by L A Cotton
My phone vibrated, and I picked it up, smiling when I saw Maverick’s name.
Maverick: The coast is clear
With one last check in the mirror, I grabbed my Oxford University hoodie off the back of my door and left my room. Dad was gone. Although he was around more than he’d ever been at the Stone-Prince’s, he still spent a lot of time with Stella and Beth, and I’d grown used to the quiet.
I slid my feet into my favourite Converse and went to meet Maverick. He stood against the Audi, eyes glittering with some indecipherable emotion. But my gaze went straight to the purplish bruise along his cheek, the faint split in his lip.
“What the hell did you do?” I hissed as I reached him, tracing his injuries with my fingertips. He recoiled from my touch, causing my stomach to drop away.
“Come on, we need to get going.” He went to move but I grabbed his arm. “Maverick,” I softened my voice, trying to reach him. “What happened?”
He dragged a hand down his face and blew out a frustrated breath. “Lo, come on. I want to spend the day together. Just you and me. No bullshit. No drama.”
I blinked my eyes in disbelief. “You were fighting again.” I couldn’t disguise the pain in my whisper and his stone mask slammed down.
Just when I thought we were getting somewhere. Yesterday had been a first. We’d hung out with his friends. He’d let me into that part of his life. He must have left Luke’s after me and gone to that godforsaken place.
“Why?” I snapped, feeling the bubble of irritation and disappointment.
“You left and I—” His eyes darted around me, refusing to meet my narrowed gaze.
“Don’t you dare blame this on me. I left because it made sense, because you want to keep this,”—I motioned between us—“a secret.”
“Lo,” his voice was low, heavy with regret. But it was too late for that. Jesus, how often did he do this to himself? I slid my hand down to his wrist and inspected his hands. Angry red marks marred his knuckles and I winced imagining them slamming into bone. A faceless man’s cheek. His ribs.
“Why, Maverick? Just tell me why.”
Eyes clamped shut, he let out a long breath. “Because I need it.”
“But why?” I dropped his hand and curled my fists into his black sweater. “Try to help me understand?”
He dropped his head, his eyes open now and fixed on me. “It’s the only way I know how to make it stop.” His admission hung between us and I waited for him to continue, but instead he said, “I’m fine. It’s barely a scratch.”
“Not the point,” I let out a deep sigh. We were getting nowhere. Maverick wasn’t going to tell me what I wanted to know. Sensing my worsening mood, he looped his arms around my waist and gathered me close.
“I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t think.” His warm breath danced over my skin. “You never have to worry about me Lo. I’ve got it under control. I promise.”
But that was just it, I did worry. Maverick stepped into that ring because he needed it. Not for victory or sick satisfaction at crushing his opponent, but to battle his own personal demons. And I knew first-hand it wasn’t a battle easily won.
“Can we start over? I have the whole day planned.” Hope sparkled in his brown eyes bringing out the flecks of gold.
“The whole day?”
“And tonight, if you’re lucky.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk and he was back—the Maverick I knew. Cocky and self-assured. But for a second, I’d seen another glimpse of the boy from the beach that night last summer. Uncertain. Vulnerable… Damaged.
“So where are we going?” I asked, shelving the argument for now.
“It’s a surprise.” He dropped a kiss to my head and went around to the driver’s side.
I climbed inside grumbling, “I hate surprises.” Maverick chuckled and the tension from seconds earlier evaporated. As he backed out of our small driveway, I couldn’t help but trace the bruise. Irritated and sore, I could imagine the crunch of knuckle against his cheekbone, and my stomach roiled.
Back in Surrey, after the accident, there had been days when I wanted it to be over. The crippling grief. The gaping jagged hole left in my heart by my mum and Elliot. I’d drank or smoked, swallowed or inhaled anything I could, just to forget. To numb everything. So I knew all about wanting to replace one feeling with another. To transport myself to another place. I’d woken up in pools of my own vomit, in stranger’s houses. I’d even woken up in the hospital once after having my stomach pumped… but it was self-inflicted. Self-destruction at its finest. I couldn’t imagine wanting someone, another human being, to hurt me. It made me wonder what could have possibly happened to Maverick to make him step into that ring… to want to hurt in order to forget.
