Chapter 29
Diesel
H aving their house built on the shore, Soren and Chief had a trail leading from their backyard down to the beach. After socializing enough for one day, I walked down there. The deck cracked with each step that I took, and the noise mixed with the sounds of the crashing waves. Looking around, this place was absolutely gorgeous, with lights following along the trail until you reached the gorgeous ocean. Soren and Chief had definitely put a lot of thought into this home they’d built for their family, and it was touching. Knowing how much all of their lives had changed and progressed in the time I was gone made me sad but also a bit hopeful that Shay-Lee and I would be able to do the same now. And who knew, maybe even have kids?
I snorted at the thought because Shay-Lee pretty much hated children, but he hated a lot of things at first, including me. When we just met, he used to loathe me. So much that we always ended up fighting. A smile spread on my lips with the memories, and I shoved my hands into my pockets while gazing ahead at the ocean. It was completely dark, but thanks to the light coming from behind me, I could see enough. And what I saw was beautiful. This little strip of shore was so quiet and peaceful, like a piece of heaven ripped from the sky. My own family crossed my mind, and my heart ached with longing. Deep longing that would never be cured because Mamá, Carmen, and Iván were long gone. The last four years had been so hard that I didn’t even stop to think about them, let alone miss them. I was in a constant state of surviving, just to get myself free from Dion’s grip, that they sometimes escaped me. But now, when the cyclone I called my life had finally calmed down, they all flooded back to the surface and were washed to the shore, as treasures often did after a storm.
The sounds of steps took me out of my thoughts, and I immediately smiled, expecting to see Shay-Lee. He’d probably seen me coming down here and followed along. I half turned around, eager to see his face, when instead, I was met with a pair of mad eyes. My excitement turned into anger at Jordan’s appearance, and my mouth twisted with disdain.
“What do you want?” I hissed.
Jordan’s jaw twitched, indicating he was just as displeased to see me.
“I want you to leave us alone.”
My brows rose up to my hairline before I snorted at his face. “To leave you alone? The fuck are you on about, puta ?”
Rage flickered in his eyes as he took one step closer, the wood cracking under his shoes. “Don’t play with me ’cause I’m not dumb.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” He raised his voice. “So you better leave him the fuck alone.”
“Or what?” I challenged him with a mocking smile.
His nostrils flared as the tension on his face grew. “I’ll end you.”
Surprised at his threat, I couldn’t help but chuckle because it was fucking hilarious.
“Will you look at that?” I tilted my head aside while slowly studying him. “You finally grew a pair, huh?” Dropping my smile, I also stepped closer until I was in his face. “You think you can threaten me?” I hissed out my words, my lips curling with repulsion before I spat on the ground right next to his shoe. “Threaten me again and I’ll rip off your dick and feed it to you. Got it?”
“You don’t scare me.”
“See, that’s a mistake.” I clenched my fists together. “Because unlike you, I don’t just bark.”
The veins on his neck stood out. “You’re nothing but a low-life criminal who should have gotten the death penalty,” he rasped, so much passion carrying through his words.
I fucking love it.
“So aren’t I lucky California doesn’t have the death penalty?” I eyed him carefully to see if I could track the darkness that lay behind those jealous eyes of his. “But then again, you would have been happy if I was just locked in there for life, too, wouldn’t you? After all, it’s why you sobbed like a bitch on the stand, spitting out all those lies and trashing my name like you knew shit about me.”
“Everything I said there was the truth,” he shouted, his spit landing on my face.
I wiped it off.
“You abused Shay-Lee in one way or another. Like a demon, you seduced him in that filthy club you worked at. You’re the reason he was hurt in the first place.”
“A demon? What a wild imagination you have there,” I snorted.
“Stop laughing at me,” he snarled, jaw tensed.
“But you make it so easy.” I smirked before locking eyes with him. “You were always such a loser, you know that, right?”
Rather than answering me, he pressed his lips together like a fucking coward.
“Of course you do. I mean, otherwise, you wouldn’t go back to a man who never gave a damn about you.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Sure it is.” I scratched my chin. “Shay-Lee never loved you, and you know it. It’s why you hate me so much, isn’t it? Because deep down, you know he can’t live without me. ”
Rage crossed his eyes before he shook his head. “That’s bullshit.” He turned to walk away when I went on.
“If it’s bullshit, why did you team up with Christian if not to get me out of your way?”
He stopped in his tracks, and I knew I’d got him.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he hissed over his shoulder, and I noticed he was sweating.
“Yeah?” I crossed my arms. “So how about you explain to me what the fuck you were doing living at his dad’s house?” The mere thought of it turned all the alarms in my head, and furious, I went on. “Tell me why the fuck you lived with that monster, fully knowing what he did to Shay-Lee.”
“It was never proven!” he shouted while turning to face me.
“It was never… proven ?” My brows pulled close. “What the fuck?”
Biting on his bottom lip, he swallowed hard. “Shay-Lee… what he said, he said it because he was on drugs.”
