A Different Game: A Wrong Game Novel

by Matthews, Charlie M.

  “Nothing. I didn’t get the chance to say anything, Jake. She took one look at me and freaked the fuck out. What’s going on with her?”

  “Fuck,” I cursed. “This is my fault. I sent her there.”

  “Why would you send her to me?”

  “I didn’t know you fuckin’ worked there, did I?”

  “Alright, don’t take it out on me. I just called to warn you, that’s all.”

  “No, I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

  “No. Everything is far from okay. I can’t believe this,” I groaned in frustration. “Fuck. I gotta go. I need to fix this.” I ended the call and reached for my keys on the coffee table.

  “Where are you going? What’s happened?” Taylor asked, concerned.

  “I’ve fucked up.” It was all I could tell him. I needed to find Mel and try and fix this mess. She needed to know that I wouldn’t do that to her. Not on purpose, anyway.

  “Want me to come with you?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I need to do this alone.”

  “Okay,” he said, sitting back down. “But if you need anything…”

  “I know. Thanks.” Taylor nodded and I rushed to the door, my keys gripped tightly in my hand. Just as I pulled the door open, I turned back to face him. “Taylor?”

  His eyes flicked to mine. “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry for hitting you.”

  Taylor grinned. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I just didn’t want you to get hurt again. After what happened the first time, and the way you behaved afterwards.” He shook his head as if he didn’t want to think about that time, then he continued. “I just… I don’t want to go back there. I want us to be okay, Jake. The past few months have been shit without you, and I don’t want to lose you again,” he admitted.

  “You won’t. But I care about her, Tay. She’s not who you think she is.”

  “Then what are you still doing here?” He smirked and shooed me out the door without another word.

  He was right.

  What the fuck was I still doing there?

  If she was serious about leaving, then I knew for damn certain that she wouldn’t think twice about going right then. I’d done the one thing she was afraid I would do. I’d hurt her.

  45

  It was becoming a routine, showing up at Bessy’s house. I was surprised she let me through the door after the night before, but she did. She took one look at me, pulled open the door and went into the kitchen to make the tea, while I curled up on the sofa and cried. I thought I would be angrier after realising what Jake had done. Once the crying stopped, the numbness crept in, and I wasn’t sure which felt worse—feeling or not feeling at all.

  I wasn’t even aware of what was on TV. The only thing I could focus on was the flashing lights that radiated from the screen whenever the scene changed.

  Flash.

  Blink.

  Repeat.

  It was only when I heard the loud rapping on the door that I remembered Bessy was still sitting beside me. She left the room to go answer the door and came back a few moments later.

  “Sweetheart, Jake’s here. He wants to speak to you.”

  My head snapped to the side. “Tell him to go away.”

  “He’s in the hallway, dear. I think you need to hear him out.”

  “Bessy, please? Just tell him to go away,” I pleaded.

  Bessy nodded sadly and left the room again. When she came back, I lifted my eyes to thank her. Only it wasn’t her. It was Jake. He looked like crap and I tried not to feel sorry for him. “Go away,” I spat out.

  “Mel, it was a mistake,” he said, his eyes pleading with mine.

  “What do you want from me, Jake? Forgiveness? Screw you.” I shook my head.

  “I didn’t know Lola worked there, I swear. I only found out when she called me half an hour ago. I promise, babe. I didn’t know.”

  Dropping my head in my hands, I sighed. “Please, Jake. Just go.”

  Jake dropped to his knees in front of me and reached for my hands. I gazed up and instantly wished I hadn’t. “Please, Mel. You have to believe me. I wouldn’t do that to you, I promise.” I could hear the raw emotion in his voice as he tried to hold it together.

  I pulled my hands from his and shook my head. “Even if you didn’t know, it doesn’t matter. You said it yourself. You don’t care about me.”

  “I lied. I didn’t mean any of it, I swear. I was pissed at you. You were shouting at me. Hitting me. I had no idea what I’d done to you.”

  “So?” I shrugged. “People say the truth when they’re angry.”

  “If that’s the case then what about the shit you said to me, hey?” Jake’s brows rose high. He had a point. I had said some really awful things to him, but I’d had reason. I thought he’d set me up to humiliate me. I was angry.

  “That’s different,” I told him.

  “No. It’s exactly the same. We were both angry. We both said things we didn’t mean and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for what I said to you.”

  “And about me not being the only one you were fucking?”

  Jake smiled and reached out a hand to cup my face. “I told you before... you’re it. You’ve been it all along. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I was pissed at myself. Not you. Today has been…” he shook his head. “I should have listened to you, Mel. Asked you properly was going on, instead of reacting the way I had. I didn’t. And for that, I’m sorry.”

  I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. “I didn’t mean what I said to you about living in Taylor’s shadow. You don’t. You’re all I see.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, finally opening my eyes.

  Jake’s eyes softened as they held mine. “Me, too.” Then he pushed his forehead against mine and sighed.

  “We just had our first argument.” I laughed.

  “I guess we did.” He chuckled softly.

