“It’s not a big deal, guys. For the last six years I lived in a hotel. It’s got its perks, twenty four hour room service and all.” Nick joked, trying to ease Deb and Joe a bit.
“Yeah, well that was before you were home,” Deb said, disgusted with the fact.
“The reason I brought it up,” Cara said, turning to look at Nick mouthed “I’m sorry,’ “The apartment upstairs from Rudy’s is for rent. If you’re going to be a permanent fixture around here, might as well give yourself a permanent address.”
Sam leaned into Jake, “Think you can tell her to stop with all her great ideas? I don’t want him living at Rudy’s then I’ll bump into him on Friday nights.”
“Tragic.” Jake said, rolling his eyes at his sister. “Will you guys excuse me a minute?” He pushed his chair out, and left the dining room. Suddenly he wasn’t in the mood for the casual discussion. Thinking about how bad things had been for Cara with her dad, left a sour taste in his mouth and his mind racing.
He made his way up to his childhood bedroom, the image of Cara so badly beaten that one of her eyes was swollen shut, kept flashing in his head. He shook his head viciously, as if he could really shake the thought from his mind. He sat down at the edge of his bed and threw his head in his hands, closing his eyes. He was lost in his thoughts, in the demons that would haunt him from time to time. He could still hear her voice, begging him not do anything to her father. He could remember how she felt, trembling in his arms.
He had been asleep in this very room, when he heard something hit the window. She hadn’t wanted to wake his family, but she had needed him. When he went to the window, he could barely make out that it was her, who was throwing rocks at it. She had a baseball cap on, and she never looked up at him. Then her voice, full of tears, had told him it was her. He could still remember, clear as day, when he opened the back door to let her in. She was soaking wet, from the rain and shaking. She wouldn’t look at him. And when he begged her to lift her head and she only turned away, he had a weakening feeling in the pit of his stomach, kind of like he did now, just thinking about it.
He had grabbed her shoulders and she flinched, completely taking him off guard. That’s when he had figured someone had hurt her. Ever so gently, he turned her around to face him. He slowly removed the baseball cap, and to the best of her ability she looked up at him, only one eye able to look into his. Tears streaked her beautiful face that was full of black and blues and dried blood, his fists clenched then and now.
He couldn’t explain what he felt at that moment, seeing her like that; he wanted to hurt the person responsible and hurt them bad. He wanted them to feel the way Cara felt, if not worse. He pushed the anger aside, and took her to his room. He cleaned her cuts, and put ice on her bruises. He held her as she cried for hours, and didn’t say a word. When she was ready, she would tell him, he figured, for at that moment she needed him to assure her she was okay.
It wasn’t until the following morning, when she told him that her father had been the culprit of her attack, and that it hadn’t been the first time. He wished that she would’ve come to him sooner, but she had explained that she was too embarrassed. He vowed that night that he would never let anything bad happen to her again, and he was a man of his word. He also vowed to make sure that Cara’s father paid for what he did to her.
He made good on that promise years later. He knew that the son of a bitch would be driving a trailer out of Riverdale, filled with automotive parts. Being a tractor trailer driver, these runs often sent him out of town for a couple of days. He didn’t know where the trailer was headed, and he didn’t care, he just knew he’d make sure it would never make it to its destination.
He had followed her father down the interstate, when he pulled over at a truck stop, he made sure the motherfucker, got his. Until this day, Jake couldn’t tell you what he did, or how he did it. He had no recollection. He didn’t even remember, calling Nick and he only assumed he called him because he didn’t want his brother involved when he had Ava to worry about. He did remember sitting in the back of the trailer, throwing car parts around. He thought he struck the lotto with the load her father had been carrying, and knew that Luke and Nick would benefit from it. In fact, he was in the trailer, when Nick found him that night.
“I don’t know where we are going to put all this shit. We’re going to have to make a couple of trips.” Jake said as held a bloody tire iron, clutching it as if his life depended on it.
