Myles (Carter Brother#3)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  Reaching the exit door a body jumps out from the side of us and we all scream in fear, pushing each other forward to get away. Once we’re all out we stand catching our breath, laughing our heads off. The two girls start eyeing up Max and Myles and I feel myself stepping closer to him, not wanting them to get his attention.

  One of the girls notice and give me a small, shy smile making me relax. When I turn to look around we’re in a graveyard. Not a real one. It looks like a graveyard, except the grave stones are bigger, the grass is more like wheat and the place is full of fake cobwebs. We hear a squeal to the left and I swear that it’s Harlow scream, which makes us all giggle.

  “Reminder,’’ an announcement calls from a speaker at the entrance of the graveyard. “The rules from the beginning apply. No actor will touch or harm you in any way. They may come close, but will not make contact. Please keep the journey safe for both you and actors and enjoy the ride.’’

  We all look at Max and give him a warning look. He just looks offended and huffs out an annoyed breath.

  “The chainsaw man has escaped,’’ a woman wearing a ripped dress says, scaring the shit out of me. Where the hell did she come from? Everyone else must be thinking the same thing when I see them looking in the direction her voice had first come from. “You need to go…’’ she tells us frantically, looking around, her eyes wide with fear. “He’s coming, he’s coming,’’ she screams then runs.

  Then little twinkle lights shine on the ground, and we enter the maze. The grave stones look real, and my hand reaches out to touch one, but it’s just decorated poly blocks. They look so real. I’m just about to take my phone out to take a picture when we hear the chainsaw again. We all turn around to the sound and scream. A man dressed as the Chainsaw Massacre is standing at the entrance. We all turn and run when he takes a step towards us.

  Denny is in front of us, Max and the girls behind, all of us screaming our heads off. We end up in a bigger field, and it’s obviously joined with the others because I can hear other people screaming around us.

  I’m between laughing, and peeing my pants, when Max comes shoving past us, nearly sending Myles and I to the floor. He just gets ahead of Denny when a zombie walks out of the open grave. He screams, pushing Denny in front of him and running off in another direction, leaving us all behind.

  “Are you okay?’’ I laugh, rushing over to Denny, who is quick to get back on her feet.

  “I’m going to kill that fucker. Did you see his face, though?’’ she laughs and we all laugh with her. We turn around to find the girls have gone to, and when we turn in the direction we came I can see why. Standing there is the man with the chainsaw, the noise of the engine making me quake with fear. That’s when we hear ‘argh’ from behind us and remember the zombie. We all scream, laughter following, and run in the direction where the smoke is still lingering from how fast Max hightailed it out of here.

  “This way,’’ Myles shouts, grabbing my hand. I grab Denny’s and together we rush through the pathways between what I think is supposed to be a corn field. Rounding another corner we all scream to a sudden stop, then burst out laughing when we come face to face with Maverick and Harlow.

  “Where’s Mason and Malik?’’ Denny asks.

  “Mason legged it before this bloke came out to warn us,’’ Maverick says dryly.

  “And we lost Malik when I pushed him out the way and legged it,’’ Harlow laughs.

  “Max did that to me, but literally pushed me over….then legged it,’’ Denny laughs and the others laugh with her.

  “Come on. Let’s go. That has to be the way out because we’ve been back there and all the other paths are blocked by either zombies, or a bloke with a hatchet.’’

  We follow behind Maverick and Myles, us girls linking arms and squealing every time we pass a grave that has a zombie trying to escape. It’s not long before we come to another building. One says exit, the other says Enchanted Forest. We take the Enchanted Forest, and walk in to find Max, Malik, and Mason all sat around laughing.

  “Seriously, Max, you’d leave the mother to your niece to be murdered?’’ Denny snaps, walking over to Mason.

  “She’d be in good hands with me,’’ he tells her rolling his eyes. I giggle.

  “Yeah, until another zombie walks into your life and you leave her to defend herself.’’

  “I wouldn’t do that to her, she’s my princess.’’

