Are you with me? Read online

  It was time to get to the bottom of things.

  Before I even pulled out of the parking lot, I did the craziest thing possible.

  I dialed Fox’s number and hit send.

  It was a stupid thing to do. I knew that. But, if you want to know the truth then you go to the source.

  Right?

  After a few rings, he picked up. It surprised the hell out of me.

  “Now is not a good time,” he said. That was his greeting. They were the family of few words, obviously.

  “So, when is a good time?” I snapped back. I wasn’t in the mood to just dip my toes in. It was all or nothing. “We really need to talk.”

  “We do?” He almost laughed. I could hear it in his voice. “Is there a problem, Man? My fucking business isn’t one you need to go nosing around in.” He was cut and dry and to the point. Clearly, he was letting me know to keep my distance, and to shut my mouth.

  He just didn’t know me to well.

  “That’s going to be hard to do.” I rambled on, not letting him get the best of me.

  “And why’s that?”

  “Cause I’m in love with your sister.”

  The words fell loosely from my mouth, and I don’t even know where they came from. I didn’t even know if they were true.

  Were they?

  12

  Gwen

  “What is going on?” Obi shouted at me when he stormed into the house.

  His guess was as good as mine. “I don’t know. He’s been on the phone screaming for the past few minutes. I don’t even know who he’s talking to, but I’ve never seen him so pissed.” It was no use trying to figure it out. The way his arms were flailing around, and the vein in his neck stuck out, it just wasn’t a good idea to go near him, not when he’d clearly flipped his lid.

  Fox was screaming into the phone, and I was huddled in the corner just watching it all unfold. It was crazy. He looked like a mad man. Obi came in right in the middle of it all, and he was just as clueless as me. Neither one of us had an inkling who he was talking to.

  A couple of times he’d snap his head in my direction, but I recoiled like a five-year-old child. The looks he gave me were vile, and frankly it terrified me. I couldn’t help wondering if it was my fault. I mean, I knew he was upset when he brought me home. But it was like this switch flipped.

  Obi threw his hands up in the air trying to get some kind of information from him, but Fox was still yelling. Everything he was saying was cryptic. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

  And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I heard him say, “I’ll fucking meet you right now. When I get there, I’m going beat the hell out of you.”

  Obi leapt over the back of the couch, and charged at Fox just as he was ending the call. “What’s going on?” He asked Fox.

  The muscles in Fox’s jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth. “I’ve got to go.” He turned quickly and marched towards the front door.

  Obi was hot on his heels, and I wasn’t far behind. “Tell me what’s going on?” Obi continued to yell. “Who was on the phone?”

  “Stay with her.” Fox said as he jumped over the side of his car and into the seat. The convertible was rather handy.

  Fox was halfway down the drive, when Obi told me to get in the car. At that point I was beyond asking questions. I did exactly what he said.

  We were trailing Fox by a few car lengths, and could barely keep up. Neither of us knew where he was going or whom he was meeting. One thing you could count on though -whoever was on the other end of that phone, pissed off the wrong person. Fox Taylor was a machine. He was going to pummel this guy if we didn’t get there in time to stop him.

  “We’re losing him. Shit! Hold on,” Obi told me. I tightened the strap of my seat belt and grabbed the ‘oh shit’ handle. When we passed the car in front of us, I closed my eyes. My stomach felt like it dropped to my knees. Something about fast cars didn’t sit well with us. I wasn’t the ‘ride or die’ kind of chick.

  “Where’d he go?” I asked as I peeked around the right of the car in front of us. I couldn’t see his car anymore.

  “I can’t tell. I think we lost him.” His gripped tightened on the steering wheel. “Did he say anything at all about who was on the other line?”

  I paused for a minute to think, but nothing was coming to me. “I can’t remember. I don’t think he ever said a name. His words were so secretive, like he was talking in code or something.” I sighed. “I just don’t know.”

  “Don’t worry,” he told me. “We’ll find him.”

  The car in front of us finally turned, but we were too far behind. We couldn’t see Fox anywhere.

  I could hear a growl under Obi’s breath. “Try calling him,” he suggested.

  Quickly, I dialed his number, but nothing. After a few rings, his voicemail picked up.

  “THERE!” I yelled, pointing off to the right. Fox’s car was in the parking lot just off the campus drive.

  Obi slammed on the breaks, making my head jerk forward. Then he whipped the car around in his direction racing straight for Fox’s car. I glanced behind us making sure we weren’t about to be blasted from behind, but the coast was clear. My neck however, that was a different story. He could warn a girl before he decides to whip us around like that. I mean sure, it wouldn’t hurt him. He’s an All-American wrestler for crying out loud.

  My hands were planted firmly on the dash, and my elbows were locked when we came to a screeching halt. All I could do was look at him. There were no words.

  “You’re alive, so chill,” he told me before rushing out of the car.

  “No thanks to you,” I mumbled under my breath. Sheesh.

  Fox and the guy were already rolling around across the pavement in the alleyway. I could hear the loud grunts and the foul-mouthed comments as I was getting out of the car.

