by Rina Kent
He waits for me to release my clenched fist before he speaks again. “You’ll stay away from Clifford’s daughter. They’re not allowed near our family.”
“Why?”
“You don’t want to know that.”
“I’ll be the one to decide.”
“You won’t like the outcome, punk.”
“You’re good with patterns, aren’t you, Jonathan? Tell me what happens if I know.”
Silence stakes claim in the lounge area as he squints.
“Very well.” He unbuttons his jacket and sits down on the chair at the head of le salon. He always chooses dominant positions even when he sits.
“If you know the reason, it’ll break you both. You’ll hate yourself then you’ll hate her and then you’ll hate the day you ever got near her, talked her, or touched her. You’ll spiral in your speedy mode and do something reckless and impulsive, and I’ll have to get you out of it. Then, you’ll have to pay your debt to me which will give me the chance to dictate your life.” He crosses his arms over his stomach. “So by all means, if you want to be stubborn and search for the reason, then go right ahead. Give me the chance I’ve been pining for.”
I want to call him a liar and tell him that nothing will break me from Astrid.
That he can’t manipulate us into being apart.
But this is Jonathan King.
He didn’t lie when he said he’s good with patterns. He has a knack to see the future before it happens. That’s why he scores so many successful deals.
Still, I refuse to believe him.
If he could predict the future, why didn’t he use it to save his own brother?
I sit across from him, my shoulders crowding with tension. “Tell me.”
“I knew you would insist.” His voice drops to a murmur as if he’s speaking to himself. “James’ stubbornness. I swear.”
Then he starts talking, and with every word he says, something inside me fucking dies.
Jonathan was right. I should’ve never known about this.
Chapter Forty
Astrid
I never got a warning when I was crushed by you.
* * *
I couldn’t sleep.
I called Levi, but his phone was turned off. Gloomy thoughts ran rampant in my head all night, spiralling out of control and hitting me in the chest.
What if his uncle hurt him?
What if he needs help?
I’m probably being a tad more dramatic than usual, but their postures screamed a fight yesterday, not to mention that Jonathan King seemed scary. No wonder he’s Aiden’s father and Levi’s uncle. It runs in the family.
Come morning, I rush down the stairs with my backpack over my shoulder. Sarah calls after me to eat something, but I don’t stop.
I’m running down our driveway when the sound of an engine penetrates my ears. I freeze and stare at the blinding lights from the car.
Everything stops.
My heart.
My breathing.
All of it.
I’m plucked from the present and thrown back in time.
* * *
Darkness surrounds me and rain beats down on me like a vengeful creature. Small whimpers of pain fill my senses like the gurgling of the dead.
I’m lying sideways, half of me outside the car’s window. The other half lies on the passenger seat.
A sob catches in my throat when I glance to my side. I know what I’ll find, but it does nothing to prepare me for the shock of what’s to come.
Blood covers Mum’s chest that’s stopped rising and falling. Her eyelids are closed as if she’s asleep.
Only she’s not.
“No… no… M-Mum… no… please,” I try to crawl to her, but something hard and cold scrapes my side.
The whimpering continues. I look down at myself expecting it to be my voice, but it isn’t.
A bloodied hand grabs my ankle.
* * *
I shriek and fall back on my arse.
I’m back in Dad’s house.
A Mercedes that I’ve never seen before stays unmoving. Nicole is in the driver’s seat, glaring down at me after she almost hit me.
I stand on unsteady feet, my breathing rushing out of my lungs in a frenzy.
My chest rises and falls so hard, it’s like I’m about to faint or have a heart attack.
“Watch where you’re going,” She snarls as the car passes me. “This isn’t over.”
I’m not focusing on what she’s saying. I hear her. I see her. But it’s like I’m caught in an experience out of my own skin.
“Are you okay, honey?” Sarah runs towards me and checks me out.
“I’m… fine.” I think. I turn back around to watch the Mercedes exiting the house. It seems super familiar, but where have I seen it?
“Did Nicole change cars?”
“Oh, that.” Sarah dusts off my uniform as I watch where the car disappeared to with stupor. “It’s an old one, always huddled in the garage. Miss Nicole wanted some changes made to her car so she’s using that car temporarily. It hasn’t been out from the garage in years, I’m surprised it still works.”
Dad must’ve came in it when he used to visit us. That’s why it seemed familiar.
“Is something wrong?” Sarah asks.
I shake my head even though something does feel wrong.
I’m on autopilot as I walk outside. I keep staring at my ankle as if that bloodied hand will imprison me again.
It’s not real. It can’t be.
But Dad said there was someone else. Am I remembering them now? Is that the reason behind the bloodied hand?
I need some psychological talk with Dr Edmonds.
Since I’m eighteen, I don’t need Dad’s permission.
A wave of sadness takes over me as I throw one last glance at the house and Dad’s car waiting outside.
