by Ali Parker
He crinkled his nose again.
I pulled the phone from my ear. "You're impossible. Do you eat any vegetables?"
"Is rice a veggie?" He smiled.
I knew good and damn well that his mother cooked veggies all the time.
"It's all good." Seth's voice was soft, sensual. It pulled at the part of me that was lonely and looking for a good time. "Is this a bad time? Should I call back?"
"Not really. I'm at the grocery store, so make it quick, but it's not a bad time." I put the broccoli and mushrooms in the cart as Jayce scowled.
"Come with me this weekend to the party, Lay."
"I'll think about it, okay?"
"All right. I'm not going to give up on us."
"There is no 'us', Seth."
"That's my fault. Let me make it up to you."
"I'll think about it. Thanks for calling." I hung up before he could reply. "Mushrooms and broccoli are a no-go?"
"Who was that?" Jayce nodded toward my phone.
"Seth. My ex." I shrugged and pulled at the cart.
"I know who Seth is or was. What did he want?"
"To ask me out to the Omega party on Friday, Daddy." I gave him a cheeky grin. "You know what I really want?"
"Hopefully not Seth. That guy's an asshole."
"No. I want a cheese pizza. Let's grab one from DeAngelos on the way back to the apartment. Yeah?" I gave him a hopeful grin.
"As if I could say no to that face even if I wanted to."
"Yes. I knew there was a man out there that would fall to my charms."
"There're a lot of us, silly woman." He nodded toward my pocket. "Obviously."
I shrugged. "He's just lonely. Guys get that way sometimes. Not that you'd know."
"No?" He stopped the cart and watched me. "And why wouldn't I get lonely?"
"Because you have Aubrey." I gripped the other end of the cart. "And whether or not you bargained for it... you have me too."
"Then I'm officially the luckiest man in Providence. Two bossy-ass women to run my life? I don't need to do anything but buckle up and hold on tight."
I rolled my eyes and pointed to the carrots. "Grab us a bag of those and make sure they're not wet."
"See... bossy. Bossy. Bossy."
"You like it." I gave him a cute look and walked toward the center of the grocery store, forcing myself to not get too comfortable in being domesticated with him. Five months would be gone before we could blink twice and much like I was losing Aubrey... I would lose Jayce too.
Chapter 9
Four Days Later
Jayce
"So... how's it going?" Aubrey glanced up from her kneeling position beside her bed at our parents’ house.
"It's going." I gave her a look and taped up another box. "I'm still not sure why you thought me and Layla living together would be good. It's too much like playing house, sis."
"Hmmm... that's an interesting way of looking at it." She moved back to sit on her butt, extending her hands behind her as she watched me. "And have either of you cracked?"
"What exactly do you mean?" I tossed the empty box to her.
"You know what I mean." She set the box down and went back to her reclined position.
"No. I'm thinking you're delusional with your thoughts of her being madly in love with me. She's going to the Omega party tonight because Seth invited her."
"Bullshit. She's going because Emily is going to be there and wanted her to come."
"I was in the grocery store with her on Monday night when he called." I turned and walked toward her bookshelf. "You sure you want to take all of this stuff with you to Washington? Half of these are children's books."
"I plan on having children. Pack it up." She grunted a few times before moving to stand beside me. "You're stressed."
"Fuck yeah, I am. The girl of my dreams is living in my house with me. School is about to start, and I'm taking the same damn class for the third time and I'm juggling two major sports. Stressed would be an understatement."
"So we need to work through each of these things." She moved behind me, pressing her fists to my back. "Lean against me."
"Fine, just don't drop me." I smiled and tilted a little toward her.
"Let's start with Chemistry."
"Let's don't."
"Did you ask Layla to help you?"
"Sort of." I rolled my shoulders forward as Aubrey worked her fists into the muscle between my spine and shoulder blades.
"Ask her to help you. She will."
"Great, and when she does, that means more time around her. I've been trying hard to avoid her as best I can."
She moved back and I hit the floor, growling loudly.
"What? Why? You guys are supposed to be helping each other with all of this transition." Aubrey turned and began pacing the floor while I laid on my back, looking up at her. "This wasn't supposed to work out like this."
"Hey."
She ignored me. "Maybe I should just put off the wedding until after May. With all the shit you're dealing with and her parents coming unglued... maybe this isn't the right time. It's selfish and too fast."
"Hey," I yelled this time.
"What?" She put her hands on her hips and gave me a look our mother would be quite proud of.
"Layla and I are fine, sis. You need to live your life for you, not us."
"Easy for you to say. I've been in between you guys my whole life." She turned and walked toward the door. "Lucas will understand, Jayce."
I sat up. "No, he won't. He's your priority now. Layla and I will figure things out together."
"Seems like you're doing a great job already." She cocked her head to the side and lifted her eyebrow at me.
"It's not that easy. I'll work on it, okay?" I got up and walked toward her. "How long are you staying in town?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning."
"Come to the Omega party with us tonight."
"Us?" She dropped her hands to her side and let out a long sigh.
