by A. B. Medley
I grab her by the arm as she tries to walk past me and pull her down onto my lap, straddling me. I brush a kiss over her forehead. “Promise me you’ll be careful, Ivie.” She looks at me with those mesmerizing green eyes and I feel almost lightheaded.
“I will, Sterling. Don’t worry.” I kiss her, with no intention of stopping. She finally pulls back to look at me, desire burning in her eyes, matching mine.
“I really do have to go.” She kisses me once more and gets up and heads toward the door.
“I don’t know what we’re doing, Sterling. I want to be with you, but I know I shouldn’t. I’m Dean’s girlfriend, and you’re his best friend. I feel guilty for wanting you and being with you.” I walk over to her and tilt her chin up to me. “Ivie, I know. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time. I just never acted on them because I was scared and then because of Dean. I feel guilty, too. What are you saying?” She searches my eyes.
“I don’t know. This is complicated now, and I know it’s my fault. I crossed the line with you. I don’t regret it. But I also don’t know what it means.” I nod.
“I understand, Ivie. I won’t do or say anything you don’t want me to. I would never hurt you.” She smiles sadly.
“I know, Sterling. Just give me time. That’s all I know to say.” I kiss her one more time because the way she’s talking, I don’t know if I’ll get to again. I lean my forehead down to hers.
“I have to go.” She walks back to her car and throws me a slight glance over her shoulder before getting in and driving away. She’s too brave for her own good; she must get that from her dad. I have a bad feeling about this. Something isn’t right, and whoever is sending those messages and making her feel watched is surely involved in Dean’s attack, someone who means business.
Ivie’s playing with fire by not going to the police. Speaking of fire, I’m going to need a lot of cold showers with this fire Ivie’s started inside me. I watch as she pulls out of my drive, worry filling my gut. I pull out my phone and call the police department. “This is Sterling Brigg. I need to talk to Detective Trudeau.” While I wait on hold, I head back to the house and my truck.
“Sterling? This is Trudeau.”
“Can we meet and talk, Detective? I know you’ve been wanting to talk to me more about the night Dean was attacked.”
He replies, “Of course. Do you want to come to the police department?” I take a deep breath.
“Yes, I can be there in ten minutes.” I can hear him clicking on a keyboard.
“Okay, Brigg, I’ll see you then.” I hang up and hop in the cab of the truck. I won’t mention anything Ivie said—yet—but I want to be close to this investigation. I’m hoping Trudeau sees me as an asset, not a bother.
When I walk into Dean’s hospital room, his mom’s sitting in the chair close to the window. She’s exhausted. She smiles at me and then closes her eyes, resting since she knows I’m here. I sit in the chair closest to the door, leaving Dean’s left side to me. There’s some bruising there, too, from the right side. He looks a little more purple instead of black and blue today.
I brush back his black hair that falls over his forehead and grab his hand. I sit there for a few minutes, looking at him, feeling the weight of guilt in my chest. I gave into my feelings for Sterling. Dean will never understand. He’ll never forgive me. What am I going to do?
Suddenly I feel his fingers twitch in my hand. “Dean?” I gasp.
I hear a mumbled “V?” I jump up and kiss his forehead as tears spring to my eyes. He reaches up and brushes them away with his right hand.
“Mrs. Warren!” I sputter. She hops up, a little dazed, but then realizes Dean’s awake. She rushes out the door to call the doctor in. I get him the cup of water from the bedside table and hold the straw up to his lips as he takes a couple of deep pulls. When he leans back against the pillows, his eyes are more clear and he seems to know where he is.
“Dean, you scared us to death. Do you know what happened to you?” I stare at him with uncertainty.
He tries to shake his head then winces and mutters, “I know I was hit. I got a message from a blocked number to go outside. There’s something I need to see. No one was out there. The next thing I know, someone hits me from behind, and before I could turn around, I was hit again.” I shudder at his story, realizing that the text message I received seems more likely than ever to be from his assailant.
