Breath Of The Heart (6 page)

I could barely breathe. He'd told her that story? I'd never told Jake about that. Justin Havers was another person who taunted me and he beat me up because I got brave one day and told him to leave me alone.

"He said the worst thing that ever happened to him was when you decided to go to Western. He knew he'd have to let you live with him, that his brother and your dad would make him. It's so strange that your dad and his brother are friends, but then Jake told me you were a mistake. That your horny parents had sex and out came you."

"You better go," I warned.

"Or what? Like I'm scared of you, you stupid bitch. No wonder your mom took off. I would too if you were my kid. You're so gross."

Something came over me like some demon possessing my body. With one swing, my fist connected with her face. I could hear the crunch of something. Her teeth? She screamed and I took a step back as blood spurted from her nose.

"Oh my God, oh my God," she kept screaming.

It was all so surreal. Her friends came running from their booth, Jessica dropped her mop and rushed over. People were yelling, maybe at me, I couldn't tell. Bianca, clutching her nose and mouth as blood trickled down her hands, sobbed like I'd handed her a death sentence. My first instinct was to smile, but then I realized how depraved that would look. This wasn't me. I didn't do things like this.

"I'm pressing charges," Bianca shrieked, spitting out blood at the same time. Tears were streaming down her face and I didn't feel a thing. Not an ounce of remorse. "My parents will sue."

Jessica grabbed me by the arm. "Go to the stockroom and don't move," she commanded.

I did as I was told and waited. I pulled out my phone, switched it on and sent Jake a text telling him what I'd done. I put my phone back in my pocket and waited.

Chapter Ten

Zach

I was in a deep sleep and jarred by the ringing of my phone. I felt around for it and mumbled a hello.

"Emma's been arrested. I'm not going down there to bail her out. If you don't go, I'll have to call her dad and I know that'd kill her. Not that I care about her right now."

I rubbed sleep from my eyes. "Who is this?" I grumbled.

"It's Jake," he spat.

Like I was supposed to know it was that asswipe. "What's going on? What are you talking about?"

"Emma attacked Bianca. I'm heading to the emergency room right now. She's going to be fine, but Emma was taken to the police station. I'm trying to talk Bianca out of pressing charges, but she won't listen to me. Look, someone has to go down there, at least to bail Emma out."

"And that's supposed to be me?" When did I become her keeper?

"It can't be me and right now I'm so pissed off, I don't care if I never see her again."

I sat up in bed and tried to absorb everything. "Well, she lives with you."

"No, not anymore. If you can go get her, bring her to a hotel or something, I'll pay for it for a few days, but she's going to have to find another place to live."

"So you're throwing her out? Where do you expect her to go?"

"I don't care where she goes. She can go back home! Are you going to bail her out or not? They took her downtown."

"Why'd you call me?"

"Aren't you her friend?"

I thought of the last time I spoke to her. She was so naïve, but I wasn't about to argue with her any further. Eventually she would come around, or worse, she'd beat the shit out of a deserving Bianca. Everyone had their limits.

"Fine, I'll go get her. She can stay at my place until she gets things sorted. You know, Jake, you're a real piece of shit."

I hung up before he could say another word. I changed and sent Genie a quick text to let her know of the potential new living arrangements not that it would matter much to her. I got into my truck and drove the short distance to the precinct. I spoke to the officer on duty. He told me to sit and wait. I texted the asswipe to have Bianca phone me ASAP. She did a few minutes later.

"How are you?" I asked.

"How do you think I am?" she cried. "I've lost a tooth, I have a broken nose and two black eyes. I'm fucking fabulous."

"I'm sorry this happened to you, but I don't want you to press charges." My tone was matter of fact. I didn't want her to think I cared about her face.

"Not you too! No fucking way that bitch is getting off."

I kept the calm approach. "Bianca, it would be in your best interest to drop this. I'm going to guess you did something to provoke Emma, and while that doesn't excuse her actions, I know that you've also done some pretty stupid things in the past. Stuff you wouldn't want dredged up. So I want you to call whichever officer took your statement, and tell him you've had an epiphany."

