by Asia Marquis
“Check this out,” I whisper. Hunter comes over and takes the book from me, flipping through the pages.
“So, Mr. Young sent Lucas away after high school, but it doesn't say why. Just that his son tended to find controversy, which doesn't surprise me in the least. And it looks like Mr. Young was actually born here in Beford, and came back to meet someone he used to love. Lucas threatened to follow him if he did, though, and destroy him.”
“Is that the evidence you need?” I ask, hopeful.
“No, it's not enough. Circumstantial. We need hard proof. Plus, there's a page missing. I think we need to find that page.”
I stick out my bottom lip and look around the room some more until I hear the sound of tires against gravel outside and an engine being cut off.
“Shit! I think someone's out there!”
Hunter leads the way down the stairs and out a side door. As we pass the front yard on the way to his car, I catch a glimpse of the vehicle, a big van with some marks I can't quite make out.
The man that comes out of the van is black, so it's definitely not Lucas come to clean up evidence. That's all I can make out, though, before Hunter grabs my hand and pulls me into his car. As we drive away from the mansion, I find myself wondering if Lucas really is so bad that he could kill someone.
Maybe I just hate him, and I'm blaming him for things he didn't do.
“I'll take you back to your room and then head home. I could use a stiff drink.”
I think for a moment. After a day like today, the last thing I want is to be alone. “You could have a drink with me? We can pick up whatever liquor you want on the way back.”
Hunter chuckles. “Are you trying to pick me up, young lady!”
“No! No way, just... I'm still not sure what to make of anything. I could use some company, someone to talk to.”
“Alright, alright. I wasn't going to turn you down anyway.” He winks at me, and I blush so hard that I have to turn away and look out the window. I just stare up at the great big full moon in the sky and wonder exactly what is going on with my life.
For a while there, I almost seemed normal. A little broken, an apathetic college student. As soon as I came home, everything got weird.
I guess I prefer weird to miserable. But am I any less miserable?
When we get into my room, I quickly put everything from the box back into it and set it in a corner. Hunter sets the tequila he bought on the desk near my laptop and pours us both a drink.
“So, why did you end up leaving so fast after graduation?” He asks. His eyes grab my attention and hold it.
“There just wasn't anything here for me anymore. Especially after my backup husband got married!” I kick him lightly in the shin before downing the shot of tequila.
“Hah,” he says, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Well, I'm not married anymore.”
“Oh?” I ask. It's bad of me, but I want to hear this gossip. Plus, knowing that he's single makes me really happy.
“Yeah, Alex was just... you know how she was. Controlling. Well she got to drinking, and then she got pregnant. It didn't last long.” Tears are welling up in his eyes.
I reach out and caress his arm. “I'm so sorry, Hunter.”
He shakes his head and forces himself to smile. “No, it's okay. We moved on, for a while, but she just kept getting worse. Then she ran off with some dude from Hillfaire.”
“Gross!” Hillfaire is the nearest city, and their school was our rival in every sport.
Hunter laughs and runs his hand through his hair. “Yeah, it really was pretty gross. The divorce was just finalized last month, actually. I thought it would be sadder, but by the time I signed the papers I was so sick of her bullshit.” He downs his second shot. “Sorry, that's mean of me. I shouldn't be saying bad things about my ex.”
“We need to vent sometimes.”
Standing so close to him, I can feel his warmth. He feels like home. Not like this changed home, and not like Harvard. He feels like my history, and it's comfortable. I lean against him, and he wraps his arms around me. They're strong. Safe.
I look up into his eyes. Hunter tips his face down to mine, and he kisses me. It's a soft kiss, but then it isn't. I sink into it, experiencing it in a way I have never experienced a kiss before. One of my legs raises behind me and I press my body even harder into his.
My arms wrap around his big shoulders. I kiss him harder, and he carries me, or maybe it's more like dragging me, over to the bed. His big hands grope and touch all over my body as he lays me down.
