Bayward Street (21 page)

“Jay was standing back from the crowd when we left. She didn’t look shocked like everyone else, she looked smug,” Payton voiced.

I sighed. “Yeah. We haven’t exactly seen eye to eye since I came here.”

“She’s evil, you know.” Payton’s comment brought the chill right back, and I shuddered. “She obviously wanted to make it look like an accident, but there must have been a lot of force behind it to throw you and me that far.”

I bet she thought she’d just embarrass me, that I would resurface, and everyone would laugh.

“I can’t believe Heath dated her.” Just the thought of it made me cringe.

“They never dated,” Payton answered sounding confused.

Narrowing my eyes, I looked to where I knew she was sitting on the basin on the other side of the shower curtain. “Someone told me they were dating, for like a year.”

“Was that someone her?” Payton snorted sarcastically. “They hooked up at parties, but they were never actually together. Maybe in her mind, but not in Heath’s.”

Maybe Liam had been wrong. It made sense, he would have only ever seen them at the odd party here and there, and I guess it would have looked to an outsider that they were a couple.

“I heard she beat some girl up because she was hanging around Heath.”

“Yeah, me.”

Both Layla and I gasped in unison. “What?”

Payton’s laugh was soft. “I’ve spent my whole life hanging out with Lucas and his friends. He was never embarrassed to take me places with him, and his dad was always happy to let me stay there too. I guess he knew what my mom was like.” I wanted to ask, but instead I kept quiet, letting her continue, “Heath and Bray are like big brothers, and as we got older, other girls started getting jealous that I was always with them, but that they never really let other girls in. Jay didn’t seem to have a problem with it at first. Heath and her would do their thing at parties, and we went to different schools. But then she started pushing me out.”

“What happened at the party?” Layla asked.

I heard Payton take in a deep breath, and Layla apologize softly, followed by more Band-Aid tearing. “We were playing table tennis, Heath and me against Lucas and Sam. She caught me in the hallway after, pushed me to the ground and started kicking me in the ribs. Heath went nuts, told her never to come near him or me or any of us again.”

The girl was crazy, that was completely obvious now.

“You didn’t press charges.”

Payton snorted. “I was at a party drinking, and her dad is the Chief of Police. There was no point really. And I knew Heath telling her to back off was going to absolutely devastate her. That gave me enough satisfaction.”

My mind whirled. Jay was insane and completely unpredictable. I wondered how many other girls she’d abused in order to keep them away from Heath. How far would she go? Just the question caused me to shudder because I knew the answer—as far as she had to.

She needed to be stopped.

“Someone needs to say something.” The accusing tone in Layla’s voice was not lost on me. “If one person says something, maybe other people will too. The more people that stand up, the better we are heard. They can’t ignore everyone.”

“Millions of tiny streams,” I whispered.

“One mighty river,” Layla finished.

Jay would continue to hurt people until she got what she wanted, and I knew for a fact, that that was an unreachable goal. Heath was too level-headed and smart to want to be with someone like Jay.

She was exactly like my father—driven by power. And because they seemed so strong, undefeated, people were scared to step up and say something. Just like I was.

I was scared. Scared no one would believe my word against my father’s. And that’s exactly what had happened when I finally took a stand and said enough was enough. The judge ridiculed me, and the press made out like I was at fault. Nobody stood for me, nobody had my back.

But that was different now.

Heath had my back.

Braydon and Flick had my back.

Helen and Arthur had my back.

Lucas, Payton, Layla, Kyle, Lee, Andre—all these people were behind me. They would believe me, and they weren’t afraid to stand by me. So maybe it was time to stop hiding. People like Greg Campbell and Jay Crowler needed to learn that they couldn’t get by in life by stepping on the people weaker than them. They needed to learn that their actions would have consequences.

I shut the shower off. “Can you pass me a towel?”

“Sure.”

Her hand popped through the curtain, and I pulled the towel around me. “I’ll be out in a second.”

“All right. I’m heading home so we can talk later. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks, Payton.”

I heard her slip out.

“I’ll be in your room,” Layla said before disappearing too.

The bathroom door opened and closed quietly, and I stepped out onto the mat on the floor. I took my time, drying myself and tucking the towel around myself as I used another to dry my hair.

When I stepped out, I noticed that it was beginning to get dark outside. “You’re going to stay the night, right?” I asked, looking over to where Layla stood, staring out the large windows.

“I guess I could,” she answered, not turning to look at me. “I told Andre where I was going. I just really want to get back to them, though. I want to tell them what you told me, that there’s hope coming.”

“They’ll be okay for one night, Lay.” I really wanted her to stay. Sure, I wanted the others to know that all wasn’t lost and that I hadn’t forgotten them, but I could also tell that Layla had a lot of weight on her shoulders and maybe being here, she could let some of it go.

