“Shut up both of you. I don’t need either of you to go shopping with me; I can have fun all by myself!” Amber said as she shot us both a glare.
“We know you can Amber,” I said as I hid a smile.
“And you’d better freaking call me at least once a week while you’re gone! I mean it, I can’t go from spending every day with you to nothing for three months,” Amber said.
“You know I will, I’m going to miss you guys too you know, this isn’t all one-sided. It’s been a long time since I spent any real amount of time without you two and it’s going to suck.”
“Damn straight it will!” Amber said as she practically pulled me from my seat to hug me.
I giggled as I turned my head to look at Logan, who was watching us like we’d lost our minds. “Get over here big guy, group hug!”
He rolled his eyes as he leaned in and wrapped his arms around both of us. “You two are completely mental. How I’m even friends with either of you, I’ll never know.”
Amber stuck her tongue out at him. “You love us both so shut up.”
His eyes met mine and I felt my stomach clench with guilt.
“Yeah I do.”
Chapter Two
Drake
I grabbed the last of Chloe’s bags and threw them into the trunk of her car. I slammed it shut, praying the latch would catch with so many things crammed inside. Of course it didn’t and I spent the next five minutes hopping up and down on the trunk like an idiot until it latched. I jumped down from her car, breathing heavy, and turned to see Chloe watching me from the front of the car with an amused expression on her face.
“Did you pack for three months or three years? This is ridiculous.” I asked as I grabbed my overnight bag I was taking with me to her aunt’s house and threw it down in front of the passenger’s seat. No way was that thing fitting in the back seat with her junk back there too. For a girl who hated to shop, she had a lot of clothes.
“Shut up. I’m a girl, which means I change my shirt and underwear daily, unlike some people.”
“I change mine daily too, but you don’t see my cramming sixty pairs of underwear into a suitcase. I’m sure we’ll pass a Laundromat at some point, no need to have an outfit for every day we’re gone,” I pointed to the back of her car, “You know you’re going to have to leave most of this in your car right? No way is the bus going to hold all that crap.”
“Yeah I figured that much. When are they supposed to be here with the bus anyway? We need to get going soon.”
The band had acquired a small tour bus, actually I had acquired it, and we were waiting for Eric and Adam to show up so I could load my bags before Chloe and I left for her aunt’s house. Since our first few shows were in Maryland, the plan was for me to ride with Chloe to her aunt’s house and stay with her for a couple of days. Once the band had everything loaded into the bus, they would meet us there to pick me up. I was hoping everything would be settled by then and she could just come with us when we left; if not our first stop was only about an hour away from her aunt’s so she could catch up with us quickly.
“Right on time,” I said as I noticed the bus turning down our street.
I caught sight of Adam in the driver’s seat and groaned. I told them I wanted Eric to drive so that I knew the bus would survive; with Adam driving, that didn’t seem like a possibility. I loved the guy like a brother, but I’d seen him destroy more cars than hearts since we had been friends and I knew this couldn’t end well.
“What’s up Fuckers?” Adam shouted as he and Eric stepped out of the bus.
“I thought we agreed to let Eric drive?” I asked.
Eric sent me an apologetic look. “That’s what I told him, but you know how he is.”
“Whatever asshole, I just drove here. I’ll let Eric take over once we leave for the tour.”
“Yeah, good plan. Now help me get this shit in the bus so we can get out of here. I want to get there before dark.” I said as I grabbed a couple of bags and carried them to the side of the bus.
Adam completely ignored me as he walked over to talk to Chloe while Eric and I loaded the rest of the bags and my guitar into the bus. Once we had everything put away, I walked over and smacked him across the back of the head.
“Ouch! What the hell was that for?” he said as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Thanks for helping. Now get out of here, I’ll see you guys in a couple of days.”
They waved and wished Chloe luck in dealing with the psycho as they left. I had given them the short version of the story and they were as appalled as I was over the whole mess.
We watched them pull back down the street and I cringed as Adam nearly took out an oncoming car. I shook my head as we walked to Chloe’s car and got in.
“If Adam drives when they come to pick me up, I have a feeling we’re going to all be stuck riding in your car with Adam strapped on top.” I said as she started the car.
“He can’t be that bad,” she laughed.
“Oh trust me, he is. If he keeps a car six months before totaling it, it’s a miracle. I won’t even let him ride in mine.”
“Wow, guess you guys better watch your bus then. How did the band even manage to get that thing anyway? It had to cost a fortune.”
I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat. “We’re only renting it.”
“Yeah but still, even just renting it had to cost a lot.”
I figured I might as well just get this out of the way now, I knew she’d be upset when she learned I had kept something like this from her.
“Ipaidforit,” I said in a rush.
“What?”
I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. “I said I paid for it. I used my money to rent it for the trip.”
She gave me a confused look. “How did you pay for something like that? No offense, but a struggling musician in college doesn’t have that kind of cash.”
“Well, see the thing is, my parents left me some money when they died. My dad’s best friend was a lawyer at the firm he worked at and invested it for me. My uncle has control over it until I turn twenty-one, but he sent me enough to cover the tour expenses and the bus.”
