by Amanda Heath
“If it makes you feel any better, Donovan didn’t know. He’s blowing up at your mom now. And he’s taking hits at Ashley,” Channing says behind me.
Normally I would walk in that house and take Donovan down. I wouldn’t let him say anything mean to my mother or my sister. But right now, they don’t feel like my mother and my sister. They feel like strangers. The only person who cared if I knew is standing in front of me. “I don’t care. They deserve it.”
I hear him sigh before the vehicle shakes a little when he leans against it next to me. “You know…” he pauses, and I turn to look at him. His face is clouded with pain and longing. “Before I had Paisley, I didn’t want anything to do with my father or my mother. I still don’t give a shit about my mother. She was nuts. Anyway, when Ashley walked into Royal’s house, looking for you, I felt my heart stop. She was literally the female version of me, well, in looks anyway. I wanted my sister; I wanted as much family as I could get around me. And I felt horrible for not listening to you all those years. So you can’t let this take them away from you.” He looks around uncomfortably and I want to laugh. Big, bad Channing Southerland is feeling shy.
“I won’t. I’m getting married tomorrow. They have to be there. Hell, Ash is in the wedding. I’m actually making them sweat right now and letting Donovan hand them their asses. He’s better at it than me.” I smirk for him because what I said is the truth.
They may have fucked me over and they may have hurt me but they are still my blood. They thought they were doing the right thing and they were trying to protect me. I would have done the same thing had I been in their shoes. I’m going to be upset about this for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I love them any less.
Channing raises both his eyebrows and blinks a few times. “You could have said that before I made that whole lame speech,” he grumbles, crossing his arms.
I shrug never losing my smirk. “I’m your brother. I’m supposed to give you a hard time. I’ve been giving you a hard time for years, it shouldn’t be new to you.”
Channing licks his lips and glares at me. “Yeah, it’s not new. Though, now I have a reason to give you hell.”
I hold out my hand toward him. “Deal.” Instead of just shaking my hand, he pulls me into a one arm hug.
“This is more awkward than I thought,” Channing states and I can’t help but to burst out laughing.
“Yeah. We are two unemotional alpha males. Hugging isn’t for us.” He lets me go and laughs with me now.
“I’ll remember that next time.” A red tint flushes over his cheeks and I sigh.
“We’ll get there, bro. I’ve disliked you for most of my life. It’s just weird to hug you right now.” I throw my arm over his shoulder and start leading him back to my house. “I needed it though.”
***
“Are you drunk?” I ask Royal, who looks up at me with glossy eyes.
“Yes,” he slurs and blinks at me a few times. “You do realize that after tomorrow we are going to be brothers. You’ll marry my sister, so that makes you and Channing my brothers-in-law. And Channing and I will share a nephew!” He hollers that last part and jumps up off the couch in his parent’s house.
“He has a point,” Channing tells me, walking up to stand beside me.
“I know. He’s a little excited about it. That’s not the first time he’s told me this. I think he’s always wanted to be your brother.” I hold out my arm and catch Royal who’s about to run into the side of the coffee table.
“He’s always been my brother,” Channing states, helping me support Royal, who has now decided he’s ready to go to sleep. We carefully lay him down.
Nathan went home about an hour ago but he had fun with us. After the drama at my mother’s house, he needed to let loose a little bit. His parents are some of the most laid back people I have ever met so he isn’t used to all the emotions that were floating around.
My phone starts ringing as I lay down on my sleeping bag. Channing and Royal think I’m going to run off and find Rachel so they decided to hold me hostage. Well, Royal won’t be much of a guard now, but Channing is still in the picture. I wouldn’t run off though. It’s important to Rachel that we follow at least some of the traditions. So I’ll stay right here until the morning.
“Hey, G,” I say into the phone without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey, baby. Just wanted to let you know I’m going to bed and I’m thinking about you.”
