9

 

The Good Fight

Demi

 

 

There’s a party in Loveless. By the time we get up the hill that evening, the northern side of the lake is lit up like Aurora Borealis with its blue-pink flood lamps, masses of twinkle lights, and the effervescent beauty of candles. Loveless gleams like a polished stone. A massive white tent sits erect on the shore where guests stream from its every orifice. I recognize the house behind it. It’s the same one that held the Christmas party when I first arrived.

“Would you look at that?” I hug Gavin’s arm a little tighter. I haven’t let go all the way home—home. A smile skirts my lips at the thought of Loveless being my anything. “Looks like each time I arrive, they throw a party.”

A dull laugh trembles from him. “That’s because we’re meant to be.”

I take in a soothing breath. I like the sound of Gavin and I being meant for each other, no matter how warped and twisted the circumstances. Fate is a funny creature, perhaps more to the point, a moody bitch, but, in the end, I’m here with Gavin. It could be worse. I could still be Nora’s prisoner or dead myself.

“Besides”—his cheek hikes up on one side—“I’m taking you. Kennedy texted this morning saying she was having some sorority event. All her buddies from Yeats are there.”

“Sum Cum Loud.” I give a wry smile at the sorority girls’ expense. “Party, huh?” The lights grow brighter as we drive further in, and I can already feel the bass thumping through the window. “I don’t know.” The closer we get, the lower I sink in my seat. Just the thought of seeing all of those people after months have passed—especially with them knowing the things they do about me… ironically, I’m not made of steel. I’ve always cared what people thought about me, perhaps too much. I can’t help it. I have an innate desire to be liked, loved. Pathetic. It makes me cringe on the inside. I glance at Gavin, and my chest bursts with heat at the thought of how much he loves me. He found me after all these months—gave up his business for me. As soon as I can, I plan on rectifying that.

“It’ll be great, I promise.” He tweaks my knee before returning his attention to the road. “We don’t have to stay long. Ace and Reese are dying to see that you’re okay. I swear they would never judge you.”

“Sounds like true friends.” I’m pretty sure they judged me as soon as they heard what I did—or tried to do for a living. Ironic since I still managed to ruin what little reputation I had left.

Gavin parks at his cabin and we walk the equivalent of two city blocks to get to the heart of the party. The August air hangs heavy, perfumed with night jasmine and fresh cut evergreens. I bet Gavin had a hand in that.

The music stretches to the sky in slow, soothing ribbons as a blues song belts into the night. The ground hums beneath our feet, my bones vibrate along to the tune of the weepy love song.

Kennedy’s sorority sisters have shown up in droves. Miles of platinum blondes surround us. Throngs of girls in sheer tops and bottom-hugging skirts mill around the vicinity. It’s all boobs and giggles as the festivities get under way, and a part of me feels as if I’m right back at Reeva’s. This may be every frat boys dream, but I’m not sure I like exposing my man to such high doses of bleach and silicone.

“Gavin!” A female voice shrills above the music as Reese waves her way over. Ace is at her side, and before I know it I have two of the nicest people ogling me like I’ve just stepped off an alien spacecraft.

Crap. I knew this wouldn’t go over well—prostitutes as girlfriends rarely do.

“Emmy, you’re here.” Reese shrugs as if she’s unsure if it’s a good thing. “Are you okay? We were so worried.”

Am I okay? I pose the question to myself, unable to even conceive an answer. Nora hogtied my mental stability, poured gasoline over my sanity, and lit a match. If that’s okay then I’m fine. But there’s something about Reese that screams genuine. I can’t help but relax a little. I wonder if that’s how I would react if my father were to materialize here at this sorority party of all places. For years I would imagine he’d simply appear from nowhere. It seemed so possible, every venue a plausible location for the bizarre encounter—the school hallway, the mall, coming out of a stall in the ladies room. It would be more believable for me to see him anywhere than to accept the fact he’s gone forever. Death has always felt like more of a cruel joke than a harsh reality. It’s far too unimaginably barbaric to ever be real.

“I’m fine. I promise.” I look to Gavin for help. A part of me wants to tell them everything—tell them it’s not at all as it seems—that I haven’t slept with anyone but Gavin all year (which for me is a record).

