When I finally felt sturdy enough to answer him, I inched up on my toes and whispered in his ear. Instead of telling him again just how much I loved him, I told him in other words. “My heart is filled to overflowing.”
His laugh echoed throughout the parking garage and into the cold almost-winter air. “Let’s get you home. Where you belong.”
He wouldn’t hear me object to that. After the journey I’d been on—winding up in this exact spot—his bed and his arms sounded like the perfect place to establish a forever home.
Jack
For someone who hated being up in the air as much as I did, I’d become a frequent flyer. This time, though, it was for a good cause. Good for me, Stella, and everyone else on the receiving end of Aubrey’s bullshit. For Aubrey—not so much.
After our short reunion in New York, we trekked back to California so that Stella could give a formal statement and Aubrey’s fate could be sealed. I had so much to say, lots of input to weigh in, many opinions to impose, but this wasn’t my gig. It was Stella’s. She’d asked me multiple times over the course of the last few days what she should do. Each time I would hold her and assure her it was her decision. She was the one who’d been kidnapped, held hostage, threatened with a knife, and put through hell. If the person responsible for the worst days of Stella’s life were anyone but my sister, I would want the bitch to fry. But the hardest part of all of this was that she was my flesh and blood.
Aubrey was once an innocent little girl who built pillow forts with me in our basement, raced me in the pool during summer vacation, helped me with my math homework when I struggled, and loved me just as I loved her. Unconditionally.
Unfortunately, that unconditional love had been put to a critical test. Sister or no sister, we couldn’t deny the truth. Aubrey had to be held accountable for her crimes. Crimes, plural. It was crazy when I thought about it. She really fucked up this time, and there was no way she was getting away with it.
“What are you thinking?” I eyed Stella as my thumb traced reassuring circles on her hand.
“Things you don’t want to hear.”
I could only imagine. Maybe that was worse. My imagination tended to get away from me, and rather than picture Stella as the forgiving angel she was, I imagined there was a totally different side of her that she’d been keeping quiet.
After Aubrey was arrested, she was booked and detained. No one posted bail and it was a holiday weekend so she was forced to spend a few nights in jail. My parents rushed back from France as soon as they could and to no one’s surprise—least of all mine and Emma’s—my father worked some kind of finagling magic to speed up the process of court appearances and arraignment.
Seated in a small courtroom with an audience of Stella’s apprehensive family along with my parents and Emma, we listened as the judge, Aubrey’s lawyers—my father’s closest friends and colleagues—traded legal jargon that made my head spin. I knew enough from certain keywords and I wasn’t exactly stupid—I’d seen an episode or two of Law and Order—but I couldn’t focus. I was too worried about Stella. Tension radiated from her delicate body. Her unease was potent and very contagious.
I wrapped my hand around hers and squeezed . I needed her to know I was here. Not just present, but on her side and ready to help her face the outcome of this hearing.
Aubrey stood when the judge addressed her. She asked my sister for her plea and I closed my eyes and prayed that for once in her theatrical life she wouldn’t act a part or put on a show. If she pled not guilty, she would go to trial. Stella would be forced to drag out this whole painful experience, and I feared it would undeniably strain our relationship.
I would back Stella no matter what she decided to do, but she would worry about hurting me if she went after my sister. We’d spoken about it at length. I made sure she understood my stance. I was whole-heartedly supportive of my girlfriend. My parents weren’t happy about my betrayal, but then again, I wasn’t happy that Aubrey had played with Stella’s life in such a senseless and ruthless way.
It was do or die time and I personally wanted to crawl under my seat and hide until it was all over. Aubrey cleared her throat and the room fell silent.
“Your Honor,” she spoke, her voice sweet and innocent, although everyone in the room knew she was the complete opposite. “Is it okay if I address Miss Edwards and her family?”
The judge nodded and my stomach dropped. What could she possibly have to say? There was no saving her now.
