Unbelonging

by Sabrina Stark

  I looked at the guy. He didn't look fine to me. His face was dripping trickles of blood that left a dark trail along the concrete.

  "You sure?" I said.

  "Trust me," Bishop said.

  I glanced at Lawton.

  He seemed to read the worry in my eyes. "If he says he's fine, he's fine."

  In the driveway, Bishop popped the trunk and dumped the guy into it. I heard muffled thumping from somewhere inside. If nothing else, at least the other guy was okay. Sort of.

  When Bishop returned, I said, "Shouldn't we be calling the police?"

  Bishop and Lawton shared a long look. Neither one spoke until Lawton said in a low, quiet voice, "Is that what you want?"

  It seemed an incredibly odd question. Of course, that's what I wanted. It's what any sane person would want.

  And then something hit me. Whatever had happened here, no one but Lawton and Bishop knew about it. If the police were called, this would become a full-blown spectacle. It would be worse due to Lawton's involvement, because he was practically a household name.

  This had tabloid fodder written all over it. And before then, there'd be police cars and flashing lights. Then there'd be interviews and lots of reasons for the neighbors to come outside and see what was going on.

  The Parkers would surely hear about this, probably a lot sooner than later. This whole thing had nothing to do with them, other than the fact it had happened on their front lawn. I'd be fired for sure, and then, where would I go?

  And then, there was the other thing. Somewhere deep inside, I knew who'd put those guys up to this. Brittney. She knew where I was staying, and she'd promised some sort of revenge. I could only guess that this was her idea of a sick, twisted joke.

  I could practically see the headlines now, and none of them were good.

  Next to us, Bishop leaned down to scoop up something from the grass. The knife. It had a short metal blade and a dark commando-style handle. His gaze narrowed as he ran a hand along its blade.

  "What is it?" Lawton said.

  Bishop shook his head. "It's fake."

  On reflex, my hand returned to my throat. "What do you mean fake?"

  "It's metal alright," Bishop said, "but I wouldn't call it a knife. Feels more like a movie prop." He turned to me. "Here. Hold out your hand."

  "What the hell are you doing?" Lawton said.

  "Humor me," Bishop said.

  When I did, Bishop ran the blade along my palm. I felt the familiar sensation of metal against my skin, but no pain, no cut, no nothing. I felt my face grow warm. That explained why my neck had no marks, especially considering how hard the guy had pressed. How had I fallen for something so stupid?

  "It's not even a knife," I murmured.

  "Chloe," Lawton said. "What's going on?"

  I shook my head. "I have no idea."

  "So what do you want us to do?" Lawton said.

  I glanced toward the car. "You sure they're okay?"

  The two guys exchanged a glance.

  "Yeah," Lawton said.

  I looked at him a long time. "Don't lie to me."

  "Alright," Lawton said, "yeah, they're banged up a little, but they'll be fine in a couple weeks. Maybe sooner."

  "How can you be sure?" I said.

  "Romeo fights for a living," Bishop said. "Remember?"

  "Used to fight for a living," Lawton corrected.

  "Yeah, whatever," Bishop said, sparing him a half glance before turning his gaze to me. "But it seems to me that you wouldn't be losing sleep over these guys. You worried about them?"

  "No," I said. "Of course not. It's just that –" I shrugged. "I dunno. I don't want 'em dead or anything."

  "About the police," Lawton said. "It's your decision. Yes or no?"

  I bit my lip. I knew what I should do, but the whole thing was a no-win for everyone involved. And in a weird twist of fate, that included the guys who attacked me. I had no doubt who put them up to this. Maybe their ass-beating was the perfect end to this crappy story. Doubtful they'd try that again.

  But did they make a habit of this sort of thing? If I didn't report them, and another girl was attacked, I'd never forgive myself.

  "I don't want them doing this to anyone else," I said.

  Bishop spoke up. "We'll encourage them not to."

  "How?" I asked.

  "Better if you don't know," Bishop said.

  "You're not gonna hurt 'em?" I said.

  "Baby," Lawton said, "want us to take care of it? Say the word, and you don't need to think about this ever again."

