Tortured (Cherry Grove Series Book 4)

by Cole Lepley

  “Yeah?”

  There’s a pause.

  “Um, Tess. It’s Phil down at The Watering Hole. I have Perry here and I know it’s late but I also know he’s on parole so…”

  His rambling voice trails off and I get an instant headache. I press my fingertips into my temple.

  “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

  I end the call and throw my legs over the side of the bed. Leave it to Perry to violate his parole and my sleep at the same time. I’m still so furious with him I can’t figure out why I’m scrambling around for something to wear. After assessing my wrecked face in the mirror, I smear on some concealer and mascara. Next, I rummage through my laundry basket for some decent looking jeans and grab my favorite grey hoodie. He can’t expect miracles at two in the morning.

  I lock all the deadbolts on the door and make my way into the street. I could drive the three blocks over to the bar, but it seems like a waste. Besides, it may be amusing to watch Perry stumble home.

  Walking fast, I arrive in under five minutes. I spot him immediately, slumped over at the end of the bar. He has his signature mixer clutched in his hand, with one leg planted on the floor.

  Phil nods to me when I step inside. I walk over and lean into him.

  “He’s been here since a little after seven. I didn’t have the heart to turn him away with all that he’s going through and stuff.” He runs a bar rag across the counter and nods to Perry. “When I asked him who to call, he said you.”

  My eyes widen. After the conversation we had the other day, why in the hell would Perry have someone call me? I force a smile.

  “I’ll get him home. Thanks for not calling the cops.”

  Phil waves me off. “Perry’s family around here. What he did time for was bullshit. Any one of us would have done the same thing.”

  I keep my features even. True, Perry served time for protecting his sister from an abusive asshole, but the other crimes he got away with brought us all down.

  I walk over to Perry, and he lifts his head up just before I reach him.

  He smiles a stupid grin. “You came?”

  “Of course I came. Apparently, I’m your emergency contact.”

  He chuckles and almost falls off his stool. I place my hand on his shoulder to steady him. He covers my hand with his and looks into my eyes. “You’re always there for me, Tess.”

  For a second I have to make sure my mouth isn’t hanging open. Did he just call me Tess?

  I brush it off and pull him off the stool. “You ready to go champ? I think these are the kinds of places you’re supposed to avoid.”

  Perry attempts to stand, but then grabs both my arms. His bloodshot eyes meet mine again and I can’t look away. There’s so much pain in them it tears at my own shattered heart.

  “I did something bad tonight.”

  I run my hand along his head to soothe him. “We all do bad things, Perry. The important thing is that we know they were wrong, so we don’t do them again.”

  He bites his lip, looking away from me. “I will.”

  “You will what?”

  He turns back to me, his eyes darkened. “I’ll do it again.”

  I put my arm under his shoulder. “Okay, let’s get out of here. Let me help you.”

  He drapes his arm over my shoulder and we walk in a semi-straight line. We make it a few steps and he stops, reaching for his wallet.

  Phil shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Perry. We’re square.”

  Perry thanks him before I drag him into the street. He pulls away from me and leans on the brick wall. I cross my arms.

  “Care to explain to me what that was about?”

  He’s bent over, one arm resting on the wall, the other dangling down at his side.

  I raise an eyebrow. “Perry? Are you going to be sick?”

  Before I can get all the words out, Perry vomits a stream of brown liquid down the side of the building. I cover my face and turn away as the sounds of him retching makes me queasy. Just when I think he’s done, he starts all over again. I wasn’t even sure a person could consume that much liquid.

  When I hear his ragged breathing, I turn back to look at him. He has good aim, hit the wall perfectly and missed his clothes completely. I reach into my bag and pull out a scarf that I never want returned.

  “Here,” I say, handing it to him. He takes it from me without looking up and wipes his mouth. His lips turn up when he opens his eyes and sees what it is.

  “Smells like you,” he slurs.

