“Mom? What are you doing here?”

She smiles cruelly and takes a step towards me, placing a hand over my heart. “I’m here for what is rightfully mine!”

 

“What do you want to do today? You want to come hang out with a few friends of mine? We’re having a little get together,” Justin explains as we turn onto his street.

He showed me where he lived yesterday, but we didn’t stop. It seemed like everyone here still lived with their parents, despite being in their twenties and at college. Something about it had me confused. I lived with my mother for her health, but surely that wasn’t the case for everyone here. He said he didn’t want me to meet his parents yet, so we had gone to the river instead.

Justin did, however, tell me that if I ever needed him and couldn’t call him, I now knew where he lived. At the time I had thought it was sweet, but now I’m all confused.

“Sure, why not?” I smile, excited to meet his friends and get a little more insight into who he is as a person. Zane may have kissed me, but Justin has turned up every day. He lets me talk; he listens and helps me work through things I didn’t know I needed to vent. His presence alone makes me think more clearly.

We park out the front of his humble home, the stained wood standing out from the rest of the concrete-gray homes. People are already milling about on the patio of his house and I raise an eyebrow in question.

“Okay, so the party started a few hours ago, but it’s the thought that counts.” He smirks as he climbs out of the car.

He doesn’t open my door, a small thing I’ve noticed that separates his behavior from the way Cooper, Carter, Zane and Jax behave. They all open doors for me, whether it be car or classroom.

Ugh, why am I comparing them? I follow after him and he grabs hold of my hand. I know he means it to be comforting but it feels … off.

Justin leads me through the house, pushing through the throng of hot, sweat-soaked bodies dancing. The music is so loud that I cringe until we get to the other end of the house. Justin guides me through the double glass doors and over to a keg set up on the back patio.

People are everywhere. This isn’t a small gathering of friends; it’s a party. 

Justin lets go of my hand to embrace the guy in charge of the keg. The guy is roughly the same height I am. His face is covered by a beard, so I can’t tell how old he is. Most guys with beards look older to me.

Justin doesn’t bother introducing me to his friend, so I continue my perusal of the surroundings, my gaze lingering on the pool. It’s not as pretty as the one at home but it’s still remarkable.

Pale blue tiles on the bottom of the pool make the water look like a hidden oasis. A built in spa is at the deep end of the pool. People are taking turns diving from the little overflow into the pool, which is bound to lead to someone getting hurt.

An arm wraps around my shoulder and I look up into Justin’s gray eyes as he smiles down at me before placing a cup in my hand. I look down at the frothy beer, not sure if I should drink it. Weird things happen when I drink. I think the alcohol triggers a blackout.

“Come on, Val, live a little. I swear I’ll look out for you,” he reassures, and I bring the cup to my mouth, taking a sip.

He grins, pleased. “See? Nothing happened. Come on, I’ll introduce you to a few of my friends.”

Three hours later I’m severely regretting coming to this party.

Justin introduced me to his friends, but they are definitely not the type of people I would expect Justin to be friends with. They’re all crude and every one seemed to make a remark about how tight my skinny jeans are. The more Justin drank the more he changed, becoming just as crude.

I had tipped out the beer he gave me, choosing to drink soda just in case. I need space; I excuse myself to go get a refill even though I don’t need one. When I come back, he pulls me into his lap, nuzzling into my neck.

“Justin, please stop,” I ask, trying to get up but he stops me from going anywhere with the tight grip he has on my waist.

“Aw, come on, Val, don’t go. I like it when you’re with me,” he slurs, and I push back harshly. I don’t like being manhandled and the way he’s acting is not the guy I’ve come to know.

I face him as his friends watch on, amused. “I’m leaving. Call me when you sober up.” I walk away, not looking back. I thought he might be better than the guys I was usually attracted to, but I guess not.

Nat used to say I drew in the wrong guys. They were always nice at first but it never lasted more than a couple months before they changed.

I look back, hoping maybe he has followed me to apologize, anything to show me he is the nice guy I’ve been getting to know. What I see is a beautiful, blond-haired girl draping herself over his lap while he still sits on the fold out lawn chair. He does nothing to move her.

I shake my head and walk around the side of the house wondering what I do now. Sunset was hours ago, and even though the community is crime free, who knows what animals roam the streets in a community that backs onto a forest.

I pull my phone from my pocket, glad I brought it with me, and scroll through the names on the screen. Jaxson will understand my need to get away so I call him, hoping maybe he can take me to the garden again.

The phone rings twice before it picks up, but it’s not Jaxson on the other end. “Valerie? Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. Where’s Jaxson?” I ask, unsure why Cooper would be answering Jax’s phone.

“He’s out. Do you need something?”

“Oh, um. I was just going to see if he could come and grab me from Justin’s place, but it’s alright, I’m just being stupid.”

“I’ll be there in ten.” He hangs up the phone and I can’t help the relief I feel as I put my phone back in my pocket.

I walk away from the house, getting as far as I can from the party and the loud music, choosing to wait under a street light. As I wait, I hear noises that make me aware of just how exposed I am in the street but it’s better than being around Justin right now.

A twig snaps, echoing in the night. I whirl around to see someone in the tree lines but the longer I stare, the more I’m convinced I imagine it. I could have sworn it was my mother.

After fifteen minutes I start to worry that I may have to walk home, when a set of lights illuminate the street. The car pulls up beside me and Cooper’s voice echoes out into the night. “Hello, little lady. You need a ride?”

