Chapter Twenty-Five ROWAN
Chapter Twenty-Five
ROWAN
Thanksgiving was less than a week away, and I was feeling torn because I didn't want to leave right now.
Not with Mae and I feeling so good. But I had two more phone calls from my parents and another one from my sister, who was super pissed off at them.
I knew I needed to go to Stolen Hearts Valley.
I was at Mae’s house every night. I was helping her tear out that shag carpet, and we were going to redo the whole interior. I only wanted to spend time with Mae, so it was perfect. One night we were watching TV, and I told her, “I don't want to go to my parents’ for Thanksgiving.”
She looked over. “To North Carolina?”
I nodded quickly. “It's either that or Christmas, and my sister's having some problems.”
“Oh, no. What's wrong?” Her brow creased with worry.
“I think she's dating an asshole, and he sounds controlling. My parents are stressing big time. I'd like to see if I can help.”
In the back of my thoughts was the chance to do a little reconnaissance and see if I could track down Chet. I had resisted the urge to do anything about it yet because I knew Mae might not want me to. It was killing me to just let him get away with fucking raping her.
“Well, then you should go,” she said firmly.
“I don't want to leave you,” I said honestly.
Her smile was warm. “I don't want you to go, but I'm not the kind of girlfriend who needs you with me all the time. I am the kind of girlfriend who thinks family matters. I know your family's important to you, so you should go. We’ll have Christmas together.”
Not that I needed more reasons, but this was why Mae was so perfect. “All right, I'll go. I'm probably going to call you two or three times a day.”
“Okay, you can. We can cook our own Thanksgiving dinner when you get back.”
Mae took me to the airport, giving me a kiss before I went through security.
She peered up at me. “I'll see you when you get back.”
Fuck, I didn't want to leave. I held her, maybe too long, lingering until my flight was called the second time. “You have to go,” she said with a laugh as she pushed me away.
As soon as I got to North Carolina the following morning, I was glad I was there. I missed Mae like crazy, but my sister hadn’t come home the night before and wasn't answering her cell phone. My parents were beyond worried.
“All right, tell me who the hell this guy is. You gave me his name, but tell me everything you know,” I said to my parents as we sat at the kitchen table.
My mother's eyes were red and puffy while my father had a stoic but really stressed look on his face.
“Where is she?” I asked, glancing between them.
My mother shook her head slowly. “We don't know.”
“Okay, where does he live?” I looked toward my father for this one because he had friends on the local police force.
“His parents are new to the area. I do know where they live. I've spoken to the police.”
“I'm going to go over there,” I said once my father recited the address so I could put it in my maps.
“Her boyfriend’s eighteen,” my mother interjected.
“So what? That just means more consequences for him.”
I stood, and my father followed me out to the front room. “Son,” he began.
“You don't need to worry, Dad. I’ll find Colbie. She'll be home for Thanksgiving, and we're gonna figure out what the fuck is going on with this guy,” I said flatly.
“You know the drill, but be careful. The police have been called more than once to help de-escalate these assholes. His parents get into it plenty.”
I ignored the bolt of anger.
“I'm just having a hard time believing your sister ended up with a guy like this,” he added.
“Dad, you know it never starts that way. Assholes like that tend to be charming at first. She's young. I'll be back.”
I left, calling my cousin Lucas on the way. He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, man, are you here for Thanksgiving?”
“Of course.”
“I hear we're coming over to your place,” Lucas replied with a chuckle.
“That's what I hear. Hey, man, I need to pick your brain for a second.”
“What’s up?”
“So, my sister's dating a jerk,” I began.
“I've heard,” Lucas interjected.
“Oh, you have?”
“Yeah, your dad hasn't spoken to me about it, but rumors travel. Stolen Hearts Valley isn't all that big. You know how it goes. EMTs and the police have dealt with him a few times, and his dad’s a total ass. Like father like son,” my cousin said matter-of-factly.
“Ah, fuck,” I muttered.
“You need anything?”
“Well, I want to go talk to him. Mind coming with me?”
“Of course not.”
“You on call?” Lucas was a first responder for a mountain crew, so he’d need to stay put if he was.
“Nope. I'm home.”
“Can I swing by and pick you up?”
