Noah sucks in a deep breath, releasing Rivers in the same instance. His eyes flick between his sister and his best friend and it’s clear he’s lost control. Noah glances at me and there’s a desperation in his eyes that tears me apart.
I squeeze my way between the two boys, facing Noah and looking up into his wild eyes. I take his shoulder and push him back a few steps. “Come on,” I whisper. “That’s enough.”
“I could kill him,” he seethes, breathing hard and looking over my shoulder at Rivers with a deep betrayal in his eyes.
“He’s your best friend,” I remind him, holding on to him as tight as I possibly can, desperate to keep him grounded.
“He’s a stranger,” Noah spits. “After all these years, he’s nothing but a stranger.”
Noah shakes me off and within the blink of an eye he’s dropping down into his Camaro. I race after him. “Where are you goi-”
The sound of his engine cuts me off, but I have a feeling it’s a question I’m never going to find the answer to. Hell, I’m sure he doesn’t even know the answer himself.
A hand falls to my shoulder and I look back at Tully. “Don’t worry. He just needs some space. He’ll be back in a few hours ready to talk it through.”
“I know,” I sigh. “I just don’t like to see him hurting.”
“Me neither,” she tells me. “He’ll come around.”
With that, we get back to the issue at hand and turn to face Rivers to find him spitting out a mouthful of blood and running a hand over his cut up and reddening face. Tully takes a deep breath as her eyes lock onto his, but he beats her to the punch line. “Spencer?” he questions in disgust but a hint of betrayal seeps in there which has me raising a brow at his audacity.
That was probably the worst thing he could have said to her right now, especially in that accusing tone.
“Excuse me?” Tully seethes, stepping in front of him and looking up into his stormy, dark eyes. “You disappear for three fucking months, after telling me you love me and leaving me in the hospital without so much of an explanation, and come back assuming you have the right to know who I’ve been fucking while you’ve been gone?”
Rivers’ jaw clenches and it’s clear he realizes the error of his ways. “Why him?”
“Because he’s not you,” she spits. “We’re through.”
Damn. That would have stung.
Tully turns and walks away but he catches her elbow, forcing her back to him. She spins around, her hand flying around with her before it lands with a sharp slap across his face. “Don’t.”
She tugs her arm free and all I can do is watch. I mean, damn, her palm is certainly getting a lot more action than she bargained for tonight. She strides towards the house, fighting back tears, desperate not to let them fall.
As she disappears inside and slams the door behind her, I’m left staring at the guy who changed it all. His decision to leave affected us all in a way we could have never predicted. Had he been here, I would have had my questions about Gina answered, I would have known the truth about the video blast straight away, Noah wouldn’t have had to work alone for Anton and he would have had his back when Anton came for him, Tully’s heart would have been safe, and I would have had my brother by my side.
Rivers stares at me before giving me a tight smile. “I’m assuming you have the shits with me too?”
I raise a brow. “Well, that depends on how you answer my next question.” His brows furrow and I make my way towards him so I can look up into his eyes and study his reaction. Rivers waits patiently as the nerves instantly take over. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for and I’m terrified that I’m not going to like the answer. “Did you know all this time that Gina Rivers was my mother?”
His face falls as he studies me looking sick but mostly panicked. “How do you know that name?”
“Did you know?” I repeat, raising my voice and not liking the way this is going.
Rivers lets out a sigh and shakes his head. “No. That’s not true,” he says, searching my eyes in confusion. “It’s not true.”
“You really don’t know, do you?”
“You’re lying,” he accuses, stepping back from me, clearly not wanting to believe what’s coming out of my mouth. “I would have known if my mother had another kid. It’s not just something you don’t know.”
“How could you?” I question. “You were only a baby yourself. You’re only a year older than me. She gave me away when I was a few days old. As a baby, you wouldn’t have had any idea that your mom was pregnant.”
“I don’t understand what the fuck is going on right now.”
I let out a sigh and indicate to the steps of the front porch. “Come on,” I tell him, turning and heading for the steps. “You and I have a lot to talk about.”
“Clearly,” he grunts, following behind me, but there’s a clear hesitation in the way he walks. Though maybe it just a limp from taking one too many of Noah’s hits. “Then maybe you can explain to me how the fuck you let my girl get caught up with a guy like Spencer.”
“Hey,” I demand, dropping down on the bottom step. “That shit is on you, not me. Besides, the guy makes her smile and after the way you left her, that’s all I could ask for.”
“It was bad, wasn’t it?”
“You tore her to pieces,” I tell him. “She was absolutely shattered. It was so much worse than the time you pushed her away after sleeping with her. Honestly, I’d be surprised if she ever gave you the time of day again. You have a lot to make up for if you want her in your life.”
“But that’s why I left,” he says with a pained groan. “Tully needs to get away from me. She needs a chance to move on.”
“You realize you’re perfect for her, right? Your mother doesn’t define who you are. You’re better than that.”
“You really think she’s your mom too?” he questions.
