by Chloe Walsh
Break My Fall
Chloe Walsh
Copyright 2014 by Chloe Walsh
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords License Statement
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Contents
Chapter One: New Beginnings
Chapter Two: Party Central
Chapter Three: Fresh Start
Chapter Four: Morning after Itch
Chapter Five: Jerk
Chapter Six: Will Power
Chapter Seven: Angry Redheads
Chapter Eight: The Movies
Chapter Nine: Rude Awakenings
Chapter Ten: Avoidance Technique
Chapter Eleven: Surprise Surprise
Chapter Twelve: Taking Orders
Chapter Thirteen: Peace Offering
Chapter Fourteen: Friend zone
Chapter Fifteen: Hell Will Freeze Over
Chapter Sixteen: Dixon’s Party
Chapter Seventeen: The Shower
Chapter Eighteen: Excuses
Chapter Nineteen: Birthday Girl
Chapter Twenty: Ugly Truth
Chapter Twenty-one: Wrong Room
Chapter Twenty-two: The Morning After
Chapter Twenty-three: Drunken Hostility
Chapter Twenty-four: Trickery
Chapter Twenty-five: Revelation
Chapter Twenty-six: Green Tights
Chapter Twenty-seven: The Phone Call
Chapter Twenty-eight: Louisiana
Chapter Twenty-nine: Visitors
Chapter Thirty: Hooked
Chapter Thirty-one: Daddy
Chapter Thirty-two: The Club
Chapter Thirty-three Revenge
Chapter Thirty-four: Fresh Start
Chapter Thirty-five: Heaven
Chapter Thirty-six: Nosy Professors
Chapter Thirty-seven: Decorations
Chapter Thirty-eight: Confessions
Chapter Thirty-nine: Anniversary
Chapter Forty: Darkness
Chapter Forty-one: Liar Liar
Chapter Forty-two: Surprising News
Chapter Forty-three: Too Late
Acknowledgements
About The Author
Chapter One
Lee
I stood outside the red-bricked two-story house on 13th Street and with any hope my new home. Several similarly styled detached houses sat side by side on either side of the road. I was stalling. I knew I was.
The record-breaking heat-wave was causing me to sweat profusely, not an ideal look for an uninvited reunion, but it could not be helped. I had been sitting on a bus with no air conditioning for the past god knows how many hours, in one hundred degree temperatures. I was happy not to be dead; sweat was the lesser evil.
My desire to bathe overcame my nervousness; I braced myself, stepped forward and knocked. Muffled footsteps came from behind the white door. I could see someone approaching from the tinted glass panel in the center, but the distortion of the glass rendered it impossible as to see whom exactly. Please be her, please be her. The door swung open. “Lee? Oh my god, what are you doing here?”
Relief flooded through me at the sight of Camryn Frey. She was as gorgeous as the last time I saw her, though much taller and more blonde now. I hadn’t seen her since she moved away from Montgomery seven years ago, but we’d stayed in touch and I was praying for her mercy now and her bathroom.
“Get in here girl.” She grabbed me before I had a chance to respond and dragged me inside encasing me in a massive bear hug. I forced my body to relax. I needed to calm down. I was in no danger now.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you Cam,” I told her, meaning every word, more than she could ever know. “I actually need a place to stay, temporarily of course. I don’t want to burden you. It would only be for a few weeks until I can get a job and get on my feet. Will you help me Cam?”
She looked down at me smiling. “What kind of a dumbass question is that? Of course, I’ll help you.” Cam helped me with my bags; there were only two. That was all I could carry when I left. “So, let me guess, you finally got sick of the sticks and decided to join me in the land of the living?”
I frowned at her words. I loved my home town of Montgomery, Louisiana. I was a small town girl. Being here wasn’t a choice.
“Okay, okay that was low,” she conceded. “Just warn me beforehand if I’m gonna have you’re crazy ass daddy banging on my door, looking for his baby girl anytime soon.”
A lot had changed since Cam had left. “Don’t worry,” I said. “Daddy isn’t going to come looking for me.” He would have to find me first.
“Cool, because not even I am ready to face Jimmy Bennett right now.”
I followed Cam down a short hallway into what must be the kitchen/dining room.
“This is a real nice place Cam.” It was. The room was modest in size, but the beautiful hand carved oak cabinets taking up the entire wall from floor to ceiling on the left oozed expensive taste. A glass sliding door occupied the wall opposite the kitchen door, along with another row of oak cupboards that housed a stainless steel sink and glass top oven. Instead of ceiling high cabinets on that side there was a window, looking out on a small patio garden.
“Yeah, it’s pretty sweet.” That was an understatement. The heavy set of the kitchen table and chairs looked more expensive than everything in my father’s house combined.
Grabbing two bottles of water from the refrigerator Cam beckoned me over to the table. “You’re actually in luck Lee, we have a spare room.”
I sat down beside her the large back of the chair swallowing me. “We?”
Cam grinned passing me a bottle she opened hers and took a swig. “I live with my boyfriend and his best friend. Well, we house share. They’re pretty cool guys.”
