Own (Need #3)

by K. I. Lynn

  “Yeah.”

  “Brayden, why on Earth would she break into your—” My mother stops abruptly and I can practically hear the conclusion she came to.

  “It’s not like that, Mom. It was a long time ago. I swear, I haven’t been with her like that in years. She’s just mentally unstable.” And I probably made it much, much worse by sending that picture and video to her family. The stress of her father’s judgement and subsequent punishment most likely pushed her over the edge further.

  Fuck.

  “Mom, can you just call Dan? Please?”

  “Honey, it’s ten o’clock. But I’ll do my best to reach him. If not, we’ll definitely get him tomorrow.”

  Kira spending a whole night in lock up? Every male, protective instinct in my body flares up. “Give me his number. I’ll try reaching him, too.”

  She agrees to text it to me and we hang up.

  I hear what sounds like Ryan speaking loudly and spot him at the edge of the parking lot. The cops are refusing to let him in.

  I want to go up to him and calm him down, but I’m not leaving Kira’s side. This is as close as they’re letting me and I’m staying here until they tell me she’s all right.

  Thirty minutes later, Kira is escorted out of the ambulance and back into the cop car. Seeing her like that breaks my fucking heart.

  My girl just gives me this small smile, though, as if trying to tell me it’s all going to be all right.

  I run to Ryan as the cops get into the car to take her to the station. “Go, go. We need to follow them.”

  He and Dana run with me to his car and we all jump in.

  By the time we get to the station, I have confirmation from my mom that the lawyer actually agreed to come at this time. He’s on his way to meet us here.

  Some relief.

  We all rush inside.

  Kira and Jennifer are already in holding. Paperwork has just been started, so they refuse to let me in.

  Now it’s all a waiting game.

  I’m going to lose my fucking mind.

  All three of us trudge to the sitting area, the air between us heavy with hopelessness.

  Two hours.

  That’s how long it takes for Jennifer’s parents to arrive, their lawyer in tow.

  My lawyer, Dan, walks in through the door right after.

  The Henrich’s lawyer pulls Dan aside almost immediately. We’re too far for me to hear anything they’re saying, but it’s still obvious that they’re speaking in hushed tones.

  I’m out of my seat in an instant.

  Ryan and Dana follow me and I realize that’s what our little unit has become—a small family that follows each other no matter how fucked up things are.

  My lawyer meets me halfway. “They don’t wish to press charges.”

  “What?” Ryan and I ask.

  “If Ms. Roth agrees not to pursue this, the Henrichs have no problem letting this drop.”

  “Why?” I’m finding it hard to believe Jennifer’s parents would ignore this humiliation to their daughter.

  For fuck’s sake, the pictures and videos of them fighting must be all over social media by now.

  “Ms. Henrich’s parents are pulling their daughter out of the school. There’s enough scandal surrounding this, as is. They wish to avoid more.”

  Plus, there’s still the breaking and entering charge which isn’t in the deal.

  “Yes,” Ryan says when it becomes obvious I’m still too shocked to respond. “My sister will take the deal.”

  My lawyer smirks with what seems like amusement. “That’s up to Ms. Roth to decide. She’s legally an adult.”

  I finally snap out of my apathy. “Of course she will. Just . . . Just get me in there and let me talk to her.”

  My lawyer nods. “Let me see what I can do. I’ll have to talk to her first, of course.”

  Another half hour later, I’m escorted to the back near the holding cells.

  Kira’s already at the bars waiting for me.

  Shit. We’ve changed places. This time it’s me looking in from the outside.

  It’s sobering. This is what she must have felt seeing me all beat up and bloody, caged like an animal.

  “Is it true that her parents don’t want to press charges?”

  I wrap my hands around hers, which are wrapped around the cell. “Come closer.” She does. The bars make it impossible but I lean in as much as I can and kiss her forehead. “This is all my fucking fault.”

  “No, baby. It’s mine. I had enough of her shit and couldn’t control myself.”

  I’m shaking my head, silently denying her claim. “Her parents are taking her out of the school. I don’t know for how long but if you agree to drop it, they will too.”

  “Why?”

  “I think they’ve realized how out of control she is and they’re worried about any more family embarrassment.”

  “Fine.”

  I blink in surprise. “What? Just like that?” I expected more of a fight from my enraged hellcat.

  “I don’t care about her anymore. If she’s going to be out of our lives, good.”

  I reach through the bars and caress the side of her head. There’s a bandage wrapped around, down to the bottom where her head meets her neck.

  Where Jennifer slammed her into the broken hinge on the door.

  “How bad is it?”

  Kira turns her head and kisses my palm. “The EMTs said it’s just a bad bump and cut. I’ll be fine.”

  Heart heavy, I tilt her head to look into her eyes. This isn’t the place to talk about this, but I want her prepared for what’s awaiting us once she’s out of here. “Kira, in the heat of the moment, you—”

  “It wasn’t the heat of the moment. I made a decision to stop hiding, Brayden. I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted.”

  My knees feel fucking weak. “What? You . . . You let the world know about us on purpose?”