I pull my shirt off, and then help him pull his shirt off. Seeing the muscles of his chest, I bite my lower lip. He's more buff than I could have ever imagined. I rub my hand against his hard chest.
He traces a line from my jaw to the top of my breast, then descends upon me like prey, his mouth all over my body. His lips kiss every part of my dark skin as I gasp and moan in response. I hold him tight, wrapping my legs around his body.
Hunter's hands cup my breasts and massage them, before he slips my bra off. Kissing my nipples and then licking them, he runs his fingernails up and down my sides lightly. My teeth chatter with anticipation.
He sits up and kisses me again. “It's been a while since I had sex,” he says, looking worried. Like a puppy. I slide my hand against his cheek and smile.
“Same here. We'll relearn how to do this, together.”
Hunter takes my pants in his hands and pulls them down, followed by my panties. He runs his fingers through my pubic hair and lifts my legs, putting them over his shoulders before diving into my wet folds. My back arches and I moan so loud I'm sure someone in the room next door must have heard me.
His tongue works miracles on my clitoris, pressing hard and then soft before dipping into my hole and deep as it will go. I run my hand through Hunter's hair, pulling it whenever the pleasure becomes too much.
Hunter pushes himself up, my liquids still on his face as he pulls me over the side of the bed and lets his pants and boxers fall to the ground. He positions himself at my hole before flicking the light off. I gasp at the sudden darkness, and then again at being filled by him.
Chapter 4
Early the next morning, I wake up to a chirping sound. Not from birds, though. It's too dark for them to be awake, and when it chirps again I realize it's mechanical.
That's not the sound for my phone, though. I shake Hunter to wake him up, and when he realizes what's going on he leaps up and out of the bed, still naked. His ass is glorious. His whole body is glorious. I watch with much pleasure as he searches for his pants and then for the phone in their pocket.
“Crap, I missed the call,” he says. He presses a few buttons and then is silent as he listens to a voice mail. Once it finishes, he sighs loudly and starts pulling his clothes on, which let me tell you is a great disappointment. I could stare at his nudity all day and still be amused. Aroused. Interested.
Ignoring the heat from between my legs, I smile. “What's going on?”
“A robbery down near the old bar. No injuries, but I have to go process the guy.” He smiles as if apologizing, and then leans in to kiss my forehead. “I'm sorry. I have to go. I'll call you later, though!”
And with that, he leaves my motel room and leaves me to my thoughts.
I slump back down onto the bed, at first giddy from the night before. Who knew that ex-dweeb would be so good in bed! And so big, too!
As I think about it, though, I realize that a romance right now is just a bad idea. I don't want to use this as a crutch to avoid really finding myself, and on top of that I have to focus on kicking Lucas out of Mom's life.
Maybe it's best if Hunter and I keep things strictly friendly until my life settles down. With a sinking feeling in my chest, I slowly slip to sleep, though it's hardly restful.
I decide around noon that I need to go back to Mom's. I need to find a way to prove that Lucas isn't who she thinks he is, but that's going to be hard. The best place to start is to check through
his stuff. Maybe I'll find some bloody clothes or something.
Mom greets me at the door with a big hug, and then she practically force-feeds me some cookies. Big, chocolate chip ones with lots of butter. No wonder I lost weight instead of gaining it at college!
I tell Mom I'm going to go upstairs and check my room for some things.
“Do you want me to help?”
“No, no. Your show is coming on soon, isn't it?” Mom has a soap opera she likes to watch, and I need to be alone up there so I can find Lucas's stuff.
“Okay, dear. Yell if you need me.”
I kiss her on the forehead and then head upstairs, passing my room completely and instead heading right for her room. Exactly as I thought, it's been taken over by Lucas's things. New dressers, a new bed, a big computer with stock market information on it. Nothing I'd ever be able to understand, that's for sure. I decide to check that some other time.
I'm in the closet rummaging through his jackets when I hear the floorboards creak behind me. Whipping around, I find Lucas there, watching me with his hands in his coat pockets.
“Now what might you be doing?”