“How much money are we talking about here Drake?” she asked.
“I don’t know the exact dollar amount, but it’s right around half a million by now.”
Her mouth dropped open. “So basically, we’ve been together for three months and you failed to mention you’re loaded? Were you afraid I was going to use you for your money or something?”
I could hear the hurt in her words as she spoke. “No, nothing like that. I know you would never do something like that, it’s just not something that I talk about. Besides, I don’t even have it yet. When I do, I don’t intend on spending it, I’ll just leave it where it is and let it grow. I might need it for retirement someday the way the economy is.”
“Wow, I don’t even know what to say to that. Who knew I would be dating a rich guy? She laughed. “I guess that makes you my sugar daddy.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized she wasn’t mad. “I’ll be your sugar daddy any day babe.”
I settled back into my seat to get comfortable for the rest of the six-hour trip in a cramped car. We were silent for a while and I passed the time by watching Chloe as she drove. She seemed nervous, constantly fidgeting and changing the CD in the stereo. I couldn’t really blame her, she had a dying aunt to say goodbye to and a crazy ass mother who would be out for blood in a matter of days.
I didn’t really know a lot about Andrea since she hated talking about her, but what I did know was all bad. I don’t think she had even one good memory about her mother or her childhood and that made my heart break for her. How could anyone not love my girl? Sure, she had her issues, we all did, but to completely hate her like her mother did? It was unacceptable to me. Chloe had to be one of the kindest and sweetest people I had ever known.
If the band hadn’t had these tour dates scheduled for months in advance, I
would have stayed with her the entire time to protect her. I didn’t want her to face anything on her own, especially not a situation involving her mother. She had mentioned something about her cousin Danny and his friend Jordan being there and I fully intended to talk to both of them about watching her back. If I couldn’t be there, I intended to make sure she was fully protected.
“Will you stop staring at me? You’re making me nervous!” Chloe said as she glanced over at me.
“What if I don’t want to? Maybe I like looking at you.”
She snorted. “Because of my amazing looks? Try again buddy.”
I glared at her. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” she asked, confused.
“Put yourself down like that. You’re beautiful Chloe, the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. You’re always so hard on yourself and I know it’s because of your mom, but don’t listen to anything she has ever said to you. She has no idea what an amazing person you are.”
“Are you hoping to get laid by charming my pants off? Because if so, it’s working,” she said as she sent a grin my way.
I felt my dick twitch at the thought as I returned her grin. “I’m holding you to that when we get there. Or we can just pull over somewhere and take care of things.”
“Drake Allen! I am NOT pulling over someplace to have sex with you! And you’re going to have to wait awhile, because I’m certainly not having sex in my dying aunt’s house! That’s just disrespectful,” she glared at me, but I could see her lips twitching.
“I never said it had to be in the house you know.”
She laughed. “You’re insatiable, you know that right? I need to stop and get gas at the next exit unless you want to get out and push us the rest of the way.”
“Fine, but you know, since we’ll be pulled over…”
“Not happening buddy, keep it in your pants.”
The rest of the trip went smoothly. We stopped in Frederick and a small town called Easton to fill up the car and stretch a bit, but other than that we drove straight through. By the time we started seeing the signs for Ocean City, my ass was completely numb and it was dark outside. I knew Chloe was tired and I had offered to drive part of the way but she declined, saying that the driving took her mind off of things.
When she told me we were roughly ten minutes from her aunt’s house, I nearly jumped out of the car then and there. They were the slowest ten minutes of my life as we weaved in and out of traffic, searching for street signs to direct us. Chloe’s aunt didn’t actually live in Ocean City, she was on the mainland by the bay, just a few miles away from the Ocean Gateway. Chloe struggled in the darkness to find the right road to turn down and we accidentally passed it once before realizing our mistake and turning back.
As we pulled up a narrow driveway to the house my mouth dropped. It wasn’t a house, it was a freaking mansion. The property was surrounded by a privacy fence and I noticed a guard station next to a locked gate as we got closer. Chloe pulled up next to the guard station and rolled her window down.
A man dressed in black slacks and a button up shirt came out of the station and approached our car. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m here to see my Aunt Jennifer,” Chloe said.
The guard looked down at the clipboard in his hand. “What’s your name?”
“Chloe Richards.”
The guard checked his list before nodding. “I’ve got you right here, go ahead in and I’ll let them know that you’re here.”
With that, he walked to the gate and opened it so that we could enter. As soon as we were through, he closed it and returned to his post.
“Just what does your aunt do? Is she part of the mafia or something?” I asked as we made our way up the rest of the driveway.
She giggled. “No, definitely not Mafia. My uncle was heavy into real estate and the stock market before he died. He handled his money wisely and left my aunt millions.”
“Wow, I’m impressed,” I said as we pulled up in front of the mansion. It was a three-story Adobe style home with red Spanish tiles. The driveway looped around in front of it and a fountain sat in the center.