Yesterday, he didn’t drive straight home. He took me to the doctor for the morning after pill and a contraceptive shot. I tried telling him that I used protection, but it’s like my tongue was tied.
I felt more ashamed in that moment than when he walked in on me wrapped all around Levi.
On the way home, he didn’t speak a word to me.
For the first night since Mum’s death, Dad didn’t come to wish me goodnight. I waited and waited and waited, but he never showed up.
I was too cowardly to go and apologise because if he shut me out this time, I don’t know if I’d be able to pick up my pieces again.
Outside, Dan’s car is parked right beside Nicole’s.
He has his forearm against the hood of her car with his entire body leaning against her window.
There’s an unusual tension in his shoulders as he talks in rapid-fire. It’s too far for me to hear what he’s saying. Nicole stares at him with wild eyes and parted lips.
She looks on the verge of… crying?
Her blurry gaze meets mine and she swivels the wheel and speeds ahead. Dan stumbles back, cursing.
For the love of Vikings. Is Nicole trying to kill someone with her car today?
I fasten my pace towards Dan. “What the hell was that all about?”
“Nicole being a bitch as usual.” He runs a frantic hand over his face. When he turns around, he appears less agitated. “How are you feeling? Better?”
I might have spent two hours on facetime with Dan last night. I had to vent about it all to my best friend.
“No.” My voice catches. “Dad isn’t speaking to me.”
“Come here.” Dan wraps me in a hug and I fight the tears as I wrap my arms around his back.
“Don’t you hate me for bailing on you and leaving with Levi?”
“Bugger, I bail on you for shags all the time. That was nothing.”
“Really?”
“Really. You’re finally not a virgin so I don’t have to shoo away all those who planned to sacrifice you for Satan.”
I laugh as I pull away. “You’re not going to judge me?”<
br />
“What’s there to judge?” Dan grins, showing his dimple. “Besides, in the best friends manual, it says in bold capital letters that best friends aren’t allowed to be judgy little bitches.”
“What manual?”
“I’m sure it exists somewhere.”
“I’m surprised you read any manual that isn’t a porn magazine.”
“I know, right? Aren’t you happy I’m your best friend?”
“I am. Life would’ve been boring without you, bug.”
“That’s the spirit.” He pauses, the smile and the dimple disappearing. “Full disclaimer, on the manual, it also says that best friends should offer reality checks about any bad shits the other friend is doing. Captain leans towards the bad.” He rolls his eyes. “But you already know that.”
“Do you think it’s weird that I keep gravitating towards Levi despite knowing what he’s capable of?”
“Nah.” He nudges my shoulder, waggling his eyebrows. “It just means that you have a wild side I wasn’t fully aware of.”
Maybe he’s right.
“Besides, it’s not like you can choose who you like. That shit is messed up.”
“Since when did you become a philosopher?” I hit his shoulder with mine. “Don’t tell me you actually like someone.”
“I like everyone who opens their legs for me. Or mouths. I’m flexible.”
“You’re such a pig.”
He chuckles. “Come on, let’s go to school.”
“Wait. Do you think Levi’s fine?”
“You don’t know?”
Something clenches in my chest. “I don’t know what?”
“The team had a party yesterday at the Meet Up.”
“They did?”
“Yeah.” Dan winces. “I went after you called it a night.”
“Was Levi there?”
“He’s the one who called it.”
“Oh.”
I was worried sick about him while he had a party.
He didn’t even bother to text or call me.
“And what did he do?” I ask.
“The usual. Party. Drink.”
“That’s… brilliant.”
“Astrid…”
“No. Dan. It’s fine.” I force a smile. “Let’s go to school.”
Hot, red fire courses through my veins as I stomp to the car and throw my weight in the passenger seat.
Levi went to a party as if nothing happened yesterday. He didn’t stop to ask how it went with Dad. He didn’t think we needed to talk or anything.
For Levi, this must be another mind game.
I’m the one who shouldn’t have focused on the arsehole in the first place.
Not when I have more important things that I should worry about.
“Actually, Dan.” I swallow. “I’m going to see a doctor.”
Chapter Forty-One
Astrid
You didn’t kill me, you destroyed me.
* * *
I come out from my session with Dr Edmonds feeling lightheaded.
Everything that I thought I figured out is smoke and mirrors now.
Mum’s accident. My accident.
Since Mum’s death, I thought that no amount of therapy would bring back my mum or make me move on. So I’ve been ghosting my shrink.
Dad forced me to see Dr Edmonds at the beginning, but when I started throwing fits and woke up screaming in the middle of the night, he left me alone.
He only made me see Dr Edmonds again after the summer accident.
“Are you all right?” Dan stands up from the seat in the waiting area. “Why did you want to see your shrink?”
“Because…” I look up at him with my heart squeezing in my chest. “I think I’ve been running away.”
He clutches my arm, helping me to sit at the bench as the assistant calls in another patient.
“Did the doctor say that?”
