“I know,” Miss Carol said. “Arrangements were made this morning. We normally don’t like this kind of thing. But with Penelope helping her dying father, we made an exception.”
“What?”
“Her father,” Miss Carol said. “She’s in Maine right now, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s right. Maine. With her father. Who’s dying.”
I was suddenly in a sticky web of one of Penelope’s lies.
Maybe she told that lie to get the exception made so I could pick up Greta.
Then again, why didn’t she just pick up Greta? She could have brought her anywhere to meet me. So we could talk and figure out what to do.
Shit.
I had no idea what to do with a baby. A kid. A toddler.
Any other life besides my own.
My heart raced as Miss Carol walked Greta to me.
I put my arms out but Greta wasn’t sure about me.
“How about I walk you to your vehicle, Philip?”
I stood up and nodded.
Philip.
Of course it had to be my real name. My full name. My legal name.
I hate that name.
I went with it though.
Miss Carol walked Greta to my SUV.
I had no choice then but to pick her up.
I wasn’t sure if she was going to scream, kick me, bite me, spit at me… all of which I would understand.
But she didn’t do anything.
She just kind of looked at me.
I smiled at her. “Hey, Greta girl.”
Miss Carol said goodbye to me and to Greta.
She walked back to the building as I put Greta into her carseat.
It took me a lot longer than it probably should have, but I got the job done.
When I sat down behind the wheel of the SUV it all felt different. That sudden realization that I was not just driving my ass around but I had a little life in the backseat.
It was amazing the way my mind just clicked.
Before I could leave the parking lot, my phone started to go off.
It was Ash.
I laughed and didn’t even bother reading his text.
I didn’t give a shit what he or Uly had to say about anything.
This was about doing the right thing. Which was a rarity for me to worry about. But maybe all the shit with East vs. West and Kip stealing Werthwood’s car, and all the useless bullshit in between… maybe that was just some kind of sign. A warning of what the future was really going to be like.
And even with Vera.
Vera.
What was that?
She just appeared from nowhere and was a ball of fun and lies.
I was okay with that though.
She was the version of herself she wanted me to see.
I couldn’t fault her for that.
She protected herself.
But it was done now.
At least for the moment.
I knew a place in my heart ached to talk to her again. To get the last bit of the story out of her. That she was somehow connected to what was going on with Penelope. And even if Penelope wasn’t…
My phone started to ring.
I slowed down a little and reached for the phone.
It was Penelope calling.
“Hey, I just picked her up,” I said. “Where do-”
“Hil,” Penelope said. “I need you. Right now. Please.”
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s going to hurt me.”
* * *
I wanted to speed to get to her but I couldn’t.
So I drove like normal but my hands gripped the wheel tight.
My mind tingled with memories. The ones of Penelope always needing to be saved. Whether she was to blame or not, both Uly and I had thrown more than a few punches at people we didn’t know for the sake of Penelope’s heart.
She wasn’t dragging me to some house or something though.
It was the beach.
A few miles from Vera’s house, not that that mattered or anything.
I parked the SUV and saw Penelope hugging herself near the water.
She turned her head and looked at me.
Tears on her face.
My heart sank a little.
I wasn’t sure if I cared about her or what, but it was the emotion of it all.
How did it get so heavy so fast?
It felt like a lifetime ago when I was calling Ash for a ride because Vera stole my clothes and my motorcycle. Or when I was pissed that Vera stole my g string off my guitar.
Or when…
I climbed out of the SUV and got Greta out of her car seat.
She clung to my shoulder as I walked toward Penelope.
I put her down on the sand and watched her steady herself and start to walk toward her mother.
Penelope walked to Greta and picked her up really fast. Her eyes never left mine for a second. It was almost like watching someone pick up a bag instead of a kid. Then again, all this new stuff for me was stuff she had seen every single day. All the time. Even with Veronica’s help.
Veronica… Vera…
I shook it away.
“Were you followed?” Penelope asked.
“Followed? What?”
“It’s Brian. He’s insane. He’s after me.”
“Brian…”
“Boyfriend,” she said.
“Boyfriend?”
“Hil. Come on.”
“The guy,” I said.
“Yes,” she said. “The guy. Okay? We’ve been on and off for so long. I don’t know. He gets angry and he tracks me down. That’s why I live with Veronica.”
“Live…”
“Have been,” she said. “I’ve been hiding. And working. Veronica helps like I said, but the story… I don’t even know what to say right now. He just started calling me. Threatening me. Saying things about Greta.”
“About Greta?” I asked.
My lip curled.
I was suddenly ready to defend this little girl.
“Yeah,” Penelope said. “I didn’t want anything crazy to happen at Veronica’s house. Okay? I wanted to talk to you first. But I need you to… I don’t know. Knock him out or something.”
I looked at Greta. “I don’t know…”
“You have to do this for us,” Penelope said.