Aubrey swiveled to face us. Normally, she was a petite but wild girl with unruly hair and harsh, red lips. Not today. Before me was a meek, lonely girl who had no one to turn to. She wore her hair in a neat bun, minimal if any make-up, and clothes that made her look more like my mother than my sister. She was playing the part. No two ways around it. I ignored the irritation that her phony act triggered and listened.
“I apologize deeply for any hurt I’ve caused. I only ever wanted to be accepted and I allowed your rejections to get the best of me. I hope one day you can forgive me.”
That was it. She said her piece and turned to face the judge as if her three measly sentences could absolve her of all the turmoil she’d caused. Stella remained stoic at my side, her jaw clenched tight, her breathing slow and steady. I wanted to kiss her, hug her, sweep her away from this mess and promise her everything would be okay. But she needed this closure. We all did.
“Your plea, Miss Davis.” The judge narrowed in on Aubrey again.
Aubrey bowed her head for a split second and then held it high. A lawyer stood and joined her to speak in her defense. “Your Honor, the defendant pleads not guilty to the offenses charged on the grounds that she was mentally unstable during the time of her actions.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I heard it from Stella first but it seemed to be the majority reaction. Stella shot out of her seat and turned to leave. I stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder, and pushed her back into the chair.
“Don’t. Just wait.”
The judge slammed her gavel as the courtroom seemed to erupt in dismay. It was to be expected—as was Aubrey’s insanity plea—but I could only imagine what an injustice this felt like to Stella and her family.
“No!” she cried. “I knew this would happen. She gets away with it again and all she had to do was tell the truth. She is insane and now she has every right to triumph in her craziness.”
This time I couldn’t hold her back from running off, so instead, I followed her. I didn’t look back to face my parents or Aubrey. I’d be fine if I never saw her again, and as for my parents—it was a good thing I was leaving California. I’d had enough of them aiding and abetting Aubrey’s games.
Once outside, fresh air filled my lungs and cleared my jumbled mind. I caught up to Stella and wrapped my arms around her from behind. “Baby, please. Don’t run away. It’s over.” There was no turning back. Stella could fight and bring Aubrey to trial, but I knew she didn’t have it in her to go up against my manipulative father and his little pet. Stella wanted it done. She wanted to move on. We both did. That’s what we’d spoken about.
“Do you know how unfair this is?” Stella’s face was blotchy with irritation; her eyes swam with disappointment. I needed to make it all go away.
“Of course it’s unfair. But it’s like you said, she always wins. My father is an asshole. He’s blind to what she’s done. All he sees is a helpless little girl that he needs to protect.”
“At what expense? Mine, my mother’s, whoever else she thinks has wronged her?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” I hated seeing her so defeated. I was furious for her. I kept thinking back to how I told her I would support whatever decision she made, but I couldn’t help voicing my honest opinion this time. “What do you want to do, Stella? Do you want to fight? Do you want to drag this out for a justice you may never get? Waste time we could be spending together, starting a new life, being happy? ? Or do you want to walk away from the crazy and let her wallow in it, all
alone, for the rest of her life?”
Stella dropped her gaze to the ground. The poor girl had been through so much and now this. If we could get on a plane tonight and never return, I’d jump on that shit without one bit of hesitation.
“Get me the hell out of here. I don’t want to see her face when she comes out of the courtroom. I don’t know all the details, and I certainly don’t understand all the legal implications, but if that bitch is free from jail, her ass better be locked away in some psycho ward for a while. You can mark my words, Jack. I don’t want to be this person. I don’t have a mean bone in my body, but when it comes to her, I lose all sense of what’s right and wrong.”
“I know. And you have every right, but don’t let her snuff out your beautiful brightness. I won’t let her jade you, Stella. Please. She wins if you allow her to take that precious part of you.” It wasn’t meant to mollify her, it was how I truly felt. The worst thing that could come of this was a broken, bitter Stella.