"Yeah. Emily, me and Layla. I'm not sure if Lay is going out there to see Seth. I don't care if she is, well, I mean, I do care, but I'm still going. I want to make sure she's safe." I reached out and grabbed my sister's hands. "Come with us."
"I can't. I need to talk with Mom and Dad about all the wedding stuff." She tugged her wrists from my grasp. "Let's go out back and talk on the porch."
"Tell me what's going on with Layla's parents." I followed her toward the back of the house. The smell of sugar and chocolate filled my nose, and I almost turned and went in search of what might be causing it. My mother bitched and bitched at Aubrey about her weight, but baked the worst possible treats in the world on a regular basis.
"I'll let her tell you about that." She opened the door and glanced back at me. "You know she's uber-private."
"Yeah, I do. I just wish she would open up to me. I could help. I know I could."
"So tell her that." She walked down the stairs and paused at the bottom, squatting and making a snowball. "You ready for a rematch?"
"Only if you've been practicing. Otherwise, it's just unfair." I jogged past her, almost busting my ass and giving her a good laugh. At least someone was enjoying my pain.
*
"Hey man! I didn't know you were coming out tonight." Jacob extended his hand and pulled me into a quick hug as I walked into the Omega House.
Layla was supposed to already be out there after spending the afternoon with Emily, or so the text earlier that day said.
"I figured I'd come make sure you guys don't break too many rules."
He chuckled. "You know Micah ain't gonna let that shit happen."
"He's up next to lead this rowdy bunch of losers, right?" I turned and waved at Geoff who was in the corner. "I'll check you later."
"Have fun, buddy." Jacob walked around me, greeting the next guy that came in.
I walked over to Geoff and Teri, who were standing in a crowd of hockey guys, laughing loudly. They turned my way and the crowd let
out a few hollers, welcoming me into the center.
"Hey guys." I smiled and pulled Teri into a hug. "Where is the baby?"
"At home with Geoff's mom." She glanced up at him as she snuggled against his side. "Colton is what we named him."
"He's awesome, man. Best thing that ever happened to me." Geoff shook his head as his eyes filled with pride.
Jealousy reared its ugly head deep inside of me. I didn't want to accidentally get some girl pregnant by a long shot, but I wanted a baby, a little girl of my own. Most guys were dreaming of ruling Corporate America or marrying some hot chick they could bone ten times a day to feel better about themselves, but not me. I wanted a good woman that would love me and a baby girl that I could give my heart to. After watching Aubrey struggle to please our mom her whole life, and never truly measuring up... I wanted to right that wrong as best I could.
It was silly and sentimental, but it was the deepest cry of my heart. Family.
"That's incredible." I turned around in a circle, talking with everyone a little here and there until I found Layla in the far corner of the room. Her and Emily were talking about something from what I could tell.
"Excuse me guys. I'm going to grab a beer." I slipped through the crowd and walked toward the girls, trying hard not to notice how good Layla's breasts looked in her tight blue top. The woman was every wet dream I'd had as a boy, an adolescent and a man.
"Jayce. Good." She moved toward me, which was rather unexpected.
"Hey. What's up?" I reached out and ran my hands over her shoulders, hoping to offer her a little bit of comfort. "You look good."
"Thanks." She glanced down as if trying to remember what she had on. "I can't find my damn keys. I thought maybe someone put them in the fishbowl up front, trying to be cute, but they aren't there."
"Let me help you." I released her and offered her my hand.
She took it without hesitation and we moved through the crowd of people in the living room as the music started.
"I had them when I first got here, but after getting a beer in the kitchen..." She grumbled something else, but it was too damn hard to hear her.
"It's all good. We'll find them," I shouted above the music and pulled her toward the kitchen.
Micah turned and smiled over his shoulder. "Hey guys. How's it going?"
"Layla lost her keys. Have you seen them by chance?" I scooted over a little to give her room to move up beside me, which she did, snuggling against my side tightly.
Every cell in my body woke up and screamed for attention from the woman beside me.
"These?" Micah held up a set of keys with a little pink softball on the end.
"Oh, thank God." She reached for them, snagged them and pulled away from me. "I gotta go."
"What? Why?"
She walked toward the living room as I waved to Micah and went after her. Something was off. I finally caught up with her as she reached the front door. I reached out and grabbed the back of her arm, forcing her to turn around and face me. The worry in her pretty blue eyes left my chest constricting.
"My mom called. Something is wrong. I have to get out there. Now." She pulled her arm from me roughly and turned, jogging out of the house.
"Then I'm going with you." I went after her, grabbing the keys from her and walking toward the driver's side. "Get in and I'll take you over there."
"No. I can do this on my own, Jayce."
"Oh, I know that, but here's the deal," I paused and walked toward the front of the jeep where she stood, looking like an ice princess, "you don't have to."
"Fine, but don't ask me a million questions, and when we get there, I'm going in alone. Period."
I got in the truck and started it as she got into the other side. I didn't answer her simply because there was no way in hell I was going to agree. She wasn't going into the house alone seeing that something was up. She'd been smacked around a few too many times on my watch, and it was damn time I found out why. She wasn't going to tell me, and Aubrey wasn't either.
