by G. Bailey
“Does anyone else know about the baby?” she asks, thankfully changing the subject a little.
“Harley guessed,” I say.
“Is he still okay with you living there? I’m sure he would be, but if he isn’t, then we will figure something out,” she says, and I squeeze her hand.
“He is okay with it. He actually moved Jake’s old cot into my room and has been making me breakfast, making sure I eat in the day. He has been looking after me,” I say, thinking of him.
My mind wanders back to seeing him in the garden. He was walking in the pouring rain, rainwater dripping all over his body and making his top stick to him, showing off his muscular chest. His hair was down, shaping his stern, handsome face and his bright-green eyes seemed to speak to me. They seemed to call me to him, begging me to run out into the rain and press my lips to his once again. Then he ignored me. So, clearly, he wasn’t thinking the same thing as my hormonal brain was thinking.
“Harley is a lot of things, but one of his best qualities is how protective he is. My brothers look after their own, and they know how you helped me when I lost Mum. How you’re like a sister to me, and I’m damn well going to be there for you now,” she tells me, wiping her own tears away. I look her over, remembering being there when she watched her mum die and begging my parents not to move away. My parents had no choice, and I never told Izzy of the problems my family had, but I know my mum never wanted to leave her.
“I love you, Iz, you know that? I’m always going to be here for you, too,” I tell her, and she laughs, wiping more tears away before pulling me into a hug.
“Good, because there’s no way you’re getting rid of me,” she whispers.
“Izzy!” I hear a voice shout, and we pull away from the hug to see a blond woman walking over. She has golden-blond hair with brown tips, and she is gorgeous as she bounces over. She’s wearing a leather jacket, a white top, and black skinny jeans.
“Allie,” Izzy says, standing up and pulling Allie into a hug when she gets near.
“This is Tilly, and, Tilly, this is Allie,” Izzy introduces us as I stand up, and I hold a hand out to Allie, who knocks it away and pulls me into a hug.
“None of that. I feel like we are friends anyway with how much Izzy has told me about you,” she tells me as she lets go.
“Nice to meet you, Allie. I’ve heard lovely things about you from Izzy,” I tell her, and she grins.
“I’ve heard from Luke that you and Harley have been sharing sexy looks for weeks. So . . . you fancy the oldest King brother?” Allie asks, making me a little speechless.
“Err . . .” I say.
“It’s okay. The King brothers are the hottest men for miles. And you’re living with one. I’m dating one, so I get it,” she tells me with a cheeky look that makes me laugh.
“These are my brothers . . .” Izzy groans, and I laugh a little with Allie.
“Damn, I wanted to tell you all about this thing Elliot did last night, and I swear I–” Allie starts saying.
“Lalalala . . .” Izzy interrupts, and Allie winks at me.
“I’ll text you it later, Tills,” she says, and I laugh.
When Izzy told me about Allie, she did say she is really honest. Clearly about everything, but something tells me I’m going to like her.
“I wish I could stay and catch up, but I’m in a rush to get to Tristan’s. He annoyed the nurse the other day and she won’t come back, so until he gets both the casts off next week, I’m looking after him,” Allie tells us both.
“What did he say to the nurse? Tria was lovely, and I thought they were really getting along. I mean, Luke told me Tristian had actually been getting out of bed and trying,” Izzy comments.
“Urgh, I don’t know. Tris is a mess at the moment after everything that happened, and I doubt he meant whatever he said to Tria,” she says, and Izzy nods, a silence spreading between us all.
What happened? I wonder.
“He will be all right, but I will speak to my brothers and Blake and see if they can go over to cheer him up a little,” Izzy offers.
“Elliot’s been trying, but yeah, that may help,” she says, and Izzy nods, hugging her once more.
“I will see you on the weekend, okay?” Allie asks.
“Definitely. I need to tell you about this secret trip Blake has planned for us. He seems really nervous about it,” Izzy says with a frown.
“Ooh, I wonder what it is,” I comment.
“Me, too,” Allie replies, and her phone starts ringing in her pocket.
“Damn it, I need to go, but love ya both and see you soon,” she says, walking off and pulling her phone out of her jacket.
“Anything else you want to tell me before we go and shop for some maternity clothes? No wonder you didn’t want to buy any clothes from the other stores,” Izzy comments.
“Not me, but I want you to explain the fighting, The Cage, and what the hell happened to your brothers,” I say, and she nods with a sigh, waving a hand toward the bench.
“This is going to be a long story,” she begins.
I sit down as she explains about Arthur and her father. She tells me how her brothers are fighting to pay off a debt, and how they’re close to being free. She tells me everything that’s happened since she moved here, and what has recently happened to Tristan. By the time we leave our spot on the bench, I feel sorry for Harley, everything he’s been through, and how he’s always been the one to protect them all. He’s a good man, and I hope when he and his brothers are free of this debt he can live a healthy life.
Only, I want to be in that life, too.
92
Harley
“What the hell do you want?” I ask as I walk into my father’s room after he called me to tell me it's urgent. I stop in my tracks when I see Hazel, my ex-girlfriend and the only girl I’ve ever cared about, in bed with my father. They are kissing, ignoring me completely, and when my father moves away, she sees me and covers her naked body with a sheet.
