Once I got there, an organised chaos ensued with my mother at the forefront. There were caterers clambering through the front doors and swiftly walking towards the back garden—all whilst my mother was shouting her orders. There were rows upon rows of so many flowers that you would think their actual wedding was today.
“Is that what you’re wearing?”
Why did she have to pick on me? I was hoping with all of the chaos that her snide remarks would remain unspoken. Obviously, I was wrong.
“Yes, Kat. This is what I’m wearing.” I wasn’t going to ask her what was wrong with my dress. It would end up opening a whole new can of worms.
My mother sighed. “Can you stop calling me ‘Kat?’ I’m your mother.”
“You could have fooled me,” I muttered under my breath.
“What?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. What can I do to help?”
My mother sighed again in displeasure. “Your help was needed hours ago when you were getting dressed in your slutty outfit.” She huffed, turned on her heels, and walked towards a caterer. Her voice could be heard from miles away; she was that loud.
“You look beautiful.”
I closed my eyes and savoured the feel of his hot breath on the back of my neck. He was suddenly being nice to me, and, quite frankly, I didn’t know how to take it. One minute he was this alpha you-will-give-me-what-I-want tyrant, and next, he was the sweetest man I could ever hope to meet.
I felt his hand on the on the curve of my back and resisted the urge to shudder. Instead, I turned around. “Thank you.”
Hunter smiled, and it wasn’t just any smile. It was almost like it was a smile reserved only for me. I knew it was ridiculous to feel that way. He was a player, and I would be fooling myself if I ever thought I could change him.
I couldn’t get too close. I simply couldn’t.
Remembering what had happened upstairs, I frowned. “Is everything okay with your dad?”
Hunter smiled. “I think he caught me leering at you. I think he’s a little suspicious of my intentions.”
I gasped. “Why do you find that amusing?” He started laughing. “Hunter, seriously, it’s not funny.” Why was everything a joke to him?
“Don’t worry, little sis. I told him I would behave.” He leaned in close. “Mind you, I had my fingers crossed when I said it.” Hunter pulled back, winked at me, and walked off—leaving me rooted to the spot in shock.
Tonight was going to be a long night.
I took a deep breath, told myself to pull up my big girl panties, and made my way outside into the chaos.
Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. The moment I stepped outside, someone whom I hadn’t seen in years appeared as if by magic.
A silent gasp left my lips as he turned at the precise moment I walked out. When he saw me, his evil smile grew wide as he ran his filthy eyes all over me.
“Little Ayden, how are you? It’s been years, baby girl. Come and give your uncle a big hug.” He walked towards me, throwing his arms around me in a tight embrace. I stiffened as I caught the familiar aftershave he used to wear. It seemed not much had changed.
“I thought you were living in Australia now, Pete?”
He pulled back, still gripping my arms. “I am, but I couldn’t miss my older sister’s engagement party and wedding now, could I? Aren’t you happy to see me?”
I pulled a tight smile, and in the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter watching me warily. He could tell by my body language that I was finding this uncomfortable.
I didn’t want to worry Hunter any further, so I plastered on a smile as much as I could and turned back to Pete. “Of course I am. I was just a little surprised. Kat... I mean Mum never told me you were coming.”
Pete smiled showing me the lines around his eyes. It must have been at least five years since I had seen him, and it showed a little. He was in his late thirties by now with black, almost greying hair. He was handsome. I remember all the girls used to go crazy over him. The problem was that he always seemed a little too crazy himself. He was always one for being touchy-feely. Sometimes, touchy-feely is nice, but not when it’s coming from your uncle who’s touching a little higher or lower than he should. What made it worse was that he had my mum’s blue eyes. I always remembered feeling sick whenever he touched me and looked at me with those eyes of his.
“Kat does like her surprises.”
“Pete, stop telling tales.” My mother laughed as she sauntered up to us. Pete quickly moved out the way to stand beside me. Soon, his hand was wrapped around my waist as he tugged me to him.
