by Amity Hope
“Well, Luci is gone until tomorrow, isn’t she?” Emma asked.
“The Abernathys said they’d have her home around lunchtime,” Cleo told her.
“And you can come back to my house tonight,” Emma suggested.
“She’s staying here tonight. Right?” Reece asked Cleo as his arms tightened around her. “Please?”
“I’ll stay with Reece tonight,” she told Emma. “And then tomorrow?”
“Paul is always gone on Sundays?” Emma asked even though she knew he was.
“Yes,” Cleo agreed.
“Then you should go home and pack whatever you and Luci need. Call us as soon as Luci gets home. We’ll come and get you. Then we’ll go from there,” Emma said confidently. “Mom should know more by then. What we should expect.”
And though Cleo knew she meant well, she was sure it wasn’t going to be as easy as that. Getting out of the house? Yes. But what would come after? That could go so many different ways.
“Cleo,” Emma said. “We’ve been friends since the fourth grade. You’ve practically become family over the last few years. My parents love you. And they love Luci, too. They’re going to do everything they possibly can to make sure this turns out okay.”
“It’s the things that are out of their control that I’m worried about,” Cleo admitted.
“One step at a time,” Emma repeated. She sighed. “Well, I guess that’s all I came to say. I didn’t want to do it over the phone. I’ll let you two get back to whatever you were doing.”
After Emma was gone, Reece pulled Cleo into another hug simply because he wasn’t sure what else to do.
“You heard Emma. Her mom thinks everything will turn out okay,” he said.
“I wish I felt the same way,” Cleo admitted. “It’s just that…”
“What?” he pressed.
“Things have a habit of not working out for me,” she said.
“You know what I think?” he asked. “I think that means it’s about time things start turning around for you.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t sound convinced. She wished she could feel as confident as Reece and Emma sounded. Even with Patty on her side, working hard to try to come up with a plan, her mind wasn’t at ease. It was spinning with all of the ways this plan could spiral out of control. The worst case scenario, in her mind, always led back to Paul leaving town with her sister.
She was grateful, yet again, that the Abernathys were so good to Luci. It helped knowing that Luci was off having fun and not a part of this immediate disaster. Not yet anyway. She would be, soon enough.
The promise she had made to her sister continued to echo in the back of her mind.
“I have an idea,” Reece began, as if he was reading her thoughts. “How about we both try to forget about what’s going on. Just for today. We’re not going to solve anything else right now, anyway. I mean, I know you’re not going to be able to put it out of your head completely. I can’t either. But maybe we can just try to put it aside? Until tomorrow?”
“I’d like that,” she admitted.
She knew that Reece had his own issues to deal with. At some point, he was going to confront Landon. She was well aware that she wasn’t the only one that was dreading what the next few days could bring. They weren’t going to be easy for Reece, either.
“We have the house to ourselves. We’ve got the whole day and the whole night to be together. And we’ve got three months to make up for,” he said with a grin.
“And?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“And I think what I really want right now, is the chance to try to distract you,” he said as he started dotting kisses along her neck.
“And I think I’m going to let you,” she admitted with a sigh. It wasn’t exactly a happy sigh but it was close.
Chapter 25
“Call me as soon as you get to Emma’s,” Reece ordered as he walked Cleo into her empty house. Cleo expected Luci home within the hour. His parents were due home around the same time. “Or call me before that if you need anything, okay?”
Cleo nodded. “Good luck with your dad, today,” she said. “I hope you two can work things out.”
He gave her a look that implied he really didn’t care. “He did this to himself. It’s my mom I’m more concerned about. I think you’d like her. If you got to know her,” he said. “She’s actually pretty great.”
“She must be,” Cleo said. She had to assume Reece took after Beth because he was sure nothing like Landon. She started to fidget. “I really don’t think he’ll be home this early, but you should probably get going, just in case. And I need to get packing. There are some things I don’t want to leave here. Mostly pictures of my mom…” she trailed off.
