“Fine, man. I deserved that, but I love her.” Tim continued to stand with his palms outstretched, begging for peace.
Layla whispered, “You love me?”
Tim nodded. “Hell yes, I do.”
“Yes!” Layla squealed breathily, throwing her arms around Tim's neck and knocking him back into the sand. “Yes! I love you too!”
Zoe stood there with her mouth agape and as Layla clambered off Tim and back to her feet, she noticed her. “You! This is YOUR fault!”
Calvin turned and his nostrils flared. “I said stay in the car.”
“You don't own me,” she quipped softly. “Layla, I tried to stop him.”
“Sure you did, Zoe,” she spat. “Sure. You can't be happy unless there is drama, can you?”
“I didn't want to say anything. But you were gone,” Zoe said gently, trying to diffuse the situation.
“Well, you can go back where you came from, Zoe. I don't want you here. Calvin, if she is going to be staying at Grams and Pops', then I'm staying with Tim!” Layla flounced back to Tim's side and wrapped her arm around him.
“No, it's okay. I'll just go back home.” Zoe shifted and trod through the sand to the car.
Layla rushed toward her. “You don't have a home, Zoe! Everything you have, Calvin gave to you! Remember that!”
Zoe froze before glancing at Layla. “You never let me forget.” She turned again and kept walking up the beach, past the car and along the little path. Her hand rummaged in her pocket and she pulled out her cell phone, hating to call the only person she knew would come get her. As her fingers shifted over the keys, tears fell, blurring her vision. The phone rang once, twice, three times before being picked up.
“Hello?”
“Can you come pick me up?”
* * *
Calvin stared at Tim and shook his head. “Really, man?”
“It just happened, Calvin. I didn't plan on it. But I love her.” Tim shrugged and bent to pick his shirt up off the sand before pulling it back on. Layla slid inside the car and began pulling her own clothing back on.
“She's seventeen. She has so much going for her.” Calvin rubbed his head and sighed.
“And she can do it. I'll support whatever she wants to do, Calvin. We're being safe, so no kids.”
Calvin threw his hand in the air. “Oh God, it's bad enough to think about you doing my sister. Please, no more details.”
Layla emerged from the car with her clothing adjusted. “Calvin, just deal with the fact I'm not twelve anymore. I'm grown up and this is what I want.”
He shook his head and stabbed a finger into Tim's beefy chest. “Fine. But you better understand that if you hurt her, I'll kill you.”
Tim nodded. “I know it, brother. Hey, has anyone ever told you that you throw a mean punch?”
“That broken nose is compliments of the United States Army, son.” Calvin made a mock salute and cracked a small smile. “Ah hell, Zoe.” He glanced over his shoulder, back at the car. “I really fucked that up.”
Layla sniffed. “She should have kept her nose out of it.”
“No, Layla, she did right by telling me. Regardless of if you wanted it or not. No more sneaking out. Tim, you come to the front door like a gentleman. Be prepared, though. Grams is out for blood.”
Tim shuddered. “The whole Hall family seems hell bent on injuring or maiming me in some way.”
Layla grinned, the flash of her teeth bright in the low light. “And you were crazy enough to get hung up with one. What a shame.”
“I'm leaving. Tim, get her home, please. Now.”
Tim nodded. “I'm on it. And Calvin?”
He turned. “Yeah?”
“I'm sorry for not telling you and I'm sorry you found out this way. But I really do love her and I promise to do right by her.” Tim held out his hand for a shake.
Calvin shook his head and blew out a breath. “Tim, if it was anyone else, they'd be dead right now, but it's you...I've known you since we were shitting in Pampers. I know you like you were my own blood. If you two are happy...there’s not much I can do, is there?” He reached forward and shook Tim's hand. “I gotta go repair my own relationship right now.”
He left them in the little cove and walked back through the sand, kicking himself in the ass with each step. Everything I said to her. Shit. I was such an ass. I guess time really has moved on, my kid sister isn't so much a kid anymore... As he stepped up to the driver's side door and opened it, he started with an apology. “Zoe, I am so sorry...”
