Chance stood up and began pacing around the room. “I got her into the bathroom and helped her with the bleeding. She went through a whole towel and it still dripped into the sink for at least ten minutes more before subsiding. Anyway, once she was cleaned up she sat on my bed next to me and confessed how she had feelings for me for over a year. She already knew that Veronica had broke up with me and I guess she figured this was her chance. She leaned in and kissed me, and I let her. I was emotional and drunk, and you have no idea how I wished it never happened, but we ended up having sex.”
“After it was over, I told her how I still had feelings for Veronica and that nobody could find out what we had done in case we got back together.”
Chance kneeled down in front of me. He grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes. “That was the last time I saw Christian; that anyone saw Christian. Her parents reported her missing and after the police asked around I became the prime suspect in her disappearance. Two days later they found her body in a nearby culvert. She had been brutally beaten and left to freeze to death.”
Chance buried his face into my legs. He began to sob and I ran my fingers through his hair telling him it would all be alright, but he continued to talk.
“People from the party had told police we were together so they got a search warrant and came into my room, where they found a ton of her blood and a used condom with both of our DNA on it. They arrested me a few days later when they got the reports back. With the evidence and the eye witness accounts it wasn’t hard for them to lay the book on me.”
“Veronica and her father returned and he agreed to be my lawyer if I swore I would never go near his daughter again. At first she believed I was innocent, but as more evidence piled up, I was left with only Buffy and my mother at my side.”
He started to cry again and I held him tight in my arms. While he continued to cry he started talking again. “My mother had a massive heart attack a week later. She died right in front of me. There wasn’t anything I could do to save her. She was healthy Hope. I killed her; I broke her heart and killed my own mother.”
“Oh my God Chance you can’t blame yourself for that.” I said trying to get him to calm down.
Finally he managed to calm down enough to talk again. “When it was time for court, Veronica’s dad was getting ready to make a plea bargain, but one of his partners found a loophole in my case and got me acquitted. The evidence had been tainted somehow. Anyway, after burying my mother and paying for the attorney’s, and then finally being kicked out of school, I had to move in with Buffy. Your father moved us here and the rest is history.”
He pulled me up into his arms and looked me in the eyes. “Hope I swear to you, I never would hurt another female like that. She was my friend and I never would have let her leave if I had any idea that would have happened. I swear to God!”
I pulled him into my arms. “I believe you Chance, I believe you.”
He pulled away and held my shoulders. “There is something else Hope. Remember that night that we were at the bar? Our first night together?”
I nodded my head yes.
“Someone disappeared from the bar that night. The police got a hit on the video surveillance from the nationwide mug shots. They came asking me questions about it. The video shows me leaving with a female and people gave my description. When they saw my criminal history they hunted me down and told me not to leave town.”
“You left with me Chance.” I confirmed.
“You don’t understand Hope. You are underage and your father didn’t even know we had met. I couldn’t say that I was with you even if I wanted to.”
“I don’t care about what happens to me, you have to tell them we were together. I am your alibi Chance.”
He shook his head. “No way! I won’t get you involved.”
We both held our heads up toward the window when we heard a car pulling up out front.
“They are home.” I said in a panic.
Chance kissed me. “I’m going in the kitchen. Run upstairs and don’t come down until you hear us talking.” He urged.
Without even thinking about everything he had told me, I rushed up the stairs toward my room.
Chapter 21
Chance
Telling Hope the truth was easier than I had originally thought. She believed me and it meant so much. I hated to send her upstairs after confessing so much about myself, but we couldn’t risk being found out. I made my way to the kitchen and started to make coffee. By the time the front door opened it was already brewing and I was leaning against the counter.
I heard Buffy first as she called out “Hello, We are home!”
I walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Buffy was smiling ear to ear. She dropped her suit case and held out her arms for me to hug her. I gave her a big squeeze and finally let her go as Mark walked into the house. I reached my hand out and shook his hand, the whole time wondering if he knew I had slept with his only daughter. Again!
“Where is Hope?” was the first thing out of his mouth.
“I have no idea. I came in to make coffee, and then heard you guys coming in the door.” I explained…lying.
“HOPE!” Buffy called up the stairs.
Perfection came walking down the stairs in a pair of pajama pants and hoodie. She had pulled her hair up, but it looked like she had just gotten out of bed. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.” She announced.
She never looked in my direction and it was a good thing, because if my eyes found hers they would know the truth immediately. This was a dangerous game. We were playing with fire.
“We have some news and it involves the both of you. How about we leave everything here. I want to make us all a big family breakfast and tell you all what is going on.” Buffy suggested.
“Can I get a shower while you cook?” Hope blurted out.
“I can help you cook sis.” I offered.
Buffy grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen, while Mark started carrying the luggage into the laundry room.
“So how was your weekend little brother?” She asked as she started pulling out things from cabinets and the refrigerator.
