Ari
My heart pounds in my chest as I duck into my car and slide into the seat beside Claire.
The girl chews on a piece of French toast, observing me from the corner of her eye. The tears on her face have dried, leaving streaks of black mascara in their wake. She passes a hand across her cheek absently, settling down into the cozy seat of my car. Apparently she’d taken an Uber here.
“I’m telling you, this dude is so disgusting, Ari.” She sighs as though she hadn’t gotten herself into this mess, shaking her head and munching on another slow bite of breakfast.
“Well tell me where this disgusting Daniel is and we can get him out of our life for good.” I shoot back, narrowing my eyes on the road.
Sorry, Noah. I know I’d promised not to do this without you, but sometimes a girl has to look out for her sister. Plus, I still had that fat wad of cash and the check he’d given me. All I had to do was cash it and we could put this behind us. Not to mention the trouble that my fiancé’s reputation was already in. If anyone caught wind of him dealing with a druggie, his career would go completely up in smoke.
I couldn’t let that happen.
Partially because I cared about him, and partially because I needed him to stay rich for our marriage so that I could keep my parents afloat a little while longer.
“I though Noah forbade you from doing this.” Claire mutters with a roll of her eyes, “Aren’t you going to be a good little future wifey and do as your told?”
I knew she was goading me and I knew I was fool for letting her, but I reached over, grabbed the paper plate of breakfast and tossed it out my open window while Claire lurched upwards in shocked vexation.
“What the hell, Ari? That was damn good food!”
I choose not to answer, glaring at her instead while she pouts and crosses her arms. I swear to god, if there was anyone I so loved and wanted to murder, it was my twin sister.
“Now tell me where to find this guy.” I mutter, taking a hard left onto the interstate. I look behind me, wary of Noah’s car, but I don’t see it anywhere.
Still pouting, Claire tugs her phone from her pocket and dials a quick number.
“Yeah.” She says quietly, “I’ve got the money… Yeah.” The seedy voice on the other end of the line spouts off some more things that I can’t quite make out while Claire grimaces in her seat. After a second she interrupts with a simple, “Okay.” And hangs up the phone.
“Real catch of a guy you’ve been dealing with, huh?” I mutter in irritation, gripping the steering wheel just a little tighter.
“Take this exit.” She says simply, not arguing. We both know it’s true. The shame on her face is as apparent as the disappointment on my own.
I glance around, taking in the streets. We’re in a decent part of town, one that’s vaguely familiar. There had been a boutique here once that Claire and I have loved. I remember the area well enough to know there’s a bank on the edge of the city. I can cash Noah’s check there.
“You know, what were you even thinking?” I continue, my rage swelling up slightly, “I mean… drugs? Really, Claire? You get on to me for smoking but you’re doing drugs?”
“Drugs?” She repeats, startled by the accusation, “You think I’m on drugs?”
At a stoplight, I turn to stare at her in equal surprise. Our eyebrows have risen to exact same heights, our lips mirror ‘o’s of disbelief.
“You mean you’re not on drugs?”
“I’ve never touched a cigarette, you know that.” She sputters back, “What the hell are you going on about drugs for?”
“…If it wasn’t for drugs then what was it, Claire?” I ask quietly, frown yanking my lips lower.
Just what had my sister gotten into?
“Actually, hold that thought.” I mutter, dashing into the bank.
Twenty minutes later and a quick interrogation from the bank teller later, I’m back in the car with 20 solid grand in cash. Fortunately, the teller was one who was familiar with my family. Though he had a few questions about the large withdrawal, he wasn’t too perplexed.
“You’ll see soon enough.” Claire mumbles, sinking slightly in the seat as she directs me further into town.
The buildings are still rather nice, and some have only recently been built. In all honesty, I’m surprised that a drug dealer would be working out of an urbanized area like this. I could even see a handful of shiny new cop cars darting about.
As the silence in the car got heavier and heavier, Claire abruptly sits upright in her seat and turns to me, leaning across the middle console.
“Are we there?” I jump, startled by her sudden movement.
“No. I just want to know about this thing with Noah… are you still… you know, hung up on him? It was so hard on you before.”
“It was hard on me.” I agree, turning down another side road.
Just like last night was hard on me.
Noah was so confusing. First he rejects me, leaving me to stare at my door all night long and hope that he joined me in the bedroom, then he all but attacks me the next morning.
What game was he playing at? Did he have any feelings or attraction for me at all? I couldn’t tell.
It wasn’t fair how much I wanted him, when he could just flipflop so easily on how he acted.
“It’s still hard on you.” She murmurs, chewing the corner of her mouth, “Look at your face, Ari, it’s all written right there. This guy is just using you-”
“I’m using him as much as he’s using me.” I snipe back, “We need the cash I’ll get from this marriage. Mom and Dad need it. You need it.”
“Mom and Dad need to grow up, Ari. You can’t support them forever.”