Chloe shut the car off just as two guys stepped out of the front door and made their way over to us. We got out and I went to the trunk and started grabbing a couple of suitcases she wanted to take inside, but the majority would be staying in the car until she met up with us. I was thankful that I wouldn’t have to drag all of this inside for her. I closed the trunk as the two guys came up to Chloe.
One of them ran to her and picked her up to swing her around. She laughed as he set her back down and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Chloe Bear! You’ve been away too long love!” He said as he released her and stepped back to look at her, “You’ve changed since the last time you were here, I don’t see that gangly teenager I used to know anywhere! You look good!”
She smiled up at him. “I missed you too Jordan, you grew up as well. I don’t remember you being so tall, or having so many muscles.”
My head shot up to take a closer look at this Jordan guy. From the warm welcome he had given her, I had assumed he was her cousin Danny. He was a big guy, probably around six-foot, five inches, and built like a football player. His dark hair was cut short and he had a face I knew most girls would fall for. This was not something I expected. She had only mentioned him and Danny in passing, but I had pictured him as kind of geeky, not someone girls would be dropping their panties for.
My eyes fell on her cousin Danny as he pulled Chloe into a hug. Now that I looked, I could see the resemblance between him and Chloe. They had the same blonde hair and blue eyes, but where Chloe was pale, this guy looked like he lived at the beach, which he probably did. He stood several inches shorter than Jordan and wasn’t nearly as built.
Danny pulled back as Jordan caught sight of me. “Who’s your friend over there Chloe?” he asked and I didn’t miss the emphasis he put on friend.
“This is my boyfriend Drake. Drake this is my cousin Danny and that beast of a guy over there is Jordan.”
I stepped forward and shook hands with both of them. Jordan seemed to be trying to break my hand when he shook it, but I didn’t show any trace of pain. I wasn’t about to let this guy get to me.
“Nice to meet you,” he said as he dropped my hand. He looked me over before wrinkling his nose and turning to throw his arm over Chloe’s shoulders. Yeah, I definitely didn’t like this guy.
“Come on Chloe Bear, Allison has dinner ready,” he said as he led her toward the house.
Danny gave me an apologetic smile as we followed them into the house.
I was blown away by the extravagance as we walked into the foyer. The floor was black marble and a large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. The walls we covered in art and a statue stood against the far wall between two staircases. I followed the rest of the group into the dining area and sat down next to Chloe. Of course Jordan took the seat on the other side of her as Danny sat down across from us.
The beautiful handcrafted table was covered in enough food for ten people and a young woman wearing an apron was walking around the table, filling our glasses with some kind of expensive looking wine. I felt completely out of place. I’d rather be sitting at Gold’s eating a burger and having a couple of beers.
Chloe gave me an apologetic smile as Jordan set a piece of chicken on her plate. “Guys this is way too much. You didn’t have to go all dinner party on our behalf.”
“It’s no big deal. Your mom said you called her and said you would be here today so I wanted to make sure you had enough to eat after such a long trip,” Danny said as he grabbed a roll off the plate across from me.
Chloe’s mouth turned down in a frown at the mention of her mother. “Where is she?”
“Out, as usual. She’s been out partying almost every night. It’s a relief to get her out of here though. The woman is a nutcase,” Jordan said through a mouthful of food.
Since he didn’t seem to b
e worried about manners, I figured I didn’t have to worry about them either. I grabbed the first thing I saw, which was some kind of fish, and started eating. I tried to keep my elbows off the table as I shoveled the food in, hoping to look somewhat civilized.
“How bad has she been?” Chloe asked.
Danny frowned. “The same as she always is. She’s all rainbows and kittens when my mom is awake, but as soon as she’s out of her sight, her inner bitch comes out full force. She tried to bring some guy here the other night, but Paul wouldn’t let him past the gate.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with her Danny. I plan on getting rid of her as soon as possible. How’s Aunt Jen doing? Mom said she was bad.”
“She is. She sleeps most of the time. I don’t think she has much time left Chloe, there’s just no fight left in her. It kills me to see my mother, who is always so full of life wasting away like this.”
I saw tears in his eyes and looked away out of respect. I knew exactly how hard it was to lose your parents, but mine had died suddenly. I didn’t have to watch them waste away like he did. Death was a cold-hearted bastard.
We finished dinner as Chloe caught up with Danny and Jordan. Danny wasn’t the spoiled rich kid I had expected when I saw this place. Instead of staying home all day and spending his mommy’s money, he was enrolled full-time at Baltimore University in pursuit of a teaching degree. Jordan was attending Baltimore as well on a full ride football scholarship, which explained his bulk.
Danny seemed like a cool guy, but Jordan was another story. I caught him staring at Chloe several times in a way that made my blood boil. This guy was definitely an issue I intended to discuss with Chloe when we were alone. It was like watching Logan chase after her all over again.
When we finished dinner, I grabbed Chloe’s bags as they led us up one of the staircases and showed us to our rooms.
Twisted (Torn Series) Page 2
