CHAPTER FIVE

 

A week after spending the night watching One Tree Hill with Beau, something inside me feels different. I feel different. I feel alive. Not that I hadn’t before, but now I see everything as if through fresh eyes, feel things more intensely. It’s a good change.

Whenever I hear the door across the hall open or close, my heart races in anticipation. When he drops by to say hi or, like Tuesday, cook me dinner, I feel like he’s knocking all my walls down. I never want him to leave.

The excitement that swirls inside me whenever I spend time with him, increases every moment I’m in his presence.

I’m seeing him again tonight, and this time, I’m the one cooking dinner.

Every time I see him, I get to know him a little bit more. And the more I get to know him, the more I find myself liking the man I’m crushing on.

I can’t seem to help myself.

My walk to Lily’s is suddenly stopped short when Roxy pulls on her lead, which is strange because she’s usually pulling me forwards. “Roxy, what are you doing now?”

I’m still righting myself when I hear her growling. Shocked she’d do such a thing, I rush to tug at her leash. I’m startled when I see she’s snarling at a man in a black hoody.

“I’m sorry. She’s not usually like this.”

I stroke her fur, trying to calm her down, but it’s not helping. She keeps on snarling, growling at the man in front of me.

“Be glad she’s on a leash. It would a shame if something were to happen to her,” the man warns in a waspish voice. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

My head snaps up at his cruel words, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but he’s already walking away.

Roxy whimpers and my attention turns back to her. “It’s okay, girl. It’s okay. Come on, let’s go see Lily. I bet she has some tasty treats for you.”

Roxy barks and we carry on walking, turning onto the street that houses the library where Hope works. She lives around the back, in a small house that connects with Lily’s garden. Lily’s cottage, a few other houses, and an old, closed-down church are also on the street.

No one liked living here before, but Lily took one look at my dad’s new investment and wanted it.

My uncle Mason had put in a claim to buy the library building when it threatened to go bust. Hope loves writing and working in the library. She gets to do both which makes her happy. When my dad and other uncles found out, they all invested too. All of them now own the building. Since then, Dad’s also invested in other properties on the street. The street now looks liveable, even if it is still empty on the far end. But it’s quiet, something Lily treasures.

We walk up to her cottage and I let myself in, inwardly chiding her for never locking her door. The only other people on the street are elderly. She doesn’t think they’d be a nuisance. But if the past four months have taught me anything, it’s that nothing is certain.

“Lily?” I call, dodging Willa, Lily’s one-eyed cat. Willa doesn’t let her disability stop her from doing anything, including attacking Roxy when she sees her. Roxy ignores her and steps into the house, no doubt sniffing for Peggy, Lily’s three-legged cat.

“We’re in here,” Hayden calls.

“Stop shouting,” Maddox groans.

I roll my eyes. I should have known he’d be here. Hungover.

I walk in, grinning at a suffering Maddox who is curled up on the sofa, his head on Lily’s lap. Hayden is sitting in the armchair, Mark slumped at her feet.

Since Lily only owns a three-seater and an armchair, and Maddox’s large-framed body is currently taking up most of the sofa, I do the only thing a respectful cousin would do: I jump on his legs, squashing him.

“Faith, I feel sick,” he groans.

“Shouldn’t drink so much.”

“There was a hot blonde,” he explains.

Mark grunts in agreement.

“There always is,” I mutter sarcastically.

“How you doing?” Hayden asks. “You know, after your dad blurted out you were still a virgin in front of the hot guy.”

“Mark!” I yell, glaring at my big-mouth brother.

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Um, I didn’t tell anyone.”

My eyes narrow in doubt, but then my mind drifts to Aiden. Oh, I’m going to kill him when I see him. “It wasn’t Aiden either. My dad told us.” Hayden rolls her eyes. “We told him it wasn’t funny, but he said the guy’s face was priceless.”

“What face?” I ask, horrified.

“Not sure, just said it was a picture moment. Wished he had his phone handy and everything. Said he’d put in his pocket before the juicy stuff got said.”

“I’m going to kill him. Gah! Why does he always have to make an embarrassing situation worse?” I ask.

I already know the answer before they even say it.

“It’s Dad.”

“It’s Max.” Is chorused throughout the room.

I sigh and lean back against the sofa, ignoring Maddox when he shifts his legs from under me and puts them on my lap instead.

“Dad said the guy looks like a dick and we should watch out for you,” Maddox puts in. “I’m thinking of paying him a visit. Have a talk about your virginity staying intact.”

