by Ally Vance
“I don’t know what to think, Quinlan. I can’t just forget everything that’s happened and hope it all goes away,” Esme says, finally breaking the silence, “I don’t know whether I can ever trust you tell me the truth. How do I know this isn’t some ploy, some act to make me let my guard down? I know what you did; I was on the receiving end of everything. I’m not so sure we can move past it.”
“I know. I’m not about to ask you to forget or forgive me for my part in all of this. I won’t be so quick to forgive myself for what I did. You make me crazy, and sometimes, it’s as though I'm not in control of myself when I’m around you. I’m not making excuses. I knew exactly what I was doing,” I cut across her when she opens her mouth to protest. “But while I didn’t tell you everything, I never once lied to you,” I finish.
“You stalked me, helped abduct me, took what wasn’t yours to take, and then abducted me all over again. Then, to top it off, you burnt half my house down!”
I watch her closely, my eyes absorbing the beauty of this woman, taking in the conflicted expression warping her features. I wait with bated breath for her to give me any indication that she's accepted what I’m saying as the truth. I want her to see with her unclouded eyes what’s right in front of her in the hope that maybe, just maybe, she can trust me to be honest with her from now on.
I see the barest flicker in her expression as it softens from a hard, mistrustful look into something a little less icy, not completely thawed but at least ten degrees warmer than it was a moment ago. Esme bites her lip and eyes me warily as I inch a little closer to her, placing my hand on her leg. She doesn’t push me away, and I gradually adjust my position next to her until we’re facing each other. I draw closer to her, bringing my face towards hers, and when my mouth brushes gently against the soft skin of her lips, our breaths mingle.
She takes in a shuddering breath as I close the distance between us. Once again I claim her mouth, swallowing the moan that rumbles in her chest and vibrates up her throat. Esme surrenders to me and reaching up, she runs her fingers through my hair, pulling me even closer until our teeth clash together…I’m a fucking goner.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Esme
I'm not sure what makes me do it, yet here I am kissing one of the men responsible for a huge part of the living nightmare I've been suffering through over the last few weeks. There's no justifying what he did, and I know I'll never forgive him. But God, there's something about him, enticing, alluring, and drawing me in that I didn’t see before. Maybe I was blind to what I was feeling, or maybe I didn't want to wake up and chose not to open my eyes.
Good or bad; villain or hero. I don't think I'll ever know where the line falls with Quinlan. He's tarnished our friendship and the bond we shared with darkness, but maybe it's time I danced with my demon instead of running from him.
I keep going back and forth in my head, flickering through each memory, lingering on every single detail, and I realise he’s right. All this time, I've had him painted in the darkest of shades, but my vision has been shrouded by the lies and pleasure inflicted on my body and mind by Pastor Frollo. Even though Quinlan is telling the truth, my head aches and my heart twists painfully in my chest still because he’s not innocent in all of this. He played a key role and allowed himself to be swayed by greed, lust, and envy, acting on the very worst aspects of himself, and I’m still not convinced he doesn’t mean me harm even now.
Quinlan’s hands are splayed across my back, and his mouth moves in perfect tandem with mine. I thawed at his words, and now I’m melting with his touch. Something is wrong with me for enjoying this stolen moment with my tormentor, but I’m going to relish savouring the taste…at least, for a little while. Quinlan pulls me closer, so he’s kneeling between my legs, and one of his hands runs agonisingly slowly down my back until it comes to rest just above the waistband of my borrowed skirt. One of his fingers slips beneath the hem of my tee and dips downwards, sending tingles running up my spine as he slides his hand lower to rest on the bare skin of my hip.
BANG! The sound of the bedroom door slamming against the wall makes me nearly jump out of my skin. Quinlan and I break apart in shock, and turn to locate the source of the abrupt disruption. Lillian is standing in the doorway with her hand pressed to her swollen stomach, face aglow and her eyes bright with excitement.
“Esme!” she exclaims, “I felt the baby kicking!”