I don’t answer, clutching the steering wheel tighter. Mom and Dad had given us everything we’d ever wanted growing up. I had to repay the favor now. They needed someone to take care of them.
Didn’t they?
“He’s going to be here.” Claire whispers abruptly, her face slowly draining of color.
She gestures towards a small parking lot in front of a newly built building. The streets are empty, the windows covered with tarp.
“What is this?” I ask with a groan, “Are drug dealers building offices now?”
“I told you it wasn’t drugs.” Claire scowls, throwing open the car door and stepping outside. She squints in the brightness of the afternoon, chewing her lip again as she stares at the building. The door is slightly proper open, inviting us inward.
“So, disgusting Daniel is in there?” I repeat, casting a careful glance around. This street is still being built up, though there are no construction workers. None of the cop cars I’d seen around are lazily circling here either.
We’re all on our own.
“Inside.” Claire sighs, scuffing a shoe on the ground, “I wish you hadn’t thrown out that breakfast. I’m still so hungry…”
Instead of responding, I grab her hand and drag her towards the open door of the small building.
As we step inside, Claire shuts the door behind us, lingering in the front. The smell of paint is strong inside the building, though it’s more put together than I expected it. Rows of beautifully painted canvases dot the walls between oversized watercolors.
“What… what is this?” I breathe, turning in a slow circle before staring in wonder back at my now blushing sister.
“I’m opening a gallery Ari.” She grins, pressing her hands to her cheeks, “Or I will be, once Daniel is satisfied.”
“Wait so he’s not a drug dealer?”
“I’m not.” The man grunts as he enters the side door of the room, two burly men at his side, “But I am a man who demands timely payment for services rendered.”
“…services rendered?” I ask softly, drawing closer to Claire. The happy aura around her has vanished, leaving her trembling at my side.
Whoever Daniel was, he was truly disgusting.
“Your dear sister took out a loan from me to purchase this place. She has failed to pay me back.”
“I have the money.” I say quickly, “Plus ten grand for interested.”
“You have all hundred thousand then?” He laughs, shaking his head, “I doubt that, darlin’. We all know the state of your family lately.”
“Hundred… hundred grand?” I gasp, clutching at my chest shock. I could all but feel my heart go into overdrive. I whirl on Claire, who once again has tears on her cheeks.
“I suppose she didn’t tell you how much she owed.” Daniel smirks, “Pity that.”
The men walk forward, standing beside us. Even if we tried to bolt, we’d never make it to do the door. There’d be no one around to hear us scream.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to be with a pair of twins.” Daniel grins, walking forward. He circles us slowly, like a shark, “Perhaps you two will indulge me?”
Claire gives a throaty sob, clapping her hands over her face in an attempt to quiet herself. Daniel reaches forward, caressing her cheek, “Come on now, Claire, it won’t be so bad, will it? I’m a gentleman… though I may not be gentle.”
I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t just stand there and watch some guy with a Napoleon complex mock and degrade my sister. My arm was pulling back before I even had time to think, releasing and sending a single hard punch straight into Daniel’s jaw. He was so shocked by the hit that he stumbled to the side, toppling over onto the ground while one of the burly bodyguards turned on me with a roar, grabbing my arms and pinning them painfully behind my back while the other snatched Claire roughly.
“You bitch!” Disgusting Daniel hollered, lunging at me. I kicked at him, though he grabbed my leg, wrenching to the side so he could press between my legs while I screamed all the obscenities at him I could think of.
“You talk a big game, little girl.” He grins, grabbing the belt around my jeans, “I’ll have to shut you up-”
“You’ll have to take your hands off of my fiancée.” Another voice interrupts as the door busts open.
Noah stands there, looking more handsome than he’d ever looked in my life. Tears instantly burst into my eyes.
“Who the hell are you?” Daniel growls, pulling away from me. The bodyguards reach towards the guns in their pockets.
“The man who brought the cops with him.” Noah smirks back, crossing his arms over his chest, “So unless you want to explain all this to the sergeant…”
Daniel glances at the bodyguard holding me, the man’s sausage fingers curling around the gun. In one swift movement, he lifts it and points it towards the billionaire. With a screech so loud I didn’t even know it was coming from me, I twist towards the bodyguard and slam my knee upwards towards his crotch just as he pulls his finger on the gun.
The gun explodes, making Claire scream as Noah stumbles backward with a grunt. He clutches his arm, red blood bursting from his bicep.
Daniel grabs his guard, yelling for the other follow as they dash for the backdoor while sirens echo in the air.
Noah sinks down towards the ground, still holding his arm tight as I rush forward towards him.
“They shot you!” I cry, clutching at him.
To my surprise, he smiles at me, “I got lucky. He was aiming for my face. It’s because of you that he missed.” His voice is strained but grateful as the cops flood into the gallery where smoke still rose from the burst gun.
