That’s what happens when I see my car spinning in flames, with my brother inside.
“Holy shit.” Cole breathes beside me, but I can’t move.
I can sense the chaos around me. I know people are screaming, running around in shock, not knowing what to do, but I just stand there, frozen, unable blink or think.
Just then, a familiar Merc halts to a stop right in front of me. The passenger window rolls down and Mia looks at me, tears streaming down her face.
“Julian, come on!” she shouts, her voice somehow carrying over the chaotic noise. “Let’s go!”
This is crazy. I look up to the roaring flames, then back at her. There’s no way that my brother survived that.
“Julian, go!” Cole pushes me toward her car. “The police have been called, it’s on the scanners.”
I stare at my best friend, the horror in his eyes matching the same in Mia’s. And that snaps me out of my stupor. I won’t let terror make me lose another brother. Fuck that!
I shake out of Cole’s hold, calling upon every ounce of self-control that I possess, but fear grips me by the throat still, about to rip out my jugular.
“Julian,” Cole warns again and this time, I listen. Shoving away every single useless emotion I’m feeling, I spring into motion.
I don’t want to think about what I’m going to find. I don’t want to think about a burnt body of my brother. I don’t want to think that my brother might be…
Fuck! I vowed to protect him! It’s not going to end like this. It can’t!
“Follow us,” I say to Cole as I round Mia’s car, going to the driver’s seat. “Make sure someone gets Liam’s Lambo out.” I toss him the keys, as I open the driver’s door.
“Move.”
She doesn’t hesitate. Her tight, petite body goes over the console and is buckled in the passenger seat in less than five seconds. I get in, hating the fact that her car is small for my build, but I make it work somehow. Without another word, I peel out of there, racing toward the burning car, noticing that douchebag, Shane didn’t even stop for my brother.
I grit my teeth, blocking the thoughts that threaten to attack my mind. I glance at her, she’s shaking like a leaf in a storm, tears streaming down her face. She’s in shock obviously but she senses me looking at her.
Our gazes connect and hold, and I see it clear as day.
Guilt.
In that moment, I have no doubt in my mind. Everything that happened tonight becomes clear as understanding dawns in my head.
From the moment I arrived tonight and saw her parked where no one ever dares to park. The way she made me lose control, made a fool out of Liam. Then made sure to get a rise out of me, making sure to give her fucking boyfriend time…
It’s all coming together.
“You did this,” I accuse, and she jumps in her seat.
“Julian, I—” she starts, but I cut her off with a growl.
“Shut your damn mouth,” I demand. She gasps but snaps her mouth shut, her lips trembling as is the rest of her. I don’t think I can handle listening to whatever she has to say or the excuse that’s going to tumble out of her deceiving mouth.
A mouth that has taunted me, kissed me, then spewed shit about my brother.
A mouth that has lied, connived, and then kissed my little brother.
That same mouth is about to lie to me. Again.
No fucking thanks.
I face forward, getting closer to the burning car that has spun all the way to the edge of the cliff. Fuck.
I quickly calculate what can be done, noticing that if we try to approach the car now or apply any kind of pressure or force to it, it’ll tip over and go plummeting to the rocky bottom.
“Fuck!” I punch the stirring wheel as I come to a stop.
The girl doesn’t wait for me. The moment I stop the car, she’s flying out the door, running toward the burning car.
“Stop!” I shout after her, but she doesn’t stop or even slow down. She keeps going like the hounds of hell are chasing her. “Get away from that car, Mia!”
In the distance, I can see the flash of red and blue lights. Sirens are wailing and we’re out of time. In no time the police will get here, and Liam might be…
“He isn’t in here!” she shouts, her voice filled with terror and shock.
“What?” I stop, my eyes widening, heart stopping in my chest.
“Liam!” she gasps the name, clutching her chest as if she’s in physical pain. “He isn’t in the car. Oh my God, Julian, where is he?”
