Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
BLAKE
I wake and find Falin passed out, ass up on the couch with Jasper on the floor beside her. There’s a story here… One that I’ll need copious amounts of coffee and carbs to pry out of her. They look so peaceful. One conversation when they wake up will change all that. I’m sick to my stomach thinking about sweet Mrs. Langston. Sicker still, knowing how poorly Jasper will take the news.
“Leon’s still asleep,” Damon says, coming from Leon’s room. “I’m going to shower then run out and grab some food. You want to try waking these jokers up? I don’t want to leave you here without protection.”
He pulls me in for a kiss and I nod against him. “I’ll do my best.”
It takes some coercing but Falin and Jasper wake up, groaning and shuffling to the bathroom. I meet Falin outside the door with a mug of hot coffee. “I always knew you were my favorite person.”
Jasper passes us in the hallway and grabs for Falin’s cup. “Coffee, I need.”
She scowls and smacks his hand away. “Hell, no. Go make your own cup, you meathead.”
“But yours will taste better.” He smirks and pulls the cup from her hand, taking a long sip. “So good.”
“I hope you know, you just started the apocalypse,” I warn Jasper. Falin shoots daggers at him as she stomps out of the hallway.
“She’s such a peach,” he says, scratching his wild head of hair.
“What happened last night?” Falin’s in the kitchen aggressively opening cabinets in search of another mug. She’s going to hate finding out the guys only own two.
“Too much to talk about when I just woke up.” I follow him into his room, trying to fish something out of him. He grabs an unlabeled pill bottle from his dresser drawer and turns, realizing I’m behind him. “You want something, sweetheart?”
I wrap my arms around him, squeezing tight. “No, just this.” His bear paw hands glide up and down my back, soothing me as I suppress a sob.
“Interrupting something?” Falin says, leaning against the doorframe with a hand on her hip. I pull away and run my palm over my face.
“We need to talk when Damon gets back.” I try to keep my tone neutral but am afraid I’m failing miserably.
“What happened?” Falin asks, her entire demeanor shifting.
I focus my gaze on the floor. There’s a tiny groove in the weathered hardwood that through my veiled gaze almost looks like a face.
“Did something happen last night?” Jasper asks, all hints of jest gone from his voice.
“Mrs. Langston is dead.”
Falin and I have been laying in Damon’s bed for over an hour, watching a movie on my laptop. I’ve only digested a few minutes of it. The rest has been nothing but background noise. Even so, the guys needed space, and I needed quiet time with Falin just as much.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” I say, picturing the lively woman who, just a few nights ago, grabbed Jasper’s butt on the way out of the house. Seeing her on her back like that, in the same position my mother was in, brought my grief to the surface. If I close my eyes, it’s not Mrs. Langston’s face that I see, it’s hers. The pain is as fresh today as it was all those years ago.
“I’m so sorry. She seemed great.” Falin pulls me into a side hug and twirls a strand of my hair. “I know you had a rough few days, but while we have some space, I wanted to talk.”
“Okay,” I say, drawing out the word. “What’s on your mind?”
She sighs and gathers her thoughts, which means she’s about to deliver a whopper. If there’s one thing I know to be true about my best friend, it’s that she says what she wants, unfiltered as a hand-rolled cigarette. That’s her, and I love it… most of the time.
“Come to San Francisco with me. Take a semester off, relax a little, visit some schools. I have plenty of space in my place now and plenty of money to spoil my best friend. I don’t know about these guys, Blakey. They seem alright, but their life and yours are headed in opposite directions. And don’t get me wrong, I love a man who goes after what he wants but Damon… He’s not just one red flag, he’s an entire field of them.”
I sit up, worrying my bottom lip with my teeth. The skin there is red and raw from how often I’ve chewed the same spot. “Trust me, I know he’s not perfect, but neither am I. He’s passionate and loyal and he hasn’t said it but I’m pretty sure he loves me. And I know what we have going is intense, but maybe that’s what I’ve needed.”
I haven’t felt like Blake the Bore since Damon and the guys came into my life. The insecurity that’s been a constant whisper in the back of my mind has quieted.