I grin and clutch the phone in my hand tightly. “I’m going to miss you tonight. Wish you were here.”
She laughs softly. “I miss you, too. But we have to do this. It’s very important that we make the wedding gods happy.”
“Okay, babe. We’ll make them very happy.” I pause, thinking about her lying in our bed all alone. “I love you. Today was really hard.”
She sighs and I hear rustling as she shifts around on her end. “I love you, too. And it will get better. You’ll be in Mexico for two weeks. With me. You’ll need that time away, you know, to get your head together. Then we’ll come back here and everything will be back to normal. Well, except that Channing is now your half brother, Ashley is now your full-blooded sister and Donovan is now your half-blooded brother.”
“Don’t remind me. I don’t want to think about it for two weeks.”
She giggles. “Well, you can think about me for two weeks and all the bikinis I packed for Cancun. You’ll only be thinking about my body then.”
“You know me so well.”
“I do.” We get quiet so I know she’s ready for sleep.
“I’m going to let you go, G. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. I just hope you don’t go running in the wrong direction.”
“I won’t, believe me. I’ve been thinking about chaining you to my side so I know you make it there.” She yawns over the phone so I really know it’s time to go.
“Bye, babe. I love you.”
“Love you, too. Bye-bye.”
Then I fall asleep with only Rachel inside my head.
Chapter Eighteen
The Day To End All Days…
I’ve never been happier than when I woke up this morning. I couldn’t wait to see Rachel dressed in white and walking down that aisle toward me. Even with all the shit that happened yesterday, the only thought in my mind was Rachel. I didn’t even have a damn wake up call from the bitch. My head was completely clear.
But that didn’t last long.
I’m in the back of the church and I’m looking at the door that is going to lead me out to my wedding, when she sneaks in. I don’t even know where she came from. And she waited until Royal, Channing, Donovan and Nathan disappeared to the back of the church where the girls are. They have to walk out together.
I caught a glimpse of her honey colored hair out of the corner of my eye. My heart dropped into my stomach and I honestly thought I was going to throw up. Luckily, that didn’t happen because my entire body filled with so much rage, I punched a hole in the wall.
“GET THE FUCK OUT!” I roar, causing her stupid face to flinch. Did she honestly think I wouldn’t get pissed as hell at her?
“Don’t raise your voice! Everyone will come running in here. We need to leave and we need to talk,” she tells me, placing her hands on her hips. Before Rachel, I thought that pose was sexy, now I want to cut her arms off and slap her in the face with her own hands.
And she thought I wasn’t going to get pissed.
“You have five seconds to get out of here. I’m getting married today and you definitely weren’t invited. So leave, before I let my future wife in here to rip you a new asshole!” I’m still raising my voice but I’m starting to think this room is soundproof.
Annabella huffs. “She is not your future wife! You can’t love her! You’re only marrying her because of the baby. She got pregnant on purpose, can’t you see that?”
I blink a few times trying to make sense of her words. “She didn’t get pregnant on purpose, you idiot. The fucking condom
broke. She had no control over it. You’re just a crazy bitch!”
She huffs again, and before Rachel, I would have thought it was cute. Now I wish she would just disappear in a cloud of smoke. “She probably tampered with it. Girls do that kind of thing all the time. I refuse to believe that you love that skank. You love me; you’ve always loved me. You can only love me.” She states all of this calm as day, and I want to punch myself in the face.
“You have a lot of nerve coming in here saying all that shit. Just get the fuck out. Leave before you make yourself look even worse than you already do.” I want to punch her face but I’m not my father…or the man who I thought was my father. I don’t hit women, no matter how badly they deserve it.
I’m standing by the doors to my freedom and I can’t figure out why I haven’t left yet. If I open this door and my mother sees Annabella in here? I wouldn’t have to worry about her ever again.
