that’s a shame Emmy because I want you around…indefinitely
Emmy
I would love that *smiley face emoji* *heart eyes emoji*
Me
I got a visit just now from Pete…apologising
Emmy
*shocked face emoji* what!!! That’s a bit weird…I wonder if Hayleigh spoke to him?
Me
Probably. I need to get back to work but I’ll be home in a few hours and I’ll get some food on the way back xx
I spend the next few hours through the gruelling work that Cole laid out for me, and by the time the day’s over, I’m aching and tired, but I needed it—needed the work in my muscles and the tasks to take my mind off everything that has been going on recently. I finish up and head over to Cole’s temporary office, his lights are on and when I walk in, I see him getting settle on the makeshift couch.
“You really spending another night in here?”
he looks up at me as I say it and chuckles.
“Yes, CJ, I really am staying the night. I want to make sure that we don’t get any more unwanted guests…plus Tracey finally left so I don’t feel like going back home anyway”
I nod in understanding, knowing full well what that feeling was.
“Just make sure you lock up and any sign of trouble you let us know”
Cole rolls his eyes at me and nods and I head on out to my truck. As I’m getting in, I remember that night all those months ago when I found Scruff and that led me to Emmy for the second time, fate works in funny ways and it makes me smile.
I stopped off and picked up the Chinese take-out on the way home. When I walk in, I find Emmy curled up with Scruff on the couch; she’s watching a movie that looks like a romance about a medieval knight in the modern world. I sneak into the kitchen area and start putting together dinner. Scruff must smell the food because when I look over, I see his shaggy face and floppy ears, his head cocked to one side, and not a second later, Emmy turns around to see what he’s looking at, and her eyes light up when she sees me. It’s definitely me and not the Chinese. I think.
I carry our plates to the couch, and she inhales deeply, “Oh my gosh, that smells so good.”
I give her a wink, “Why thank you?”
she rolls her eyes at me and laughs.
“Okay, cheese ball, hand me the food. I’m starved after today”
I hand her the plate and settle back into my seat. She grabs the remote and turns off the film she was watching.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
she turns to me, startled, her cheeks blushing.
“Oh. Well, I just thought that because you’re home now, we would watch something together? One you choose”
I smile at her, take the remote and turn back on the movie she was already watching.
I give her a small smile as I say, “I’m good with watching this with you”
She smiles back at me, and we sit there eating our Chinese and watching the medieval knight find love, and the night seems pretty perfect to me, the perfect time indeed.
“Would you rather live in medieval times or the Victorian era?”
she looks at me, confused by my question for a second before remembering my game.
“Um…I would have to go with medieval times”
Then she looks at me as we both say at the same time, “The knights”
she barks out a laugh.
“I cannot believe you agree!”
I shrug my shoulders before saying, “Hey, I can see the appeal. Ok, next one…would you rather have the wardrobe of a Victorian Queen or…a medieval village girl?”
she finishes her fork of noodles before she narrows her eyes at me.
“Ooh, that is a cruel one because a) being a Victorian Queen would be so amazing…because of all the dresses, but b) they absolutely stank to high heaven!”
I chuckle and pop a forkful of noodles into my mouth, waiting for her to finish. She mulls it over again before she sighs and says, “I think I’d have to go with the medieval village girl because at least I could find a stream to bathe in.”
She laughs again as Scruff dives up and takes a spring roll off my plate. I watch as Emmy picks up the remote and finds us another film to watch.
I go in with my next question, “Last one”
She’s still looking for a film as she answers, “Hmm? Oh, right, yeah, ok, I’m ready and listening”
She turns towards me, giving me her full attention.
I let out a nervous chuckle as I asked, “Would you rather your boyfriend tell you he’s fallen in love with you now or after the film?”
I hold my breath as I watch her go still and just when I think I’ve made a mistake and pushed things too fast she hastily throws her plate on the table and I barely put my plate down before she climbs into my lap.
Her hands go straight to cupping my face, and then her soft lips are on mine; this kiss isn’t slow or sensual, but it's fast and passionate, like she’s pouring all of her love into this one kiss. I run my tongue along her lips, and she opens wider for me, our tongues twining with each other like we’ve been doing this our whole lives. She starts to move on top of me, and my hands go to either side of her hips, guiding her as she grinds down; I can feel her heat.