She carefully walks to the edge of the cliff, then peers to the bottom but I know she can’t see a damn thing. It’s pitch darkness out there and the only sound we can hear is the hissing of the blaze from the car and the crushing of the waves on the rocks below.
But no. Liam couldn’t have been thrown over the cliff. Especially since he had his seatbelt on. I saw him. I start looking around then, driven by an urgency that I can’t explain.
If Liam isn’t in the car, then it means he snapped himself out of that seatbelt. I start running back toward the track, backtracking from the moment the pop happened to right before my car burst into flames.
“What are you doing?” Mia shouts behind me, but I ignore her. All I can think is it doesn’t end like this for my brother. My heart is thundering so hard in my chest, I feel like I’m going to give myself a heart attack.
“Liam!” I start shouting. “Where are you, buddy?”
He has to be here. He wouldn’t have fallen over the cliff. God, he has to be here somewhere. He’s a smart, intelligent fool. He has to be alright.
Mia runs behind me, just as Cole pulls up in his car.
“Liam!” I shout again. “Come on, dude, say something. Anything!”
“Shh.” Mia suddenly shushes me.
“What the fuck? You don’t tell me to shh!” I almost walk over to her and snap her neck, but she shoots me a deadly look, her entire body still and coiled tight as if she’s listening for something.
“Shut up for a second, I think I hear something.”
Ahh fuck it, I start jogging around, looking for my brother, then I hear a loud gasp.
“Oh my God, Julian!” Mia shouts, crouching by a bush. “He’s here!”
Cole and I race over there just in time to see Liam’s eyes flutter closed, but he mutters something before that.
“Bomb.”
And then he loses consciousness.
“No, wake up, dude!” I start but he doesn’t budge. His body is covered in bruises and scratches, evidence that he dove out of the car before it exploded. He might have broken bones right now, but he’s fucking alive!
That’s all that matters. He’s not burning alive in that car, taking his last breath. And it’s all because of her.
“Help me get him to the car. We need to get him to the hospital.” Mia rushes to say but I grab her arm roughly before she touches him.
“Don’t you dare touch my brother!” I growl, hating her with everything in me.
“Julian—”
“You did this!” I accuse, tightening my grip around her delicate arm. “You wanted him dead.”
“No, that’s not…” There’s a pained look on her face, but I ignore it. She’s been an amazing actress all evening, but she was planning this all along. How could I have been so stupid? How could I be so blind?
“Shut up!”
“Julian, calm down.” Cole rushes to break us apart. He pushes me back, but I start for her again. She hurt my brother; I know she did. “We need to get Liam out of here, man. They’re coming and we can’t be here!”
“Julian,” she starts, her voice trembling. “I didn’t do this. Please believe me.”
I stare at her then look away. I can’t bear to look at her right now, knowing that tonight she tried to murder my brother. This is the fourth time she’s messed up my life by hurting my family. First Aiden, then kissing Liam, then her fucking aunt/mother and now this?
Not this time.
“You’re done!” I growl at her, not caring about the stupid tears streaming down her face. “You’re so fucking done. I’m going to bury your ass!”
“J,” Cole chides, pushing me away. “Not now!”
“Fuck!”
I’ll get her for what she did here. Right now, I need to get Liam out of here. The sirens grow louder, the flashes brighter.
“Help me get him to the car.” I rush to my brother’s side. Cole crouches on the other side, then we both make a grab for Liam.
“Stop!” Mia shrieks.
“For fuck’s sake! What now?” I shout.
“He crashed on his side. If you move him wrong, you might paralyze him.” Mia rushes to say, hugging herself, looking like a frightened little child in that moment. She looks terrified and doesn’t dare look at me, because she knows my words aren’t empty threats. They’re fucking loaded promises.
“What?” Cole questions, his voice filled with concern.
“Notice how his head is resting on that rock like that, that’s a direct strain to his spinal cord.”
I look down and notice that she might be right.
“Fuck,” Cole whispers. “What do we do?”