My eyes widened with horror because was I actually hearing correctly?
“What are you saying?”
Finally getting a hold of himself, Jordan took a deep breath and held my repulsed stare. “That he was fucked up on drugs the whole time, so he created stories in his mind. It wasn’t his fault but yours . You’re the one who gave him all those drugs. I know that you did.”
Truthfully, he was making no sense to the point of being delusional, so I wasn’t sure if punching him in the face was even a legit thing to do.
“Are you saying Shay-Lee lied about his abuse?”
Dread crossed Jordan’s eyes, and he took a step back. He looked dead-ass crazy right now, not that I was surprised. I’d known he was a loose cannon since high school.
“Some of it, yes?” He pressed his lips together as if he couldn’t believe himself. But then, the fucker went on. “H-he was high… it’s not his fault—he had a problem. A mental problem. ”
“The only one with mental problems is you, dumbfuck.” I raised my voice while trying to hold back from punching him, as my body was shaking with the need to burst his head open.
“Just… Just fuck off!” His voice cracked, and he began crying like the pathetic fucker he was.
Bowing my head down, I snorted before I started walking back to the party.
“Wouldn’t you want that?” I snarled while bumping my shoulder with his as I passed him.
Jordan did nothing in response and instead stayed rooted to the ground with his head bowed down.
Asshole .
Just now, I’d heard more than enough to know this man was absolutely out of it, and over my dead body would I let Shay-Lee near him.
With Jordan left behind to cry, I quickly walked up the trail until the music became loud again, as did the voices of the others. I needed a drink to calm myself down, so I reached for the outdoor bar when Shay-Lee rushed to me.
“Where were you?” he asked.
Grabbing a bottle of beer, I met his concerned eyes. “Down at the beach, where Jordan paid me a visit.” I opened it with my teeth.
“What?”
Bringing the bottle to my lips, I swung my head back and took a long gulp. I then cleaned my lips with my hand while checking the label. I hated to admit it, but I needed something much stronger—
“Camilo, answer me,” Shay-Lee urged before slipping the bottle from my hand and placing it back on the bar.
I took another second to digest the weird-as-fuck conversation I’d had with Jordan, in which he spat pure nonsense about me drugging Shay-Lee while low-key denying Shay-Lee’s abuse, and then spoke.
“You’re dating a psycho.”
“What are you talking about? ”
Glancing at him, I noticed the worry growing on his face.
“I’m talking about your damn fiancé , who thinks you lied about your dad.”
As if trying to follow up, he shook his head. “What does that even mean?”
I was ready to explain when—
“What did you say to him?”
We both turned around to find Jordan walking toward us.
“Not again,” I grunted, already too tired for this shit.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Shay-Lee’s voice came out too high while his eyes jumped between Jordan and me.
“He’s a liar, Shay-Lee,” Jordan spat.
“Oh, am I?”
“Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“He’s trying to come between us, babe, that’s what’s going on.”
I was the one trying to come between them ? Fucking asshole. And if the crap Jordan was spitting wasn’t enough, Soren stepped in.
“Is everything okay in here?” he asked, his voice calm and composed.
I quickly scanned the area, and just like I’d expected, all eyes were on us. Great . Ain’t no way I’d be getting my treat tonight.
“Nothing has been okay ever since he came back,” Jordan snarled, then moved closer to Shay-Lee. “Don’t you get it? He’s trying to get between us.”
“Get between you?” My brows scrunched up, and I couldn’t hold back my smile. “Please.” I snorted. “The only reason he was ever with you is because I wasn’t here.”
Saying I’d expected Jordan to punch me as hard as he did in the next moment would be a lie. Taken completely by surprise, I heard a loud crack before his lethal right hook sent me three steps backward. My body crashed against the bar, drinks spilling everywhere, before my ass hit the ground. My face throbbed, and blood started streaming down my nose. I think Shay-Lee had mentioned something about Jordan taking boxing classes like crazy, which explained how he completely knocked me to the ground with a single blow.
“Jesus, D, are you okay?” Andrei asked while trying to help me back up.
Not answering him, I brushed his hand away and got up myself. With my hand holding on to my bleeding nose, I looked straight ahead to see Jordan staring at me with his fist clenched, clearly ready for me to hit back. I could hear Shay-Lee’s and Soren’s voices over the pounding in my head. They were both concerned, as were the others, because they all knew hell was about to break loose. But then, right before I charged at Jordan, a sound reached me. A cry. And not just any cry—the cry of a child. Looking around, I managed to track Cyrus and June. They were both crying in their daddy’s arms, and seeing those tears streaming down their innocent faces sent me back to when I was a kid and my dad beat my mom. I’d never cried when he did that because I wanted to see him for the monster he was with clear eyes. Fearing having these two precious souls see me the same way I saw my dad was all that it took to calm me down, and finally, I answered Andrei’s question.
“Yeah, man, I’m fine,” I said with my eyes locked on Shay-Lee. “It’s just a little scratch.” The second I saw relief crossing his precious eyes, I felt… proud .