Fear Me

by B. B. Reid

  * * *

  I was panicking. The entire ride back to school and throughout the rest of the day, I constantly thought about what it could mean for Keiran and I to actually be friends. Fucking hell.

  “Dude, you’ve been staring at her with stars in your eyes or some shit. Spill. Was she good?” I heard Keenan pitiful excuse for a whisper and began humming to myself.

  We were in fifth period now. I still sat with Willow and Sheldon although we were now in the row directly in front of the guys. It was the only way Keiran would allow me to sit elsewhere. Already his possessiveness was getting out of hand. I don’t think possessive is the correct word for him. Maybe crazy or psychotic.

  Earlier today, a guy made the mistake of telling me my ass looked nice in my jeans. Luckily Dash was with us and pulled Keiran off the guy before any real damage was done. I didn’t know how to handle the look in his eyes so I remained silent while he led me to class before leaving for his.

  Keiran saving me from Trevor’s assault was one thing. But the Keiran from a couple hours ago was an entirely different animal. I hoped I didn’t make a mistake by accepting his friendship even if it was for revenge. I was beginning to think Willow could have been right about it not being worth the risk.

  “Shut up, Keenan,” he barked.

  “Lake. Hey Lake,” Keenan called, clearly ignoring the warning in his tone.

  I warily turned in my seat to face him. “Yes?”

  “What did you do to my cousin? He looks love struck, girl.” His grin threw me off since he was supposed to hate me.

  “Um, I don’t know, but he gives a great shampoo.” I winked at Keiran and turned back around. Dash and Keenan taunted Keiran endlessly to my delight. My phone vibrated after a few minutes and I checked it.

  K: You’re going to pay for that.

  Lake: Moi? What did I do?

  K: I can’t wait to make u CUM again

  Lake: We never agreed to any of that

  K: Too late. That was the hottest shower I’ve ever had.

  I squeezed my thighs together to assuage the need.

  K: You’re squirming again…

  Lake: Maybe I’ll make u wait…

  K: Maybe I’ll make u beg 4 it…

  Lake: Oh yeah?

  K: Yeah…

  I made a big show of tossing my phone in my backpack and heard his chuckle behind me. Willow and Sheldon looked at me curiously. I shrugged absently and focused on taking notes.

  When class ended, I walked with Willow and Sheldon to the door, ready to go home. Just as I was walking out, I felt a tug on my bag. Keiran turned me around and immediately planted a deep kiss on my lips, shocking everyone around us. When he finally came up for air he glared down at me. “Where are you going?”

  “I rode with Willow.”

  “So?”

  “So…I’m going home with her.”

  “Are you asking me or telling me?”

  “I’m telling you.” The look that passed over his face would have scared me before but I held my ground. He jaw clenched and then he released me.

  “I’ll be over later.” With that he walked off and left me standing there with Willow, whose bottom lip was touching the ground.

  “Lake, what the hell just happened?” she shrieked. I looked around and noticed the many eyes that were still on me.

  “Not here. I grabbed her and rushed for the exit, wanting away from the prying eyes. I saw Keiran in the parking lot next to his car, surrounded by a ton of people. He spotted me as soon as we cleared the door and watched as we headed for Willow’s car. Just as I opened her car door he mouthed ‘behave’ and turned back around.

  * * *

  Willow shot me accusing looks the entire ride home and continued to glare at me once we got to her house. I felt like a bad child that got caught stealing cookies out the jar. “So can I say my piece or are you going to continue accusing me?”

  “I didn’t say anything,” she pouted. I rolled my eyes and started cleaning up her room, when I got tired of having a staring contest. I picked up a pair of her jeans and found Pepé sleeping under them.

  “Willow why is Pepé out of his house?” We called it a house because she was convinced Pepé disliked the word cage. Yeah that was all Willow.

  “I don’t know…he escaped?”

  “Willow your mom will have a fit if she knew he was left out.”

  “He has a soul! He doesn’t belong in a cage!” Here we go. I turned on her speakers to avoid another animal rights speech. “I’ve got a date with Derek Ryan tonight,” she blurted.

  “Dash still not talking to you?”

  “No. Who cares anyway?”

  “Willow –”

  “Nope. Not going there. He has a fiancée, remember?”

  “Do you even know if that’s really true? You know how girls like that are. They’re self-serving. They think the world belongs to them.”

  “He didn’t deny it either.”

  “You asked him? When?”

  “He snuck in Sunday night when my parents were sleep.”

  “What did he say?”

  “What do guys like that always say?” He told me his relationship with Rosalyn had nothing to do with our thing.” She let out a humorless laugh. “I asked him was I supposed to be his mistress or something and he just shrugged and said we were friends who fuck and there was nothing to talk about.”

  “Oh Willow.” I sat down on the bed next to her and hugged her.

  “You know what the worst part is about this fuckery?”

  “What?”

  “I let Dash throw away my favorite vibrator! It was special.” I laughed at her silliness. I was happy that she didn’t let Dash break her because her spirit was amazing. “So you still plan to go after Keiran and Dash, huh?”