“It was fine. I just hung around here and worked on the roof for a while. What about you? How was your trip?”
She smiled cheek to cheek again. “It was fabulous, but we can talk about it when we are all together.”
“Okay, should I be nervous?” I leaned across the counter. “Are you kicking me out? Hiring a new carpenter? Am I working too slow?” I asked.
“Chance get a grip!” She laughed. “It has nothing to do with you, it just affects you indirectly. Stop assuming.”
I shrugged and made a cup of coffee while she began cooking. I noticed she was making French toast. It was something that my mother showed her how to do when we were kids. They made this vanilla cinnamon butter to go with it that made it taste even better. The smell filled my lungs, but it wasn’t breakfast that filled my mind. It was Hope.
I found myself watching the kitchen doorway, just waiting for her to come into the room. I heard the phone ring and Mark getting into a conversation with one of his clients about a new property. I started juggling, or attempting to juggle some oranges while I waited.
My sister rolled her eyes and motioned to a stack of plates and silverware. I rolled my eyes and dropped the fruit back in the basket. When I grabbed the plates she told me to set the outside table, so I headed out to the patio.
As I started to set the table, I got a whiff of Hopes shampoo and it took everything I had to not turn around and take her into my arms. She smelled delightful and I found myself missing her already even though we were standing just feet apart.
I turned to glance at her, but when I noticed she was doing the same, I turned away. “Get yourself together” I mumbled to myself.
Hope and I needed to be careful. We couldn’t act like we were involved and we couldn’t avoid each other. We had to be cordial without revealing our desire to be near each
other. It was harder than we thought. When I looked at her, I wanted to melt into her eyes. She was breathtaking and her running shorts and tight shirt did more for me than it should have been doing.
“Good morning Chance.” Hope said loud enough that Buffy could hear.
“Hey Hope. What’s new? What did you do last night?” I asked praying she went along with the ruse.
“Nothing much, downloaded some new music to go running to today.” She announced, but as she approached the table she added. “I spent the weekend with my boyfriend and last night he made passionate love to me until I collapsed in his arms. It was amazing.”
I had to turn away from the house. Her face was red and I could tell she thought she was funny. “So what’s he like?” I asked as we sat at the table across from each other. We could hear Mark talking from in his office and Buffy was busy attending to the stove.
Hope played with her napkin, folding it in different directions. “He is kind, and considerate. He puts everyone else’s needs before his own. He has the biggest heart but tries to hid it away. And…I mindfuck him every Chance I get.” She changed her voice when she said my name.
“Hope! Calm down please. Your making it difficult for me to stand.” I confessed pointing between my legs.
She giggled. “You are the one that asked. I can’t help it. In fact after last night and this morning, I wish we could just rip everything off of this table and bang like wild animals.”
I looked up at her in shock, but saw her winking at me. She immediately started laughing. We were caught off guard by Buffy bringing out two large trays of French toast and sausage, while Mark followed behind her with orange juice and coffee.
“What’s so funny out here?” Mark asked.
I froze, but Hope took over. “I was laughing at something that happened yesterday. Chance was climbing on a ladder while I was going running. He must have thought it was locked into place, but when he started climbing up it, it was collapsing. His face was priceless.”
They all began laughing, but I was in shock that my little princess had told a complete lie without breaking a sweat.
“Hope do you mind scooting next to Chance so that I can sit with your dad? We had such a fun weekend; I don’t think I am ready for it to end yet.” Buffy announced.
Hope stood up and headed in my direction. When she sat on the bench beside me her leg brushed against mine. Knowing her mood, she had probably done it intentionally. This was going to be a lot more difficult than I had imagined it in my head.
My sister broke my train of thought. “So we have something important to tell you. Mark why don’t you tell them.”
“As you both know I am crazy about this woman and after much consideration I have asked her to be my wife.” Mark confessed.
Hope was taking a drink of orange juice and immediately spit it out in front of her. It went over her plate and her face. I handed her some napkins. “Sorry, it went down the wrong hole I guess.” She said as she continued to clean up the mess.
“Well I guess congratulations are in order.” I said as I reached over and shook Mark’s hand.
I got up and gave my sister a big hug. I knew she was beside herself with excitement. We finally started eating as Buffy and Mark talked about their romantic weekend. Hope and I kept touching our legs together, knowing it was the closest to hand holding we could get.
Finally after a moment of silence Buffy got all giddy. “This means that you two will be each other’s niece and uncle. Isn’t that totally cool?”
This time I was the one spitting out my coffee. “I don’t think we should label it sis. You are making me feel old. Hope is only like sixteen or something. She isn’t young enough to call me her uncle.”
“I am almost eighteen.” Hope added.
Her father gave a curious look. “Not for another five months sweetie.”
“Whatever! I hate that my birthday is the last day of the year. All of my friends are legal adults and I can’t do anything I want ever!”