~~
“You’re going to be just fine, Noah.” The nurse smiles, finishing up the tight white wrap around his arm, “It’s a clear shot, straight through. Just go easy on it for the next little while. No gym trips.”
“I’ll be gentle.” He smirks, that beautiful lopsided grin on his handsome face.
I’ve been staring at him. I know it, he knows it, I can’t seem to stop myself.
“Ari…” He says quietly as the nurse leaves, vanishing behind the purple curtain of the ER.
The noise and bustle of the open floor is loud, but his voice cuts through it easily. Claire is down in the waiting room, watching for our parents’ arrival. The cops had called them as soon as they’d found we were in trouble.
I wait for him to yell at me, to tell me that I was stupid and reckless and all the things that I know I was. But his face is soft.
He pats the space beside him on the bed and I tentatively head towards him, sliding up at his side. With his good hand, he intertwines our fingers together and it makes my heart flutter so violently I’m sure that he can hear the rhythm against my ribs.
“You were so brave back there. You saved me, you saved your sister.”
“And I got us into that mess as well.” I mumble, ashamed.
Noah just laughs, reaching his hand up to cup my cheek. He lets his forehead rest against my own and I revel in the softness of the touch, the veiled affection in his eyes.
It’s all I’ve ever wanted to see from him.
“You did. And I hope next time you’ll let me help when I ask you to.”
“I will.” I murmur, though I hope there is no next time to speak of.
I lean into him, listening to the draw of his breath, soaking in the touch of his body on mine, and then I know I can let this question go no further.
I tilt my head back, but before I can speak he presses his lips to mine, his velvety tongue sweeping into my mouth as I lean greedily closer. We clutch each other as the adrenaline fades and the shock of our experience sets in. The kiss, once frantic, fades to gentle, then he pulls away just when I start feeling faint from lack of air.
“I don’t care what happened between us before. I don’t care why you stopped responding to my calls or why you moved, Ari. I want us to start fresh.”
I stare at him, dazed from the kiss and from his words.
“What are you talking about?” I murmur, almost slurring, drunk from the intoxication of his sweet taste. I have to focus on him as he speaks because I want so badly just to crush his lips with mine again instead of speaking.
“You left that day, after the night we had, and never answered my calls again.”
“But you never called again.” I sputter, “And when I called you the line would just ring and ring… I thought… I thought you’d gotten what you wanted and just abandoned me.”
Still holding me tight, Noah stares at me intently, confused by my words. I can see the truth in his eyes. He isn’t lying.
“How is that possible?” He frowns.
“Because of us.” My father says abruptly as he steps from behind the curtain. Claire stands by them, her eyes wide from the shock. I was glad she was here to provide me a mirror of what my face must look like, drawn and pale.
“We discovered what had happened between you two. We could not allow it to continue. We blocked the number and sent Ari and Claire off for schooling.”
“You… You blocked Noah so that I couldn’t call him? I was heartbroken, you both know that!”
“At the time he was below us, Ariana. We could not have you fraternizing with him. Now it’s different!” My mom interrupts, as though I would be able to so easily forgive them for what they did to me all those years ago.
I had loved Noah, fully and completely, and they had taken him from me.
“Get out.” I whisper, too furious to be loud.
My mother objects, though Dad grabs her hand and Claire’s and pulls them away.
Mom jerks forward, clutching at the curtain, “We did what was best, Ariana. Remember that!” Before she is pulled once more out of the room.
I whip back towards Noah, tears now in my eyes. He cups my face, his expression unreadable.
“I’ve been hating you for years.” I cry out, voice strangled and taut, “I absolutely hated you-”
I was cut off by another kiss, this one deeper, more yearning than before. His lips stung on my own, aching and long. I clutch him, trying to forget the years of happiness that we could have shared.
“We could have been together!” I whisper against this mouth, sucking in a deep breath as his lips rove over my neck, his teeth grazing my earlobe.
The hospital had melted away, leaving nothing but he and I together in our bliss and melancholy.
“It doesn’t matter what we could have had.” He whispers in my ear, voice an earthy growl that makes me soul set fire, “We can’t undo that now. All that we have is our future.”
Our wedding. I’d forgotten it. It was approaching more quickly than I could have anticipated.
His mouth moves to my temple, pressing a warm, gentle kiss against the skin. My eyes close, hands curled around his bloodstained shirt.
“I love you, Ari.” He whispers, and I’m not sure that I’ve heard him correctly. I jerk backwards, staring up at him surprise.
“What?” I whisper, and his mouth covers mine, repeating the words in the sweep of his tongue and the slip of his hand behind my neck.
I love you too, my own kiss replies, savoring the flush on my face and the luxury of his lips.
Soon I would be brave enough to speak those sweet words aloud.
Though I couldn’t tell if it would be before or after our wedding.
The End, Book 1
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