“Yeah, they will be,” she replied quietly. She took a moment before taking a deep breath and turning to face me. “Are you going to tell Heath about Jay?”

I cringed and shuffled over to my dresser, pulling out some fresh clothing.

“Fable,” she growled.

“Yes, okay. I’m going to tell him. Just not right now. It’s been a long day, everyone is jumped up on adrenaline and worry, and I’d rather just leave it for when I can sit down and talk with him properly.” The excuses flowed out freely. The truth was, I wanted to buy a little time. Helen would be back from her trip in a couple days, and I wanted her to be there when I explained what had happened. She was one of the best lawyers in the country. She’d know what to do, and she’d be able to keep Heath calm.

If I was going to call Jay out, I needed to do it right. I needed to make sure it was worth it. Because if I started shouting from the rooftops that she was hurting me, people were less likely to believe me and she’d have more time to come up with a cover.

I knew if I told Heath, he and Bray would take matters into their own hands, and that would make things worse too. There was a high chance that coming out with this would blow up in my face, and really, I was being selfish. I just wanted a few more days with him before I faced the possibility of losing him.

Layla seemed to accept my stalling even though she eyed me warily. “I think the boys are making some food. I’ll go make myself useful while you get dressed.”

Layla had already taken some of my clothes and changed out of the dress Flick had given her. I gave her a gentle smile, and she stepped out, closing the door behind her.

I got dressed quickly and headed out myself. As I passed Flick’s door, I decided I should probably pop my head in and say thank you, and also apologize for possibly ruining one of her dresses.

I knocked, but there was no answer. Frowning, I turned the handle and pushed the door open just in time to spot her climbing in through her bedroom window.

“Flick?”

Her eyes looked up in shock as she pulled her leg through. She just stared at me for a few seconds before babbling, “I was just out with a friend, and I saw you guys were home and I didn’t want to disturb you so I came in this way.” She continued on and on, and I held up my hands to try and make her stop.

“Woah there.” I looked her over, she was wearing a tight mini skirt that was uncharacteristically short and a soft pink blouse. I probably would have let it all pass and left it alone if it wasn’t for the fact that she was holding her shirt together with her hand, as all the buttons seemed to be either missing or hanging on by a thread.

I totally disregarded the fact that I had no idea how she had even managed to scale the house and sneak in through the window and hit her with the obvious. “What happened to your shirt?”

She ducked her head and moved over to her bed, turning her body away from me. I wasn’t going to allow it and stepped around, so I was standing in front of her again.

“It just got caught on something,” she mumbled, pulling it tighter together.

I frowned. “Like on someone’s hand as they tried to rip it off?”

She flinched, and I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. I crouched down so I could see her eyes, ignoring the pain in my legs. They darted around nervously, and her face was flushed. “Flick. If someone hurt you, you can tell me. It’s okay.”

“No…” she rushed out, suddenly looking shocked again. “No, that wasn’t it. No one hurt me.”

“Then what happened?” I looked over the rest of her body, but there were no obvious signs that she may have been in a fight. Because that was the only other explanation, I could come up with.

“I went to see Eli,” she whispered.

Gritting my teeth, I finally managed to ask, “He did this?”

“He didn’t mean to, we were just… it just happened in the moment. He got excited.”

“Are you sleeping with this guy?”

She shook her head. “He… he wants to, but he’s being patient. Waiting for me to be ready.”

“Doesn’t look like he’s being patient,” I said sharply.

She snapped to her feet and quickly stepped around me. “You don’t know him. He’s not like guys my age. He’s mature. He’s sweet. He’s considerate—”

“He’s horny,” I cut in dryly as I stood to my feet. My body ached. I’d been through too much today. I was feeling it all through me, but I wasn’t just going to sweep this under the rug. This was important.

She spun around and hit me with a glare. “I really care about him. And he cares about me.”

“Then you won’t care if we tell Heath and Bray? Because obviously you two are so tight that nothing will tear you apart.” Her eyes grew wider as I gestured to the door. At this point, I was bluffing, but I tried to keep my face impassive.

“Please don’t tell them. Not yet. Wait until you meet him. You can see for yourself how much he cares. Please,” she pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. “Don’t judge him. Just meet him first.”

I screwed up my nose. We had already talked about how I wouldn’t be going out with her tomorrow. She was disappointed but said one of her friends would go with her instead. Part of me wanted to go, to meet him, and see if the feeling I had in my gut was right. But I was just too tired. It wasn’t a problem I could handle right now with a level head.

She was right, though. I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. Something that not many people had ever given me. I couldn’t pass judgment just yet.

Taking in a deep breath, my chest and lungs ached. “Okay,” I murmured as I let it slowly release.

