Cruel Boundaries

by Michelle Horst

  When he gets to the door, he grabs hold of it and leans toward me. “I hope you enjoyed the show, Princess. Next time I’m charging.”

  His words yank me out of the sex-crazed-stupor I fell into. I swing around and with a body that’s on fire, I run back to my room. I’ll never be able to look him in the eyes after that! What the hell got into me?

  ~*~

  Chapter Nine

  Noah~

  It’s been four days and I’ve only seen glimpses of Amy. The few times I’ve run into her, her eyes would dart nervously around the apartment, before she would mumble something and then speed off.

  I’m a bit worried. She’s no longer giving me those dark looks … and well, I miss them. They’ve become a part of my life. The second she ran away from me the night she watched me fucking Sheryl, I knew we took it too far. I should have stopped her from watching me fuck another woman. It sits wrong in my gut, eating away at my conscience.

  I’m standing in the kitchen with Brad. He’s meeting me here so we can go visit a client together. We’re each nursing a mug of steaming coffee when I hear Amy unlock the bedroom door. She rushes out, locks it behind her again and starts to rush to the front door without even looking our way.

  “Morning, Princess!” I snap. I’m tired of being ignored in my own home. If she’s going to live here, the least she can do is greet me.

  Her head snaps up, and there’s no dark scowl, only wide eyes and a pale face. What the hell is going on with her? That can’t be because she saw me having sex, can it? It happened, but it’s over and done with now.

  I frown at her and she gives a nervous wave. “Sorry … morning.” The two words come out in a nervous flurry and it makes me frown even more.

  She races to the door when Brad says, “Grab your stuff. I’ll get you outside.” He pours the remaining coffee down the drain and stalks out the apartment.

  What the hell is with everyone this morning! It’s going to be one of those days. The meeting is going to suck ass, I can just feel it.

  I grab my keys and phone and give the apartment a once over. I scowl at Amy’s locked bedroom door. She never locks her door. I know we fight but it’s not like I’ll actually hurt her. The thought that she’s locking the door to keep me out, sours my mood even more. Like I would want to fuck her! Never in a million years!

  I walk towards the front door when I hear a shriek. I yank the door open, and as I look out it’s just in time to see Amy fall down the last of the stairs. My heart leaps with shock, and when she lands in a small bundle at the bottom, a cold fear grips hold of my chest.

  Brad rushes to her side as I start down the stairs. “Is she okay?” Uncle Garrett will kill me if something happens to her. My heart starts to beat heavily, and relief floods me when Amy sits up with Brad’s help, looking a bit dazed.

  “She looks okay,” Brad says, helping Amy to her feet.

  Amy yanks away from Brad and runs to the entrance of the apartment block. “Amy!” I yell. Fuck, she just fell down half a flight of stairs! Now is not the time to be a bitch, or embarrassed.

  She doesn’t answer me and disappears around the corner, leaving me confused next to Brad.

  “What the fuck is up her ass?” I mumble, not expecting an actual answer.

  “You don’t think that maybe she’s hung up on you?”

  I give Brad an incredulous look. “That’s just fucked up! She’s my cousin.”

  Brad shrugs, “Not by blood and she’s always reminding you of that. Listen to what I’m telling you, that girl has the hots for you. Better watch your back or she’ll go all stalker crazy on your ass. She looks like that type.”

  I rub a hand over my face in frustration. Could Brad be right? Is that why she watched me with Sheryl? “She hates me,” I mumble half to myself again.

  “There’s a real thin line between love and hate.”

  I go back up the stairs to lock the door, my mind filled with what Brad said. I’m so used to fighting with her, I wouldn’t know how to be nice to her.

  ~*~

  Chapter Ten

  Amy~

  My heart is pounding so hard and painfully in my chest I can hear it thumping in my ears.

  I can’t believe Brad just shoved me down the stairs! Hot tears run down my cheeks, as I remember his threat from the other night. One minute I’m rushing out of the apartment so I don’t do something to upset Noah, and the next Brad grabs hold of my arm in a painful grip.