  “Liar,’’ Denny snaps, and Mason cuddles her to his chest, kissing her neck.

  “Cheers, Babe, nice of you to leave me to get here by myself. I nearly got took out by a group of girls and this one,’’ Malik growls, looking pissed at Max.

  “I needed to scope out the place before I let any of you walk in,’’ Max snaps, defending himself.

  “Whatever, bro.’’

  “Sorry, I thought you were behind me,’’ Harlow says blushing.

  “Babe, you ran out of there that fast I’m surprised your feet didn’t set on fire.’’

  We all laugh, and then join the queue, still talking about the ride and what a chicken Max had been. We’re all in our own little world that we don’t feel the outside air until we’re standing in an archway.

  Just like on the water ride we went on earlier they have a platform moving clockwise with mini boats waiting to be loaded.

  “It’s four to a boat,’’ the man tells us when we are closer to the front of the line.

  “Max is not with me,’’ I shout quickly, and then blush when Max turns to me glaring.

  “We’ll come with you,’’ Malik and Harlow offer, and I smile.

  Myles takes my hand when it’s our turn to load the boat, and quickly we rush over to get in, the rest of the group in the boat behind us.

  “Are we on the right ride? I thought we walked through the forest?’’ I ask Myles, not seeing anything about boats in the leaflet.

  “Yeah, I heard one of the groups in front of us mention it takes us through the back way. When it’s the end of the ride, we can walk through to the main park area. That way we don’t have to walk all the way through and miss the boat carnival.’’

  “Okay,’’ I nod, and then snuggle into his side starting to feel chilly from the night air. It doesn’t help I’m wet from being sprayed in the graveyard.

  “Do you reckon there are crocodiles in this water?’’ we hear Max from the other boat, and we all snicker, the other boat full of groans. Not wanting to miss a minute, I lean my head on Myles’ shoulder, his arm wrapping around me and take in the lanterns, fairy lights and sparkly decorations surrounding the beautiful wild life. I can see why this attraction isn’t open all the time. It must take a lot of work to keep the decorations in good condition, not to mention lighting all the lantern candles.

  They change the theme every once in a while, but the fairy lights have always been there.

  The atmosphere on the boat is smooth and relaxing. With all the dull lighting, and the glow from the moon it gives off a romantic feel.

  Malik and Harlow are making out in the front of the boat and I blush before looking away. That’s when Myles turns my head, his lips moving towards mine before giving me a tender loving kiss. It’s soft, and gentle, and I feel it with every fibre in my body. Every time he kisses me, it just gets better and better.

  When we pull away we’re both out of breath, my heart beating at a rapid pace. He gives me a small smile then pulls me into his arms. I sigh, feeling content and rest my head on his shoulder. The ride continues for another five minutes before we come to the end.

  Myles steps out first before helping me out, then we stand off to the side to wait for the others, this part of the day becoming one of the best parts, hell, it’s become one of my best memories.

  Chapter Sixteen

  MYLES

  “This was the best day ever. I’m gutted Charlie missed it; she would have gone gaga over those floats. She loves taking photos,’’ Kayla gushes from the other room. I bite back a grin.

  The re
st have headed to bed too, wanting to get an early start back tomorrow, but Kayla and I went to get some drinks from the corner shop along with some snacks.

  “It’s not the same, but we took some pretty good photos between the two of us, maybe we can get them printed out to show her,’’ I offer, around a mouth full of toothpaste.

  “Oh my God,’’ she beams. “She’d love that. Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe we can get one of the firework display printed on a canvas for her. She loves fireworks. Always has. When we moved she came to visit me in the six weeks holiday and dragged me to this firework display that was happening where we lived. She gushed over it for months and I remember her telling me that if she could, she would paint her room to look just like that firework display.’’

  “I love seeing you like this,’’ I grin, walking out of the bathroom. She’s all pent up with excitement and energy and has gone over every detail of today like I wasn’t there right along with her.

  It’s freaking cute.

  She’s cute.

