by JA Low
“So your saying I shouldn’t tell her, let her think this dude is trustworthy?”
Axel shakes his head. “She might not believe you so…” He trails off.
Shit, what happens if she doesn’t believe me? I have no evidence because no phones or cameras are allowed in the club. I just have to trust in our friendship that she does.
“Hey,” Vanessa greets me, bouncing through my front door. She has her own key, it’s easier as she’s always here anyway. “It sounded serious on the phone. Please don’t tell me I am going to have to do damage control because of last night?” Her green eyes look at me.
“No, no, I was pretty tame last night.” I give her a weak smile as I kiss her cheeks.
“Then what’s the matter? What’s so important that you needed to see me so early on a Sunday?”
We sit down on the large couch in my living room which looks out over the pool, down the valley over downtown LA. The view is spectacular but at the moment it makes me feel sick.
“So, well…um.” Fuck, I’m nervous. “Last night Axel and I went out to this club.”
Vanessa nods following the story so far.
“It’s a special kind of club,” I add.
Vanessa frowns. “What, like a night club?”
I shake my head before I answer her. “No, more…um…exclusive and set up for um…you know…” Why am I embarrassed to tell her about it?
“What, like a sex club?”
“Yeah. It’s basically set up for VIPs to have uninhibited fun without the paparazzi finding out or people selling stories to the media.”
Vanessa smiles. “Cool. I’m glad you have somewhere you can go and relax. It sounds like fun. If I were single I would totally be there checking it out with you.” She gives me a giggle and the sound hits my dick making it twitch to life. Fuck, I had no idea Vanessa would be interested in something like that.
“And, I get it, especially after the couple of disasters we have had recently with the paparazzi.” She tells me as she gives me the mom look.
“Yeah, yeah I know, that’s why this club is great. I can get my rocks off without creating a headache for you.”
Vanessa laughs. “I love how considerate you are, Christian.”
“But I saw something last night and you need to know about it.” My stomach sinks now that I have started the conversation.
“Why?” she asks.
“I saw Kane there.” I think I’m going to be sick.
“Kane? No, you have to be wrong. He is away on some football thing.” I can see the frown lines marring her forehead.
“No, Ness, Axel and I were both sure it was him. I saw his tattoo.”
Ness stills for a moment. “What was he doing?”
Shit, I don’t want to tell her what he was doing. Fuck, she doesn’t need to know that. “He was with a couple of women.”
I can see the information hit her and slowly the realization sinks in.
“You’re wrong, you have to be wrong.” Tears start to flow as she hits me with her hands.
Fuck, I hate it when she cries. Pulling her against me I wrap my arms around her. “I wouldn’t be telling you this, Ness if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure it was him. He cheated on you and from what I have found out from the club, he has been a member for the past three years and frequents the club a lot.”
She lets out a sob, her whole body is shaking with tears, she cuddles into me. “I’m sorry, Ness. I’m so, so sorry. He doesn’t deserve you, that fucker doesn’t deserve a beautiful, wonderful, caring, hot, sexy woman like you.” I comfort her stroking her hair.
Vanessa is silent for a long time. The sobbing has turned from all consuming to now intermittent sniffling. “Are you sure, Chris? Like really sure.” Her bloodshot eyes stare at me.
“Yeah, babe I am.”
“Fuck, how could I be so fucking stupid.”
“No, he is the stupid one. Who the fuck cheats on someone like you?” Looking down at her my heart breaks. She looks so lost and fragile not like the strong, confident, ball breaking Nessa I know.
“I guess I just wasn’t enough for him.”
Grabbing her face in my palms, I look into her eyes. “Never. You’re more than enough for a real man to handle. He is nothing but a low life punk who doesn’t realize the incredible gift he has in front of him.”
Her lips touch mine in the barest of kisses. “Thank you, Christian.”
My heart is racing because here she is wrapped in my arms and all my dick can think about is burying itself so deep inside of her, hoping to make sure she forgets about her loser boyfriend. But that’s not what I do, instead I pull her tighter against me and hold her because that is all I can ever do.
“Can I stay here with you, I just…” She hiccups on her tears.
“Of course you can, you know I would do anything for you,” I whisper, kissing her forehead.
That’s where we stay for the rest of the day; sitting on my couch watching movies, eating ice cream and pigging out on popcorn. Vanessa’s phone keeps ringing. It’s Kane, and she ignores every one of his calls and a million and one texts which makes me happy.
“What does he want?” I ask, because curiosity is getting the better of me.
“I don’t know. Here you read them.” She hands me her phone.
There were heaps of messages from him asking where she was and who she was with. He told her he was working hard and even took selfies of himself training. This is bullshit, the lying fucking bastard. “He wants to visit you tomorrow, seeing as he is passing through town back to San Diego. What do you want me to say?”
“Fine tell him I’ll see him back at my place tomorrow.” Vanessa is emotionless as she watches some old black and white movie.
“Want me to come for moral support?”
Looking at me, she gives me a weak smile. “No, I can do this. It will be easier if you’re not there, you two don’t get along as it is, adding this on top of it will just fuel the fire.”
Yeah, Kane and I are most definitely not friends.
