Chapter 5 Heath
HEATH
“You know that she’s going to beat our asses,” Sebastian says from the pillar where he’s leaning against.
“I think you mean your ass.” I remind him from the opposite pillar where I’m leaning against.
He looks over at me and smirks. “I didn’t forget to mention that it was your brilliant idea.”
“You fucking asshole.” I scowl.
“I told you to tell her from the beginning but you wanted to keep such a big thing a secret.” He sighs heavily and I sense how much this situation is weighing down on him. “You know how she feels about Hope. If it wasn’t for her driver dropping her off here she’d be on her way to Hope right now.”
“Who says she can’t bribe Elias?” Elias is Marie’s driver.
“Because her dad ordered, and he would fire him otherwise.”
I switch on my phone and check my messages for the hundredth time. There’s no reply from Hope.
My worry is growing with every passing second. I want to spam her phone with messages and calls but I’m afraid that her dad might have her phone and he’ll hurt her if he sees them.
The only thing that’s keeping me from going over to Hope’s house is Sebastian. He came to my house as soon as I let him know that I was out of the cell. I’m pretty sure he broke a few signals to get to me. Perhaps he knew that Hope would be the first place I’d go to.
“You’re not leaving this place, James.” Sebastian warns me. “Otherwise, I will tie you down with the help of Marie.”
I scoff. “You’re insane.”
“I’m right. And you know it.” He stares at me, asserting his point. “I’m not letting you go to her, especially not after what happened. You need to be careful, Heath.”
I narrow my eyes. “I need to protect her.”
His gaze softens. “I know and you are by staying away from her at the moment.”
“You don’t know him, Sebastian. I’ve seen him. I’ve talked to him. He is a monster.” My fists shake by my side, not from fear, but from disgust. I’ve never seen a true monster in my life before. Someone who’ll hurt their own blood with no mercy.
“Look. We both know what’ll happen if you go to her. You’ll make things worse for you and her. Your dad just got you out, and you want to go back in there?” Folding his arms over his chest he pins with an intense stare. “Think before you act.”
Before I can reply to him, the gates open and a white Mercedes Benz drives down the driveway. The car stops at the stairs of the porch.
Marie gets out in a hurry. The first thing I notice is, she looks nothing like she usually does.
She’s dressed in jeans and a white top. Her everyday jewelry is missing and she’s wearing slippers when she usually has some funky shoes on.
When she looks up at us, my chest shrinks.
Her eyes are rimmed red and her cheeks are rosy.
Her blond hair is untamed and wild as if she didn’t even brush it.
She is a complete mess.
She doesn’t spare a look at Sebastian, as she climbs the stairs in determination. Midway, her eyes get teary and I fear that she’ll trip over because of her blurry vision, but she stays composed. Her cheeks are wet by the time she stops in front of me.
Straightening, I step closer to comfort her. “Marie—”
A hard punch knocks my breath out. A second later another one follows and soon she’s raining down punches on me.
I brace my arms by my side and take every single blow because I know I deserve it. Also, she needs to let out the frustration she’s feeling—something I caused when I decided to keep her out of this matter.
Marie keeps her jabs coming at me while sobbing. Her cries bring me physical pain. I bet Sebastian is in even more agony listening to them.
But she needs to let it out.
Marie is someone who feels happiness and joy to the fullest, but she also feels sadness and pain to its full capacity. She is a myriad of emotions and she lives through them vicariously.
“Why didn’t you tell me!”
Punch.
“Am I not important to you?”
Punch.
“Do you know how I feel?”
Punch.
“You hid something so big from me!”
Punch.
One after another she throws those questions at me and I stay silent, not having an answer to a single one of them.
After a few minutes, her fists stop hitting my chest, and she slumps her head against it and sobs heavily.
“Just why… why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice is low and quiet. Then, in an even quieter tone she says, “I hate you.”
My heart breaks inside my chest. I inhale a deep breath to let the air fill in the cracks that those words have brought me.
Marie is incapable of hating anyone. Fuck. She didn’t hate the girls who bullied her. But that has changed. Because of me.
I look over at Sebastian whose face has contorted into sympathy. His green eyes meet mine and he tries to tell me that she doesn’t mean that, but we both know at this moment she does.
Hesitantly, I place my hand on her back and say, “I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you.”
Turning her head, she looks up at me, and the sight hurts. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to protect you.”