“Maddox,” I screech. Roxy comes powering in, Peggy following at a much slower pace. “Don’t you dare do that to me. I mean it. None of you are to go near him. If you do, I’m going to start spilling secrets to certain parents. I mean, you wouldn’t want your mother finding out it was you who crashed Madison’s near date’s car into the lake, would you?”

He gasps and shoots up, as he narrows his eyes on me. “You wouldn’t?” he shouts, before wincing and grabbing his head.

I giggle at his expression. He deserves it for threatening to speak to Beau. “I so would.” I shrug, ducking my head. “He’s just a friend anyway.”

“Who likes to spend time with you? Cook you dinner? Tuck you into bed when you fall asleep on him?” Hayden asks, her gaze on her phone.

My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when she announces it to the room. Lily knew, but she’s my sister; I tell her pretty much everything. The boys, on the other hand, no. You can’t tell them anything, especially stuff like this. They’d overreact and start doing shit that would get normal people arrested. People around our area are too scared to mess with a Carter, or try to get payback. One tried and never succeeded. He ended up with slashed tyres and shaved eyebrows.

“Hayden!”

She looks up at me, her expression confused for a second, before realisation dawns across her face and she has the audacity to look ashamed. “Sorry.”

“He does what?” Mark growls.

I close my eyes for a second and groan. “Mark, please, shut up. I don’t need you interfering.”

“I thought he was just a friend?” he asks pointedly.

I glare at Hayden. “Just you wait.”

“I said I’m sorry.”

I shrug before addressing my brother. “We are. I promise. You know I can rarely stay awake after nine. I’m like an old lady. He’s just being a friend.”

“No, he isn’t. I would have just left you where you fell asleep,” Maddox adds, and I slap his thigh.

“That’s because you’re a jackass. And you’ve never been to a girl’s house to watch a movie before.”

“What’s the point in wasting time watching movies when I get what I want in the beginning?”

Total freaking jackass.

“You really need to man up. One day some girl is going to come in and sweep the floor from underneath you,” I warn him, narrowing my eyes on my brother when he grunts.

“Never gonna happen,” he tells me, kicking my legs.

“It will, Madz. And when that day comes, don’t expect me to have sympathy. The way I see it, you should be treating every woman how you treat us,” Lily adds.

“But sleeping with you would be incest,” Mark points out, looking sick.

She shakes her head at him. “That’s not what I meant. We’re your sisters, Mark. The girls you sleep with are someone’s sister, someone’s daughter. Would you like it if we were all treated like that?”

“No, ’cause I’d break their fucking legs,” Maddox growls fiercely, always the most protective over Lily. They’re closer than we are, and we’re sisters.

“Exactly. Just think of how they’re family feels when they see how upset their daughters or sisters are.”

“But they know what they’re getting into.”

“Really? Then why is Aiden always telling girls everything they want to hear, including getting Faith to bake them goods, when all he wants is a good time? He lies to them to get himself what he wants,” Hayden says, turning her nose up at the boys.

I knew I loved her.

“I’m not getting into his sex life, girls. I get where you’re coming from, but he makes them no promises. They all love him,” Maddox argues.

“You’re all dawgs.”

“Lily, you love me. And, speaking of, where’s my lunch? You promised me a BLT.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “No, you promised me lunch because I made you breakfast this morning. And if you haven’t seen the time, lunch passed hours ago.”

I glance at my phone and see that Lily is right. I’d completely lost track and now I’m running late. The chicken for mine and Beau’s dinner tonight needs to go in the oven.

“Guys, I hate to leave ya, but, well… I’m going. I’ve got stuff to do.”

“More like a dinner to cook for your fancy boyfriend, and we’re not invited.” Mark pouts, his chin to his chest as he looks at me.

“I swear, you were too spoiled as a kid. Get Mum to make you dinner.”

“Whatever. I’m going out tonight anyway.”

“I bet you are, sulky pants. Tell you what, I’ll cook dinner for you next week,” I tell him.

His ears perk up. “Promise?”

“Yeah.” I laugh, throw Maddox’s legs off me and get up. “Roxy, come, girl.”

I put her leash on before giving everyone a hug goodbye. Then we leave and make our way home to get dinner started.

 

*** *** ***

 

I’m tired from the walk back from Lily’s, but I remember to grab my post before I slug myself up the stairs.

I really wish I hadn’t offered to make dinner and instead said I’d get him a takeout. It’s too late to start the chicken now. It seems Roxy wanted to take the scenic route.

I walk into the flat and kick the door closed, not bothering to check if it’s shut properly. I didn’t sleep well last night. In fact, the past few days I’ve struggled to sleep. It’s starting to catch up with me, especially with the long days at work.