It’s too late to try and pretend we were doing anything other than getting hot and heavy in her house, and I’m just glad we’re both still dressed.
“I can…” she pauses, looking between Quinlan and me, and a light blush creeps up her cheeks, “... come back,” she finishes.
I push against Quinlan’s chest and give him a meaningful look which he heeds, allowing me to rush over to Lillian, who appears awkward and embarrassed. I place a hand on her bump, lightly rubbing over the tight skin, but I don’t feel any movement. I shake my head and lift my hand away.
“Maybe next time you’ll get to feel him,” she says softly, shrugging her shoulders.
The back of my neck prickles, and I can feel Quinlan’s eyes on me, watching the exchange.
I twist my neck to face him. “I’ll be right back.”
Following Lillian out of the room, I move past her, and grabbing her hand, I drag her down the hallway to her bedroom, cursing myself the entire time.
“What happened, Esme? I thought you wanted Pastor Frollo, not Quinlan,” Lillian questions, tilting her head to one side and frowning in confusion.
“I know. I shouldn’t want him after everything that’s happened. He was only ever supposed to be a friend to me. I never wanted anything like this with him,” I rush out, sitting heavily on the edge of her bed and burying my face in my hands.
“It seems to me you like him a lot more than you thought,” she observes, and I lift my head to level my gaze at her.
“Maybe…but it makes no sense. It’s completely illogical and unreasonable.”
I get to my feet, no longer able to sit still.
“Well, what is it about Pastor Frollo that attracts you?”
I pause, thinking hard before responding slowly, “I don’t know.”
“Okay then, so what do you like about Quinlan?” she presses.
“He’s my friend.”
“Sounds like a good enough reason to me. Landon isn’t just my boyfriend, he’s my best friend,” Lillian laughs, rubbing her baby bump and smiling warmly at me, “I don’t know where I’d be without him.”
I’m not sure whether she's right, because she doesn’t know everything that’s happened. It’s on the tip of my tongue to confess it all when Quinlan bursts into the room, clutching his phone with an angry expression twisting his face. The door hits the wall with a bang, making Lillian and me jump this time.
“My uncle is coming, and so are the police,” Quinlan blurts, looking directly at me.
“But why? How does he know I’m here?” I exclaim, my voice rising several octaves.
“Because I’m here. Lillian’s dad called my uncle because he was worried about my intentions towards Lillian, and while he was on the phone he must have mentioned you were here too,” he replies, giving me a grave look, and I bite my lip nervously.
“I don’t want to see him,” I say sharply, meeting Quinlan’s gaze.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to avoid that. But if I had my way, he wouldn’t get anywhere near you.”
“I’m already extremely aware of that,” I snip.
“Okay, what’s going on? Why is Pastor Frollo coming here a bad thing? And why are the police coming?” Lillian interrupts, having sat silently throughout the whole exchange.
I shift in my seat, but Quinlan answers before I can. “My uncle reported Esme missing. I’m sure the police are just coming to follow-up on their enquiries, so there’s nothing to worry about. But Frollo is more of a problem. He’s obsessed with Esme to the point that he'll let nothing and no one stand in his
way. Not even me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Quinlan
Lillian’s face pales, and once again I’m niggled by this feeling she's holding something back. I round on her and ask her directly, “I think you need to tell us what’s going on here, Lillian. Your dad seemed awfully concerned about me making moves on you when I arrived,” I observe.
“I’m five months pregnant. He’s just being protective,” Lillian shakes her head defensively all the while avoiding meeting my eyes, but the emptiness in her voice tells me there’s more to it than that. She sounds stressed, and is wringing her hands anxiously.
“Lillian, you can trust me,” Esme soothes, taking one of her hands.
I watch as a few tears sneak out, sparkling in the light as they trail down Lillian’s face. She's shaking, and she swallows hard before she takes in a shuddering harsh breath and says, “He… he… he raped me.”
“What!” I thunder, and Esme glares at me as she wraps a protective arm around Lillian, who’s openly crying now.