“She’s great.” Gavin wraps his arm around my waist. “She needs a lawyer.” He leans into Reese. “Do you think we can talk to your dad?”

I envy Reese for the simple fact she can speak with her father.

Her mouth rounds out as she shoots a quick look to Ace. “I don’t think he does that kind of law. He’s mostly corporate.”

A seam of heat spears through me as she says that kind of law.

“This is corporate,” Gavin is quick to correct. “It has to do with her father’s steel mill. She wants to get her fair share from her stepmother. She’s locked her out.”

“Oh! Yeah.” Reese gives a circular nod. “He totally does that. I’ll let him know, first thing.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. I didn’t realize Reese’s father was an attorney. I feel less intimidated by the legal process already. But knowing Nora, she’s ten steps ahead of me, and it’ll take much more than a competent attorney to get my fair share—it’ll take a shotgun.

“Dude.” Ace smacks Gavin in the gut while looking over his shoulder. “You remember Caleb?”

“Warren’s cousin who used to hang out for the summer?”

“Yeah, he’s back.” Ace nods toward the makeshift bar.

“He’s working with my father.” Reese says before turning to me. “My father and Warren’s dad are law partners. I’m glad that all that bullshit between Warren and me didn’t affect their relationship. They’ve been friends for years. Anyway, my dad says Caleb is on his way to becoming a real powerhouse. Believe me, it’s not easy to impress my father.”

It was never easy to impress my father either, but now it’s downright impossible. I’d say it in jest, but I don’t think she’d find it funny. I’ve used sick humor and sarcasm as a crutch for so long, I don’t put too much thought into it anymore. Thankfully Eva is fluent in both. She’s been a life raft in this cold, dark ocean my father’s death plunged me into, then Gavin came in the form of a yacht. It’s easy to believe I don’t deserve someone so wonderful as him. My father would say I did.

“Yeah, well”—Ace pulls Gavin in by the shirt for a closer look—“Zoey remembers him, too.” He lifts a finger over at Zoey pole climbing some guy at the bar. “Looks like she means business.”

“Crap.” Gavin stalks over, and we follow. Zoey, in typical Zoey fashion, is doing her best to keep from spilling her drink with one hand while attempting to molest the hell out of the tall, dark, buffed out powerhouse. She isn’t too particular when it comes to social hookups although from where I’m standing, he looks like an upgrade from Warren.

Kennedy is manning the bar, or, more to the point, the situation because it looks as if she’s withholding a bottle of vodka, either that or getting ready to down it herself—or maybe she’ll pour it over their heads? Baptism by Grey Goose. But I know for a fact Zoey isn’t interested in being reborn. She’s grown fond of freely fornicating. That’s her religion. I should know. It used to be mine.

“Caleb.” Gavin gives the tall, linebacker-built attorney a fist bump. “Keep it clean. That’s my little sister.”

He slaps his arm and pulls him into a man hug. “I’m hands off tonight. I promise.” He nods over at the rest of us while Zoey takes a moment to scowl at her brother.

Caleb’s relational connection to Warren is pretty clear. He sort of looks like him if you were to rearrange Warren’s features and make him stunningly handsome. I can see why Kennedy is closely monitoring the situation. Judging by that wanton look in her eye, she wants him for herself.

“Ignore him. I always do.” Zoey slips in and wraps an arm around Caleb’s waist. Zoey’s skin glows white in a plunged neckline dress that makes Gavin grit his teeth with mild disgust. Her hair flows with the evening breeze, and her red lipstick sirens through the colorless night. Zoey is out on the prowl, hunting for a bedmate, and, by the way she’s giggling like a schoolgirl, it’s obvious she’s found her prey for the evening in Caleb. Zoey does a double take in my direction. “Fuck. That. Shit.” She shrieks, letting us know how wasted she is. “The hooker is back!”

A fire rips through me from head to toe. I’m about to F that shit when I stick my heel up the rear of that bandage of a dress she’s wearing.

“Zoey,” Gavin barks.