And just as quickly as the words left his lips, he realized he was completely alone.
* * *
Zoe sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Can you take me to Mobile?”
Derek shot a quick glance at her from across the cab. “Why Mobile?”
“Calvin is furious with me.”
“Oh?” His foot eased off the gas. “Do tell.”
“Don't be so enthused, Derek. It doesn't change anything.” Zoe looked out the window. “Just take me to Mobile.”
“And why doesn't it change anything, Zoe? You need me. You called me, didn't you?”
“You were the only person I could think of, Derek.”
“So you gonna bounce between me and him the whole time? I'm not too keen on getting his sloppy seconds. Or wait, he got mine, didn't he?” Derek smirked.
Zoe groaned. “Forget Mobile, Derek. I'd rather walk the whole way than listen to your he-man bullshit anymore.” She rubbed her belly absentmindedly. “Ow.”
“What's wrong?”
“She's kicking really hard tonight. I mean – the baby is kicking really hard tonight,” she grimaced and stared out the window. Shit.
Derek picked up on her mistake. “She?”
“I don't know.” Zoe whispered.
“You're lying and you've never been good at it, Zoe. You forget, I know you.”
“You don't know me at all, Derek.”
“Yes, Zoe, I do. I know how you like to be kissed. How that little spot right behind your ear is so sensitive you moan when even a fingertip brushes across it. I know how your nipples tighten when my mouth barely kisses them. I know that you hate Dr. Pepper and love Coke, and that you eat jelly with your sausage and ketchup with your eggs. I know that you hate to be alone and hate being in crowds. You're an enigma to some, Zoe, but to me, you're the girl I always wanted, even though I screwed up sometimes. We all make mistakes, but now that you're carrying my daughter, I want to make things right.” Derek's hand found hers and his thumb brushed across her knuckles.
She pulled her hand away and sighed. “Derek, I don't know what to make of you. You swing from he-man to barbarian to Dr. Phil and back in the space of a breath. Can you stop this ride? I want to get off. I'm getting whiplash.”
He chuckled. “You're right. I am trying hard to do right here, Zoe. I want to raise our daughter.”
“You forget that there is a chance she's not yours.” Her phone buzzed in her hip pocket and she shifted on the seat to pull it out. Calvin's name flashed across the screen and she frowned. Oh buddy, you can't forgive me for not telling you about your sister. I don't really want to hear your bullshit right now. She hit end and slipped the phone back in her pocket.
“Maybe she's not, Zoe.”
“Like you said, Derek, you don't want to deal with someone's sloppy seconds. I just want out of the truck, please.”
“I'm not dropping you on the side of the road, Zoe.”
“Fine. Then take me home.” She crossed her arms across her belly.
“To Calvin's grandparents?” He eased on the brake. “I need to know where you want to go, Zoe.”
“I want to go home. To my house.”
Derek threw the truck in park. “Zoe,” he started, turning to look at her. “The bank owns that.”
“So? Is someone living in it? I just want to go there. Please, Derek.”
“Woman, you're killing me! I'm not driving all over hell and creation tonight!” He slapped the
seat of the truck.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...”
“Damn it, Zoe! You bring out the worst in me.”
“Just take me home, Derek. I just want to go home.”
* * *
Calvin flagged Tim down as his car rolled past on the road. He rolled the window down and yelled, “What's up, Calvin?”
“Zoe isn't here. She isn't picking up her phone.”
Tim frowned. “Where the hell could she have gone?”
“In the space of a few minutes, not far, I'd imagine. She doesn't really have anyone to call who could come pick her up.”
Layla leaned forward, angling her head to glance up at Calvin. “Sure she does. She has Derek. You know, the other potential baby daddy.”
“God damn it! You don't think she'd actually call him, do you?” Calvin paced in the sand, rubbing his forehead as he thought.
Tim shrugged. “I don't know, man. If you acted with her in any way like you acted when you came into the cove, I could see her calling someone, anyone to get away from you.”
