by G. Bailey
“Yes, I had to travel to an auction in London and pay an obscene amount of money for that one, but it’s worth it. I will travel anywhere to pick up a limited edition or signed copy I want,” he tells me, and I bet he did pay a fortune for this one. There aren’t that many around, as far as I know.
I slide it back and pick up a book I haven’t read. It has my favourite paranormal creature, dragons, on the cover. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I do. Pretty covers, as well as the blurbs, sell books to me.
“Can I borrow this?” I ask.
“Of course. I will also move the cot and spare child’s wardrobe into your room for you. It’s only been used for Jake a few times,” he tells me.
“I would like that,” I say with a small smile.
“You do need to tell Izzy before she finds out. Izzy sees you like family, and I know she would be upset to find out by accident,” he reminds me as I walk to the door.
“She is going to kill me for not telling her,” I say with a sigh.
“You might find she will understand. Not everything has been easy for her in the last few years. I believe she has things she hasn’t told you,” he says, and I know she left out a few things.
“Like the fact her brother fights in a place called The Cage?” I ask.
“All her brothers do,” he tells me.
“Is that how you have so much money? Is it really worth it?” I ask, not really understanding why he would risk his life for anything. Even money and a house like this.
“I don’t do it for money, or for anything I want. I have no choice,” he says, looking down at his phone.
Clearly, he doesn’t want to talk anymore, and I don’t know what to say. I walk away, shutting the attic door behind me.
Why would he have no choice?
90
Harley
“Harley, I’ve been looking for you,” Blake says as he walks into the attic, Luke following close behind.
I shut my laptop so they don’t see the baby store I have open on it. I’ve ordered a lot of stuff to come tomorrow as a gift to Tilly, making sure it’s all boxed up well so I can tell my family I’m having a room re-done or something.
I’ve never bought a girl anything, and here I am, ordering nappies and cot sheets. I don’t know if she will be okay with my buying all this stuff for her and the baby, but I want to help her. It can’t be easy running from your past and leaving your family behind when you have a baby on the way. I know I didn’t get her pregnant, and she isn’t my responsibility, but I can’t walk away from her. It feels like she is mine, and it has felt that way since I first saw her.
“I could use a distraction,” I say with a laugh, walking over to the sofas where Blake sits looking nervous. I share a look with Luke, who only grins.
“Okay, what’s going on? Blake, you look like you’re about to shit yourself, while Luke looks like he is waiting for you to do just that,” I say, and Blake laughs, but it’s a nervous one.
“I want to ask Izzy to marry me, and I would like your permission. She never had a father figure in her life, but she has told me on more than one occasion that she sees you like that,” he says, and I’m not entirely surprised he is asking me. I know how much he loves my sister.
“You didn’t need to ask me, but yes. I’m going to say this once, though. If you hurt her or do anything other than love that girl, I’m going to beat the shit out of you,” I say, watching as he nods at me in understanding. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect my sister.
“Congrats, man, but what he said,” Luke says, and Blake laughs.
“I’d rather hurt myself than ever hurt her, so don’t worry,” he tells us, and it makes me feel a little better.
“Can’t believe you're actually going to be our brother-in- law. I always saw you as a brother, even before you started dating our sister.”
“I felt more like he was a guy who ate our food, lived in our house most of the time, and made sure Seb found his way home when he was drunk,” I comment, with a smile to show him I’m joking.
“Oi! I brought food here sometimes, like food my mum cooked for you guys,” Blake responds with a fake, hurt expression.
“Oh, yeah. I’m coming to yours for tea tomorrow night,” Luke says with a dreamy look as he rubs his stomach. Even I have to admit the food she sends us is impressive.
“Fine, but no hitting on my mum, it’s not funny anymore,” Blake says, and I can’t help but laugh when Luke winks at him.
“Your mum is hot, though. If only I were twenty years older,” Luke says, and Blake throws a pillow at him.
“Harley . . . just . . . thank you for bringing her into my life. I was lost until her, and I know I can’t really explain it, but I know I have you to thank for bringing her here.”
“I didn’t bring her here for you. In fact, when we found out you two were together, I wanted to beat the shit out of you,” I tell him honestly.
“Understood. If I had a sister, I would be the same way,” Blake replies.
“Luckily, you don’t. If she looked anything like your mum–” Luke says, and Blake throws another cushion at him to stop that sentence.
“What’s the plan? How are you going to ask?” I ask, changing the conversation.
“Well, she loves the beach so I’ve booked a private boat in a month, and I’m going to ask her while we’re on it,” he says.
“That’s a good plan,” I say, knowing Izzy told me about how her mum used to take her to the beach as a child. The fact he knows that shows me he listens to her. That he loves her.
“I had this ring custom made for her. I’ve been waiting for it for three months now, but I only want the best for her,” he says and hands me a small, white box. I open it to see a ring with one large diamond, and at the side of it sits two, tiny blue stones. I think they are sapphires.
“She will love it,” I reply, handing the box back to Blake. Luke doesn’t ask to see it, so I’m guessing he spoke to Luke before.
“How is Tilly settling in? Izzy is worried about her, and I’m not sure what to say to Izzy,” Blake asks.