“Absolutely. I'll meet you outside. You can see Valentina and the girls at Thanksgiving.”
Minutes later, I pulled up in front of Lucas’s place just as he was coming out the front door. He was shrugging into his jacket as he jogged down the steps.
“How's it going?” he asked as soon as he climbed in the car, leaning over to give me a quick side hug.
“Good to see you, but not thrilled with what's going on with my sister,” I replied.
“No shit. Fuck, man. I don't even like thinking about Rylie growing up.”
“I get it. So, tell me where this guy hangs out.”
“I already did a little looking into him while I was waiting for you to show up.”
Lucas quickly recited two addresses, starting with his parents’. We rolled by, but there wasn’t a single vehicle there.
“Okay, let’s head to his apartment. Not that you're worried, but I did notify the police we might be visiting him,” Lucas offered.
“You mean I can't just kick this guy's ass?”
“I don't think that would be smart,” Lucas replied dryly.
I gritted my teeth. I knew he was right, but still.
A short while later, we pulled up in front of a duplex on a narrow road just off the main highway. A single car was there, which Lucas confirmed belonged to the boyfriend.
We had agreed to go in together. I knew this was going to piss my sister off, but at this point, I wanted this guy to leave her alone. We knocked on the door, and a young guy answered the door. I could see my sister sitting on the couch in the background.
“Hey, sis,” I called over the guy's shoulder, ignoring him to begin with.
“Who the fuck are you?” he demanded.
My sister stood at this point. Larry glanced over his shoulder, saying to her, “How the fuck do you know this guy?”
“He's my brother,” she said quickly. Colbie slipped past him to give me a hug.
Stepping back, I held her by the shoulders. “You want to go wait in the car?”
Her eyes bounced like a ping pong from me to Lucas to her boyfriend and back to me. “Rowan, I—”
“You're not staying here. I know you're gonna be upset about it, but that's the deal.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are? You aren't telling her what to do,” Larry interjected.
Dropping my hands from my sister’s shoulders, I narrowed my eyes and turned to face him. “Here's the deal. The police are on backup. She's going to the car.”
My sister opened her mouth to say something, at which point Larry did me a favor. He didn’t even look her way when he ordered, “Get the fuck out and don’t come back.”
Colbie dashed past him, grabbing her purse and hurrying back out to the car. I could tell she was trying not to cry, but I’d have to deal with that later. Lucas had remained quiet.
“And who the fuck are you?” Larry asked.
“Is that your only question?” I countered sharply.
“She's old enough to decide who she wants to hang out with.”
“She's sixteen, and you're eighteen. I don’t give a fuck about anything other than you being a controlling asshole. If anything happens, you get big boy charges,” I said flatly.
As soon as I heard the car door slam shut outside, I thumped my fingers on his chest, pushing him back through the door. Lucas crowded behind me and kicked the door shut.
“Here's the deal: leave her alone, or I will make your life a living hell. You are not to spend time with her. You are not to hang out with her. You will stop calling her, lose her number, all of it.”
Larry narrowed his eyes, sneering a little. “You know, trying to make her stay away from me is gonna make her want me more.”
I wanted to vomit all over the guy's chest. Fisting his shirt in my hand, I pulled his face to mine.
“No, it's not. She has better options. We know the scoop on your father, and we know the scoop on what you're doing in the background.
Either way, your life is going to be hell.
But you keep her tangled up in it, and we'll make it more hell.”
“You don't even fucking live here,” he sputtered as I let go and shoved him back.
In all honesty, he wasn't putting up much of a fight, which made me even more angry. He was the kind of guy who only bullied people who were smaller than him. He was outnumbered, and he didn't have a chance against Lucas and me.
“I'll stay in town until I make sure you’re out of her fucking life.”
“Plus,” Lucas chimed in. “I'm here all the time, and I'm her cousin. I'm on the first responder crew. We're everywhere all the time. We know your family's history. We know everything. Whether or not Colbie’s brother is around, we've got her back.”
Larry glared at us. “Whatever. She sucks in bed anyway.”
My fist drew back and cracked him on the jaw before I could even think. Lucas simply watched while Larry cried out sharply, cradling his face.