"Promise me, Jayce."
I reached out and gripped her hand tightly. "No. Sorry."
"Then pull over and get out." Her voice rose as if terror had ahold of her.
"Hush. Now." I turned a hard stare toward her. "You and I are friends, and I'm not letting you deal with whatever is going on over there alone. Period. You wouldn't let me deal with something alone, would you?"
"No," she whispered and turned her head to look out the other window. For the first time in my life, I saw Layla cry. There wasn’t a softening of my heart or sadness that swept through me over it though. Only anger and rage over who might have caused it.
Something told me that it was the only other man in her life... her father.
Chapter 10
Layla
"Please just stay here, okay?" I unbuckled as we got to the house. "Please. If I need you, I'll text you."
He sat in stony silence, staring out the window as if he hadn't heard me.
"Jayce. Please. This isn't what you think it is." I opened the door. "Just wait here and if I text you-"
"You better text me if something happens. I'm serious as a heart attack, Layla." He whipped around and gave me a stern look.
"Okay." I climbed out of the jeep and jogged toward the house, drying my tears and trying to think through what I could do to keep him in the truck and my dad in the house. Having either of them come face to face while my dad was drunk was a tragedy waiting to happen.
The sound of something breaking caused me to jog up the stairs and walk into the house without being stealthy at all.
"Layla?" my mom cried out as she curled up tightly on the couch.
"Daddy?" I lifted my hands as my father moved back from the couch and turned to face me.
"What is she doing here? Did you call her? Did you think she could protect you?" He turned to face me, and whoever he was... he wasn't the man that raised me, the one that picked me up when I fell and tucked me into bed. The monster in front of me barely looked like my dad.
"You need to calm down, Dad. Let me get you something to eat and we can talk about softball. The season starts up this next week. Are you planning on coming to my games?" I took a step toward the kitchen as he took a step toward me.
Fear raced through me as I glanced down to see a thick strip of leather in his hand. "Who called you? Tell me now."
"No one called me." I took a step back as he took another step toward me. The snarl that came out of him made my blood run cold. "Where's my dad?"
"Layla, go. Get out of here. I told you to call the cops, not to come-" She screamed loudly as he turned and jerked his wrist, causing the whip to snap out and pop her in the legs.
"Dad!" I moved toward him, not thinking.
He turned and flicked his wrist, sending the belt toward me, but someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me out of the way.
"Oh, fuck no you didn't, Mr. Roberts." Jayce moved around me and grabbed the belt as my father popped it again.
I watched in horror as he punched my father twice in the face and took him down to the ground.
"I knew something was up." Jayce glanced up at me. "Call the cops. Now."
"No. Don't. Please." My mom scrambled off the couch, her nightgown torn and showing the top of her bruised breasts.
"Mom?" I moved toward her, helping her back on the coach as bile rose up in my throat.
"Call the cops, Layla." Jayce pressed his forearm down on my father's throat as he thrashed beneath him.
"Please don't. Please." My mom gripped my shirt tightly, crying through her swollen eyes as she begged me. "Just put him in bed and take all of the liquor. He'll be okay in the morning."
"Momma," I murmured, lost to the pain of indecision. To listen to Jayce would be the right thing to do, but I knew what it would mean for my mom. Maybe I could take her in, beg Jayce to let her stay with us until things settled down.
"Please, Layla. Please." She pulled at my shirt. "Please. We'll get him some hel
p. We can start with helping him."
I glanced up at Jayce as a sob left me. "I don't know what to do."
"Call the goddamn cops. Now." He was furious. The anger burned across his face and scared me. Was he capable of turning into a monster at a moment’s notice too?
"I can't," I whispered and stood up, picking up my mom and walking her back to the bedroom. I got her in bed and kissed her forehead. "We'll get him some help. Get some rest and go see your friend, Milly, tomorrow, Mom. She can help with your wounds."
"Okay, baby. I will. I promise."
I pulled the covers up to her throat and walked from the room as she cried softly behind me. I locked the door from the inside and closed it.
Jayce was standing by the door with one hand on his hip, the other pressed to his forehead. He turned as I walked toward him.
"Why the fuck didn't you call the cops?"
"You don't understand." I glanced down at my father's lifeless figure and walked out of the house toward my jeep. "Find another way home. I don't need this from you."
"No. Get in the jeep. I'm just worked up."
"So is he." I turned and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm stuck with him. I'm not stuck with you."
"Layla." His voice softened immediately, causing a flood of emotion to attack me.
"Please don't." I lifted my hand to keep him away and turned, walking toward the passenger's side of the truck. I got into it, buckled up and shifted to face the window. I could hold in my tears for a few more minutes. At least until we got back to the apartment.
I half expected him to say something to me, to berate me further when he got in the jeep, but he didn't. The silence on the drive back to campus calmed me a little, but it wasn't going to take much, and I would be on the edge of breaking in half again.
Embarrassment rolled over me in thick waves. Of all things to feel, it was the cheapest, the most ridiculous of all my emotions, and yet it was the one that pressed down on me the hardest. No one knew how bad it had gotten, not even Aubrey.