“No, it’s okay.” It all feels dreamlike—nightmarish with the music crackling through the speakers, the millions of twinkle lights making me dizzy at every turn. “She’s just stating a fact.” I try to swallow down my embarrassment, but, in truth, I’m numb to all of this. Deep inside, I doubted that anyone could look at me with a straight face ever again. Why should they? For so long I couldn’t even look in the mirror.

“Stop.” Reese looks like she’s ready to shake me. “That doesn’t define you—and it doesn’t give Zoey the right to act like a spoiled brat.”

“Who you calling a spoiled brat?” Zoey stumbles forward nearly tripping over her own feet.

“She’s loaded.” Gavin tries to stabilize her, but Kennedy beats him to the punch.

“Let me.” Kennedy shoots Caleb a dirty look. “Little girls can’t hold their liquor.”

“How about big girls?” His lips twitch like he’s flirting.

Kennedy doesn’t bother to answer, she just disappears into the crowd with Zoey.

“Seriously”—Gavin nods to him—“steer clear. My sister is a no-fly zone.”

She’s a fly-zone all right—and a landing strip, and an entry gate where the masses line up for a free ride, but I bite my tongue on that one.

Nevertheless, I admire how Gavin protects those he loves, tooth and nail. I know he wants the best for Zoey, but even a train wreck like me can see that Zoey is determined to do whatever the hell she wants—with whomever the hell she wants. Gavin just so happens to have the big brother blinders on.

“Got it.” Caleb holds his hand up a second.

“My sister, too.” Ace teases, giving his buddy a quick sock to the arm. “So what’s going on? Reese says you’re ready to open up shop.”

“Demi needs a good lawyer.” Reese widens her eyes at me as if a light bulb went off.

Gavin pulls me in. “Caleb—this is my girlfriend, Demi.” He rattles out the details I shared with him earlier about Nora and her money grabbing ways. “Do you think you can help?”

His fingers curl over his beer. “Let me dig around. If your stepmom is pulling something, odds are she’s covered her tracks pretty well.” He mulls it over for a second. “Would you be okay with it if we paid her a visit?”

“What?” A sharp sting rips from my belly. Just the thought of seeing Nora or Josh anytime soon makes me want to vomit. I blow a slow breath from my lips. “Like an arbitration meeting? In your office?” A small room couldn’t contain the murderous tension I’d bring to the table—but then it’d probably be dwarfed by the homicidal thoughts Nora would be having. I’d know firsthand what Daniel felt the second they dropped him in that lions’ den.

“No.” Caleb shakes his head at the idea. “Just something off the record. Do you have an excuse to visit? Maybe collect some of your old things? That way I could feel her out.”

The ground sways beneath my feet. I glance up at the evergreens as their fingerlike braches claw toward me with the wind. Nora always makes the world feel like a dangerous place. Those pink walls form around me like an alternate dimension, and my chest clamps tight as a straight jacket. It takes a second to catch my breath.

“Do you think that’s the best strategy?” If he says yes, I’ll do it.

“I’m pretty sure your stepmother has built a steel fortress around herself. Sometimes the only way to take down Goliath is with a simple stone.”

“Simple stone,” I repeat. That’s the same analogy I tied to Gavin just this afternoon. Maybe that’s a sign? Maybe Caleb is the stone we need. I try to keep my knees from buckling. “I’ll do it.”

Gavin cinches his arms around my waist. He’s holding me from freefalling into the past.

“Do you need her number to set this up?” I’m already looking for an out. “I’m not sure I have it anymore.”

“No. We’ll do a few drive-bys and try to catch her at home. If we can’t pin her down or she refuses to open the door, I’ll go ahead and file the docs as soon as possible.” His features grow serious. “You should pray we catch her off guard. We’re going to need a miracle. Are you still in?”

I look up at Gavin, at the man whose family was blown apart by my adolescent angst and give a bleak smile. The fact Gavin and I found each other—that we fell in love—that is a miracle. I have a feeling I’ve used up any special favors God is willing to throw my way. With Gavin in my life, maybe I don’t need any part of the mill? My stomach turns at the idea because every cell in my body knows I do. That damn mill belonged to my father. It’s the only part of him I have left.

I give Caleb a peaceable smile. “I’m still in.”

Nora blinks through my mind like a seizure.

It’s time to nail that bitch to a wall.