  “Do you think the universe is trying to tell us something? That our lives are always going to be like this?”

  “I hope so.”

  “What?” I frowned. “You want us to argue?” That made no sense. Who in their right mind wanted to spend their entire lives arguing?

  Jake shot me a knowing grin and said, “I’d argue with you every day if it meant we got to make up.”

  “You just want me for my body,” I teased.

  “No. I want you for your body and for your tickle. Stay with me tonight?”

  I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Dad’s back home. I’m trying to avoid him.”

  “Not at yours. At mine. Stay with me?”

  I bit my lip and nodded. “Okay.”

  “Good. And I want to know what happened with your dad.”

  “He hates you.” I giggled.

  “Of course he does. I more than like his little girl.” Jake grinned and brushed his lips against mine.

  “What?” I frowned.

  “Nothing,” he said, pulling me up and against his chest. “Let’s go. I need to be as close to you as I can get. And I can’t do that here with Bessy listening from the other side of the door.”

  Bessy coughed, realising she’d been caught out, and I chucked my head back on a laugh. “Come on,” I said, giving him a chaste peck on the lips before pulling him out the door.

  When we said our goodbyes to Bessy and made our way to Jake’s car, I leaned over the roof opposite Jake and sighed. When his eyes flashed to mine, I winked and said, “I more than like you, too, Jake.” The smile that spread across his face was a smile I knew would stay with me forever. Damn, those dimples.

  46

  I held her in my arms last night as I opened up to her about my parents and Taylor. Holding her that close made me realise that it didn’t matter what curveballs were aimed my way because I had her, and what we had was real. I knew bei
ng with Mel wasn’t going to be easy. I wasn’t worried for one second. The only thing that scared me was knowing I would lose her if I ever hurt her again. I knew she planned on leaving Winslow to start a new life in a place where no one knew who she was. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered doing the same. This place no longer felt like home and I hadn’t realised how much I missed that feeling. That security. She knew how I felt about her leaving. It wasn’t something I could deal with. The words she said back to me last night echoed through my head repeatedly. If you want me to stay, then I will. But if you ever hurt me, Jake, I will leave. And there will be no second chances.

  I’d made her a promise last night to always be honest and open, even if it didn’t seem important. I promised to make her happy and prove to her that she had something here worth staying for, and I intended on keeping that promise.

  I held her in my arms after I claimed her body as my own. It stirred something inside of me I could no longer ignore. We’d had sex before, but last night was different. It wasn't a rush to get to the finish line. It was passionate. Slow. I’d made love to her. Just like I’d done the night she’d called out Taylor’s name in her sleep.

  I held her in my arms as her breathing evened out. I brushed my lips against her forehead, breathed her in and made a silent promise to her that this time it would be different. This time, I didn't want her to leave, regretting the things we’d just done. I wanted her to stay. To welcome the new day together. Her face was all I could see when I closed my eyes last night, her laughter echoing through my mind as I let sleep take over

  I felt Mel stir beside me, her head tucked into the side of me as my fingers drifted across her bare shoulder in a feather like motion. I peered down just as her big brown eyes found mine and a sleepy smile pulled at her lips.

  “Hey, you,” I said, smiling down at her.

  Mel blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the new light. “Hey, yourself,” she whispered back, dragging her teeth across her full bottom lip.

  “Coffee?” I asked, shifting my legs from under the duvet.

  “Coffee?” She frowned. Her eyes were wide with wonder, and then she shook her head. “No. I should leave you to it.”

  I threw my legs over the bed and reached for my boxer shorts before slipping them on. I glanced back at her. Her eyes were down and she wore a frown that had me realising how much she’d been hurt before. I turned to face her, leaned across the bed and tipped her chin with my finger. “Mel…” I sighed. “I want you to stay.”

  Her face lit up in surprise and I hated how unsure she seemed. She needed to realise that I wasn’t Taylor and I wouldn’t be kicking her out of my bed like he had. Like the rest of them had.

  “I’d like that,” she eventually breathed out.

  Dipping my head, I brushed my lips against hers. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  When I returned a few minutes later, Mel was up, sheet wrapped around her waist covering her modesty. Her eyes lifted to mine as her thumb scrolled over the screen of her phone.

  “Coffee. Black. Half a sugar,” I said, holding out the steaming mug.

  “You remembered how I take my coffee?” Her brow rose.

  “I have a good memory.”

  Mel paused her thumb on the screen just long enough to take the mug from my hand and place it on the bedside table. “Thank you.” She smiled.

  “No problem,” I said as I sat down on the bed and rested my back against the headboard. Mel glanced across at me, smiled and continued scrolling through her phone. I watched as her brows furrowed, then straightened again as she read whatever it was on her phone.

  We continued to sit in comfortable silence for a few more minutes before something on her screen caught my attention. I could tell it was important with the way Mel’s demeanour had changed. Her back stiffened, her eyes went wide and her thumb hovered.

  I leaned in close and that's when I noticed an image of a girl. She must've been in her early to mid-twenties, long blonde hair pulled to one side in some twisty thing with perfect full lips and a killer body.