Nick just watched him for a moment, as he started kicking the contents of the trailer around. “Jake, what the fuck happened here?” Nick asked, a little breathless.
“What does it look like happened? I got you what you needed.” He said, the adrenaline pumping through him.
“At what fucking expense,” Nick pointed to the front of the trailer. “That’s Cara’s father! Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“I know who he is, he’s a piece of shit. That bastard used to beat the shit out of her. She didn’t get jumped like, you all thought,” Jake responded.
Nick swiped his hands over his face.
“Jake, I don’t even know if he is alive.” Nick said, frustrated while, Jake began to throw parts of the truck onto the road below, aiming for Nick to catch them. “JAKE STOP!” He jumped onto the trailer and grabbed Jake, who was shaking.
“She didn’t deserve it.” Jake cried. “I should’ve been there for her. She’s always there for me, always!”
“It’s okay. She’s okay,” Nick said reassuringly.
Jake pulled back and looked at Nick, tears falling from his eyes. “Oh my God, Nick. What did I do?” He said coming back to reality. And then the both of them turned, noticing the flashing lights.
“Jake, look at me,” Nick said, slapping Jake who was frozen. Jake turned slowly and looked at Nick. “You need to get out of here, you hear me?” He reached into his pocket and grabbed his keys. He placed them in Jake’s hand and closed his palm. “Take my car and go home. If anyone asks you anything, you don’t know anything about what happened here. Are you listening to me?” Nick yelled.
“Nick.” Jake started, but was cut off.
“Get out of here now!” Nick shouted, and pushed him off the trailer. He watched Jake disappear into the woods along the side of the highway.
“Freeze; Put your hands where we can see them!” A police officer shouted. Slowly Nick lifted his hands above his head. Within seconds, the cops had jumped onto the trailer and had him thrown on the floor handcuffed.
That was all Jake remembered seeing, between the trees, before he ran as Nick had told him too. He was just thankful that Nick had been released, and the charges dismissed. To this day, he didn’t know how Nick had managed that one, but he didn’t ask either. He tried really hard not think about it. It only made him feel guilty. Cara had no idea that Jake was the one that left her father beaten and bloody, or that Nick had been arrested that night. Come to think of it, the only people who knew were Jake and Nick. Jake laid his head against the pillows on the bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t regret what he did; he only regretted that he wasn’t able to stop Cara from getting hurt. If he had to do it again, he would, the only difference being, he’d make sure the bastard was dead.
Chapter Four
Cara insisted on being the one who made the coffee, after dinner. First she busied herself making the regular pot of coffee, and then she began the task of making espresso. Joe Lanza loved espresso, and had even turned Cara into an espresso drinker, so one Christmas she bought him a state of the art espresso machine. It was one of Joe Lanza’s favorite possessions, only he had no idea how to use it. She was counting the tablespoons of coffee when the kitchen door swung open. She looked over her shoulder, not breaking her concentration, but just acknowledging who had joined her.
Luke carried in an empty Cinderella cup and headed towards the fridge, “We need a refill, for dessert.” He said, grabbing the gallon of milk and motioning towards the Cinderella cup. “You need a hand whi
le I’m in here?”
She flicked the switch on the espresso machine, and turned towards him. “Nope, all done.” She smiled at him, watching him pour some chocolate syrup into the cup of milk. She leaned over and handed him a spoon.
“Thanks.” He said and smiled at her, taking the spoon from her hand, and dipping it into the milk, stirring in the chocolate syrup.
“No problem.” Cara said. “Did Jake come down yet?”
She watched as Luke shook his head and then eyed the mudroom, which had a staircase that also lead to the second floor, much like the one in the front of the house. “Why don’t you run up and tell him desserts ready. I’ll finish up in here.”
She bit her lip, contemplating, “Alright, if you don’t mind. I’ll be down before it’s done anyway.”
Luke laughed, but merely nodded his head. “Okay, Cara. No worries, I got this.”