  “Show some respect when you’re in Noah’s company. You’re testing my patience, Bitch!”

  And then he shoved me so hard there was no way I could catch myself.

  I was just starting to think that Brad was nothing but a bully with a bunch of empty threats, and now this!

  When I’m a safe distance away from the apartment I stop and rest against a wall, so I can catch my breath. My hands and knees are stinging something fierce. I lift my skirt to just above my knees and see that they are scraped raw.

  “Nice legs.” Some asshole mouths off as he passes me by. I drop the skirt and flip him off before crossing the street to where a coffee shop is.

  I order a coffee and as soon as I have it I go to sit in a corner, away from the window. I don’t want Noah to see me.

  I place the cup down and fish a tissue from my bag. I wet it a bit and then lift my skirt again. It stings like a bitch as I wipe both my knees and the palms of my hands.

  Only when I’m done cleaning myself as best I can, do I take a sip of coffee. The warm liquid feels like sandpaper in my throat as I choke up.

  The adrenaline has worn off, and I’m left in a stunned daze.

  He pushed me down the stairs!

  The thought is sharp and stabs at my frail nerves.

  He hurt me.

  Warm tears start down my cheek, and I try to suck in a few shaky breaths.

  He’s going to hurt me again. I just know it.

  ~*~

  I sit in the coffee shop, the coffee already cold. I don’t know how much time has passed but there’s a milky layer on top of the once warm liquid.

  I keep replaying the whole scene in my head, like some sort of torture device. Noah was there. Noah saw me fall.

  The thought is bitter and sharp as it strikes – Noah is in on it! He has to be in on it. He saw me fall!

  Everything around me fades away until it’s only the thought that Noah has gone from fighting with me to having his friend hurt me.

  For an insane moment I actually thought I was infatuated with Noah, after seeing him with that woman. I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. I wanted him to notice me for the woman I am. I was jealous of that woman, having Noah kiss and touch her.

  I was so stupid! Just a stupid, stupid girl! Noah hates me and he’s using Brad to show me just how much.

  I feel bruised all over, on the inside too. Falling down those stairs squashed the tiny seed of hope I was starting to have that me and Noah could get along.

  Someone takes hold of my shoulder and my head snaps up with fright. My heart leaps to my throat, but then I see it’s the girl that works the counter.

  “Are you okay?” she asks cautiously.

  I stare at her for a second before I nod. “Yeah.”

  “It’s just,” she looks at the clock on the wall and then back at me, “you’ve been here for a couple of hours. You didn’t have the coffee, so I was worried.”

  I grab hold of my bag and pull the strap over my head and shoulder, letting it rest across my chest. “I’m fine.” I get up without saying anything else and leave.

  ~*~

  It’s Sunday and we’re all getting together to celebrate Aunt Riza’s birthday. I didn’t wait for Noah so we could drive together. I asked Sharon to bring me. I know it’s a family affair, but Sharon is family and I really need her support if I’m going to have to be around Noah for so long.

  We’re sitting on the strip of beach out front. My eyes are on the wide expanse of blue when Sharon nudges me with her shoulder. “You�
�ve been so quiet the past week. What’s going on?”

  I shake my head. I can’t possibly tell her Noah’s best friend has threatened to kill me and then shoved me down some stairs. It sounds crazy to even me, and it happened to me!

  “I’m just feeling emotional with having to leave home. It’s a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be. I wish I could just pack up and come back home.”

  Sharon gives me one of her deep looks, that penetrates to the heart of me and she shakes her head. “Since when do we lie to each other?”

  So much for getting away without having to tell her! I’m never telling her about Brad, that would just be looking for trouble … and what if he went after her, cause I told her?

  “I saw Noah having sex and it was a little disturbing,” I tell her a half-truth, hoping she will be satisfied.

  Sharon grabs hold of my arm and shrieks way too loud, “You’re shitting me! Seriously?”

  I can only nod and watch as a huge smile splits over Sharon’s face. “Oh my fuck, what did you do? Did he catch you?”