He gets out of the car and walks around, opening the door for me while I shake my head with silent laughter. When he’s back in the driver’s side he grins over at me. “So, where to? Your personal driver awaits your instructions,” he says with faked seriousness.

“Okay, stop it. You’re weirding me out.”

He smirks. “Sorry. Just lightening the mood. I’m not as funny as Carter.” He focuses on the road and starts driving us back towards home. “Do you mind if we stop off at the store on the way? I promised the others I would buy stuff for the barbecue.”

“Sure.” Damn, if I had of known I would get the chance to stop at the store I would have brought cash with me. As it is my wallet is still in my bag. “Could I ask a huge favor?”

He glances over at me as we pull into the parking lot of the grocery store. The lights are still on so it’s obviously still open for business.

“Sure, what do you need?”

“My cash is still in my bag but I want to grab a few things for my place. I’ll happily give you the money back when we get back to the house.”

Cooper rolls his eyes. “Of course that’s okay. It’s not exactly like I’m struggling financially. You should have told us you needed things. We would have brought you here sooner.”

I blush, waiting for him to come around and open my door. I don’t like asking for handouts. I wouldn’t have said anything if I couldn’t pay him back. I should have asked my father, but now that’s he’s gone I don’t want to bother him until he gets back.

Cooper and I grab a cart, walking up the aisles one at a time. We joke and Cooper tells me about his brothers; how Zane is definitely not the person you want cooking your food. “Seriously, Val. I know you think I am over exaggerating, but I’m not. He’s really that bad.”

I laugh at the shudder that goes through him. First his mom, now Cooper. He must really be bad. “Okay, got it. Don’t accept cooking help from Zane.”

I reach up and grab a jar of instant coffee from the shelf in front of me. I don’t know if I’ll need it, but I plan to sleep in tomorrow. Who knows if there will be coffee in the house when I wake up? I’d rather lounge around in my pajamas until I’m ready to face the world.

“What about you, Coop? What are you good, or bad, at? You keep talking about your brothers.” I noticed as we walked around how he talked about the other three, but seemed to dodge talking about himself. It was him I wanted to know.

He shrugs his shoulders, grabbing burger buns from a rack and placing them in the cart before turning away. “There’s not much to tell, I guess. I like to keep to myself.”

“Come on, tell me something. Something you haven’t told anyone else,” I coax as we reach the checkout, the cart filled with a variety of items for the barbecue and my new place.

He stays silent as he pays for the groceries and I begin to wonder if he’s not going to say anything. On the drive home I sigh and face him. “Sorry, you don’t have to say anything. I’m sorry I asked.”

He smirks. “I wasn’t ignoring you, Val. I was thinking. There’s not much I don’t tell my brothers. To find something I haven’t told them is hard.”

Oh. Crap. I feel like a fool for thinking he was just ignoring me. It’s not until we arrive back at the house that he speaks again. “Okay, I think I have something, but it’s pretty deep. I want something in exchange.”

I cock my head, intrigued. “What do you want in return?” I ask as I get out of the car and take the paper bags he hands me. We bring them into the pool house, having decided it’s best to keep everything in here since it’s where we will use it tomorrow.

“I want the same thing you’re asking me. Something you’ve never told anyone.”

The bags almost slip from my grasp so I gently place them on the small kitchenette counter and walk over to the little sofa in the room. There’s only one secret I’ve never told anyone before, not even Natalie.

“Okay, you have a deal. You tell me first though. I don’t want to give up my one secret in case you back out.” I smile over at him weakly.

He finishes putting the groceries away to come and sit down with me. I huddle in the corner of the sofa, wrapping my arms around a cushion for comfort.

He rubs his hand through his soft brown hair. His hazel eyes are focused on a spot on the rug in front of us before he sighs and slaps his hands on his legs, determined. “None of this leaves here, yeah? My brothers would kill me if they found out what I’m about to tell you.”

I nod, waiting patiently. Finally he sighs and meets my eyes. “When I was nineteen I ran away. I didn’t want to live here, to be stuck in this confined community. My brothers seemed to love it here but I wanted freedom. I wanted to meet new people and explore a world I didn’t know. I was only gone for two weeks before I came back. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the outside world; I enjoyed it too much. But, without my brothers, it didn’t feel right. So I came back. I told them I just went camping. They still don’t know I left them.”

I nod, understanding his reasoning. From what I’ve found, all the families in this community believe this to be the only place for them. But Cooper discovered the same thing I had; you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.

Tears well in my eyes and Cooper’s jaw drops open. “Valerie? Shit, what’d I say?” He moves closer to me, letting me rest my head against his shoulder as I speak.

“When I was sixteen I was in a car accident. I almost didn’t survive it. I found out later I died for a minute when I was in surgery. What no one knows, though, is that the accident caused some irreparable damage. The doctors told me, after I came out of my coma, that I wouldn’t be able to have children.”

Tears still fall. To this day I still don’t understand why it hurts so much. I never wanted children. I guess knowing I can’t have them makes me want that chance back.

“Shit. That sucks, Valerie. I’m so sorry.”

We sit together for a while, the silence comfortable. I close my eyes against Cooper’s chest and feel myself relaxing. I’ll just stay here for a minute and then I’ll go to bed. Yes, that sounds good.