Her eyes widened and she went to tell him that he had it all wrong, but figured it was pointless. Everyone assumed she and Jake were just kidding themselves, so they both gave up trying to explain their friendship. She hurried up the stairs and found his door closed. Never being one to just barge in on anyone, she knocked softly. “Jake?”
When he didn’t answer her, she turned to go back downstairs, but then turned back to face the door. He had excused himself so abruptly at dinner, she thought. She knew he was exhausted, he’d been complaining to her about it for a few weeks now, but to just leave the dinner table like that; wasn’t Jake. She turned the doorknob slowly and peeked inside his room. He was lying on the bed, peacefully. She stepped inside, and quietly shut the door behind her. She leaned against the door and looked around the room, and couldn’t remember the last time she had been in his room. She had spent years in this room. When she was a teenager, she would hide out from her father here, and when she turned twenty one she’d crash here after they had been out partying all night. She bet if she opened the bottom drawer of his dresser there would still be some of her clothes there, for the nights she didn’t make it home.
She found herself smiling at the memories, and strangely yearning to lay next to him, just like she did on those nights. She bent down and quickly untied her combat boots, not giving herself a chance to change her mind. She pulled the boots off and placed them neatly next to his. Just a minute, she told herself, just lay next to him for a minute. She climbed into the bed with such gentleness, careful not to wake him. She lay completely still beside him before resting her elbow on the pillow next to him, propping her head up with one of her hands. He still looked like that young man always rescuing her, just some changes, like the barbell that pierced through his left eyebrow and the tattoo that peeked out from the neckline of his shirt. She smiled down at him, for every tattoo that he had, she was there when he had gotten them done. She knew what each one stood and the order in which he got them.
The one she stared at on his neck was the same one she had on her hip. It read “Est. 1985”, marking the year the both of them were born. It had been her first tattoo, and she was nervous, so he offered to get one with her, and then he came up with the idea of them sharing the same tattoo. It was the little things Jake said and did throughout the course of their friendship that made him the center of her world. She loved him for everything he was to her and everything he ever tried to be, and always would.
His arms were stretched behind his head as he slept, so she nestled her body against his and laid her gently on his chest. She held her breath when he shifted slightly, and peeked up at his face to see if she had woken him. His eyes were still closed and his breath still labored, she let out a sigh and relaxed her body against his. Lost in his scent, she let her eyes drift close, and closed her mind to all her worries.
Jake wrapped one of his hands around her waist, and her eyes averted down to where his hand rested on the hemline of her sweater, and then back up at his face. His eyes were still closed, so she figured he had done it subconsciously. Maybe he had been thinking of Joanna, she thought, and that brought a frown to her face. She had no reason to be jealous. She and Jake were just friends. She barely knew the girl, so she couldn’t even dislike her, but for some reason she did. She stopped thinking of reasons why she was turned off to Jake’s latest girl, when his hand slid under her shirt.
She would’ve sworn on a stack of bibles that she held her breath, but she couldn’t be sure. She knew she didn’t dare move a muscle as his fingertips caressed her soft skin. Her tongue ran along her bottom lip before her teeth sank into it, and when his hand moved further up her stomach, she bit down so hard, she drew blood. She covered her mouth with her hand, to muffle the gasp that followed the pain. She had to wake him or something, because she couldn’t go on pretending this wasn’t happening. If she did, she would only wind up inflicting more pain on herself. And then his palm closed over her breast. She couldn’t make out the sound that escaped her bloody lip, could it have been a moan? Or was it a shriek? Oh, what the hell did it matter, she needed for her breasts to get a grip, and she begged her nipples not to react to his touch. Defiant nipples, she scolded as they hardened through her lace bra. She rolled her eyes before closing them, fucked, she was definitely fucked. Why hadn’t she woken him yet? Oh, that’s right Cara, because subconsciously you don’t want him to stop. Bad girl! Bad Nipples, God damn it!
