Tortured (Cherry Grove Series Book 4)

by Cole Lepley

  A girl like Sloan needs constant attention to feel important. That would explain why when Perry got in trouble, waiting for him was out of the question. I can only hope that he’s smart enough to realize that. He never did when we were kids, but there’s always hope people can change. I hope he did.

  9

  Love Robbery

  Perry- Now

  I make it to the dealership only five minutes late. This isn’t anything new for me, so it won’t raise any eyebrows. I will, however, have to explain why I missed dinner last night and never came home. Even though I’m twenty-three, I still feel like a child living next door to my parents. I need my own place. I wish I could get a decent job to facilitate that. All the money we made is already spoken for. I’m just waiting for the right time to make the drop.

  I’m just finishing up detailing Mrs. Jensen’s Lincoln when I see my dad waving me into his office through the glass window. With a sigh, I drop my rag and walk over.

  When I step in his office, he’s pacing behind his desk. Never a good sign.

  “What’s up?”

  His eyes meet mine and I already regret this conversation.

  “Is there a reason you didn’t show up for dinner last night?”

  I cross my arms and lean in the doorway. “I got busy.”

  He laughs once. “Busy, huh? Your mother was really looking forward to you coming. I know you’re right next door but she would like it if you spent some more time with the family.”

  This causes me to laugh. “Why? So you can keep an eye on me?”

  “No,” he says defensively. “We do like to see you from time to time. Working with you and spending quality time are two different things.”

  “So quality time for you involves sitting in awkward silence over a meal? Sorry, I had other plans.”

  I turn to walk out of the room and he stops me with his voice. Saying my name in a manner I’ve been accustomed to. Anger and disappointment.

  “I’m not finished yet.”

  I pause, not turning around. “Well, I got work to do.”

  “That can wait. Sit down and close the door.”

  He uses his authoritative dad tone, which hardly ever comes out, so I concede. I sit in the chair across from his desk and fold my hands in my lap. “I’m all ears.”

  His eyes flare in annoyance. “Why do you always have to be such a smartass?” With a sigh, he takes a seat as well. “I got a call from Phil this morning saying that you closed the bar down last night. You know you’re not supposed to be in there until you complete your classes.”

  One of the many drawbacks of living in a small town. Everyone is always in your fucking business.

  “I know. I only have two left.”

  “So, don’t mess up now. You lose your temper and get in a fight, you’ll be thrown right back in prison. Is that what you want?”

  I grit my teeth. “You know it’s not.”

  He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, looking me over. “I know I said you and Sloan had a history, but I didn’t mean you should try to start things up with her again.”

  I can’t hold my barely contained rage in anymore. I stand up from my chair. “I’m done with this conversation. What I choose to do with my life, is my choice.”

  “You’re right. It is your choice. I’m trying to make sure you make the right choices.”

  I throw my arms out. “And what’s that’s supposed to mean?”

  “Every time you’re with her you start acting like an asshole. It’s like that girl takes every rational part of your brain and scrambles it so you can’t think clearly. You have a chance to make your life better now. Don’t waste it over some girl who obviously doesn’t care about what happens to you.”

  There really is no response to that. It’s true that Sloan hasn’t always been the best girlfriend, but I have to believe that her intentions, for the most part, come from a place of love. She wouldn’t keep coming back if she didn’t love me.

  I nod tersely and turn for the door again. “Good talk, Dad. I can always count on you to be on my side.”

  Without another word, I slam the door behind me. So much for quality time.

  Tess’s shop closes at eight so I arrive a little before. She’s in the back cleaning up her supplies when I stroll through the front door. She must have changed at some point, because her hair is curled in ringlets down her back and the red lipstick she has on matches her halter top. She looks like a fifties pin-up model.

  “I hear you walking around back there,” Tess calls to me over her shoulder. She gives me a quick smile. “I’m almost finished and then we can talk.”

  I walk around the counter to the back and take a seat in one of her chairs. I grip the handrails with a grin. “Have time for one more?”

  She raises an eyebrow. “You want a new tat?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately.”

  Tess leans back on her stool and surveys my body. “What did you have in mind?” Her hand travels down my arm that I have almost completely covered. “You don’t have much room left.”

  I grab her wrist and flip it over. My fingers trail along the tattoo we all share. “I want to get one that means something.”

  She watches me trace the edges of her tattoo and sadness flashes in her eyes. “Walker was so excited when he got that tattoo gun.”

  I laugh, removing my hand from her. “Yeah, I was pretty fucking nervous to let him at me with that thing.” I turn my own wrist over. “He did a good job though. It’s still my favorite.”

  Tess appears thoughtful for a moment before she speaks. “Why didn’t you ever do it full-time?”

  My eyebrows pull in. “Do what?”

  “Tattooing, I mean. You only worked with us one day a week and I swear you had more clients than both of us combined.” She gives a pointed look. “I know you hate working with your dad. It can’t be because you want to be a part of the family business.”