“You know I’d rather stay,” he pointed out.
“I know,” she said. “I don’t think he’s going to come home. But if he did, you’d just make it worse. And then I would never be able to get Luci out of here. He has to think nothing is going on if I’m going to get her out of the house. But hopefully we’ll be gone way before he gets back. That’s the plan, anyway.”
“Okay,” he said as he gave her a kiss goodbye. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
The moment Reece was gone, Cleo went to her room. She pulled out her battered suitcase, a consignment store relic that she’d rarely had reason to use. She stuffed it full of clothes as well as the few framed pictures she had. She had a box under her bed with a few keepsakes of her mom’s that she had tucked away. She slid that into her suitcase as well. When she was done packing her own things, at least what she could fit, she moved to Luci’s room.
She packed her clothes as well as the new books from Reece. She was going to have to leave a lot behind but she packed what she could—their favorite outfits—and hoped that she’d be able to come back later for the rest. Though there was no guarantee of that.
The entire time she was packing, she was very much aware of the time. It was after eleven. She was expecting Luci to walk in the door any minute. She placed both of the packed suitcases next to her bedroom door and then wandered through the house. She was looking for anything else that might be important, anything that she might regret not taking. Nothing turned up. Anything that had meant anything to her, she’d already tucked safely into the keepsake box.
With nothing else to do, she began to pace the house. Anxiety was prickling throughout her body. She wanted this over with as soon as possible. Her heart was beating a little too rapidly and her skin had broken out in a cold sweat. Talking about it yesterday, though complicated, it had seemed fairly simple. Pack. Get Luci. Get out. But now that she was there alone just…waiting…she was starting to feel a bit panicked.
The reality was she might not ever come back to this house again. She had such mixed feelings about that. She tried not to think about it because it was just too overwhelming.
If Paul did come home early, they might need to leave without their bags. She wouldn’t care so much, but he was just nasty enough that she was worried he might destroy the few things of her mom’s that she’d saved.
She wondered if Reece’s parents were home yet. She hoped his family was able to smooth things over. Although, she couldn’t even imagine facing Landon again. And if she and Reece were together—that thought alone suddenly lightened her feeling of dread just a little—she would probably have to see him. Eventually.
When she finally heard a vehicle pull into the driveway, her already sputtering heart really took off. She quickly made her way to the front door and Luci came flying in, throwing her arms around Cleo. But not before Cleo had noticed how red and blotchy her face was.
“Hey, what wrong?” she asked.
Before Luci could answer, Paul stepped into the entryway and closed the door behind him.
“Go ahead, Luce, tell Cleo what the problem is,” he said calmly.
Luci turned her tear-stained face to look up at her sister. “He said that we’re leaving. But you aren’t. He said…he said that he’s not
going to have a job anymore.”
“Tell her why,” Paul commanded.
“Because of you,” Luci said quietly. “But I told him that was just stupid—”
“Watch your mouth,” he warned.
Cleo had her arms around Luci still. She edged backward, away from Paul.
“You don’t have to go,” she said.
“After what you pulled the other night?” he scoffed.
“No one said you don’t have a job. Landon doesn’t know Reece was here for my birthday. He never has to know!” Cleo insisted.
“And where were you this weekend?” His tone was mocking.
“At Emma’s,” Cleo said defiantly.
“Is that so?” he asked. “Are you sure maybe you weren’t with Reece?”
Cleo nodded.
He took a step toward her, using the bulk of his body to intimidate. She didn’t back down as she slid Luci behind her.
“Yes, I told you. There’s nothing going on with us. Nothing for you to worry about,” she said in a wobbly voice.
His hand moved so fast Cleo barely saw it. She stumbled back as the familiar, white-hot flash of pain exploded across her face. Luci let out a sob and Paul stopped directly in front of her.
