The tension in the room magnifies.
“So,” Vance says uncomfortably, clearing her throat. “Tell me about yourself, Raina. How did you and Kent meet?”
“We were roommates.”
“Roommates?” She raises her eyebrows. “Interesting.”
Kent shoves food into his mouth.
“It was interesting at times,” I admit.
His mother laughs. “Things with Kent usually are. He has a flare for the dramatics.”
He grunts, mouth full of bacon.
Vance glares at him but doesn’t comment on his shoving food into his mouth. It’s probably best he doesn’t have the ability to speak. “Are you in school or working?”
“Well.” I look down at my plate.
“I got her fired,” Kent speaks up.
“Kent,” Brent chastises.
“I beat the shit out of her boss.”
“Kent,” Vance joins in.
“We broke up and I went apeshit.”
“Kent,” they both echo.
“But we’re together again. For good.”
Willow sighs and Kent’s back straightens. Scott is laughing.
“Leave now, Raina,” Scott teases. “This is as good as it gets.”
I glare at him and he winks. Willow smacks his shoulder.
This is not going well.
Kent will not look to his left, no matter how much I know he wants to. Under the table his hands tremble. I let my anger go and grab his hand and run my thumb across the back of it soothingly. He relaxes some, shoving food into his mouth with his left hand.
“What are you going to do?” Brent tries to salvage the conversation. “I can get you a job at Bid&Buy.”
My eyes widen. “Um, thank you, but I was thinking about going to school.”
“For?”
“Willow, what the fuck?” Kent roars, snapping. The man just snaps. He drops my hand and his fork, exploding out of his seat. “You let this dipshit knock you up?”
Willow looks at him and their eyes connect. Scott stands up too.
“Here we go,” Vance mumbles.
“Why him, Will?” Kent demands. “Why not someone else? Why my brother? Why my best friend?”
Kent Nicholson cracks.
He runs at his brother but Scott is waiting for him. Willow screams and pushes away from the table as the two of them hit the floor like angry bricks. Fists and insults fly. I don’t get up. Kent and Scott go at it like wolves, smashing their fists into each other’s faces with power and force. Brent eventually breaks them up, grabbing Kent around his neck and pulling him off his brother. Scott scrambles to his feet, wounded and enraged. Kent huffs and puffs with blood dripping down his chin.
“You should be happy for me. I’m going to be a father.” At the base of Scott’s words I hear real hurt.
“Congratulations!” Kent spits blood on Scott’s shoes. “Are you’re going to tell them I fucked their mom first?”
My eyes close in misery when Scott’s fist smashes against Kent’s face. It makes a terrible sound, and Kent’s lucky Brent is holding him up, or he would’ve hit the ground.
I get up and go to him, sidestepping Willow in the process. This is her fault. I can’t even look at her. Everything she’s done so far has led up to this. Kent can barely stand up straight and he is wounded in a way I’ve never seen. She broke my man and now I have to put him back together again.
Scott’s chests puffs in and out, fists clenched, ready for round two. “You went too far, Kent.”
“I’ve got him,” I promise Brent.
“You sure?”
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” I duck under Kent’s arm and support most of his weight. “Let’s go.”
“Rain,” he whispers. “I love you.”
I don’t know where we’re going. I just know we need to get out of this house before round two starts. We leave out a side door that empties onto a plush green lawn. The view of the bay backdrops the yard like a painting as I drop Kent onto a lounge chair near the pool. The backyard looks like an oasis. It’s blue and green, lush and alive, and yet I can’t stop staring at the blood on Kent’s mouth. I know how it got there. It wasn’t because of me this time, and as ridiculous as it seems, it’s red like Willow’s lipstick.
“You love me?” I demand, screaming in his face. “You love me but you fight over another girl? What kind of shit is that? When we get back to Jacksonville, we’re done.”
“No, we’re not.” He takes his shirt off and holds it to his bloody mouth. His words are muffled. “We’re never done.”
