“I’m going to bed,” she announces flatly before walking out of the room. Eliza gets up also but instead of leaving, she comes to sit be my side and takes my hand. In natural Eliza fashion, she doesn’t say anything, but even her silent touch comforts me.
After a while I tell Eliza that I’m going to bed as well. I show her one of the guest rooms that was prepared for her before I head to mine and Jenna’s room. I sneak inside, only using my phone screen for some light. It’s not until I’m at the bed that I realize she isn’t in it. I switch on the lamp on the nightstand and look around the room. I’s empty.
Going around the other guest rooms, I try to find her. Every room is empty until I get to the third door down. That one is locked. It’s also the room furthest away from our room. “Jenna?” I call while rattling the handle.
“Go away!” Her voice is muffled through the closed door, but even so, I can hear that she is crying.
“Please Jenna, just come to our room,” I beg.
“Only if you’re going to tell me the truth.” Her ultimatum hits me so hard, I feel dizzy. I can’t tell her the truth, maybe not ever. I drag my feet back to my room and fall into the bed.
I cry myself to sleep, unable to get over how deeply I hurt my sister by not telling her. How can I though? She won’t understand and she probably never will. What am I going to do? I love Colt and I can’t lose him, but I can’t lose Jenna either.
When I wake up, my heart feels heavy and my head feels empty. I don’t even remember the last time I woke up here and Jenna wasn’t next to me. I drag myself out of bed and take a quick shower before making my way down the stairs.
Jenna and Eliza are sitting at the kitchen table and both look up at me when I walk in. “Hunter is on his way here,” Jenna announces.
“What? Jenna please don’t go! I’m sorry okay.” I plea with her, prepared to continue begging but she just holds up her hand.
“I wasn’t leaving. Hunter said he is coming because he has something he needs to tell us both and it's not something we can do over the phone. I have no idea what it is, but it sounded pretty serious.”
Panic grabs me in an instant like a hand around my throat. Does he know about me and Colt?
Hunter walks in giving Jenna a quick kiss before making us all sit down on the couch in the living room. He is acting weird and worried which makes me uncomfortable.
“What's going on?” Jenna asks him.
He puts down a manila folder on the coffee table in front of us. Jenna opens it and we both lean over so we can read the papers inside together. The first page is a court document about a custody agreement. The more I read it the more I am confused by it. This can’t be right. “Explain this Hunter.”
“What you are looking at is a custody agreement between your mom and your dad.”
Jenna next to me has turned into a lifeless statue. I flip through the papers and find a court-ordered paternity test. There it is, in black and white. My adoptive father is my actual dad. Our dad.
How could he do this to us? To Jenna? All this time, he treated her like trash when he knew exactly that she was his daughter too. That fact is worse than anything else. I don’t even care that he lied to me my whole life considering what he did to Jenna. He let her be in foster care, his own daughter. He separated us, kept me from my mother just to keep his disgusting charade up. I think I’m going to be sick. I can’t believe I actually came from a man like that. I thought I hated him before, but today my hatred has reached a new level. I don’t care what he is threatening with. I will never again do anything he wants me to.
I glance over to my sister. She is so pale and still, she looks like a porcelain doll. The only thing giving away that she is living and breathing is the tears pouring out of the corners of her eyes.
“Oh Jenna,” I say, throwing my arms round her. She leans into me and starts sobbing loudly. In an instant, everything from last night is forgotten. Her whole body shakes as she holds on to me like I’m her life line. We stay like this for a long time, before her sobs subside a little and she pulls away.
“I need to get some fresh air,” I say.
“You go, we got her,” Eliza nods at me and takes my seat after I get up. Grabbing my phone on the way out, I stuff it in my back pocket. I walk to the back of the house and sit down under a tree that is far enough away for anyone to hear me. Desperate to hear Colt’s voice, I get my phone out and dial his number. Just before I hit send, Hunter appears out of nowhere.
“Hey, you okay?” I’m so startled that I drop the phone. Luckily it lands with the screen down.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Really,” I try to assure him, but even I can’t believe myself. I’m anything but okay right now.
“I just wanted to give you these,” he says and dangles a set of keys in front of me. The situation is too odd, that is takes me a few seconds to realize that he is holding my keys. The same keys I’ve left at Colt’s place.
I open my mouth but nothing comes out. How the hell did he get these? Hunter sits down next to me and lays down the keys in the grass. “Colt came by my house last night. He’s the one who gave me the file. He figured it would be best if you and Jenna were together when you found this out, so he asked me to do it.”
With my mouth still hanging open, I take the keys and hold them in my hand. Colt went to see Hunter. What did Colt say to him though? Does Hunter know we are together? I peek over at him half expecting him to be mad. If he is, he is not letting me see it.
His eyes are soft and his smile seems genuine. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Colt like this. I didn’t think I would ever see my friend again.”
At his admission my nervousness dials back a little and my vocal cords decide to work again. “Did he tell you?”
“That you’ve been seeing each other? Yeah. I thought he was full of crap at first. He showed me the picture of you two at some club. You looked so happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like you did in that photo.”
“I love him.”