“It’s been a week, but honestly, Tilly will talk to Izzy when she is ready,” I say, leaning back in my seat and trying not to think about Tilly.
I know she still hasn’t told anyone about the baby, but she did listen to me when I suggested registering with the local doctors and hospital. I’m hoping she is going to say something to Izzy tomorrow when she goes out shopping with her. There’s no way the siren can hide this from everyone forever.
“A week of him following her around like a lost puppy. I’ve never seen you so hung up on a girl,” Luke comments, and I glare at him.
I go to reply when my phone rings, and I pull it out of my jacket to see Arthur’s name flashing on the screen.
“What?” I answer, not wanting to talk to him right now, or ever. We have five fights left, that’s it now, and then my family will finally be free of him.
“I had an idea,” Arthur says, he sounds cold and calculating.
“I’m waiting,” I reply, standing up and walking away from Luke and Blake.
“Five fights left now, and I want one of you to fight five guys, one after another,” he says, and there’s a moment of silence as I pause in shock. He has to be fucking kidding.
“That’s fucking crazy. There is no way any of us could win that,” I shout, and he laughs.
“I’m done with you King brothers, and I want this over. I will set up the fight and text you the details. I expect you to be there, Harley, or maybe that pretty, red-headed roommate of yours might go missing,” he tells me, and then the line goes dead.
“For fuck’s sake,” I say, throwing the phone across the room and watching as it smashes into pieces across the floor.
“What happened?” Luke asks, coming over, and I run my fingers through my hair and mentally groan as I look at Luke. I don’t want to tell him anything, but I know I won’t be able to hide this fro
m my brothers.
“Arthur has decided to do the last five fights one after another. And only one of us can fight them all,” I say, and Luke shakes his head. He knows the chances of any of us surviving that are low, or impossible. It only takes one of them to hit too hard, or another to bring a weapon in, to change the odds.
“Fuck, no,” Luke says as Blake comes over.
“He’s setting you up to fail, it’ll be suicide walking into that fight!” Blake comments, hearing the conversation.
“I don’t have a choice. I’m the only one with any hope in hell to finish this,” I say, sighing.
I would never let any of my brothers do this for me. I would never let them die because of our father’s mistakes. The fact he threatened Tilly is another matter entirely.
“You’ve always protected us, Harley. We aren’t going to let you fight this and die to protect us,” Luke says, grabbing my arm.
“It’s my choice,” I tell him, pulling away.
Except, it really isn’t my choice, and when I think about Tilly, I know I can’t be with her now. Not like I want to be. It will break her heart if I don’t walk out of that cage, and I can’t do that to her. I already like her too much to hurt her. For a second, I thought I had my happy ending; the girl I want and a future with a child that isn’t mine, and I would do anything to help bring the baby up. I can’t even have children myself, not after one of my past fights destroyed my chances to have children in one attack. That’s why I help with Jake as much as possible because I know I’ll never have that chance to hold a baby. But with Tilly, I could have been there for her and her child. Now, being there can only hurt her more.
I walk out of the office and down the two flights of stairs and into the garden. I open the greenhouse up after walking across to it and pulling out a shovel. I need to dig up the old soil by the tree and put some new soil down before planting the flowers. I shove a bag of soil into the wheelbarrow and add the shovel before pushing it out of the greenhouse.
Digging the shovel into the ground, I get to work. The clouds above are dark, and it almost looks like it may rain later. I don’t let it disturb me, though, because this is a distraction I need right now. I like gardening because it takes my mind off of everything, and I can just work. I have most the soil dug up by the time the first bit of rain falls, and I shove my stuff back into the greenhouse just as the heavens open up and it begins to pour down.
I am making my way back across the garden when I see Tilly looking at me from the window. She smiles gently at me, her eyes drifting over my soaking wet top and how my hair is down. I don’t think she has seen me like this before. Tilly and I just stare at each other before I get to the back door and I’m forced to look away. I wonder if she feels like I do, how all I want to do is walk into that kitchen and kiss her, screw the consequences.
91
Tilly
“That one is cute,” Izzy says as she points to a red top that’s on sale.
I love it, but I know it’s pointless to buy anything when I’m only going to get bigger. My bump seems to have grown in the last two weeks, and now, it’s no longer easy for me to wear tight dresses or tops.
I saw the doctor and a midwife yesterday, who checked the baby’s heartbeat and booked me in for a scan. They think everything is going well and that I’m just one of those lucky women whose pregnancy bump doesn't show. In some ways, I’m glad I didn’t show until now. For two days, Harley has avoided me, making small talk and pretending the moments we had together didn’t happen. I don’t know how we went from cuddling on the sofa to small talk over dinner. It’s gotten to the point where he walks out the door when I walk into a room sometimes. I’m so confused by him. I look at my friend, knowing I’ve been avoiding her, myself, for the last week.
“We need to talk,” I tell Izzy, who stops moving tops across a rack. I nod my head in the direction leading out of the store and go to sit by the fountain outside. I sit down on a bench, and Izzy sits next to me.
“Come on then, I’m worried,” she says, nudging my shoulder a little, and I take a deep breath.
