25. Forever mine
TWENTY-FIVE
FOREVER MINE
TROY
After I spent half a year in dark spaces trying to make myself invisible so the men would forget about me, I find myself in bed in a dark room with Shark, watching the clock strike two in the morning before I gather my courage to pick up the phone he’d given me. It’s so strange to hold a phone in my hand again. I weigh it before I slowly, ever so slowly, in a well-practiced, silent manner, remove the blanket and try to get out of bed.
My silent retreat would’ve worked well in the past when I wasn’t the size of a baby hippo, but now it’s much harder. In addition, Shark sleeps with one eye open, and the moment the mattress shifts, his hand flies out and over my belly, and he pulls me into him. “Bathroom?”
“Yes.”
“With the phone?”
Jesus. “I…” I sigh. “Yes.”
“Why not go through the phone here?”
“Don’t you ever sit on the toilet with your phone?”
“No.”
“You’re weird.”
He chuckles but releases me, and now that my cover is blown, I use the bathroom and return to bed, where I sit up and open the phone. It’s all set up for me, and the first thing I do is check the contacts.
There’re only three: Shark, Capital, and Cupcake. Since he’s awake, I dial Shark. His phone lights up, and I hang up. I won’t call either of the two Cs.
Next, I check the apps. There aren’t many, but I do have some games. I search for browsing apps and find none, so I go into the app downloader, which won’t open. My phone is restricted. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since Alessio pushed so hard for the marriage that would enable him to protect me and also make me part of the family business or, essentially, the boy band.
Collectively, they can’t trust me until I’m in the fold; hence, my phone is limited.
Knowing all this doesn’t mean I don’t feel like I’m being held captive again. In a way, I am, and perhaps that’s how I’ll live out my life, since the sequence of events started last year can’t be undone. I’m forever to remain overseas. I’m forever to remain a missing person to my family. Or dead. Maybe someone declared me dead so they’d stopped looking for me.
But in case I’m wrong, I want to give Shark a chance. “Hey, you still up?”
“No.”
I smile. “I noticed my phone has no internet.”
“Mmhm.”
“I wanted to browse. When do I get internet?”
“In time.”
I swallow. “So I’m in a gilded cage now?”
Shark sits up next to me and cracks his neck. The sheet drops into his lap, revealing his muscular torso. “This is the best I can do right now.” He sighs. “I’m sorry La Falena took you. I promise you that he and all who contributed to your misfortune will be sorry for what they did. But I can’t let you go, if that’s what you’re getting at by calling this a gilded cage.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“If you are imprisoned, then what does that make me?”
I shrug. “If the shoe fits.”
Shark slides out of bed and puts on his sweatpants.
“You don’t have to leave,” I say. “It’s in the middle of the night.”
“I’m out,” he says.
“Fine. Don’t let the door hit your fine ass.”
He snorts and pulls on a T-shirt. “I got work to do anyway.”
“In the middle of the night?”
He nods. “Peak hours for me.”
“Wait.” I slide back out of bed and notice his gaze heats up at my nudity. I walk up to him, and he immediately cups my cheeks and kisses me. “It’s best if I go. I don’t want to argue with you.”
“I only wanted to idly scroll the social channels.”
“That’s not true, and you know it.”
I sigh. “I want to check on my family.” Tears brim in my eyes. “It’s so unfair to them. I want to see how they’re doing. If Denver got any gigs. If Levi’s with him. If Mom had her surgery. So many things I left behind.”
“That’s where the past is supposed to be. Left behind. Leave it, then.”
“I did. But you came and promised me a future, and now I want to check in on my parents. Maybe…maybe we can figure out how I can tell them without telling them that I’m okay.”
Shark steps back. “You can’t have your old life and this one at the same time.” A dark expression crosses his face, and his eyes ice over. “You are forever mine, Troy Montgomery.”
I smile at his possessive expression. “I just want access to the internet so I can check on my family.”
“You will get access whenever I’m sure you won’t reach out to them.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“You will. You will, Troy, because that’s who you are. You want to soothe their wounds and tell them you’re okay and let them move on with their lives and stop searching for you.”
“They’re still searching?”
He shrugs.
I have no doubt Shark knows all there is to know about me. “Can I ask you more about them?”
“Ask away.”
“Will you stay?”
He shakes his head. “I’m up now and won’t sleep anyway.”
“We don’t have to sleep.” I run my nails down his hard abdominals. “Did Denver get a gig?”
“He and Levi have a gig. Your mom had double mastectomy surgery and is back at work now. Your dad is considering retirement. The rest of your siblings are on the farm, but not all of them are happy to still be there.”
“Is Homer alive?”
Shark frowns. “Which Homer? The cat or the dog?”
“Good Lawd, Shark Daddy, you know we have two Homers?”
“I know your toothbrush color was blue even though your favorite color is pink. You didn’t get the pink toothbrush from the pack your mom bought because your brother, Carl, who is starting to look more like Carly, called dibs on it.”
I gape. “How do you know this?”
“I’m a professional stalker, remember?”
“Tell me more.” I grab his hand and drag him back into bed. He sits up against the headboard, and I lay my head in his lap. “Tell me everything.” I sigh as he runs a hand through my hair. “Start with Denver.”
“He formed a boy band. No joke. They started out by posting videos on social media. The songs rose in popularity, they had a few hits when they signed, and now they’re on tour.”
“You lie!” I sit up and punch his shoulder playfully. “How long have you known?”
“Not long.”
“Denver made it. I always knew he would. And he did it without my help. He didn’t need…” He didn’t need the money or the connection I aimed to get from my time with Falena. All this was for nothing. My brother made it anyway.
“Troy?”
A tear slips out, and I wipe it away. “Hm?”
“It’s your song he’s singing.”
I smile and cry a little. Okay, a lot. “Really?” Ah shit, now I’m a mess again. “Which one?”
“It’s called When Troy Left Me .”
I snort, totally unlike a lady. “I never wrote a song by that name, but I rarely come up with great titles. I bet ya a hundred bucks that Levi came up with the title. Commercially, it’s smart. Most people who hear the name Troy in the title think she’s a hookup he’s missing.”
Shark passes me a tissue. “No bet. Do you still want to make music?”
“Nah. Sad birds can’t sing.”