Parker's Island (44 page)

I stoppe
d, turned to him and said, “No. 
She’s mine
; mine and Logan’s.
”

I didn’t know why I said it, but I needed to hurt him and I
guess I
wanted it to be true.

“
Logan
Barnett
ruined my life
!  Do
you know that?”
h
e spat.

“No Chad, you did
,
” I said, and headed back to the car.

Brian opened the passenger door for me and I stepped in.  “Are you okay?”
h
e asked.

“I will be
…I hope.
”

We didn’t say anything on the way to my house.  Hailey followed in my mom’s car and she parked it in the driveway for me.

“Thank you
,
Hailey
,
” I said as she handed me back the keys.

“Hailey, I’m sorry about…
everything
,
” Brian said.

“
Don’t be. 
It’s not your fault. 
He deserved it.  I just wish I had two great guys to protect my virtue.  You’re one lucky girl
,
Delaney.”

I looked up at Brian and said,
“I know.  Don’t give up
,
Hailey
.  H
e’s out there for you somewhere.” 

She smiled and started to walk away.

“Wait, I’ll give you a ride
,
” Brian said
.
“I’ll be right back
,
Delaney.”

“No, it’s only a few blocks
.
I want to walk
,
”
s
he smiled and headed down the street.

I turned to Brian and noticed that he had blood on his shirt and hands.  “Come inside
with me for a few minutes.  Y
ou need to clean up before your mom
and Molly see
you.”

“I
should just
go.”

“Brian, please
,
” I said, reaching out to take his hand.

“I’m sorry.”
             
“Would you stop, please?  None of this was your fault.”

“I wish I’d
known
.
I wish it didn’t happen.
”

“I know
.  M
e too, but it did.  It’s time to move forward now,
for
both of us.”

I cleaned up the cuts on his hand
s and tried to wash the blood from his shirt, but it wasn’t coming off.  “I guess you’ll have to change when you get home.  I’m sure
your mom and
Molly
are
worried about you.”

“I’m not too sure I
’m ready to see Molly right now,
”
h
e said, looking very guilty.

“Why?”

“I’m going to have to tell her
that
I kissed you.”

“But I kissed you.  You don’t have to tell her
anything
.”

“Yes I do.  And I did kiss you
.
I knew what I was doing.
  I wanted to kiss you.
  I want to kiss you right now.
”

“Brian, don’t do this.  You’ve tortured yourself enough.  Just let it go
,
” I said, knowing full well he would tell her.

“Delaney, I’ve missed you so much.”

“Me too
, and
I’m sorry about how I left things
and that you had to live with thinking that Logan was the father
.  I didn’t know what to do, but I hated myself for hurting you.”

“Can I ask you something…
something that’s really none of my business?”

“
Yes,
I’m through lying.  You can ask me anything.”

“Earlier today you told me that
you hadn’t slept with Logan.”

“It’s true
.  P
lease believe that.”

“I believe you, bu
t you’ve been living with him…
all this time
,
so…
?
”

“Do you really want to know the answer to that question?” I
aske
d, reaching up to touch his cheek.

“Yes.  I need to know.”

“Brian, I don’t want to hurt you.  I swear that I was completely faithful to you while we were together.”

“I guess I have my answer.”

“I love him
,
Brian, but I swear I loved you
,
too.  I still do.  Th
e
night tha
t we were alone at your house…
it was you that I was with, not Logan.  I was so
happy;
until I saw…
.
Chad’s
face
…
it just terrified me.”

“So…
you don’t see
hi
s face
anymore?”

“No, not
for a while now.”

“I’m glad that
Logan
made you happy, and I’m glad he could erase the image.”

“You made me happy
,
too
.  P
lease believe that.  I couldn’t have made it through that nightmare without you.”

“But I couldn’t erase Chad’s image from your mind.”

“I wasn’t ready.”

“I wasn’t Logan.”

“Brian, what
you and I
had was real
.
I swear it.”

“
I know you loved me, but
I always knew you’d end up with Logan.  I knew it.  It wasn’t
really
a surprise.”

“But I didn’t
end up with him
,
” I said, sadly.

“You will.  He’ll come for you and you’ll go with him.  That’s how it’s meant to be.”

