Beautiful Tomorrow
A Twisted Fate Novel
Emery Jacobs
Contents
Untitled
Untitled
Part I
1. Caleb
2. Caleb
3. Caleb
4. Henley
5. Caleb
6. Henley
7. Caleb
8. Henley
9. Caleb
10. Henley
11. Caleb
12. Henley
13. Caleb
14. Henley
Part II
15. Henley
16. Henley
17. Henley
18. Henley
19. Caleb
20. Henley
21. Henley
22. Caleb
23. Caleb
24. Henley
25. Caleb
26. Henley
27. Henley
28. Caleb
29. Henley
30. Caleb
31. Henley
32. Epilogue
33. Henley
34. Caleb
35. Henley
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Emery Jacobs
Dear Reader,
Beautiful Tomorrow was previously published as the Beautiful Fate duet (Beautiful Torture and Beautiful Forever). If you own those books, please know this complete novel is the same story with the addition of an extended epilogue. Thank you for reading and I hope you love Caleb and Henley as much as I do.
Cheers,
~Emery
Copyright © 2019 by Emery Jacobs
Beautiful Tomorrow All rights reserved.
This book is an original work of fiction. All the names, characters, sponsors, and events are a product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual events, incidences, persons, deceased or living is strictly coincidental. Any opinions expressed in the book or solely those of the authors. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-0-9974115-8-4
Published in the United States of America
E-books are non-transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction of distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher/author’s permission. This book may not be sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase another copy for each person. Criminal copyright infringement including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without permission of Emery Jacobs.
Edited by: Kayla Robichaux and Barbara Hoover at Hot Tree Editing
Proofread by: Shannan Saunders at Love Books Editing
Formatted by: Buoni Amici Press
Photo by: Eric Battershell Photography
Cover Design by: Amy Queau at QDesigns
Cover Model: Johnny Kane
DISCLAIMER:
Due to sexual situations and language,
this book is intended for adults 18 years and older.
“A villain is just a victim whose story hasn’t been told.”
Chris Colfer
“Every moment of your life is a second chance.”
Rick Price
For my Mom—I love you.
Part One
Caleb
I’ve often heard if you love someone, set them free. If they return to you, then it’s meant to be. She did return. Not once or twice, but three times. What did I do? I let my pride push her away, because I thought I knew what was best for her… for us. It was me who drove her back to him—over and over again. Until it was too late. Until she was gone forever.
One
Caleb
Eight Years Earlier
“You can go. We’re done here,” Piper says as she kicks the cover off her naked body. She swings her legs off the side of the bed and stands. Then she glances at me—her face free of emotion—just grimacing lips and empty eyes.
“There’s no need to be such a bitch, Piper. If you want me to go, then I’ll go.”
“That’s what I want. For you to go,” she mumbles.
I roll out of bed and grab my jeans and T-shirt, before saying, “Sometimes I don’t know what the fuck you want from me. And don’t pretend like you don’t understand the way this relationship works. Because we both know you do.”
“Yes, Caleb, I do know how this works. But you also know how I feel about you. And yet, you continue to push me away.” She saunters over to me and gently cups my face.
She stares into my eyes but doesn’t see what she wants. I know, because we’ve had this conversation at least a hundred times. I met Piper last year after I moved here from Little Rock. When my parents split up, neither of them had time to deal with a seventeen-year-old kid, so they sent me here to Houston to live with my aunt. She enrolled me in Summerville High School, and I met Piper on that first day. Long blonde hair with a tight little body and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. But the problem with Piper is she wants more, and I can’t give it to her. At least, not now.
“Why can’t you love me back? I’ve loved you since that first day you walked into our senior English class.” She slides her hands down my face to my neck and then wraps her arms around my shoulders.
“You know I care about you, Piper. But we’re too young. Neither one of us is ready for what you want. Maybe in five or six years, things will be different and we can think about a future together, but for now, what we have is all I can give you.”
“Five or six years?” She laughs. “I’m not sitting around waiting on the guy I love to love me back. I can’t do it anymore,” she whispers.
“So, what are you saying? Are you ready to walk away from this? From us?”
She lowers her gaze to the floor, her chin resting on her chest, as she says nothing. I grab her hands from my shoulders and step back, allowing her arms to drop to her sides. She immediately hugs herself tightly and shivers.
“Get dressed, Piper. You’re freezing. We can talk about this later,” I tell her.