“Ethan was an ass who treated you like shit and I know your luck with guys hasn’t been great before him, but Blakey, you’re worthy of love, of a healthy relationship. I get it, the unhinged ones are wild in bed, and they scratch this itch somewhere deep inside us, that little nagging feeling that says we’re not enough.” She plays with a silver ring on her finger, looking at me with genuine concern. “I’m just worried about you. With Brennan gone all the time you’re alone so much. And now, what? People are dying around you, your car is getting wrecked. You won’t hear me say this often, but I’m scared.”
I hate to admit it, but she’s not wrong. The pit in my stomach has made itself a permanent home, even planted a garden and put up a picket fence. But what Falin doesn’t know, what no one else knows, is that the pit’s been there for as long as I can remember. It has nothing to do with Ethan, or losing Bryan or my mom, or any of this that’s happening now. It’s been a part of me for so long that I don’t know how to live without it.
I scoot closer for a hug. “I know you’re scared, I am too, but I don’t want to uproot my life. I need to see if this thing with Damon can work out.”
With a sign and a nod against my shoulder, she says, “If you’re going to stay, have you at least peeked through all his stuff? You need a full picture of who this guy is and there’s only a few ways to accomplish that.”
Pretty sure he showed his true colors when he gifted me Trevor’s skin, but there’s no way I’m telling Falin that information. She’ll cuff me and drag me back with her whether I like it or not.
“Not really. I’ve had no reason to.”
She climbs off the bed and turns the lock on the door. “Oh, honey, we have work to do.”
I didn’t want to take part in it, but once Falin started opening drawers and lifting the edge of the mattress, I got sucked in. It gave me a small thrill to know that I was doing something that Damon would disapprove of. I’d take any feeling other than grief at this point.
A few jackets hang in his closet. I shift them over to one side, finding the rest of the space completely empty. Falin’s finishing up the dresser but so far she’s found nothing but an abundance of black clothing.
“I feel like this is a waste of time and total invasion of privacy,” I finally say, plopping on the bed.
“You’ll thank me if we find something creepy,” she says, pushing another drawer closed. “Did you check under the bed?”
“I’d hate to be your kid one day. They won’t get away with anything.” To appease her I get down on my knees and peer under the bed. At first I only spot a few dust bunnies, but I pull my phone out of my pocket and shine my flashlight on a shoebox.
“Of course, they won’t. I’ve already used every trick in the book,” she says, combing through the last drawer.
“I found something.” Shimmying onto my stomach, I stretch my arm to reach it. “It’s a shoebox.”
“Oh my God, I knew it. Quick, bring it up here on the bed.” She sounds absolutely giddy. I sit back on the bed with the box in front of me. “Come on, open it.”
My hand is suddenly weighed down. I know what I’m about to do is wrong on so many levels. If Damon went through my stuff, I’d be pissed. Couples need a reasonable amount of privacy. It’s healthy, normal—which are two things we need more of in this relationship.
“No. I’m not going to invade his privacy like that.” The second I make the decision, a weight is lifted off my chest.
Falin grabs the box before I can stop her. “I’m not dating the guy. I’ll look in it.”
“Falin, no. Let’s put it back.” I plead with her but it’s no use. She yanks the lid off and her eyes bug out.
“Oh, shit. Blake, you’re going to want to look in here.”
I grab it and realize I’m looking at a box full of my stuff. My bottle of perfume, some of my underwear, and a photo of me and Falin that was in my bedroom at Brennan’s. I pull that stuff out, scared of what else I’ll find. My stomach drops. Bryan’s thumbprint necklace is sitting tangled up at the bottom of the box, along with a few other random pieces of jewelry.
Holding it in my palm, I try to control my breathing.
“Oh, fuck, is that Bryan’s necklace?” Falin asks, concern lining her face.
I nod, biting my lip to keep from crying. “Why would he have this? I thought I lost it. I’ve been so upset.”
His locket hangs heavy on my neck and I’m reminded of how he knew I was missing the necklace the entire time. He probably felt threatened in some sick way and had to make sure I was wearing a piece of him instead of my brother. What a monster.
“Blake, let’s put all this back how we found it and make an excuse to leave.” Falin starts arranging the box how it was before. She holds her hand out for the necklace, but I refuse.
“Absolutely not. He’s not getting this back. It’s the only thing I have left of Bryan. Here, put this in there.” I undo the clasp on the locket he gave me and pass it to Falin. “I don’t want it.”