  I felt myself nod. They weren't strangers, not exactly. If I needed to, I'd be able to find out who they were. Once I got a little perspective, I could always change my mind. Report them, threaten to report them, whatever. Later, when my head cleared, I'd know what to do. Now, I had no idea.

  I'd also need to tell Lawton about the guys' connection to Brittney, but not in front of his brother. Bishop would get way too much satisfaction from the whole sordid tale, and I wasn't about to listen to his bullshit any more than I had to.

  Lawton turned to Bishop. "You take care of them. I'll get her inside." With his arm around me, he turned to lead us toward the Parkers' front door. I followed his lead for a couple of paces, and then stopped as a horrible thought occurred to me.

  I hadn't yet cleaned up from the birthday party. When I'd walked Erika to her car, I'd left everything out on the table. The cake, the poster, the sex tape. Oh my God. Lawton couldn't see any of this. And if he walked into that house tonight, there was no way he'd miss it.

  Chapter 54

  I stood silent on the sidewalk, eyeing the house with a dread that had nothing to do with the guys who attacked me.

  "What's wrong?" Lawton asked.

  "Nothing." I struggled for inspiration and found none. "It's just that you don't need to come in with me."

  His eyebrows furrowed. He glanced toward the house. "At least let me check the place out, make sure everything's alright."

  I shook my head. "No. Really, I'm sure it's fine."

  "Baby," he said. "It's not fine. You're not fine. I can see it all over your face. Now tell me, what is it?"

  "Nothing." I pointed toward Bishop, who was climbing into the driver's seat of the dark sedan. "You should go with him." I squinted at the car. "Where's he going, anyway?"

  "I'm guessing he'll drive 'em home. Or maybe some public place. Hard to say."

  "How would he know where they live?"

  "Driver's license."

  "Oh." How had I forgotten? The guy was a regular expert when it came to those. "So what's he gonna do?" I persisted. "Drive them home and just leave?"

  "Hard to say."

  "You're at least gonna open the trunk before you leave 'em someplace. Right?"

  Lawton glanced toward the trunk. "I dunno. Maybe." He returned his gaze to me. "Except it won't be me doing anything, because I'm staying here with you."

  Again, I glanced toward the car. "You've done this before, haven't you?"

  "Done what before?"

  "I don't know." I couldn't put my finger on it, but they seemed way too good at dealing with whatever had happened tonight. "Stuff like this."

  From the driveway, I heard a sudden burst of muffled thumps and angry voices.

  "See?" Lawton said. "Second guy woke up. He's fine. Just like I said."

  I'd seen the damage firsthand. "Fine" was definitely an exaggeration. I listened harder, picking up more thumping and even more yelling.

  I bit my lip. "They're trying to get out."

  "Maybe," Lawton said. "Either that, or they turned on each other." He gave a half shrug. "It happens."

  I stared at him. "It happens? How would you know?"

  From the driveway, Bishop rolled down the window and called out, "You comin' or what?"

  "No," Lawton said.

  "Yes, he is," I called back.

  "No," Lawton said through clenched teeth. "I'm not."

  Bishop looked at us, his eyes flat a
nd his tone bored. "I'm leaving in five seconds. In or out. Your choice."

  "Go ahead," Lawton said. "I'll see you at the house."

  A moment later, Bishop was on his way. Together, Lawton and I watched as the car reversed out of the long driveway, then pulled out onto the street like the driver had all the time in the world.

  When Lawton turned back to me, I blurted out, "You should've gone with him."

  "Why?"

  "Because I can't have guests over."

  He gave me another strange look. "Baby, who's in the house?"

  "No one."

  "Uh-huh."

  I gave him a pleading look. "Can't we just go to your place?"

  His jaw tightened. "Sure. After I check things out here."

  "You can't," I stammered. "I mean, I don't want you to."

  "Chloe, be reasonable," he said. "A favor for me, alright?"

  Miserably, I shook my head.

  He stared at me a long moment, and then said, "Alright," in a quiet, clipped tone. "Have it your way."

  "Great," I said. "Wait right here. I'll get Chucky."