“I met someone,” she blurts out, completely catching me off guard.
“What?” My stomach clenches as jealousy surges through my veins.
“I said I met someone. And I really like him. So, I’m giving you one last chance to tell me that you love me. And if you truly don’t love me, then I’ll have to walk away. Because this guy—he’s different. And I want to give it a chance. With all of me. Not with what’s left over from us.”
“If this is really the way you feel, and you’re ready to end this”—I swallow hard and search her eyes for the truth— “then I’ll have to let you go. Because, at eighteen, I can’t promise you forever. I can’t even promise you next week. So, I’m gonna make this easy on you. I’m about to put on my clothes and walk out of your life.”
After quickly getting dressed, I run my hand through my hair and snag my keys, shoving them in my pocket as I stride toward the door.
“Wait a minute, Caleb.” Her voice is shaky.
“Yeah?” I stop, turning to face her.
“You know him. But I didn’t realize who he was at first.”
“Who is it, Piper? Just fucking tell me.”
“Jack.” She bites her lip nervously.
“Jack Alexander? You mean my co-worker—Jack?”
“Yes, and I’m so sorry, Caleb. I didn’t realize it until he started talking about Southern Stain and how much his business had grown. And, well, by then I already liked him.”
I walk over to her and place my hands on her shoulders, gently twisting her body until she’s facing me. “How long have you been fucking him?”
She cuts her eyes off to the side.
“This conversation is happening, so you need to make it easier on yourself and tell me. We’re finished, so you lying to me won’t change anything. Just tell me. How long have you been fucking Jack?”
“I love you, Caleb. And I want so much for you to love me back… but you can’t or won’t. Maybe you don’t even have those feelings for me, but I need more. More than you can give me, so I became selfish and did something for me.”
“Stop avoiding my question. How long—?”
“Only twice,” she cuts me off before I can finish. “I’ve only slept with him twice. I’m sorry, but you don’t love me. And I—”
“Look at me, Piper.”
She wrings her hands in front of her body while refusing to make eye contact.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you fucked him. All that matters is that you did. So, that action alone tells me all I need to know. Love me?” I grunt with disbelief, and then add, “Tell your lies to somebody who will believe them, because that somebody isn’t me.”
“Don’t do this, Caleb. The thought of you hating me rips my heart out,” she cries.
“What a fucking joke. If you loved me the way you claim to, you would have ended us before you made a move on my friend. And to make things worse, he probably doesn’t have any idea who you really are, does he?”
She shakes her head and lowers her eyes toward the floor.
“So, not only have you destroyed what we have, but you’re starting a new relationship with lies? I can promise you one thing—the two of you will never make it,” I growl.
“Stop, Caleb. Just stop. I can’t listen to this anymore. The damage is done, and I’m gonna live with it. And what I have with Jack will work. Because he’s different. He’s not you and never will be, so go ahead and do what you promised earlier. Walk away.”
I release her from my hold before heading toward the bedroom door. I can’t get away from her fast enough. I hope she’s happy, because she fucked up big time. I give her a month tops before she’s trying to wriggle her way back into my bed. Will I let her? Absolutely not. At least, that’s what I’ll keep telling myself.
Just as I reach for the door handle, she says, “I love you, Caleb. And that will never change.”
For some reason, I grab hold of those words and tuck them away safely inside my heart somewhere. Because I have a feeling that someday I’ll need them. But today’s not that day.
Two
Caleb
One Year Later
The warm water hitting my exhausted body gives my overworked muscles temporary relief. Helping my buddy Dane move into his new apartment turned into a lift-fest. Damn, if I would’ve known he had so much heavy shit, I might have thought twice before volunteering to spend the entire day wreaking havoc on my body.
The sound of drunken voices and blaring music from downstairs filters its way into my head. Shit, I forgot about tonight being the annual ‘Let’s get shitfaced and tear down the house’ party. Oh… wait a sec—that’s every night. Living in a frat house has become more than I ever wanted it to be. At first, I figured living with my brothers at the Kappa Sig house would be great—girls, beer, and hanging out with my friends from sun up until sun down. Yeah, it was great for about a week, and then I just wanted to crawl into my closet and hide. Too much of anything… good or bad… gets old fast.
I turn the shower off before reaching for my towel. After quickly drying off, I wrap it around my waist and pull open the shower curtain. As I step onto the cool tile floor, my bedroom door slams shut.
