Bayward Street

by Addison Jane

  “She dragged me into that room and locked the door,” I said quietly, noticing the way that both the brothers’ bodies tensed. “I saw the window, and we pushed the desk under it to climb up. She climbed through, but kicked me off before she made it all the way out.”

  Heath clenched his jaw.

  “We saw her run out from behind the house,” Braydon explained, realizing his brother was too angry to even speak. “Liam came over and asked where you were. We didn’t know and then he said he’d seen Jay pull you down the hallway before he got pushed outside. There were police there and wouldn’t let anyone back in.”

  “We figured she’d come from around the back of the house, so we were headed there.” Heath slotted in, lifting my hand so his lips brushed against it. “Then I heard you yelling.”

  “We would have run straight past the window,” Braydon said, looking over at Heath. “We wouldn’t have been able to find you.”

  Tears once again began to fall from my cheeks. I reached out holding my hand out for Bray. He put his hand in mind and I squeezed it tightly.

  “Your family has made me feel so many different emotions these past few weeks. If it weren’t for you guys, I would’ve laid on that floor and let the fire consume me. Because I really had nothing left.” I sniffed. “You guys gave me a reason to not give up, and because of that, I’m still here.”

  I looked between the boys. They meant more to me than life could describe. Both their eyes shone.

  “Aww, man,” Braydon groaned. “I’m going to look like a wimp now.” He attempted to clear his throat and got up off the bed.

  “I won’t tell anyone.” I giggled.

  He groaned. “Yeah, but these guys probably will.”

  He pushed the door open, and in rushed a group of people that made me want to leap off the bed and throw myself at them.

  Layla sprinted over to me, and threw herself on top of me, not even caring that mine and Heath’s hands were still clutched together underneath her.

  Lee followed, Andre, Coop, and Phee crowding around the other side of me.

  I laughed hysterically. “Holy shit!” They all smiled down at me. “What are you guys doing here?”

  Layla finally released me and stepped back. “Rich boy came and told us what was going on.” She smiled over her shoulder fondly.

  “You’re welcome.” Braydon grinned as he stood back and let my friends surround me. “I just thought… hey… what would Fable—”

  “He said it was Heath’s idea,” Layla interrupted.

  Heath laughed.

  Braydon folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “You couldn’t help yourself could you? Just had to burst my bubble.”

  Layla rolled her eyes. “I’ll blow you another one later.”

  Braydon’s eyes sparkled, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

  “Okay, so whose ass are we beating?” Phee asked, a mischievous glint in her eye. “‘Cause I grabbed my knuckle dusters before we left. I’m ready to go.”

  “Me too,” Lee agreed. “My pimp hand is feeling extra strong today.” He brought his hand back and swung his open palm. It connected with a slap against Layla’s butt, and she squealed.

  Everyone laughed.

  I started to cough through all the laughter. My lungs still aching from all the smoke.

  Heath pushed up from his chair and moved in next to my head. His hand brushed the hair away from my face until I finally felt like I could breathe again.

  “Seriously,” Layla said, her face now completely serious. “Where is she?”

  “In jail,” Braydon answered, stepping up and placing a hand around her wrist. “It’s okay, Xena Warrior Princess. Jay is out for the count.”

  Layla seemed to relax, and I noticed she didn’t shake off Braydon’s hold.

  I took the moment to ask about the elephant that was in the room, but that no one had yet to mention. “Where’s Kyle?”

  “Rehab,” Lee answered sadly.

  “What?”

  Layla sighed. “When Bray took me back to Bayward Street last week, I told everyone about this house and us finally getting out of that place,” she explained with a smile. “Kyle flipped his lid.”

  Lee hung his head, and I reached out and took his hand in mine. “Braydon had a few words with him. Turns out he wasn’t just drinking, he was shooting up too. He was stealing alcohol from the club and exchanging it for drugs.”

  My heart ached. This person I had looked up to for so long was broken, and I hadn’t been there to help.

  “Heath and I talked to Mom. We offered him the chance to get sober, and if he did, he could have a place in the house.”

  Lee had tears streaming down his face. I could only imagine what he was feeling. He and Kyle were never apart. They had a bond that was unbreakable. But he’d had to watch his twin tear what little life he already had to shreds and go down a path of destruction.

  The Carsons didn’t have to help. They could have turned their back and simply said no. But they didn’t. Because the love they have for their family and for others is so pure. It’s not a gimmick. It’s not something they’re doing to get noticed in the press. They do it because they care.

  “All right, you lot,” Helen shouted as she walked in. “Time to let the girl rest.”

  They all groaned but said goodbye as each of them trudged out the door. Helen herded them out like cattle before throwing me a grin over her shoulder.

  Heath hadn’t moved.

  “You’re not leaving?”

  He dipped his head and pressed his lips against mine. “Nope. Nowhere else I wanna be.”

  I smiled. “I could think of a few places you’d want to be other than the hospital.”

  “Not if you’re not there.”

