Red Hot Winter

by K. Webster

  Some guy hands me a red plastic cup that smells like it’s been filled with vodka. He’s plastered and it’s barely eight at night.

  “Drinksss on mmeee,” he slurs.

  “Pass, buddy. Not getting date raped tonight by a wannabe frat boy.”

  He snorts and yanks the cup out of my hand. “Frosty bitch.”

  I roll my eyes and slip through the crowd of people. I’ve been avoiding anyone I know for the past hour since I’ve been here. Including Callie and Landon. Last time I saw them, they were sucking face on the couch.

  Desperate to get away from the idiots of this party, I escape down the hall on a hunt for a quiet place to call August. I end up pushing into a room that already has people in it. I’m about to slip back out when the scene before me has me pausing.

  Lauren?

  Two boys from school are kissing on her neck. Her shirt and bra are gone. I totally didn’t expect Lauren to be into threesomes.

  “Wake up,” one of the boys says to her as he unbuckles his jeans. “Wake up so we can fuck.”

  Wake up?

  Fury rises up inside of me and I charge over to them. She’s passed the hell out. Her skin is pale and she doesn’t look well at all. Did one of these assholes give her something?

  “Yo, rapists in training,” I snap, popping the boy on the left in the head, “get the hell off my friend.”

  The boy on the left scowls at me as he rubs at his head. “Go away, bitch.”

  “Yeah, bitch,” boy on the right mimics.

  I pop his stupid ass in the head too. “Get your asses out of here before I call Sheriff McMahon.”

  They stare at me in confusion.

  “She’s passed the hell out and you’re feeling her up, assholes. Get it through your skulls. This is not okay.” My voice is shrill and the urge to choke them both is strong.

  Boy on the right stands up and stumbles away. Boy on the left is more stubborn. He stares at me with a challenge in his stare as he boldly strokes his dick.

  “You’re awake.” He smirks at me.

  Oh, hell no.

  I grab a handful of his dark hair and drag his drunk ass off the futon. He bellows as I yank him away from her and then release him when we’re near the door.

  “Go,” I snarl. “And put your dick away. It’s embarrassing to look at.”

  He calls me every curse word in the book as he stands on wobbly legs, shoving his unimpressive dick back into his jeans. Since he’s slower than shit, I shove him out of the room and lock the door.

  Lauren.

  Dammit.

  I rush over to her and kneel in front of the futon as I grab for her shirt. I quickly pull it over her head and push her arms through the holes. Once I have her covered, I try to rouse her.

  “Hey, virgin girl. I just saved your ass. Literally.”

  She doesn’t move or show any indication she’s aware. My heart rate skitters in my chest. I quickly yank out my phone and call August.

  “It’s only been an hour,” he greets, his voice gruff. He always sounds so grumpy when he’s working on his cases.

  “I need a ride to the hospital. I think those fuckers gave her something. I don’t know. Something’s wrong with her.” Hot tears prickle my eyes.

  “Callie?” I can hear the panic in his voice.

  “No, her boyfriend’s sister Lauren. Please, can you just come get us?”

  “I’ll be there in ten.”

  While I wait for him to arrive, I rush to the attached bathroom and wet a rag. I dab it at Lauren’s throat and temples. Her eyes flutter and when her brown eyes meet mine, confusion glimmers in them. I brush her damp, limp blond hair from her eyes and kiss her forehead.

  “You’re going to be okay. Tell me what the boys gave you,” I urge.

  She blinks several times. “N-Nothing.”

  Nothing?

  She’s definitely confused.

  “They gave you something. You’re completely out of it.”

  Her nose scrunches. “I wasn’t feeling well…and…I don’t think I should have drunk anything. I feel sick.”

  “How much did you drink?”

  “Uh,” she murmurs, closing her eyes. “Maybe one glass.”

  “They drugged you,” I grumble.

  “N-No, I poured the d-drink myself.”

  “Then what’s wrong?” I ask, my voice a worried whisper.