  “And it’s my favorite scarf too, so you’re lucky.”

  He gives a lop-sided grin. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

  My frustration mounts when I think of the appointment I have scheduled at nine in the morning. “Do you think you can walk now?”

  He looks to his car parked along the street and back to me. “It’s like… um, five miles.”

  “No, dumbass. To my house. The shop is three blocks over. You can stay in the spare room until you sober up.”

  His face goes white, and he looks like he might be sick again. “I don’t think… I mean, that doesn’t sound like…”

  I grab him by the sleeve of his hoodie and pull him forward. “You don’t have a choice. You don’t have to talk to me, but I will get you into a bed safely before you get arrested.” I point my finger into his chest. “Do you understand?”

  I enunciate each word for him and he nods.

  We start walking again and I keep a tight grip on his sleeve. When we round the corner my hand slips away and instead of grabbing his sleeve again, he grabs my hand first. I let him lace his fingers with mine if that’s what it’s going to take to get him to keep moving. The next two blocks go on without any more complications as we come to a stop at the entrance of my shop.

  I release his hand and reach in my bag from my keys.

  “You shouldn’t be out alone at night, Bishop,” Perry says looking around. “This a shady part of town.”

  I laugh under my breath as I start with the top lock. “Thank you for your concern.”

  He grabs my shoulder, so I turn my head to look at him. The expression he has is so serious for as drunk as he is. “I mean it, Bishop. You’re a small girl. Someone could overtake you easily.”

  I keep on the other three locks, ignoring his statement. When I push the door open, I motion him inside first.

  “You know the way,” I say with a nod to the stairs.

  He walks a few steps and then pauses with his hand on the railing. “Are you coming up?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be up in a minute.”

  Perry grips the railing and then makes his way up the stairs. When I hear all the doors open and close like they should, I take a seat on the over-sized chair by the window. I reach into my bag and pull out my phone, scrolling to my saved messages. My finger pauses on the one I listen to the most. I squeeze my eyes shut and hold it to my ear after pressing play.

  “… Hey baby. I’m running a little late tonight but I should be home soon. God, I miss you. How did I get so lucky to have you forever? I can’t wait to see you. I love you…”

  As soon as the audio ends, I play it again.

  And again.

  My hoodie is soaked with tears by the time I finally stop.

  When I’ve had enough, I scroll down to another number and hit send. It goes straight to voicemail, but I don’t have the heart to turn it off.

  “… Hey, you’re reached Walker. You know what to do. Hang up and text me. Hahaha!...”

  There was a time when I thought that message was stupid; it drove me crazy. And now every time I hear it, it makes me cry.

  I shut off my phone and stare up at the ceiling where Perry is no doubt passed out somewhere on the floor. I’m almost afraid to see what he’s doing. Somehow, I find the courage to get up and climb the stairs. When I open the door, he’s curled on the couch, one hand and one leg on the floor. And they say you never learn anything in college?

  Instead of waking him, I grab a blan
ket off the back of the couch and drape it over him. He stirs and mumbles something incoherent.

  “Go to sleep, Perry,” I whisper.

  He shifts on his side and with his eyes still closed he says, “I slept with Sloan.”

  “What else is new,” I tease.

  His eyes open and his expression turns serious. “No, I slept with Sloan last night.”

  I clasp my hand over my mouth and take the seat beside him. “Perry, she’s engaged. How could you?”

  “That’s not the worst part.”

  I turn to him, accusation in my tone. “What could be worse than that?”

  “She left her ring on my dresser.”

  6

  Kiss Me

  Tess- Then

  It’s late evening now, and Sloan has yet to make an appearance. Perry had been sulking about it all day, regardless of how he tried to play it off. He disappeared with Jeremy a couple hours ago for reasons that were unclear. They said they had some errands to run and they would be right back. Thankfully, I’ve had Walker to keep me company. We spent the day out on the ski doo’s and are now cuddled up by the fire.