  Before he could respond, I dashed inside, locking the door behind me. Inside the house, I grabbed Chucky, along with his leash.

  A few minutes later, we were driving to Lawton's place in my car. Lawton drove. I sat with Chucky on my lap. I tried to act normal, and from what I saw, so did he. But I couldn’t deny that there was some sort of wall between us.

  I hated that wall.

  When I reminded Lawton that I had to work in a couple of hours, the wall seemed to loom larger, as if he didn't quite believe anything I was saying. But I told myself that couldn't be the case. He knew me, right?

  Inside his house, Chucky dove straight for his favorite basket, a wicker thing with a checkered pillow. Lawton had bought it a couple weeks earlier, one of the things he'd used to lure us to stay. In an odd way, that seemed a long time ago.

  Lawton and I wandered to what had become our favorite room, the one he'd brought me to that first time, the night of his interrupted birthday party. Silently, he pulled a throw-blanket out of a nearby chest and wrapped it around me.

  Together, we sank back together on the sofa. I snuggled into him, and he wrapped his arms around me like he always did, but something was definitely off.

  After a few minutes of awkward silence, I couldn't stand it anymore. I pulled away to look at him.

  Slowly, Lawton turned his gaze on me, his body tense and his eyes troubled.

  I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. Whatever he was feeling, I'd obviously caused it. Apparently, my evasiveness hadn't gone unnoticed. It was time to come clean, at least about some things. "I want to tell you something," I said.

  "Yeah?"

  I took a deep breath. "I did sort of know that guy."

  "Yeah?" Somehow, he didn't look surprised.

  "But not in the way you think," I continued, my words tumbling over each other as I rushed to explain. "He's a friend of Brittney's. They came in where I work. He and some friend. I'm guessing it was the same guy that came with him tonight. Anyway, they caused all kinds of trouble. With Brittney and Amber too." I looked away and mumbled. "They got me fired."

  Lawton's expression darkened. "When was this?"

  "I dunno. Maybe a couple weeks ago."

  His gaze narrowed. "I don't get it. You still work there."

  "Well, yeah. It's complicated." I looked down. "Anyway, I'm guessing that tonight, Brittney put those guys up to it."

  "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

  "It was just so ugly," I said, giving his question some thought. "And Brittney's, I dunno, a friend of yours, and I didn't want to come across as some kind of crazy, jealous chick, throwing around accusations I couldn't prove."

  "So the other night at the club?" he asked. "What was that about?"

  "Nothing," I said. "He just happened to be there, that's all."

  "And you really don't know him?"

  "No," I said. "Just from those couple of times. That's it."

  "And you don't have any idea what he wanted tonight?"

  "Well, Brittney did sort of threaten me, so – "

  He jerked his head back. "She what?"

  "It's a long story," I said. "She came into the diner maybe a week or so later. We didn't exactly hit it off, and –" I shrugged. "She said she'd pay me back or something, but I didn't really take her seriously. But if I had to guess, this was probably her idea of a joke."

  I shrugged. "Or, it could've been the guys acting alone. But somehow, I don't think so. For one thing, Brittney knows where I live. They don't."

  "I'm gonna kill her," Lawton said.

  "You're not serious." I swallowed. "Are you?"

  He turned to face me. "Is that what you think?"

  "I don’t know what to think. You and your friend, Bishop, you guys act kind of strange sometimes, like you might not always follow the letter of the law, if you know what I mean."

  "He's not my friend." Lawton's voice was quiet. "He's my brother."

  "Oh."

  "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

  "I thought, maybe," I stammered. "But uh, you never said so, so, uh – "

  "Oh just forget it," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's a different conversation."

  "No, it's the same conversation," I said. "You hardly ever talk a lot about yourself. I'd really like to know."

  He gave me a hard look. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Look," he said, "I know you're not dumb, so stop acting like it."

  I shrank back, his words hitting like a slap in the face. "I don't act dumb," I said.

  "If you say so."

  I didn't need this crap. My night had been awful enough already, and his veiled accusations weren't exactly helping. "You know what?" I stood. "I'm going home."