Roxy barks when I flop down on the sofa face first. My hand slowly reaches out and I pat her head as I turn to look at her.

“I’ll get you a fresh bowl of water in a sec, girl. Mummy just needs two minutes rest.”

She barks and rests her head on the edge of the sofa, watching me with those big brown eyes of hers.

Sighing, because she isn’t going to give up, I drag myself off the sofa and over to the kitchen, where I pour her some water.

“Here you go, girl.”

The pile of post on the counter calls to me, so I walk over, grabbing the mysterious package first. I hadn’t ordered anything, but then again, it could be a book Hope had recommended that I’d forgotten about. I’m always doing that.

Tearing it open, I pour the contents over the counter and find myself confused by what’s inside. In there is a DVD and a note. I turn the DVD over, and a gasp leaves my throat when I recognise the writing.

It’s mine.

Something I’d thought had been taken during my break in.

I grab the disc and the note before rushing over to the DVD player, wanting to make sure it’s what I think it is before I overreact.

Maddox’s fourteen-year-old face pops onto the screen, smiling big. Though still a child, he looks the size of an adult.

“He’s going to bring a girl,” Maddox says, rubbing his hands together.

“Don’t you dare do anything to her,” Maddison warns him, her eyes narrowed on her twin brother. “He’ll be so mad. And Daddy said you can’t touch girls.”

Maddox rolls his eyes as she walks off. Aiden comes into view next. My brother is only eleven in the video, but he looks around fifteen. Maddox drags him and a twelve-year-old Ashton away from the crowd, where they huddle in a circle.

Behind the camera, you can hear me say something to Lily as we move closer to listen, the picture bouncing with our steps.

I was nineteen when this video was taken, Lily was eighteen. I remember because we had moved out a few weeks before Mark’s thirteenth birthday and were feeling a little homesick.

You don’t hear what my cousins and brother plan, but when Aiden and Ashton move away, they have massive grins on their faces and are high-fiving each other.

“What did you do, Maddox?” Lily asks, walking over to Maddox when he’s alone.  

When he turns to her, he smiles, and his eyes soften. “Nothing he can’t handle.”

Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal echoes across the garden. I turn the camera in the direction of the sound and my laughter echoes through the speakers.

Aiden has pulled Mark’s shorts down to his knees and he’s going commando while Ashton has shoved a cake in his face.

My dad and Max come running out of the house, their faces priceless as they look torn between laughing and yelling.

Malik wins when he walks right up to Maddox and slaps him across his head. “Kid, you turn sixteen in two years. Two years!”

“And?” Maddox shrugs, unaffected.

A small grin tugs at Malik’s lips. “And, he has two years to plan how to get you back.”

Maddox pales and I start laughing behind the camera again.

Tearing my gaze from the screen and back to the note, I feel the blood rush from my face and I gag.

Call off those hooligans, otherwise I’m coming for you.

Tears fall onto the letter, the video still playing in the background. I can’t move. I can’t think. There’s nothing but fear, eating away at me.

He sent me something he’d taken from me.

He’s telling me he can come back at any time.

And I could be here next time, not at some restaurant waiting for someone who isn’t going to show.

More tears fall and a sob breaks from my lips.

I’m not sure how long I sit there. The television has long turned off, and the sky outside has blackened.

“Faith?” A voice calls in the distance, but I’m too lost in my own nightmare to register it belonging to Beau.

I whimper as Roxy gets up with a whimper of her own, her feet padding across the floor.

“Faith?”

The lights switch on and I blink. The tears have longed since dried up, but I know without seeing myself that I look a mess.

I always do when I cry.

I get horrible red eyes, dark bags under them, and a snotty nose.

“Jesus. What’s wrong? What happened?” he demands, coming to kneel in front of me.

My gaze meets his, the first thing I’ve concentrated on since the words on the letter were no longer visible due to my tears and blurred vision.

“I—” I croak out, my throat raw from crying. It hurts, feeling dry and scratchy.

“What’s this?” he asks, and looks down at the note. He takes it out of my hand and growls when his eyes rake over the words. “When did you get this, baby?”

Baby.

The soft words reach me and I relax somewhat, but tears once again fill my eyes. I didn’t think I had any more, having dried up… however long ago.

“When I got back.” I manage to find my voice, but it still comes out hoarse. “It came with….”

“It came with what?” he asks, gripping his fingers around mine. They’re warm, something I’m not at the moment. I bask in it, needing it.