“The important thing is you’re okay. We can figure all this out later.” He nods. Just then his mom and Dr. Smith comes in the room. “I’m going to let them see you now. I’ll check in on you later, okay?” He grabs my hand.
“Ivie, I love you.” My heart cracks. I smile tightly. “I love you, too.” He smiles as I walk out the door.
I love Dean, but he hasn’t been the same around me in months. Before this happened, I was thinking about breaking it off with him. He’s my first love. I’ll always love him. But he’s barely even kissed me or held my hand for months now. Deep down I’ve wondered if he’s gone behind my back with someone else. Is that what pushed me into Sterling’s arms? Being vulnerable, combined with being shown no real affection from Dean in so long? It’s more complicated than that though. I have feelings for Sterling, it wasn’t just all of this. I want him. I feel something more with him.
I pull into the drive at home and dread going in. Dad’s really being overprotective these days. Mom’s almost too quiet. As I walk up to the house, my phone rings. Blocked number. I look around outside as I start to feel a chill.
“Hello?” It takes a beat or two, then I hear, “You better stay away from Sterling. I’ll get him next, just like your precious playboy, Dean. He may have picked you, but is he faithful? Oh, the things I know about your life. I’m going to make you pay for being the chosen one.” The line goes dead.
I couldn’t tell if that was a man or woman. The voice was mechanical, some kind of filter to hide their voice, I guess. I hear the rustle of leaves at the edge of the fence and start to walk that way when I hear the back door open and my dad steps out on the deck.
“Ivie, what are you doing, honey? You better come inside. It’s getting chilly out here. Your mom brought home your favorite pizza.” I glance back at the tree line and back to him.
“Okay. I’ll be right there.” Dad goes back in and closes the door behind him. I look back toward the fence and again have an eerie sensation someone’s out there. My eyes can’t quite make out anything definitive in the twilight. I walk up to the deck and look back once more.
Whoever is calling and texting is following me. I can’t take any chances that Sterling might be hurt, or that they might try to hurt Dean again. I’ll have to find an excuse not to see him or talk to him anymore. I knew better than to get involved with him. Obviously, Dean’s been up to something, if blocked caller is suggesting he’s cheating on me, meaning I was right about needing to break things off and feeling like I was losing him. That doesn’t make me feel any better.
I close the back door behind me and step into the warm smell of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. I have a bad feeling there are worse things in store.
After dinner, I shut the door to my bedroom and fall into my bed. What am I going to do? How am I going to break it off with Sterling before he gets hurt…or worse? I can’t let him get caught up in whatever craziness this is.
My phone rings. I look at the caller ID and the display reads Sterling. “I’m sorry, Sterling. I do have feelings for you. I’m falling hard for you, just like I knew I would. Maybe I’m not falling, I think I already have, and that’s why I can’t talk to you,” I whisper to my phone. I hit the ignore button and I feel tears sting my eyes.
This is going to be hard. I get back up and kick off my clothes and shoes, then slide into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and snap my hair back in a ponytail. I hit the lights and pull up the covers. Outside I hear the wind kick up. Another storm is coming, in more ways than one.
Now I know that whoever this creep is, he or she w
asn’t out to just get Dean. Dean’s lying in a hospital bed because someone wants to hurt me. I must know this person. But who? Who would do this? What have I done to make someone hate me so badly that they want to hurt me by going after people I care about? A new sense of guilt runs over me as I try to calm my mind and go to sleep.
I see her light turn off. I know you feel me watching you. Little miss perfect Ivie Davis. You aren’t going to get what you want forever. Daddy’s little angel. Mama’s beauty queen. Popular with both the girls and the guys. I’ll make you pay, Ivie. You’ll pay for your sins and your daddy’s, too. I won’t ever let you be happy or sleep easy, you can count on that. Dean’s just the tip of the iceberg for you. I head back down her drive toward where I hid my car. I’ll get my revenge. Her and her ‘untouchable’ daddy, Rhett Davis. I smile as I reach my rig. I get in and turn on the heat, turning my twin beams toward town. This will make for an exciting game. A game to destroy Rhett Davis’s reputation, and of course all things Ivie Davis, the chosen one…
Four weeks later…
“Great. This is just great.” I’ve visited with Dean enough to let him know I care, but I’ve been keeping my distance since he’s been home. I’ve been doing all I can to avoid Sterling. It’s been hard running to my car after school before he can reach me, coming up with excuse after excuse, lie after lie, as to why I can’t see him or talk.
