by Coco Cadence
“Excuse me?” he mutters.
“I’m not finished!” I yell. “I know you’re the one who’s been looking at her texts. It doesn’t take a fucking genius to realize that. You’re invading her privacy, and worst of all, you’re forcing her to make decisions she doesn’t wanna make. Why do I know? Guess what, I’m the motherfucker she’s been texting.”
His eyes widen and his brows draw together in surprise.
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m your daughter’s boyfriend, and you’re fucking my mother,” I growl. “Don’t you think that’s fucked up? We think so too, which is why I think you should just let us be. You ruined my life, too.”
“Christopher King!” he yells, punching the table with his fist.
“Shut up! I came here to tell you the truth. Now you fucking know. I was with your daughter long before you hooked up with my mom, who, by the way, was still fucking married when you stole her.”
I should stop, but I can’t. Anger controls me, controls my mouth, my tongue, my body. Everything.
I bend over and look deep into his teary eyes. “Yeah, that’s right; she only divorced my father after you came into the picture. In fact, she ran away from us, from her family, to be with you. She cheated on my father with you. Do you feel good about that, huh? Tearing a wife away from her husband and her kids? Do you have any idea how much you have destroyed? She left us. For you …” I grind my teeth while taking in the bastard. Only now do I realize that most of my anger toward him is because he devastated what little family I had left.
“And then I find out you’re the father of the only girl I care about?” I shrug. “And that he doesn’t want his daughter to hang out with ‘scum’ like me? Well, that’s just icing on the motherfucking cake,” I scoff. “I could’ve taken the fact that my mother ran into your arms instead my father’s, but for you to try to take away the only girl who cares about me? The only relationship I still have? Are you blind to your daughter’s needs? Do you even care about her at all? Or me, since now I’m supposed to be your fucking stepson too, or whatever the fuck you wanna call it.”
I stand back up and cross my arms across my chest, ready to hear his side. I bet it isn’t good, but I am expecting an apology. What he’s done is all kinds of fucked up because he knew my mother was with my father, and yet he got together with her anyway. And on top of that, he tries to take my girl away from me. It’s just not happening.
“Well …” he mutters, looking down at the desk. “I think you’ve said enough.”
I tap my foot, the wait almost unbearable.
“Is that all you have to say to me?” I growl.
I can’t believe him. After everything I just said, that’s how he responds?
My eyes drift toward the thing he’s looking at, wondering if it’s so much more important than the conversation we really need to be having right now. That’s when I notice the microphone in his hand.
My heart drops into my shoes as my mouth falls open and my eyes widen.
Is it for real? It can’t be.
And yet that button below the speaker is clearly blinking red.
When I came in, he was hovering over it, meaning he was about to announce something to the entire school.
And what they heard instead was my entire rant about him being my stepfather now even though I’m with his daughter … and him fucking my mother behind my father’s back.
Oh, fuck no.
I stumble backward, unsure what to do or to say. My instinct says ‘run,’ but how can I? After this? Everyone knows.
Her father presses the button after some time, right when a tear rolls down his cheek.
“I—”
“Get out,” he says.
I take a breath. So be it. This is what happens when you play with hearts. You get burned.
“Now everyone knows what you’ve done,” I hiss under my breath.
“I SAID GET OUT!” His voice is louder than ever before, and it surprises me so much that I actually turn around and walk out of his office, completely numb and haunted by what I just did. My own words repeat in my head … now everyone knows what you’ve done.
The realization hits me like a brick in the face as I walk through the hallways with everyone looking at me as if they just saw a ghost.
I will never get away with this.
Emily will hate me.
It’s done. It’s really over.
And it’s all my fault.
Chapter 26
Emily
Present
With trembling fingers, I hold my cell phone. My finger hovers over the call button with Alyssa’s number on the display. I’m still shaken up, and I have no clue what to do. My first instinct was to call her. As if she could help me work out this mess. Silly me.
I shake my head and lower my phone, gazing at myself in the rearview mirror. I’m a mess. Not only my tangled hair and blotched makeup, but also my confidence and attitude have been obliterated.
All because I was caught having sex with Chris by our very own brother. I still can’t believe he saw us.
The moment I left Chris’ room, I tried to find Adrian, to no avail. He was nowhere to be found. Not that I find it surprising; who wouldn’t run like hell when seeing someone else fuck? I would.
Still, I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen now. I have to devise a plan, think of a way to tell Tricia before Adrian tells her. Heaven knows what would happen to us if she only heard his version of the story. No, I have to get there first and make it as smooth as possible to minimize the damage. Plus, I don’t want any of this to get out to the press because it would destroy his fragile reputation and my job with it.
God, this is such a freaking mess.
I blow out a breath and sink deeper into the seat of my car, wondering what I’m still doing here. I guess part of me is afraid of what will happen once I stop thinking and start moving forward. Glued to my seat, I’m safe. It feels good to be able to avoid decision-making and confrontations… except it also makes me a coward. I just need some time to reboot and get back up again.