“What the fuck, Hazel?” I ask her, and she nervously looks at my father and me.
“This is my new girlfriend, and she is moving in here,” Father says.
I walk out of the room, ignoring the pain shooting through my chest. I expected it from him, but not her. Not the first girl I’ve ever slept with, the first girl I actually cared about. I run down the stairs and out of the house, and I just keep running through the trees, having no idea where I’m going. I trip on a rock and slam onto the ground just as it starts raining. Half of me wants to stand up and keep running, but the other half of me knows I can’t do that. I can’t take my brothers with me, I would never get custody at seventeen. I lift myself up off the ground and tighten my jaw as I look up at the dark clouds.
Only a few more years and we can all leave this shit-hole of a town, and our heartless father with it.
“Hey, what are you doing in here?” Tilly asks me, snapping me from my memories of a night I’d rather forget.
Hazel was my father’s girlfriend until he was killed, and she never left me alone the entire time. She played on my feelings, making me hate women until recently. Until Tilly, who understands me with one look. She doesn’t push me, she doesn’t hurt me.
I turn around and see her standing at the entrance to her bedroom. She walks in and places her laptop on the bed; she must have been working all day editing a new book she was sent last night. Tilly looks way too beautiful today, she seems even more stunning every day, and it’s so difficult to stay away from her. Not to kiss her, to take off the tight clothes she has on, which show off her amazing body. Not to finally run my fingers through her soft hair.
“The roses in the garden needed cutting, I thought you might like some,” I say, moving to the side so she can see the massive vase full of at least twenty red roses. I hate cutting them, but sometimes you have to cut the beauty away from something to let it bloom.
“Oh, Harley, they are stunning,” she says, coming over and touching the flowers�
� petals. I look down at her and, at the same time, she stares up at me, an awkward silence between us.
“They aren’t the only thing in the room that is stunning,” I say, and she laughs.
“You have a high opinion of yourself, Harley King,” she says, moving away as I laugh.
“That could have been a romantic moment between us, and there you go . . .” I say, both of us still laughing.
“Damn, totally ruined it.” She chuckles.
I go to sit down next to her on the bed and move a book I find. It’s a children’s fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea.
“It was my favourite growing up. I used to get scared my dad would go back to prison and I would wake up crying, and my mum always read this book to me. It was the only story I would fall asleep to,” she tells me. I didn’t know her dad went to jail.
“Why did your dad go to jail? If you don’t mind me asking?” I ask her.
She sits and crosses her legs, her little bump showing through her tight, white top. “My dad wasn’t always a good guy. He is now, but as much as my mum tried to hide his past from us as children, it didn’t work. Can you remember that as I tell you everything?” she asks gently, and I nod.
“He was one of the five leaders of a major drug and illegal weapons company. Basically, they moved things from Africa, and other countries, into Europe. My dad told me his father and his grandfather ran the business before him and he was born into it. That’s not an excuse, but it’s hard to escape what you’re born into.”
“If anyone understands that, it’s me,” I say quietly. “What changed?”
“My mum; he met my mum, and she gave him a choice. Her or his work,” she says, her voice quiet.
“And he chose her?” I respond.
“Yes, he did. He only served a year because he gave evidence in the trials of all of his business partners and told the police where to find everything. Then he and my mother were given a new identity and last name,” she explains.
I guess it makes some sense, the police would have done anything for the information her father gave them, and then the new identity as a reward.
“Fox?” I say, and she nods.
“And then they started having kids and lived happily ever after.” She chuckles, but it’s almost sad.
“Does he ever speak about his old life? Did he easily manage to move on?” I ask, knowing my own past haunts me. I don’t think I will ever be able to put The Cage behind me, or what our father did, and manage to sleep at night without my nightmares haunting me.
“He did, with my mum at his side. He says that she chases away his darkness,” she tells me, and I know she means more than just her dad now, as she stares back at me. Her blue eyes seem to search my face for a long time, looking for something I don’t know how to give her. Feelings I’ve stopped myself from having since Hazel, but I can’t stop the way I look back at her. I can’t stop how I feel for her, the siren is working her way into my heart whether I like it or not.
“Maybe some darkness can’t be kept away.”
“All darkness can be kept away, you just need to find your light,” she says, standing up and leaning over to kiss me on the cheek.
I watch as she walks out of the room, leaving the door open, and I watch, wondering if Tilly could be that light for me. I wonder if she could be the one to stop the darkness of my past from haunting me.
93
Tilly
“Thank you for all of this,” I whisper to Izzy as she walks us into her apartment, which has been done up for the baby shower she’s throwing Maisy and me.
Seconds later, everyone jumps up from where they were hidden and shouts surprise. I want to say it’s a surprise, but I overheard her telling Harley something the other day, so I knew. I laugh and smile as someone switches the lights on, and I get a look at the room.
