by Amity Hope
“I thought that was going to be my line,” he admitted.
She didn’t say anything as she studied his face for a moment. He was watching her too as he brushed a stray strand of hair off her cheek. Then she leaned over and kissed him. Without really thinking about it, he pulled her on top of him. He didn’t even care where they were. He just kissed her back. He didn’t know how much time passed before they finally stopped.
“Is that your way of getting out of talking?” he finally asked. He was only half joking.
“No. That’s my way of saying I missed you.” She snuggled in closer. The feeling that came over him, such an intense feeling of relief and happiness, he didn’t want to lose it. “I missed you. So much.”
“Glad to hear it,” he told her as he his fingers skimmed across her back.
“I’m sorry. For everything. I’m just…I’m in so far over my head right now,” she said quietly.
Reece’s body tensed beneath her. He could see by her expression that she believed what she’d said was true. Her face was creased with worry. “What does that mean? You know you’re going to have to tell me, right?”
“I know.” She glanced at the clock. “I don’t know for sure how long they’ll be gone…”
“Do you want to get out of here?” He hoped she did.
“Sure,” she said.
“We can go to my house.”
She looked hesitant. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why? My parents are gone.” Then reality slapped him alongside the head. “You don’t want to be alone with me?”
“Reece,” she said, giving him a look, “we’re alone right now.”
“I know. But they’ll be back soon,” he pointed out.
“I just don’t want to run into your parents,” she told him.
He couldn’t blame her. The last time she’d been at his house was a night he wished they could both forget.
She sat up and stretched again. Then she started running her fingers through her hair. Trying to tame it some. It worked. But not that well. Not that he’d ever admit that to her.
“They’re gone for the weekend. I told you that.”
“What if they come back?” she demanded.
“They won’t. The whole reason they went was to see the project Chelsey has been working on. That’s not until tomorrow night. It won’t get over until late so they’re staying two nights. They’re not going to come back. Not until sometime on Sunday.”
She didn’t look convinced.
He finally sat up, too. He pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sending Chels a text. I’m telling her I’m having a girl over and I need her to let me know if Mom and Dad leave.” That should take care of it, right? he wondered.
It did.
“Okay,” she said. She crawled past him. When she was standing she grabbed the bottle next to the bed.
“You doing okay?” He knew it was a repeat question. But it was one that needed to be asked again.
“My shoulder hurts. That’s all,” she said as she downed a few capsules.
He clenched his jaw. He had a lot to say about that. But he would save it until later.
“I’m going to go put a note on Emma’s bed to let her know I’m with you,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
By the time she came back a few minutes later, he had gotten his response from his sister. “We’re good,” he said as he held up the phone.
She wrinkled her nose but smiled. “What did she say?”
“She said she’d call if they leave before Sunday. And she put a smiley face,” he admitted.
“A smiley face?”
Reece shrugged. “I told her I was with you.”
He wasn’t expecting the alarmed look Cleo gave him.
“She’s not going to say anything,” he assured her.
She nodded but still looked worried. “Okay. Well, let me throw my things together.”
Reece just stood there, waiting while she started stuffing things back into her bag. Some clothes, make-up, a few random things that she’d scattered around the room. She straightened the bed and put Luci’s pillow neatly at the top. Then she grabbed her iPod and put that in the bag, too.
“Should we go?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” he said.
She grabbed the bag she’d been stuffing her things into. He had thought she was just straightening up. He didn’t realize she was packing things back in it to take it with her. If she was doing that, did it mean she was staying with him? When he’d asked her to go to his house, he’d only meant to talk. He’d assumed he’d be bringing her back to Emma’s eventually. He wasn’t about to complain. He just wouldn’t have thought to ask. Not after how rocky things had been.
But the sight of her bag, ready to go? It somehow lifted a weight off of him that he hadn’t even realized had still been pressing down. He felt his face break into a grin as he took it from her.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
***
“Could we maybe just go to the lake?” she asked. “Maybe we shouldn’t go to your house just yet.”
He felt his stomach drop. Did that mean she was having second thoughts? Already? He slowed down because the turn-off that led to the boat landing was coming up.
“Are you sure?” he asked. He could hear the disappointment in his voice.
He glanced at her and she nodded. She looked nervous.
That made him nervous.
“It’s just…” she started but trailed off. It sounded to him like she was gearing up to shut back down again.
“What?” he pushed because he didn’t want that to happen.
“Well,” she said as she began fidgeting with the zipper on her hoodie. “You might be mad when you hear what I have to say. You might want to bring me back to Emma’s.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he tried to assure her. But really? He had no idea what she was going to tell him. He just knew that it wasn’t going to be good. His stomach was once again in that never-ending freefall that it had been in for months.
He hated that feeling. He wanted to shove it away. He wanted to recapture the feeling he’d had not that long ago. The feeling of overwhelming relief that he’d felt when Cleo hugged him to her. But it was long gone now. The feelings of the unknown, fear, and dread were washing over him again.