“No. He told me that I quit visiting him for a reason and I also returned for a reason.” I grip his arm tighter. “He’s right, Dan. I had a flashback.”
His brows furrow. “A flashback?”
“From my accident with Mum. Dad said someone else died that day and I think … I think he or she asked me for help.” My eyes fill with tears. “What if… what if… they died because I couldn’t help them?”
“No. No. Look at me, Astrid.” He clutches my shoulder. “You had a concussion and couldn’t even save yourself, let alone someone else. Okay?”
I nod, slowly, more to myself than anything else. “That’s not the problem, Dan. The problem is that I wanted to remember for the wrong reasons. I want to recall what happened on my hit-and-run accident because I’m so mad at Levi right now. It’s so messed up, isn’t?”
“It’s human.” He grins. “Let’s egg his car and slash his tires. That Jaguar pisses me off.”
I snicker. Only Dan would turn an intense situation into a joke.
“So did the doctor say you can remember?” he asks.
“Yeah, but the whole thing is entirely up to me. Apparently, I’ve been blocking memories.”
“Are you scared?”
“No… maybe. I don’t know.”
“I’m here. You’ve got this, you little bugger.”
“God. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if I didn’t have you, bug.”
“Probably lots of shit.” He twists his mouth. “Buy me lunch?”
“Cheeseburgers,” Both of us say at the same time.
“How about we skip?” He waggles his eyebrows.
“I know what you’re doing, Dan, and no, I’m not running away from school anymore.”
I’m done bowing. It’s time I stand tall.
In school, no one looks in my direction and when they do, everyone bows their heads.
Everyone except for Nicole and her wingman, Chloe. They glare at me, but they keep their vapid mouths shut.
Dan walks by my side, throwing winks at his harem of girls.
Me?
I’m counting my steps so I don’t trip and fall.
Good or bad, I hate being put under the spotlight.
The only thing I want is to disappear into my art studio and never come out until it’s time to go home.
Dan has a meeting before practice with their coach.
As soon as he disappears down the hall, I quicken my pace to the art studio.
Someone cuts in front of me and I come to a screeching halt.
Aiden.
He’s wearing his football blazer and the uniform’s trousers. For a star player, he’s in no rush to meet their coach.
“What do you want?” I ask as coolly as I can manage.
I hate how much I want to search around him for the other King or how much I want to see his cousin in him.
He leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Something changed.”
“And I’m supposed to know about it?”
He remains as blank as a board. “Have you heard what my father and Lev talked about yesterday?”
I shake my head. “Dad and I left first.”
Aiden continues looking me up and down as if he’s searching for something. Then, he pushes off the wall, about to leave.
“Wait. Do you know why your father and mine have an animosity?”
He appears lost in thoughts for a second. “Hmm. It might have to do with that.”
“With what?”
“Lev is acting strange.”
“Is that why Levi threw a party out of nowhere yesterday?”
“Perhaps.” He pauses. “He ignored you, didn’t he?”
I thin my lips in a line, refusing to admit how much that hurts.
Aiden’s gaze gets lost in the opposite direction. It’s the first time I see his gunmetal eyes project anything but the deadly indifference.
As if a demon possessed him, his eyes darken until they become frighteningly black.
I glance behind me to see who’s the victim of the young King’s wrath.
My lips part when I make out Kimberly. The same chubby girl who educated me on football during the other game. We came to sit together in most home games.
She glances at me and smiles tentatively, waving. I wave back. Kimberly interlinks her arm in a taller blonde’s.
Aiden is glaring at the blonde girl, and she’s glaring right back without blinking.
Being tiny, the first thing I notice about her is the long legs that go for miles — okay, that was a bit overdramatic. But they’re so toned like she’s an athlete.
Kimberly’s friend has light skin and electric blue eyes that shine with malice the more she throws daggers in Aiden’s direction.
She has some balls to glare at Aiden this openly. He’s a scary little shit that always gives me serial killers vibe.
“Do you want to try something?” he asks without breaking eye contact from the blonde.
“Try what?” I ask, confused.
“About Lev.”
“What is it?”
He flings an arm around my shoulder and pulls me to his side. “You’ll find out.”
The blonde breaks eye contact and takes the first turn around the corner with Kimberly.
Aiden continues watching her even after she completely disappears.
His lips curve in a sadistic smirk before he faces me. “Let me test something about Lev.”
I point at his arm. “Does that include you holding my shoulder.”
He nods. “I would say trust me, but I know you won’t.”
At least he knows that.
A few minutes later, I’m sitting on the bench, watching the practice with Aiden by my side.
I think about shoving his arm away, but his theory about a test stops me.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in practice?” I ask.
“I need rest after a minor injury.” He tips his head at a passing player.
Me, on the other hand? I keep watching for Levi to come out of the locker room.
Everyone is on the field — including Dan. He furrows his eyebrows at me as if asking ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ I don’t know myself, but if anyone will force Levi’s hand then it can only be Aiden.