Oh. “You share with boys?”
Cam laughed out loud. “Jeez Lee, you’d swear I just told you the devil was camped in the living room.” I flushed. “Relax, Derek and Kyle are cool, besides they’re hardly boys, they’re the same age as me. We all go to CU, that’s where we met. They’re seniors like me, or at least we will be in September.”
The thought unsettled me. “Maybe this isn’t such a great idea.” I opened my water and swallowed deeply, trying to push down the hot ball of anxiety rising in my chest.
“This was the best idea you’ve had in years.” Cam smiled and patted my shoulder. “I can’t count the amount times I’ve asked you to come up here. I still can’t believe you’re here.”
I could; thirty four times. Cam had phoned me once a week since she moved away. We had to be careful to talk at certain times of the day; usually late at night when my father had passed out. She’d started asking me to come to stay with her when I turned eighteen last October and every week after that. Coming here was the most reckless thing I’d ever done and the knowledge that I would be living with college men…Well, that scared the bejesus out of me. “Yeah, this place is certainly different to home. I wasn’t sure I had the right house until you answered the door. Are you sure they won’t mind me being here Cam?”
She swatted her hand at me as if I had said something ridiculous. “It’s not going to be a problem Lee. I’m dating Derek, so he does what I tell him and Kyle is always so busy with work and school that he’s hardly here to begin with so he won’t care.” Cam had never mentioned she was seeing a man she live
d with. I could imagine the scandal that would cause back home. Although to be fair, I tended to zone out when Cam brought up the topic of boys. She’d had more boyfriends than I could count. “Besides, you’re gonna love it here. This place is the shit.”
I doubted it. Cam had regaled me with tales of her many adventures while living on, ‘The Hill,' all of which made me a little queasy. “Okay, if you’re sure Derek and Kyle won’t mind then I would be very grateful for the room. I will pay of course. I plan on getting a job as soon as possible.”
Cam grinned and clapped her hands. “Excellent, now let me show you our crib.”
I stared blankly. “Crib?”
Cam sighed in exasperation. “Damn, Lee you’re sheltered. Haven’t you ever watched MTV?”
I shrugged. I never watched television. The only set we had at home was in daddy’s room. Cam stood up and left the kitchen with my bags. I got up and shuffled after her.
“Mine and Derek’s rooms are down the hall, along with a bathroom.” I nodded and followed her up a wooden staircase. She stopped at the top of a narrow landing. It was simple in style, painted in a soft shade of green with a few framed pictures of rock bands and one of the Rocky Mountains ordaining the walls.
“This is the bathroom,” Cam said opening the lone door on the left. “You’ll share this bathroom with Kyle, who by the way is pretty clean for a guy.” My reluctance must have been obvious because Cam snorted. “Consider yourself lucky that your bedroom isn’t downstairs. You only have to share your bathroom with Kyle. I have to share the downstairs one with Derek and anyone who comes to visit. And believe me, you don’t want to know about half the shit I’ve had to clean up.”
Holding the door open, she gestured to me to take a look. I blew out a breath when I stepped inside and the first word that came to my mind was, ‘swanky.’ Holy crap, it was like one of those bathrooms displayed in home design catalogues, I know because I’d browsed through enough of them at work when I’d been passing the time in between serving customers. Yeah, Moe’s gas-station in Montgomery wasn’t exactly the liveliest of places to work, but it had suited me…I missed it. Everything about this bathroom was modern, from the black marble tiles to the huge chrome shower. We only had a plain old tub at my daddy’s house so I was excited to take a shower in that beast.
Following Cam back into the hallway, she pointed at two doors on the other side of the hall. “The one on the right is Kyle’s room; expect a lot of traffic when he’s at home.”
“Traffic?”
Cam smirked. “Yeah, Kyle’s a popular boy. He gets a lot of visitors. They’re always looking for a little something from him.”
My brain went into overdrive as I pondered what Cam meant until I settled on drugs. Is that what she meant? Oh god, I hoped I wasn’t moving into a room next to a pothead. Dammit knowing my luck that’s exactly who I was moving next door to, one of those scruffy college boys who spent their time sleeping in class and selling dope to pay for the privilege.
I grabbed Cam’s arm. “Do you mean what I think you mean?” I whispered jerking my thumb towards his door.
Cam shrugged trying to stifle a laugh. “Relax he’s not home,” she said opening the door next to Kyle’s-directly alongside Kyle’s. “Are you planning on making any late night visits to his door?”
I shook my head disgusted. “No, I want nothing to do with that scene.”
“Then you’ll be fine. One look at the innocent face of yours and Kyle won’t try anything.”
Try anything? What could he do, drag me into his room and force feed me drugs? Oh, holy crap.
“Will you stop worrying and come see your new room?” She groaned pulling me inside. “This room is never used and it’s the smallest of the bedrooms, but it’s decent.”