As if he felt me watching, he turned to me and smiled. A rare sight for the boy who carried a darkness within him. A darkness I knew I’d barely uncovered.
~
“Disney? We're going to Disney?” I’d spotted a couple of signs but hadn't wanted to get my hopes up.
“Is that okay?” Uncertainty lingered in Maverick's voice, but my squeal of approval had him relaxing in his seat.
“Is it okay? For real? Do you know how disappointed I was when we didn't get to visit last year?” A pang of sadness washed over me. Maverick noticed, his hand slipping over my knee and squeezing gently.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine.” If I didn't let the memories in, didn't give them notice, I could almost pretend I was just a girl on a date with a boy.
A date at Disney.
I let out a squeak of excitement again.
“You really like Disney, huh?” Maverick mocked, and I frowned over at him as he turned off the highway.
“You're telling me you don't like Disney?”
He shrugged but I saw how his mouth was curved slightly. “It's okay, I guess.”
“Okay, he says,” I mumbled watching as we drove down Disney Drive. But I caught the flicker of amusement in his eyes, and a frisson of anticipation ran through me at the thought of seeing another side of Maverick.
We rode in silence while Maverick concentrated on the signs directing us to the huge parking lots. “It’s busy,” I said noticing the queue of cars waiting for entry, my anxiety trying to push its way to the surface. But I tamped it down, not wanting to ruin the day before it even got started.
“Yeah, I guess you’re not the only one who loves Disney.” He smirked at me and I poked my tongue out at him. “I got us tickets for both parks.”
“I want to ride Guardians of the Galaxy first, and the parades, we have to see the parades.”
“You really do love Disney,” Maverick grumbled as he followed the line of cars until we were directed to an empty bay. I was first out, excitement buzzing in my veins. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this excited. It was a feeling I wanted to cling to.
To hold on and never let go.
“You look so cute right now.” Maverick came around to me and offered me his hand. I slid my palm into his, sparks of electricity dancing over my skin.
“Thank you.” I grinned at him. “In case I forget to say it later, thank you for this.”
He let out a smooth chuckle tugging me toward the streams of people.
So. Many. People.
Ugh.
But I ignored the masses, following Maverick to the line. Keeping my mind busy on all of the amazing things we would get to do today. “It’s so pretty,” I said as we made it through security, my eyes taking it all in. The Christmas trees, the twinkling lights, fake snow, and music.
“Come on.” Maverick wrapped his arm around me and guided me down an off-shoot pathway. The queues had dispersed now, and I inhaled a deep breath. I could breathe. I was fine.
It was going to be fine.
Better than fine, it was going to be great.
“For someone who doesn’t get the whole Disney thing, you seem awfully sure of where to go,” I mocked.
“It used to be my favorite
place to come.”
Used to be. I swallowed over the giant lump in my throat.
“I can’t imagine your mom traipsing around this place in her Louboutin’s.”
“Mom didn’t bring us.”
Oh. If Rebecca hadn’t brought them then it must have meant… Shit. Me and my big mouth.
“It was our yearly vacation with Dad,” Maverick continued, surprising me. “He’d bring me, Macey, Alex, and Elle, out here for the weekend over the holidays. There isn’t a ride in this place we haven’t conquered.” He flashed me a smug grin, but I saw the pain behind his eyes.
“Alex and Elle?”
“Yeah, my half-brother and sister. Alex is sixteen like Summer, and Elle is thirteen.”
“Oh, I didn’t know…” my voice trailed off. Laurie had told me Alec Prince had children with his wife, but no one ever talked about them. “They don’t go to our school?”
