Chapter Lake House （Scarlett）
Lake House
Scarlett
The car is warm. As we drive further from Millhaven, the metallic taste in my mouth gets stronger. I force down the saliva that builds. I watch as bare trees pass through the window.
I haven’t been in Stirling’s sports car since he picked me and Sophia up that night four years ago.
Now, Harrison lays in the back with us—his head across Sophia’s lap and his legs across me.
His blood has stopped flowing onto the seat.
I glance at the rip in his jeans, just above his knee that got shot.
I try not to stare at the hole left by the bullet.
It’s a clean shot, and the bullet doesn’t look too deep. My stomach turns.
Stirling places all his focus on the road. I feel bad for him, always pulled into things. My eyes are drawn to Callum, but I don’t look at him. I close them and think of how the cold gun barrel felt against my head. I can’t stop replaying the image.
He almost killed me and then told me he loves me.
I look at Sophia to force the thought out of my head. We’ve been driving for almost an hour, and she hasn’t said much. She might be in as much shock as I am.
When we first got in the car, Sophia told me that she was tied up and taken in a car down a side road.
She was then released to her dad. Originally, she thought that he would pay her ransom, but he was the one who helped organize everything.
Sophia was only taken so they could get to me.
She was never in harm’s way—she’s too important.
She told me that she tried to call me, but I lost my phone when I was at her house.
“Dad.” I whisper. I need to tell him that I’m okay. Except, he doesn’t know about anything.
He doesn’t know that I was kidnapped and almost killed. Or that Mom was there. Or that we’re on the run from some of the most powerful men in the state.
We pull into a long driveway. The trees aren't well maintained, and I can’t spot a house at the end. Brush covers the entire laneway. Once we get close enough, I see a small, quaint yellow house. It’s not like ones in Millhaven. We’re in the country.
The car pulls up toward the back deck and the sun glistens off the lake.
We come to a stop, and my door opens. Callum holds it.
As I slide out of the back seat, his eyes don’t meet mine.
Instead, he faces Harrison. Sophia gets out on the other side, then comes around to stand with me.
Stirling steps out and helps Callum pull Harrison out of the car.
“What is this place?” Sophia asks.
“It was our grandmother's family cottage, no one in our family uses it. It’s not up to their standards—as you can see.” Stirling looks at the small yellow bungalow with its unkempt gardens.
“Grab the bag from the back.” Stirling yells to me and Sophia.
We grab a leather duffle bag and follow the guys inside. Stirling walks around to the other side of the house and comes out the back door, letting us in.
“We don’t spend much time here anymore.” His eyes lock on the empty flower beds.
As we walk inside, dust fills the air. White bed sheets cover some of the furniture, and what’s exposed looks like it hasn't been touched since the 70’s. I glance at a couch with a mix of pastel colours and checkered patterns—it’s almost comforting.
“I need to wash up, is there a bathroom?” I ask quietly.
“Just down the hall, last door on the right.”
“I’ll come?” Sophia asks. I nod in acceptance.
I lead us down an unlit hallway, until Sophia flicks the light on.
We pass two other doors, both are shut. The last door is partially closed.
I push it open and turn the light on. We both step into the bathroom, and Sophia shuts the door behind her.
I grab a facecloth from a basket on top of the toilet and twist the tap on.
It doesn’t take long for the water to get hot.
I step in front of the mirror and wipe blood off my face.
My cheek stings as I run the warm cloth over it. I grimace.
“Does it hurt?” Sophia asks me with a quiet tone.
“A little.”
I wash away all that has happened today, and all that I want to forget.
“I’m sorry.” She adds.
“Sorry? For what?”
“I should’ve tried harder, I should’ve fought more…” She looks at the ground instead of me.
“Sophia, I don’t blame you… You couldn’t have stopped them. What happened wasn’t your fault.” I look to her. “It was mine.”
“No, you don’t get to do that.” She grabs my arm.
“You don’t get to blame yourself. If you won’t let me take any of the blame, you aren’t allowed to either.
You did all that you could. You tried, Scarlett.
What Elliot did to you was his own damn fault.
If you ask me, he got what he deserved. But you don’t deserve any of it, you never did.
” She pulls me in for a well warranted hug.
Her warm embrace and strawberry scent comforts me, but it’s not the comfort I crave. I hear mumblings as Callum and Stirling talk down the hall.