“What are we talking about here, exactly?” he demanded. “Ethan? Paul? What happened last spring? What happened to you the other night, after I left?” All of those things were already making him mad. No, actually ‘mad’ didn’t even come close to what he felt when those things rattled around in his head.
“Yes.”
“Yes?” he asked. He was expecting her to pick one.
“All of it. It’s all tied together.” Her voice was shaking. If he hadn’t already been nervous, he was now.
“How is Ethan tied together with what happened on your birthday? After I left, I mean?” he wanted to know. He hadn’t been there, had he? That didn’t even make sense.
They reached the parking lot. It was empty again. He pulled off to the side and parked. This conversation couldn’t happen soon enough. He had so many questions. He couldn’t believe she had finally agreed to give him some answers. But she wasn’t giving them to him yet. When he finally turned to her, she had her eyes closed. She was pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Cleo?”
She turned to look at him.
She looked scared. No. She looked terrified. Was it because she thought he was going to be mad, like she said?
“I won’t be mad,” he tried to assure her.
An abrupt laugh burst out of her mouth. Only there was no humor in it. “Oh, yes, you will,” she said. Her voice told him she was probably right.
He shrugged and tried to blow it off. “Okay. Maybe I will be. So what? I’ll get over it.”
“Maybe,” she muttered. “But
the thing is, once I tell you, it’s out there. There’s no taking it back. And these are things that I’m not supposed to be telling. And this…this could change everything for me and for Luci.”
Her voice had gone up in pitch.
“I’m not following,” he admitted to her. “What does Luci have to do with this?” She looked at him and shook her head. The expression on her face drove home that she was scared. He just didn’t know why.
“Cleo,” he said softly, hoping to coax her into talking. “We’ve gotten this far. Don’t stop now.”
But she did. She just sat there, looking at him with a miserable expression on her face.
“Don’t you trust me?” he asked. “Because if you do, you know you can tell me anything.”
“I know. It’s not you I don’t trust.” She looked away from him. Out at the waves hitting the shore.
“Okay,” he said, “this is what I think. I think last spring had something to do with Paul. It’s pretty clear he wasn’t happy to see me the other night.” His eyes drifted to her shoulder. She flinched but she nodded. “I just don’t get why. What does it matter to him who you’re dating? He’s never given a damn about anything that doesn’t affect him directly.”
Her eyebrows twitched up just a bit. He realized he was on to something. He just didn’t know what. What could Paul have to gain by him and Cleo not being together? Why would he suddenly care? Unless someone gave him a reason to care.
It hit him then. Like a mental cement block slamming into him.
“Does this have to do with my dad?” His voice sounded like it was echoing in his head. Paul worked for his dad. His dad could make Paul care.
For a minute, she didn’t move or say anything. He was afraid they were going to be right back where they started. With her shutting him out.
She nodded and that small, barely there motion caused a burning surge of anger to rush through him. Mad? She had warned him. But he was so far beyond mad.
“What did he do?” Reece demanded. He hadn’t realized how sharp his tone was until he saw her flinch. “Cleo, tell me.”
She took a breath and then it all came out in a rush.
“He bribed Paul. He told him if he could make me leave you, he’d pay him ten thousand dollars. Five thousand last spring after we broke up. Five thousand at the end of this year, if we stayed apart. Paul agreed. The catch was that if we get back together, Paul loses his job. He agreed and he got the five thousand up front. It was either keep us apart and he gets the next payment. Or allow us to get back together and he’d be without a job. And it’s not like anyone else in town would hire him. He agreed. It was easy money and Paul’s never given a damn about me.”
“And you agreed to it?” Reece asked in disbelief. His whole body had gone from red hot rage to a deadened, numbness. She would never have agreed to something like that. Would she?
A small nod and an apologetic look answered his question.
Chapter 21
Last spring…
Reece and Cleo had been sitting at the lake, talking when Paul called. He said Cleo had to come home to watch Luci. She was surprised to see his car in the driveway when they got there. It wasn’t like him to wait for her to get home. He’d just leave Luci alone. She let herself in. Before she’d even closed the door behind her, Paul called her name from the living room.
“Yeah?” she asked as she went in to see what he wanted. Nothing could’ve prepared her for Landon Hildenbrandt standing there. Paul was seated in his recliner
“Hi,” she managed to force out. “Reece isn’t here. He just dropped me off,” she explained as she took a step back.
Mr. Hildenbrandt nodded. “Good. Why don’t you have a seat Cleo? The three of us need to have a talk.”
Something in his voice was telling her to leave but her feet didn’t obey. She found herself sitting on the sofa, across from Paul. “Where’s Luci?”
He motioned to her room.
“She doesn’t need to be here for this,” Mr. Hildenbrandt told her.
“For what?” she asked as her stomach started tying itself into uncomfortable little knots.
“You think you love my son?” Landon asked her.
