Chapter 23 #2
“He wasn’t a good person, Sorrow. So why do I still love him?
” Even though I know I should say something, I don’t have any answers.
Love is fickle, it’s all-consuming, and it’s unpredictable.
Love isn’t a choice we make with our heads but with our hearts.
I guess in the end, we never expect to have that love used as a weapon and turned against us.
She doesn’t speak as I drive us back to the house in silence, surprised when I pull up to find Banner outside on the driveway with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’ve been worried sick. You took off without a word to anyone.”
“For fuck’s sake, Banner. I’m seventeen and I’ve been gone for less than two hours,” she snaps as she climbs out of the van and stands beside the open door.
“Would it have been too much to ask that you tell Arlo or Marcus where you were going before you disappeared? They were worried too,” he scolds.
“For fuck sake, I just needed to be alone.”
“Jesus, Katy, can you stop being selfish for five fucking minutes?” She flinches like he struck her. I jump out of the van, ready to slap him, but Katy jumps in first.
“Well, according to Mom, that’s who I am. Just a selfish little bitch. How unfortunate for her that the wrong kid died.” She storms around him, evading his hands when he reaches out to stop her.
“Katy,” he yells. She ignores him as she runs up the steps of his house and slams the door behind her. “Shit,” he groans, leaning against the open van door. “Well, I fucked that up,” he grumbles, looking straight at me.
I nod and agree. He certainly did.
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I overreacted. I know I did, but with everything that happened…and then she was gone. I just thought the worst.”
“Come on, get in,” I whisper, my throat still tender from last night.
I wait for him to get in the passenger seat and buckle up.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Just drive, Sorrow. Take me somewhere, anywhere, away from here for a while.” I pick up the hint of desperation in his voice and start the van and drive away.
He doesn’t make small talk. He leans back and closes his eyes.
I don’t have a destination in mind, but I guess autopilot kicks in somewhere along the way, as I find myself back at the docks.
I pull up next to a short wall that separates us from the pebbled shoreline.
I turn toward him and find him watching me with an odd expression.
“You always did have a thing for the water, didn’t you?”
It’s true. There is something comforting about watching the flow and ebb of the waves washing away the remnants of the day. Sometimes I felt that if I sat here long enough, it would help cleanse me.
“It’s soothing. Come on.” I climb out of the van and wait for him to follow me. I lead us down to the spot I like, far away from everyone else, and plonk down onto the grass.
He stands beside me for a second, looking out at the dark churning waters, before sitting down beside me.
He crosses his legs, which makes his knee lean against my thigh, diverting all my attention to that one spot—the place where we are connected.
We sit quietly, drawing in the sun’s rays as children play on the bank near the edge of the water.
“I missed you, you know. Even when I was so angry at you, I still missed you. I thought I was betraying my brother’s memory by feeling that, but he betrayed me first by hurting you.
” He turns back to look out at the water, giving me a chance to swallow the lump in my throat.
His hand is resting on his knee, the one that is still pressed against my thigh.
I put my small hand over his larger one.
He turns his hand over and laces his fingers through mine. “Thank you for bringing me here,” he whispers. I nod with a slight smile.
And that’s how we spent the rest of the day, sitting hand in hand on a sandy beach in comfortable silence.
When we’re done, I drop him off at his house and head back to my mom’s place to continue boxing things up, much to Banner’s annoyance. But he needs some alone time with his sister.
I’ve just finished packing up the last of the trinkets when there’s a loud banging at the door.
I place the box on the coffee table and head to open it, brushing the dust from my tank top and sweats before peeking out the curtain at the side of the door.
It’s Banner, and he looks devastated. I hurry to unlock the door, terrified that something has happened to Katy.
I swing it open and find myself chest to chest with him.
He steps forward, nudging me back gently with his body until he is inside far enough to close the door behind him.
“Did you know?” His voice rumbles, anger clear in his tone, even though he is being nothing but gentle with me physically. I cock my eyebrow in question. Did I know what?
“Did you know what Alec did to Katy?” Ah, she told him then. Good for her.
I nod and watch as his face turns purple, before all the air rushes from his body, and his shoulders slump.
“How long have you known?” He sounds so defeated that I hate Alec all over again.
“She told me today, at the cemetery.”
“Today?” he whispers. “She suffered all alone. Fuck, she was just a little girl. Why wouldn’t she tell me, Sorrow? Why didn’t she tell Mom or Dad?”
I wince before I can hide it, and of course, Banner never misses anything.
“What? What was that look for, Sorrow?”
I gaze down at the scattered photos on the table and feel the sadness well up within me. I never wanted this for him or for Katy. I never wanted this for any of them, but secrets never stay buried for long.
He follows my eyes to the table. His brow furrows as he scans the images before he snaps his head back to look at me in shock. “They knew he was hurting you,” he chokes out, horrified.
I nod and step forward again, rubbing my hands up and down his arms, trying to offer him a little comfort.
“They knew he was hurting Katy, too, didn’t they?”
I nod again.
“Son of a fucking bitch. I’m going to kill them.”
He takes a step back, but I stop him by gripping his shirt. I don’t know what possesses me. We’re supposed to be going slow, but I can feel him hanging on by a thread, and this might be the only way to get him to snap out of his feelings.
I lift up onto my tiptoes and press my lips lightly against his.
He freezes solid, making me pull away, embarrassed.
There’s a reason I never make the first move.
It’s a confidence thing, something I’m lacking.
But before I can die of embarrassment, his hands are in my hair and his lips are on mine.
His kiss is firm and strong, just like him, and leaves me feeling lightheaded.
His tongue demands entrance, as if I would attempt to stop him.