We left. Before we got in the car, Lucas stopped to call the police, giving them an update because he had promised to do so. I was trying to figure out how the fuck my sister ended up with this guy. We climbed in the car, and Colbie was fuming in the back seat.
“What did you do?” she spit out.
“We'll talk in a minute,” I said.
“Rowan, I'm going back in.”
She started to climb out, and I was profoundly grateful there were childproof locks on this car.
Turning, I eyed her. “If you hang out with him, we will get him arrested. He's dealing meth on the side.”
“No, he's not,” she protested.
“Yeah, he is,” Lucas said flatly, turning to look at her.
“How do you know?” she pressed.
“You know my job. I’m on the first responder crew. We coordinate with the police all the time. Larry deals drugs with his father. It’s a family business,” Lucas explained.
“Things have been really hard for him,” Colbie insisted, although her voice was quieter.
Once we got onto the highway, I pulled off at a rest area so we could finish this conversation before we got home. “You want to know what he said about you?” I asked.
“What?” she muttered, her arms crossing like a guardrail in front of her chest.
“That you suck in bed,” I said flatly. “That’s what this guy's willing to say about you to your brother and your cousin. He’s an asshole.
” My sister burst into tears, and I pressed on.
“He thinks this is going to make you want him more.
What you have to understand is this guy doesn't care about you. He's just using you.”
“You can't control who I see,” she argued.
“I know I can’t, but I'm not gonna sit back and let this happen.”
“Well, what are you gonna do? Move home?” she muttered as she swiped at her tears with her palms before fishing for a tissue in her purse and blowing her nose.
“If that's what has to happen, I will,” I replied sharply.
“You don’t need to move home,” Lucas interjected. “Now that I know what's going on, I'll keep my ear to the ground. And you know I've got the connections to make sure he's under a fucking microscope. I've already talked to the cops.”
My sister swung her tearstained face toward Lucas. “Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “Absolutely. You know who you need to talk to?”
“I don't need to talk to anybody!” Colbie burst out.
Lucas continued, “I'm going to take you out to the lodge. You can have a little chat with my friend Shay.”
My sister rolled her eyes. “Why do I want to talk to Shay?”
“Because she knows how things go when you stay with guys like that. Her ex beat her in a fucking parking lot, and that was the only reason he got arrested,” Lucas said flatly.
Colbie sagged into the seat. The fight seemed to have gone out of her, and she fell silent for the rest of the drive. After I dropped Lucas off and we returned home, she refused to speak to my parents. She walked straight upstairs into her bedroom and slammed the door.
After filling my parents in, I went to bed. Colbie had my old bedroom, so I was sleeping on a pullout couch in my mother's office. Once I was in bed, I leaned against the pillows and texted Mae.
Me: Miss you. How are you?
Her reply came in seconds.
Mae: Miss you too. I'm fine. What are you doing up so late?
I decided to call her rather than do this text dance. She answered on the first ring. “Hey.”
The second I heard her voice, the tension that had been bundled tight around my chest and shoulders started to loosen.
“Hey…”
I filled her in on the events with my sister. Mae was a good listener, and it was a relief to talk to her. “All you can do is be there for her. It's hard when you're young.”
“I know, but fuck. I'm worried this is gonna push her away.”
“Maybe. But it sounds like he has the incentive to stay away.”
“I hope so.”
“Keeping her safe is important, but you're going to have to let her feel her way through not blaming herself for dating an asshole once she can think clearly about it.”
“I know.” I sighed, leaning my head back. “Tell me what's happening there.”
“You've only been gone for two days,” she replied, her laughter soft and spinning warmth around my heart. She quickly filled me in on her day at work and her cat’s antics. I wanted to stay up all night talking to her.
“Can we watch a show together?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re home, and I have a TV, so we can hang together on the phone and watch something.”
“Okay, what are we watching?” I could feel the smile in her voice.
“Schitt’s Creek. I don't know what episode we're on, though.”
“Hang on, I can tell here.”
I fell asleep after two episodes. I woke up the next morning to find my sister sulking in the kitchen. She informed me that Larry was refusing to return her texts. I wanted to say thank fucking god, but all I said was, “Oh.”
Meanwhile, I called up a friend from college and started chasing down the leads I had on Chet.