  I nod again and then sigh, “I saw it all … well except for his … you know what.”

  Sharon laughs out loud and I can’t help but smile. “Did you see Noah lapping up her moist ambrosia?”

  The smile drops from my face and a disgusted scowl settles in its place. “What the hell, Sharon?”

  “I read it in a book the other day. I laughed so hard, I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book.” A fresh fit of laughter overwhelms her and now that I know where she got it from I laugh with her.

  “That must’ve been some book,” I say, looking out over the ocean.

  “So, what?” she asks, “are things weird between you now? Are you finally seeing him for the sex-on-legs that he is?”

  I can only shake my head at Sharon’s directness. “Things are weird, alright.” I let out a burst of bitter laughter. If only Sharon knew how weird.

  She gets up and with a huge smile on her face she says, “Well, then they’re about to get uber-weird for you. Your sex-on-legs is coming this way.”

  I almost sprain my neck to look behind me and sure enough Noah is heading my way – and he looks pissed.

  “No, Sharon-” before I can beg her to stay she runs off, leaving me to face Noah alone.

  This is going to suck!

  ~*~

  Chapter Eleven

  Noah~

  I’m still in the same crappy mood as the day before. When I got home from work yesterday, it was only to find Amy gone. She didn’t let me know where she was going, if she was alive after her fall down the stairs … nothing, not a damn word! She didn’t even take my calls. I’ve been worried sick!

  I know it’s Mom’s birthday, but I’m first going to settle this thing between Amy and I. When I get near to where she’s sitting on the beach, Sharon takes off in the other direction with a huge smile on her face.

  “What the fuck, Amy?” I snap when I’m within hearing distance. She turns her head slightly towards me, but keeps her eyes on the ocean, refusing to make eye contact – and that is so unlike her. She never backs down!

  I sit down next to her and rest my elbows on my knees, and then I pin her with a glare. “What’s going on with you? So you saw me having sex!” Her eyes snap up to mine, and they go huge. “It’s really no big deal. Can you stop being like this and can we get back to fighting?”

  She stares at me for a long moment before she lifts her chin a little. “It has nothing to do with what I saw, Noah. I’m just trying to stay out of your way.”

  I frown, a little upset by what she just said. “Look, I know we don’t get along, but if it’s one thing Dad taught me, it’s that you look out for your own. You don’t have to stay out of my way. I love fighting with you. I missed it the past year, and I missed it the past week. Instead of running off after nearly breaking your neck, I want you to get up, flip me off and tell me to go to hell. I miss that!”

  A weird look shadows her face and she tilts her head slightly, and then she says, “I’ve been warned not to upset you. It’s a warning I’m going to listen to.”

  Her words confuse me. “What do you mean? Who warned you?”

  She lets out a deep breath before her eyes come back to mine. I can see a glimmer of fear in them, and I don’t like it at all.

  “Brad told me to stay out of your way.”

  “What?” The word sounds as confused as I am feeling right now.

  Amy gets up and dusts the sand from her dress that just covers her ass. I stare at her long legs. Shit, she’s got a nice pair of legs on her. “Brad told me he’d kill me if I dared to upset you,” her words pour over me like icy water.

  Not sure I heard her right, I get up. I stare long at her face, trying to find the truth of her words in her eyes.

  She looks down to the sand. “I thought you were in on it, that you wanted him to hurt me,” her words cut like a thousand blades, it cuts me right out of the stunned stupor I’ve been caught in.

  “Has he hurt you?” the words explode from me. When she won’t look up at me. I step closer, demanding that she acknowledges my presence.

  She nods and I see her swallowing hard. Then finally, she looks up and I see tears glimmering in her eyes. “He pushed me down the stairs yesterday. I thought it was only an empty threat, until yesterday.”

  A tear rolls down her cheek. The Amy I know never cries. A girl once punched her and she didn’t even blink, she just punched her back. And that’s when it dawns on me … it’s all an act. She’s trying to get to me by badmouthing Brad! I fucking underestimated her!