“Liar. I stopped by the Donovan’s house Friday night. I thought you and I maybe needed to have a little refresher about our agreement.” He stared at her, waiting for his words, for their meaning, to take hold.
Cleo’s heart rolled over painfully in her chest. Reece’s vehicle had been parked in the driveway for hours. Her cheek burned but she was trying not to show it. She blinked back tears as she waited for him to continue.
“I saw you leave with him Cleo. Did you think I was bluffing? We’ll be out of here by the end of the week. Did you think I wouldn’t take Luci and go?”
“No,” she said around a sob. Even still, she hoped he was bluffing. She hoped he was just trying to scare her. It was working. Possibly better than he even imagined. “I didn’t think you were bluffing. But I didn’t call him. Emma did.”
He let out a sound of disgust. His face was turning crimson. The cords in his neck were bulging and his eyes were hard, cold and full of hatred for her. “So the other night was because of Luci. Now you’re blaming Emma. But I sure as hell didn’t see you turning him away. And you are the one that chose to leave with him Friday night. You two looked awfully cozy to me. So don’t you dare lie to me and pretend you weren’t with him all weekend.”
“Why can’t she be with Reece?” Luci demanded between sniffles. “Why do you care?!”
Paul had been watching them? He must’ve parked down the street. After he’d seen Reece’s vehicle, she realized, he’d parked and waited. And now that he knew something was going on, he’d picked up Luci from the Abernathy’s. He’d obviously wanted to make an entrance with her, for Cleo’s benefit. And what better way to do that than to get Luci upset first.
“Cleo,” he said, his voice calm but cold, “I want you out of this house. Now. Right now.”
“No!” Luci cried as she flung her arms around her sister. “Don’t go! Please don’t go!”
“I’m not leaving,” Cleo told Paul as she hugged Luci close.
“Oh, yes, you are,” he disagreed. “You wanted to be with Reece so much, go ahead and be with him!”
“I’m going, too!” Luci said as tears streamed down her face. “I want to go with Cleo and Reece, too! I don’t want to go with you!” She yelled at her dad. She turned to Cleo, “Please take me with you! Please don’t leave me here!”
“This isn’t up to her,” Paul grated out as he grabbed Cleo by the arm. His fingers dug in as he pulled Luci away with his other hand. She struggled, holding on tighter to Cleo who was trying to pull her backwards.
“Paul, please,” Cleo whimpered as her grip started to slip. A few stray tears leaked out and coursed down her cheeks. “Please don’t do this. I’ll never talk to him again, I swear! Landon never has to know he was here! It’ll be over, really over!” She didn’t know if she meant the words or not. She just knew she wasn’t going anywhere without her sister.
“Luci!” he shouted. “Let go!”
“No!” she screamed back.
Paul’s anger surged and the girls’ strength was no match for his own. He easily tore them apart. Cleo barely registered a popping sound and Luci’s shriek as her body was thrust down the hallway. Luci landed on her hands and knees, howling in pain. He flung Cleo in the opposite direction. Her small body collided with the arched doorway that led into the kitchen.
Starbursts of pain erupted in her head as it hit the edge of the doorframe.
She heard Luci sobbing and heard her scream her name as she toppled to her knees and then onto her side. Her entire body was vibrating with pain as she lifted her hand to the searing agony that had erupted on the side of her head. When she pulled her fingers away, they were covered in blood. She blinked at it a few times, dazed, and then the world slipped away.
***
“Landon, how could you? How could you do something so despicable?” Beth fumed as she stared at him from across the living room. They had barely gotten their shoes off before Reece had started filling them both in on what he’d learned over the weekend. “I feel like I don’t know you at all anymore!”
“Reece,” he said calmly, “you are blowing this out of proportion.”