  My lips purse. “It’s not that…”

  I let my words trail off because I don’t know how to answer her. The reason I tried to distance myself toward the end had nothing to do with my passion for this career. It was about doing what was best for all of us.

  She shoves me in the arm. “Come on. You’re the best artist I know. No one can free hand like you do.”

  I laugh again. I was the one who drew our first tattoo and Jeremy was the first to receive it. He was too nervous for Walker to try, so he made me do it. Why he trusted me more, I’ll never know.

  “I need to do something. My dad is driving me fucking crazy.” I sit up straighter and run my hand along my head roughly. “He thinks Sloan is a bad idea.”

  Tess lets out a dark chuckle. “Yeah, when is Sloan a good idea? You honestly think she lost sleep while you were gone? No, she shacked up with Johnny the moment you left and hasn’t looked back. Now for some reason she wants to play with you again.” She leans forward and meets my eyes. “Because you let her.”

  “I love her…”

  “Oh, you want to love her. I don’t know why, but you’ve spent all your entire relationship trying to please her. It’s not supposed to be like that.” She takes a shaky breath. “It wasn’t like that with Walker. He never made me feel like I came second and he always made sure I felt safe. You deserve that too.”

  I turn my head and look over her shoulder. At this point I’m not sure what I deserve. It’s true Sloan has done a lot of shitty things to me, but what can I expect when I haven’t exactly been living straight?

  I pat her leg. “Okay, Bishop. I hear you.”

  She slaps me with a rag. “I hope so. You’re the most stubborn man I’ve met.”

  I smile, but a nagging feeling keeps pulling at me. “You still mad at me?”

  She gives me a hard look and crosses her arms. “I’m furious with you, but as mad as that is, I miss you more. Having you here makes everything seem less broken.”

  When i
t looks like she’s about to cry, I pull her over to me and wrap my arms around her. She has no idea what a relief it is to hear her say that. I can lose a lot of things, but I can’t lose Tess.

  Taking a jog through the neighborhood the next morning seemed like a good idea. My level of physical activity has been lacking since I got out, and I can already feel myself losing mass. I need to find a gym. Maybe it can help with some of my other frustrations as well.

  As soon as the thought leaves my mind, a blonde ponytail comes jogging around the corner. Sloan smiles warmly at first and then she recognizes me. She pulls her earbuds out and gets a concerned look on her face.

  “Perry,” she breathes.

  I stop in my tracks, resting my hands on my hips. “Why him?”

  She looks taken aback. “What?”

  I throw my arms up and let them fall heavily at my sides. “Johnny. Why marry him?”

  Sloan shuffles on her feet, looking up and down the sidewalk before turning back to me.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say. I did what I thought felt right.”

  “And now?”

  “Now what?” she asks, a slight edge to her voice.

  I grit my teeth. She is so frustrating sometimes. Well, it’s actually most of the time, but right now she’s really pissing me the fuck off.

  “Does it still feel right? You want to marry that douchebag?”

  She crosses her arms. “He did ask.”

  I laugh once. “Oh, you wanted a proposal Sloan?” I take a step closer, invading her space. “When was I supposed to do that, huh? After I buried my best friend or before I went to prison? Cause you see, babe, things haven’t exactly been falling into place for me.”

  She cranes her neck back to look up at me. “And whose fault is that? Every choice you made was yours alone. I tried to get you to go to college with me, be something other than some wannabe thug growing up in suburbia. It’s exciting when we’re young, but what’s it got to take to get you to realize that’s no way to live your life?”

  I place my hand on the side of her face and lean my forehead to hers and whisper, “I’m trying to make up for that.”

  Her hand grips my wrist and I can see the struggle in her eyes. “He’ll never mean to me what you do. I know that may be hard to believe considering my track record with you, but you’re always the one that I want.” She sighs, dropping her hand. “I just don’t know how to be with you now.”

  We stare at each other for a moment, letting everything sink in. Sloan is right. No matter how much time passes we are still this entity that can’t be denied. Fucked up, yes. Completely irrational, hell yes. But wrong? I’m not so sure.

  10

  Smoke Clouds

  Perry- Then

  The first day of school is always the same. Walker, Jeremy and I meet up to for a little pregame before we head back to the halls for another year. Our last year.

  We pass around a joint outside of Jeremy’s garage while we wait for Tess to finish getting ready. Apparently now that she’s a sophomore, she needs an extra hour to primp herself before we go basically anywhere. It’s either that or her new relationship with Walker has made her more aware of the fact she’s actually a girl.

  I take a large hit and pass it back to Walker. “So, we need to come up with some sort of game plan now school’s back in session. Everyone left the lake last weekend and I don’t think it’s a good idea to mess with someone else’s territory.”

  Walker shrugs. “Maybe we can work together?”

  Jeremy laughs. “That’s not how it works, dude. If we start selling at school and Robby finds out, he’ll be pissed. And by pissed, I mean he’ll kill us.”

  Robby Marker is the resident dealer for all things illegal at our school. If you need pot, call Robby. If you need an unmarked gun, guess what? Call Robby. This may seem extreme considering we live in a small, very safe town, but just outside the lines of New Haven is a different world. One that none of us should be involved in.