I’m rock hard beneath her, and I know she can feel me. Securing my hands underneath her, I stand up. She yelps out and starts laughing, and I take the opportunity to kiss down her neck, cutting off her laugh as it turns into a moan. I make my way over to the kitchen with her still in my arms, set her down on the island, and move in between her legs as they dangle off the side. Her arms hastily move from around my neck to the bottom of my t-shirt; she bunches the bottom and drags it over my head, throwing it to one side. Her eyes hungrily take in my bare chest, and I find myself wanting her to always look at me like that; she fumbles with my belt, her hands shaking, and I realise she’s still just as nervous as I am, no matter how many times we do this, this time is different.
I take her hands in mine and turn them palms up before kissing each other softly. She gives me a small smile; I kiss her softly, slowing us right down, and then she stops kissing me and slowly places her forehead against mine.
Her eyes are closed, and she’s so quiet she’s almost whispering as she says, “I never thought I’d ever tell anyone ever again that I loved them. I never thought I’d find someone that makes me feel safe. I just never thought I was worth those things…but you make me realise that I am worth it, and I do, Cas…I do love you, and it makes me so happy, but at the same time, I am absolutely petrified that this won’t last…”
I cut off her words with a searing kiss before taking her face in my hands and kissing away her tears.
I look her deep in her eyes, “There will never, ever be anyone else. It’s you and me for the rest of our lives and beyond that”
She smiles at me and nods her head, and I kiss her again, building her back up; I kiss down her neck and bite down on that sensitive spot, she moans loudly and so I do it again, her breath hitches.
My hands grab the base of her vest top, and I pull it up and over her head. She isn’t wearing a bra, and I take in the sight of her and her beauty, half bare to me. She doesn’t shy away from my gaze; her nipples are tight. I take one in my mouth and swirl my tongue around it before giving it a small bite. She hisses in pleasure, so I repeat it and move to the other side and do the same. She’s completely lost in her pleasure, her eyes are half lidded as she watches me.
I stand up. “Lay back and prop yourself up on your elbows”
She does as I ask and moves a little further back so she has more room to lie down. I slowly unbutton her jeans, her eyes zeroing in on my hands as they work the zip down. I grip the sides with my hands and make sure her underwear comes with them as I drag them down her legs. She watches as I kneel on the floor; she can see everything I do from where she’s propped up. I pull her pants and underwear completely off and grab her left leg, kissing the inside of her ankle; she shivers. I continue my way all up the inside of her leg until I reach the juncture of her thigh, then I kiss back down her leg and move to the other side before repeating myself. This time, I stop at the juncture of her thighs and kiss up and across her mound.
Her body shakes, and her breathing becomes heavier, so I move down towards her centre before locking eyes with her; she can’t seem to drag hers away from me, but they widen as I lick slowly and with added pressure right up the centre of her core. Her head drops back, and I hear her moan low and slow. I stand up, bring her leg over my shoulder, and open her wider. Standing at my full height, she looks up at me. She smiles, her eyes raking over my body glaze over as I place one hand on her leg, steadying it on my shoulder, and the other hand moves to her other leg as I push on her thigh from the inside, nudging her leg further open as I begin to feast on her once more, twirling my tongue around that bundle of nerves that makes her legs twitch with each pass over it.
I know she’s close when she stutters her breath; her voice gets louder with each moan. I keep up a relentless pace of licking and sucking then she tells me she’s right there, so I stay exactly where I am, twirling my tongue so much my jaw aches. She shatters apart in my hands and on my tongue, and I take everything she’s giving and more till she’s boneless and sated. Her eyes close, and I stand back up and gently bring her leg down with me. I leave her where she’s lying while I get a cloth and run it under warm water. I bring it back to her, and her eyes fly open as I clean her up.
“Are you ready for bed now?”
She smiles lazily up at me, “Hmm…I’m definitely ready for bed; I just don’t want to sleep when I get there”
She winks at me, and I bark out a laugh. I hold out my hand for her to grab, and as she gets up, I scoop her up in my arms, carry her to our bed and lay her down.
I kiss her on her forehead, “I’ll be back in a minute. I’m just going to clean up our food and turn everything off.”
“You do know Scruff will have already cleaned those plates…but don’t be long, I’ll wait up”
I nod to her, knowing full well that as soon as I get back upstairs, she will be fast asleep.
Just as Emmy said, Scruff had cleaned those plates up so well you never would know they had food on them. My only worry now was whether or not he could become poorly from chicken noodles. I let him out the back and get set to clearing everything away, and when I say clearing it away, I absolutely mean shoving everything in the dishwasher for the morning. I’m just finished when Scruff comes trotting back in, straight to his bed, and curls up, locking up behind him. I glance at the clock and see it's almost 11 pm. I fish my phone out from the side of the couch and text Cole to see if he’s still up. I see he was last online just a minute ago.