“You never told me how beautiful Ayden has become. She was always a corker, but now she’s blossoming into a beautiful woman.” He looked my way, smiled, and patted my bottom.
My eyes went wide, but Pete was oblivious.
My mum’s eyes roamed over me like I was some kind of hooker. “Yes, well, she does like to show herself off.” I almost rolled my eyes, but I kept them straight.
Pete tightened his grip around my waist. “It’s good to be here.”
My mum smiled and tapped his arm. “It’s good to have you here, Pete. It’s been too long.”
Manoeuvring away was impossible. Every time I tried, his grip tightened. “So, when do I get to meet the famous Mason?” He turned to me. “I’ve heard so much about him.”
He smirked at me wickedly, and, for a moment, I thought he knew what had happened between Mason and me. Stupid, I know, but it was the knowing manner in which he grinned that worried me.
“He’ll be down in a—” She looked up and smiled brightly. “Oh, there he is. Mason!”
Pete kept his hold, but somehow managed to spin us both around. Whilst my mum was distracted, Pete leaned in and whispered in my ear, “You look stunning, Ayden.” I caught him leering at my breasts before reluctantly looking up to Mason.
“Mason, this is my brother, Pete. Pete, this is Mason.”
Thankfully, Pete let go of me a little, and I immediately relaxed. He held his hand out to Mason. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you already.”
Mason laughed, but I could tell it was strained. “I think I could say the same about you. Kat talks very fondly of her little brother.” Mason smiled, but something about it was off. For some reason, I could tell he didn’t like Pete one little bit.
My mum smiled at me falsely. “Ayden, why don’t you get your uncle another beer? It looks as though he’s running on empty.” She smiled back up at Pete, and he motioned with his empty bottle. “Don’t mind if I do.”
I grabbed the empty bottle from him. “Coming right up.”
He grinned back. “Thank you.”
“Would you like a drink?” I asked both my mum and Mason. I really didn’t want to get my mum anything unless it was duct tape to wrap around that spiteful mouth of hers.
“No, thank you, Ayden. I’ll get myself something in a bit.”
My mum just shook her head, so I walked away, glad of the reprieve. Uncle Pete was a little too full on at times. It seemed that although he was older, nothing had changed; he was still a pervert.
Once I got into the kitchen, I plonked the empty bottle in the bin and quickly pulled out another from the fridge. I closed the door, opened the bottle, and spun around. As I did, I was met by a hard chest.
“Pete, you scared me.” I smiled timidly and handed him the beer. “Here’s you beer.”
Pete took it from me, deliberately stroking his finger against mine. “Thank you, gorgeous.”
I smiled and tried to get around him, but he blocked my way. “I hear you’re following in your old man’s footsteps. You like to get into people’s minds, huh?”
I nodded. “I read Dad’s books when I was younger, and they got me hooked.”
Pete looked from my breasts to my eyes. “Funny thing, minds. Sometimes mine runs away with itself. Do you know what I mean? Like now I’m thinking of all sorts of things I would like to do.” The way h
e was leering made my skin crawl.
I sucked in a breath, but found my voice. “Yeah, well, some debauched minds do have that tendency.”
I thought he would get angry, but instead, he laughed. “Ayden, you’ve got quite the sense of humour, haven’t you? So feisty.” He trailed a finger down my arm. “Maybe later we can get to know each other a little more. It’s been so long since I bounced you on my knee.”
I scrunched my face up. “You’re disgusting.”
He feigned hurt by covering his heart. “I’m only being nice, Ayden.”
“I know what you’re being, and nice isn’t it. Now, excuse me.” I needed space to get away. He had only been in the house for all of twenty minutes, and already he was acting like a creep.
I managed to manoeuvre around him and walked towards the door. The sound of his voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
“You know, Cousin Tim offered to put me up round his place, but I’m sure I could convince my sister that I’m better off staying here. That way, I could keep a close eye on you.”