  “Okay,” I say, taking back the joint. “I guess we had our fun and now we should just call it a day. Retire from the game at the ripe, old age of seventeen. No harm, no foul.”

  Two pairs of eyes are now staring at me in question.

  “What? You want to be career criminals now? I thought this was just for the summer.”

  Walker runs his hand through his hair, his features nervous. “We were talking, Jeremy and I, and we were thinking that maybe we could do it a little longer?”

  The fact that they were discussing this behind my back is really fucking pissing me off. We started this together, we should make decisions together. Plain and simple.

  I turn to Jeremy, gritting my teeth. “So you two took it upon yourself to decide how far we’re going to take this. If fucking Sloan finds out, she’ll leave me for sure.”

  “Tess, too,” Walker chimes in. “Don’t you think I have something to lose as well?”

  I throw my arms up. “So why do it? Why take the risk?”

  Jeremy slings his arm over my shoulder and I glare at him. “Because, my dear friend. It’s easy money. We only have to keep doing it for five, six months tops and then we can walk away be set for whatever we need.”

  I let out a disgruntled sigh. “Let me think about it, okay?”

  Jeremy releases me and pats me on the back. “That’s my dude. See, everything will be golden.”

  I roll my eyes. Golden is far from what this shit show is about to be.

  I meet Sloan at her locker every morning. I can’t take her to school because I have wrestling practice before homeroom and she hates to be early. She usually catches a ride with one of her friends, but today it appears someone else decided to make sure she made it to school on time. I immediately see red when I spot her walking side by side with Johnny Tate. She smiles when she sees me and turns to Johnny and says something in his ear. I clench my fist.

  “Hey, baby,” she says, stopping in front of me and planting a kiss on my lips. I don’t kiss her back.

  She shoots me a look. “What’s your problem?”

  I continue to glare at Johnny until he’s out of sight. “Did he give you a ride today?”

  She twirls a stand of hair around her finger, leaning against my locker. “Well, he lives like right down the road from me.”

  “So?”

  “So, it was convenient.”

  “Convenient, huh,” I mutter under my breath.

  I grab my anatomy book and slam my locker shut. Sloan laughs and pinches the side of my face. “Aww, baby. Are you jealous?”

  I nod away from her and take off down the hall.

  “Perry, don’t walk away,” she calls after me. “You’re acting like a dick.”

  This stops me in my tracks. I take forceful steps back to her and stop directly in her face.

  “I’m a dick? How would you like if I had some chick in my car? You want me giving random girls rides?”

  She shakes her head.

  “So why is it okay if you do it?”

  Her eyes widen and she tries to take a step back, but we’re too close to the lockers. “It doesn’t mean anything,” she whispers.

  I laugh once. “That’s your problem, Sloan. You think you can do whatever you want and I’m just supposed to be cool with it. I let that shit slide at the lake, but I’m done having you walk around making me look like a fucking fool.”

  “I’m not—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I tilt my head down to her and speak in a low growl. “If you’re with me, Sloan, then you’re fucking with me. I don’t want you taking rides from any other guys.”

  “Okay, I won’t,” she says quickly.

  She turns to walk away and I grab her arm. “I’m not finished yet.”

  Her eyes land on me with anger, but she doesn’t try to pull away.

  “This shit with Johnny ends now.”

  “There’s nothing going on,” she cries defensively.

  “And there fucking wo
n’t be. You walk down the hall, and he’s coming toward you, you look the other way. Do you understand?”

  She nods.

  I shake my head, leaning in closer. “No, you fucking say it Sloan.”

  The tears are pooling in her eyes, but I don’t care right now. All I can think about is how that douchebag thinks he can hang out with my girlfriend without any consequences. I’ll deal with him next.

  “I’m waiting.”

  She struggles to hold it together, but manages to get the words out. “I understand.”

  I release her arm and she walks away from me without looking back. As soon as I see her disappear around the corner, I know I was too harsh. But it’s too late to take it back now.

  Later at lunch, I don’t see her in the cafeteria. Walker and Jeremy are having a particularly heated conversation about the game this weekend and don’t seem to notice anything else. I toss my fork down to my plate and let out a deep sigh. Walker finally looks over at me and grins.

  “What’s up?”

  I lean across the table at him. “Have you seen Sloan? She should have been here by now.”

  His face falls a little. “Oh, yeah. That.” He pauses, clearing his throat. “Well, she was crying in Bio this morning. I thought you knew.”

  I slam my fist on the table. “No, I didn’t fucking know. Why was she crying?”

  He shrugs. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t even talk to me.”

  I stand up from my seat and scan the lunchroom for her. The loud chatter makes it impossible to distinguish her voice from anyone else’s. That’s when I spot her. She’s walking towards me carrying a can of Diet Coke.

  I walk over to her and place my hands on her arms, speaking in her ear. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she says, shouldering past me. She takes her usual seat beside mine and I raise an eyebrow.