“I know, he loves you too. I want to be happy for you.” He leaves the ‘but’ unspoken, even though we both know it's there. He might want to but he can’t be happy for us. Knowing that Jenna is never going to be okay with this.
“You need to tell her. I can’t keep this from her.” He looks at me apologetically before he rises to his feet and walks back towards the house. I liked Hunter before, but now I feel even closer to him. For the first time I feel like we have something in common. We share Colt’s friendship. Hunter knows the part of Colt he tries to hide so much. He understands why I love him. Now I just have to get my sister to understand.
Colt picks up on the second ring. “Hi.”
“Did you wait for me by the phone?”
“Kind of. I was worried about you.”
The image of Colt sitting next to the phone, waiting for it to ring, brightens my mood a tad bit. “It’s okay. Hunter is here, and he just showed us the documents. Also, he gave me back my keys. Thank you for what you did. You were right, I’m glad we were together when we found out.”
“You okay with all of this?”
“Okay is definitely the wrong word. More like, disgusted, hateful and furious. I can’t believe what he did. Beyond what I’m feeling towards my father I’m worried about Jenna, she is heartbroken to say the least. I’m so mad at him for doing this to her. I don’t think I can stand to be in the same room with him again.”
“You don’t have to be. We’ll figure something out. For now, just spend time with your sister. Just be there for her and don’t worry about anything else today. Call me in the morning, okay?”
“Okay, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
When I get back into the house, Jenna is crying again. Hunter is cradling her in his lap and Eliza is sitting next to them, holding her hand. My heart is breaking just seeing her like that.
How could anybody be so cruel and heartless?
My phone vibrates in my hand a
nd I tilt it up to see who it is. When I see the name flashing across the screen, I go from heartbroken to furious in zero point two seconds. Every muscle in my body tensing up.
“Yes,” I answer my father’s call through gritted teeth.
“I need you to cut your visit short and come back home. We have something important to talk about,” he growls in the phone.
I don’t know why I answered the damn phone. I shouldn’t have. Hearing his demeaning voice, while seeing my sister crying her eyes out, mixed with all the emotions boiling inside of me, is just too much. Something inside me snaps and literally see red.
Words starting to pour out of my mouth uncontrollable and unescorted. “How dare you? You selfish, fucking prick! Do you think about anyone else besides yourself? How could you do this to us? To her? Your own flesh and blood! You are nothing more than scum, no, you are less than scum. You are a disgusting piece of…,” my rant is cut short when Hunter rips the phone out of my hand and hangs up.
My hands are shaking and my chest is heaving as I’m trying to reel in my rage. I can’t believe I just did that. Everything seems so unreal.
It isn’t until hours later that I really start to realize the extent of today's revelations. My life as I know it is over. My parents are not my family anymore. I won’t ever let them be part of my life again. I don’t care what my father is threatening us with. I will never be in the same room with them again and I am sure as hell never going to call him dad again.
The irony of that is not lost on me. The man I thought was my adoptive father was always ‘dad’ to me. Now that I’ve learned he is actually my father, I refuse to call him so. How can I? Just thinking about calling him dad now, makes bile rise in my throat.
The term ‘dad’ is reserved for someone who cares for their child, protects them, offers support, and loves them unconditionally. None of these apply to the man I used to call dad.
The rest of the day passes in a blur. Between being angry, sad, and missing Colt, I don’t have much time to think about what I’m actually going to do now. All I know is that I want Colt to be here now. I want to touch him and I want him to hold me like Hunter is holding Jenna right now.
Since I can’t have Colt here with me right now, I have to be satisfied with hearing his voice on the phone. I’ve already snuck out twice to call him and just to talk for a few minutes. This time, I excused myself to go to bed and I’m planning to fall asleep with Colt on the other line.
“Hey babe,” Colt’s voice comes through the phone. I instantly feel better, calmer and saner. I’ve never been a big fan of pet names, but just hearing Colt call me babe made me change my mind. I used to think people just give each other stupid pet names because they were scared to call their partner by the wrong name. When Colt says it, I just feel adored and giddy inside.
“I’m so tired,” I whine.
“I know, just go to sleep and get some rest. We’ll start figuring out stuff tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I…” A loud crash coming from downstairs makes me jump off the bed. Apparently, even Colt heard it. “What was that?”
“I don’t know. Someone downstairs. I’ll call you right back.”
“No, wait…” I end the call before he can finish. Stuffing my phone in my pocket, I’ll run down the hallway. Before I even make it to the staircase, I hear people shout downstairs. Jenna is screaming on top her of lungs, piercing my heart like an arrow. I fly down the stairs as fast as I can when I hear more voices, male voices. Confused I follow the shouting and screaming, running into danger like a moth to the flame.
A large body slams into me, the moment I enter the living room. Unforgiving arms come around me, lifting me right up off the ground. Another guy is holding on to Jenna and I catch a glimpse of Hunter knocked out on the floor.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening. My heart is racing at a million miles per hour and my whole body is shaking with fear.
All the hitting, kicking, and scratching in the world wouldn’t give me a fighting chance against the six foot, three hundred pound guy with the death grip on me. That doesn’t stop me from trying.