She nodded, feeling very much like it had to be a trick question.
“Good. Then you would want what’s best for him?”
She didn’t answer. There was something off about this. She’d felt it the second she’d walked in the door.
“You’re ruining his future, Cleo. He’s had his whole future mapped out for years. And you are ruining everything.”
She stood up to leave. She could feel something awful heading her direction. She wanted to get away as fast as she could. She wanted to call Reece. She wanted him to get back here because she was sure this was something he would want to know about. She was also just as sure that his dad didn’t want him to know. There was a reason his vehicle hadn’t been out front. Reece would’ve seen it and come inside with her to see what the hell was going on.
“Sit your ass down, Cleo,” Paul ordered. “If you love your sister, you’ll sit your ass down and listen.”
“What does Luci have to do with this?” she asked. She was feeling more ill by the second as she slumped down onto the cushions again.
“You’re going to break up with Reece. You’re going to let him get on with his life. You’re going to stop holding him back,” Landon told her.
She sat, frozen. Was this conversation really happening? It couldn’t be. It was too ridiculous. She knew how Landon felt about her. But for him to be here with Paul? It didn’t make sense. Was this all because Reece didn’t want to do exactly what his dad wanted him to do? Did he think Paul was going to…what? Ground her or something? Forbid her from seeing Reece?
Landon’s harsh voice cut through her thoughts. “I tolerated him dating you all this time. I thought it would end soon enough. I even tried to ignore the fact that your background is about as disreputable as they come. That in itself has been a complete embarrassment to our family but I let it go,” he said, sounding humble for doing so. “I thought this thing would play itself out. I thought he’d have his fun and move on. But now, my patience has worn out. He’s at a turning point in his life. Life altering decisions are going to need to be made in the next year or so. I’m not going sit by and let him throw his future away for some girl. Especially not you,” Landon informed her.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Paul said. “We’ve thought this through. You’re going to end things with him tomorrow. That’ll give him the whole summer away from you. No seeing each other. No complications. By next fall, he’ll have moved on.”
She shook her head. “No. No way is that happening.”
“It’s happening,” Paul said confidently. “Because if you don’t, I’m calling Social Services.” He waved a slip of paper in the air. “I am not your legal guardian. I never have been and you’re still a minor. I’ve been letting you stay here because I felt like I owed it to Karla.” Her stomach lurched at the sound of her mom’s name coming from his vile lips. “But my boss has asked me for this favor.” He shrugged. “I don’t know much about the foster care system but I think it’s possible you might end up in another town. Maybe another state? I know it’ll only be for a while but do you really want that? Do you really want to go live with strangers? Because I’m telling you, it’s your choice. It doesn’t really matter to me. But if you refuse to do this, you’re out of here. And even after you turn eighteen, you won’t be coming back into this house. You’re done seeing Luci. She’s my kid. If I say you can’t see her, you can’t see her.”
“Your father—”
“Step-father,” she interjected by force of habit. Even though she wasn’t even sure he was technically that anymore. Her mother’s death, in her mind, severed that unwanted tie.
“He has already agreed,” Landon told her. He laid out the terms of the deal they’d made. She felt tears burning behind her eyes but there was no way she was going to cry
now. Not in front of them.
Her eyes darted to Paul who was glowering at her, daring her to question him. She knew better, of course. Then they landed back on Reece’s dad who was watching her with an alarming amount of calm. She, on the other hand, was anything but calm. Her fear started spiraling out of control. Something very close to terror was clawing its way out of her soul. The thought of being thrown into foster care was frightening. The thought of being separated from Luci was terrifying. She had already lost her mom. She couldn’t handle losing Luci too. And she knew Luci would have just as hard of a time losing her. She couldn’t do that to her.
Her eyes flew back to Paul again, sucking away on his drink. His face was carefully blank and she hated him. She hated him in that moment for his selfishness and his greed. She hated him for the simple fact that he was using his own flesh and blood this way. He knew how much she loved her sister and he was using it against her. And against Luci.
“What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?” she asked Landon. She was surprised at her own nerve.
“I don’t hate you. I simply dislike you,” he paused. “Possibly not you as a person but I do dislike what you have done to my son.”
She shook her head, dumbfounded. “What have I done to Reece?”
It was then that he explained to her, in full detail, how she was about to singlehandedly ruin Reece’s life. Or if not his life, at least, his entire future. He believed it was because of Cleo, and her need to stay close to Luci, that Reece had refused to go away to school. He thought it was because of her that he didn’t want a business degree. And therefore, had thrown his father’s offer of taking over the family business one day, back in his dad’s face.
She sat in stunned silence. She listened to him describe to her how hard he had worked to build the business into the thriving business it had become. He had done it for the sake of his family. He had every intention of handing over the business to Reece. But Reece had begun to show less and less interest until finally, he had told his father it just wasn’t happening. Neither running the business nor attending the college his father had hand-picked.