Right when I’m about to turn the key in the ignition, a face shows up behind my window, spooking the hell out of me. A squeal and then a growl comes from my mouth as I promptly roll down my window.
“Adrian! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“No, but that look on your face is priceless.” He grins.
I roll my eyes, but then I remember what just happened and that he just witnessed the most epic fail ever. “Sorry about that … um … thing.” I fumble to put my hair behind my ear, insta-flush happening right away.
“Right. I really want to forget about that thing.”
“Sorry.” I turn toward him. “I’m really sorry you had to see all that.”
“It’s okay; I was mostly talking about that other thing that was flung at my face.”
I thought my face couldn’t turn into a strawberry, but I guess I was wrong.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” He reaches to touch my shoulder. “You weren’t the one throwing the damn thing.” He laughs. “Chris has a knack for rudeness.”
“Tell me about it,” I snort, but then sigh.
“Hey … are you okay?” He cocks his head, and there’s a genuine smile on his face.
I haven’t seen him in a while, which makes it all the more uncomfortable that we had to see each other in a situation like this. However, his smile always has this soothing effect on me. It’s as if he always knows what’s going on in our lives, as if he can see right through you.
It makes me want to burst into tears and hug him tight.
“Yeah,” I say, swallowing down the impending tears. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“You sure? Because you don’t seem like it.”
“Yeah … well, I guess that’s what happens when your stepbrother walks in on you having sex with another one.” I try to laugh it off, but it’s the weirdest thing ever.
He grins. “Yeah, it is kind of awkwar
d.”
“Tell me about it,” I muse. This whole conversation is awkward as hell.
“Do you want to know what I think?” he asks.
I look up at him while pushing back the tears and blowing out a breath. “Give it to me straight, Adrian.”
“I honestly … am fine with everything.”
My jaw drops and a frown makes my face scrunch up. “Wait, what?”
“You heard me,” he muses, smiling silly. “What, you thought I didn’t know this already?”
“How? Who told you? Chris?” I ask.
“No one. I kind of figured it out for myself. All those looks at the dining table and those secret conversations you were having back when we were still living at our parents’ house …”
I make a face. “You were eavesdropping on us?”
He rubs the back of his head. “No, I kind of just accidentally overheard.”
I rub my lips together. “But nobody told you, right?”
“Relax. Chris isn’t to blame. I’ve known for quite some time that there was something going on between you guys. I just couldn’t figure out exactly what.”
“Until today.”
“Right. It caught me off guard, but when I left, I thought about it for a second and it all clicked together.” He smiles at me and squeezes my arm lightly. “I understand.”
“But …” I slap my hand against my forehead. “God, this is so wrong.”
“Don’t worry about it, Em. You two aren’t related. It isn’t against the law. Yeah, it is a bit weird to see you two like that, but I can get used to the idea.”
“But what about Tricia? And your dad? Oh god … what have we done,” I mutter.
“You think it’s a mistake that you two ended up together there?”
“Yeah!” I say, raising my brow.
He laughs again. “Well, it sure looked like you two have been pushing and pulling at each other for quite some time. I’d say it was unavoidable.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.” I look at the seat beside me. “Hey, do you wanna sit down or something? You don’t have to stand out there.”
His lips quirk up into a smile. “Nah, I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you. I saw you running away from his room quite fast after I left. I stayed because I was trying to make up my mind whether I should go back and talk to Chris after you two had some time alone, but then when I saw you, I realized that I kind of ruined it for you guys. So here I am, talking to you instead.”
“Oh, no, it’s not your fault,” I say. “It’s just … I don’t feel like I can do this. We’re sort of family. And the media would tear him to pieces if they found out.”
“Or maybe you just don’t know what you want yet.”
“Maybe. But there’s much more to it than that,” I say, looking him in the eye.
“You mean what happened …?”
I nod and look away. I can’t look anyone in the eye when they’re talking about that.
He shrugs. “It’s not my decision to make, but if I can give you a piece of advice, it’s that I would suggest you take a break, think about what you really want, and then come back to tell him. Chris isn’t someone who will let things go easily, especially if he wants them badly, and I can tell he wants you more than anything in the world.”
My cheeks heat up from that comment. “How do you know?”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. As I said, I’ve known for a very long time that there was something going on.”
I nod, wondering what I’m supposed to do now. It’s a hard decision, considering I still feel resentful for what Chris has done. However, I can’t ignore my growing feelings for him either.
Adrian clears his throat. “Well, whatever you do, I’m sure it’ll be all right. I know Mother will accept the truth, eventually. It might take her a while … but she won’t stand in your way either.”
“Right …” Why do I find that so hard to believe?