There are pink and blue decorations everywhere, with flowers and balloons spread around the room. I don’t know all the women here, but most look familiar, and I’ve possibly seen them around the gym. There’s a counter full of presents, in two large piles, and I know I will have to send ‘thank you’ letters to everyone for the gifts. They don’t really know me that well, and yet, they clearly bought me baby gifts. I try not to feel the pang of sadness I do when I realise my mother isn’t here, not that I expected her to be. I just never imagined having a baby shower without her.
“It’s nothing.” Izzy waves a hand at me, motioning me inside as she speaks.
“You look lovely,” Allie says as she walks up to me with Maisy at her side. I give her a hug, looking at the weird pink and blue bows clipped to her blue dress. Maisy tries to hug me, but both our large bumps get in the way.
“Aha, even though I’m a month behind you, my bump is huge,” Maisy comments, and it’s true. Her bump is massive on her small frame, whereas mine is still small. I remember the baby scan that Harley came with me to, how they said the baby is curled up around my spine and it’s normal.
“I think it’s because Tilly is taller than all of us,” Allie says, and she might be on to something.
“Okay, what is with all the bows?” I ask her, seeing that all the women have them on and Maisy doesn’t.
“Okay, so it’s game. Everyone got a bow when they came in, and if you say ‘baby’ then you have to give your bow, or bows, to whoever you were talking to. Whoever has the most at the end gets a prize,” she says, clipping a bow onto my red maternity dress. I smooth it down and look at my red dress, seeing my little bump.
“How come you don’t have one?” I ask Maisy, who laughs before answering.
“I gave up when I walked in. I can’t not say baby, and the prize is useless for us pregnant people.” She winks, so I’m guessing it’s alcoholic.
“Congratulations on the baby coming, I’m Emilia,” a woman with curly, brown hair says, coming over. She’s wearing a black hoodie and black jeans, which is different from the room full of women in dresses, but it doesn’t take away from her beauty. She has tanned skin and big, brown eyes.
“Hi, I’m Tilly, nice to meet you,” I say, shaking her hand.
“I live with Izzy and Blake here,” she tells me, and it makes some sense. “But I’m off, I just wanted to say hello.”
“You could stay, it looks like there is plenty to drink and eat,” I say, noticing the massive buffet table in the lounge, which is full of baby-themed food. There is even a cake shaped like a cradle, with ‘Baby Fox’ written in icing on the side.
“Thanks, but my dad called, and yeah, I have to go. We should hang out another time, though.” She smiles, and I nod.
“Bye, Em.” Allie gives her a hug before she waves to everyone else and leaves.
“We have games planned.” Allie winks, taking my hand and leading me over to some women who are standing around.
We chat for a bit with some of the women, who do remember me from the gym, and the others seem nice when we are introduced. I spend the next hour eating and talking to the women here, most give me horror stories about their births, and others offer advice that may be useful to know when the baby comes. Overall, it’s fun, and the food is amazing.
“Okay, the painter is here,” Izzy says as she comes over to me, with a woman at her side. The woman is older with a huge bag hanging from her shoulder.
“This is a gift from us to both you and Maisy,” Izzy whispers.
“Hi, I’m Daisy, and I paint pictures on your bump. It’s called Bump art. I have a portfolio you can look through and choose from, but I can do anything you want,” the woman says, and I can’t help the smile I give them all as they wait for me and Maisy to say something. It’s actually really sweet.
“I’m also a photographer, so I will take some photos that you can keep,” she says, and I can’t help but think it’s the perfect gift.
“You can go first,” I whisper to Maisy, who gives me an excited look before following Daisy and Allie into a bedroom, some of the women following.
I go over and choose some
food from the massive collection, and I’m halfway through eating a fantastic cupcake when Harley, Sebastian, and Elliot walk in. Harley comes straight over to me, and I can’t take my eyes off him as he does.
“I thought guys weren’t invited?” I ask, and he smirks as he sits next to me. I watch as he dips his finger into the icing on the cupcake and sucks it off his finger.
“I’ve never played by the rules, siren.” He chuckles, knowing precisely what he is doing.
“Neither have I,” I whisper back, dropping my tone just as Maisy comes out of the bedroom with her bump on show. There is an amazing painting of a moon with a stork flying across it, and there is a purple-sky as background with flowers at the bottom of her bump.
“Wow,” I hear Sebastian say, and he comes over, trying to place his hand on the bump, but Maisy moves away.
“It’s not dry yet,” she says with a laugh, and he leans over, kissing her cheek.
“Don’t you want a relationship like that?” I ask Harley.
“I don’t do relationships. I don’t date. I would only hurt someone if I tried,” he says, clearly meaning me, and I have to look away from him.
“Tilly, it’s your turn. Your boyfriend can come with you if you want?” she asks, looking at Harley and me.
“Oh, he isn’t my boyfriend. Harley doesn’t do relationships,” I say, and Harley glares at me as I stand up and walk off with Daisy.
“For someone that doesn’t do relationships, the way he just looked at you was awfully possessive,” Daisy comments.
I look back at Harley, who is still staring at me, his eyes are passionate and a tight smile sits on his lips. Possessive is definitely a word I would use to describe the look he is giving me, but it makes no difference. Harley King says he doesn’t play by the rules, but he won’t break his own rule for me.