“One of my homemade DVD’s. I filmed a lot as a teenager. Just birthday parties, Christmas’, New Year. He sent one with the note.”

“Where’s the envelope?”

I look around, having forgotten, then see it still sat on the kitchen counter. I point to where it is and he eyes it, nodding. When he starts looking around, searching for something, I get confused.

“What are you looking for?” I ask, looking with him, even though I have no idea what he’s searching for.

“Where’s your phone, baby?”

I feel my brows scrunch together and answer, “On the table.”

He nods and picks it up, wasting no time in swiping across the screen before holding it to his ear. I open my mouth to ask what he’s doing, but he holds his finger up, stopping me.

“No, it’s Beau Johnson. Your daughter’s friend. No. She received a note today from whoever robbed her, along with a DVD. Can you come over and sit with her, so I can take this into evidence? Yeah, no problem.” He ends the call, looking back at me.

“Who did you call?”

I want to know if it was my mum or dad. That way I can prepare to handle my mum when she comes.

When I was five, I was involved in an explosion at the club my uncles owned. It was my uncle Mason’s wedding and we were all there, but I’d got caught under some rubble and, for a moment, my mum had thought I was dead.

She’s never been able to get over that night. It’s why she’s so darn protective and can’t handle anything—even something insignificant—happening to us.

“Your dad.” I relax onto the chair, my back protesting since I’ve been sitting straight for however long. “They should be here in fifteen minutes.”

“They?”

“I think your mum was in the background asking what was wrong. I also heard someone else, but not sure who.”

“God,” I groan, covering my face.

“Hey, it will be okay. I’m going to find out who did this.”

Uncovering my eyes, I look at him sitting next to me, a thought occurring to me. “Collings said you’ve been working this case a while. Why?”

He runs a hand over his face, seeming a little guarded. “I became a PI after I left my job at the police station. To them, I work this case because someone hired me, but it’s not because of that. My neighbour, a single mum to four kids, used the same dating site you did. She met a Noah Henderson online, and they got talking. He was a widow with two girls, he’d said, and they instantly clicked. Whilst she went out on the date, her three youngest stayed at a neighbour’s house. Her eldest stayed home to do homework.”

I gasp, not liking where this is going. This Noah guy made sure I was at the restaurant before robbing me. He must have done the same with this woman. But he couldn’t have anticipated the kid being at home.

“Did he do something to him?”

His guarded expression turns cold, angry. “Yeah. He beat him up. He had broken and bruised ribs, a fractured arm in three places and was badly beaten. He had to have surgery on his cheekbone.”

Tears fall down my cheeks. “He’s a monster.”

My thoughts are with the boy and how scared he must have been. I’m also grateful right now that I didn’t back out of my date and stay home, which is something I had wanted to do. Nina had talked me out of it.

“Yeah, baby. She was a close friend. I looked after her kids when she worked nights and couldn’t find a sitter. It’s why I took on her case without been asked. Her son never fully recovered. He was withdrawn, jumpy, and couldn’t go back into their home. The neighbours did a fundraiser to help with moving costs, having known the family for a long time.”

“I can see why he wouldn’t go back. When I found the mess that had been made of my home, I was inconsolable. It wasn’t until the police asked me if I had somewhere to go until they processed the place that I realised I’d have to come back.

“I stayed at Nina’s, my best friend’s place, the first night. They called the second night to tell me it was okay for me to come back, but I didn’t want to, not at first. But I knew if I didn’t, I would end up moving, and with no money, no furniture, it wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t want to move back to my parents; they would have asked questions.

“The week after the robbery, my great-grandparents died. They were second parents to us all, always there for each and every one of us. They were everything. We all grew up with each other you see. We might not have lived in the same house, but we were basically brought up in one another’s shoes. Hell, my uncle Mason and aunt Denny live in my aunt Harlow’s backyard. My grandparents lived next door and my mum and dad lived two doors down. It would have been too much on them if I had told them.”

He rubs my back. I didn’t even realise a few tears had fallen until he started rubbing my back, soothing me. “It’s okay. Everything will be fine. You did great coming back here and not letting him run you out.”

“I could have been here that night, just like that little boy.”

He looks at me strangely. “Why would you have?”

“Because I hadn’t really wanted to go. You heard my dad the other night,” I remind him, blushing at the memory of Dad informing the world I was a virgin. “I’m twenty-five, Beau, and I’ve never been in a relationship. It’s not because people haven’t wanted to date me, but because I haven’t wanted to date them. They weren’t who I was looking for. It eventually got to the point I decided it wasn’t going to happen for me. I wasn’t going to meet my person, my special someone. I felt like I should just try to settle, so I did.