I inhaled a deep breath and closed my eyes. I really couldn’t deal with this. I would rather live on the streets than deal with that creep every day.
But then a sudden thought hit me. Even if he did convince my mum that he should stay here, Hunter would be here, too. I would just have to make sure he was home every time I was. Besides, Pete was probably expecting me to be extra nice to him.
Not happening.
“Fine, whatever,” I answered as I exited through the door. I didn’t look back, but I could already tell he wasn’t expecting that.
As I moved outside, I could see my mother and Mason in deep conversation with another couple I didn’t recognise. I probably should have said hi, but I just wanted to find a quiet spot to be alone. Too much had already happened, and it was barely eight o’clock.
Moving as swiftly as I could without being seen, I wandered over to the back of the bar area by the pool. Behind it was a little area that lead down to a stream. Occasionally, after I had had arguments with my mum, and she had slapped me—again—I would come down here to calm down and think. I sometimes felt like I thought too much. My brain seemed to work overtime about the silliest of things.
Getting down to my spot was a little trickier than I had expected, considering I had high-heeled sandals on, but, somehow, I managed with a little careful precision. I almost slipped on a wet surface, but I got my footing again before finding a rock to sit on.
I sat down, picked up a stone, and threw it, listening to the sound of it hitting the water. A part of the sunset slowly came through the trees hitting my face. I closed my eyes, and for a while, I allowed myself to think of nothing. Feel nothing. Just be nothing...
As my sight was taken, my hearing seemed to tap into all sounds within the trees. I could hear the birds chirping and flapping their wings as they brought food home for their chicks. I could hear the faint rustling of the branches in the trees as a breeze would sweep by.
This was my solitude. This was my place of peace because, beneath my hard façade, and despite my immature ways and ability to brush things off my shoulders, lay a hurt soul, who just wished she could have a Mum who loved her, an Uncle that didn’t hit on her, and a Dad she loved with all her heart back in her life.
Was that too much to ask?
“I’m not the only one who comes down here then.” I jumped at the sound of the voice, relieved to find it was Hunter.
He put his hands out to me. “I’m sorry I made you jump.”
With a light smile, I shook my head. “It’s fine.”
I turned my head back round to face the stream. “I like to come here to think at times.” I didn’t know what Hunter was going to do next, but it didn’t surprise me when he came and sat next to me on the rock. The rock was huge—definitely big enough for two, maybe even four people. Thankfully, Hunter kept his distance. I really didn’t need him making things worse tonight.
“Penny for them?” I looked over at Hunter, who wore a worried smile. I smiled back, and then a gentle breeze blew a strand of my hair across my face. Hunter lifted his hand up and gently placed my hair back where it came from.
“Why are you being nice to me?”
Hunter frowned. “Why shouldn’t I be nice, AJ? You’ve done nothing to wrong me.”
I laughed, thinking he probably had a good attitude. He was being nice to me, but he hadn’t yet realised that I had done something to him. I seemed to do bad things to people without even meaning to.
“What’s so funny?”
I stopped abruptly and looked at him. “What was your mum like?”
My question obviously shocked him because his shoulders suddenly went tense. “I wouldn’t know. She’s a drug addict, and I only ever knew her when she was stoned off her face.” His lips took a hard line in anger, and I suddenly felt guilty.
“I’m sorry.”
Hunter’s eyes quickly shifted to mine. “What for?”
I shrugged. “For making you feel angry about it.”
Hunter smiled. “You asked, so I told you. There’s no need to apologise. If I didn’t want to tell you, I wouldn’t have.”
I bit my lip and Hunter noticed. “When was the last time you saw her?”