  “Like what?’’ she asks, her face red and flushed. I watch her grab her pyjamas in a rush, not making eye contact with me. She’s all flustered and that’s when I realise it’s because I’m only wearing my Calvin Klein boxers.

  “Happy, carefree, excited,’’ I chuckle and she looks back at me to glare, but then takes one look at my body and gets all flustered again.

  I sit on the edge of the bed shoving today’s clothes into my rucksack, listening to Kayla ramble about the walk through the Enchanted Forest. I’m not usually into all that girly shit, but I have to admit, the place looked fucking amazing.

  I look up when I hear clothes rustling. Kayla rushed in so quick she forgot to close the door, so when I look up, my whole body locks up, completely freezing. My jaw locks and my hands clench tightly into fists.

  Kayla’s bruises are worse than I first anticipated. They’re fiery red, blue and purple, looking nasty across her side, ribs and stomach. I knew it was bad, but not this, not fucking spread so far across her stomach and side, damaging her flawless skin. The fact that someone could hurt someone so kind, so innocent, and already fragile makes me want to repay them the favour. I’m trying to rein in my anger, not wanting to scare Kayla, that I don’t hear her walk in. She must have taken one look at me and knew something was up.

  “Is everything okay? I know I’ve talked a lot… and I’m rambling again.’’

  “I’m fine, sorry. Just tired,’’ I tell her, lifting my head and giving her a warm smile. She smiles back, but her eyes look unsure as she gets into bed. I shove the last of my shit into my bag, making sure to take out the clothes for tomorrow before joining Kayla on the bed.

  “Did you have a good day?’’ she asks softly.

  “I had the best day,’’ I grin, my body relaxing.

  “You did?’’ she asks, beaming, and being all cute.

  “Bet your ass I did,’’ I chuckle before leaning over and giving her a kiss. And as always, my lips reach hers and my whole body lights the fuck up. No one has set my body on fire the way she does. God, it’s like it burns only for her. She only has to make contact with me and I’m fighting back a hard on, but now, her lips drive me to the point I could quite easily cum in my pants.

  “Goodnight, Myles,’’ she whispers sleepily.

  “Night, Babe,’’ I smile, leaning down to give her one more peck on her lips.

  “Thank you for today,’’ she whispers again before I hear her breathing even out.

  *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

  My mind has been on Kayla since we dropped her off three hours ago. She’s going out for dinner with her dad and there was nothing I could do to get her to change her mind. I’d wanted her to stay with me, to come to mine for dinner, just something to get her away from that house. I’m still not sure who’s hurting her, but with my past experience, my guess is, it’s her dad. He was the only one there that morning that could have done that to her. She’s not been having any problems at school, so it’s not something she could have gotten from there, and there is no one else in her life. I know her mother is an only child so she doesn’t have any aunts or uncles on that witches side, and her dad has a brother and sister, but both live miles away for her to have any contact with them. So the only person it could be is her dad.

  I’ve finally snapped, needing to get out of the house I stand up towards the door, but I’m stopped short when my granddad walks in holding a plate of food.

  “Joan wanted me to bring you over a plate. Is everything okay son?’’

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?’’ I lie.

  “Don’t lie to me, boy. Talk to me,’’ he demands, sitting the plate down on the table and taking a seat opposite on the recliner.

  I groan, scrubbing my hands down my face before addressing him. “Granddad, if you knew someone was being hurt, but you couldn’t prove who was hurting them, what would you do?’’ I ask him, looking at him with pleading eyes. It’s been killing me not knowing how to help Kayla, to keep her safe. She’s been avoiding my calls and texts since we dropped her off and she promised we would talk about it when we got back. I know what she’s doing, but she can’t avoid me forever.

  “Someone’s hurting Kayla?’’ he asks shocked.

  “What? I didn’t…’’

  “Your face says it all, plus, she’s the only one I can see you looking ready to commit murder for.’’