  Six Weeks Later

  “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

  I sat at the edge of the pool, my feet dangling in the water. This had become one of my favorite places. Feeling my feet swish in the water while Heath swam. I would read a book or do school work, but today I just sat watching him.

  His shoulder was starting to heal. It was still only at about fifty percent of the strength it was before the fire, but he was being smart and building it slowly.

  His coach had rung the officials from the Olympic team and told them the situation. They were disappointed having seen a lot of potential in Heath. He was invited to the July Olympic swimming trials in Nebraska, but with that only being two months away, it was highly doubtful his arm would be back to normal strength by then.

  The upside was that the scouts had said he still had a great chance of joining the USA National Swim team next year, and when the next Olympics came around, he would still only be twenty-one which was the average age for male swimmers anyway.

  His future wasn’t over. It was a setback. One I still felt guilty about occasionally, but that I knew with the amount of passion and determination he held, would only push him to do better.

  “Earth to Fable.” Water splashed over me, and I gasped. Heath chuckled. “I said shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

  I kicked my foot and sent a wave of water over his head, but he was unfazed, just wiping it away. “Yeah, I should be, but your mom and Flick won’t give me any kind of clue to the dress they picked out for me. They’ve just gone to pick it up.”

  Tonight we were going to prom.

  It was usually only for juniors and seniors, but Heath was taking me as his date and Braydon had convinced some junior girl to take him. No surprises there.

  I’d watched all these videos online about how amazing and over the top some guys went when they asked girls to go to prom with them. Diamond Cross was no exception, except their version of over the top wasn’t having your friends sing a love song while the guy held a sign.

  Nope. They took it a step further.

  There were helicopters landing on the school field and celebrities serenading girls in classrooms.

  It was next level kind of prom.


  Heath asked me to go with him, but there was no huge gesture. It had been him and me, alone, right here in the place he loved the most—the swimming pool. And that had meant more to me than any expensive prom proposal ever could.

  “Fable,” Flick yelled as she came rushing out the door and onto the patio. “Come on! You need to get ready like now.”

  “Yeah, Fable,” Heath mocked.

  “Asshole,” I muttered, splashing him with water as I pulled myself to my feet.

  He laughed before ducking under the water and heading back to the end of the pool to do more lengths.

  “How come he doesn’t have to get ready?” I grumbled, following Flick upstairs.

  “All he has to do is put on a suit,” she said rolling her eyes. “You have hair, makeup, and then we have to get you into the dress and shoes.”

  “What do you mean…” I froze as I stepped into my bedroom and saw Helen proudly holding up the dress they had picked out for me. “Holy shit.”

  “I know you’re not really big on the whole dress thing, but for prom, I don’t negotiate on that.” Helen laughed. “I did feel like this may be a bit more your style, though.”

  I took a deep breath as I took it in.

  It was like the style of a button-up shirt but in a dress. There were sleeves that came to about elbow length, and the buttons were low in the front. There was a beautiful gold buckled belt that tightened in at the waist, where the buttons continued down to just above mid-thigh. Then they separated and fell backward, so the dress was short in the front but touched the floor in the back.

  “And these fit the whole street style perfectly, with that edgy look you like,” Flick explained, holding up a pair of knee high black boots that laced up the front. They only had a small heel, and it was thick, so I wouldn’t feel like I was going to topple over.

  “It’s perfect,” I whispered. They had got this so right I was astounded. I wasn’t really girly. I didn’t wear dresses or ruffles or lace. I had a specific style. Black. Jeans. Tank tops or boy shirts. It was one thing that even being here had never changed.

  But I didn’t feel like it had to.

  I liked what I liked.

  And this dress was me while still being beautiful and elegant and prom-worthy.

  I smiled.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Helen and Flick primped and prodded and transformed me. I felt surprisingly good, and I was confident.

  “Okay, your ride will be here soon, so let’s get these photos done,” Helen exclaimed, bouncing excitedly.

  I made my way behind them, down the stairs and back out to the pool where Braydon and his date were chatting with Heath.

  I recognized the girl. It was the same girl who’d explained to me how to sit in the long maxi dress at Sam’s pool party. She spotted me before the boys did, her dress was long and exquisite. A deep purple. It hugged her body in all the right places.

  “You look amazing,” she said with a bright smile, causing the brothers to look up.

  I smiled back. “Thanks, you look beautiful.”

  I blushed as my eyes connected with Heath’s. There was that heated look that always froze me.

  “Fucking hell,” Braydon murmured staring at me in awe.

  “Braydon!” His mom admonished.

  Heath walked toward me, every step he took building the excitement in my body a little more than the last. When he finally reached me and took my hand in his, I felt like a firecracker, exploding into bright lights over a dark night sky.

  He didn’t speak. But he didn’t have to. He cupped my cheek with his other hand and drew my mouth to his. I followed. I’d always follow his lead because, with Heath, I had absolute trust and complete confidence that he would watch over me. Giving myself to him was easy.

  Because I trusted him.

  I always had, I always would.

  I know that without a shadow of a doubt.

  His lips brushed mine, and I sighed, my eyes fluttering closed.