  A tear leaks from the corner of her eyes. “I don’t know. I’m afraid to find out.”

  That day in the bathroom at school comes flooding back.

  “You can’t hide from the inevitable.”

  “Right now I can.”

  But not anymore.

  My heart sinks because I worry there is so much more than what meets the eye here.

  Hurry up, August. This girl needs a doctor and quick.

  I pace the waiting room, my mind flooding with a million things that could be wrong with her. We’ve all been sitting here for nearly an hour. And it’s uncomfortable as hell because not only are Callie and Landon here, both drunk as skunks, but so are August and Jackie. Callie must have called her mother to bring them to the hospital when August and I rushed out of the house in a mad frenzy with Lauren. Apparently, according to overhearing Jackie talk to Callie, my dad went to Landon’s house to make sure everyone went home.

  “Sit,” August orders. “Walking around in circles is doing nothing but putting everyone on edge.”

  Everyone but Callie and Landon.

  They’re practically making out in the waiting room while we find out what’s wrong with Lauren. I love my best friend, but right now, I really wish she’d sober the fuck up.

  Once I sit down, August settles his palm on my thigh to keep me from bouncing my leg up and down. His calm reassurance settles me some. That is, until I lock eyes with my nemesis.

  Jackie’s icy stare sears into me. Her nostrils flare when she glances down at where August grips my thigh.

  “Whore,” she mouths to me.

  I freeze and August snaps his head up to look at her.

  “Got a problem, Jackie?” he growls.

  She sneers. “Just one problem. Seems you have the same problem, though.”

  Landon tickles Callie and she laughs loudly.

  “Callie,” August barks. “That’s enough.” Then, to Jackie he says, “Take our daughter home. I’ll keep an eye on Landon.”

  Jackie hates being told what to do. With her and Dad, she likes to wear the pants. I know it infuriates her that her ex-husband still calls the shots.

  Callie giggles again and it’s enough to have Jackie huffing in resignation. She has to all but pry Callie from Landon’s grip and then drag her away. When they’re gone, Landon pouts.

  “I’ll go grab him some coffee,” August rumbles. “Keep an eye on him.”

  As soon as August leaves, a doctor with messy, dark brown hair comes striding into the waiting area. He’s tall and ridiculously good-looking. I’d guess him to be around August’s age—mid-forties or so. His green eyes burn into mine.

  “Are you Lauren Englewood’s family?” he asks, searching the room probably for an actual adult, and not two barely legal teenagers, half of whom are drunk as hell.

  “I’m her sister and this is our drunk brother.” I stand and walk over to shake his hand. “What’s wrong with her?”

  He eyes me skeptically, but one look at Landon and he surely realizes I’m the only one he can talk to. “We have her stable. She’s doing okay. Talking with me and the nurses.” He frowns. “Her blood pressure was really high. I want to run some other tests on her, but she seems adamant about getting out of here now that she’s feeling a little better. Can you convince her to stay and let me run some tests?”

  I nod and yank her goofy ass brother out of the chair. “We’ll talk to her.”

  Landon rambles about how Callie and him are going to get married this summer. I ignore him as I try to keep him upright. We follow Dr. Goddamn He’s Hot down a corridor and into the emergency
area. Behind curtain three, we find Lauren looking much better than an hour ago.

  “Winter?” she asks.

  “Is that any way to greet your sister?” I tease as I abandon Landon to go hug her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine, but this guy is persistent,” she grumbles. “I just want to go home and rest.”

  Dr. Goddamn He’s Hot implores me with his glowing green eyes.

  “Eh, sure, virgin girl. How about you take some tests real quick?”

  Her nose scrunches and she shakes her head. “I don’t need tests.” She flashes me a knowing smirk. “It’s period stuff. Oh, the cramps are horrible. And the clotting…”

  Landon gags and stumbles out from behind the curtain. I hear him retching somewhere close.

  “Mean sister,” I chide.