“Wait a second,” I said. “When I picked up Greta, they gave me a story about you out of town. Your father dying…”
“That was all bullshit,” she said. “I had to lie to get you on the list. Duh.”
“Right.”
“Oh, I get it now,” she said. “You think I’m lying right now. Is that what this is?”
“I don’t know what anything is, Penelope,” I said.
My phone buzzed again.
Ash’s name was on the phone screen.
You’re an asshole for not listening bro.
A thoughtful text from my stepbrother.
I ignored the text.
“You know, I thought we could just run away together,” Penelope said. “I have money. I have access to money. My parents would totally pay me to go away. Even with Greta. I don’t think they love her at all. I don’t think anyone loves her. Or cares about her. Or cares about me.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “Don’t talk like that. Just hold on, Penelope. Give me a second here. Okay? Just… where were you today? I mean, I picked Greta up and where was I going to go?”
“To Veronica’s,” she said. “I had to get stuff done. I wanted to see what you would do. And whether you like it or not you need to face Veronica’s house. Because of Vera. Okay? Fine. I said her name.”
“Are you jealous?”
“No,” Penelope said. “Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. I just can’t imagine you not being here with me.”
I nodded.
I looked at Greta.
“Where is he?” I asked. “Brian. Where is he now?”
“I think he’s at Veronica’s. T
hat’s what scares me. I don’t want him to hurt me.”
“Where are your parents now?”
“Not anywhere near here,” she said. “Trust me. But I’ll be fine. I have money. I can get money. I want you with me, Hil. It was always supposed to be us. Together. You and me together. We can talk about everything that happened and what I did wrong. What everyone did wrong. But does it all really matter now? There’s a life here…”
Penelope finally addressed Greta by kissing her on the cheek.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“I just did,” she said. “Are you going to ask me a million questions or help me? Help us?”
Again, she kissed Greta’s cheek.
“And what do you want me to do here? Just show up and hit this guy?”
“That’s right,” she said. “He’s mean. He’s evil. I hate him. I hate him so much. He wasn’t supposed to find me. Okay?”
I gritted my teeth.
I walked back to the SUV with Penelope and Greta behind me.
She strapped Greta into her seat.
I looked down at my phone again.
I didn’t even realize a text came through from Uly.
Do NOT listen to her!
I looked up at Penelope as she sat in the passenger seat.
Wiping her cheeks.
Trying to clean herself up.
I looked at Ash’s earlier text message I didn’t read.
I know the truth Hil… we need to talk right now.
“Are you coming?” Penelope asked.
Her voice was calm, bitchy, like a jagged knife through my ears.
I curled my lip in anger.
I wasn’t even sure what I was angry at.
A little bit of everything.
This was about the truth, right?
Well, it was fucking time I got the truth for myself.
Chapter 20
I pulled into the driveway where Vera lived and my heart was never more confused. Everything in my life seemed to collide at this one fucking spot. The past, the present, and whatever the hell the future looked like.
“There’s the car,” Penelope said.
She grabbed my hand.
Sure enough there was a black car parked near the front of the house.
A four door luxury car.
A family car.
A dad car.
“As soon as you see that prick, you knock him out, Hil,” Penelope ordered.
I nodded as I approached slowly.
‘You take him down for good, Hil. Okay? I’m sorry it’s come to this.’
‘Uly? You know he was once my best friend, right?’
‘Does that even matter right now? After everything I told you. I know what you were planning for us. For our future. I love you for that, Hil, I want that future. But we can’t let this stuff follow us. And it will follow us. Unless you do something about it.’
‘I know. I’ll handle it. It’s not just about Uly and I, okay? Ash is in this too. We’re Them.’
‘Oh, right, your fucking friends matter more than me? That’s real nice to say. Coming from the guy who wanted, what, to marry me? Is that even true to think about? My god, Hil, who are you right now? You’re not Hil. The Hil I know would have been out that door and pounding on Uly’s face. Maybe I should go ask him to do the same to you. See which of you is really tough enough for me.’
‘Don’t say that shit, Penelope. You’re the one who…’
‘What? What did I do that’s so wrong? Huh? Because I fooled around with both of you? I’m here right now, aren’t I? Do you really think for a second this music stuff is going to work out anyway? At least not with Uly on board. He sucks. He’s a loser. And who is Ash? Your stepbrother? Really? That’s not true family, Hil. That’s just forced family. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this. I thought you were someone else.’
‘Just stop, okay? I’ll take care of it.’
‘How are you going to take care of it? The right way or what?’
Everything had gone to hell because of Penelope. Uly and I had never been the same and we never would be. Even now, playing shows, showing strength with Them, it wasn’t the same. Belle showing up to BFH helped, but it didn’t fix it.
Nothing would fix it.
Because no matter what, Uly and I never got the real story.
