Chapter 51
I can’t remember the last time, if ever, that I’ve had so much fun at a bar, let alone on the drunkest holiday of the year. Reid has stayed by my side the entire night, making sure I feel comfortable. Kissing the top of my head, holding my waist, only ever a breath away, always making me feel safe.
I look up at him and wait for a kiss. “I love you so much.” I smile at the love of my life.
“I love you too, sugar.” He notices that my drink is getting low and kisses me on the cheek as he moves out of our group to get me a refill from the bar.
“You're twitterpated!” Delilah loudly whispers in my ear. “You looooove him.” She's ridiculous. But I have the same dumb look on my face because I've never been happier.
We're chatting with Connor when I'm nearly knocked over by some drunken idiot. I feel hot, rank breath on my neck and at the voice, I freeze. The familiarity of the sounds, smells, and sensations immediately turns my stomach.
I know who it is before I turn around.
“Well, looky here, Easy Izzy. I haven’t seen you in years.” He presses his vile body into mine and slurs into my ear, “You ready for round two because I never got to finish what I started on prom night.”
I go to knee him in the balls, but he pins my legs down painfully with his weight, making me yelp.
“Now, now. I learned my lesson last time. You won’t get away from me this time.”
I can’t control the sob or bile that comes up my throat.
In an instant, Delilah is pulling on me trying to get me out from underneath Brett.
Connor takes control of the situation and is facing off with the star of all my nightmares.
I frantically search for Reid, and as if he sensed I was in danger, he's there.
“Get the fuck off of her!” he shouts.
He wrenches Brett around and Delilah pulls me away. I can’t focus my eyes. I can’t make sense of sounds. I'm on the verge of fainting. I feel Delilah’s arms tighten around me, the only thing holding me together.
A deep voice soothes my panic as we're ushered away from the fight. But the voice isn’t Reid’s, it’s Connor’s.
“You’re doing so good, just keep walking, I’ve got you.” I can’t tell if he's comforting me, or Delilah.
He leads us out of the bar into the frigid night. I welcome the cold on my overheated skin. It feels too tight around my body, like I need to shed it just to breathe.
Every place he touched me burns like acid. I want to scrub my skin raw until every feeling of Brett’s body on me is washed away.
They’re trying to move me. “No! I’m not leaving without Reid!” I plead.
“I know, Iz, but we’ve got to go, the cops are here. He told me to get you out of here,” Connor explains.
It’s then that I notice the red and blue lights flashing across the darkened Main Street. I didn’t even hear the siren. I stand my ground, refusing to leave without Reid.
Sighing in frustration, Connor relents, “Fine, but we're standing out of the way,” and leads us to an awning a few doors down.
I hear someone being read their rights and my heart falls into my stomach.
No.
No, he can’t. He can’t go to jail! He was defending me. I'm already starting to race forward when Connor catches me around the waist and holds me to his chest.
“Let go! I need to go to him!”
“I can’t let you do that.” His grip around me is like an iron shackle.
The last thing I see through my tears is the love of my life being led away in handcuffs.
Delilah’s phone rings. “Liv? Where are you? We're out front. Yea, they took him away in the police car. Ok, see you in a minute.”
We wait in charged silence for Olivia to join our huddle.
“Oh my god! Izzy, honey, are you ok? The second I saw that Delilah and Connor had your back, I took off to find my brother and James. As soon as the commotion started, they disappeared.”
My traumatized brain is having difficulty following her train of thought.
It takes me a second, but I read between the lines.
James is an attorney. If Reid is going to jail, he's going to need a lawyer.
Oh my god, will they let him call someone tonight?
What if he wastes the call on me when he needs to call James?
I'm spiraling, not noticing the sub-zero winter air biting my exposed skin. I hear Olivia on the phone say, “Where the hell are you? Oh, thank god, you’re with him. Yes! They arrested Reid. Grey, you have to do something. Grey? He hung up on me!”
“Take a breath, tell us what he said,” Connor coaxes.
“Greyson is with James. They saw what was about to happen and bolted. He said we need to trust them and stay out of it,” she explains.
“I’m not staying out of it! We have to go post bail or break him out or something!”
Olivia takes my hands and waits for me to meet her eyes.
“I know it feels impossible, but if my brother says he’s got it, I believe him.
I learned a long time ago not to ask questions about how he always has the right information, is at the right place at the right time, and never gets caught. I’m sure they have a plan.”
All I can do is nod my head like Reid’s bobblehead armadillo and let them lead me to a warm car and into the dark night, not knowing if the person I can’t survive without is ok.
I wake up the next morning feeling like I’ve been run over by a bus. The bed is cold and empty beside me, and I want to break down in tears. But there's no time for that, I need to keep it together and do whatever I can to help Reid. It looks like Connor brought us to Olivia’s house.
I storm into the kitchen ready to raise hell and am surprised to see James and Greyson drinking coffee with my sister, Olivia, and Connor. I beeline over and start pummeling James and Greyson with my fists.
“You’re not even holding your fist right. You’re not going to do any damage with form like that,” Greyson deadpans.
“Where. Were. You?” I bite out. “He needed you and you weren’t there!” I scream at them.
“Easy there, Rocky.” James grabs my swinging fists and holds them together in one hand. “Listen, ok?” He waits for me to focus on him before he continues.
“Don’t be mad, but Reid told me and Grey what Brett did to you in high school. Not to break your trust, but to gain it. I know that doesn’t make sense, but we’ve been preparing for something like this for months.”
Everyone in the kitchen is silent. Either because they’ve already heard this, or don’t want to miss a word.
“As soon as we saw what was about to go down, Grey and I took off. Let’s just say Grey’s unearthed some unsavory information about Deputy Sheriff Fuckface and Corrupt Daddy Sheriff. Grey needs to be nowhere near the cops, ok?” I nod, trying to understand what he's telling me.
“I’m Reid’s best shot at legal representation. Maintaining plausible deniability is imperative or the judge will throw me off the case. It’ll already look bad enough that his brother is his attorney.”
My breathing has returned to normal. I'm suspicious of how helpful everyone is. I'm not used to having people on my side. Is this what family is supposed to feel like?
“And before you ask the next question in that pretty little head, my dad is already at the precinct waiting to post bail. I’m about to head down there to establish myself as his counsel. Reid knows the plan. He knows not to say anything to anyone until I get there. We’ve got him, ok?”
Olivia gathers me in her arms and pries me away from James. “Let’s get some food in you and let the boys go play, ok?”