“We don’t have time for this,” I grit out, trying to be brave but I don’t want to risk it.
“Let me help you,” she pleads, coming to crouch beside Cole, then she looks warily at me. “I know you have no reason to trust me and I sure as hell don’t trust you, but if you move him wrong you might hurt him beyond repair.”
“If we get caught—” Cole starts, but doesn’t finish, his meaning clear.
“We can always wait for the ambulance,” she suggests, but I’m already shaking my head.
“If the cops catch us here, they’ll arrest us,” Cole explains softly to her. “We can’t afford that right now. Or ever.”
“But then again, that’s probably what you want, huh?” I seethe, staring at her. “To destroy my family and my future.”
“For Heaven’s sake, Julian Fitzgerald, I’m here to help.” Her eyes and voice harden, her shoulders set back as if preparing for battle. She holds my gaze in the dark, a steely resolve coming over her like an armor. “I came here to help! Now, it’s either you leave him with me for the ambulance to arrive and make your escape now, or they come anyway and arrest you. Either way, you’re not moving him!”
She’s serious, that much I can see in her eyes.
“Listen, J,” Cole starts, “I know this shit’s fucked up but we have to move right now or just roll over and allow them to take us away.”
I know Cole’s right. I know what Mia’s saying is sensible, but after everything, I just don’t fucking trust her ass.
“What will you say to the police?” I demand.
“I was driving along behind him when I saw his car go out of control. There was a loud pop, and he dove out of the car right before it went up in flames,” she answers with a straight face, doesn’t hesitate or pause.
“Where were you coming from?” Cole questions.
“From my father’s office,” she answers, her voice filled with emotion. “I’m even driving his car because mine had to be taken into the cleaners.”
She shoots me a wicked glare, but I don’t react. So what if she knows that I’m responsible for egging and trashing her damn princess car that we both know she can’t afford?
“Do you know him?” I grit out the question, glancing at my brother.
“Not personally. He’s a famous football player at St. Jude High School and I go to Clintwood Academy.” Then she sighs, exasperated. “I’m not a fool. Whatever questions they ask me, I’ll answer. Besides, I’m sure the officers have heard of the rivalry between our two schools, Julian. Trust me.”
“I’d find myself freezing my damn soul in hell before I can ever trust you,” I seethe, holding her stare.
“Well, so long as you know that’s where you live,” she counters, then glances at Cole. “Go. The hospital will contact you soon and you can come to the hospital. I won’t leave his side.”
Cole doesn’t hesitate. He grabs my arm and starts pushing me to his waiting car. I try to struggle, but even I know this is the only way to ensure that Liam gets the proper medical attention he needs and that Cole’s and my futures aren’t messed up by having the headlines saying something as messed up as; “Division 1 college football bound star quarterback, Cole Perry and star defense lineman, Julian Fitzgerald, of the prominent Fitzgerald House, have been arrested for illegal street racing, underage drinking and drug abuse.”
It’s all messed up and all I can do is stare at my brother and the girl who caused this, everything in me warring against the need to do what’s right and keep my promise to protect my brother.
“He’ll be alright,” Mia shouts, looking directly at me. “I promise.”
Maybe I am crazy or maybe I’m a deceitful asshole to myself, but the moment she says those words, I believe her. I don’t want to, but I do.
“Get in!” Cole shouts, banging the side of the door. I run to the passenger side of his car, get in, and we peel out of there, using the backroads just as the police cars, the ambulance, and firetruck pull up.
We drive in silence for a while, then Cole sighs, glancing briefly at me.
“Listen man, for what it’s worth, I don’t think she was lying.”
“That’s what’s messing me up,” I admit after a few seconds. She might not have lied, but she sure as hell is responsible for what happened tonight. One way or the other, she’s fucking connected.
“Liam wasn’t supposed to race tonight,” I say as we head to hospital, where we’ll wait for my brother to arrive. And he better be alive. “I’m the one who was supposed to be in that car tonight.”