A long silence followed. She knew what I meant. That's the thing with Bianca; she had her own dirty little secrets. "I really hate you," she seethed. "You better tell her to watch her back. I mean it, Zach."

"Bianca, let it go. It's over. Let's call this even."

"She ruined my face. We aren't even. She crosses me again she won't know what hit her."

The line went dead.     

Chapter Eleven

Emma

While I regretted what I did to Bianca, I still thought she deserved it as I was hauled away by two less than impressed police officers. It was then that I realized I was in some serious trouble. I was booked, fingerprinted and escorted to my holding cell.

That's when the waterworks started. I sobbed alone, thinking of Dad and Grandpa and what they'd say when they found out. I hadn't called Dad yet. It was nearing three in the morning and I wasn't about to scare him and Grandpa half to death, that could wait until a decent hour. I was going to spend a night in jail, like a criminal. I'd have a record that would follow me forever. I'd be unemployable and living with Dad and Grandpa while working the rest of my life at Andrew's Antiques.

Wailing like a two-year old without her pacifier, I hadn't seen an officer standing in front of me. I hadn't even heard the cell door open.

"Andrews, stop crying," he said somewhat sympathetically.

My chest heaved and I sniffled a few times. The officer shook his head and huffed. "Charges have been dropped. You're free to go."

"What?" Did I hear him right?

"Charges were dropped. You can go home. So off you go. Collect your belongings and please stay out of trouble."

"She isn't going to press charges?"

"That's what I said, so consider yourself lucky."

"I can't believe it."

"Believe it. You dodged a bullet, young lady."

In a fog I filled out some papers and had my watch, purse and phone returned to me. I wandered out to the main hallway, checking my phone for messages and there he was, I nearly walked into him. Why had I even considered the idea that Jake would be waiting for me?

"Hi, Zach," I said meekly.

His brown eyes were staring back at me, firing imaginary bullets that hurt as if they were real. His jeans and white shirt looked disheveled as if he'd dressed in haste. A five o'clock shadow had already formed on his face.

"Hi, Emma."

"Were you in the neighborhood?" I asked, attempting some bad humor.

He frowned. "This is hardly the time to joke."

My cheeks flushed with shame. "I know."

"You're really lucky, you know that, right? I had to persuade Bianca to drop the charges."

"You did that for me?" I asked. His gesture touched me to the point of tears. He cared, at least a little.

"Yes. Emma, what is wrong with you? Why would you hit her?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but stopped. He was in no mood to listen to my defense. "I don't know. She provoked me and I snapped. Did you talk to Jake? Is he really mad?"

"Yes to both your questions. He's kicking you out and you have until morning to collect your stuff from the apartment. I can take you there now to get your things."

My jaw dropped. My stuff? Kicking me out? This was happening too fast. Where would I go? How would I tell Dad? Seeing the panic on my face, Zach continued.

"You can stay with me until you have things figured out."

My suppressed tears sprang from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away not wanting Zach to see me as more of a mess than I already was. Jake had finally turned his back on me and our lifelong friendship for Bianca. She didn't love him the way I did and now I was out of the apartment, the way she wanted it.

"Emma, don't worry," Zach said, dropping the edge from his voice.

I shook my head. "Jake will never forgive me for this."

"I won't lie; he was pretty pissed off."

We stepped out into the cool early November air. I wrapped my jacket tightly around myself as the remaining tears on my face froze. My feet crunched through the leaves as I followed Zach to his SUV and got inside. We set out for my apartment, well, my old apartment.

"What did he say?" I finally asked.

"Not much. He told me you punched Bianca in the face and that he was meeting her at the hospital. He was flipping out and told me that he wanted you out of the apartment and that if I didn't help you, no one would."

That summed it up all right. "How did you convince her not to press charges?"

"I asked her not to."

His tone was casual, like he'd asked Bianca for a cigarette. "And it was that easy?"

"Bianca and I have an understanding."

It sounded ominous, but I wasn't about to pursue it. "Jake's never going to speak to me again, is he?"

"Sure he will. Once Bianca dumps him."

"Why can both you and I see that, but not him?"

"He's in love. Sucker."

