Chapter 12 #2
“You do that, and we both go down.”
“I don’t care anymore,” I confess, pressing us nose to nose. “It beats constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for my psychopathic ex-best friend to ruin me.”
The ex-best-friend comment was intentional, as she needs to know our friendship is over.
“So I’ll do what you want…I’ll finish this. Better I ruin myself than you.”
For once, Jupiter is silent, her lips parted in surprise as she takes a step back. She realizes I mean it. If she keeps testing me, I’m ready to call her bluff.
Consequences be damned.
I let her go, get in the truck, and drive away without looking back. She’s nothing but a small speck in my rearview mirror. When I can breathe again, I shriek uncontrollably—not in anger, but in happiness.
That scream soon turns into laughter.
I used to believe Jupiter was the one in charge, but now, I realize that I’m the one in control.
With no real direction in mind, I just drive, needing the time to clear my head. I feel somewhat better after seeing Jupiter, which is ironic, considering it was hardly a pleasant meeting.
Now, I must decide what to do next.
I need to beat Jupiter at her own game. A thought suddenly hits and paves the way for what needs to be done.
Jupiter wants me to kill because in her sick, twisted mind, she believes I’ll see we are one and the same. But I now see we’re nothing alike.
This is the advantage I need.
And when my phone chimes with a text, it only confirms what needs to be done.
You might have quit, but I haven’t. I know who they are. What will you give up to have your happily ever after?
Deep down, I think I always knew Jupiter would be the death of me. I knew she would be the one to help me find those assholes and take back what they stole. In her mind, she thinks she’s doing me a kindness by delivering my bullies on a silver platter.
But this is for her.
Jupiter is a scared, lonely little girl, and she needs me.
I’ve never seen that before. But now, I do.
If this is what she wants and it gets her out of my life, I’m fucking in.
My monsters are killed, and she goes to prison.
And me? I’m finally free of her and myself.
So, the plan is I do what she wants. I go back to Hollow Banks and end it, framing Jupiter for the murder. I don’t know how yet, but all great plans take time.
What I do know is that Kit is safer without me in his life. I’ve disappeared once before. I can do it again. Although it’ll be a little harder this time.
Maybe when this is all over, I can come back and tell him the truth.
For now, however, this feels right.
I make a turn and head back toward the garage. Gas is low, so I pull into a gas station. Before filling up, I send a text back to Jupiter.
There’s no such thing for people like us.
It’s ambiguous, but she’ll read between the lines.
If I go to Hollow Banks, she’ll follow. She’s been keeping an eye on me, which puts Kit in danger. He’s collateral. I can’t risk his life like that.
That’s what I tell myself as I fill up the tank anyway.
I pay at the pump and decide to grab some groceries, seeing as I abandoned them earlier. I go to a different store and grab a few things to make us dinner. I don’t want to see it as the last supper, but it’s hard not to. After tonight, I won’t see Kit for a while.
Maybe ever.
This plan isn’t foolproof, but it’s the only one that makes sense.
I pay for the groceries, and as I’m putting everything into the truck, someone grabs me by the waist, startling the life out of me.
I spin, but soon sigh in relief.
It’s Kit.
He raises his hands in surrender, reading my surprise. “I called your name out like ten times. Didn’t you hear me?”
No, and that’s because it’s not my name.
“Sorry, I was distracted,” I quickly reply, but I can see Kit isn’t convinced. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, I thought something happened. You’ve been gone for ages.”
“I have?”
He nods, showing me the time on the screen of his phone.
It’s after six o’clock.
I’ve been so caught up in my head, I didn’t even realize the time. “Sorry to worry you. I got caught up shopping.”
He playfully pokes his head into the truck and notices all the bags on the seat and floor. “I can see that.”
The mood thankfully shifts.
“I wanted to make dinner to say thanks for…everything.”
“Everything?” He folds his arms across his broad chest, smirking.
Only now do I realize he’s covered in grease. Why does that make him sexier?
Instantly, I blush.
He wraps his arms around my waist and draws me into him. “Whatever you’re thinking, I like it.”
This feels so natural. So much so, I begin to question my decision.
“I’ll follow you back,” he says, kissing my forehead.
Only now do I notice his other truck parked a few spots away from me. No wonder he has suspicions about why I didn’t answer when he called me by my “name.”
But I nod and try to maintain my composure as I get into the truck. When I pull out, he follows close, just as he said he would.
Kit will eventually find out the truth. A part of me wishes it was now.
I just can’t do that now.
We park the trucks at the garage, and Kit helps me take the bags upstairs. We’re silent, both deep in thought. I wonder what he’s thinking.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he says, breaking the sudden tension.
He doesn’t wait for me to reply as the bathroom door shuts.
I grip the edge of the counter, measuring my breaths. My heart is in my throat, and I feel sick for so many reasons. However, at the forefront is the fact that I don’t know when I’ll see Kit again.
I won’t feel these butterflies.
I won’t be left breathless at just being in the same room as him.
If this is truly the last time, then I want it to be memorable for us both.
I get out of my head and live in the moment as I walk toward the bathroom door. With a hand on the handle, I whisper to myself, “Don’t be a coward.”
The shower curtain is closed, and the water is running as I quietly enter.
There’s no method to my madness. I decide to stop overthinking and just feel. I kick off my sandals and take off my dress. My underwear and bra don’t match. Nor is it sexy. I’m sure Kit is used to women in silk and lace.
I’m simply myself, and I give this side of me to him sincerely and openly, with no pretense, because I’ve realized at this moment I’m falling in love with Kit Rivers. And that’s exactly why I need to walk away.
I need to make things right.
And then maybe, just maybe, the time will be right for us.
But now, this time is ours, and I’ll cherish it forever.
So that spurs me on to reach around and unhook my bra, dropping it to the tiled floor. My underwear soon joins it.
I look at myself in the mirror over the sink.
My eyes are wide, like a scared little rabbit. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.
I slide the shower curtain open, catching Kit by surprise. However, we’re both surprised because this is the first time I’ve seen him naked.
Everything I imagined could never do him justice.
He is perfect.
He simply stands there, allowing me to digest him, inch by inch.
My God, he is big…all over.
I’ve always wondered what his tattoos looked like, and now, I have a front-row seat.
His tattoos seem to be inspired by mythology. On his chest is the infamous two fingers mid-touch. The Creation of Adam. I know this because Michelangelo painted this renowned image on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The sisters had pictures of this around the orphanage as the significance is touching and heartbreaking all in the same breath. It’s supposed to represent the gap between God and Adam’s fingertips.
I wonder what this represents to Kit.
He has what looks like Latin inked randomly on his chest and above his collarbones. He has two laurel leaves, what you’d see in a Greek laurel wreath, on either side of the front of his neck with the word growth between them.
Knowledge is inked on one hip.
Acceptance on the other.
Planets or what looks like an astrological chart runs down his flank.