  I slammed the car door shut and ran to them. Obi was already trying to reach in, to break them up.

  Wait.

  No.

  It was Josh.

  Josh and Fox were having it out right in front of me. Fists were flying, and one of them was bleeding, but I couldn’t tell which one.

  “Fox!” I shouted, trying to grab his attention.

  Why were they even fighting in the first place? There was no reason for it. They barely even knew each other.

  But Josh…

  Josh was the person he was screaming at earlier. I didn’t understand. This was big ass mess. Someone had to stop them.

  “Do something,” I told Obi.

  After catching a flying elbow to his cheek, Obi was finally able to yank Fox back. Josh was up and on his feet in the blink of an eye. He stood there staring down at my brother, and standing in a way that made him look ready for more. Obi pushed Fox back against the side of the building.

  “What is going on?” I looked at Josh for some kind of explanation. Anything. Someone needed to start talking, and fast.

  He used the pad of his thumb to wipe his bottom lip. It was busted wide open, and blood was running down his chin.

  As I glanced back and forth between him and my brother, I started to get this anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. My heart was pounding so hard against my rib cage that I could hear the knocking in my ears. Did Fox know?

  “Well!” I shouted again. He stood there breathing deeply, but never said anything. I had no clue what to think. My mind was flip flopping back and forth between what happened with me and Josh on the couch, and what happened today. But Josh didn’t know about the mystery guy. How could he?

  I pleaded with my eyes for him to tell me. I wanted to ask him if it was about the other night, but didn’t have the guts to do it. There was no way I could even say the words. If my brother didn’t know, then he’d surely kill him when he found out.

  Obi was trying to talk Fox down from his anger-induced rage, but it didn’t seem to be working. His fists were still tight, and he was fighting hard against him. I wanted to help, but what c
ould I do. I was useless.

  “I’m in love with you,” Josh said, and my head snapped back in his direction.

  What?

  Ah, hell.

  Those few words caused a riot again. Fox jumped around Obi and was headed straight in his direction. There was no holding him back. I don’t know how I acted so fast, but my body seemed to have a mind of its own. I threw myself in front of Josh, like I could somehow protect him. My back was pressed against the front of him, and he was yelling for me to get out of the way, but I just couldn’t. I put both my hands out in front of me so that Fox would stop dead in his tracks. He wouldn’t hurt me, not ever in a million years. Despite all the shit he put me through, I knew that he loved me more than just about anything in the world.

  “Stop,” I pleaded. “He’s not the one you want to hurt.” The tears were on the brim of my lids, ready to spill over. But he stopped. “Please. Don’t do this. Why do you want to hurt him? It’s not him that I’m afraid of.”

  I was completely blocking out the fact that Josh admitted in front of everyone that he was in love with me. I couldn’t even process that information. It was too much. The only thing I needed to do was to get Fox to back off. No one needed to get hurt because of me, especially not Josh.

  His eyes softened, maybe not as much as I wanted them to, but they did. I took comfort in it. There was comfort in knowing that I could get through to him. Those soft eyes were meant for his “Little Bird,” his baby sister.

  For the first time, in what felt like forever, I was finally able to help him.

  “I’m sorry about what happened earlier today,” I said. Josh’s hand was placed softly in the middle of my back, and slowly moved as I spoke. “I don’t understand why the two of you are fighting.”

  “Paislee told him about what happened earlier, Bird. He doesn’t know everything, but when he said that he loved you on the phone, I flipped,” he admitted, and I could see the anger taking shape on his face once more.

  I reached out my hand and took his. “I don’t care if he knows. I don’t care if everyone knows.” There was an unexpected release of the tension I didn’t even realize I’d been holding onto. “That guy is scum. He was seconds away from taking advantage of me that night. And even though I only remember pieces of what happened, I remembered that voice. Hearing it again today freaked me out.”

  “Bird…”

  “Let me finish,” I urged. “When you picked me up today, you never asked me what I was thinking. You only asked me if I was okay. You’ll never understand what it felt like to hear that voice again. The way he breathed against the side of my face.” I shivered just thinking about it. My knees suddenly felt weak again. “I was scared. I’d never been more scared in my entire life. The one and only thing that kept me from freaking out, was knowing that you were coming to get me. Paislee said you were on your way, and suddenly I could breathe again.” The tears welled up in my eyes, and I was fighting myself, trying hard not to cry again. “Once I saw your face, I was better. I felt safe.”

  His eyes filled up with tears, and it was the first time I’d ever seen him so emotional.

  I continued, as my heart raced against my chest. “So now the secret is out. So what! I’m glad. You guys spend your entire life following orders from Mom and Dad, so that I’ll be safe and protected. But I always feel that way. Today was the only time since the incident, that I ever felt like I could be harmed in any way. You’ve done your job, and now you’ve got to stop smothering.”

  He glanced upwards like he was searching for some kind of answer that might be written in the clouds.

  “You have no idea…” He stopped and took a deep breath. The tears fell harder from his eyes like he’d been holding them in for a lifetime. “You have no fucking clue what we go through. You can’t even begin to understand, and I’m not sure you ever will. I love you so much, Little Bird. We both do.” He looked at me so intently that I almost flinched from the strength of his gaze. “This is for your own good.”