“I hope
you’re right.
”

“Can I ask you for one thing?”

“Anything,
” I said, never dreaming of what his request would be.

“Since I already have to tell Molly that I kissed you, may I have one more?  I know it’s wrong, but we never really
did get to say
goodbye.”

“
Brian, I
....
yes
,
I think we both deserve that.”  He kissed me then, tenderly, like
our
first kiss.  It was bittersweet and we both had tears in our eyes when we pulled away.  “I love you
,
Delaney
.
I always will.  I have to
go
.
I have
to
beg
Molly
for forgiveness
now
.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not
,
”
h
e said and headed to the door.  He opened the door and
adde
d, “
Don’t let him go
,
Delaney
.  T
rust me, it hurts
.  I
t hurts more than you can imagine
.”

“I know
,
” I whispered, and he was gone.

Molly came
by the house later and offered to give me a ride to the bus station.  My mom wasn’t happy, but she agreed to let Molly take me anyway. 
             
“Delaney, honey, please take care of yourself
.  A
nd c
all me
,
every day
,
”
m
y mom said. 

“I will.  I love you
,
M
om.  I’ll be back. 
Remember;
please don’t tell Logan where I am.”

“Logan,
that’s his name? 
I should have known
,
”
s
he said
, slowly shaking her head
.

“What does that mean?”

“You used to call for him in your sleep.  Even after you were serious
with
Brian, you’d
call for Logan
.”

“I love him
.
I’ve always loved him.”

“Is this the same young man that had you faking migraines?”

I almost laughed at how transparent I was.  “You saw right through me
,
too.  Yes, he’s always been the one.  I did love Brian
,
Mom.
I still love
him
, but Logan
…
”
I sighed

“Logan
…
?”

“Logan
has my heart
.  H
e is completely irresistible to me.  One look into those eyes, one touch of his hand and I’m gone.  That’s why I have to leave.  I can’t resist him.  I will follow him, I know it.  And I love him enough to know that I can’t be responsible for him losing everything.  It will tear us apart anyway
,
and I couldn’t bear to have him hate me for it. 
Please
don’t tell him where I am.
  I’m begging you.
”

“There’s obviously more to the story
,
Delaney
.
I know you said he’s married, but
something’s not
right.
  What will he lose, other than
a
wife he obviously doesn’t love
,
if you stay
together
?”

“His home, his island, his trust fund – everything his mother
ever
left him.
”

“He has an island?”
s
he asked, looking shocked.

“Yes.  He owns Parker’s Island.”

“Wow, he must be very wealthy.”

“Yes.  And I won’t let him lose it all for me.”

“What about his wife?”

“
I don’t want to talk about this anymore.  Just believe me when I
tell you that
she will destroy him if I’m in the picture.  Now, I have to go.  I’ll call you.
  I promise.
”

She hugged me and as I headed to Molly’s car,
my mother
said, “You know
,
honey, there’s a lot more to life than money and the things it can buy.”

“Don’t tell him
…”
I said, knowing where my mom was heading.  I had made up my mind and I
was determined
to stick to the plan.

I got into Molly’s car, and wondered if she was going to confront me about the kisses that Brian and I had shared.  Never one for beating around the bush, she didn’t disappoint me
.  S
he jumped right in, head first.

“Delaney, you’re my best friend, you always have been.  I love you, but if you ever kiss Brian again, we’re through.”

“
Fair
enough
, I just didn’t know how…”
             
“I know.  He told me.”

“Of course he did.”

“He doesn’t feel the need to lie to me
,
”
s
he said, still sounding angry at me.

“I couldn’t face it
,
Molly.  I thought if I pretended it didn’t happen then I could forget.  Be honest with
me
now, would you have let it go
,
if you knew?”

“Hell no!  I would have killed the son of a bitch!”

“My point
,
exactly!”

“Okay.  I get it.  Will you tell me now?”

“Brian didn’t tell you who…
”

“No, he told me to ask you.”

“Of course
.  H
e seems to think the more I talk about it, the
sooner I can put it behind me.  He’s forgetting about my constant reminder
,
however
…
” I said, rubbing my belly.