“Thank you,” she answered, her shoulders sagging in relief. “I promise. You’ll see how much he cares.”

I really hoped so, because I had my doubts. There was something wrong here, I could feel it.

“How are you feeling, honey?” Helen asked.

I snuggled in closer to Heath, his arms cradling me as we sat on the couch in the Carsons’ living room. “I’m okay.”

“You know, it’s okay to not be okay.”

Her words made me smile, sounding so much like something Heath had said to me last week. “I’m all right.”

“Okay,” she sighed. “I’m trying my best to get a flight back as soon as possible. But it might not be until Monday.”

“I know. It’s fine Helen. You can stay there, I’m all right.” I felt like I’d said those words
‘I’m all right’
so many times in the last few hours. I was beginning to think maybe no one could hear me because they kept asking.

“Have a quiet weekend, relax a little.”

“Thanks, Helen.”

We both hung up, and I dropped Heath’s phone onto the sofa beside him.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he twirled his fingers through my hair.

I nodded. “She just wanted to know I was all right.”

“Are you?”

“Yes. Now can we just drop it?”

Braydon was my saving grace as he plowed through the door, Layla close behind him.

“Fableee,” Braydon whined like a small child. “Your friend is being mean to me.”

Layla rolled her eyes, but I caught the twitch at the corner of her mouth. “Suck it up, rich boy.”

“You know, it really hurts my feelings when you call me that.”

“Maybe you could buy some new ones.”

He gasped dramatically. “Are you hearing this, you two?”

He looked to us for support, but both Heath and I laughed.

There was no malice in Layla’s word. It was just like when Bray called me a street rat. It was a teasing term that I’d actually come to adore from him. And I think he felt the same way about Layla mocking him about his riches.

Heath and I stood up, following the bickering children into the kitchen.

Braydon opened the oven, and the smell of pizza wafted out. My stomach growled, I was so hungry. He pulled it out and sliced it up, plating it out.

Braydon passed Layla the plate of food he’d gathered for her. She looked down at it, and her eyes lit up. “Thanks,” she said quietly, taking the plate and moving around to sit at the counter.

I expected some witty retort from Bray, but he replied with a simple, “You’re welcome.”

We all ate in silence, listening to the sounds of chewing, but it wasn’t awkward. It was kind of nice actually.

“I haven’t stayed anywhere else but Bayward Street since I got out of juvie,” Layla commented when she was done.

“You guys met there, right?” Heath enquired, and I couldn’t help but smile. “What were you in for?”

Layla tried to hide her smile. “I stole a car.”

“You what?” Braydon stood up straight suddenly. “You stole a car?”

She giggled. “It’s not like what you think. There was money in the dash, I reached in to take it, and someone spotted me. I got scared and jumped and knocked the brake. It was on a hill so it started rolling. I managed to pull the break back on before I crashed into anything.”

“And they did you for grand theft auto?” Heath chuckled.

“Yup. It’s kinda funny now I think about it. But I was so freaked out at the time.”

“The bumbling burglar.” I laughed.

She stuck her tongue out at me but was soon giggling along with me. “Not my finest moment, I guess.”

Lay sighed as I took Heath’s plate and walked around to stack it in the dishwasher. “You guys should just go back to the party. It’ll still be raging, I bet.”

“Raging?” Braydon laughed.

“You know what I mean.”

“Nah, no more raging. Sam said he sent most of them home.”

Leaning forward, I looked at Bray sadly. “I’m sorry. I know you had big plans to sleep off a hangover tomorrow.”

We all laughed.

Heath demanded that it was time to call it a night anyway. Well, for me it was. I protested, but when he wrapped his arms around me and held me against him, I suddenly felt exhausted. Maybe it was because that was my safe place. In his arms I knew I didn’t need to fight, I could just give in and let him take control. I tucked my face into the crook of Heath’s neck and my lips pressed against his lightly bristled skin. He pulled his face back and captured my mouth with his, a soft, gentle kiss. He didn’t rush or push for more, we just relaxed into it.

That was the thing about Heath, though, he knew exactly what made me feel better. Whether I needed to yell and expel my frustrations, or whether I just needed to feel him there with me. He knew.

I offered to show Layla where the spare room was, but Bray was adamant he would show her. I was pretty sure that wasn’t what he had in mind, but I let it go.

Helen had yet to discuss with Heath and me about the status of our relationship, even though I knew she was well aware of just how close we’d become. I didn’t want to disrespect her by Heath and I sharing a bed at night like we’d done the last couple of nights, but Heath wasn’t having a bar of my excuses.

He assured me that if she had a problem, she wasn’t afraid to let us know.