Thinking fast, I say, “I'm looking for my diary!” Ugh, what a lame excuse. “An old one from high school. Have you seen it? It was written on a Moleskine.”
He gives me that disgusting crooked smile, crossing his arms in front of him. “No, I haven't. Are you sure that's what you're looking for? Why would that be in the pockets of one of my jackets?”
Crap. “Well, I know you're practically obsessed with me. Maybe you stole it to embarrass me.” Now I just sound petty.
Anger flashes in his eyes for a second, and he grabs me, pushing me down on Mom's bed. He straddles me, his face dipping down and kissing my neck as I struggle to push him off. I should yell for Mom, but it never occurs to me to do so.
“I'll cut off the wedding, you know.” His tongue hits my neck and I moan even though I hate myself for it. “Just say the word, and I'll be with you again. I know how much you want me.”
“Get over yourself, asshole.” While I try to push him off of me, I feel a slip of paper in his pocket. Pushing him a few times, I can feel that it's folded, and the edge feels... torn.
Is this the paper from the diary? My heart leaps. I have to get it. I dip my hand into his pocket, but before I can grab it he pushes himself off of me and gives me a sly smile and leaves the room.
I run down the stairs and point to him as he walks out the back door. “Mom! He just tried to seduce me!”
Mom considers my words, and then nods, standing up. “That's it. Destiny, if you can't find it in your heart to support me and Luke, then you need to leave.”
“But-”
“No buts! I won't tolerate lies from you.” She stares at me for a few moments, then points at the door. “Out!”
I can't believe she's being this stubborn. Throwing my hands up in disgust, I throw the door open and leave. I'm about to get into my car when a familiar vehicle pulls up.
“Jeremiah?” I call, running up to the van. “Oh my god! It's been too long.”
The black man who steps out of the van is old, but his body is still strong. He should be retired by now, but his wife died years ago and he has a kid in college, out of state I think. “Why, Destiny! I didn't know you'd be coming home!”
I run up to him and hug him. Jeremiah was like a second father to me, and was the only person who tried to help me through my dad's death.
“Yeah, I surprised Mom. Really, though, she surprised me.”
A dark look comes across Jeremiah's face. “You mean Luke? Yes, that was a surprise to me too. Don't you worry your head about this, Destiny. I'm keeping an eye on him.”
I wonder what he means, but my phone rings with a text from Hunter. I smile, squeezing Jeremiah's hand. “That makes me feel better, Jeremiah, thank you. Anyway, I have to go.”
“Come see me soon! We have a lot to talk about.”
I nod and then I walk to the cafe where Hunter told me to meet him. When I step in, he pulls me in for a kiss. At first, I enjoy it, but then I pull away.
“Hunter...” I start, unsure of how to say this. “There's so much going on right now.”
He's silent and obviously hurt, but before I can say anything else he smiles and nods. “No problem. I understand. Did you find anything out today?”
“Yes, actually. I went to Mom's house, and was looking through her room for clues when Lucas came in. He threw me onto the bed and started kissing my neck,” I can see the anger boiling just beneath the surface, so I hurry on to the next point. “But, uh, I felt something in his coat pocket! A piece of paper. I think it's the paper from the journal in the mansion.
“Wow. Well, obviously, we need to get that!”
“Yeah, but how?” We both sit and think, him sipping his coffee, me with my head in my hands. I can't even look at him, I feel so bad for turning him down. One day, Hunter. I promise, one day I'll let you in.
My phone buzzes with an email from school about tuition money. I snort, and then I shoot straight up. “I know what I need to do!” I say. “I'll call you tomorrow!”
“Wait!” He calls after me, but I'm already running down the street to my motel room.
The next day, I stop by a nearby florist and pick out flowers for my mom. Lilies, her favorite, plus some roses mixed in. I need to apologize, and I need to do it correctly. The flowers smell beautiful.
“Destiny?” The woman behind the counter says. I look her up and down, trying to see if I remember her.
“Yeah?” Nope, don't remember her at all. She seems familiar though.