Calvin groaned. “I was a total asshole to her. I said I'd never forgive her for not telling me.”
“Wow, way to go, genius.” Tim rolled his eyes.
“Shut up, man, I know. If it was your baby sister, you'd overreact too.”
“You're damn right I would. But you don't need to stress her... especially now.”
“What am I going to do if she loses the baby?”
Layla whispered, “Grams said that when she was fairly early the baby wasn't measuring right and they thought she was going to lose it. Zoe told her just a few days ago. What if something happens?”
“Damn, are we just the family of secrets? Bout time you started thinking about someone other than yourself, Layla!” Calvin scrubbed his hand over his eyes. “Where would Derek take her?”
Tim pursed his lips and tapped a finger on his chin, a look that at any other time would have been comical with his busted nose. “I doubt he would take her to his house.”
“Do you think he would hurt her?” Panic clawed into his throat at the thought.
“No. I don't think he would hurt her on the off chance, well, that the girl is his.” Tim pondered for another moment and the realization of what Tim said hit Calvin full force.
“The girl?” he squeaked, doubling over and clenching at his stomach. “She's having a girl?”
“Yeah, man I thought you knew? Oh hell man, don't puke on your shoes... Ah hell, too late, isn't it?” Tim grimaced as he attempted to wrinkle his nose. “Ow.”
“Missed the shoes. Let me call her again.” He dialed her number again and frowned with each ring that she didn't answer. “She's not picking up.”
“Want me to get Layla home? Then I'll ride out with you. We'll find her. I'm sure she's fine, Calvin.”
“I'm going. I'm not going home,” Layla huffed.
“Do you have Derek's number, by chance, Tim?” Calvin asked, completely ignoring Layla and her outburst.
“No, man, I don't,” Tim shrugged apologetically. “We never were great friends.”
“I have it,” Layla piped up. “And you can have it, if I can go.”
Calvin leveled her with a dark gaze. “Give me the number, Layla.”
“Do I get to go?”
“Tim, you really want to marry this one? Layla, give me the number. Now.”
“Fine,” she huffed, scrolling through her phone. “224-6888.”
Calvin punched the numbers in and waited patiently as the phone rang. “You better answer, Derek,” he whispered.
* * *
Zoe opened the door of the truck and stepped out, her shoes crunching against the gravel of the driveway. Derek shut the truck off and stepped out. “He's calling me.”
She sighed. “I don't want to talk to him right now. I'm going up on the porch.” She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly against the chill air. There had been a small warm spell, giving them Indian summer like days, but the nights were still brisk. A hoodie simply wasn't enough.
Her momma's robin's egg blue swing still sat on the corner of the porch, a beacon to a time she longed for, when things were simple. Her hand trailed along the railing of the porch as she walked closer to the swing. Turning, she sat down and began to rock, the familiar squeak of the chains soothing her frazzled, tired nerves.
She swung that way for a few moments, leaning back into the swing and flying. Best thrill ever. Her dark eyes filled with tears and she cried silently in the dusk of the porch. I wish life was simple again. Her breath caught on a sob and Derek sighed.
“Why are you crying, Zoe?” He came to sit next to her, jostling the swing as he plopped down on it.
“Why is life so complicated, Derek? Can you tell me that?” she whispered, her shoulders caving under the weight of the world pressing upon them.
“I don't know, Zoe. Sometimes I wish we were just kids again, before stuff became about sex and money. When we could just play down at the creek and not worry about life. But it ain't that way anymore.” He leaned back against the slats of the swing and rested his arm along the back. “Swing with me, Zoe. Let's just be.”
“Okay.” She slid back and her shoulder brushed against his arm. They began to rock back and forth, gliding smoothly through the air. The swing swept back far enough to catch glimpses of the clear sky and Zoe found herself choked up again looking at the majesty of the twilight. The sky stretched as far as one could see and was dotted with hundreds of crystalline stars. They blurred as she blinked and a tear slid from the corner of her eye. “Look at all the little lights, Derek.”