Me
Just checking in and making sure you’re, ok?
I wait for a good 5 minutes and see that he’s read my message, but he hasn’t responded, so I try a different approach.
Me
Guys Cole’s sleeping in the trailer again *telltale gif*
I wait a few seconds before I see all of my brothers’ names flash on the message as they start furiously typing. That’ll teach him.
Arch
I’m gonna tell daaaaad *steam out the nose emoji*
Ethan
Yeah, and then I’ll tell Lacey so she can *ninja emoji*
Nate
I’m taking telling Mum! *Thumbs up emoji*
Rafe
Cole answer the stupid messages please…I have company *winking emoji*
Me
Cole, we know you’re reading these messages…the ticks are blue man so just respond. We won’t tell dad if you do
Arch
Cas don’t give in you big baby *thumbs down emoji*
I see Cole’s name flash across the top of the screen saying he’s typing and I wait, it seems my brothers are too.
Me
For crying out loud Cole are you writing an essay? Spit it out already *crying laughing emoji*
He stops typing, and I’m just about to respond again when I see a picture from Cole come through the chat.
When it downloads, my heart fucking stops.
Literally stops as I take in the picture before me. No.
Someone had taken it from a standing position over Cole’s bloodied face.
I spring into action and sprint upstairs, turning lights on as I go. Emmy wakes up confused at what’s happening, but I can’t get the words out, so I chuck my phone on the bed for her while I scramble around to get a t-shirt and my metal baseball bat from the wardrobe.
I hear Emmy’s quiet cry as she takes in the picture, her eyes looking up. “You need to call the police”
I grab my phone back from her and give her a quick kiss.
“Lock the door behind me and don’t open it again until I ring you”
She nods and follows me downstairs. I hear the door lock behind me and run for my truck. I throw the bat in the passenger seat, start the engine, and race towards the work site.
The worst thoughts run through my head, but I ring Archie, who, in turn, adds every single one of my brothers to the call. We’re all heading the same way, but I’m the closest. I pull up and turn off my truck. “Guys, I’m here, and everything is pitch black; it looks like someone has knocked the power out.”
Rafe barks down the phone. “Cas, don’t you fucking go in there alone. We don’t need another brother down. Wait till one of us gets there.”
My hand twitches on my bat as I see movement out of the trailer; whoever it is, they’re tall, almost the same build as Cole.
I made my decision then and there; whether I was the youngest or not, there was no way I would leave my big brother alone until I waited for backup.
“I can’t wait. Whoever this is just walked out of the trailer”
With my brothers still shouting down the phone, I opened my truck door and closed it as quietly as I could, but no matter how quiet I was, out here in the middle of a worksite at night the sound carried, and the intruder snapped his head in my direction.
Dressed in head-to-toe black, I could just about make out his balaclava before he turned tail and ran. My boots scuffed the floor as I ran for him, but as I reached the trailer, I was torn between carrying on and stopping to see if Cole was ok; before I decided, the guy had already run off full pelt.
My chest heaved as I took in the dark trailer, my hand shook as I placed it on the railing, my other hand still clutching the bat. I took a few breaths to calm myself before I made my way up the stairs; reaching the door, I pushed it inwards; it creaked open. It was silent in the trailer and I was petrified at what I might find, my insides wanted to freeze and lock up, I both wanted to be here and not want to see what had happened. I felt the wall blindly for the light switch but nothing happened and like an idiot I left my phone in the truck. Not wanting to accidentally step on Cole I turned around to head back to the truck and that’s when I heard a low groan coming from behind me.
“Cole”, I whisper into the darkness. I squint my eyes to try and get them adjusted to the lack of light, and I can just make out his body lying down on the floor. I hurry over to him. “Cole?”
my voice is still barely a whisper, but my heart soars when I hear him whisper back.
“My fucking head hurts. That fucker snuck up on me, but I’m ok; I just feel a little sick and sore.”
I grab hold of his hand and squeeze it. “Give me a few minutes. I need to go back and grab my phone”
I run back outside, and just as I’m getting my phone out of my truck, all of my brothers rock up; Ethan I rush out, “he’s fine, well at least he’s talking. He’s in the trailer”
They go over, and Dad mutters something about banning us from ever sleeping in the trailers ever again. I’m just about to follow them when another car screeches to a stop in the lot next to the others. Out climbs Lacey, and Emmy climbs right behind the wheel. Lacey flies past me, not even saying hello, right into the trailer, and I can hear her give Cole what for. Meanwhile, my eyes are locked on Emmy as she climbs out of her car and moves towards me; she looks unsure of herself like she’s second-guessing being here.