“We’re done,” I insist, near tears. “How can you ask me to marry you because your brother’s marrying your ex? Is this some sick competition? Because if it is, I want no part in it.”
His eyes flash. “They’re getting married?”
“You didn’t know?” His expression is full of shock and betrayal. “You didn’t know.”
He closes his eyes and lies back on the lounge chair. “No, I didn’t know. Ahh, this hurts.” He takes his shirt away with shaking hands and stares at the blood on his mouth. “I lasted longer than summer. I coldcocked him then.”
I am near that place again with him. The one when I need a drink and to run. I start pacing, absolutely livid with the man I love. “He looks just like you.”
“Yeah,” he grumbles sarcastically. “I’ve noticed the resemblance.”
“Whose mouth is smart now?” I bite.
“You want to know the worst part? The part that kills me the most out of all of this?” He sits up and looks at me, his eyes drenched in sadness. “She’s right. She found a better man. My brother is better than me in every way. He always has been. I’m some lonely loser who can’t keep his dick in his pants. And now I have you and I’m ruining this too. I have this woman who showed me I can love again, and I’m breaking her heart all over again because of what my brother did. All of the women in the world and he chooses her.” His sadness becomes anger again. “Now they’re getting married and having a baby.”
I continue to pace. Faster, stomping my sandal-clad feet across the bright green grass. “I get why this is bothering you. I understand your brother betrayed you. But it’s over, Kent. They’re moving on. Why can’t we?”
“We are,” he promises. “Rain, I love you. I love you more than I could ever love that cold-hearted thing in there.” He flicks his hand in the direction of the kitchen disgustedly. “But I can’t get over what my brother did to me. I can’t. You don’t understand. It’s like Becca being with me after you and I break up.”
I grab my chest at the example and groan in pain.
“You understand? Now imagine falling in love again. Would you be able to let it go even then?”
“No. I’d kill you both.” I glare at him, picturing him getting Becca pregnant and marrying her. The image makes fury move through me like an electrical shock.
“Believe me, I’ve thought it.” He chuckles uncomfortably. “I’m kidding,” he promises when I spin around to glare.
“What if they’re truly in love?”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. They snuck around behind my back. They could’ve told me. Instead they waited for me to find them together. I went over to Scott’s hotel and what to do I find? Willow sucking his dick on her knees.”
I’m trying to put myself in his shoes. His distrust issues make perfect sense to me now. All of the anger he had towards women wasn’t much different than my abhorrence towards men. But we have to let that go now. It’s hurting us more than it’s saving us. Our pasts are trying to ruin our future.
I walk away.
“Where are you going?” he demands, stomping after me.
“I need a few minutes to accept the fact that no matter what I do my boyfriend will always be caught up on his ex and her fiancé.”
He grabs my hand and spins me around, pulling me against his chest. “You’re not going anywhere all week. You’re staying right by my side. Everything will go back
to normal when we get back to Jacksonville.”
“Will it? How? It’s not fair I have to compete with two people who don’t even think about you anymore. They’re moving on with their lives and we’re fighting over them.”
He pulls me against him tighter. “You love me. Don’t forget.”
He keeps telling me to remember our love as if it wasn’t falling apart. I sense one of us needs to take a leap here, or we’ll succumb to the pain of our pasts. I yank myself free of him as my eyes sting. “I do love you. That’s why watching you fight over your ex is killing me. I should go home. I’ll call a taxi. We can talk about this later when you’re not covered in blood on your parents’ lawn.” I pull away and leave.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growls, chasing after me.
“You’re not my boss, Kent Nicholson. I can do what I damn well please when I damn well want to.”
“Please stay, Rain. I won’t be able to get through this week without you.” His voice breaks and he stops chasing me. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry I can’t get over it the way you want. But I’m trying. I’m here with you, aren’t I? I never bring girls home. I introduced you to my parents; to the people I love. What more do I need to do?”
He looks pitiful. He’s covered in blood and his eyes are glossy. I relent rather unlovingly. “Fine. But I don’t want to see you unless I have to.”