Maverick shook his head. “They go to the private school.”
“Oh.”
I wanted to ask more, to find out about his half-brother and sister. But talking about his father hurt, I could see that. So, I wouldn’t push. Not when he was finally opening up. The Guardians of the Galaxy ride loomed up ahead and Maverick weaved through the streams of people, until we were entering the queue. He nudged me first and I waited for the people in front of me to move along, suddenly aware of how packed it was. I’d begged Dad to bring me here last summer. I loved the fairground, theme parks, thrill rides. But that was before. My whole body tensed up and Maverick noticed, sliding his arms through mine and pulling me back to his chest. “Scared?” he whispered.
It wasn’t the first time he’d asked me that, and each time I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some hidden meaning in his question. I sucked in a sharp breath, glanced back at him and pressed my lips together with a small shake of my head. My anxieties only had power over me if I let them. I could do this. It was just a ride. It was safe.
I was safe.
He laughed, dropping a kiss to my nose, and then nudged me forward again. But he didn’t let go. Maverick stayed wrapped around me, moving us as one. A couple of people in the winding queue watched us and I wondered what they saw. A slow blush crept into my cheeks. We hadn’t talked about what we were to one another. And we definitely hadn’t labelled our relationship. But this, being here with him like this, and yesterday at Luke’s, felt significant. It felt like Maverick was trying to tell me something without having to say the actual words.
And the thought comforted me more than I expected.
~
We spent the day moving from ride to ride. After the Guardians of the Galaxy, I avoided any of the rides in enclosed spaces. Maverick noticed my ashen face after that first ride, the slight tremble to my hands, but he didn’t push, and I gave him no answer. I couldn’t go there. Not yet. Not when he’d gone to all this effort for me. I just wanted to enjoy our day together. So, when the music filled the air and the crowds lined Main Street, I yanked Maverick with me to watch the parades. Then we ate cotton candy, and foot long hot dogs, and stood in front of the iconic blue-tipped castle to take selfies.
It was perfect.
Well, almost perfect. But our demons could wait. Disney was the place of dreams, not nightmares.
“My feet hurt so bad,” I said as we walked hand in hand toward Downtown Disney.
“I told you to wear sensible shoes.”
“These are sensible shoes.” I elbowed Maverick’s ribs. “We must have walked miles today.”
“What’s a little pain in the name of Disney?” he mocked drawing me into his side. “Did you want to get food, or head back?”
I checked my watch. “It’s almost six.”
“Is your dad expecting you back?”
“He texted earlier to say he’s staying at Stella’s.”
Anger flashed in Maverick’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything. “There’s this thing we could go to, if you wanted to?”
“Thing?” I said.
His eyes shifted, and I sensed his uncertainty.
“Maverick, what thing?”
“A party.” He released me to rub his jaw. “Hmm, Selina invited us.”
“Selina?” My eyes widened with realisation. “You mean the girl from Luke’s party?”
“It’s not like that, Lo. She’s a friend.”
“Friend, right.”
“Come on.” Maverick crowded me against the wall. “I know Kyle told you nothing happened. I thought you’d ask me… I was waiting for you to ask.” His eyes softened, searching mine. “Why didn’t you ask?”
“I… I don’t know.”
I did know. I just couldn’t tell him the truth.
“She came to Luke’s that night, looking for me. Her brother, Dex, he fights in the same circuit as I do. She’s worried about him. She didn’t know where else to go. Nothing happened.”
“I believe you.”
Relief washed over his features. “She’s been pushing me to bring you around to meet her. Since I knew we were going to be in the area, I said I’d ask you. But we don’t have to go.”
I didn’t know how to feel about Maverick having a girl in his life that knew that side of him—the side he refused to let me see—but I knew he was telling me the truth about them. And if I wanted to learn more about him, maybe she could help.
“Okay, I’ll go.”
A wide smile split his face but then he was kissing me. Drawing tiny whimpers from me as he pressed his hard body against my soft curves. Silently reassuring me I had nothing to worry about.