70
Christian
“Chill out, man, it’s going to be okay,” Evan says as we work out in my studio.
“I’m just worried about her,” I tell him. The boys see that Vanessa and I get along quite well, they used to rib me for it but over the years they can see the genuine friendship between us.
“She’ll call if she needs you,” Axel reminds me.
I just hope Kane doesn’t try and convince her that it’s not true or ask her to forgive him. Not sure how I will react if that’s the way she is going to go.
A couple of hours later we are in the swing of things at my home studio when my phone starts ringing. Jumping up I answer it.
“Hello.”
“Christian.” It’s Camryn and she’s crying.
“Nessa…, is Nessa okay?” My heart is racing. I know something’s happened.
“No, she’s in the hospital. I found her unconscious on the floor. Kane hurt her. There was so much blood.” Camryn bursts out crying again.
What the fuck? “Text me the information, I’m on my way,” I yell at her before hanging up.
“I’m going to fucking murder that son of a bitch!” I scream, racing for the door.
“Dude, what happened?” Oscar asks.
Nearly pulling my hair out with stress I yell, “That fucker, that fucking piece of shit touched Ness. He put his fucking hands on her. Camryn found her unconscious, she’s at the hospital.”
The rest of the boys jump up from their places in the studio when I say hospital.
“I’ll call Isla, get her to organize a car,” Finn says, running off to find our assistant.
“That fucker,” Axel growls, punching the wall.
It wasn’t long until we arrive at the hospital and find Camryn in the waiting room looking pale. Her blue eyes widening when she sees us, she launches herself off the plastic black chair into my arms.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Ch
ris. She told me she needed space. I should have fucking been there.” The poor thing is shaking like a leaf as uncontrollable tears run down her face.
“Can I see her?” I ask Camryn, because I need to see her.
“Yeah, but she’s heavily sedated. She’s going to be okay, thankfully there was no internal bleeding just a lot of bruising and swelling.” Camryn holds my hand as she takes me into the hospital room.
The loud beeping of the machines fills the room. There she is lying helpless on the bed. Her caramel hair fanned out behind her head, her green eyes that usually sparkle are closed. There’s bruising all over her face. Her lush, pink lips have dried blood still on them.
“I’m going to fucking kill him. How the fuck could he do this to her?” My hands are balled into fists my whole body shaking with anger.
“I introduced them, Chris. I’m the one that brought this monster into her life.” Camryn starts crying again.
Pulling her into my arms I try to comfort her. “You didn’t know.”
“I broke up with Lance over this.” This is surprising, she has been with him for the past couple of years.
She hiccups on a sob. “That bastard stuck up for his friend. Told me maybe Vanessa provoked Kane because she is known to be a bitch. That Kane was sick of her nagging and sick of her workaholic nature, she never had time for him, and he needed a woman to satisfy him instead of breaking his balls all the time. That’s when I realized Lance probably frequented that club as well with Kane. Then it sunk in that Lance was cheating on me also, which he was.”
Fuck what a bunch of fucktards, who the hell cheats on these beautiful women? Seriously I am ready to give them both an ass whipping, I don’t care that they are fucking football players, I can take them on.
“Forget them. Those bastards aren’t real men. You deserve better. Vanessa deserves better.”
Camryn turns to me, her bright blue eyes glimmering with unshed tears, “She only dated him to get over you.”
Huh, I’m confused.
“Don’t forget I was there the first night you two met. I also have lived with Ness over the last couple of years. You two have a connection, I know it hurts her seeing you with other women and I’m sure you don’t like seeing her with other men.”
I shake my head; I’m not going to deny it.
“She wanted to move on; obviously you two can’t be together while she is working at the label and I know she loves her job and wouldn’t give it up for anything. It just sucks, because I think the two of you together would be amazing.”
“It’s not our time, Cammie. One day it will be, but we’re not ready for it yet. Until then we have to just be friends.”
Camryn lets out a big sigh. “Well don’t wait too long, Chris, because someone else might come along and sweep her off her feet and you will be left watching from the sideline again.”
Giving me a kiss on the cheek, Camryn walks toward Nessa, whispers something to her then kisses her forehead. She walks out of the room leaving the two of us alone, before the Police arrive.
71
Vanessa
I’m trying to open my eyes but they are heavy, the darkness keeps pulling me under. I am too weak to fight it. Bits and pieces of grainy images filter through the darkness but not enough for me to understand them. Something touches my hand but I am paralyzed to move it. Why the hell does my brain not work? I don’t understand what is happening.
“Why did you do it?” My question hangs in the air.
“I was doing you a favor. You don’t have time to fuck me, Ness. You’re always too busy with those fucking rock stars to service your boyfriend,” Kane spits at me, his face has gone red, I don’t understand why he is upset at me, I’m not the one cheating.
“Are you fucking serious? I love my job. I am damn good at my job. If you wanted a trophy wife, then you should have chosen one of those bimbos that are continuously hanging around you. I’m sure they would love nothing more than to stay at home waiting for you to walk through the door ready and willing to suck your dick. I am not apologizing for my job.” My body is shaking with anger.