  She shrugs, unaffected.

  “You’re not on your cycle,” Dr. Goddamn He’s Hot mutters. “According to what you told the nurse.”

  I roll my eyes at her that the clotting excuse clearly doesn’t work on ER doctors. “Stay for the tests.”

  “I’m fine,” she practically growls. “Can you take this IV out of me before I take it out myself?”

  He lets out a heavy sigh. “I’ll let you go because I can’t keep you.” He pauses and shakes his head. “Promise me you’ll follow up with your primary care physician.”

  She gives him the fakest damn smile ever. “Promise, Doc.”

  Everyone in the room, including Lauren, knows she’s a big liar holding onto a dangerous secret. I just hope she confides in someone before it’s too late.

  August

  “We’re going to die,” Callie teases as she peeks around me to look into the saucepan I’m stirring.

  “I know. Winter thinks food is supposed to be black before you serve it. Don’t you, babe?” I call out to where she’s tossing a salad.

  “Yeah, fuck off,” she sings back.

  Landon laughs from the living room. My daughter hugs me from behind and stands on her toes to whisper to me.

  “I’m glad you’re happy, Dad.”

  I set down the spoon to pat her hand. “The happiest.”

  She pulls away and heads into the living room where Landon is watching a baseball game. Once Winter and I are alone, I tug her over to me.

  “Graduation is next month. Maybe we should have you applying to culinary schools,” I offer with a smirk.

  She rolls her eyes and mutters in a dry tone, “So funny.”

  “I’m kidding. You’re the best cook in this house,” I tell her, kissing her nose.

  Her smile is wide. “That would be a compliment, but considering the other three people in this place can’t cook for shit, I think that was still an insult.”

  As I press kisses to the face of the girl I’m super fucking crazy about, I realize I fall deeper and deeper with her each day. We’ve been playing house for a while now and it’s the happiest I’ve felt in years. She brings light and joy to my dark world.

  “I love you, Winter.”

  Her body freezes and she pulls back, her brown eyes darting back and forth as she searches my face. “Don’t fuck with me, August.”

  I reach up and swipe a strand of hair from her cheek. “I’m not fucking with you, baby.”

  Years ago, she’d fallen helplessly in love with me from afar to the point she got her ass kicked out of her house. She never stopped. Her feelings for me were always there. As time passes, so damn quickly, I realize I’m right there with her. Falling. My feelings may have come later, but it’s no less intense. I’ve claimed her and I’m never letting her go. It’s a promise I made with my lips now. One that is carved into my heart.

  “I guess you’re going to keep me now?” she says, grinning happily.

  “I wasn’t ever going to let you go.”

  I hadn’t realized until I had this girl in my arms that she’d been the thing I was searching for these past two years. Bitterness and anger ruled my every thought and action. I’d been looking for something that didn’t hurt. Something that felt good for a change. Winter felt better than good. She peeled off those awful layers and found me again.

  “Oh, God, I love you too,” she murmurs. “I always have.”

  Graduation Night…

  “I’m so proud of you,” I tell Winter, squeezing her hand. “Top of your class. That’s my girl.”

  “And I’m chopped liver back here,” Callie says with a laugh. “Three point four GPA isn’t that bad.”

  “It’s not that good either,” I say with a smirk.

  “Punk,” Callie mutters back playfully before growing serious. “You guys going to be okay tonight?”

  I will be. I’m used to my cunt ex-wife. But Winter is who I worry about. If that bitch so much as thinks about ruining Winter and Callie’s graduation night by running her fucking mouth, I’m going to lose my shit.

  “We’ll be fine,” Winter assures her. “It’s just one dinner.”

  “Yeah, and you’re not cooking, so nobody will die,” Callie chimes in.

  “Pity,” I grumble, earning giggles from both girls.

  We talk about a summer trip to Italy I’m going to take them on before they have to go to college. After this summer, they’ll officially part ways. Where Callie is going off with Landon across the damn US, Winter is going to the same local university I went to. It was where she wanted to go long before we ever started dating, and frankly, I’m happy she’ll be close.