Annabella walks closer to me. She’s about three feet in front me and she looks just as beautiful as the last time I saw her. All that honey colored hair and those matching eyes. Her elfin features mock me with their lies. She doesn’t hide any innocence in her at all and that’s what I used to think about her. That she was just so fucking innocent. When really, she’s the goddamn devil.
Her hand comes out to touch my chest, a move she used a lot to get her way. I snatch it out of the air and throw it away from me. “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.”
She smirks at me, and leans even closer. “Pierce…remember us. Remember how we were. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
I close my eyes and lean my head back against the door. I can’t fucking believe this is happening to me right now. “Annabella…seriously, don’t do this. I don’t love you anymore. I love Rachel with my whole fucking heart. She’s so fucking good to me and I want her.”
Annabella’s hands come around my neck and this is when my blood starts to run cold. I feel sick inside that she is even touching me. My hands are behind my back trying to get this damn door open but it’s jammed or something. Just my fucking luck. “You won’t ever love anyone like you love me. That’s why I want you.”
This bitch is bat shit crazy. I seriously thought maybe she was a little nuts, but not this nuts. I’m talking, she’s lost all her marbles and decided to join the Nutter Butter club. “Annabella back up. You sound deranged right now. Seriously, get off of me.”
I don’t trust myself to touch her. I’ll end up really hurting her and I refuse to do that. Even though she definitely deserves that shit right now. I keep my eyes firmly closed blocking this all out. Someone will come; the wedding is starting any minute.
Soft laughter is in my ear then, “You’re the only one who can make me laugh.”
“That’s because you took a trip on the crazy train,” I spit out, cringing when her hands start undoing my tie. Okay, that’s not going to happen. If I hurt her, I hurt her. I’m not going to stand here while she undresses me. I do have limits.
I reach up and wrench her bony arms away from my body. I look down at her eyes and finally realize what’s going on here. The honey colored beauties are glazed over. She’s fucking drunk. “Annabella. Let me call Victor. Let him come and get you. I don’t have time for you; I’ll never have time for you again. Rachel is it for me.” Her eyes lock with mine as I deliver my biggest blow yet. “I don’t need you anymore. I haven’t needed you since I was ten years old.”
She flinches, but it doesn’t seem to stop her. She advances back to me. “I have nothing to worry about. You’ll always come back to me.”
I turn around before she can touch me. I start banging on the door hoping like hell someone comes to get me. This is starting to really get to me. I’m afraid to be in here with her. I’m afraid of what she might do. I’m afraid Rachel is going to show up and see us together and leave me. I can’t let Rachel leave me.
I fucking need her to survive.
I turn back around and face her. “Annabella, fuck, you sound so damn crazy! I’m not coming back to you. I’m fucking done with you. Before you pulled this shit I might have forgiven you for all the dumb shit you pulled, but this is unforgivable. You are ruining the happiest day of my life!” I bellow the last, hoping someone will fucking hear me. God, where is everybody?
“You’ll forgive me. You’ll always forgive me.” Her unfocused eyes give me bad vibes. I’m starting to think she’s not drunk. I’m starting to think she’s higher than a kite.
And for the first time since she walked into this room, I take in her appearance. Her hair is kind of greasy and hangs limply on her head. Her body is even skinnier than before, when I last saw her. And she was fucking skinny then. Her face is sunken and dark bags hang under her eyes. She’s wearing one of Donovan’s high school football shirts and baggy jeans.
That’s when I know she’s on drugs. Annabella would never leave the house looking like this. I close my eyes, blocking out tears. What happened to my Annabella? What happened to that girl I was so in love with?
Yeah, she was a bitch, she was controlling, and she lied, but she was there for me. She was the only one who understood me. It was us against the world. I knew that every day I woke up, she was going to be there, she was going to make it okay to face the day.
Now, that’s Rachel’s job. And Rachel’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I can’t let Annabella do this to us. So, I do the only thing I can at this point. My cell phone is in my back pocket. I keep my eyes on Annabella who’s going on about how good we would be when we got back together. I’m not even listening to her crazy ass.