He glanced up as they flew back again. “Makes you feel small, don't it?”
“Very small, and like all my worries are insignificant in the big scope of things.”
“Ah, Zoe. You look so beautiful,” Derek whispered.
He shifted on the swing and drew her in close. “Derek, don't. Don't ruin this.”
“I can't help it, Zoe. Being here on this swing with you just reminds me of how we used to be.”
“Before or after you had sex with both of my best friends?”
“Zoe...the past is in the past...please.” His arm snaked tighter around her and she pulled back slightly.
“I'm not doing this, Derek.”
“Fine, honey, I'll do it for both of us.” His mouth crushed against hers and she struggled against his grip. As she gasped, his tongue snaked into her mouth, daring hers to tangle with his. Instead, she bit down, eliciting a squawk of pain from him. “What the hell, Zoe!”
“I said I don't want to do this, Derek. Just because I'm upset and vulnerable doesn't make it okay. Don't you remember that no means no?” She stood abruptly and stalked across the porch. “I want to go home.”
“Get there on your own, you bitch. I was just trying to make us work.” He brushed past her and hurried to the truck. “Call your precious husband to come get you.”
“What us Derek? There never WAS an us.”
“Then why did you call me, Zoe? Huh? Why? Because you know that you have no one else? Because as much as you don't want to admit it, you still have feelings for me? And because you know there is a chance this baby is mine so you want to keep this avenue open?” He threw the door of the truck open. “Answer me, Zoe!”
“I called you because...” Her voice caught on a sob. “Because I knew you'd come get me.”
“Why!”
“Because I know you care.”
“And you don't, right, Zoe? You don't care. You're a cold, heartless bitch and the thought never crossed your mind that this kid could be mine and Calvin won't want you. Right?” He spat on the ground and crawled in the truck, starting it and pausing for a moment before saying, “Well, Zoe, I know you. Don't forget that. I know you almost as well as you know yourself. Find your own way home.”
He threw the truck in reverse and peeled out of the driveway, the roar of his engine deafening as he tore down the two-lane road.
Zoe
stumbled back to the swing and fell on the wooden seat as she sobbed. The taste of his kiss was still branded across her mouth and it threw her emotions into overdrive. Tears flowed and her thoughts ran amok. What if he's right? Am I really keeping both pathways open for them? Am I really that selfish?
The baby rolled and she blew out a soft breath. “I'm sorry, baby. I need to stop stressing. I may as well get this over with, huh?” She pulled her phone out and called Calvin. He answered on the second ring.
“Zoe!”
“Hey.” Her brain could think of nothing else to say.
“Where are you? Are you okay?” She closed her eyes against the tide of emotion that poured through her at his panic.
“At my old house. On the swing.” She rocked slowly in the seat again, back and forth, forth and back again.
“Are you okay? I'm coming to get you. Don't move.”
“Where am I gonna go? Remember, everything I have, you gave to me.”
His voice was soft, pleading with her. “I'm on my way.”
She hung up the phone and watched all the little lights in the sky as she waited. The little rental car pulled into the drive minutes later and Calvin killed the engine as he stepped out. “Zoe?” he called.
“I'm on the swing.”
He ran up the stairs and came to stand a few feet in front of her. “Come on.”
“Why? For you to yell at me again? I've had quite enough of that tonight, thank you,” she muttered with an acerbic tone.
“I'm sorry. I can't say it enough. I could say it a hundred times and it won't make it better or the words hurt less. But I am. I am sorry. I had no right to yell at you and get mad at you for doing what you thought was right.” He stepped closer and she didn't stop the slow rocking of the swing. “Can I sit down?”
“Sure. Keep your hands to yourself. I've already bitten one guy tonight, I have no issues with biting another.” A shiver coursed through her as she paused and Calvin sat beside her.
“Wait...what?” The chains jangled as he shifted to stare at her.
“Don't touch me.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Did Derek touch you, Zoe?”
November Foxtrot (Rhythm of the Heart Book 2) Page 8