“No, I know,” I tell him. “Right after you left, my dad told me the truth. I could have really used having you around to help me piece it together, but without you here, I had no choice but to go and see her. It’s true, Rivers. You’re my half-brother.”
He sits in silence, staring at the pavement before him. “You went to see her?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure?” he finally questions. “You’re her kid?”
“One hundred percent sure,” I tell him. “The only thing I haven’t been able to work out is how you didn’t know. I look just like her, like spitting image, Rivers. How could you not see the similarities? The resemblance?”
At that, he turns to look at me, really studying my face and taking it in. The curves of my jaw, the shape of my nose, my forehead. He shakes his head, more confused than before. “I…I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in over six years and back then she died her hair dark brown and would wear all that black eye makeup. She was too skinny and never around. She was a disgrace and I hated her. I never took notice of the details of her face because she never allowed me close enough and it got to a stage where I didn’t want to be close. I spoke maybe five words to her in the two years before she went away.”
I shake my head, my mind reeling with what he’s telling me. “I can’t begin to understand what your upbringing must have been like.”
“I guess you’re the lucky one she threw away, then.”
“Guess so,” I tell him as a strange relief pulses through me, realizing that after all this time, he really didn’t know. He was never keeping this secret from me and I feel myself yearning to trust him once again. Maybe our pack can be whole after all.
“You know what she did to land herself in prison, right?”
“Uh-huh, and I know that your name is Samuel and that you were the one to put her away.”
“Shit,” he sighs. “I’m assuming Tully and Noah know all this too?”
I cringe. “Yeah, I mean, how could they not? They’re our pack and keeping secrets from them isn’t helping us. You should have told them about your mom years
ago. They would have understood and you wouldn’t have had to hide yourself from them.”
“Trust me, it’s so much more than my mom. My life isn’t good and they’d be smart to stay far, far away from it.”
"Let me guess, because your father wants you to take over the family business one day?”
Rivers head whips around to me with wide eyes. “Excuse me?” he says. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“We’ve had a busy three months here without you,” I tell him. “Believe me, finding out about our mother was just the beginning.”
“You need to start talking right fucking now.”
“Where from? Before or after we found out that you knew Alyssa had sent that video of me and you said nothing about it?”
His face scrunches up with a cringe as he looks to me with regret. “Shit, I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the ass.”
“You could have told me. You know, a quick message that said, ‘Alyssa did it,’ would have been fine.”
“I’m sorry,” he says. “It wasn’t easy finding time to use my phone and when I could…I didn’t know what the fuck to say.”
“It’s ok,” I tell him. “I get why you left and I’ve accepted that. It’s the other two that are still hurting. After all, you’re my brother now. We’re family, and besides, it’s not like I can hold a grudge forever.”
“It’s going to take a while for me to get used to that,” he says before letting out a heavy breath. “So, Gina told you about my dad then?”
“No, that happened when Noah found out that Anton never actually paid for Lily’s treatment.”
“What?” he grunts, looking appalled. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
I shake my head. “I wish I was, but are you really surprised? Taking advantage of an emotional, eleven year old kid and forcing him into a life he never wanted sounds exactly like something he’d do.”
“That fucking bastard,” Rivers roars in outrage. “I should have known.”
“You were just a kid too,” I remind him. “Noah cut off all ties with him and stopped showing up for those jobs, so eventually Anton came looking. He brought some thug here and questioned Tully. He hurt her and that’s when Noah lost it. He knocked him out cold in the middle of the street after Anton pulled a gun on him.”
“Fuck, he hurt her? He didn’t. Tell me he didn’t.”
“Yeah…he did. Noah handled it, then handed Anton’s gun to the cops while he was at it.”
“Anton wouldn’t have taken kindly to that.”
"He didn’t,” I tell him. "He had his men break into their home in the middle of the night and ransacked it, looking for the gun and then kidnapped me when he wasn’t getting any answers. We really could have used you around, Rivers. You picked a really shitty time to try to better yourself.”
“Fuck, ok. I get it. I fucked up, but I don’t fucking regret it. I did what I had to do and one day, you’re all going to understand that.” Rivers drops his face into his hands. "What happened then, after he took you?”
"You see, that’s the weird part. He recruited Rocko an-”
“I fucking knew it,” he says. “I knew Rocko was bad fucking news. That son of a bitch. I can’t believe I let Tully date that loser.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, rolling my eyes while trying to hold back a grin. “You were right for the first time in your life. Now, shut up. I need to finish telling you this shit so I can go and check on Tully.”
“Fine,” he says. “Go on.”
“So, Anton had Rocko drag me into the woods and that’s when he told me that he was releasing Noah.”
"What?” Rivers grunts. "What do you mean ‘releasing’ him?”
“He let him go. He said that he could see that he’d done wrong by Noah and was going to leave him alone, you know, as long as he keeps his mouth shut. Then he talked a bit about Gina and asked me where you were because his son had fallen off the face of the earth.”