  “Max and I went to hers on Thursday when she didn’t show up for school. She texted me saying some bullshit about being with her dad, but then we saw him in town with his new misses. So Max and I went there and found her asleep in bed, but the blanket had moved down and showed she had some bruises on her side. Granddad, it was fucked up. She’s had bruises before, finger marks and shit, but I’ve just pushed my worries aside hoping she’d come to me, but she never did. Then last night I saw the bruises full on, and Granddad, it looks like someone took a fucking hammer to her stomach and ribs. I don’t know what to do. I’ve left her alone with her dad tonight, and he could be the one hurting her,’’ I groan, feeling angrier by the second.

  “What the fuck?’’ a voice behind us booms, and I jump, turning around to find Maverick watching us with a thunderous expression.

  “Don’t let her know that you know, bro,’’ I beg him, panicked.

  “Who the fuck would hurt her? She’s like a freaking fairy,’’ he snaps.

  “Sit down, both of you,’’ Granddad snaps, looking at us both with a determined expression.

  “Maverick, calm down before you set him off even more, and Myles, how do you know it’s her dad?’’

  “Who else would it be? She’s with me every day at school, plus I would have heard if someone was hurting her there. And the only other place she could be hurt is at home. And the only other person there that early to hurt her was her dad. I left her before she went to bed, so unless he did it then or waited until the morning, I don’t know, but it all makes sense.’’

  “I dunno, Kid. I’ve known her father awhile and although he let a lot of shit slide before, he loves that girl.’’

  “What has Kayla said?’’ Maverick grits out.

  “She won’t tell me anything, she said she would talk about it today, but now she’s ignoring me.’’

  “Maybe she’s out or she’s asleep,’’ he offers, which could be true, it is nearly ten at night.

  “What do I do?’’ I plead.

  “Son, I’ve only had the privilege of meeting the girl a few times now, but she’s strong. Yes she’s beyond fragile on the inside, but I believe with you by her side she will talk to you. Don’t go pushing her for answers, or suffocating her, it won’t work. Her will has been taken from her, her whole life; she doesn’t need that from you too.”

  “But what-”

  “But nothing, Son. I know what you boys are like. You’re loyal to the bone and when you love, you do it strong and you do it fighting. Kayla doesn’t need that, she needs you, just you,’’ he smiles
softly.

  My eyes water and I don’t care if I look like a baby in front of them. She’s everything to me. I couldn’t protect her the first time, and I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. Knowing I could be doing something is killing me. She could be at home now wishing someone would save her from her dad.

  “He’s right, Myles. I saw the way you looked at each other over the weekend, and that girl worships the ground you walk on. I’m not saying I agree with granddad, that we should wait until she agrees to tell us who is hurting her, but I do agree she needs to be the one to make the decision. All you can do until then is stand by her and be there for her,’’ Maverick offers, coming to sit down next to me, patting my back in what we call our brotherly hug.

  “When did you become so sentimental?’’ I chuckle, my eyes still glassed over.

  “The day I had to raise you guys and watch you grow into men,’’ he shrugs, before getting up and walking over to Granddad. He pats him on the back before leaving us with one more thing. “And the men you’ve become is thanks to this man, so take his advice.’’ And with that he walks away, up the stairs and when I hear his bedroom door shut I turn to Granddad who is watching me with curious eyes.

  “So what are you going to do?’’

  “I’m not going to run over there knife blazing and threaten the fucker if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m going to wait until she replies, if she hasn’t called me by tomorrow morning, before I leave to meet her for school, then I’ll make sure I go see her.’’

  “Good lad. I’m really proud of who you boys have become. You never had a great upbringing, and a part of that was due to my negligence.’’

  “No Granddad it wasn’t. It was because we had two fucked up parents who didn’t deserve to produce kids. You were the best thing that ever happened to any of us, without you we would probably get into trouble, robbing stores for our next meal. Don’t ever blame yourself,’’ I tell him heatedly.

  He chokes up, his eyes watering and I know that must be hard for him to show his emotions like that. He’s not one to sit and have a heart to heart, he usually tells us to ‘shake it off and carry on’, or ‘build a bridge and get over it’.