I know she has something to say by the way she’s looking at me, but I’m grateful she’s holding back. I can’t right now. I’m pissed at her for making me look through his stuff, pissed at him for stealing from me. All of it. He says he’s nothing like Ethan, yet this feels like worse of a betrayal than cheating.
“Should I call an Uber?”
“I don’t know.” I grab the box and shove it back under the bed, hesitating for a long moment before answering. “Yeah, I need some space.” And time to process why he’d even have a box like this. Should I really be surprised after everything else he’s done?
“Let me go out there. I’ll make something up.”
I nod and blink the moisture from my eyes. My things are scattered around the room and toiletries are in the bathroom, but at this point I don’t care enough about anything other than my laptop, chargers, and other school stuff. Falin leaves tomorrow and then it’s back to real life. I have goals and I can’t let Damon come in and derail everything I’ve worked for. I’ll get back to my schedule and everything will be fine. I’ve always gotten by that way, and I’ll get through this too.
I feel Damon’s energy like a prickle on the back of my neck, and sure enough when I turn, he’s in the doorway watching me. I kick my bag under the bed where he won’t spot it. “Falin said you guys want to go out tonight? Any idea where you’d like to go?”
Meeting his gaze with a neutral expression takes every ounce of resolve I have left. “Probably just dinner and a movie. It’s loud here and we need some time to decompress after everything that’s happened.”
He nods and runs a hand down his face. “That’s a good idea. I was going to come in and tell you that the guys want to go check out a few places tonight, so I’d feel better knowing you’re in a public space.”
“That’s true. I hadn’t thought of it that way.” He tilts his head an inch to the side, narrowing his gaze.
“Come here, Angel. You look terrified.” With his arms wide open, he gestures for me to come to him. I’m so torn between my growing feelings for this man, and the spiral of doubt and fear snaking around my mind. The farther I can get from him, the better, but for now I need to play it cool.
Stepping into his embrace is like sipping sweet poison; I’m lured in by the taste, but by the time I’ve drunk, the cyanide ends me.
“It’s going to be okay. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.” His deep murmurs settle in my core as he slides his palm up and down my back.
I fake a smile and step away, planting a kiss on his lips. “I know you’ll never let anyone hurt me.”
The irony of his words. It’s him that will hurt me.
“Be safe. I’m going to make sure Falin is armed.”
Before I can argue, he’s out the door.
Releasing a breath, I wait until I hear them leave the house, then finish gathering what I need. Falin hurries back in. “Okay, they’re gone and the Uber’s on its way.”
I peer around the apartment, unsure if this is the last time I’ll be seeing it. We’ve made so many memories here in such a short amount of time—memories that will be ingrained in my mind forever.
Falin slings her arm over my shoulder. “Let’s go. It’ll be here soon.”
I hold back tears as we pass Mrs. Langston's door, silently hoping she’s in a better place. My wrecked car still sits forgotten in the driveway, reminding me of the phone calls I need to make in the morning. Maybe I should just say screw it all and go with Falin to San Francisco. My life is in the same state as my car and I can’t see it getting better any time soon. I doubt Brennan would mind. He knows he’s not around anyway.
“It says it’ll be here in two minutes,” Falin says, checking her phone. “Shit, I think I forgot my charger up there. What’s the code? I’ll run up and grab it. If the Uber gets here, just hold it for me.”
I tell her the code to the door and stare off at a yellow falling leaf across the street. Whether we go back to Brennan’s or to a hotel room, I don’t care. I just want to rest.
A black sedan pulls up, so I grab my bag and hoist it over my shoulder. The passenger window rolls down and the driver smiles wide.
“You’re our Uber driver?” I ask, stepping toward the back door.
Before I know what’s happening, the door opens and I’m yanked inside the backseat by a huge man wearing a black mask, similar to the one Damon wore the first night. In my struggle, I drop my bags, but I can’t overpower him. His grip on me is too strong.
I open my mouth to scream, but he slams a covered hand over my lips. “Shh, little doll. It’ll all be over soon.”
I feel a pinch and my vision begins to darken at the edges like burning paper. I try to swing my arms or kick my legs, but my body is too heavy. I’m weighed down and falling through space. The last thing I see is the leather seat before my world fades to black.