She watches me for a while but doesn’t say a word. Which is unusual in itself. Chatterbox is her middle name—given by me.
“But I had the right to know.” A single tear drops from her eye and slides down her cheek. “You both knew and I didn’t. I could have helped, Hope.”
I squeeze her arm. “It’s not your fault, Blondie.”
She shakes her head and steps away from me. Sebastian is in sync as he crosses the distance between her and him, and wraps her in his big, muscular arms that will protect her from anything.
Bringing his face down, he talks to her as she hiccups in chest. Her hands are fisting his t-shirt and her head is tucked on his chest.
The three of us walk inside the silent home.
As we cross the living room, I find my father standing over my mother who’s curled up on the sofa.
He hands her a teacup with saucer, then proceeds to press a kiss on her temple.
When he raises to his full height, his eyes lock on me and he studies me.
He then shifts his attention to my best friends who are staring right back at him.
He opens his mouth to say something, but I turn to my friends and say, “Let’s go to my room.”
Marie and Sebastian take the hint and waste no time to get to my room. As I shut the door and turn on the lock, I breathe out a sigh of relief, knowing that I can openly talk to my friends without worrying about anyone hearing us.
“Hope isn’t replying to my texts.” Marie announces in panic. “That has never happened before.”
Her lips wobble and Sebastian quickly engulfs her in his arms. “Don’t think the worst, baby.”
“It is the worst when someone doesn’t return your messages and calls. I know from experience.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs.
Marie looks up at him and shakes her head. “It’s in the past. You’re here now.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kisses him.
Fortunately, one kiss doesn’t turn into a make out session—for which I’m so fucking grateful for.
“I think you’ll like my idea, Blondie,” I say as I take a seat on the back of the couch. “In fact, you might be the only one who’ll go with me.”
“What idea?” Her interest piqued. That’s exactly what I need.
If Marie agrees, Sebastian will have no choice but to agree with her. He’s so in love with her that he can’t refuse her.
“Heath,” Sebastian hisses as he glares at me.
Marie looks between us as we stare at each other.
“What’s going on, guys?”
“Heath, don’t do it.” Sebastian warns me.
I want to scream at him that if the roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing. He would have gone to Marie no matter what. It wouldn’t matter what kind of monster would be in his way, he would have crossed him to get to his girl.
Yes. That’s the thing.
Hope is my girl.
I fix my gaze on Marie. “You and I are going to Hope’s house to make sure she’s okay.”
Marie gains some color in her skin. “Yes! We should—”
“No! You two are not going anywhere. It’s dangerous.”
Marie and I both look at Sebastian who seems to become the voice of reason today—he always is. I hate that he’s always right.
“But, Sebastian—”
“No! Marie. You are not going. I’m not letting you go to her house where that monster lives.”
“But you’ll be with me. I’ll be safe.”
“That fucker twisted the whole story and pressed charges on Heath that had him spent a night in cell. If his father didn't have money he’d be in a courthouse today.” He heaves a heavy breath. “Do you even realize how sensitive this matter is?”
Marie and I both stay quiet.
“If her dad sees us at his doorstep he’ll waste no second in kicking us out. God knows what he’ll do to you. He. Beats. His. Daughter.”
Marie trembles violently, and presses a hand to her stomach.
My insides roll in disgust and hatred. The amount of rage that consumes me is nowhere close to how he makes me feel. He drives me livid. I can’t say that if he doesn’t appear in front of me again that I wouldn’t do anything to him.
Sebastian’s eyes soften. “He’s been hurting Hope for months. Can you imagine how scared and helpless she felt?”
Marie sniffles and nods. “I’m such a bad friend.”
“Gosh, no, baby.” He steps closer and tucks her in his arms. “You were what she needed to get through every hard day that she was having. I truly believe that your friendship helped her and she didn’t do something that would have taken her away from us.”
Suicide.
I close my eyes at that thought.
Fuck. I can’t imagine Hope leaving this place.
I don’t know what I’ll do without her.
In such a short time she’s become my hope. Something I look forward to when I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.
That girl has changed me.
Now I can’t think of a moment where she’s not in it.
My feelings for her are so strong, fierce and huge that they fill my entire chest till I can’t breathe. She’s what I’m filled with and still there’s more room for her to consume me.
She’s starting to own me, or maybe she already does. I’m hers, and she’s mine.