I looked at Penelope. “You took off because you were pregnant. Because your parents wanted you to be with him. Right? That’s what you told us. That was the only time you told both of us the same story. Right?”
“What does that matter now?”
“And you were gone. So you had a baby… and that baby is mine now…”
“Did you see her?” Penelope asked. “Hello?”
“I saw her,” I said. “She looks like you.”
Penelope took her hand off of mine. “What are you saying right now?”
“I’m saying that…”
“Hil, seriously, look,” she said.
Her eyes went wide.
I looked forward and saw a guy leaving the house.
Nice clothes, putting sunglasses on his face, looking pissed off.
“Go now!” Penelope yelled. “Please help me!”
In the backseat Greta started to cry because of Penelope yelling.
Penelope jumped out of the SUV to go take care of Greta.
I got out of the SUV and saw Brian looking at me.
“There you are!” he yelled and pointed.
He started to run toward us.
I moved around the front of the SUV.
I looked behind me and saw Penelope scrambling to get Greta out of the backseat.
I took a few more steps to block Brian’s view of Penelope and Greta.
My phone buzzed in my pocket again.
My eyes looked to the house.
Vera.
Behind me I heard Penelope’s voice trying to sooth her daughter.
Our daughter.
Our daughter?
Brian picked up speed.
I moved forward and locked my right fist up tight.
He wasn’t even looking at me when I got into his path.
“Slow down, man,” I said.
“Fuck yourself,” he said.
He reached for me like he was going to move me.
I swung my right hand.
The cycle was complete.
I was destroying my life for Penelope’s lies.
* * *
I hit Brian so hard he jumped off his feet.
He grabbed for his stomach and landed on his knees.
He didn’t hesitate a second as he punched me in the stomach.
It was an awkward angle but it did the trick.
Stealing my breath for a few seconds.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Brian yelled at me.
“You’re not going to hurt her,” I said.
Brian got to his feet.
I had my right hand ready to go again.
Brian moved toward me and I grabbed his shirt with my left hand.
“I’ll fucking take you down and keep you down,” I warned.
“You’re the guy,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“The guy. The one she uses. Holy fuck…”
I swung and hit Brian in the mouth.
He stumbled back and grabbed his face.
I went after him again.
I saw movement and my eyes looked quick enough to see the front door to the house opening. And Veronica stepped outside.
Just Veronica.
My eyes were taken off Brian long enough that he jumped at me and sank his shoulder into my stomach. He pulled at the back of my legs and down to the ground we both went.
I locked my arm around his neck for a few seconds but he landed two good punches to my ribs that made my arm loosen its grip.
We were tangled up for a little bit, grunting and growling like two morons fighting over a girl.
Which we were, right?
&n
bsp; “Anything she’s said is a lie,” Brian said.
“Fuck you, man,” I said. “She’s scared of you.”
“Because she’s been hiding,” Brian said. “I’m trying to get her help and get her out of here. Before she ruins more lives.”
I pushed Brian away. “Ruins lives? You don’t know what she did to me.”
“Try me,” Brian said. “I’ve chased her around the world. The second I told her I loved her, you know what she did? She took off on me. Pretended to be some poor girl working at a cafe. Sound familiar to you?”
I stepped toward him. “I don’t care about the past. It matters what’s happening now. She doesn’t want you here. You have to go. I swear I will-”
“You’re Hil,” Brian said.
“So?”
Brian started to laugh. “I wasn’t sure which one you were.”
“Which one?”
“She’s got a list, Hil. A list of who will do what for her.”
I looked over my shoulder and I couldn’t see Penelope anymore.
When I looked forward, Veronica just stood on the top step, looking shocked.
“Think about it,” Brian said. “What the fuck do you think I’m here for? You think I want this shit? I had no idea what I was getting into with her. Ever. Now I’m stuck.”
“She doesn’t want you here.”
“Of course she doesn’t. Neither do you. She knew what she was doing with you. She threatened me with you more than once, Hil.”
“What?”
“She always said she could find you and win you back in a second,” Brian said. “And you would fight anyone in her path. No questions asked. You would do anything for her. No matter what she said.”
I moved toward Brian again and grabbed his shirt.
I pulled him toward me.
He put his arms out. “Go ahead, Hil. Knock me out. But when you do that, reach into my back pocket. You know how most guys carry a wallet or cash or a phone? Want to know what I carry?”
“What?” I growled.
“A fucking paternity test,” Brian said. “So I can prove to whatever guy Penelope tells Greta is his that she’s a fucking liar.”
I pushed Brian away. “What…”
“Greta isn’t yours,” he said. “She told you that, right? The big sob story, right? She’s not yours. She’s mine. I have the proof.”
I pulled my fist back and was seriously ready to knock Brian out.
And then I saw the look in his eyes.
HIL: a bay falls high novel Page 18