I can’t see what I’m doing, but I know I’ve called someone because the faint sound of ringing flows to my ears. I hear it stop and someone say something, but I can’t tell what, or if it’s a girl or a guy.
And since I stopped paying attention to Annabella, she pops up in front of me, scaring the shit out of me. Her eyes are a little more focused as she looks up at me. “Pierce…I love you.”
My heart stops. I can’t fucking believe she just said that! Jesus Christ, what else is this bitch going to tell me? “Annabella, seriously, you need to leave. Stop playing games. I’ve already told you I need to get out of this room and go get married to the love of my life.”
Tears start forming in those honey eyes I used to love so much. Now, I just want them gone from my sight. “I’m the love of your life! I left Donovan for you! I got rid of his baby for you!” she screams at the top of her lungs.
At her words I drop to the floor. I close my eyes and create a brick wall around me. Her words can’t reach me here. She can’t tell me anything else that makes me want to die. But she still keeps talking and she keeps saying things I never wanted to hear.
“That’s right. I had an abortion. I got rid of his baby. When I found out I was pregnant, all I could think about was you. I knew you wouldn’t love me unconditionally anymore if I had another man’s child. Donovan and I were over by then anyway, we just hadn’t broken up.” She laughs, but it’s not a good laugh. It’s full of pain and regret. “He was up there doing all those sorority girls, thinking I wouldn’t find out what he was doing. I knew, I always knew.”
Tears fall out of my eyes and I’m not even ashamed. The girl who held my hand when my Ma was in the hospital, that girl is dead. I don’t know exactly when she died, but she did. This person in front of me, this Annabella, she’s a monster who took over for the last Annabella. The Annabella who wouldn’t have gotten rid of her baby. The Annabella who wouldn’t have ripped my heart out of my chest. The Annabella that truly loved me.
And since she’s in such a sharing mood I ask, “Why did you break up with me and then leave?”
She paces in front of me, scratching at her arms. One of those arms faces me when she stops in front of me. That’s when I see the track marks. God, what did she do to herself? God, how do I handle this? I can’t breathe. I can’t see. I can’t get up. I’m paralyzed because I loved this girl with all my heart and she’s been
reduced to nothing.
Did I have something to do with this?
“Victor made me do it. He said I had no right to fuck up your life.” She starts pacing again, while I fall apart on the floor. “And I didn’t leave. He just wouldn’t let me out of the house. I don’t know why he wouldn’t let me leave the house.”
I know why. She was using drugs then, and he knew. Instead of getting her help, he locked her up in their house. Ashley must have known too, that’s why she left him. She wouldn’t agree to that. She’d want Annabella to get help.
Annabella drops to the floor right as someone starts banging on the door. Then more people start banging on the door. The rescue squad has arrived.
They’re fucking late.
“Tell me how much you love me,” Annabella whispers, her face suddenly inches from mine. Her eyes are in the past and I realize she’s been in the past this whole time. She hardly acknowledged that I’m with Rachel. She just won’t believe it. Most of this stuff she’s said to me before. I’ve been dreaming about it for the past five months.
“Courtney! Get away from the door! Channing and Royal are going to kick it in!” A faint smile crosses my lips when I hear Rach’s voice. My fucking savior.
I get up and I grab Annabella and pull her away from the door. I make her sit down in a chair and move away from her. “Go!” I holler, ready to get out of this room and away from this crazy bitch.
A few seconds later, the door blows open. My future brother-in-law and my just-found-out brother stand there with rage on their faces. Rachel shoves through them and I lose my breath at how beautiful she looks. Her dress is white with little tiny roses sown onto the skirt. The top is a heart shaped bodice with lace covering the outside. Her hair is pulled up with curls falling around her face and neck.
My beautiful fucking bride.
When her arms wrap around my neck, it’s like I’ve finally come home. “Thank you,” I whisper, planting my face in her neck.