  “Who's the hot chick?” I asked, squinting my eyes to get a clearer look.

  “Seriously?” she said, smacking my arm.

  “What?”

  “That hot chick is none other than Daniella freakin’ Marston.”

  “Right…”

  “The model? She's only on every fashion magazine that's ever published these days.”

  I raised my brows and nodded. “So, she's pretty big then?”

  “Bigger than big. She's huge! Seriously. Sure, she came out of nowhere, but I can't believe you've never heard of her before.”

  “I’m a guy. Fashion is the last thing on my mind,” I said, raising my brows.

  “Typical,” she huffed, rolling her big brown eyes playfully. “She's scouting for new local talent to design her dress for the Lights Out premiere.”

  “The what premier?”

  “Lights out? The new movie starring Jason Brooks and Katie DeRulla?”

  “Who and what?” I was confused as fuck.

  “Forget it. It doesn't matter,” she said, waving it off. “It says here that each candidate has two weeks to submit their design and the winning design will be published in Be You magazine next month.”

  “Yeah?” I gazed across at her, then down at the screen before I met her eyes again. “You should do it.”

  Mel scoffed. “Yeah, right. This is Daniella freakin’ Marston we're talking about. Measuring up to Gucci and Dior is near on impossible. I mean, she does always seem to champion an underdog, and her social media always makes her seem so down to Earth, but...”

  “You should have more faith in your abilities.”

  “I do. I’m just being realistic. Besides, do you really think I would be the only candidate submitting? There will be thousands.”

  “All the more reason to do it, if you ask me. What harm can it do?”

  Mel bit down on her lip then pulled it between her teeth. “I don’t know. I doubt I’ll have the time, what with work and that…”

  “Then make time. Remember what you said to me after the night I told you I couldn’t play again?”

  She nodded. “If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to get it. If you don’t, you’ll find every excuse as to why you can’t.”

  “At the end of the day we’re the only ones who can make a difference in our lives…” we both said.

  Nudging her shoulder with my own, I smiled down at her. “Now take your own advice and go after your dreams, Mel. In twenty years from now, when you’re married to a boring job, raising three children to grow up and follow their dreams, you’ll be kicking yourself for not reaching for yours. Don’t be one of those, Mel. Be brave. Reach for the stars. No. Reach for the moon.”

  Mel grinned up at me and mouthed a thank you before she reached up and pressed her mouth to mine. Her lips were soft and delicate against my own, and she parted her mouth, groaning when I deepened the kiss. Her tongue met mine stroke for stroke, and I slipped my hands under the covers, seeking her skin. I gripped her waist and pulled her against me, her warm body pressing up to my own.

  Mel pulled her mouth away from mine and sighed. “I should get going. I need to see my dad before he takes off again.”

  “Ten more minutes,” I told her, taking her mouth again. She pressed her hands against my chest, lifted to straddle me and rolled her tongue against mine.

  I never wanted her to leave.

  47

  “Dad?” I called out when I walked through the door later that morning. Ten minutes with Jake had turned into an hour and two cups of coffee. He hadn't wanted me to leave, even when I told him I had to face my dad, and reminded him that he had practice to get to. Jake had said he’d skip practice if I wanted him to come with me. As much as I loved him for saying that, I knew I needed to face my dad alone. My father was stubborn. I knew it would take a lot of persuading on my part for him to come around to the idea of Jake and m
e being together… if he ever came around at all.

  I never knew what to expect with my father. His sudden need to be in my life had thrown me. It was something I struggled to wrap my head around. Why now? After all these years, why the sudden change of heart? And why did I need his approval all of a sudden?

  When there was no response from my dad, I rushed through the hallway to the living room in search of him. He was standing beside the fireplace with his phone pressed to his ear, the authoritative tone in his voice causing me to take a step back, instantly feeling sorry for whoever was on the other end. When he lifted his eyes to mine, he frowned and held a finger in the air. I sighed and waited until the call was over.

  “Where were you last night?” he snapped as he ended the call and slipped his mobile phone into his jacket pocket.

  “I stayed at Bessy’s,” I lied. I had to. There was no way I could just come out with it and tell him I’d spent the night with Jake. He would freak out, leaving me no room to argue my case.

  “I thought we’d discussed this already.” His eyes fixed with mine, commanding authority. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. But still, with my newly found confidence, I managed to stand my ground even with the stern expression he was directing my way. I knew that expression all too well. I had been on the receiving end of that penetrative stare on many occasions growing up. It usually meant that the topic wasn’t up for discussion. His final words were just that: final.

  “Dad, please, just listen.” I couldn’t hide the frustration in my voice as I tried to get him to listen to me.

  “No, Melanie. I meant what I said. As long as you are living under this roof, I need to know where you are.”

  “Fine, okay. I’m sorry I didn't tell you that I was staying out. It won't happen again.” I sighed, hoping that would satisfy him enough to convince him to hear me out.

  “You're right, it won't. Your mother will be back this afternoon. I’ve given Alice the day off and I expect you to be around when your mother gets back. We need to talk.”