“Let. Me. Go.” I struggle against him as much as I can, but there is no budging. I feel a sharp prick in my neck and a moment later the world goes dark.
18
Colt
Pacing the length of my living room for the fiftieth time, I check my phone once more. She said that she would call right back. That was fifteen minutes ago, and I’m on the verge of losing it.
It’s probably nothing. Surely I’m over thinking it.
I dial her number again. There seems to me an eternity between each ring leading up to her voicemail kicking it. Scrolling down my contact list I stop at Hunter's name. He’s there, and he knows about me and Josie anyway. The only problem with calling him is Jenna. What if she picks up his phone or sees my name showing up on the screen? How would I explain me calling Hunter?
Two minutes and three unanswered calls later, I’d had enough. I dial Hunters number and hope for the best. Three rings, four rings, five, and six, still no answer. By the time his voicemail picks up, I’m already out the door.
Something is wrong. I can feel it. Josie is in trouble.
I break about every speed limit there is, glad that the road to the beach house is not busy and being more than thankful that Josie gave me the address before she left. I keep trying Josie’s and Hunter’s phone, neither answers. The hope that one of them does pick up diminishes with every try, the feeling in my gut getting worse.
With squealing tires, I turn into the driveway and park behind Hunter's car. I run up the stairs and leading to the front door which is wide open.
The house is quiet, too quiet. I yell for Josie even though deep down I know she isn’t here. I franticly search the house, stopping dead in my tracks when I reach the living room.
Back door open, broken glass on the floor, chairs and side tables knocked over. Someone fought in here. The image of someone hurting Josie, her thin fragile body fighting with someone, ignites a rage inside me I’ve never known before.
A groan coming from behind the couch lifts the veil of fury from my mind. I quickly move around the room and check where it came from.
“Hunter!” I crouch down next to my friend and roll him over to lie on his back. “Hunter, can you hear me?”
A large gash on the side of his head is bleeding, but scanning his body, that looks to be the only injury. He groans again and I can tell that he is trying to open his eyes. I’m torn between telling him ‘it's okay, you need to relax’ or immediately demanding to tell me what's happened. “Colt?” He finally opens his eyes enough to where he can see me. Clearly struggling to get the worlds out he says, “they took them, they took the girls.”
I thought I knew what it meant to be scared. Surely I’ve been through enough shit in my life to know what it feels like to be scared. I was wrong. Nothing could have prepared me for the gut wrenching fear that was chilling my bones in this moment.
Someone took Josie. My Josie.
I hear a phone ringing somewhere in the distance but I’m still paralyzed by fear.
“Get that, Colt. It’s Elisa’s phone. Answer it,” Hunter orders. When I don’t move, he grabs my arm and shakes me. “Colt! Get the damn phone!”
Pushing myself off the ground, I follow the ringtone. Her phone is on the floor in between pieces of broken glass. As soon as I answer the call, Jaxon’s voice come through the phone. “Hey, I was worried.”
“Jaxon, it’s Colt.” There is only a second of silence before Jaxon starts yelling into the phone. Threatening to kill me in every painful way he could think of.
“You need to come here, the girls are in trouble and Hunter is hurt,” I say loudly before hanging up. I know there is no way he would listen to anything I’d say right now, so I’m not even going to try to explain anything else.
Hunter’s phone rings before I’m back by his side with a clean towel. I have to help him sit up and push the
rag on his bleeding wound. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and answers with a groan, “Jax, just listen to Colt.” With his face contorted in pain, he hands me the phone and cradles his ribs.
I take the phone from him and hold it to my ear. I can hear Jaxon curse quietly on the other end but he lets me talk. “I know what this sounds like but I need you to trust me right now and just get here as fast as you can. Hunter has a huge gash on his head and then we have to find the girls.”
I can hear Jaxon’s car rev up in the background. “I’m already on my way. But I need you to tell me right now what’s going on. Who’s got the girls and why the hell are you there?”
“I’m here because I was worried about Josie, she told me that she was going to call right back and she didn’t. I called a million times and no-one answered so I got in the car and drove over here. Found Hunter bleeding on the floor and the girls gone. I don’t know who took them but considering the circumstances I would guess that her dad had something to do with it. I’ll explain about me and Josie when you get here. I got to get Hunter help, he is bleeding pretty badly.”
I fully expect Jaxon to laugh or tell me off, or both. Instead he just says, “okay,” and hangs up.
Well, that went better than I thought it would.
It should have taken Jaxon about three hours to get here from his place. Somehow he manages to get here in two hours and fifteen minutes.
By the time he walks through the door, I’ve got Hunter patched up and walking around. We meet Jaxon in the hallway which suddenly seems too small for the three of us. Jaxon is visibly furious, his whole body tense and his hands forming tight fists by his side. He glares at me with hateful eyes and for a moment I’m sure he is about to attack me.
Hunter must see it too, he steps between me and Jaxon. “Jax, he is here to help. You can still hate him but right now we need to work together. He really does love Josie, and he is going to help us find the girls.”
The Lies We Tell: An Enemy to Lovers Young Adult Romance (Pushed Aside Book 3) Page 10