Sophia leaves, then brings back some clothes for me to change into. I assume they are Harrison or Stirling’s clothes from when they were younger. I hold out the oversized dark green crewneck and black sweatpants.
I gather myself and walk out of the bathroom, toward the kitchen.
Harrison lies across the table, partially sedated.
By the empty whiskey bottle beside his head, I assume the alcohol is responsible.
Callum uses a scalpel to try and retract the bullet out of his leg.
His belt is still on acting as a torniquet to control the bleeding, he’s focusing on the wound.
Slowly his eyes drift onto me as I walk into the room.
They barely meet before his attention is swiftly back on Harrison’s leg.
“How’s it going?” Sophia asks Callum.
“It didn’t hit anything important, he’ll be fine.” His words are cold and calculated.
“Actually, it kind of fucking hurts.” Harrison mumbles.
Sophia laughs and Stirling pats his brother’s shoulder while he glances up at her.
They share a look, one that feels private—like I wasn’t supposed to notice.
I turn away and my eyes can’t help but land on Callum.
He stays focused, but his jaw tightens. I know he can feel my eyes on him.
I approach the patio’s sliding door and look out at the view.
The large lake curves, and I can’t see its fullness.
Before I slide the door open, I look to Stirling. He nods with approval.
Cool wind hits my face as I step onto the deck.
It’s still early winter, where the ground isn’t covered in snow yet, but the grass is lined with a crystal sheen.
As I look to the sky, the warm sun brushes against my cheeks.
I step toward the railing and savour in the beautiful nature around me.
Birds chirp and line the tops of some bare trees.
I forgot that calm places like this exist. I’ve been so caught up in the chaos that I haven’t stopped to appreciate what and who is around me.
A few minutes pass and I hear the sliding door open. Callum comes into my peripheral view as he props his hip against the railing beside me. He isn’t looking at the view, he’s looking at me.
There’s so much I want to say, so much I should say, but I can’t. He doesn’t say anything. I finally work up the courage to look at him. The dark bags under his eyes don’t take away from his beauty—they add to the image he tries so hard to protect.
“Callum, I don’t know where to go from here—”
“No Scarlett.” He calmly cuts me off. “Let me get it out, please. Just… just give me a minute.”
The vulnerability in his voice makes me want to listen. He studies the water. Another moment of silence passes.
“I’ve never had anything good in my life.
I hurt people. I don’t know how many people I’ve killed—Elliot wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. And I’m not sorry about any of it.
I keep replaying that moment when I walked into the room and saw what he did to you.
..what he took from you. I’ve never been so powered by rage and…
and by love.” His eyes meet mine and a single tear falls down my cheek.
“You have been the only good thing in my life, even when you’ve almost broken me.
I’ve never wanted anyone to ruin me so gently.
I can’t live without you, Scarlett. But after tonight, if this is too much…
you deserve so much more. I can’t explain the agony I’m in when I see the pain in your eyes.
.. after what I did...what I had to do. But Scarlett, you must know, I was never going to pull that trigger.
I could never fucking do that. I’d kill myself before I ever hurt you.
I killed my own father instead. But I needed the Highers to believe…
I had to make it real, just for a moment.
I went to the darkest place within me, but looking into your eyes is the only thing that brought me back.
” He plays with the ring on his index finger.
“I won’t blame you if you don’t want this, but know that you will always be mine, and I’ll never let you go.” He takes a step toward me. My breath hitches, just enough for him to notice.
“You have nestled yourself inside the darkest parts of me and made a home. You can never be set free.”
He steps closer.
“I think you love my darkness.”
He takes another step.
“I think you feel my darkness.”
His lips part as he takes one final step.
“I think you crave the shadows within me.”
I fight every emotion and every fiber in my body that wants me to pull away. I press my mouth against his. Our lips move in sync as he wraps his arms around me, and our bodies become one.
When he pulls me into his world, every fear and doubt slips away. I’m already so deep in it, I know I can’t get out now. I belong here, in his arms. You can’t reason with love, even when it might be wrong. If it is, I don’t ever want to be fucking right.
His hands move up the back of my sweater. I never want him to let go. I tried to stay away from him, but that didn’t do me any favours.
I pull my head back, away from him.
“I love you.”
I stare into his eyes, begging to be let into his soul.
He rests his head on mine, just like he did right before he brought the gun to my head.
“I’ll spend a lifetime proving how much I love you.” His eyes remain closed.
I can’t fight his darkness any longer—I want to drown in it.