I stole a glance at Zach. His focus was firmly on the road. "Thanks for helping me. I owe you big time."

"I think you're being unfairly treated."

"No, you feel sorry for me."

He looked over at me. "As much as I don't condone what you did tonight, I'm sorry I wasn't there to see it."

I stifled a giggle. "I shouldn't laugh. My life is going to the shithouse. If I didn't have you, I'd be out on the street. Thanks for giving me a temporary place to stay. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I don't know if I'll be able to find a place, so I might have to drop out–"

"Hey, don't worry about that right now. You can crash with me for as long as you need. I have a spare room that my sister never uses. So don't even talk about dropping out."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do that for any friend."

"I'll pay rent. I can pay you what I paid Jake."

"Em, my parents own the place, so you don't have to give me, or them, a dime."

"I can't do that. I'll pay utilities and buy food."

"How about you cook? I'll agree to that."

"And I'll buy food."

"Sure, I'll agree to that too to make you happy."

Despite everything that had happened, I finally felt a moment of security. The constant anxiousness, like a snake coiling itself around me, finally loosened a little, but when we reached my apartment block, the suffocation returned. What if Jake was inside? I couldn't deal with a confrontation. Zach switched off the truck and I grabbed his arm. "What if he's up there?" I asked.

"I'm sure he's not. He told me he wouldn't come back tonight."

My heart raced and despite the biting wind, I felt hot and sweaty. "You're one hundred percent sure?"

"I'm positive."

The muscles in every limb tightened as I climbed out of the truck. We headed to the entrance, both of us aching for sleep but functioning on necessity. I used my key and then it hit me. What would I do with my keys? I turned to Zach and before I opened my mouth he spoke.

"Leave them with me. I'll give them to Jake."

I nodded and we proceeded to the third floor in silence. It was three-thirty in the morning so what did I expect? We reached apartment 310 and I slipped my key into the lock. We entered the darkness of the apartment and I switched on a light. No one.

"Do you want to pick up what you need? We can come back later for the rest."

"That's probably a good idea."

I looked around the room. The home I'd known for the last two and a half months immediately felt foreign, like I didn't belong anymore. It was so instantaneous. I wanted to collapse on the sofa and not leave. This was my second home, the place I shared with Jake and I didn't want to go. Perhaps it was the earliness of the morning and the lack of sleep, or that the events of the night were finally sinking in. I'd hit bottom. I had no one . . . except a guy I barely knew who'd mysteriously offered a place to stay. My head was a jumble. What if Zach was as bad as the rest of them?

"Do you want me to help or should I wait?" Zach asked.

I faced him. I searched for something that would betray him, but other than sagging eyes begging for sleep, I wasn't sure there was anything malevolent.

"I'm going to pack the essentials. It won't take long."

In less than an hour I'd packed all I needed into my luggage and a duffel bag. Zach took them from me and tossed them in his truck. It was nearing five now and I could barely keep awake for the ten minute drive. Zach's building was much nicer than mine, but then again, he was a senator's son. I followed him down the manicured cobblestone path to the glass double doors. He lived on the top floor and like my building, it was still. It was Saturday morning. Who needed to be up?

"You can take Genie's room. I don't think she's used it since September," Zach said.

Genie? A girl? "Who's Genie?"

"My sister."

"Where is she staying?"

"Her boyfriend's place mostly. Other times she stays at my parents'."

"Why aren't you there?"

"I wanted to be on my own. If they are going to ship me off to their Ivy League school of choice, I told them I wanted a few years on my own without being under their thumb."

His place put ours to shame. The apartment was modern and spacious, easily twice the size of Jake's place. I would have taken more notes, but I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Genie's room is on the left. I'm sure you want to crash."

"I do."

