Chapter 71
KADENCE
Nathan would’ve been twenty-nine today. I always wondered what his life would have looked like, if he would’ve been a marine biologist or if he would’ve changed his career path.
Would he have a wife? Kids? His birthday was already the hardest part of missing him next to his death day.
My father made me know every year how much he missed Nathan.
When I got older, he stopped making a show of it and just mourned his son in silence.
If Nathan knew what our father did to me because of his grief, he would kill him.
My big brother was always protective, and it would show.
I kept the SUV running as I walked to the pier.
I called Blaize so I could give her peace, but she knew I wanted this moment.
She was paranoid, and I understood, but at the same time, I didn’t like how it was consuming her constantly.
I wanted the woman I fell in love with to focus on us.
It made me feel selfish, because Everly was causing so much pain in her life.
“You know you missed a lot, big brother.” There was so much I wanted to spill and tell him, but I knew Blaize was on the line, and I didn’t want her hearing everything. I took a moment, listening to the crashing waves. “Happy birthday, Nathan. I love you. I miss you so much.”
I wanted Blaize home with me so I could cry.
It was getting easier to accept things I had no control over now that I was out of a toxic environment, but it was hard.
Healing decades of emotional wounds felt like an uphill battle on rocky terrain with bricks weighing me down.
I needed to heal my inner child more, and then I could fully heal.
But unfortunately, to fully heal the little girl I was, I needed to scream and hit my father.
And I refused to open that can of worms. It would get easier day-by-day with the support system I had.
To think just months ago, I was rebellious.
Then my rebellion caused a life-altering injury and trauma I never thought I would survive and now…
I was happy, healing and living life with a woman who might not be perfect, but she was working on herself for me.
There was a world of possibilities for me.
I no longer had to let my past hold me down.
Because of Blaize and Hunter, I could finally have everything I ever wanted.
I heard the wood creak and I spun on my heel, ready to fight. No one would sneak up on me this time. To my surprise, Everly was on the pier, disheveled and looking scared. It could be a trick.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, taking my stance, ready to fight her. She wouldn’t hurt me this time.
“Kadence, I’m…I’m so so-sorry.” Her voice trembled. “I d-didn’t…”
I heard Blaize’s voice faintly in my pocket saying she was on her way.
“You didn’t what? You didn’t call my ex and have him try to kill me?
You didn’t trick Blaize or have her try to kill me?
” She stepped closer. “No. You hurt me. You betrayed the woman I love.” She hurt Hunter, but that wasn’t my job to announce.
“I-it w-wasn’t me! I-I didn’t w-want to h-hurt y-you. H-he m-made me.”
“I don’t fucking care.” I looked around. She was trapping me on the pier, and the only way between me and her was the water. If I knew how to swim, I would dive in, but that would cause more issues than I wanted.
She stepped closer, and I fixed my stance.
I wouldn’t let her get the upper hand. Her boyfriend or partner or whoever the fuck he was might’ve snuck up on me before, but I wasn’t in the right headspace when he did that.
Now? I would kick her ass and make sure Blaize dealt with her the proper way.
She ruined a lot of lives and hurt a lot of people.
“Please Kadence, I’m so-sorry! I-I wanted to tell s-someone. H-he hu-hurt me. I-I was scared.”
“You didn’t sound scared when you told Dom where I was.” She thought I was stupid. I wasn’t going to fall for her tricks or lies, no matter how close we were. “Did you shoot Annika, too?”
A sob—a genuine sob—broke through her lips. “N-no. I told him not to hurt her! I didn’t w-want him hurting you, either, but he won’t stop.”
“Why should I believe you?”
I wasn’t going to believe her. I just needed to distract her long enough for Blaize to show up so I wasn’t alone with her.
If I wasn’t dancing on the edge of a pier I would fight her, do something a little more badassery, but I was scared of falling into the water.
Everly knew I had a fear of water. I had a big fucking mouth when it came to my friends, but I also wasn’t expecting my ‘friend’ to stab me in the back, either.
“You really are stupid, huh?” Everly snapped, the sob story leaving her completely. “She doesn’t fucking love you. Do you really think Blaize is capable of loving you?”
“Jealous?”
She huffed. “Of her? No. But I didn’t expect her to fall in love with you. I wanted her to kill you, but making her suffer again sounds perfect.”
“If you’re trying to kill me, maybe learn what a gun is, ‘cause all your other attempts fucking sucked, bitch.”
Everly screeched as she lunged for me. I wasn’t running from her or letting her get the upper hand.
She wanted me to be a scared damsel, but I wasn’t.
I was pissed the fuck off with her antics and her attempts on my life.
She betrayed me. She stabbed me in the back while calling my ex to kill me because she was too much of a damn coward to do it herself.
I sidestepped, causing Everly to stumble. Little did I know the two-faced bitch had a knife, and she cut my shin. Everly kicked my leg, and I fell to the dock. I was sick and tired of this bitch trying to hurt me.
“Why are you doing this?” I hissed. “Blaize wouldn’t fuck you?”
She laughed bitterly, kicking my side before straddling my hips. “Please, I wouldn’t let that bitch touch me. You should’ve fucking died sooner.”
I moved my hips to get her off of me, but she wrapped one hand around my neck and grasped the knife in the other one. If she wanted to kill me, she would have to work a lot harder. “Maybe you should’ve tried harder bitch.”
She hissed in frustration, bringing the knife down. I grabbed her hand, holding the knife back. Fucking hell, Kadence, think. I used all my strength and I pushed her off of me, taking a deep lungful of air. Stumbling to my feet, I checked my leg and saw a deep gash. Hey, it could be worse.
“Kadence!” Blaize shouted, and my attention turned towards her, which was mistake number two. Mistake number one was listening to anything that fell from Everly’s lips, even if I was hesitant and kept my distance.
Part of me wanted to believe a woman I trusted wouldn’t hurt me, but what more could I expect when my life was nothing but pain and betrayal by people who said they would never hurt me? My father taught me that first. Blaize was repairing it. And now Everly shattered it once more.
A sharp pain radiated down the back of my head as I lost my footing. The next thing I remembered was the death grip water had on someone before darkness.