As if he knew all about the conversation she was having with herself; he began to laugh. Her eyes sprang open just as he pinched her nipple through her bra. She looked up at him, he had a full fledge grin on his mouth and he was staring down at her under his hooded gaze.
“What?” He said thick and in a mock innocent tone, before sliding his hand back down her body and letting it rest on her hip. She cocked her head and raised one questioning eyebrow at him, but he ignored her and buried his face in her hair.
Cara swallowed hard. First off, she could stay like this forever, wrapped in his arms. Second, she recognized the heat that was inside her, and the need that was aching. She needed to get the hell out of this bed, and stop driving herself crazy. But when she went to move, he wrapped his other arm around her and brought her to rest fully on top of him. Great, things were going great for her. “What’re you doing?” She whispered, and closed her eyes when she heard her voice. She sounded like a god damn phone sex operator. Bad Cara!
Jake ran his fingers down her back, and sprayed his hands on her lower back, right above her ass. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” He was still grinning.
“I… me? I just came up here to check on you, well Luke told me to check on you and tell you that dessert is ready. And you were sleeping so I, well, I, I’m rambling aren’t I?”
He nodded, and she wished she could wipe that grin off his face. “Mmhmm. So dessert is ready, huh?” He said and his hand slid into the back pockets of her jeans.
“Jake.” She groaned. “What’re you doing?” She whispered, and leaned her forehead against his.
“I don’t know.” He said honestly as he moved one of his hands to move the hair that draped their faces. He tucked it behind her shoulder and stared at her face. Her eyes became lost in his baby blues. Her tongue ran along her swollen lip, as his hands cupped her face. “What happened?” He asked, noticing her lip, tracing his thumb softly over it.
“I bit it.” She whispered and when he smiled she laughed slightly. A moment later his face changed, and she stopped laughing.
“I want to make it better.” He whispered, and he looked at her. He was demanding with his words, but his eyes asked her permission. She hadn’t realized she nodded until his lips touched hers. It wasn’t the first time they had kissed, throughout the years they’ve kissed a lot, but they had always been drunk whenever they did. That was the difference, this time they were both stone cold sober, and in his bed.
The kiss had started off soft and slow, barely touching one another’s lips, just mostly exploring. She grasped his shirt in her hands and pulled him closer towards her. They broke apart for a moment searching each other’s fa
ce and then they reached for one another at the same time. Their lips fused together, desperately. Jake’s tongue snuck out and ran along her lower lip, soothingly. She didn’t feel any pain so she thought he was seeking permission to enter her mouth, and she parted her lips. His tongue accepted the invitation and slipped into her hot mouth. Their tongues caressed and explored. Her teeth crazed his lower lip and her head began to spin. A sea of emotions engulfed her, and suddenly she was fighting for more of him. Hungry and eager, she found herself taking control of their kiss. She ground herself against him and he moaned. He pulled back and let out a shaky breath.
“Cara,” he said breathlessly, as he held her face in his hands. Shock and embarrassment covered her face. She touched her lips; they were plump and moist from his mouth.
“I’m sorry.” She said, and scrambled to get off of him. He reached for her, and caught her hips just before she could slide off him. “Jake, just let me go, please.” She begged her cheeks reddening. She had to get out of there now, before the tears that were threatening to spill, actually did.
“Stop it.” He said softly. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Cara, look at me.”
She lifted her head and glanced up at the ceiling, trying to will the tears in, but failed, and when they fell, she quickly started to wipe at them. “Can we just forget this happened?” She said, sniffling.
He sighed, taking her hand in his. “If that’s what you want.”
His simple words made her look at him, and not care if she cried or not. Did that mean he didn’t want to forget it happened? She shook her head, it didn’t matter. She needed this to go away; she needed things to be normal. They had been so careful not to cross any lines between them, and then she went and did this. “I just- I can’t do this with you, Jake.” She moved his hands from her hips and got off the bed, she needed space between them.
Pieces (Riverdale #1) Page 4