He slides his hands down my body and lifts me, walking into the kitchen and sitting me on top of the counter.
I open my legs so that he can stand between them before locking them around his waist. I run my fingers through his hair and pull him as close as I can get him, making him groan into my mouth before he tears his lips away from mine.
“Fuck, we shouldn’t be doing this.”
I look up at him through my lashes and completely agree. We’re supposed to be going slow. Bad Sorrow, this is a terrible idea. But God, it feels so good. He presses a soft kiss to my forehead before lifting me back to my unsteady feet.
“I should go.” A wave of disappointment washes over me, though I know it’s the right thing to do.
I nod and walk him to the door. He leaves without a backward glance.
I close the door and press my head against it, waiting for my racing heart to calm a little.
When I hear a knock a few minutes later, I open it and find myself face-to-face with Banner again.
He looks at me with pure, unadulterated need.
“Fuck it.” His lips are on mine again as he kicks the door closed with his foot.
My hands find their way under his T-shirt before he breaks the kiss long enough to pull it off.
My tank top is next, followed by my bra, as he walks me backward into the sitting room.
He spins us around and breaks the kiss as he sits in the recliner and snags the waist of my sweats, sliding them down my legs until I can step out of them.
When I’m left in nothing but my black lace underwear, he pulls me on top of him so that my legs straddle his.
He sucks on one of my nipples, making me gasp before stopping for a second and switching to the other.
I can feel how wet I am and wonder if I can come from this alone.
Feeling his hardness through his jeans has me grinding down on him, looking for friction.
His fingers delve between my legs, stroking my clit.
My breathing becomes erratic as he teases me until I can’t handle any more.
I push his arm away before I come all over his fingers.
When I do finally explode, I want it to be with him inside me.
I slip my hands down to find the button on his fly.
When he doesn’t stop me, I pop it open and slide the zipper down.
He lifts us both slightly with one hand and uses the other to tug his jeans and boxers down his legs.
When he sits back down, his cock springs free.
I reach for it, sliding my hand down his impressive length.
He groans at the contact, clearly enjoying my hands on him.
I lift up and place him at my entrance, rubbing the tip backward and forward through my wetness.
I slowly sink back down and take him deep inside me.
I stay still, giving myself time to adjust. I stare at him, wishing I could tell him how I feel in this moment.
He links his fingers through mine and thrusts up inside me.
My eyes slip closed as he hits something that makes me ripple around him.
“Fuck, Sorrow, you feel so good.” He tugs me down for a kiss as he thrusts into me again and again.
I let go of his hands and grip his shoulders, using them for leverage so that I can bounce up and down upon him.
He slips a hand between us and strums my clit again, making my movements falter for a second.
I speed up, flexing my hips and pushing down to meet him thrust for thrust. He plays me like an instrument, his talented fingers making my body sing in ways I’ve only ever read about.
“You feel so good. You gonna come for me, Sorrow, huh? You gonna come all over my cock?” His fingers swirl around my clit faster until I open my mouth on a silent scream and explode like a firework.
He grips my hips and slams into me once, twice, three times before following me over the edge.
I feel him pulse deep inside me. He pulls me down to lie upon his chest, which is still moving up and down rapidly, and wraps his arms tightly around me.
“Fuck going slow.”
I burst out laughing. “We didn’t even last a day.”
“I can’t help it if being inside you is my favorite place to be.”
I feel myself blush, which is ridiculous given what we just got up to.
“You know, I was eighteen when I first realized that what I felt for you was more than just friendship. I knew it was wrong, so I made sure to put some distance between us. But you were all I could think about. By the time I turned nineteen, I was hopelessly in love with you and knew I had to leave before I did something stupid. Then you started dating Alec, so I stayed away. I was convinced he was better for you, and I wanted more than anything for you to be happy.” He trails his fingers up and down my spine.
“But you weren’t happy, were you? I should have come back.” I hear him whisper as my eyes get heavy and I feel myself drifting off to sleep.
“I’m sorry, Sorrow, I’m so fucking sorry. I don’t know how you’ll ever forgive me.” My eyes flutter shut as his words wrap themselves around me, soothing out the sharp edges of our history and reshaping it into something new.
I wake up an hour later when the phone rings. It’s mine for a change. I fumble on the table for it, disconnecting myself from Banner with a wince. I can’t deny I fucking loved falling asleep with him inside me.
I answer my phone as Banner comes awake, his eyes landing on my tits, which has his dick waking up and waving hello.
“Hello, Sorrow, you there?”
“Sorry Olivia. I’m here,” I whisper.
“Oh, good. Are you sitting down?”
“Yeah, why? What’s happened?”
Banner sits up quickly at my tone, so I put the phone on speaker.
“As you know, I took the evidence your law firm collected and did some digging myself and presented it all to the DA’s office to investigate.
I don’t know if they have the Flash working for them or if it’s because they already have a media nightmare to contend with over the IA and Tempest PD.
But they just called to tell me a warrant has been issued for the Bannerman’s on a bunch of charges.
Falsifying evidence, perverting the course of justice, and even child endangerment because you were a child that they failed to protect.
It’s going to take a while. I can’t give you a timeframe just yet, but I just wanted you to hear it from me first.”
“Thank you, Olivia. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“It ain’t over yet. I won’t stop until I have your record expunged and restitution paid. I’ll keep you updated. Laters.”
She hangs up before I can say anything else.
I look at Banner warily. “I’m sorry, I know they’re your parents, but—”
“No. They have to pay for what they let happen to Katy and for what they did to you.”
“But they’re your parents.”
“And you’re the love of my life. That trumps everything.”