And there’s been no new messages or calls, so maybe it was a hoax. Some creep just trying to scare me. Someone taking advantage of my situation. My life. I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I pace in the bathroom connected to my room. “I can’t believe this. How long does it take a stupid stick to turn, anyway?” I mutter.
The last week, I’ve been so drained. Now my period is late. This is what I get for being so irresponsible and giving into my emotions. I haven’t told anyone but Sterling about the messages, and he only knows about the first one. I sure haven’t told anyone about what happened between me and Sterling, not even Lucy.
The timer I set goes off. I feel the color drain from my face. Positive. I’m pregnant, with Sterling Brigg’s baby. I feel my knees give as I sit down on the bathroom rug. I stare at the stick as if I can change the results. I know this baby belongs to Sterling, because I haven’t been with Dean in months. He was always too busy, but it was just as well. Sometimes I just didn’t want him to touch me.
I could tell he was keeping secrets from me, maybe even straight up lying to me. This is the second test I’ve taken, so it must be true. I need to tell Sterling. This affects him, too. Damn it, I have to tell Dean. This’ll be the end for us. Ready or not, probably the end for Sterling and Dean too. This is a double-edged sword of betrayal toward Dean.
I close my eyes at the thought of becoming a statistic, of being single and pregnant, and although I’m legally an adult since I’m eighteen, I’m still in high school. The disappointment from my parents… I look in the mirror and brace myself, my heart, for what’s to come.
I wrap both tests carefully and place them in a bag before putting them in my trash. I don’t need Mom finding this out before I’m ready to tell her. I let out a deep breath and close my eyes.
I have to call Sterling and meet with him. I can’t tell him over the phone. This affects him the most, so I’ll tell him first. He’s probably going to hate me, because I haven’t talked to him in weeks, now I’m going to pop up and say, “Hey, how you been? By the way, I’m having your baby. You want to grab dinner?” This is a disaster. Here goes nothing. I punch out Sterling’s number. After the second ring, “Hello.”
“Sterling, I was wondering if I could meet you somewhere. We need to talk.”
“You got that right. Why have you been avoiding me? And don’t act like you haven’t. We both know different.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Sterling, just meet me at the outlook. I promise I’ll explain everything there, okay?” He pauses and blows out a frustrated breath.
“Okay, Ivie. I’ll see you there in about fifteen minutes.” He hangs up. More great news, he’s angry with me. I can hear it in his voice. I’m beginning to think I’m in a lose-lose situation. I take one more look at myself in the bathroom.
“You can do this,” I tell my reflection. I swipe on some lip balm and dust a little powder on my face, then run a brush through my hair, my long and wavy brown locks spilling over my shoulder. That’ll have to do. I put on my coat, grab my purse and keys, and head for the door.
I hope I didn’t piss Ivie off too much. I’m just so worried about losing her, in more ways than one. She’s pulled away since she showed me that threatening message. Why? She said she had answers for me, so I guess I’ll find out soon.
I told her I’d give her time and space. Hell, she’s still with Dean. I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles blanch white. I know I technically have no claim on her, but my heart says otherwise. That girl has me wrapped around her little finger, and she doesn’t even know it.
I start the truck and head toward the outlook. I can’t lose her now, when we may finally be getting our chance. I’ve wanted this for so long. I didn’t realize how much until that night at the outlook. Since then, all bets are off. I know I’m in love with her— head over heels, crazy in love.
I’ll do anything to protect her. I just don’t know what that means for me and Dean. I never wanted to betray him. But I know he’s already betrayed her. I know that doesn’t make my betrayal right, but it sure doesn’t mean she owes him anything. I don’t know who he’s been messing with for sure, but I have my suspicions.