And I believed him.
Maverick
Lo stayed glued to my side as I guided us through the house in search of Selina. The same way she had on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. I’d been joking when I asked her if she was scared, but when we came out Lo was as white as a ghost, the excited sparkle gone from her eyes, and I knew something was wrong. I didn’t push. Didn’t ask when she disappeared into the restrooms for ten minutes. I knew it had to be something to do with the accident. But when she was ready, she would tell me. I knew better than most that sometimes we had to deal with things the best way we knew how. It didn’t make it any easier to see her uncomfortable though.
“Hey, everything okay?” I said as we moved further down the hallway. When Selina invited us to the party, my gut instinct was to say no. I knew Lo thought something had happened between us, Kyle told me as much. But Selina insisted. Said it would be good for Lo to get to know her. To have a friend, an ally.
I hated that she was right.
“Maverick, over here.” Selina wound through the chaos beaming at me. “I didn’t think you were coming.”
“Change of plans.” I eyed Lo beside me and Selina smiled broadly.
“Lo, I’m so glad you came.”
“Hi.”
Selina knocked me out of the way, wrapping my girl into a hug.
My girl.
Fuck. I ran a brisk hand over my head. She was buried deep. Deeper than I ever expected, but after the last couple of days of just being together, something had shifted. I felt it every time she looked at me.
Taking her to Disney was a risk. I hadn’t been lying when I told her it was once my favorite thing to do. I’d lived for those vacations with my father. But that was before I learned what a piece of shit he really was, and the truth tainted every good memory I had.
Before today, I hadn’t stepped foot in the place in almost five years. The excitement in Lo’s eyes though, made it all worth it. I stuffed down the bad memories, the anger flowing through me, for her. And somewhere during the day, I realized I was having fun too. Whether she meant to or not, Lo filled some of the black holes in my soul, replacing them with light. Blinding white light. And, unknowingly, she’d given me back a piece of my childhood.
“Come on,” Selina’s voice yanked me back into the present. “Let’s get some drinks. I think my jerk of a brother is around here somewhere.”
Dex was here?
>
I scanned the room, but it was dark; difficult to see through the tendrils of smoke swirling in the air. Lo gripped my hand, her pulse fluttering wildly underneath her skin.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked again, leaning into her. She nodded but I felt the tension radiating off her. Just as I had on the ride earlier.
As we neared the kitchen, the air became cleaner, people coming and going from the open door. It was quieter in here, easier to breathe, and Lo visibly relaxed, the tension painted on her face melting away.
“What can I get you, Lo?” Selina began sifting through the collection of bottles of liquor, but she said, “Just a beer, please.”
“I’ll have the same.”
“Here you go.” Selina handed us each a beer. “Dex is out back, I know he’d like to see you,” she said to me.
“The two of you’ll be okay?” It was a question for Lo, but Selina answered.
“We’ll be fine, right Lo?”
Lo nodded, taking a long pull on her beer. “Go, I’ll be fine.”
“Sure?”
“Go, it’s fine.” She flicked her head to the door and with one last silent look, I made my way outside spotting Dex immediately. It was hard to miss him with his blue-tinged mohawk.
“Maverick, my man.” He got up and came to me, pulling me in for a one-armed guy hug. “Selina know you're here?”
“Who do you think invited me?” I eyed his friends, gathered around a table, recognizing a couple from the fight circuit.
“She got you checking up on me?”
“Nah, man. She wanted to meet Lo.”
“Your new girl?”
I nodded and followed him to two empty chairs away from the others.
“Prince has finally settled down, never thought I'd see the day.” A crooked smile split his face as he retrieved a packet from his jean pocket, sliding a smoke between his lips. “She know what you like to do to let off steam?”
“She knows.”
Surprise flashed in his eyes. “And she didn't have anything to say about it? Kellie never let me hear the end of it.”