“Not going to cut it. I need to see you or I’ll lose it.”
“Spoiled brat.” This time when I stomp away he doesn’t follow.
I walk toward the water and to a wooden walkway that leads through the property right up to the bay. I pick a spot at the deck and sit, letting the hot sun warm my face and the breeze coming of the water cool the heat. Boats are stationed in a tight circle, docked behind mansions similar to the Nicholson’s. The water is murky and still, interrupted by the occasional breeze. There’s a large boat docked behind their property. The Nich is painted along the side of the boat.
In Jacksonville, Willow was a picture. She was a memory in his past that wouldn’t leave his present. Now she’s real. She exists. And she’s messing with my man. The only one who should be affecting him is me. But it wasn’t like I knew Willow is with his brother. Somehow this changes everything. She isn’t in his past. She’s in his future. Kent’s the uncle to her child. No matter what we do she will be there.
Willow Serena, soon to be Willow Nicholson, will be a part of our lives.
I remain on the bay until the heat gets the best of me. I don’t want to see Kent, face his parents, or see his ex. This man is a tangled mess. I take deep breaths of the soggy air and the warm sun and then force myself to go back inside. Walking across the lawn, I notice Mr. Greene cleaning up Kent’s bloody t-shirt.
“I’ll take that,” I offer.
He looks over at me. “It’s no problem.”
“Are you sure? You shouldn’t have to clean up after him.”
He smiles. “I’ve been cleaning up after Kent for a while. This,” he says, holding up his t-shirt, “is no trouble.”
“I bet,” I grumble, earning a knowing laugh. “Where is he, Mr. Greene?”
“I believe he’s in his bedroom. Find the stairs past the foyer and take the fourth door down the hall.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
I enter the house through the side door Kent and I exited from after the fight. It’s near noon now and the mess of breakfast has been cleaned up. I walk through the kitchen to the fridge. I need something to drink, and since it can’t be whiskey, I’ll settle on water.
Willow walks in as I’m closing the fridge.
She pauses when she sees me. “How is he?” she asks softly.
“You don’t get to ask that anymore.”
She holds my eye contact. “Maybe not, but I still worry about him. Despite what he thinks I’m not some cold-hearted bitch.”
“He does think that.”
She smiles a little. “Trust me, he’s told me on more than one occasion. How is he?” Her green eyes are seemingly sincere and worried.
They weren’t sincere when she was with Scott. “He didn’t know until yesterday.”
“It’s the Nicholsons’ fault. They hide everything from him because they’re afraid of his response. What they don’t realize is Kent needs time to work things out. He has the ability to be a calm thinker. But he can be impulsive sometimes too. Unless he understands his actions he’s a tornado.”
I’m irritated she knows him so well. I picture them together, naked bodies intertwined. I have half a mind to search for something stronger than water. I’ve never had to deal with an ex before.
“Congratulations on being pregnant and your engagement.” It only seems right.
Her smile is large and happy. “Thank you,” she gushes. “I’m so happy it’s kind of scary.”
“How far along are you?”
“Six weeks.” She touches her belly. It’s still relatively flat, but there’s a slight bump under her shirt.
I feel like I’m the only one who’s awkward here. She’s clearly happy and I’m clearly confused. Where’s the heartless whore Kent described? Where are her claws and evil intent? “Is Scott excited?”
She frowns at her belly. “He is.” She looks into my eyes and hers fill with tears. “But I think he might want to hurt Kent more.”
I am uncomfortable. I don’t want to comfort my boyfriend’s pregnant ex-girlfriend. “Don’t cry. I’m sure he’s just nervous.”
“No. He couldn’t wait to tell Kent, because he knew Kent would be devastated.”
She’s looking at me like I have answers. “What’s his problem?” I ask.
She sighs and shakes her head sadly. “I think he knows exactly how Kent feels about me.”