  Kira nods, expression somber. “Yeah. And I’m sorry if it’s not what you wanted, but I don’t care what they do to us anymore. I love you and that’s all that matters to me.”

  Knees are definitely useless. Legs are, too. Shaking, I lean against the bars, eyes closed, my mind reeling.

  She’s choosing me.

  Over the censure.

  Over the chaos that’s heading our way.

  Her brother, mother, my mother, our friends . . . No one is going to be safe from this. People are malicious bullies. In some way or form, everyone in our lives will deal with some negative backlash from this.

  But Kira doesn’t care anymore. She just wants to be with me out in the open. “I fucking love you. I love you. I love you.”

  I don’t know how many times I chant it to her, but the entire time, my mind is on the little secret I’ve been hiding for weeks now.

  The small box hiding in my apartment.

  Fuck everything. She’s choosing me, and I’m choosing her.

  Soon, I’m making that clear to everyone.

  Everyone.

  Including her.

  “How’s your head?” I ask as I step up behind Kira, wrapping my arms around her waist.

  She smiles at me in the mirror and adjusts her hair in an attempt to cover the bruising and scab. There’s a butterfly stitch near her hairline and bruises around her eye that she’s tried to cover up. It won’t change anything. We’ve been hiding all weekend at a hotel, partially thanks to my busted door, but we’ve seen the backlash on social media.

  There’s been righteous indignation from some of Jennifer’s believers, and those who were silent, wanting to ride the “she was right” train. Then the Jenn haters and their “bitch had it coming.”

  Support, disgust, and the overwhelming silence from Jenn. Her parents had her delete all of her accounts and she was gone, back home, before dawn broke.

  Kira shrugs. “It’s okay. Need some aspirin though.” She tilts her head back to look up at me, reaching up to caress my face. “Stop it.”

  I scru
nch my brow at her, trying to figure out what she’s talking about.

  She heaves a sigh and turns in my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. “You keep blaming yourself for everything lately. You need to stop.”

  Leaning down, I rest my forehead on hers. “It’s really hard not to, Kitty.”

  “It’s going to be fine. We’ll figure it all out.”

  I hope so. Today’s our first day back at school after everything that went down.

  Our first day out there, in front of everyone, as a couple.

  Officially, that is.

  I’m excited.

  Wary.

  Another thing I hope? That everyone understands I’ll do anything to protect my girl.

  They better leave her the fuck alone.

  I kiss Kira on the forehead. “Come on. Let’s go. We can’t be late.”

  “Just look at her. Walking around here. Holding hands with him like she’s proud of it.”

  “Let it go. It doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it does! They ruined that girl’s life and the whole time she had been telling the truth. And God, who does that? Fuck their stepbrother? I wouldn’t even think of mine like that!”

  “Yours is twelve and nowhere near as hot as Brayden Hunt.”

  “Still, it’s so disgusting and like I said, they ruined that Henrich’s girl’s life.”

  We ruined Jennifer’s life.

  Fucking laughable.

  I leave it alone though and stay in the bathroom stall, not giving away my presence.

  Yeah. It’s that bad. A girl can’t even take a piss without hearing this shit.

  Oddly, it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it once would. Their ignorance and willingness to believe whatever is annoying as hell, but I also recognize this for what it is.

  Jealousy.

  I, Kira Roth, am officially the envy of the entire female population at OSU.

  Brayden walked in with me this morning, his arm around me, and eyes blazing down at me with love and need.

  And I’ve never loved him more.

  Fuck the stares. I’ve been walking around all day with my head held high no matter what they throw at me.

  The people that truly matter know the truth about what went down. That’s enough for me.

  The door leading into the bathroom opens. I hear a third girl greet the other two shit-talkers.

  “You’re still going on about the whole thing?” the newcomer asks.

  “I told her to let it go.”

  “They both deserve all the shit they’re getting. It’s just so wrong.”

  The new girl laughs. “You’re just jealous ‘cause you had plans to hop on that dick.”

  See? Told you.

  “Not now. He’s gross as hell for fucking his sister.”

  “Stepsister. They aren’t really related. And I heard their parents got married only three and a half years ago. And they knew each other their whole lives. You know that boy was already fine as hell by the time that all happened. I don’t blame her for setting her sights on him.”

  “Whatever,” the main hater in the group scoffs.

  I hear them get their things together and head out. Sighing, I grab my own things and finally exit the stall to wash my hands.

  It’s been like this all day. It isn’t heartbreaking, just exhausting.

  My friends however?

  Man, someone’s going to go to jail.

  Ironically, I think that someone’s going to be Dana. Earlier, I got several texts. Most of them were a string of red-faced, enraged emojis.

  Not the iPhone ones like her phone has, mind you. Dana took the time to screenshot the Samsung ones, their teeth bared in pure rage, and sent it to me so I’d understand how serious she was.

  That girl is fucking nuts.

  They were followed by, Your brother wants me to leave for the day. He doesn’t understand I’m taking someone down with me when I go.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  This is what I mostly feared about the world finding out. The people I love are getting hit with this backlash even harder than me and Brayden are.

  Because Brayden and I no longer care about anything but being together.