“I’m sorry if I’m imposing, but Lacey called and asked if I’d give her a ride here, and I was already on my way anyway to make sure you were ok…”
she trails off when I don’t say anything, and it takes me a moment to realise she’s unsure of being here, around us. Maybe she thinks this is just for family, or perhaps she doesn’t realise she is just as much one of us as I am.
I reach my arms out for her, and she walks into my embrace. I inhale her scent and let it ground me before I tell her, “Someone attacked Cole and sent that image I showed you to our group chat from his phone.”
I sucked in a breath. “I’ve never been so scared as I was to see him just lying there covered in blood”
She cuts off my spiralling thoughts with a soft kiss on my lips.
I brush the hair back from her face and look into her eyes. “Emmy, you know I love you, right?”
she nods, a blush creeps up onto her cheeks, and I continue “, you belong here, with me and with all of us, so don’t ever feel like you need to explain why you’re around. Especially not to me, because I happen to enjoy you being around”
she smiles wider and I kiss her again.
We hear Archie shout, “When you two have finished making out, can you come here for a second?”
I shake my head “Come on, let’s go see how Cole is”
We walk into the trailer, and someone must have gotten the power working again. The room looks put back together again, and Cole’s been cleaned up by Lacey, no doubt, given how she’s flitting around him like a mother hen. My dad clears his throat, and we all shut up and look at him.
“Given what went on tonight, none of you…and I mean none of you,”
he points his stare to Cole “, are to go sleeping on worksites again. You’re vulnerable out here on your own. Do I make myself clear?”
we all say yes, sir, and nod our agreement. “Now, second order of business. Emmy.”
He looks at me, and I feel her tense. “Emmy, this lunatic who’s been hanging around threatening you and messing with people close to you, well, it’s clear to me that he’s escalating now. It’s unsafe for you to be on the worksite, so either stick to working from home with one of us or at Lacey’s. I don’t want anything happening to you, sweetheart, okay?” she nods at my dad, and I notice the tears well up in her eyes.
My dad gruffly cleared his throat, and I could have sworn he was getting choked up, too. “Now, the last bit of business. Cole. What the hell were you doing here and not at your apartment?”
Cole seems to shrink at our dad's stare.
He sighs and weakly says, “Tracey has taken the apartment. I’ll find another one.”
Lacey swears quietly under her breath before turning to him. “You will stay with me…don’t give me that look, Cole Peterson; I don’t want to hear another word about it”
She levels him with a stare that frightens even me, and he just nods, so does my dad, seemingly happy someone’s telling Cole how it is.
Rafe enters the trailer, and I do a double take, not realising he left. He gives me a nod as he says to the room, “I’ve just gotten off the phone with the police; they’re sending people out. Cole, you need to stay here. Lacey, are you okay with staying with him?”
Lacey nods, and Rafe turns to me, “You need to stay too, CJ; they’re going to want your account of what happened when you got here. Emmy, it might be best for you to stay. Also, it can’t hurt them knowing this could be the same as someone messing with you. Archie, Nate, you go back with Dad and fill Mum in. Ethan, can you help me fix the fence when the police are gone?”
Ethan nods, and we all start to mill about after our orders. Rafe catches my eye and nods to one side. I kiss Emmy on the cheek, and she sits with Lacey and Cole; I reach Rafe just as he says, “I think this is definitely the same guy who’s been messing with Emmy. I shouldn’t have taken this, but I found it tucked inside the fuse box and didn’t want it to go ‘missing’. The police have done fuck all to help Emmy so far, so we need to all keep our eyes peeled because this fucker is dangerous if this was his next move”
he left the words unsaid, but we both knew what he meant; that Emmy could be next.
He hands me the piece of paper, and I unfold it; the words send a chill down my spine:
‘You took her away from me when I was so close. This was your own fault’
Entry #73
There was an opportunity to take her.
I had her in my sights. Sat there in that car. Too busy watching her phone than watching outside.
It’s a shame there was someone else there. Next time.
***
Entry #76
WHAT A RUSH!!!
All those weeks spent watching and waiting and tonight it finally happened.
I cut the fence and snuck in. Careful to avoid the security cameras.
They really should have actual security people. Security persons? No! That isn’t right. Security Guards!
HA. Maybe now they will.
I waited until he slept. He made it easy on me by forgetting to lock the door.
I didn’t want to stop. There was so much blood. It was exhilarating.
Maybe now they will get the message.
Give me what I want or I take what I want.
Next time I wont be so generous as to leave one alive.