  “You know,” I make sure I have her eyes on mine before I continue, “I thought you’d try to seduce Brad, and I would have been able to handle that, but this …” I shake my head, shocked that she went that low to get at me, “this is a whole new low for even you. You win this round, cause you actually had me there for a moment, but baby, you better watch your back. Payback is a bitch and she’s coming for you.”

  I walk away, so damn sorry that I even tried to talk to her.

  ~*~

  Chapter Twelve

  Amy~

  It feels as if the floor has just been ripped from under my feet. That whole scene about taking care of what’s yours is the biggest load of bull, and I fell for it!

  I told Noah that Brad hurt me and he didn’t believe me. I actually took a leap of faith and he threw it back in my face! I will never go to Noah for anything. I’m done with hoping there could be more than hate between us.

  I watch Noah walk back to the house and when I see Brad standing on the dock, waiting for Noah, my blood freezes. Noah is going to tell Brad and who knows what Brad’s going to do!

  With a sinking horror I watch them talk. Noah must be telling him everything I just told him! Brad looks in my direction and I don’t care what my family will think, I walk in the opposite direction. I need to get away from Brad. If Noah didn’t believe me after seeing me fall down the stairs, then no one will.

  I take a cab back to the apartment and it costs me an arm and a leg. I’ll pack everything before Noah gets home and go to a hotel for the night. I need time to think about how to protect myself, without having to tell Daddy why I can’t live with Noah. Maybe I should just move into Daddy’s apartment. By the time they find out I’ve moved in there, it will be too late to make me move again. Yes, I’ll do that!

  I pack faster than I unpacked when I moved in, and when I’m done I leave the bags by the front door. I just want to take one more look to make sure I have everything. The room I used is empty, nothing left there. I check the bathroom and then head to the kitchen. I almost forgot my favorite mug. I grab it from the cupboard and turn to leave. The front door is wide open and my bags are gone! I left them inside! I’m sure of it. I race to the front door and when I peek out, the mug falls from my hands and shatters at my feet. The air whooshes from my lungs, and it feels as if my world is shaking with shock.

  Brad grabs my arm and his fingers bit
e into my skin. “I warned you!” he snaps and then his eyes go dark, as if all the light has been snuffed out. “I did warn you,” he hisses, and then he throws me forward. I try to grab hold of anything and in the process my hand gets stuck between the railings. I feel a sharp pain in my wrist, burning up my arm, and then I slam into the first stair, and the pain in my wrist is replaced with a blinding pain in my head.

  ~*~

  Chapter Thirteen

  Noah~

  She just left and I had to think up an excuse to tell our parents. That woman is really taking this whole thing too far!

  I take the stairs two at a time. Tonight we end this! It’s time for her to grow up. Fuck this, we’re not kids anymore! When I get to the apartment and I reach out to unlock the door, something crunches under my shoe. I glance down and see pieces of glass. The front door is unlocked, which means Amy is home! I ignore the glass and rush in, yelling. “Amy get your ass out here!”

  I go to the kitchen and grab myself a beer, I’m going to need it for the face-off with Amy. I talked to Brad and he assured me that he has never touched her. He also brought up the fact that Amy might have the hots for me, hence her weird behavior. Amy is smoking hot, I’ll admit that, but there is no way we can ever get involved. Our parents would kill us.

  When I come out of my deep thoughts, I’m already halfway done with the beer, and there’s no Amy. I stalk to her room and slam her door open. The sight that greets me, stuns me into a stupor.

  There’s nothing. She left?

  Why the fuck would she leave? I don’t understand this woman! First she makes up lies and then she takes off?

  I fish my phone from my pocket and dial Uncle Garrett. I’m a damn babysitter.

  “How is Amy?” he answers his phone. “She still feeling ill?”

  This just sucks balls! “She packed her stuff and left,” I just come out with it. “She’s been acting weird lately.”

  I hear Uncle Garrett take a deep breath and then his voice comes over the line, sounding livid, “What do you mean she’s been acting weird?”