“Really, dad?” Reece asked angrily. He had been fully aware of how his dad’s expression had hardened and had then become impassive. As if he really thought he could blow this off. His mom, on the other hand, her face had paled. She had listened to Reece, shooting questioning looks at Landon. He had not bothered to deny it but he refused to acknowledge that he had done anything wrong. “Which part am I blowing out of proportion? How awful you were to Cleo? That you paid Paul to keep us apart? That she might lose her sister because you couldn’t force me to do what you wanted? Or that as long as you get your way… to hell with everyone else?!”
Landon looked as though he was about to protest, but Reece wasn’t done. “You have no idea how hard you’ve made things for her! You have no idea what Paul has put her through because of this!”
“I am not going to be held responsible for that man’s actions!” Landon’s voice boomed through the room.
“Of course not,” Beth said icily. “You won’t even take responsibility for your own actions. Why would you accept that you attributed to someone else’s?” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she looked contrite. She worked hard at not bringing up Landon’s faults in front of Reece. But this one, so obvious, had just slipped out.
Before Landon could answer Beth spoke up again. “I just need to know one thing, Landon. Is it true? Did you go behind my back and pay Paul off and then threaten him with his job?”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “You two are making too much of an issue out of this. It wasn’t that much money.”
“It’s not about the money!” Reece shouted.
“Did you really do this because Reece didn’t want to go to the school you picked out?” Beth asked in disbelief.
“I did this because he was throwing away his future!” Landon shot at them. “They’re just kids! They would’ve broken up anyway. I just hurried things along before it was too late.”
“Too late to get what you wanted,” Reece coldly pointed out. “And the fact that you even think this is about the ten grand shows how much of an arrogant asshole you are!”
Landon flew up from his chair and Beth bolted to her feet to step between them.
“I think,” she said as she spoke slowly, “that you should probably go. I think that maybe the space we had this summer was not quite enough. You have made some pretty poor choices over the years. I have forgiven a lot because I wanted to make this marriage work. But this? This is just pushing it too far. And the fact that you don’t even—”
The ringing of Reece’s phone cut her off. “It’s Cleo,” he said as he glared defiantly at Landon. “
Hey,” he said into his phone as he slid off the sofa. He was already concerned because she was supposed to call when she got to Emma’s. Only, it was her home phone number that had shown up on his display. “Is everything okay?”
He had been on his way out of the room, in search of some privacy. But when Luci’s frantic voice greeted him, he stopped immediately.
“Luci, calm down,” he told her as he tried to make sense of what she had just said. “What do you mean Cleo won’t wake up? Is she sleeping?”
“She’s on the floor,” Luci sobbed. “She won’t wake up.”
“What happened? Is she hurt?” His entire body went numb. Beth appeared in front of him, not interrupting but on full Mom-alert.
Luci started sobbing harder.
“Luci, listen to me. This is important. Is she hurt?” Reece asked again.
“Her face is b-bloody,” Luci wailed. “He pushed her! And he was going to take me away but then he threw me and my arm hurts and then he just left!”
“Who, your dad?” Reece demanded. Luci tended to talk fast and ramble. It was hard enough to follow sometimes when she wasn’t upset. At the moment, Reece wasn’t sure what to make of what she’d just said. Luci mumbled something that sounded like an agreement. “Call 911 Luci, okay? If you call from your house they’ll get the address and they get there faster. Do you understand?”
“Okay,” she agreed around another sob.
She’s bleeding and she won’t wake up? He wanted to ask if she was breathing but he couldn’t force those words from his mouth. And what the hell had he done to Luci?
“Call them right now. I’m on my way,” he said as he grabbed his keys. He was already running out of the door as he disconnected the call.
“Where am I taking you?” Beth asked as she plucked the keys out of his hand. “To Cleo’s?”
He managed to nod as he jumped into the passenger seat.
Paul did this. He had no doubt. He was furious with himself for leaving her alone. For letting her talk him into leaving her there because it was just for an hour or two. She had insisted that if he stayed, he would just make things worse. She insisted that she’d been in the house alone with him for a year and a half. A few more hours weren’t that big of a deal. But more than that, she’d been so sure he wouldn’t come home.