After talking with Trudeau, I truly believe someone’s targeting Ivie. That’s without me mentioning the text to him. She’s not going to like it, but she’s stuck with me, at least until they figure out who attacked Dean. After that, I can only hope she still wants me around.
Dean’s been home for a while now. He seems to be doing good, just very sore and bruised, mentally and physically. He’ll make a full recovery. I’m just not sure if he’d recover from finding out about Ivie and me.
I’m getting close to the turn off for the outlook. I can feel the nervous knots. I hope Sterling doesn’t hate me when I tell him what’s happened. I check my rearview for the tenth time. There’s a blacked-out SUV behind me. I can’t see who’s inside. They seem to be getting closer, but maybe it’s just my imagination. I can tell it has a brush guard on it, which is all black as well.
I look back at the road and absently place my hand over my flat abdomen. “It’s going to be okay. Somehow,” I say to myself and this little life growing inside me. I look in my rearview and the black SUV has slowed down. Must be someone not familiar with the area. Shake it off, Ivie, not everything that seems weird has something to do with you, or Dean, or Sterling. Or Daddy, for that matter.
I’ve always had difficulty trusting people because of my dad being a judge. He’s ingrained the necessity to be aware of my surroundings, too.
I turn onto the road leading to the outlook, and the SUV rolls past. Once I’m up to the top I see that I’ve gotten here before Sterling, so I get out and walk toward the edge. The sunset is so beautiful. I close my eyes to say a quick prayer for all that’s going on right now, and hear a crunch in the gravel. Before I can turn to look, I feel a sharp pain to the back of my head.
I fall face first to the ground and almost black out from the blow. I try to get up, but before I can find my feet there’s a violent kick to my stomach, and I flop back down into the dirt. They’re kicking me in my stomach! I try to cover my abdomen and they kick me hard a few more times before turning me over and grabbing my chin. There’s a stunning blow to my face, and before I can even process the pain, hands wrap around my throat, squeezing tighter and tighter.
Fight back, Ivie! Darkness tugs at my vision. I can’t see who my attacker is—they have on a ski mask. I can’t breathe. My lungs are on fire. Suddenly, the hold on my neck loosens and I see my attacker raise something shiny and start to swing dow
n. I roll as much as I can and feel a blade plunge into my left shoulder. The white hot pain is so overwhelming that I’m frozen in place for a heartbeat. Then everything comes rushing back. I can feel the blood start to pour, and the pain is excruciating as the blade is twisted in my attacker’s hand.
I hear the sound of tires pulling around the last curve to the outlook. Sterling! Oh, please help me! Help our baby! The attacker obviously hears it too and takes off running.
“Ivie. Where are you?” I open my mouth to answer but instead choke on the blood pouring from my nose and mouth. I hear his footsteps getting closer and I grope for the handle of the knife, which is still in my shoulder.
“Ivie!” He drops down to my side and pushes my hand away from it. “No baby, don’t touch it. I’m going to get you to the hospital.” I feel myself shaking all over, and I’m really, really cold. He scoops me up and runs me to his truck.
The dark is closing in, but I try once more. “Sterling, baby, I…” And then there’s nothing.
I call Detective Trudeau on my way to the hospital. He assures me they’ll go to the outlook and tape it off as a crime scene until they search the area. Then they’ll be coming to the hospital to get my statement and hopefully Ivie’s.
As I pull up to the emergency room, I look over at Ivie. I laid her in the front seat of my truck. She has blood all over her face and bruises are already forming. There’s a knife stuck in her shoulder and I’m too afraid to try to remove it.
I feel rage burn through my veins. Whoever did this is going to pay. This is exactly what I feared. Ivie Davis now has an official bodyguard, whether she likes it or not. The security guard opens up the truck door and then steps away to yell for a wheelchair. In moments they have her in the chair and rush through the doors to the patient area. I drop heavily into a seat in the waiting room and wait for backup.