  Sharing a blanket with Walker or Perry would be nothing to me. We’ve grown up together, shared secrets, ate off of each other—did everything together. But now, the older we get, the blurrier the lines between male and female friendship seem to be. You could go into it with the best intentions, but someone always gets hurt.

  That’s what I like about Perry. He’s so wrapped up in Sloan that I doubt I even enter his radar. Besides, how to do you compete with perfection? I mean, her attitude is total shit, but she looks like a real-life Barbie doll. Shiny blonde hair, long, toned legs, perfect white smile—she even has that voice girls like her always do. Sweet with just a little hint of bitch that makes all the guys swoon. I tried to talk like her once, and the only thing I did was convince Perry I had a cold.

  Then there’s Walker. I’ve had a suspicion from time to time he may be into me. It’s the way he stares at me when he thinks I’m not looking, or the subtle compliments he gives me when I’m obviously feeling insecure. Walker wouldn’t even come in second in the looks department compared to Perry. Walker is insanely hot. He has the right amount of muscle to not be too bulky, light green eyes that sparkle when he gets excited about something, and sandy brown hair that curls up at the ends. He probably just needs a haircut, but I think it’s adorable, anyway.

  I feel him grab a piece of my hair and I shoot him a look.

  “What are you doing?”

  He takes his time scrutinizing the color. “I was wondering why you dye it black. Jeremy’s hair is very light brown, almost dirty blond even.”

  I pull my hair from his hands and smooth it back down on my shoulders. “Because, I don’t want to be another dumb blonde. I want to stand out for my personality, not for the way I look.”

  Walker wets his lips and leans into my ear. “Tess, even if you dyed your hair purple and shaved one side, you’d still be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in real life.”

  I cock an eyebrow. “Be serious.”

  “I am,” he says, leaning closer. He tucks a fallen strand behind my ear and kisses my cheek. “The personality thing is a bonus. Not everyone gets to fall for their best friend.”

  Suddenly, my lips become very dry. Is Walker flirting with me?

  “Walker, are you saying you like me?”

  He nods, his lips brushing over mine.

  “What about Jeremy?” I whisper, feeling the softness of his bottom lip once more.

  “I think he’ll be okay with it.”

  “How do you know?”

  He threads his fingers in the back of my hair and pulls me even closer. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  That’s when he really kisses me. Not just any kiss. Fireworks exploded inside of me. It’s slow at first, but then I open my mouth and he tilts his head. He tickles my bottom lip with the tip of his tongue before pushing it all the way inside. By this point, I have both hands fisted in his hair and am practically sitting on his lap. The soft hums that erupt from his throat are telling me I’m doing something right.

  I could kiss Walker forever. The way he cups my face so gently, like he cherishes every touch, every second. He has no idea this is my very first one—and I’ll never forget it.

  After Walker kisses the life out of me for a solid hour, we decide we need a drink. He wraps the blanket around me before walking up to the cabin to get beers. The ones in the cooler are long gone by now. I’m not even sure I should still be drinking. It’s not something I do very often.

  He returns with a smile on his face, handing one to me first and kissing the side of my head.

  My mind immediately goes to a place of doubt as I pick on the label of my bottle. “Walker, this doesn’t have to be anything. I don’t want any trouble with Jer.”

  Walker’s eyebrows pull in. “You think I said those things just so I could kiss you?”

  I shrug.

  He scoots over on the log until our legs are touching. He grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. “I like you Tess, like a lot. If anyone, it was me that was nervous. You’re so… beautiful, I mean look at you.”

  He holds his other hand out around me and I feel my cheeks flush. I lean my shoulder into his and sway him sideways. “Stop it, Walker.”

  “No, I mean it.” He lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles. “It’ll be worth the fight with Jeremy if you’ll go out with me.”

  “Like, you want to go out on a date or something?”