She threw her head back and sighed. Breathing in and out, she closed her eyes and stayed that way for a few beats. When she seemed calm again, her eyes met mine. I inched closer, let my hands rest on her tiny waist, and my nose graze hers. “I love you, Stella. Let’s move on, move out, and move the fuck up. Destiny awaits.”
“You’re right. I want it to be done. I need this to be over.”
Thank you, Lord. I almost lifted her up and swung her around the courthouse steps. But instead of rejoicing in any part of this shitty day, I kissed my girl and showed her, without words, what she meant to me. “Come on, Sunshine. Time to get this show on the road.”
Stella’s family piled out of the courthouse in a gaggle of emotions and shaking heads. They joined us at the bottom of the steps with questions and comments and too much at once. Gina spewed more legal shit that Stella seemed to understand. But when all was said and done, she had the ultimate say in how things went down.
“You sure you’re okay with all of this?” Gabriella asked her daughter as she tucked a few strands of loose hair behind Stella’s ear.
“I’m positive. I would have loved to punch her, just once, but I have this vision of her in a straitjacket and a white padded cell that’ll keep me smiling for a while.”
Despite the prelude and the outcome of this eventful week, everyone was able to laugh at Aubrey’s expense. Hand in hand with Stella, she led the way as we walked to our cars.
“Need me to help you pack?” Caleb brushed his shoulder with mine. He was the first to stray off topic and back to a normal conversation.
“Nah, I think I need some alone time with my girl first. But after a long nap and some one-on-one with this beautiful lady right here, I’ll kindly accept your offer to help me get the fuck out of here so I can join the rest of you and your happy little New York family.”
Caleb laughed and Stella beamed. “I didn’t know either of you less than six months ago and now look at us. We’re so inseparable we’re uprooting our entire lives to move to the same place together. I think we’re the crazy ones, don’t you?”
“Crazy about you.” I was quick to chime in.
“Crazy stupid.” Caleb played along.
“Crazy in love.” Stella hooked her arm in mine and snuggled against me.
When my best friend took a chance on his professor and then swept her off her feet, I never imagined his destiny would bring me to mine. Looking back on the way things played out, I should’ve known my days were fated to be brighter the second I laid eyes on her. My purpose. My love. My future. My Sunshine.
Stella
“Did that thing pop up yet or do we need to order Chinese food for dinner?” The bird was taking forever. I’d never exactly cooked Thanksgiving dinner on my own, but if I could survive last year’s . . . festivities . . . I would get through this.
“Stop worrying,” Jack mumbled through a mouthful of food he wasn’t supposed to be eating yet.
“Hey! Get outta there!” I ran over to him and slapped his hand with the spoon I’d been stirring the mashed potatoes with. “You’re a freaking animal, you know that? There’ll be nothing left by the time they get here. And speaking of my family—where the hell are they?”
I stared at the clock, worry nagging at me. Mom had promised to get here early to help me cook, but she was over an hour late. I didn’t take tardy arrivals lightly anymore. Not since what went down the year before.
“Sunshine, this stuffing is fucking In. Sane!” Jack ignored my fretting and continued to stuff his face.
“You’re insatiable, you beast.” I couldn’t help but laugh. We’d spent the past three hundred and sixty five days—give or take—getting to know the ins and outs of each other. While he was greedy for the food I prepared, I was a glutton for his love. I was certain I’d never get enough.
Reading my mind, Jack swallowed his heaping helping of my grandmother’s time-honored recipe and danced—yes, danced with a jolly umph to his step—over to me. “You bring it out in me, what can I say?” His lips tickled my neck as he growled against my goose-bumped skin. I absolutely adored that over a year into our relationship, the flame he sparked inside me every time we touched still burned with unrelenting intensity.
I could easily melt in his arms, but I had a feast to prepare. And company bound to walk in at any minute. “Jack, if you don’t get your greedy paws off me, I’m pouring cereal into everyone’s bowls and calling it a day.”