This room looked too nice to belong to a house full of college kids. My eyes took in the soft cream carpeting and long cream colored curtains that draped to the floor. A large window occupied the majority of the yellow painted wall opposite the door. A double bed with a white timber frame took up a large portion of the room along with a matching wardrobe, locker and…“I get my own TV?” I blurted out the question when I noticed a flat screen television mounted on the wall opposite the bed.
“Uh huh, don’t get too excited though, it’s just one of Kyle’s old ones and it doesn’t have cable. It does have a built in DVD player that works, so that’s a bonus.”
Swinging around, I grabbed Cam for a hug. “Thank you so much Cam.”
She squeezed me back. “Get some sleep Lee. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Do you mind if I take a shower?” I called after her.
“Go for it babe,” she replied before closing out the door.
I stood for a moment breathing in the silence and allowing a small smile to creep across my face. I could relax, finally.
“Good morning,” I said quietly as I walked into the kitchen.
The shaved-headed man sitting at the table raised his brow in surprise. “Good morning to you. I take it you’re the infamous Lee?”
His razor sharp green eyes studied me and I began to fidget nervously. “Yes and you’re Kyle?” I asked hating how meek my voice sounded.
He threw back his head and laughed. What was so funny? “Nope, you have the wrong man sweetheart. I’m Derek.”
I blushed and muttered a half-hearted, “Sorry.”
He grinned broadly. “Don’t be. Although when you meet Kyle you’ll wonder how you ever confused us. I’m far better looking.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I just nodded.
“So, Lee, are you in town for business or pleasure?”
“Oh, I’m… Business. I need to find a job,” I answered fumbling on my words.
Derek stood up from the table and I automatically took a step back.
Breathe, just breathe.
“Well, yesterday’s paper is on the table if you want to take a look through it? Cam’s already gone out and I’d offer give you a tour, but I’m late for work myself,” he said as he rinsed his cup and placed it on the sink.
I tucked my tangled curls behind my ears. “Oh, thank you. I will check that out.”
Derek walked right up to me and I automatically backed away. He furrowed his brow regarding me with a hurt expression. “I’m not a rapist you know?” he snapped. “I need to get into the fridge. You’re blocking my way.”
I jerked away from where I was standing. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I don’t think you’re a…that.”
Derek didn’t say anything as he pulled out a container of food. “If you see Cam, tell her I had to go into work early.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
He regarded once more before blowing out a breath and muttering something about a nodding dog. I waited for the front door to slam before I released my breath.
I needed to get a handle on this. I had made it. I was safe. I was free.
I pushed open the heavy glass door and stepped into the foyer of The Henderson Hotel.
The paper Derek had left in the kitchen advertised a job opening in the housekeeping department so here I was. I had been all over downtown Boulder looking for work, but to no avail. The sheer size of the city made me want to crawl into the ground. It was a miracle I stayed calm. Crowds made me nervous.
Slapping on my bravest smile, I approached the impressive oval shaped desk on the other side of the spacious lobby. A middle-aged blonde woman in a sharp navy shirt looked up from behind the desk as I approached. She stared at me for a moment her eyebrows raised.
“Can I help you hon?” Her voice was raspy, like she smoked twenty cigarettes a day for a few years too many.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Yes, my name is Lee Bennett and I would like to apply for the housekeeping job advertised in the paper.”
The woman’s gaze held a smidge of sympathy. “Sorry hon, we don’t hire highschool kids, too unreliable. Besides there are application procedures, you need to go through to secure an interview.�
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I blanched my heart sinking a little. “I’m not in highschool.” I stood a little taller, trying my best to look more grown up. “I can promise you I’m a hard worker and very reliable.”
She nodded her head in what seemed consideration. “You starting college soon? Because the boss is not interested in college kids either. He needs staff who are serious about their job and are committed.”
Her straight-laced attitude put me at ease. Straight talking I understood, it was insinuations and code talk that I didn’t. I smiled at her. “I’m not going to college and have no plans to ma’am. I just moved to Boulder and need a job. I can promise you that I am serious.”
She leaned forward a little, her gaze drifting over me. “You got any experience in housekeeping?”
“I have experience serving and till work and I keep a clean house. I’m a real fast learner.”
After a pause, her face broke out into a wide grin. “Perfect you’re hired.”
“I am, just like that?” Thank god.
“Just like that,” she confirmed.
I beamed at her. “Thank you so much ma'am.”
“Come on back here sweetheart and let’s get you set up. The name’s Linda by the way.”
I followed Linda through the door behind the counter, amazed at how easy this had been.
Kyle
“Aren’t you even going to consider my offer? It’s what’s best for the company Kyle.”
I stared at the man sitting in front of me. He looked exactly like me, thirty years in the future. “Nope,” I replied, shifting my legs onto my desk. That irritated him. Good, let the bastard squirm. I folded my arms across my chest, just to make a further point.
“Why do you have to be so fucking awkward? I’m only trying to help you out son.”
I had to clench my fists to keep myself from knocking him out. “It’s a little late to be calling me that. Why don’t you go focus your attention on that shit stain of a son of yours and let me take care of myself?”