"We'll talk in the morning."

~~~~~~~

I slept until noon and when I awoke to my unfamiliar surroundings, it took a minute for reality to set in. I wasn't in my room, but in some foreign bedroom with a double-sized bed, warm and comfy down duvet, flat screen TV on the wall and a cherry wood dresser complete with a huge mirror and matching nightstand. Zach's sister may have never used the room, but she had it decked out.

I showered and washed away the night before. I padded into the kitchen to find it empty. I peeked down the hall to see that Zach's bedroom door was still closed. I silently went through the cupboards making mental notes of where he kept everything. The kitchen was bare bones and missing all sorts of small appliances. I'd be retrieving those from Jake's the first chance I had. What Zach did have was all top of the line and expensive, brand names I could only wish to own one day and now had full access to. His stove had more features than a Cadillac and when I pulled the oven door open it looked pristine. Either Zach didn't cook or he was the tidiest man I'd ever met.

I found the coffeemaker and some coffee. While it was brewing I searched through his fridge. There wasn't much to work with. I sprung into action and used what little I had. By the time Zach joined me in the kitchen, I had a hybrid lunch ready to eat. I also had the table set in the dining room.

"Wow! I could really get used to this," he said, stretching and letting out a huge yawn. "What are we eating?"

He hadn't changed from his plaid pajama pants or wrinkled white t-shirt that hugged his chest just enough to show off the ripped muscles beneath. Whatever he wore fit him perfectly whether it was a pair of jeans or an old tattered shirt. I had to stop gawking.

"It's really nothing fancy. I made some open face sandwiches with sunny side up eggs, cheddar, tomatoes and I lightly sautéed the sliced ham you had. And there's coffee," I added as an afterthought.

"Thanks, Em. You didn't have to."

That was the second time he called me that.

"You grocery shop like my dad, so I'm used to working with limited resources."

Oh, no, Dad. I'd have to call him at some point but I didn't know what I'd tell him. The truth? I couldn't. I put those thoughts aside. I'd deal with it later.

"It's all delicious."

"It's the least I could do after all you've done for me. I thought I'd pick up some groceries today. Is there something nearby that I can walk or take the bus to?"

He nodded as he tore into breakfast. "There's something close by. I can drive you there or you can take my truck."

"Really? You'd let me? Jake had a huge issue with me taking his car."

"I don't have any particular attachment to my truck, so feel free to use it anytime."

Zach was nonchalant about it, such a refreshing change from Jake's constant uptight attitude. "Thanks. I'll use it only when necessary."

"Sure, whatever."

I watched him devour ever morsel on his plate. His face now had full-on stubble and it looked good. I could see why every girl at Western wanted to be with him. Simply put he oozed coolness. The sultry brown eyes, wavy unkempt dark brown hair and the killer physique didn't hurt. He was the total package and yet my heart broke for a man who'd thrown me out of our apartment and sided with a she-devil.

"How come you never mentioned your sister?"

"She didn't come up."

"How could she not love living here?"

"Because she loves living with her stupid boyfriend instead. If she needs to sleep here for some reason, we'll figure it out."

I sipped my coffee and watched him grab seconds. My stomach felt full even though it had been so long since I'd eaten. Mostly I was worried that Bianca would still come after me, that I'd be charged with assault. What if she saddled me with her medical bills? Or sued?

"Your face just got ten shades whiter. You feeling all right?"

"What if she sues me?"

He cocked his head. "Sue you? Bianca?"

"She could. I don't have money to defend myself."

He fought hard not to smile. "She's not going to sue you. That's cute."

"What makes you think she won't?"

"I'm clairvoyant."

"This isn't funny," I said, my body going through two emotions at once. Not only were my hands clammy from a possible heart attack, but my cheeks were flushed from feeling silly at the prospect of Bianca's imaginary lawsuit.

"Let's bet on it. I bet she won't sue you. If I lose, I'll pay all your court costs including the judgment. If I win, you make éclairs one day a week for the next ten years."

I rested my head on the back of the chair and grinned. "So you have something really horrible on her, don't you?"

He pointed to his lips. "These are sealed."

I could see him eyeing my plate so I passed it over.

"You sure?" he asked.

"I've been nibbling," I lied. I traced a finger around the rim of my coffee cup. "How long have you known Bianca?"

"Too long."

"She's a rich kid too."

"You bet. Her family is old money."

"How do you know her?"

"Us rich kids find each other," he said and winked. "A bunch of us hung out in high school. My private boys school and her private girl's school. We have tons of mutual friends and when we started college, we all still hung out."