“Who did? Landon?” Esme asks softly.
I seethe quietly as I watch the two of them, and Esme rubs a hand up and down Lillian’s arms, trying to comfort her. Lillian shakes her head before looking up at Esme and then at me.
“Not Landon. He was trying to protect me. He was sent to prison because he tried to save me,” she spits out.
When she meets my eyes again, I catch sight of a maelstrom of pain, anger, and fear, swirling in their depths before she closes them and buries her face in Esme’s shoulder.
“I’ll fucking kill him. I knew there was something wrong with him, but I never would've expected him to do this!” I growl, spinning around and heading for the door.
“Wait! Who do you think I’m talking about?” Lillian calls out, stopping me in my tracks.
“My uncle, of course, Why else would your dad be concerned about me?” I snap.
Lillian’s face crumples, and my stomach burns with unease as I wait impatiently for her to elaborate.
Her voice trembles as she whispers, “Not your uncle…my dad.”
I feel as though I’m going to be fucking sick. Esme gasps in horror, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as Lillian dissolves into broken sobs.
“Are you being fucking serious?” I say to her, my tone low and dangerous.
“Quinlan! Do you really think she'd lie about something like this?” Esme scolds.
I shake my head, and kneel down in front of the two of them, placing a reassuring hand on Lillian’s knee. “I didn’t mean it like that. I knew something about his behaviour didn’t add up, but I never expected this.”
I know exactly what I have to do to make things right, and it won’t just be Kellen who gets what he deserves. I’ll make sure both of them go down for their sins, even if I have to go with them.
“What are you planning to do?” Esme asks, pinning me with a hard stare.
“Tell the truth,” I grin.
“Don’t tell them everything, or you’ll be arrested too. Just get rid of Kellen for now, we can deal with your uncle later,” she pleads, and she tightens her arm around Lillian, who’s crying quietly within her embrace.
I stand up and turn to leave the room, but I’m stopped by a hand on my arm. Twisting my body around to face Esme, I lean forward and drop a swift kiss on her lips. Surprise rattles through me when she grabs my shirt, tugging me closer, and deepens it from a quick peck into something fiercer, hungrier.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she whispers breathlessly.
Brushing my lips lightly over hers, I answer against her mouth, “I won’t.”
The doorbell rings, and I open the bedroom door, listening carefully.
“Pastor Frollo! Oh, you’ve brought Officers Brown and Maxwell here with you. That’s a surprise. Is something wrong? Come in, you can give me all the details in a moment,” Kellen’s voice filters up the stairs and through the open doorway.
A glance behind me gives me a view of Esme sitting with Lillian, speaking quietly to her, and I take that as my cue to leave the room. I want my uncle to realise what he’s done, but Lillian’s safety matters so much more at this point. I mentally recoil at the thought of Kellen putting his hands on her like that, and for his sake, he better not have touched her while she's carrying the baby. I pray the baby belongs to Landon and not the sicko who’s meant to be her father. I swallow down the anger until it forms a hard ball in my stomach, threatening to get out.
I leave Esme and Lillian in the bedroom, and making my way to the top of the stairs, I watch as my uncle and the two police officers enter the house. A warm presence at my back makes me pause, and out of the corner of my eye I see it’s Esme.
“Lillian’s going to stay up here,” she informs me, and before I can stop her, she starts down the stairs, and I automatically follow closely behind her.
My uncle spots her before any of the others do, and it’s only his carefully practiced composure that stops him reacting in a way that’s unbecoming of his status. But I see it, and I know Esme does too; the thinly veiled tendrils of a vicious obsession, lurking behind his calm facade.
She halts halfway down the stairs, and when he notices me behind her, his eyes narrow perceptibly as he looks back and forth between the two of us.
Officer Maxwell spots us and moves forward, addressing Esme with a smile, “Are you Miss Esme Byrne?”
“Yes, why?” Esme responds, sounding confused as she looks at Officer Maxwell and then over to Officer Brown who’s standing by my uncle.