“What the hell?” I mumble.
Before I make it to the bathroom door, it swings open. Standing in front of me is Piper, naked, exposing all her greatest assets—blonde hair, blue eyes, and big tits. Walking toward her is not something I need to do, but fuck, I want to. I mean really fucking want to.
“Get dressed, Piper. Then find the door leading out of my bedroom. Once you’re there, walk the fuck out of it, but this time, don’t come back.” I hate to be an ass, but since we split a year ago, it’s what I’ve become. A complete asshole. Not only to her, but also to everybody else. I’ve become someone I have a hard time tolerating, so I can only imagine how my friends must feel.
She grabs the towel, yanking it from my body as she moves in closer. She wraps her arms around my waist, and her hands slide down and grip my ass. One thing about Piper is she usually doesn’t give up easily. And today is no exception. She uses every ounce of strength she has to forcefully walk me backward until I’m pinned against the bathroom wall, obviously ignoring every single word out of my mouth.
“What part of leave do you not understand?” I do everything within my power to ignore the warmth of her skin pressed against mine. The longer I stand here, the more difficult it’s going to be to walk away without burying myself deep inside her. And that’s exactly what she wants. Whatever it is she has with Jack, I’ll never know, but it’s obviously not enough, or she wouldn’t be trying to lure me into fucking her every chance she gets.
“Come on, Caleb. Just once for old times. You know I can’t leave Houston without saying goodbye to you.” She presses her lips against my chest before moving her mouth over my nipple. She’s licking and nibbling across my bare skin, and it’s causing my cock to become as hard as—
Fucking shit. I can’t do this. She’s with Jack. I sent her away for all the right reasons. So, I have to be true to my word. Wait a sec…. Leave Houston? What the hell? I let my curiosity get the best of me, so I ask, “You’re leaving Houston? Why?”
She pulls her lips from my skin, and continues, “I’ve always wanted the freedom this place will never give me, so I’m leaving. Well, after this semester, we’re leaving.”
“Who’s we?” I knew the answer before the words left my mouth, but since I enjoy torturing myself, I decided I needed to hear her say it.
“Me and Jack, silly. Who did you think I meant?”
It’s like I’ve been punched in the gut. All the air leaves my lungs, and I gasp out loud, so I know she hears me. Or, at least, feels it, since she is still pressed against my body. Everything is fine. I mean, it’s all good when I know she’s just a five-minute drive away. I can handle her being with him. I wish I didn’t care about her. Fuck. I mean love her. But I do, and she can never know it. At least, not now. Not yet.
I just assumed this thing with Jack would last a couple weeks. Then she would want our “living for the moment” relationship back, but no such luck. It’s been a fucking year. And to be honest, this has been the worst year of my life. Watching the two of them together, knowing what we had and how I feel about her. What sucks so bad is it was me who pushed her away. And I continue to push her away, because long term is still not something I’m ready for. But I’m also not ready for her to leave Houston either. At least, not with Jack. The two of them leaving together seems so damn permanent.
“I knew who you meant. I just wasn’t thinking.” At least, not clearly. I glance around the room, avoiding eye contact with her. She knows me too well. I can’t hide any emotions—anger, happiness, sadness, lust, want, need, you name it. I’m an open book with my emotions… at least to her.
She catches a glimpse of my face, and victory shines brightly in her eyes. Like she’s won the fucking lottery. She can see what those few words did to me. Now she knows; dee
p down, she’s always known how I feel. And that I’m just too afraid to show it. My parents married as teenagers, because my mom was pregnant with me. I grew up knowing I was the sole reason for them being married. But I like to believe they once loved each other. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. But eventually, I wasn’t enough to hold them together, so I watched their relationship fall apart. And that’s my reason for not becoming another statistic of young love and marriage. Piper just doesn’t understand. She’s never been there and seen two people who were once in love grow to hate each other. But trust me, it happens. And it fucking sucks.
She moves her hands to my waist and then rises to her tiptoes until her head rests on the left side of my chest.
“I could stand here and listen to your heart all night. It has always been my perfect lullaby. Please don’t push me away, Caleb. I know two weeks ago, when you kissed me in the parking lot after my meeting, it was out of pity. But tonight, just forget that you feel sorry for poor little Piper. Forget that you don’t love me. Just give me this last memory to take with me. I promise I will never bother you again. It will be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I’ll do it. I’ll give you what you want. A life without me.”
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