  The way she asked instantly had me turning around to face her. “I won’t go after Dash if you don’t want me to…” She shrugged and stared down at the floor.

  “Willow?”

  “I don’t want you to go after either of them.”

  “Look, I don’t even know what I’m going to do. I just know I need to find out if he killed that girl.”

  “Why?” She finally met my gaze again but she looked truly angry now. “You don’t even know her.”

  “But she’s an innocent little girl.”

  “How do you know that? Really, Lake. How? All you have is picture. So you found a locket in his closet that looks like hers. That doesn’t mean he did it.”

  “Willow…”

  “I know how it sounds, damn it! I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I promise, I’ll be careful,” I reassured her.

  “Yeah well…promises are made to be broken.”

  Sheldon came over an hour later with news that Anya had a bounty on my head. Apparently word spread that Keiran and I were a couple now and that I stole her man. “I wouldn’t worry about Anya, she is all talk. Keiran won’t let anyone touch you anyway.”

  “I’m not worried about her. Keiran and I are just friends anyway.”

  “Sure, babe.”

  “Lake, I have to agree,” Willow chimed. “That kiss earlier didn’t look friendly. It was hot.”

  “We just have an agreement. A truce of sorts.” A truce that was a half lie but would get me what I needed. There was no way Keiran was getting away with this.

  “Uh huh and how did this agreement come about?” Sheldon asked.

  “We played basketball.” They gave me a weird look and I ran down everything that happened starting with English. I didn’t however tell them about our impromptu shower.

  “He totally hustled you, Lake.”

  “What do you mean? It was a fair game.”

  “Come on. You saw Keiran play. He used your curiosity and made the odds sound good enough that you couldn’t resist.”

  “You got played,” Willow added.

  “And if I know Keiran, he is after more than friendship.”

  “I know. He made it prett
y clear he wants sex.”

  “Are you sure you know what giving it up to Keiran will lead to?” Sheldon asked.

  “An orgasm?” I laughed.

  “Lake, Keiran is playing for keeps.”

  “He has had to fuck almost every girl at Bainbridge and then some. Does he keep all of them?”

  “Of course not. And he isn’t as big of a man whore as you may think. He’s too calculating. Most of what he does has a purpose.”

  “Like his sudden interest in me?”

  “Have you been listening? It’s always been there.”

  I didn’t understand why everyone was so convinced that Keiran has always wanted me. He has done everything in his power to convince everyone that I was an undesirable waste of space. I’ve never once been on a date because of him. I didn’t go to parties. I didn’t hang out. Up until now I had one friend. No matter how much I hid in the past, he found me. I ran and he chased. I couldn’t escape him. It was as if my pain fueled him.

  This year was supposed to be about getting through and breaking away with the hope that I would never see him again. Now I was being told that the past was a lie. It felt very real to me because I still carried the scars. After his last play on my sanity, the scars ran deeper than ever before.

  I guess I still haven’t gotten away from wearing my emotions on my face because Sheldon quickly changed the subject. “Willow what are you doing to my brother? He’s been snapping and growling at everyone. My dad put him in a chokehold when he snapped at mom. It was awesome.”

  “I took your advice. I showed him I was serious.”

  “I never doubted you were serious. I’m wondering though if you’re sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You want him, so what’s the deal?”

  “He’s engaged?”

  “Oh that.” She shrugged and answered, “He’s not engaged.”

  “Sheldon, don’t lie for him.”

  “He’s not. There was talk between our fathers about Rosalyn and Dash marrying, but that was more like matchmaker bullshit. At least for my dad it was. He called the idea off when Dash told him he wasn’t interested. Rosalyn’s dad, however, has it in his head that they made an agreement. We all know he’s just after money. His finances are failing and our family is richer, so they want to marry into the family. “

  “Are you talking about an arranged marriage? Who does that?” I interrupted. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Our families are old money so they follow a lot of old traditions and customs. My dad is more realistic and believes in marrying for love. Besides he would never make us do what we wouldn’t want to; to a point anyway.”

  “What point is that?” Willow asked.

  “Dash and dad got into an argument Sunday night about what school Dash would attend. He wants Dash at a more promising school so he can take over the family business.”

  “Dash doesn’t want to take over?”

  “He wants to. He just wants to do it his own way. Anyway the argument escalated and he disappeared for a few hours.”

  “He came here Sunday night around nine but he was only here for a few minutes. I asked him about Rosalyn and he took off.” Willow repeated the conversation to Sheldon who wasn’t surprised.

  “He didn’t mean it, Willow. He was already pissed and looking for someone to take it out on. Dash is crazy about you. He told me there was no one like you.”

  “Great. I’m his favorite toy. I’m honored.”

  Sheldon shook her head, exasperated. “You two are going to get caught in the worst way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Dash may be mad now but he isn’t letting you go and Keiran won’t let you run, Lake.”

  “How are you so sure?” I asked.

  “Because you let them in.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Rumors were spreading hard and fast. To everyone at school, I was Keiran’s girlfriend and we were the topic of everyone’s conversation. What really threw me for a loop was the birdie, by the name of Angela, who said that Keiran started the rumor.