  He gazed up at me, his expression stony. "Yeah? And where is that, exactly?"

  I opened my mouth, and then clamped it shut again.

  "Yeah," he muttered. "I thought so."

  I shook my head, hearing my own voice soften as I said, "Maybe it's just time to accept it."

  "Accept what?"

  "That we just don't belong together."

  Chapter 55

  As soon as the words were out, I regretted them. It wasn't what I wanted. Not really. But I wasn't a fool. I knew this couldn't go anywhere long term.

  I'd been acting like my Mom, neglecting my responsibilities for some pretty boy with obvious commitment issues. I thought I was in love. But I couldn't be. I didn't even know him. And he certainly didn't know me.

  He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. "Is that what you want?"

  "I don't know." I ran a nervous hand through my hair. "I can't think right now." It was true. Too many other things had happened tonight. My emotions were running high. Apparently, so were his. This would be the worst possible time to decide anything.

  His voice softened. "C'mon. Sit back down."

  I looked at him, and then at the door. If I walked out now, I might never be back. The thought made my heart ache.

  Slowly I sat, careful to leave some distance between us. When he was too near, I had a hard time thinking. At a time like this, distance was definitely a good thing.

  Apparently, he felt differently. He closed that distance and wrapped his arms tight around me. "I'm sorry," he said, whispering into my hair. "You've had a shitty night, and I'm being an asshole. It's just that you've got me all tied up in knots, and I'm trying to go slow. But I can't. Not with you. Because I don't want to."

  I felt myself relax into him. "Really?"

  "Really."

  I pulled away and met his gaze. "You know what scares me?"

  "What?"

  "It's that you're right," I said. "I know we're going too fast. But no matter what I do, I can't seem to make myself slow down. I guess I don't want to either."

  "That's good," he said, running his hand along my f
ace, "because there's something I want to say."

  "Yeah?" said a male voice from the doorway. "Me too."

  My gaze shot to the door, and there he was, Bishop, the irritation that kept on irritating.

  "Will you stop doing that?" I said.

  "Yeah. Sorry." He turned to Lawton, who was giving him a murderous glare. "But I'm serious. I need to talk to you."

  "Later," Lawton said.

  "No," Bishop said. "Now."

  Lawton blew out an irritated breath. "Go ahead. Talk. But make it quick. "

  Bishop's gaze flicked briefly to me before returning to Lawton. "Alone," he said.

  "Well that's just special," I muttered.

  If Bishop heard me, he gave no indication. "It can't wait," he told Lawton.

  Lawton glanced from Bishop to me.

  "Oh, just go," I said. "You know he won't leave until you do."

  Lawton turned his gaze fully on me. "You sure?"

  "She's sure," Bishop said. "Now, c'mon."

  I turned to glare at him. "Thanks for saving me the trouble of answering for myself."

  "Don't mention it," he said.

  Lawton took my hand in his. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

  "I won't," I said.

  Lawton stood, then leaned over me, his lips brushing mine right before he leaned in close and whispered. "We'll talk about everything when I get back. You're not getting out of it."

  In spite of everything, I felt myself smile.

  As Lawton adjusted the blanket around me, I glanced toward the door. Bishop was still there, a stony expression darkening his face as he stared at me with barely concealed loathing. I stared back, not bothering to hide how I felt about him either.

  Family or not, I'd be glad when he went back to wherever he came from. The guy was nothing but trouble. Thankfully, Lawton had been too preoccupied with the blanket to notice our mutual loathing.

  "Five minutes," Lawton promised.

  I nodded, then watched as he left the room, and Bishop shut the door behind them. Like I'd eavesdrop or something. I felt the teeniest bit of discomfort at the realization that I'd done exactly that not too long ago. But that had been an accident. Besides, whatever Bishop was saying, I was pretty sure I didn't want to hear it. His opinion of me was obvious.

  I huddled up under the blanket, waiting. I didn't have a watch, or even my phone to check the time, but I knew it was taking a lot longer than five minutes. The time dragged as I waited, growing more tense with every minute that passed.