Cole and I glance at each other and he shakes his head, looking back at the road.
“You think someone did this.” It’s not a question. We both know it’s true. Someone did do this.
“Liam said the word bomb before he passed out. He was conscious when that bitch got to him.”
“Fuck, dude.” Cole whistles. “Then that means—”
“Whoever planted that bomb wanted me out,” I finish, glancing out the window as an image of fucking Shane Matthews and Mia plays in my head over and over, alarms ringing in my head.
The fact that she parked her shit car right where EVERYONE knows I park my car.
The way she acted clueless and confused when I rolled down my window.
The way she was all close and cozy with that fucking asshole, laughing at the shit he was whispering in her ear.
“They were after me.”
15
She’s in the waiting room when Cole and I get to the hospital. I don’t bother walking toward her when she stands up, as if waiting for me to say something to her. To thank her for what she did or some shit.
Silently, I pass her, trying to suppress the flare of anger that’s rising in me. I don’t know what she sees on my face, but she backs away, slowly, a silent gasp leaving her lips.
“My brother was brought in here a few minutes ago, tell me where he is,” I grit out to the nurse. I don’t have time for pleasantries or to sugar coat my words.
“And who might your brother be?” the older nurse questions with a frown marring her older features. She obviously doesn’t give a flying fuck about my attitude. We both know that she holds all the cards here.
“Julian,” Mia starts, that’s when I realize she followed me, but I ignore her.
“Liam Fitzgerald,” I say to the nurse. “He was just brought in. I’m his brother and I demand to see him right now.”
“Sir, please calm down,” the nurse chides, typing something on her computer.
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I growl low in my chest. Cole steps forward, but I shoot him a look and he stops in his tracks. I don’t need a babysitter right now. I just need to know where they have my brother or I’ll set this whole place on fire.
“Julian, for Pete’s s
ake!” Mia stomps her foot, frustrated, and pissed as hell. “I’m talking to you.”
“What?” I growl, glancing at her. “Can’t handle it when you’re not the center of attention?”
I’m trying my best to stay composed but the blood on her clothes is pushing me to the limits. Where did that blood come from?
“I don’t give a damn about your fucked up attention,” she huffs, rolling her eyes, dried tears on her cheeks.
“You sure about that?” I size her up from her hair that’s now wrapped in a messy bun to her white Vans with crimson red stains. Blood. My brother’s blood.
“Listen, I need to talk to you.” She sighs, watching me. She’s got a fucking spine of steel, I’ll give her that.
“Excuse me, young man,” the nurse calls, effectively stopping me from saying shit that she and I will both regret. “Your brother is in the E.R. right now. No visitors until his next of kin arrives.”
“His next of kin?” I reel back. “Did you miss the part where I said I’m his older brother?”
“Yes, but you’re not his power of attorney, Mr. Fitzgerald.” The nurse says, her voice monotone and bored. “That would have to be your parents, well, one of them. If they’re not in the news—”
What the fuck? My family’s in the news? Again?
I can see the judgement and curiosity in her eyes like she just met one of the Kardashians.
“Listen here, saggy face with your dusty—” I start but before I can say more, a strong hand clamps on my shoulder.
I tense up, knowing exactly who it is.
“That’s enough, Julian.” My father steps in, a thunderous look on his face. “Control yourself.”
I stare at him, shaking his off hold on me. He looks so much like me, I hate it. Same hair, same structure, we could be twins. But I’m not a fuck boy and I certainly don’t have the eyes of a snake.
“I apologize for my son’s behavior,” John starts, still holding my gaze. “It’s been a stressful day.”
“That’s understandable,” the nurse says softly, looking like she just melted when John started talking. “Like I was telling your son, Mr. Fitzgerald, you other son is with the doctors. They’ll be out to update you soon.”
Devious Kisses: A Bully Enemies -To-Lovers Romance (It's Just High School Book 1) Page 20