  Willow had stopped her in the hallway one day to ask about where it came from. Angela’s exact words were “How could it be a rumor if it came straight from the horse’s mouth?” I knew then that it had to be Keiran because I didn’t say that shit.

  When I confronted Keiran, he’d only shrugged and say, “You’re mine. Now they know it.”

  To make matters worse, Anya was doing everything in her power to tarnish my reputation, which was really a pathetic attempt after being bullied by Keiran for years. I was immune to anyone else.

  Basketball season was coming, so I haven’t seen much of Keiran outside of school. He still used every opportunity to feel me up and violate me in school though. I was becoming pretty familiar with inappropriate places to do inappropriate acts.

  Keiran’s possessiveness wasn’t the only contributor to my growing frustration. Time was ticking. My aunt was due back in a few weeks and I wasn’t any closer to finding answers about the girl in the picture. A few times I came close to just asking Keiran about it but knew that would be dangerous and stupid. We may be “friends” now but he could quickly become my enemy again if I wasn’t careful.

  After many failed attempts to find anything on him, I gave in and called Jesse. He was a criminal mastermind with computers and finding things that weren't meant to be found. I even thought about asking him to find my parents but in the end decided I didn’t want to know. It would be too painful to learn they abandoned me. Maybe one day, I would have the courage to find the truth.

  The doorbell rang and I rushed to answer it. We didn’t have much time before Keiran’s practice was over and I couldn’t risk Keiran finding Jesse here or worse and find out what we were doing.

  I opened the door to find an annoyed Jesse on the other side. “Tell me what this is about and it better be good. I did ninety all the way here.”

  “Well you said you wanted to help me. This is it. Help me.”

  “So how and why does it involve my computer?” he asked as he set up his computer in the kitchen.

  “I need you to find everything you know about Keiran, especially who and where his parents are.”

  “Ok…why?”

  “I can’t explain it to you…not now.”

  “Here we go. Why not, Lake?”

  “Jesse, we don’t have a lot of time. Are you going to help me or not?”

  “Fine.” He mumbled something about bossy girls and harebrained schemes while he booted up his computer. I kissed his cheek in thanks but he batted me away.

  “When did you get so grouchy?” I teased.

  “Right around the time you started keeping secrets.”

  “Whatever, I’m going to do homework.”

  “Great, you can do mine too,” he said good-naturedly as if he had just offered to do my homework instead.

  “What?”

  “I brought Calc and Chemistry,” he said without taking his eyes off the computer.

  “You can’t be serious…”

  “I don’t joke about getting out of homework.” He took out his books and shoved them across the table.

  “This will take me all night!”

  “Thanks, babe,” he grinned at me cheekily.

  “Gosh, you can be such a bitch.” I folded my arms and glared at him across the table.

  “My, my. When did you grow claws?”

  “Sorry, Jesse. I’m just stressed.”

  “The bags under your eyes tells it all and is that a hickey?” When I got home I changed into a tank top that I was just now realizing was a little revealing. The hickey, Keiran placed at the top of my breasts, this morning, was partially peeking out of my top. The flush I couldn’t hide heated my skin and I jumped up from the table.

  “I’ll be back, scrub.” I ran upstairs to grab my homework. When I picked up my books from my desk, I saw the picture lying underneath it. Who are you?

  I rejoined Jesse downstairs and settled in for a long nig
ht of homework. Jesse had his ear buds in so I knew he was in the zone. After what felt like hours I finally finished Jesse’s homework because he really wasn’t kidding about that.

  “Lake?” he called my name with a sense of urgency even though we were sitting at the same table. “You might want to see this.” I jumped up from my seat and practically ran around the table.

  “Did you find something?” I peered down over his shoulder at the headlines he had pulled up.

  A New Heir for the Masters Fortune?

  The Masters family celebrates a new addition but it’s not the arrival of a newborn baby. Sources say John Masters, oldest son to Charles and Victoria Masters, now has care of an eight-year boy, by the name of Keiran Masters. But where did he come from? Who fathered this mysterious child?

  Is Mitch Masters the Father?

  Sources reveal that the mysterious eight-year old child is rumored to be the son of the youngest Masters heir, Mitch Masters. Could little Keiran Masters be the result of a secret love affair?

  The articles were spaced months apart, which mean there had to be more so where were they? The articles he found held little to no information…maybe that was why they weren’t buried with the others.

  “These were all I found and I had to do some heavy digging. Someone paid a lot of money to keep this a secret with little questioning,” he said, voicing my thoughts. “I can’t even find any medical records on Keiran. Or any information about the mother.”

  “What about a marriage certificate for his father?”

  “Nada. He was never married. Mitch was only twenty-five when Keiran was born.”

  “All this publicity and no hint or word of his mother?”

  “I’d thought the same so I searched court records for any history of a paternity suit or child support hearing but there was nothing at all. Without so much as a birth certificate for Keiran, his mother would be pretty hard to trace.”

  “What about school records? He was eight when he came into John’s care so he must have been in school.”