“Nina came up with the dating site, but I went along with it. Noah’s profile made him seem like a decent guy, so I decided to give him a chance. That day though, I kept having doubts about the date. I berated myself for not waiting longer for the man I’d always dreamed of. If not for Nina encouraging me to go, I would have been here when he came. If he came.”

He pulls me to him, rubbing his fingers through my hair affectionately to calm my fear. “I’m not going to let whoever this is get to you. We will find him. He’s slipped up in sending you this message, which means your dad was onto something at Malone’s place.”

“Malone?” I ask, hearing the main door to our building open.

“Yeah, the guy your dad visited. He said he was just a friend of a friend who’d let Noah crash for the night. I’m thinking there’s more to it and he’s lying. He had to have contacted Noah to let him know we’re looking for him.”

“Faith?” Dad calls, rushing into my flat, Mum, Harlow and Malik close behind.

“I’m okay. I’m okay.” I get up from the sofa when I see he’s not going to stop. He pulls me into his arms and squishes my body to him. Mum comes around us and hugs me from behind.

“Sweetie, you need to stop scaring your mother like this,” she whispers. I can hear the tears in her voice, causing a knot to form in my throat. I hate worrying her. She’s been through enough in her life without to have to deal with this.

And my brothers.

She needs a medal for dealing with them.

“Are you okay?” Dad asks, pulling back to search my face. He looks torn between wanting to shred someone to pieces and hold me even tighter.

“Let up, I can’t breathe,” I tease lightly. He loosens his hold, but doesn’t let go. He puts his arm over my shoulder, pulling me to his side as he faces Beau. Mum fusses over me, but my eyes are trained on Beau as he talks quietly to Malik and Harlow.

“She’s coming home with us,” Dad declares, and I want to groan.

I knew this was coming.

It’s not that I don’t want to stay with them, it’s just that… Yeah, I don’t want to stay with them.

They’re madly in love with each other and have no problems with PDA’s. I’d had eighteen years of seeing it; I didn’t need to see any more—or hear it.

“Dad, I want to stay here. I have Roxy to think about, it’s easier to get to and from work, and I have a police officer living across the hall. Plus, and I mean no offence when I say this, but I never, and I mean never, want to walk in on you and Mum on the kitchen table ever again.” I shudder dramatically. I hadn’t really seen anything. Hadn’t needed to. I’d heard them the minute I opened the door and decided not to proceed. But they don’t need to know that. It had taught them to never do it out of the bedroom again.

I hope.

My mum smacks my arms lightly, probably knowing I’d lied about walking in on them, but my dad turns ten shades of red.

Malik chuckles along with Harlow. “You can come stay with us.”

I glance to my uncle. “Yeah, that’s a big no, too. You forget; I get along with my cousins and know for a fact you two are loud when you think no one is home.”

Malik grunts, unaffected, but Aunt Harlow blushes and curses at Malik. I ignore them and turn back to my father.

“I can’t leave. I’ll never come back.”

“Fine by me.”

Jesus. “Dad, this is my home. I can’t let him win and run me out,” I tell him, using Beau’s words.

“If it makes you feel better, I can stay over here,” Beau offers, and I’m not opposed to that idea.

“Yeah, that doesn’t make it better,” Dad growls, narrowing his eyes on Beau.

“At all,” Malik adds, arms crossed over his chest.

I roll my eyes at them both. “Can we give it a few days? See how things go on my own?”

Dad’s eyes soften when they land on me. “A few days, but if we still haven’t caught this guy, you’re either coming to stay with me or with your sister.”

And he’s only offering Lily’s because he knows Maddox stays there a lot. And Maddox, although more protective over Lily since they share something we don’t, is still protective over us girls. In fact, he hates any girl being threatened. He’s never told us why it triggers his anger, but I know Lily is aware and often talks to him about it.

“Okay. But please, just keep it between us?” Mum bites her lip and Dad looks anywhere but at me. “What?”

“We were out with Max and Lake when we got the call. They had to, um, do something.”

And Max will tell every family member and close friend. I groan, silently cursing Beau. “I need to go, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Dad tells Beau. “And thank you—for calling us.”

Beau glances at me, his expression softening from the determined and angry one he had been wearing, before looking back at my dad and shrugging. “She loves you. You love her. And from what she’s told me about you guys, you’re all close.”

“Yeah,” Dad replies gruffly, looking at Beau differently. It’s a look I’ve never seen him give a male that isn’t family. It’s weird and something I’m totally going to question when we’re alone.