Infinity & Always
Copyright © 2015 by Elizabeth Kelly
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever,
including Internet usage, without written permission from Elizabeth Kelly, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in articles and reviews.
First Edition
First Printing 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1514112366
ISBN-10: 1514112361
Cover Design by RLD Print.
E-Book formatting by Dead River Books.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the
author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is
coincidental.
Table of Contents
Reaching
over, I silence the alarm on my phone. Knox’s arm tightens
around my waist and he groans at me in protest.
“No,
darlin’.”
Sliding
from his grasp, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and yawn.
The sun hasn’t come up yet, but I don’t care; I like to
run in the dark.
“Bailey,
please you promised,” Knox whispers.
Turning,
I find him watching me with a sad look on his face.
“I’ll
be back soon.”
Climbing off the bed, I get dressed; grab my phone and running
armband from the nightstand, and head for the door.
“You
promised,” he says, more forcefully.
“No,
I said I’d try Knox and I did, but it’s not working.”
Reaching
for the handle, I pull open the door and walk outside. I quickly
drink some water and walk to the door to put on my shoes. Knox exits
the bedroom rubbing his face while watching me tie my laces.
“You
didn’t try hard enough darlin’.”
“Jesus
Christ, Knox! Would you leave me alone!” I yell at him, as I
force my hair into a ponytail.
“Fine,
if you want to be like that then fine!” he shouts at me. I can
see the hurt and anger mixed on his face, but I don’t care. I
need to get out of here.
“I
have to go, Knox, I’ll see you later.”
“If
you walk out that door Bailey…”
“What?”
I ask, turning back to him.
“Don’t
come back,” he whispers, begging me with his eyes to stay. My
heart is already numb, the only person who could actually hurt me
just did.
“Okay.”
Opening
the door, I slam it behind me as I leave the apartment. Stepping out
in the cool morning air, I take a deep breath and start to run. I was
only planning on doing a few laps around the football field, but
after another morning of Knox, I decide to run up to the lake.
I
have my music loud as I run. The hills are starting to take a toll on
my body now. Reaching the lake I notice my Dad’s house is still
in darkness, so I do a lap around the lake. When I arrive back at his
property line, I find him standing on the back porch waiting for me.
“Morning,
sweetheart.”
“Dad,”
I answer, taking the bottle of water from him. “Thanks.”
“So
you’re up here again?”
Rolling
my eyes I look at him, “Where else would I be?”
“I
don’t know, in school, with your fiancé.”
I
snort at my Dad and shake my head, “No on all counts Dad, and
speaking of my wonderful fiancé,” I say with sarcasm. “I
suppose he called you to rat me out again.”
“He’s
just worried about you sweetheart.”
“No
Dad, he thinks he is.”
“No
Bailey, he is, trust me I see him every day.”
I
can’t help but get angrier with Knox; he has totally pissed me
off by calling my Dad at this hour.
“Aren’t
you getting ready for work?” I ask, taking a seat on the chair.
“No,
I’m taking a leaf out of my daughter’s book.”
Looking
over at him I frown. “And what would that be?”
“I’m
playing hooky,” he says, smiling at me. “I was thinking I
could give up on my life and let the business go down the drain and
just for fun, I might go to Vegas and blow all my money on the slot
machines.” He nods to himself.
“Seriously
Dad, you’re going to try to pull that shit on me?”
He
looks down at me and crosses his arms. His face is a mask of emotion.
He must have gotten schooled by Knox in that art form. I watch him
watching me.
“What
do you want me to say, Dad?”
“I
want you to tell me what’s going on with you. Why are you
skipping classes?”
“Dad
please, just leave it. I get enough of this crap from Knox and I
don’t need you on my case too.”
He
walks back into the house without another word. Closing my eyes, I
lean back in the chair and let out a deep sigh. Why the hell does
life have to fuck me over all the time? Why is everything I want so
damn hard? Standing up, I walk inside and up to my room. After a
quick shower, I join my Dad in the kitchen watching as he reads over
some papers.
“Are
you really staying home from work today?” I ask because he has
never stayed home before.
“Yes
I am, why, does that bother you?”
“Nope.
If you want we can do something,” I offer, taking a seat beside
him.
“No
thanks sweetheart, I have plans.”
“With
who?” I stare at him in disbelief.
“Well,
I can’t tell you because you will only get mad and then you
will probably break something and I will have to kick you out of the
house.” He smiles at me.
“Yeah,
you wouldn’t be the first one today,” I mutter.
“Ah,
so he finally told you to get out, huh?” he asks, looking at me
with a slight smirk on his lips.
“Yeah,
so can I have my old room back?” I ask, hoping he won’t
kick me out too.
“On
two conditions,” he answers.
Looking
at him I frown, but shrug my shoulders, pretending that I don’t
care either way.
“You
go back to school and you talk to Knox.”