“After all, she’s done the same thing,” he muses. “She followed her heart. She didn’t give us a choice in the matter, so she has no say in our choices either.” He shrugs. “At least, that’s my idea about this whole thing, and I’m sure if you’d present it like that, she’d have no other choice but to agree.”
“But I don’t … It’s too difficult.”
“The things we want the most come at a hefty price, Em.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I do not want him the most. Jesus, Chris, out of all people. I want to slap myself for even thinking of being with him in that way. He’s such a bastard.”
Adrian laughs out loud. “Yep, you’re right about that one. Nothing you or I can do to change that about him.”
“I hate him so much,” I growl.
“But you like him a lot too,” Adrian adds.
I give him the stink eye. “Not helping.”
“Hey, I’m just telling you what I think. You asked me to give it to you straight. Now I have.”
“I still don’t know what to do.” I take a big breath and blow it out again, but it doesn’t quell the uneasy feeling in my stomach.
Adrian taps the hood of my car. “Think about it. I’m gonna go back in there and talk to my little brother because he’s obviously in need of some assistance. And I don’t mean the cleaning part, as I’ve seen enough filth for the day.” He winks at me.
“Thanks,” I say. “For … you know.”
“I know.” He smiles. “And don’t worry; I’ll make sure Chris doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“He’s kind of drunk,” I say. “And pissed off too now.”
“He’ll be sober before he gets out of that damn room. I’m not letting him out of my sight. Go home. Take some time for yourself. You need it.”
And then he turns around and walks back into the venue, leaving me behind in my car, still clueless about what to do … and about myself.
Why I’ve ever gone along with anything Chris suggested, only god knows.
All I know is that I hate him. I hate him … and at the same time, I want him more than anything. I can’t stop thinking about him, but I have to stop thinking about him for the sake of my family and my job. And his job, let’s not forget that.
Yet we both can’t stop wanting each other, and it’s getting in the way of everything to the point of being infuriating. Especially considering our history. As they say, history tends to repeat itself. Goddammit.
Adrian is right, which basically means I’m screwed.
Chapter 27
Chris
A few days later, at night …
Talking with Adrian about how I screwed things up with Em wasn’t something I had in mind when she ran off, and it felt like my ears were about to collapse when he was finally done. I didn’t expect him to come back into my room after a fucking condom almost slapped him in the face. But I know my brother is a stubborn motherfucker.
And a fatherly motherfucker, too.
Damn, I hate it when they talk to me like a kid, even though I deserve it. I know full well what I’ve done. I got drunk and I had to pay the price. She ran off, mad at me for seducing her again, and now my brother is pissed that I messed it up with her and almost screwed it up with the press again.
I really have to get my shit straight, but how? Without Em, I’m lost. It’s as if I’m a fucking cannon ready to blow. I need her in my life to calm me down. To keep me in check. But she doesn’t want me. No matter how hard or how much I try, she keeps pushing me away.
And I know exactly why.
It’s unforgivable, what I did.
And yet I’m still going to beg her to forgive me.
Somehow. Someday.
Every fucking day, I’ll wait outside her office, outside her home. I’ll wait for her to finally want to talk to me again. I don’t care if it takes a month or a year, but I will make this right again.
For days, we’ve only communicated through email and text. Only the necessary things like interviews and rules, nothing personal. It’s so cold and it
breaks my heart, but I won’t stop trying to see her.
Every time she spots me outside her house as I sit on my motorcycle watching her get ready for work, she frowns at me. So I leave, because I know she’s not ready yet. But I always come back.
She just needs time to think about us, so time is what I’m gonna give her … but not without me being near her. I can’t deal with it if I can’t see her. If I can’t keep on believing that she’ll be ready for me someday, then I have nothing left to live for.
I lived on shreds of happiness, moments in my life with her, for these last few years, but it’s not enough anymore. Those small sparks I felt when I thought of her were what kept me going, what fueled me to go into racing and to prove to myself and to her that I could aspire to something more than just a worthless asshole.
However, those sparks aren’t enough for me anymore. I need her. I want her in my life as more than just my go-to girl for PR, as more than just my stepsister. I long for her the way we used to be before I blew everything.
The sun is down, and the streetlights are on, only barely illuminating the dark streets. Her building stands out in the moonlight, towering above the rest of the city. As I sit here on my bike in a nearby alley, staring at the front door, wondering about when she’s coming back and what the hell I’m doing with my life, I spot her walking down the sidewalk while searching through her bags for keys. She keeps sifting through it, getting more panicked as time passes. I wonder if she lost them, and if so, where. Should I go and help?
But then I see another man running after her, a guy with a baseball cap and jogging suit on. I watch as he taps her shoulder and she turns around with a scrunched up nose. He smiles awkwardly and hands her the key while saying something. I’m too far away to hear what they’re saying, but I guess she’s thanking him for his help and that’s that, because she turns around immediately and starts walking again.