“I’m Officer Evelyn Maxwell. We received a report that you were missing. I need to conduct a quick interview with you and take a few details. Is that okay?”
“S-Sure,” Esme stutters nervously, and in a move which stuns me, she takes my hand and leads me and Evelyn into the kitchen.
We sit round the kitchen table, and the two of them have a discussion about Esme’s whereabouts since the fire. Evelyn takes notes and fills out a report. I’m half listening to them talking and straining my ears to hear the conversation between Officer Brown, my uncle, and Kellen.
“Pastor Frollo informed me you disappeared after the fire at your property and didn’t tell him or Quinlan where you were going. Can you tell me why?” she quizzes, and my chest tightens while I wait for Esme to respond.
“I didn’t want to see either of them. I’d had a disagreement with Quinlan that evening before the fire, and I needed some space and a place to stay, so I came to stay here with Lillian. She's my friend and neighbour,” Esme answers succinctly and relief sweeps over me.
“Can you tell me what the two of you argued about?” Evelyn asks, not skipping a beat.
“With the power-cut and the fire shortly after, I haven’t really thought about the argument. Honestly, I can’t even remember what we fought about,” Esme replies, and I squeeze her hand in mine, offering her reassurance.
“Officer, can you come upstairs with me and Quinlan, please?” Esme asks in a low and urgent tone, and I know it’s time for Lillian to get some justice.
“Why would I need to come upstairs?” Evelyn questions, sounding suspicious.
“It’s Lillian, you need to see her,” Esme urges, getting to her feet.
“Sure, let me just speak with Michael…Officer Brown,” Evelyn corrects herself, and a light blush tinges her cheeks at her error.
“No. Please don’t. Not yet anyway.” Esme says, and shoots Evelyn a pleading look.
“Lead the way,” Evelyn instructs, gesturing towards the door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Esme
It’s difficult to hear Lillian recount the attack carried out on her by her father, and it’s clear how much strength it’s taking for her to do it. She's hidden this secret for so long, and I can tell it’s been eating away at her. When she's finally finished, I feel horrified and sickened, and it’s obvious from their grave and disgusted expressions that Quinlan and Officer Maxwell feel the same way.
Finally, Of
ficer Maxwell speaks. “Thank you, Lillian. You’re a brave young woman for telling me all of this. I’ll do everything in my power to ensure you and your baby are kept safe.” The officer then looks to me and Quinlan and says, “Stay here with her for now. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Thanks, Evelyn,” Quinlan responds, gratitude filling his words, and she nods in acknowledgement.
Shortly after she leaves the room, we hear the sound of raised voices. Angry outbursts from Frollo and Kellen are soon smothered by the commanding tones of Officers Brown and Maxwell.
“I want to see,” Lillian mumbles, staggering unsteadily to her feet and crossing the room to the open door.
Quinlan and I share a dubious look before venturing out after her. We all stand frozen, partway down the stairs, watching justice unfold in the form of Kellen being wheeled out of his house in handcuffs, silently fuming; no doubt opting for silence, having been read his rights, instead of incriminating himself further.
“Lillian! How could you do this to me? I’m your father!” he demands, breaking his silence when he spots her.
“You’re not a father,” she cries out, her face crumpling in pain as she turns to press her head into my shoulder.
I glare at him, not bothering to hide my disdain and hatred for the man who laid his filthy hands on Lillian. Frollo walks out of the living room, deep in conversation with Officer Maxwell, and I can see her shaking her head, disagreeing with whatever he’s saying.
“I spoke to her myself, and I believe the girl’s telling the truth. Regardless, we’re obligated to treat such accusations with complete seriousness. If there's any evidence to support your defence of his character and proof that her statement is false, then feel free to bring it to the station later. But until then, Pastor, we will be taking Kellen into custody,” she finishes, firmly dismissing him.
Once they’ve left, Frollo slams the door shut after them and spins around to face the three of us. The fury on his glowering face makes me feel like a deer caught in headlights, and he’s the driver.