“Hope please don’t ruin breakfast.” Mark pleaded.
“Sorry. Buffy, I am happy for you and my dad. I can’t wait to help plan the wedding, if you will let me. Now if you will excuse me I am going for a run.”
Hope stood up and took her plate into the house. She never looked at me or back toward her father.
“Wonder what’s gotten into her.” He said with a laugh.
“Probably just girl problems.” Buffy suggested.
I stood up from the table. “I need to grab a new paintbrush at the hardware store. Hope borrowed mine and forgot to clean it out. Thanks for breakfast and congratulations.” I said as I headed into the kitchen.
I ran into the pool house and grabbed my keys then headed into the garage, where I found a brand new paintbrush and stuck it in my pocket. I jumped on my bike and started looking for Hope.
Chapter 22
Hope
I had to get out of that house. I don’t even remember if I grabbed my plate off the table. The combination of being around Chance and hearing my dad’s announcement was too much for me to take. How could he ask her to marry him without seeing if I were okay with it? I knew it wasn’t my decision, but he could have at least talked to me about it. I liked Buffy a lot, but she was more like a big sister than a step mother, and factor in the relationship with me and Chance and it was a complete cluster fuck.
I wanted to scream, but instead kept running as fast as my legs would let me. The summer sun was beating down on me and I had forgotten to grab anything to drink. Between the tears and the sweat, I was having a hard time seeing through my wet eyes.
A familiar sound came roaring around the corner behind me and I slowed down my pace even before he came into view. Chance pulled up beside me and handed me a helmet. I jumped right on the bike, after applying my helmet, and he took off out of the neighborhood.
I wrapped my arms tightly around him. With one of his hands his squeezed mine, and I felt a rush of relief to know that we were together.
When we finally made it to a nearby park he pulled in and parked the bike. I hopped off the motorcycle and waited for Chance. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me tenderly. “Are you okay?” He asked as he placed his chin on my head.
“Not really.”
He let out a short laugh. “That was a surprise.”
“You’re telling me. I didn’t even know how to react. I feel like such an idiot for running out. Your sister must hate me for ruining her excitement.”
Chance led me to a bench and we sat down next to each other. He grabbed my hand and played with it as he spoke. “Buffy will be fine. She should have known this would all be hard for you Hope. You just moved into the house after not speaking to your father for a long period of time. There is no way that this would be easy for you to take.”
“Well it doesn’t help that the guy I want to be with is going to be my uncle.” I blurted out.
“That is not even funny Hope.”
“No kidding. I thought I was going to choke up my breakfast when she said that.” I confessed.
“Well, one good thing can come out of this.” He announced.
“Yeah, care to share?”
“They will be so caught up in planning that they won’t notice how crazy we are for each other.” He admitted.
I brought my head up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “You’re crazy about me?”
“Hope, I never would have told you about my past if I wasn’t. You don’t know how many times I wanted you to know the truth.” He said as he lay his head against mine.
I put one of his hands into both of mine. “None of that was your fault Chance. You have to know that.”
He nodded and gave a smirk. “Sometimes I do, but there are some days I can’t help but blame myself. The worst part is that they never even looked for another killer. The newspapers always talked about how the real killer got away with it, referring to me. It really tears me up inside knowing that.”
“Chance
please don’t take this the wrong way, but if it weren’t for your past we would have never met. I have to think that something good comes out of something horrible.” I said as I smiled and stared at his hand that I still held on to.
He turned to face me more, and suddenly pulled me on his lap. “I can’t imagine never knowing you Hope. You have made me remember what it is like to have a friend, and what it is like to love someone.”
His words shocked me, and it wasn’t because I thought he was lying or that it wasn’t the appropriate time to tell me. I just couldn’t believe he had said it. “Did you just say what I think you said?”
He looked directly into my eyes and smiled. “Maybe.”
I smiled back at him. “Well maybe I feel the same then.”
He pulled me tight against him. “You better.”
“I wish we could stay here all day.” I said.
“Yeah well I can’t stay much longer. I told your dad I was going out to get a paintbrush at the hardware store.” Chance explained
I sat up and looked at him. “You better get going then.”
He laughed and reached for something in his back pocket. “I am surprised you didn’t feel it when you were on the bike behind me.” A paintbrush in a wrapper sat in his hand.
I busted out laughing, unable to control my shock in reaction to his fast thinking. “Wow you thought of that fast.”
“It was nothing compared to your story about the ladder.” He added.
I leaned over and kissed him lightly, but when he began to kiss me back it turned into much more. I ran my hands over his face and held them as his mouth found mine once again. When he pulled away we were both breathless. “I don’t know how long I can last without touching you.” I confessed.
“You won’t have to wait long Hope.” Chance promised.
We held each other for a few more minutes before climbing back onto his bike and heading in the direction of our neighborhood. I promised him that I would be open minded about my father and Buffy’s upcoming nuptials.
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