Rivers face scrunches up in a cringe. “You really do know, huh?”
“Yep. I know it all. It’s been a very…informative few months.” I push up to my feet and squeeze his shoulder. “Despite all the shit that comes along with it, it’s nice to have you back.”
“Thanks. At least someone is happy to see me.”
“They’ll come around,” I tell him, walking to the door. “Just give them a little time.”
Chapter 14
Tully – Where are you? Wanna do something?
Henley – I don’t know. It’s too freaking hot to go out.
Tully – Rivers isn’t here. I was going to hide some old seafood in Rivers’ car and wait for the afternoon sun to hit it.
Henley – Fuck! He’s going to be furious! I’ll be there in ten. Don’t forget to slip some between the air-conditioning vents.
Tully – There’s nothing quite like the smell of revenge!!!
Henley – If we go down by the old boardwalk, I’m sure we could find a dead rat or two, but I ain’t touching that shit!
Tully – I knew there was a reason I’ve kept you around!
I laugh to myself as I read over her text. It feels wrong. After all, the guy is my brother, but he hurt her heart and if this is going to make her feel as though she’s healing, then I’m all for it.
After talking with Rivers yesterday and sorting out Tully and Noah, the boys finally decided to talk. Things aren’t great between the males of our pack but they’ve been reconnecting over Rivers’ car that’s been sitting outside their house since the accident.
Rivers is wanting to piece it back together and naturally, Noah is more than happy to help him out. If it was me though, I’d probably just scrap it and buy a brand new one. I mean, there’s no way he can save that shit.
That car is going to take months and months to fix up and Rivers isn’t going to be here to do it. In my opinion, it’s not worth trying to save. He’s going to be away with more training and then most likely deployed. It could be years before he gets a chance to put the time and effort into fixing it.
Tully being the stubborn woman I know and love refused to come out of her bedroom last night despite hearing the boys reconnecting through the paper thin walls. Her TV got louder and louder, desperately trying to tune them out until Violet came knocking and forced her to turn it off. Tully put up a fight and it ended with Violet unplugging the television and storming off with it.
What can I say? It was an eventful night and literally none of our plans went as we had thought. Noah was supposed to race and that sure as hell didn’t happen. I still haven’t had a chance to ask him where the hell he went during his disappearing act, but the only thing that mattered is that he returned ready to hear out his friend.
Tully and I received texts from Spencer and Aiden both of whom skipped the races and went straight for the after party, begging us to come as we originally had planned, but neither of us were in the mood.
Rivers came knocking at her door a few times during the night and she ignored him each and every time. But what was he expecting? He shredded her to pieces. She was never going to roll over and accept that. If he wants her in his life then he’s going to have to fight for it and earn her trust back. Though, I don’t know how he expects to do that when he’s only here for ten days before he’s due to go to the next stage of his training.
I listened through the wall as Rivers told Noah all about boot camp and from what he was describing, it was absolute hell. Though something tells me that’s exactly what Rivers needed and hoped for, and from seeing the way he was walking around a little taller, I dare say it paid off.
Maybe now he can see that there’s a way out of the darkness.
No matter what, he has me now, not just as part of his pack but as his family. No matter what, I won’t let him down. But…having said that, it doesn’t mean that I’m above a little payback in the form of old seafood to make him suffer.
I grab my phone and car keys before skipping out of my bedroom. It’s freaking h
ot today so I’ve been staying inside. The plan was to get a little studying in for my history exam on Monday but clearly that’s going to have to wait.
Summer is quickly approaching and I can’t believe the school year is nearly through. We have finals, prom, then graduation and we’re out of here. If this weather is anything to go by, I’ll be spending my summer as a sweaty mess on the beach.
Senior year has gone by so damn fast. I can hardly believe the things that have happened since that first day of school last fall. I can’t wait to get out of here, as hopefully that means the drama can back the fuck off. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
Though to be fair, most of the drama is now over. At least, I hope it is. All the dirty little secrets have been aired, cheerleaders have been put in their place and have stayed there, and nearly everyone I love has ended up in the hospital.
How much more of this can I take before I lose my mind?
I get Frog fed and disappear out the door, more than excited about playing a few little pranks on Rivers. I mean, why stop at just the seafood? After all, he massively broke her heart. We should be going balls to the wall all out.
It's just past midday when I pull up at Noah and Tully's place. She had only messaged me less than fifteen minutes ago, but half the day is already gone. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten last night until Tully had fallen asleep mid conversation. That's when I decided it was probably best that I get myself home. I'd slept half the day away and woke up to find the sun was busy trying to scorch the earth. I hope to God that Tully and Noah have turned on the air-conditioning or I might just melt.
I make my way inside and the very first thing I see is Tully standing in the living room, a devilish smirk on her lips, and a bag of what I'm assuming is the seafood in her hands.
"'Bout time you showed up," she tells me. "I feel like I've been waiting a lifetime for this."
Undeniable: Haven Falls (Book 5) Page 14
