Chapter 9 Piper
PIPER
I can already tell the moment I step into the living room that it’s about to go down.
Mom and Paul are sitting across from each other like the king and queen of the estate, staring at me and Jake as we walk in like we’re servants about to be fired.
Mom glances at me, then over at Jake, and shakes her head. He must have been walking too close to me or something, or giving off signals that women always pick up on. But there’s no doubt about it now.
She knows.
“I told you,” Paul growls as Jake and I sit. “I told you to stay away from her.”
Mom is doing that thing she does where she keeps intertwining her fingers over and over. She only does it when she’s seriously pissed off about something.
I can feel the tension emanating from Jake as he sits beside me, stiff as a board.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad—”
“Come on, Jake!” my mom snaps. The tone in her voice nearly makes me jump. I’ve never heard her sound like this before. At least not since I got a C on my social studies test, and that was years ago.
Instantly, my entire body is hot. My skin is prickly, and I can feel myself starting to sweat. My cheeks and forehead are sizzling as I try to look anywhere but at the two angry adults glaring across the room at us.
This is all my fault. None of this would have ever happened if I hadn’t tempted Jake.
Prancing around in skimpy outfits, letting him ‘catch’ me in the bathroom with no clothes on. That was all me. He was trying to avoid me. Trying not to get close.
But I just needed more…
Paul lifts a tablet and twists it to us, showing some kind of document I can’t understand.
“Your name on my inheritance,” he says, swiping it down and deleting it. “Gone.”
“Dad—”
“Your name in all my business documents.” He swipes again. “Gone.”
“Paul, wait,” I say, but my mom lurches to her feet, eyes flaming like she’s ready to slap me.
“Oh, shut up, Piper! How could you? How could you do this? He’s your brother, for God’s sake!”
“Step-brother,” I reply, instantly regretting it.
She cocks her head to the side like a hawk examining its prey. For the first time in my life, I’m genuinely afraid she might throw something at me.
“You think this is funny?”
“No, no one thinks this is funny, Wendy,” Jake interrupts, clearly trying to calm the room down. “I just think what Piper is saying is that…there is some nuance here.”
“Nuance?” Paul scoffs, rubbing his eyes with his thumbs. “You two are fucking!”
“Paul,” my mom protests.
“Where’s the nuance there?”
My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest. I want to get up and run for the hills. I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my life.
I’m not embarrassed for sleeping with Jake. I’m embarrassed because now I have to talk to our parents about it.
“This,” Paul snaps, “is over. It ends today.”
Jake shakes his head. “I have a question. How the hell did you even know? Have you been spying on us?”
“Never you mind how we know,” my mom snaps. “Your father and I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s you two who should be ashamed.”
“No,” Jake replies, rising to his feet. He rubs his chin, deep in thought. “We were careful. You guys were never here—”
“Don’t be dense, Jake!” Dad snaps back. “We have staff here, okay? Security. Landscapers. Did you think you could keep this a secret forever?”
My entire body goes stiff as a board, and I feel like I’m about to pass out. No, no this can’t be. Oh God…
I’m going to throw up. Someone left a glass of water on the coffee table. I don’t care who right now. I just grab it and gulp it down, fighting off the incoming panic attack.
I slump back on the couch, so lightheaded I’m sure I’m going to faint. This is just too much. And it’s all my fault.
“Oh my God, Piper!” It’s my mom’s voice, concerned and sounding like she’s half a universe away. I feel her hand on my arm as she pulls me to my feet. “Take a deep breath, sweetie.”
“Are you okay?” That’s Jake. He’s worried about me. I want to smile, but I can’t. I’m too tense.
“Just give us a minute, Jake?” Mom pulls me away into the kitchen, my legs swinging limply like Play-Doh.
I hear raised voices as Mom sits me down at the table. Jake and Paul are screaming at each other.
“Drink this, honey,” Mom says, curling my hand around a cold glass. “It’s ice water.”
I gulp it down quickly. It helps. If only I had a pool filled with it that I could throw myself into.
“Mom, I’m…”
“Relax, Piper. I know you’re sorry. It was Jake’s fault. He never should have done what he did. But you know how men can be.”
A jolt runs through me, and my eyes snap open. “What? No. It wasn’t Jake’s fault. It was mine.”
Mom looks back at me, confused. “Your fault? Honey, you’ve never even had a boyfriend. How could it be your fault?”
I take a deep breath. This isn’t going to be easy.
“I wanted him, Mom.” The words are like acid spilling off my tongue. “He tried to hold out, but I did…so many things I shouldn’t have. And he couldn’t.”
It’s the worst time, but I just can’t stop my lips from twisting into a smile as I think about the first time he took me.
About all those other times he was deep inside me and we rode our waves of ecstasy together.
Remembering all that now is almost enough to distract me from this super awkward moment.
“Well, whatever happened, it has to end. It will end. You understand?”
“It’s not ending.” Jake’s bold voice fills the room, and I look up to see him standing in the doorway, filling it out with his wide shoulders and muscular frame.
“Jake—” Mom starts, but he silences her by raising his hand.
“Dad just cut me off,” he says. “Neither of us has anything left to lose. And we’re in love. Aren’t we, baby?”
He looks at me, and I nod automatically. Of course we are.
“Paul will throw you out,” my mom says. Jake just nods, standing strong like an immovable tree in a hurricane.
“He already did.” He extends his hand and I’m instantly clutching it, holding on to him for dear life. “Piper and I will be leaving now.”
“Jake…”
“Go up to your room and pack a bag,” he tells me. “I’ll be right behind you.”
My feet don’t want to move. I just want to stay here with him. If I let go of his hand, I might spin off into the darkness and never see him again.
“You won’t take my daughter from me,” I hear Mom say. Jake looks at me and smiles, nods, and gently takes my hand from his.
“Go on. Everything will be fine.”
He kisses me, and that’s when something inside me comes alive. This kiss, right in front of my mom, changes everything. We’re out in the open now. He’s claimed me publicly and refused to back down.
How could I ever have doubted him?
I hear my mom shouting at him as I rush upstairs—something about me only being eighteen and having plans to go to school in the spring. But their voices fade as I enter my room and start throwing my clothes into a suitcase.
This is really happening. We’re leaving. I should be freaking out, but if Jake says everything will be okay, then everything will be okay. I believe him. I trust him.
The last speck of doubt I had has vanished. I belong to him now, wholly and fully. And I don’t care where he’s taking me. I’d live in a tent in the woods if it meant being with him.
When I get downstairs, I see Jake standing face to face with his father. They both look ready to hit each other, so I rush over quickly and take his arm.
“I’m ready,” I whisper.
Paul looks at me and scowls. He looks like I’ve betrayed him—stolen something from him. If only he understood just how much I love his son…
“I hope you come around, Dad,” Jake says, wrapping his strong arm around me. “I hope you realize that your son’s happiness is more important than your precious reputation.”
“I want you to find happiness, son,” Dad replies. “But going to jail? Sleeping with your step-sister? That is not how you find it.”
“Piper is my happiness.”
My heart leaps, and Jake turns, tugs the door open, and leads me out to his car. I slide in, gasping deep breaths of air to try and calm down. We pull away, and I glance in the rearview mirror as we pull out of the driveway.
For some reason, it really hits me just how big the estate is, and I realize the enormity of what Jake is leaving behind.
“You gave it all up,” I whisper, grasping his hand for comfort. “For me?”
“Of course I did.” He smiles, kissing me gently on the cheek. “All the money in the world couldn’t keep me away from you.”