  “What? I don’t understand.” I countered. Josh’s hands grew tighter on my waist.

  “Exactly.” He shook his head. “You’ll never understand. Now get in the damn car.”

  13

  Josh

  “Nope. Fuck no!” I yelled. He was being completely irrational, and I was just seconds away from losing my shit again.

  So many thoughts were running through my head. I just told the girl I loved her, and found out that she has some serial stalker, and he wants to take her away from me. How can he not see that I’ll protect her?

  I’d protect her with my life.

  “Fox!” She shouted. “You’re being ridiculous. He’s not going to hurt me. Why can’t you see that?”

  Yeah. Why couldn’t he see that?

  “You heard me. Get in the fucking car now.”

  “You’re out of your mind.” My voice rose again. “You need to calm down. She’s not going anywhere.”

  He was around her, and back in my face before I could even blink my eyes. “This is none of your business, and I won’t tell you that again. You stay away from her, or I’ll break your fucking neck.”

  I shoved him hard enough away from me that he stumbled on his feet. “Don’t tell me what to do,” I spit out. My fists clenched at my sides.

  We stood there eye to eye, neither of us willing to back down. I didn’t just put my neck on the line for some random girl, so that I could back down when things got too hard. I was all in.

  Unfortunately, I should’ve paid more attention. I didn’t even see his fist coming. It only took one hit to my jaw, and I was on the ground. He packed such a punch that it took me a minute to realize what the hell had happened. My eye was already swelling, and I could feel it throbbing in my temple.

  Damn that hurt.

  “Now maybe you’ll keep your mouth shut. Get in the car Gwen.” Fox rambled as I did my best to sit up. When I shifted my body, I could feel the uneasiness inside my stomach twisting up in my core. I was going to be sick.

  When I locked eyes with Gwen it made it worse. Her shoulders shook as she cried. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I have to go.”

  I reached out my hand towards her, grasping nothing but air. My heart was pleading with her to stay, but every step she took away from me, felt like a knife to the heart.

  She didn’t love me back, or maybe she did, but she was scared. I couldn’t tell. The only thing I knew was that she was leaving me. She made walking away seem so easy, and I don’t know why I expected anything different. She walked out of my life just as easily as she walked in. I should’ve expected as much.

  I rested my back against the brick siding of the building, hunched over so I could catch my breath. I thought getting punched in the gut was the only way to knock the wind out of you. Man, I was wrong. Through rugged breaths, I watched as the three of them hurried from the alley. Feet pounding the pavement, and none of them looked back. She climbed into the car, and they sped off leaving me there to wallow. My bruised ego was hurting more than my bruised face.

  I stood slowly, making sure the dizziness had worn off, before I made my way out of the alley. I kept my head down in hopes that no one had seen what just happened. If my eye looked anything like the way it felt, then it was horrible. Once I climbed into my car, I rested my head on the steering wheel for a minute. I had to calm myself down, before I could look at the damages to my face. At least that was the plan.

  Lee obviously had other plans. I hadn’t been in the car two minutes, and my phone was blowing up. I had half a mind to toss it out the window, and watch it shatter into a million freaking pieces. I seriously wasn’t in the mood, and there was no way that word traveled that fast.

  I pulled down the visor and pushed back the plastic covering of the mirror so that I could see my face. I knew it was going to be bad before I even looked, because I could feel the swelling.

  It was worse than bad. Anyone who saw me would think I got my ass handed to me, not just sucker punched.
It was already a purplish-blue color and it would probably be swollen shut by morning.

  Slamming my palm against the steering wheel, I cursed him again. “Why am I so stupid?”

  My phone buzzed again. “WHAT?!” I screamed into the receiver.

  “Joshua Landon!” Lee yelled back.

  “I’m sorry,” I replied quickly. It was just instinct to snap. My nerves were rattled, I was pissed off, and all I wanted to do was get wasted and forget about the whole mess.

  “What’s going on? You ran off so quickly earlier, and I just wanted to know if you found out any more about Gwen. I’ve been worrying.”

  I leaned my head back against the headrest, and closed my eyes. “It’s a long story, Lee. I don’t want to talk about it right now. Can I call you when I get home?”

  “Yeah, sure,” was all she said.

  I wasn’t trying to be a pain. Any other time she’d be the person I’d tell everything to. I just wasn’t in the mood. My head was throbbing, and I wasn’t ready to relive it all just yet.

  “I’ll call you,” I promised.

  “If you want me to come by the dorm later, I will. Just let me know.”

  “I’m not going to the dorm. I’m going home.”

  “To your parents’ house?” She asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you want me to go with you? I don’t mind.” She offered. I just wanted to be alone.

  “I’m good.” I licked my lips. They were so dry that they hurt to touch. “I’ll text you when I get there.”

  “Okay,” she hesitated. I could tell she had more to say, but she didn’t push it. Instead she said, “I love you. Be careful.”

  “I love you too, Lee.”

  After hanging up the phone, I backed out of the parking lot and made my way towards the highway.