  I pull into the steakhouse where we have reservations for the five of us. Although, if all goes well and no one kills each other, we’ll pull up an extra chair for Landon who may show up later. Callie thought it best we dined on neutral grounds. I can handle seeing them, because I don’t give a shit about Tony or Jackie. I just hope Winter is as strong as she thinks she is.

  “Oh boy,” Callie grumbles, her face lighting up in the backseat as she texts. “Mom’s in a mood.”

  What the fuck else is new?

  “Hmm,” is all I say.

  “All they do is fight lately,” she grumbles as she responds.

  Winter and I exchange curious looks as I pull into a parking spot. I climb out of Callie’s Mustang. My Jag is just a little two-seater, so we had to bring her car tonight. Winter hurries over to me and threads her fingers with mine while we wait for Callie to finish rapid-firing texting to her mom.

  “Jenna got a new car. Can you believe it?” Winter says absently, trying and failing to steer the conversation away from whatever Callie is grumbling about.

  “That’s nice,” I say, also not doing a good job on giving Callie her privacy.

  “Oh God,” Callie groans. “Mom is nuclear right now.”

  I hug Callie from the side. “Don’t let any of this rain on your happy day, okay?”

  “I’m not worried about me,” she murmurs.

  I’m tense as we enter the restaurant. The server guides us to where Jackie and Tony are sitting. Tony’s features harden when he realizes Winter’s arm is looped through mine. Jackie is practically spitting venom.

  “Sweetheart,” Jackie says, patting the vacant seat beside her. Callie walks over and sits beside her mother. They launch into a conversation about Callie’s dress.

  Winter shifts on her feet. I could take the seat beside Tony so she sits next to Callie. I’d do that for her. But before I can sit, she plops down beside her father. The relief in his eyes is enough to have some of the ice melting off me. I hate him and what he did to me—what he did to my sweet Winter—but at the end of the day, he’s still her father. And the expression on his face is one I know all too well. He loves her more than words could ever express.

  I sit down beside her and grip her thigh under the table before leaning in. “You’re doing great, beautiful.”

  She turns and flashes me a thankful smile. Jackie’s glare is on the two of us no matter how hard Callie tries to distract her. Tony’s eyes are just for his daughter as he attempts to engage.

  “You looked amazing up there,” he
tells her. “I’m so proud of you.”

  She tenses and a strained smile spreads across her face. “Thanks.” Her voice takes on that hoarse quality right before she cries. It makes me want to drag her back to the safety of my home.

  Tony frowns at her expression. I forget he knows her just as well. He reaches over and takes her hand. “Winter, I’m so sorry.”

  “Tony,” Jackie snaps. “We talked about this.”

  Callie clutches her mom’s bicep. “Mom,” she warns.

  Tony ignores his wife to focus on Winter. “Please forgive me,” he rasps out. “I was wrong.”

  Winter bows her head and swipes a tear away with the heel of her hand. “D-Dad.” Her voice cracks and I squeeze her thigh to let her know I am still here for her.

  He somehow manages to pull her to him for a hug. To my surprise, she goes willingly. I know this fight with her father has been eating away at her for months. If this is what she needs to be happy, I’ll support her every step of the way.

  “No,” Jackie screeches. “I told you I will not stand for the way she spoke to me!”

  “That’s enough,” I growl in warning.

  She sneers at me. “I don’t have to listen to you, thank God. But him,” she snaps. “He has to listen to me because he’s my husband!”

  “Listen to yourself, Jackie,” I bite out. “You’re making a scene and embarrassing our daughter.”

  Ignoring me, she turns her wrath on Tony. “You can’t have us both. Not when your daughter is a whore and—”

  “Jackie!” Both Tony and I bellow at once.

  “She is,” Jackie screeches. “She wanted to fuck my husband when she was just a little girl!”