Hunter sighed and raked his gorgeous, talented hand through his hair. “About five years ago. Dad was just starting to get on his feet. I was well into studying my A levels, and she just turned up out of the blue high on fuck-knows-what, begging my dad for money. She said she needed it to pay the rent. Said she was getting clean and promised to be a better mother. My dad fell for it and gave her twenty grand to help get her back on her feet. She promised she would be in touch within a month, but we never heard from her. It was after six months that my dad decided to move away from our hometown in Plymouth and move up here to outer London. I think my dad was worried she would turn up again making more promises and begging for more money. I agreed that we needed to cut all ties. All we were doing was helping her feed her addiction anyway.”
I offered Hunter a sad smile. “Was she always like that? I mean... did you ever see a good side of her?”
Hunter looked towards the stream for a moment. He looked so lost. His hard, sometimes playful, features were replaced by a little boy lost. “I remember her reading to me when I was a little boy. I also remember her making butterflies.”
I smiled. “Butterflies?”
Hunter chuckled a little and briefly looked over to me. “Yeah, butterflies. She used to love them. Said they were beautiful creatures. She loved the spring and summer because that was when the pretty butterflies would visit. She would make paintings of them and put them on my wall. I think my dad would say it was therapeutic for her.” He looked back at me. “She suffered from depression quite a bit, you see.” I nodded, and he continued looking towards the stream, his face impassive. “In the end, she started taking pills for her depression, which then led to sleeping pills because she couldn’t sleep on them, which then led to the more illegal substances. My parents constantly fought after that, and, in the end, my mum left. I think by that stage, she was sleeping with her supplier.”
“How old were you?”
Hunter hunched forward a little. “I was ten by that stage. Old enough to notice what was going on, but not enough to understand it.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Hunter looked back at me. “It’s just one of those things. We all have a past, right? It’s just up to us how we choose to deal with it.”
I smiled. “That’s true.”
Hunter sighed, and I felt really bad for him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled when he looked at me. “Why did you ask me about my mum?”
I looked away and shrugged my shoulders. “I’m curious, I guess.” I closed my eyes thinking that was a crock of shit, and maybe, just maybe, I should let my walls down a little and be honest. “And I miss my dad.”
In the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter shift a little towards me. He r
eached out, grabbed my hand, and threaded his fingers with mine. It was such a little gesture, but it was one that made my heart ache.
“What was he like?”
I gazed at the stream with a smile. “He was the best dad any girl could ever wish for. He doted on me. Anything I wanted, he would get me—even if I didn’t ask.” I laughed a little at the memories of him. “You know, every Friday, my dad would always finish work at two. He was guaranteed to be standing at the gate waiting for me to come out from school. I used to love every Friday afternoon.
“He would hold me by the hand, strap me into the car, and take me to this ice cream parlour thirty miles from where we lived. I used to ask, ‘Why are you travelling so far for ice cream?’ He would reply, ‘Because, it’s the best ice cream in the whole of the UK, and I only want the best for my AJ.’”
Hunter’s bright smile suddenly vanished. “He called you AJ? Shit, Ayden. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
I shook my head. “I was the one who let it slip the night we met; you were never to know. Apart from you, he was the only one who has ever called me that. My dad was the only one, who was ever allowed.”
Hunter’s smile returned. “And me?”
I nudged him in the shoulder. “You hardly leave me any choice with that big ego of yours. You’re like a man possessed once you get started.”
Hunter raised his eyebrow. “Oh, I am, am I?”
“Yeah, you’re like Jekyll and Hyde.”
Hunter pulled back and stared at me like I was nuts. Next minute, he pounced on me, tickling me to death. First it was my ribs, and then he moved down to my waist. Pretty soon, I couldn’t breathe.
“Hunter... stop... please!” I begged, laughing so hard, I thought I would pass out.
“Not until you take it back.”
I poked my tongue out. “No.”
Hunter’s tickling intensified. “Take it back, AJ.”
The word no was on the tip of my tongue again, but his tickling was like torture. This was seriously where the secret service was going wrong trying to torture answers out of people. Just get someone in the room and stick a feather duster under the armpits and they would answer anything. Pure torture!
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