“Wow! It's been so long. Do you remember me?” She waits for me to answer, but I just scrunch my face in embarrassment. “Oh, that's okay! We went to middle school together, but I was homeschooled during high school. Felicity?”
Memories come flooding back. Felicity was my best friend in middle school, but her family is really religious and she was caught sneaking out with a boyfriend one night. She was pulled out of school and I wasn't even allowed to see her anymore.
“Felicity! Wow, it really has been a long time. How are you?”
“Good!” She smiles, relieved that I remember her. “Escaped the religious jail, hah!” She laughs. “Who are the flowers for?”
“My mom. I'm apologizing for being a jerk.”
“Aw. Well, I'm sure she'll forgive you. Hey, give me a call sometime before you leave!” Felicity hands me a business card with her name and phone number. “Or just stop by. I bought this shop when my dad passed away last year, so I'm pretty much always here.”
I look at the card, then back to Felicity. I really want to make a friend like her. “Yeah! Of course. I have some things to deal with, but I'll be by as soon as I can, okay?”
“Great!” She says, ringing up my flowers. I feel giddy as I leave the shop, excited to have seen someone from my past that doesn't hate me and doesn't expect anything other than friendship from me. That's what I need. That's exactly why I came home.
I'm still feeling good when I come up to Mom's house and knock on the door. She looks through the window and sighs so loudly I can hear it outside.
“What, Destiny? Did you come to slander my fiance again?”
“No!” I say, holding out the flowers. “I came to apologize again. I'm really sorry, Mom. It won't happen again.”
Ah, crap. That's a lie.
Mom glares at me for a few moments, but in time the expression melts away and she pulls me in for a hug. “It's okay, Destiny. I can't stay mad at you. I know things have been rough, so let's just try to move forward.”
“Okay, Mom. Hey, I'm going to go check out my room, okay? I'm still looking for a few things.”
“That's fine, dear. I'm leaving in an hour for Bible study, though.”
“Okay.” I head upstairs to my room, setting up a few things before I dig around in my closet. Lucas's car was outside, so I know he's home. It's only a matter of time...
I stumble upon some old photos in my dresser, of friends and even an ex boyfriend. I stuff them into my purse and then keep up my search, fake though it may be.
And then, exactly as I expected, Lucas comes in and clears his throat. “Back for more, babe?”
I fight him off, but not too much. I need to be able to feel for that paper in his pocket. He throws me down onto my bed, grabbing my legs and forcing me to wrap them around his waist. I lightly struggle to push him off as he kisses me while groping my ass. “Stop, Lucas. You're just going to hurt my mom.”
“Fuck Vera. I'm doing this for you.”
What a pig. Now's my chance, though. I feel his pockets, but there's nothing in them this time. Crap. Nothing in his pants, either. Now what am I going to do?
Pissed off, I fight him off even harder now, pushing him away and spitting on his chest, leaving a disgusting wet mark on his shirt. He curses and runs down the stairs, leaving me to grab my things and run out.
As soon as I hit the sidewalk I call Hunter. “I need to see you. Now. Meet me at the cafe.”
Chapter 5
When Hunter walks up, I find myself staring at him again. I wish I could just be with him and enjoy it. Now just isn't the right time, though.
He jogs the last few steps to me and pulls me in for a hug. “I was worried that something happened, you sounded so urgent. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything's fine. Well, no, not really.”
“What? Did you get the paper?”
“No, it wasn't in his pocket.” I curse and cross my arms. “But I did get something even better. Much better.”
Hunter's eyebrows raise with interest. “What did you get?”
I hand him my cell phone and press play on a video. He watches the evidence of Lucas seducing me, glowering and pissed off. When the video ends, he passes the cell phone back to me, his hands shaking.
“I'll kill him.”
“No, Hunter! Focus. We need to find proof that he murdered his dad, and then we can lock him away and show this to my mom. We need that proof though.”
He thinks for a second, and then nods. “Fine, but if he touches you again...”