  “No,” Flick called from behind me, stilling his advance. “Her lipstick is perfect. Pictures first, then you can maul her.”

  He chuckled against my mouth, dipping his forehead to mine instead. “Later.”

  I nodded ever so slightly.

  Helen maneuvered us into different positions, some with just me and Heath, Heath and Bray and then Sarah and I—Sarah being Braydon’s date.

  After thirty minutes of ‘put your arm here’ and ‘turn this way,’ I was over it. But then Helen requested one more picture.

  “Come on Flick. Jump in, I need one of all my darling children for the wall.”

  My heart warmed, and Heath pulled me close against his body. Flick wiggled in between Bray and me, and I wrapped my arm around her waist.

  This was my home, my family. Helen made us laugh as she snapped and snapped. And when it was all over, she rushed us out the front door to where there were two beautiful sparkling sports cars.

  “Yes,” Braydon crowed as he danced around them, eager to get in the driver’s side.

  “You’re going to let him drive?” I asked in horror.

  Helen frowned at her youngest son. “He’s going to drive slow.” The words themselves were slow and pronounced, but very loud.

  “Yeah, yeah!” Braydon waved her off. “Lamborghinis! Heath… Lamborghinis!”

  This family might not be all about showing off the money they had, but even I knew there were times and places where you just needed to say fuck it, go big or go home.

  The night was full of laughter and dancing and for Heath and me, just time sitting by ourselves as people bustled and mingled around us. Heath pulled me onto his lap as we collapsed at one of the tables. I’d made a valiant effort to keep my boots on my feet, but after two hours they were done for, and I’d kicked them aside.

  “Having fun?” he asked as he cradled my back and tucked his face in under my chin.

  “I never thought I’d have this,” I answered honestly. “It’s surreal to think that just two months ago I was somewhere so completely opposite, thinking I’d probably never know what it was like to be a normal teenager.”

  “The only thing you have to worry about now is getting good grades and figuring out where to go to college.”

  He was right. Lena had come to visit a couple weeks after the fire and said Jay would be facing some pretty serious charges. We were still unsure of what would happen to her, but there was a court date coming up, and we were all being asked to testify.

  The other news Lena had was that my father had been arrested. The lawyer and judge that were accused of bribery had both taken plea deals and named Greg Campbell and a handful of others in a list of people they had taken money from in order to get the verdict they wanted.

  There was no chance now of me being returned there, no matter what happened. Helen and Arthur were named permanent guardians. And even though I didn’t call them Mom and Dad, they were still my parents in every sense of the words.

  “Do you think you've found your place now?”

  The question surprised me but the answer was simple. “Yes.”

  His fingers fiddled with my hair. “You know, you told me once that when you finally found where you were meant to be, that you’d close Fable’s book and go back to Keira.”

  The music and laughter played around us as I considered his words. I turned my body so I could see his face, and one of his hands slipped under the hem of my dress, his fingers softly stroking the outside of my thigh.

  “I'm not Keira anymore,” I told him quietly. “I guess I never realized, but it was her book that needing closing. Fable’s story has been one of struggle and loss, but it was in her story that I discovered strength. And it was in her story I found you.” I dipped my head and brushed my lips against his, Heath's eyes fell closed as he inhaled deeply. “My happily ever after.”

  We kissed softly.

  It was light, a gentle brush. But I never stopped being amazed at how a simple touch from Heath could co
nsume me.

  “I love you, Fable,” he whispered, his breath fanning against my lips.

  Nothing could prepare me for how hard those three words hit me. I pulled back quickly, my eyes meeting his, as I attempted to blink back tears so I didn't ruin my makeup. He waited, his eyes watching me intensely.

  Like he was waiting.

  “I love you, too.”

  His hand hooked around my neck and I closed my eyes, releasing a slow, soft sigh. He didn't pull me in for an intimate kiss to seal the declaration. He didn't need to. This was everything.

  When I opened my eyes to see him still watching me, a silent smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as we both floated back to reality. “You do realise it's fairy tales that have happily ever afters. Fables are more like moral lessons, and they usually include animals that talk.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Way to ruin the moment, asshole.”

  Heath chuckled lowly.

  “Come on, come on!” Braydon appeared next to us, bouncing on his feet and gesturing toward the dance floor. “Come on!” He could barely contain himself, shooting away into the crowd again.

  I groaned. “If we were animals, Braydon would be like a squirrel.”

  “Agreed, he does think about his nuts a lot,” Heath countered and I giggled.

  There was only one thing missing from what seemed like perfection. “I wish they could be here,” I told Heath, pulling back to look him in the eye.

  He knew exactly who I meant, and his face softened.

  Layla, Andre, Coop, Lee, and Phee were living in the new house as of four weeks ago. They were back at school, they were learning and developing and embracing the new opportunities that were being offered. I saw them a couple times a week, and they often came out with us when we went to parties or to just hang out with friends.

  I’d gone from the girl with two parents who didn’t care for her, fighting to survive, to the girl with more family than she could count and living life to its fullest.