  But fuck them. Seriously, fuck every single person attacking us at this school. I don’t care.

  I just can’t wait to go home for Thanksgiving break and spend time surrounded by all the people that matter to me.

  I hear Brayden on his cell in the other room and my heart melts at the tone of his voice.

  He was always meant to be this. An older brother. He has such a big, loving heart, and he’s slipped into the role so easily.

  I chew on my thumbnail, nervous, waiting for him to come in.

  Emily’s been asking to meet me. From what I gather, she’s been alone most of her life. Just her and her mom. She’s eager to meet all of us, but mostly me.

  Brayden says it’s because he can’t shut up about me.

  I called him my adorable dork.

  Which he is.

  He opens the door to the bedroom and peeks inside. When he sees me destroying my thumbnail, he scowls and slaps my hand lightly away from my mouth.

  I pout at him.

  “Yeah, she’s here. Worried about talking to you.” He smiles down at me. “Emily says not to be worried. She loves you already because I adore you.”

  I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately, but everything he does brings tears to my eyes. I can’t handle the force of the love I feel for this man.

  Still smiling, he hands me the phone. “Here.”

  I am nervous to meet her. Well, talk to her. Swallowing, I bring the phone to my ear. “Hi Emily.”

  “Hiiiiiiiii!”

  I cringe and resist the urge to pull the phone away from my ear. A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. “How are you?”

  “I’m awesome! Having Brayden in my life has made everything so much better.”

  That smile breaks free. “Yeah. Trust me, I know the feeling,” I say, still staring up into his eyes.

  He stares down at me questioningly.

  “He talks about you all the time.”

  “He talks about you all the time, too,” I tell her. We both giggle at that.

  Brayden rolls his eyes and walks out of the room, leaving me alone to get to know his sister.

  “Brayden said we’ll all be together for Thanksgiving.” The excitement in Emily’s tone makes my heart clench.

  “Yup. And you’ll get to go shopping with me and Dana.” I’ve just decided this now, and I’ll have to get Dana to agree, but I want to do this for Emily.

  “Oh my God! Really?”

  I smile again.

  “You guys are all so epic. I wish I had met you all sooner.”

  Blinking back tears, I stare at the closed door Brayden just went through. This situation is hard on me. This little girl is such a sweetheart and she’s gone through a lot not having a father in her life.

  I can only imagine how hard this has been on Brayden. “Trust me, we all feel the same way. But we’re going to make up for lost time, right?”

  Emily readily agrees and we spend the next thirty minutes on the phone, getting to know each other.

  Hanging up the call, I go in search of Brayden. I find him in the living room, his laptop on his lap.

  He takes one look at my face and jumps off the couch. “Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”

  The tears I’ve been holding in start rushing out. “She’s just so nice, and I feel so bad for the both of you—”

  Brayden crushes me to his chest. “Oh, baby. There’s nothing any of us could’ve done. Please don’t cry.”

  I snuggle deeper into his arms, wrapping my arms tight around him. More than ever, I understand how he ended up screwing things up as much as he did. It’s no excuse and doesn’t erase all the years of pain, but how could he have done better?

  He didn’t know how.

  Fucked up, emotionally scarred, he tried
his best to deal with his screwed up life without having the skills needed to properly cope. To make the right decisions.

  Just like me.

  “Stop crying, baby. You know it breaks my heart,” he whispers, kissing my cheek.

  I turn my head and kiss his lips hard. “I love you, Brayden.”

  He exhales against my lips. It amazes me how I’ve said it to him so many times now, and his relief is still palpable every time I do.

  “I love you, Kira. Forever, you hear me? Forever.”

  There’s something in his tone when he says that. Something I can’t quit place. “I’ll love you even longer than that, Brayden.”

  “You better fucking mean that.”

  November 25, 2015

  Pulling up to my mom’s house is exciting. There’s a smile covering my face, because I am the happiest I’ve ever been when coming here.

  Kira’s by my side, and seeing her place for only the second time—the first time when we moved Sonia in. Ryan is in the car behind us with Dana. They’re headed to her family’s house on Friday night after the girls go on a shopping trip with Emily.

  Getting out of the car, we grab our bags and head to the door. I twirl through the keys, locating the house key, but Kira’s to the door first and twists on the door handle.

  “Shit.”

  Kira turns to me in the open door. “What?”

  I stomp up the stairs. “Mom!”

  “Hi, my baby,” she says from the island. Her smile fades. “What’s wrong?”

  “The door was unlocked again. What have I told you about that?”

  She folds her arms over her chest and I can hear a little giggle behind me that I’ll deal with in a minute.

  She rolls her eyes at me and steps forward, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “Brayden, my sweet boy, you said you were coming at noon. Sonia and I ran an errand and just got back so I went ahead and unlocked it.”

  I glare at her but she just rolls her eyes at me and walks around me.

  “Hi, honey.”

  “Hi Abigail,” my girl says sweetly and they hug. “Where’s my mom?”

  “Here, my impatient daughter.” Sonia comes walking down the hallway into the open kitchen/ living room area. She and Kira hug right as Ryan and Dana walk inside.