“Oh, stop it.” He continued groping and kissing; his mouth trailed a delicious path down my neck to my chest. “You’ve been cooking and prepping for days. We have enough food here to feed the entire Duggar clan and then some. Forget about stuffing that turkey . . . it’s time for me to stuff you.” Strong and eager fingers manipulated my skirt, worked their way up my leg and into my panties.
“Ew! That’s—” Deep, and hot, and . . . wow. “Oh my God, don’t stop.” My legs were more wobbly than the Jell-O shaped cornucopia I prepared and left to set in the fridge.
My man knew how to work every facet of my body as if he’d been practicing an instrument for years. His skillful fingers played me with precision and care. He made love to every inch of skin, worshipped each bone and muscle until there was no choice but to surrender to his touch.
“God, so good, Jack. Always so good.”
“Yes, baby. Come on. Let’s move this to the bedroom. Something about screwing with the food watching—I don’t know. It’s—”
The rolling laughter that escaped me was unexpected and uncontrollable. “What the—? You’re too much!”
His fingers left my body and I immediately missed them. I supposed I could make some time to play with Jack. I’d worked hard all week and I definitely deserved some TLC before we said grace and chowed down. What had this man done to me? It was wonderfully refreshing. “Okay, but this has to be super quick. They could be here any minute.”
“Quick’s my middle name,” he teased. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to our bedroom.
“It’s so not.” I giggled. He probably hadn’t realized his blunder.
“You know what I mean. You got me all ruffled, Sunshine. Just get on the bed and hike up that skirt. I’m hungry for so much more than whatever’s left cooking back there.”
I obeyed without a moment’s hesitation. Untying the apron from behind me, I chucked it to the floor and backed up onto the comfortable mattress we purchased almost a year ago. Like everything else in the apartment, it was a joint effort. There was nothing the two of us didn’t do together, and not in the sickening attached-at-the-hip, dependent-on-each-other sort of way. We were fused by our hearts and scarred by past separations. There was no longer a single person, place, or thing that could keep us apart.
Except of course, our house guests.
“Hello? Stella? Jack? Where are you two?” My mom’s voice sounded from the front room and stopped Jack’s hands in their attempt to rid me of my panties.
“Damn it!” Jack collapsed on top of me, his face buried in my stoma
ch.
“Party’s over.” I laughed and tried to nudge him off, but he was relentless. His teeth nipped and pulled at my clothes, his hands forever roaming. “Come on. She’ll barge in any second and you know it. I promise you a special dessert . . . later.”
At that, Jack jumped to attention and a smile replaced the blue-ball pout on his handsome face. “I’m holding you to it, you know?”
“I’d be upset if you didn’t.”
“Stella! The turkey’s overcooking. Get your ass out from underneath your boyfriend and help me finish this up!” It wasn’t the first time Mom had caught us red handed and it wouldn’t be the last. Funny thing, and as gross as it was to think about my Mom approving of my sex life, I think she was happy for me.
“You heard her. Time to make the donuts.” I shimmied out from under him and fluffed my hair back to life.
Before I could make my way to the door, Jack tugged at my arm again. “Hey!” I squealed. “What are you—”
“Before this day gets hectic and the rest of the guests arrive and steal you away from me, I need you to know how much I love you.”
A year ago Jack feared we’d overuse the phrase and get sick of those three little words. While we had definitely abused the term, I would never get tired of hearing them fall from his lips.
“I love you, too. You know that.”
“Damn straight I do, but this time it’s different. This time I’m telling you because I want you to know that you’ll be the last woman I ever say those words to. Stella—”
Oh my God. No, he wasn’t! I didn’t see a ring and he wasn’t down on bended knee, but hearing him say those words. Was he—“Don’t tell me you’re proposing, you crazy man. We spoke about this. It’s too soon. We have too many plans. Too much to do. So much time ahead of us.” I rambled on like a foolish coward. I wasn’t prepared for this. I mean, I wanted it, but just not yet. I was still young. We’d only been dating a little over a year. I didn’t want to rush.
Freeing Destiny (Fate #2) Page 23