  Walker laughs, and it’s the sweetest sound. “Yeah, that and I want you to be my girl.”

  “You want me to be your girlfriend?”

  He grabs the sides of my face and kisses me. “Yes, Tess. Be my girlfriend.” He smiles that ear-splitting grin and I can’t help but do the same.

  “Okay,” I say in a small voice.

  “Okay?” He cocks his head. “I think you can do better than that.”

  I scoff. “You want me to shout from the rooftops that I now belong to Walker Summers?”

  He shrugs and then steals a quick kiss. “It’s a start.”

  I shove him backwards and he almost falls off the log. He rights himself, laughing. “Okay, I’m kidding. But it would be really fucking amazing.”

  I lean in and kiss him again, because honestly now I can’t stop. I think I want this as much as he does, and I didn’t even know it. It feels right, and yet, I’m still nervous. This will be my first everything.

  “How about a simple yes for now and we’ll work our way up to a public display of devotion?”

  He kisses me back, harder. “Deal.”

  We get lost in kissing each other again, when headlights from several large vehicles blind us from above.

  Walker holds his arm up to shield his eyes.

  “Who is it?” I ask, doing the same.

  Thankfully, the lights shut off and the owners of the vehicles pile out one by one. The first person I notice is Johnny Tate. Sloan must have brought the party to us. I’m sure Perry is going to be thrilled about this.

  The second thing I notice is how much Sloan is stumbling around. She can barely stand in her wedge sandals and shorts so short if she bends over any further we’ll all know for sure she’s not a natural blonde.

  Johnny helps Sloan down through the yard while she obnoxiously calls for Perry. I stand up from my seat.

  “He’s not here, Sloan.”

  She sneers at me, pulling out a tube of lip gloss. “Well, where is he? I called like five times.”

  I watch her smear the sticky pink goo all over her lips with surprising precision. Must be something girls like her are taught.

  “I don’t know. He went somewhere with Jeremy. Should be back soon.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Okay, then.” She turns back to the entourage of guys and girls she brought with her. “Put the keg over there and you can set up the table under the deck.”

  I grab her arm and she tur
ns back to me with disdain.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I ask.

  She laughs. “Having a party, duh.”

  She attempts to turn away from me again, but I tighten my grip. “Perry is going to freak out you invited all these people here.”

  She shrugs me off. “Please, Tess. I only invited the important ones.” She looks around the campfire with disinterest. “Besides, this party is looking pretty lame.”

  “It’s not supposed to be a party, Sloan. We just came to hang out for the weekend,” I say through my teeth.

  “Boring,” she says in a sing-song voice. She holds her hand out, and a cup appears, filled to the rim. “Thank you, Johnny,” she smiles back at him.

  He gives her a once over. “Any time, girl.”

  Okay, I’ve seen enough. We need to find Perry before this gets any more out of control. The last thing we need is for him to show up and catch his girlfriend falling all over some douchebag at his own party.

  I grab Walker by the shirt and drag him down by the dock. “We need to find them.”

  “I can’t leave you alone here.” He looks around at the increasing number of people showing up and then back to me.

  I pull my phone out of my pocket. “Call Jer. He’ll know what to do.”

  Walker nods and dials his number. I hold my breath while I wait. I’ve seen Perry lose his temper a couple times before and it’s not something you look forward to. Especially when it involves Sloan.

  7

  Breaking Bad

  Perry- Then

  The thing about good ideas is they usually get you in trouble. When I walked into the bedroom two hours ago, there was three pounds of weed on the bed. Now I’m riding back to the cabin in the golf cart with my pockets stacked and a few loose joints.

  Jeremy got the idea when he overpaid for a bag last week. Not that we’re avid pot smokers, but we enjoy the recreational toke from time to time. Apparently he met this guy who could hook us up if we bought in bulk. I’m not very good at math, but I’m pretty sure he inadvertently made us drug dealers. We sold all three pounds in under an hour.