I watch her claws come out. She suckered me in and I fell for it. I smile sweetly at her. “Kent’s with me, Willow. I think he’s more bothered by what his brother did.”
She smiles back, glad I’m playing along. “We both know he’s still in love with me. He’s loved me from the moment our eyes met.”
Bitch. “We both know he isn’t. He loves me now.”
She laughs as if that’s the funniest thing she’s heard all year long. “Sure, sweetheart. Kent loved me more than he’s ever loved anyone. Poor thing was obsessed with me. Wanted me all the time. So I found a man like him, but better. I could have him if I wanted. I could have him right now,” she promises me.
It’s my turn to laugh. “I’m sure Kent would love to father his brother’s baby.”
“Me too.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “There’s no way Kent wants you the way he wants me. You can’t even handle him. You’re naïve and inexperienced. He’s using you to forget about me. He’ll drop you like he drops them all and call me when he gets drunk, like he did last week, begging me to come back.”
“You’re face isn’t pregnant. Keep talking and I’ll show you which one of us can handle Kent Nicholson.” I shove around her, but before I leave I turn around and point at her threateningly. “You leave him alone. You’ve done enough damage to that man. He’s mine now. We’re in love. If you step your slutty little foot in on our relationship I’ll saw it off. Do you hear me?”
She smiles. Challenge accepted. “Didn’t expect that out of you, sweetie pie.”
“Really? Because I expected this out of you.”
I march out of the kitchen with my water bottle, squeezing the plastic as I follow Mr. Greene’s directions. When I find Kent’s bedroom I barrel inside and slam his door, screaming at the top of my lungs. Kent sits up in bed like someone stabbed him, staring at me in shock.
“Witch!” I holler, pointing at him with my water bottle. “You called Willow when you were drunk last week? I thought you stopped drinking?”
He frowns and lies back down. “She got to you, I see. I told you about her. Don’t believe a word she says. Her number’s not even in my phone. How can I call her?”
“By memory.”
“I don’t know her number. She changed it a long time ago. I haven’t had it. I didn’t call her. Plus I haven’t had a drink in weeks.”
“What’s her problem? She’s pregnant with another man’s baby!”
He cringes and touches his ribs where Scott landed a hard punch, nestling down in his dark blue covers. I look around his room. It’s large, with floor to ceiling windows, creamy white carpet, and a sterile appearance like his bedroom has at home. I kick off my sandals and sit morosely at his desk, at a loss for words.
He peeks at me through the ice pack over his eye. “You see why I’m still messed up over this? It’s hard to get over something when they rub it in constantly. It was hell all summer.”
“She acts like she knows you better than me. Because you loved her once, that gives her the right to own you forever. And Scott is no better! Scott is an evil bastard for what he did to you. ” I spin around fast in his chair, getting dizzy. I stop and stare at him. “Calm me down, please. I’ve never been this mad in my life. Not even when Arissa fought me in the laundry room.”
“Marry me, Rain?” He’s looking at me desperately.
“Why? So you can rub it in her face?”
“No. So I know you’re mine forever. I feel like I’m losing everything right now. My mind, my girl, and my self-respect. Not that I had much to begin with, but still.” He smiles a bit, but it’s sad, and now I’m sad too. “I need to know I’m not losing you over this weekend.”
“You’re not losing me at all. That’s going to have to be enough.”
He sits up and removes the ice from his swollen red eye. “Dad wants to go play golf at the country club. Are you up for it?”
“Are you?”
He smirks. “I can beat him with one eye closed and one hand up your skirt.”
“I’m not wearing a skirt.”
“You should put one on. We bought a few last night, didn’t we?” He opens my suitcase and starts digging through it, coming away with a white skirt and a light pink Lacoste polo shirt. “Put this on.”
I eye the clothes he picked out. Becca would hurl.
He drops his ice pack and disappears into his closet.
“Yes, Kent, sir,” I call.
“I’m not in the mood for your smart mouth,” comes his dangerous reply.
My Sweet Demise (Demise #1) Page 31