“You know why those women happily service my dick? Because that is what they are there for and that is all they are good enough for. They are a stress relief. That’s why I’m with you. I can’t marry any of those sluts,” Kane splutters.
“Seriously, they are good enough to suck your dick but not good enough to marry? And I thought rock stars were bad.” I shake my head in disbelief. Kane is a fucking pig. How the hell did I fall for him? I must have been drunk or on drugs.
Kane stalks toward me getting right up in my face. My heart is racing because I can feel the aggression pouring off him in waves. He’s scaring me.
“I bet you happily suck those rock stars’ cocks? That’s why you are too tired for me, because you spend your days fucking them, don’t you?” Poking me hard in my chest, he sends me back into the wall. Fuck, that is going to bruise in the morning.
“Fuck you. I am a fucking professional,” I spit back, his words reminding me of that bitch in London. Flashbacks from a time I would rather forget.
Kane grabs me and starts shaking me violently. “You are a fucking slut, aren't you? I know you’ve fucked them. Tell me you stupid bitch.”
My head is shaken back and forth like a damn rag doll; I can’t catch my breath as I am in shock. I have never ever seen him like this before. Finally, he stops shaking me, but I don’t think he is done yet. His large hand wraps around my throat, squeezing it tight.
“Tell me, Vanessa, have you fucked any of them?”
I could see the fire in his eyes. His fingers keep squeezing harder, slowly cutting off my air, the room starts to spin. Then a sharp pain creeps across my face, I blink a couple of times trying to focus. Fuck, Kane just slapped me across the face so I wouldn’t pass out. What is he doing? I thought he loved me? Shit, what the hell is he going to do to me?
“Answer me you stupid slut, have you fucked any of those guys?”
Spit hits my face as he screams at me. “Yes,” I squeak out. I want to hurt him but I also want him to stop.
“What the fuck did you say?” He lets go of my throat so I can speak. Kane takes a step back watching me.
“Yes, I have, and you know what, every single time I was with you, I wished it was him.” Fuck you, you fucking cunt, I scream in my head. I reach for my throat to rub it as it starts to throb from where he had gripped me.
Kane looks calm as his face turns to stone, his whole body stills.
“Which one?” he asks calmly.
“Does it matter?” I throw back, pushing myself away from the wall that he had me pinned against. I make my way back to the kitchen under the guise of grabbing a glass of water but I’m looking for a weapon.
“Yeah, it does, humor me, Ness.”
I frown at his request.
“It was Christian, I met him the same night I met you.”
The vein on Kane’s forehead starts to throb and he cracks his neck to each side. My heart starts to race. Fuck, what have I done? You never poke the beast, Ness. So fucking stupid. But I wanted him to hurt just the same way he hurt me.
“Christian? The same Christian you spend all your fucking time with? The same Christian who you travel with? Your best friend Christian?”
Putting the island bench between us, my eyes dart around the kitchen looking for something to protect myself with in case Kane blows up again. I see something change in Kane’s eyes before he launches at me. He’s too fucking quick and I get a couple of steps away before he is on me, tackling me to the ground.
“You fucking bitch, you are nothing but a goddamn slut! You are no better than those whores that suck my dick,” he snarls, his hands are all over me as he grabs at my pants, trying to get them down my hips.
I try my best to kick, punch and scratch him to defend myself. “Get off me. Get your fucking hands off me!” I scream, tears filling my eyes. Who the hell is this man? Why is he doing this to me? I
thought he loved me.
“You give up your pussy so easily for everyone else, why not me?” His hand breaches my panties as his fingers thrust into me. “I am going to fuck you until all you can think about is me. I am going to wipe Christian from your mind.”
I twist in his arms as he is distracted for a second trying to finger me again. I punch him hard in the face making him drop his hand. Thankfully, shock registers on him allowing me time to scurry away.
“You fucking bitch, you’re going to pay for that.”
I bolt through the house trying to get to the front door but he is so fast, tackling me again, my head hitting the floor hard, stunning me. Then I feel his fist in my face. Fuck, I think I see stars. I swear he just broke my nose, maybe my jaw.
“How fucking dare you disrespect me like that!” Kane screams into my ear. I flinch as the roar rocks through me. He’s so loud and menacing that the sound of his voice rattles my bones. Another fist, this time to the stomach, making me curl up into a fetal position. I can only hope it will help to protect me from his onslaught. The fists keep coming one after another until I pass out and the darkness swallows me up. I embrace it.
“Ness, can you hear me? Wake up please. I need you. I miss you.”
I know that voice. I could pick that voice out anywhere. Christian! Why can’t I talk? I don’t understand. I try to move my hand but nothing, so I try and move my fingers, slowly they wiggle.
“Ness, Ness. Nurse she’s waking up.”
I hear footsteps run into the distance. Where am I?
“Baby, come back to me please.” Lips whisper against my ear.
Using all my strength I try really hard to move my body, but nothing happens. I focus on just trying to open my eyes, bit by bit I can feel them twitch, until I see a sliver of light trickling in. More light appears as my eyes try to focus but I can’t see anything.
“Welcome back, Miss Roberts,” a female voice says. “Take your time, you have been out of it for a while, don’t try and push yourself.”