“I’m pregnant,” I tell her quietly. She doesn’t move as she stares at me. Izzy pulls me into a tight hug after a long pause between us, and I wrap my arms around her. We don’t say anything for a while, just holding each other, and I’m sure she is working a few things out in her head.
“I’m happy for you, but I know there is more to this story. How far gone are you?” she asks me, guessing straight away there’s a reason I’m scared to have this baby.
Izzy has been asking questions every time I’ve seen her for the last two weeks, but I’ve just avoided them, wanting to try to figure out how to tell her. To be strong enough to. I’ve never thought of myself as a weak person, but the idea of telling anyone my most vulnerable moment terrifies me. The idea of sharing that part of myself is scary.
“I’m five months,” I tell her.
“Wow . . . you look good. I’m kind of jealous, and I’m sure Maisy will be, too. She is huge and she’s only four months.” She laughs, pulling my hands to her and holding them.
“Wait . . . maybe don’t tell her that. Not like huge in a bad way, just in a pregnant way, you know?” she says, and I laugh with a nod. “In fact, I’m just mumbling because I’m in shock, and this wasn’t what I expected you to say,” she finishes.
“What did you expect?” I ask.
“Erm . . . maybe something about you and Harley?” she asks, and I shake my head, not wanting to approach that subject. Thankfully, she asks another question after an awkward silence between us. “Does your family know?”
“No, I left before I could tell them. Part of me didn’t want to because I knew they would never let me leave,” I tell her.
“Why did you leave? I know your parents would have supported you, and your brothers would have too,” she says, and I know she is right. My family would have helped me, but I couldn’t risk them not believing me. I couldn’t risk them believing me, either, and having my dad, or brothers, attacking Daniel.
“The father. Well, he–” I go to say, and my voice cracks. Even now, I don’t know how to tell her. Even after preparing it in my head for so long.
“Were you with him long? Does he know?” she asks me.
“We were together seven months, and no, I never told him about the baby,” I tell her. I hope he never finds out.
“Are you planning on telling him?” she asks me gently.
“Trust me, if I had my way, he’d never find out, or go near me again,” I say, my words firm.
“You ran from him,” she says gently, and I nod, leaning back on the bench and looking up at the clouds. It’s a nice day, but it looks like there will be rain later.
“I met Daniel at a party in France and we instantly liked each other. He was hot, smart, and funny. What’s not to like, right?” I laugh a little. “So, we started dating, and he got close with my brothers. My whole family loved him like another child. Daniel is a little older than me, and Devon became best friends with him practically overnight because Devon looked up to Daniel, in a way. The next thing I knew, Devon had invited Daniel to move into our house, and somehow my parents were okay with this,” I say.
“That was how long into your relationship?” Izzy asks gently.
“About a month,” I say, and she nods, squeezing my hand, so I continue.
“At first, he was lovely and stayed in the spare room. Then after a week, he moved his stuff into my room, and I just let him. He has this way of sweet talking you into anything, I can’t explain it, but my family loved him. I guess I thought I did, too. Then everything changed.”
“How?” she asks.
“The first time was at a party. I was dancing with a few girls when a strange man got too close and tried to dance with me. I pushed him away straight away, but Daniel saw and went crazy. I had to listen to him shout at me the whole way home about how I wanted to cheat on him and a load of stuff I wouldn’t ever do. When I tried to
get out of the car, after he parked outside our house, he grabbed my arm and wrapped his hand around my throat, telling me never to do that again. I had bruises and was terrified of him,” I admit. “Still, I let him take me into the house and sleep next to me in my bed like nothing happened. I lay there all night, just shaking, not saying a word.”
“Oh, Tilly,” Izzy says, squeezing my hand once more, but I continue speaking because I need to say this.
“The next morning, he said he was sorry and charmed my family into thinking some random guy gave me the bruises at a party,” I mutter, still annoyed with myself for not saying something. I should have then, but I didn’t.
“Why didn’t you just leave?” she asks me.
“I planned to, then things just got worse. After the party, he was only nice sometimes, sex became something he demanded, and I got to the point of just doing it to make him happy. We used protection every time, so the baby wasn’t planned,” I say, knowing how badly that plan went.
“Tell me if you want to, and if you don’t . . . well, I’m just glad you’re here,” she tells me.
“I booked my tickets here and planned everything for a month, and in that month, I found out I was pregnant, which only made me more confident I had to get away. I knew my family had a holiday planned for a week, so that’s the only time I could get away from them. I tried to distract Daniel that night by getting him to see his mum. Only, he came back as I was leaving with my suitcase,” I say, a tremor in my voice.
“What happened?” Izzy encourages me gently.
“Let’s just say I was lucky to escape, Iz. I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” I whisper, and she nods.
“If it helps, I believe you were right to run. A man like that would never be a good father. Not if he doesn’t respect the baby’s mother.”
“I was scared he would hurt me again, that he would hurt the baby. Daniel is not right,” I shake my head, wiping a few tears away.
In some ways, it feels good to get some of the secrets off my chest and have her understand why I won’t let Daniel near my baby. I know I will have to tell my baby about their father. Eventually. It’s not something I want to hide from him or her.