I made sure I wore long pajama pants to bed, telling Heath I could still feel the chill from the water and just needed to be warm. He didn’t argue. He wanted me to be comfortable, and I adored that about him even though my reasoning was a straight out lie.

That night when he curled up in bed with me, in complete darkness, he finally told me what was running through his mind. “I was so scared,” he whispered as he cuddled in behind me, one arm under my head, the other resting at my hip. “Hearing Layla scream and then seeing you fall into the water… that slide seemed to take so long, and the whole time I kept thinking, what if I didn’t make it in time?” Hearing Heath’s voice so vulnerable and soft was so different to what I was used to. I could hear the hurt and the pain in it, and I knew just from that, things between us were growing stronger. It was more than a teenage crush.

Intertwining my fingers through his, I attempted to reassure him that everything was okay. “You did make it in time. Stop overthinking it.”

His breath tickled the skin at the back of my neck as he blew out a sharp breath. “The thought of losing you…”

“I know.” I did. Heath had blazed in and changed the way I viewed life. It wasn’t enough to just float through every day with no expectations or aspirations. You had to have something to fight for, a dream, a goal, something better. Because being comfortable won’t fill you with passion, it won’t give you the excitement of learning something new or experiencing things you’d never have before. And I was starting to crave the new experiences, parties, dressing up, and even after today, swimming in the pool with him. I needed them like my next breath, especially if they included him.

Heath’s hand curved around my hip to my stomach, and he gently pulled me back against him. I went with it. “Tell me why you started swimming.” The question surprised even me, but I felt like I needed to know.

“Dad kept us out of the public light the best he could. It didn’t matter so much when we were younger, but as we got older people started expecting more of us.” His hand caressed my face gently, and while I couldn’t see him, I knew exactly where he was, what kind of expression was on his face, the way his hair was messed. I could feel him. “They wanted us to be part of his projects, do some acting maybe. They approached us when we were out, wanting us to pass on scripts or headshots. We were even offered scholarships to law schools. People expected us to be something great because our parents were so high profile.”

“You didn’t want that?”

He sighed softly. “I love my parents. They raised us right, despite the pressure on our family. They’re rich and successful, and I’m thankful every day that I get to live the lifestyle they’ve made for us. But I was taught hard work was the way to get there. I want to be great and do great things, but I want to get there on my own merits and my own achievements.”

My heart bloomed. Heath was one in a million. He was humble and gracious. He never took the things he had for granted. He appreciated everything he had. And he fought hard for what he wanted.

“So why swimming?” I asked, prompting him to continue.

“Swimming is me,” he answered so simply, but so sure of those three words. “You swim for a team or a club or a school, but when you’re in the water, there’s no one else but you. Whatever I achieve in the water is on me. It’s how hard I work. It’s how swift my movements are. It’s how much I practice. It’s all about the amount of work that I put in, that’s what determines my success.”

My heart leaped, and I’d heard enough.

I reached out, finding his strong jaw and placing it between my fingers. Pulling his face to mine, our lips connecting in a flurry of excitement and everything around us seemed to light up like fireworks.

Our bodies tangled together. He ran a gentle hand down my leg. Tugging at my knee he pulled my leg over his, lifting his knee so it slotted in between my thighs. The loud beating of my heart felt like it filled the room, and a sweet feeling began to build as his hands explored my body, gentle and slow. But I wanted more.

He rolled me onto my back, his body coming over mine and pressing me into the mattress. The weight felt good, he held himself over me with just enough pressure so that he wouldn’t crush me. My hands ran over his bare chest, it was so strong, the muscles so tight and toned.

Heath worked hard. His body didn’t come for free. He trained, he lifted weights, he put in the effort because he knew that hard work was going to be the thing that got him where he wanted to go.

The space between us was becoming heated. It was new, and it was exciting.

“What do you want, Fable?” he whispered, his mouth drifting from my lips, across my jaw. His deep breaths were the only noise in the room. “Because I’m struggling really hard right now to keep from absolutely attacking you.”

A silent thrill went through me, spurring me on.

“I want you,” I whispered breathlessly without trepidation. “I want you and I don’t want to ever let go.”

His hips pressed against me, and I gasped.

My heart pounded in my chest as he explored my body with his hands, leaving a trail of small bumps across my skin. I couldn’t explain the way I felt in that moment. I was electrified, anxious and nervous about what was to come next, but I ached in anticipation to see how far this connection between us went. Heath drew emotions from me that I never knew I had, and if one single touch could light my body on fire, then I was sure that when we shared something so much more intimate, that there would be no coming back.

“I’m all yours,” he growled before doing just as he said he would, attacking my body in the most sensual way possible.

I said I wanted new experiences, and what I didn’t realize at the time, was that Heath over the past few weeks was giving me one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

Falling in love.