Unbelievable!
I bet those two planned out this whole scenario. “Fine, but I
get a condition of my own.” My Dad purses his lips before
nodding at me. “I get my car back starting today.”
“Deal,”
he says, shaking my hand, “now hurry up we have classes to
attend and I have a day with my future son-in-law.”
We
arrive at campus just after eight am and Dad makes sure that I sign
up for all my classes and copies my schedule so he knows when I
should be in class. I feel like I am in high school again, well, I
had more freedom then.
“Where
to now?” I ask as we walk back to the car.
“You
can drop me off with Knox and you can enjoy your last free day.”
He smiles at me.
Pulling
into the parking lot of the apartment, I see both Knox and Max
waiting by the truck. Knox stands up when he sees my car and frowns
when I pull in beside them.
We
climb out, Dad says hello to them, but I just walk away towards the
apartment. I grab a box and begin to pack up my school stuff, notes,
books, and my computer.
“What
are you doing?”
“Packing.”
“I
can see that, but why are you packing?”
Sighing,
I sit on the bed. “Knox, you told me not to come back. I’m
getting some stuff then I’ll be out of your way.”
He
crosses his arms and stands there, looking at me. I can see how tired
he is from the dark circles under his eyes and I know I caused them.
Guilt burns through me like a wildfire and I have to look away.
“I
was angry darlin’,” he says in a low voice. “I
don’t want you to leave. I just want you back.”
“I
haven’t gone anywhere, Knox.”
Standing,
I begin to grab some clothes from the closet. Knox catches my elbow
and turns me to face him.
“Don’t
do this, please darlin’, I want the girl I fell in love with to
come back.”
Pulling
my arm out of his grasp I stomp into the bathroom, muttering curses
at him. He follows me around the apartment begging me to stay, but I
can’t, he pushed me too far this time and I need space. I need
to get out of my own head and find that peace again.
“I’ll
see you around.”
Grabbing
my stuff, I walk out to the car finding my Dad and Max standing by
the truck. My Dad gives me a sad smile and a shake of his head, but
Max looks gutted; his face is distraught and he runs his hand through
his hair.
“Sis,
what are you doing?”
“I’m
going home Max, you’re welcome to visit.”
“Aw
Bailey, come on, this isn’t fair. You know he only worries
about you.”
My
heart hurts, but I need to get away from everyone. Pulling Max into a
hug I squeeze him tight. “I still love you, bro.”
“But
not me?”
Knox’s
hurt voice sounds from behind. Letting Max go I turn to face him.
Both Dad and Max climb into the truck to leave us alone.
“I
do you love you, Knox, but you’re driving me crazy and I need
to be alone right now.”
Stepping
over to me he wraps me in his arms and I can’t help but melt
into him. I really do love him.
“It’s
not over darlin’, you promised me forever.”
Swallowing
the lump in my throat, I step away from him, unable to reply. I keep
my head down and climb into my car. Pulling out of the lot I finally
let the tears fall. What the fuck am I doing? How can I love someone
so much and want to run away from him too? I take the day to rest, to
unwind, and let life pass me by. I turn off my phone and go for a
walk around the lake; everything is changing. My life is slipping
again and I know I am to blame, but not all of the blame lands on me,
there are other parties involved.
Once
I’m back in the house, I turn my phone on, receiving a
voicemail from my new attorney, Rachel. I fired my uncle last year,
much to the family’s annoyance, but I had to. He was too close
to me to see what I saw and I honestly think he didn’t give a
shit because I have money and his kids don’t.
Listening
to the voicemail, I call her back. “This is Rachel Osborne, how
can I help?”
“Hi
Rachel, It’s Bailey.”
She
tells me that sentencing for Ben will be in a few weeks and asks if I
will be coming to court. Shit! Why now? Just as I signed up for
classes again.
“Yeah
I’ll be there.”
“Okay
I will see you then, call me if you need anything else.”
We
say goodbye and I dial my Dad.
“Yes
sweetheart?” he answers.
“Dad,
I hate to break up the bromance, but what time will you be home?”
“Not
sure, why?”
“I
just spoke to Rachel and I have to go, Dad, I need to be there.”
He
lets out a long sigh and I can picture him pinching the bridge of his
nose; it’s a new thing he does when I upset him or he is having
a hard time with me.
“Okay,
we can talk over dinner. Did she say when?”
I
fill him in on the time frame and he argues with me about school. I
can’t do it again, the waiting is torture, and the sleepless
nights are even worse. He agrees to hear me out later and we hang up.
I spend a few hours cleaning my room and flipping through my
textbooks. The last year of college should be a fun experience, but
I’m dreading it. Knox and Max graduated last year so I have
been on my own around campus for a while now. I still have Abbey and
Becky and we hang out after practice, but that’s about it. All
I have in my life lately is football.