Three Hearts One Soul (The Soul Series #1) (16 page)

“I remember him just leaning in closer, with his eyes closed, like he just expected you to kiss him back,” Jase snorts.

“Slimly little bastard put his tongue out early, do you remember that?” Whiskey groans, gripping his stomach he’s laughing so hard.

“Shut it Whiskey, do you know how hard it is to escape a tongue coming at you.”

He winks at me. “I only have nice tongues coming to me.”

“I bet you do.”

We all laugh and Whiskey continues feeding me drinks until my head is light and I’m giggling like a fifteen year old school girl.

“God, we were trouble weren’t we?” Whiskey grins, leaning back with a sigh.

Jase goes awful quiet and when Whiskey sits up on his chair and looks at his brother with deep concern, I know something is wrong. I spin around, placing my cup down and settling my eyes on Jase. He’s crying. Big, fat, heavy tears are pouring down his cheeks.

“I don’t want to die,” he rasps.

I look over at Whiskey and his eyes glass over, a lone tear stumbles down his cheek and that does it for me. Swallowing down my tears, and controlling my now deep, painful breathing, I slide down next to Jase and wrap my arms around him. What can we say to him? Nothing is going to make this feel better, nothing is going to ease his pain. He is dying and there’s nothing any of us can do about it but give him love and support. When Whiskey slides into the bed too, and his arms go around his brother, I feel my tears finally slip out.

We lay like that, just the way we used to, for a good hour. I feel Whiskey’s hand capture mine sometime during the breakdown, but I don’t let him know that it affects me. We wrap Jase between us and hold him as he cries. He cries so hard his body shakes and he coughs a lot. His breathing becomes so laboured I know soon we have to try and calm him down or he’ll have a massive attack. Stroking my hands over his chest in small circles, I whisper, “Hey,
it’s ok. It’s ok.”

I repeat the words over and over. Whiskey just
lays there, holding onto his brother with everything he has. After a good half an hour of me whispering to Jase, his breathing finally calms down. The room becomes quiet, our sobbing stops and we all just lay, tangled in each other, none of us wanting to move. I let my eyelids flutter closed and I feel Whiskeys thumb start tracing little circles over my palm, the motion soothes me and before I realize what’s happening, I’m asleep.

“You need to get her home.”

I hear Jase’s whispers. It stirs me from my sleep. As I come to, I realize I’m clutching Jase so hard my fingers burn when I try to pry them from his gown. Whiskey isn’t in the bed anymore, and when I open my eyes he’s standing by the bed, looking shattered. He looks down at me and sees my eyes are open, Jase turns his head too and our eyes meet. I reach over and stroke his cheek, not wanting to get out of this bed. Wanting to keep this moment forever. I know I can’t though. All good things end eventually.

“You should go and get some rest,” Jase whispers, stroking what I know are dark rings under my eyes.

“I…I didn’t bring my car. I let my dad take it. I’ll have to call a cab.”

“I’ll take you,” Whiskey says.

“On your bike?” I whisper, feeling so tired my body doesn’t want to move.

“Yeah, beats waiting an hour for a taxi.”

I look back down at Jase. “Are you going to be ok?”

He smiles and reaches up to pull me down so our lips touch. I close my eyes and sigh deeply at the feeling of his lips moving over mine. A feeling I know won’t be around for much longer. The thought has my chest clenching so angrily it causes my breathing to become ragged. I close my eyes and force the tears down, sick of them coming at every opportune moment. Jase kisses me once more and then I force myself to climb from his bed. I stumble a little, a mixture of sleep deprivation and alcohol.

“You sure you’re ok, Nev?” Jase whispers, his voice so light I can hardly hear him.

“I’m ok handsome, get some rest.”

He smiles at me. “I love you guys.”

“Yeah,” we both say. “We love you too.”

Whiskey and I walk to his bike quietly, neither of us speaking. When we reach the big, black machine, I feel my heart race. I’ve never been on a bike, I never knew Whiskey was the biker type. I watch as he pulls a helmet from some sort of box on the back of the bike, I guess that’s where he puts his clothes when he travels. He hands me the helmet and then pulls the one from the handlebars and pulls it over his own head. He gets on the bike and stands it up, then he turns and looks at me, I’m still staring at the helmet.

“It doesn’t bite.”

God I’m so sleepy, I can barely stand. I fumble to put the helmet on. Whiskey stands and puts the stand back on the bike, before walking over and gripping the helmet straps. He ties them together and when he’s satisfied, he steps back.

“You ok?” he asks.

“Yeah, just tired.”

“Don’t you let go of me
, Nev, it’s dangerous if you let go.”

“I won’t,” I yawn.

“Promise me!” he says in a firm tone.

“Ok, promise.”

He gets back on the bike and I slide on behind him. When he grips my arms and pulls them around his waist, I tense up. Well, I didn’t think about this part of getting a ride home. When Whiskey lets go of my hands, I can feel his hard muscle as he moves to start the bike. Feeling my heart race, I try to focus on anything else. Luckily for me, I’m so dammed tired that soon becomes my focus. I rest my head on his back and just fade into oblivion as he rides us home. The cool breeze whips my face through the open helmet and I close my eyes, just breathing it in. For a moment, just a moment, I let myself go back to the past when things were perfect.

“You great big baby,” Whiskey smirks when he opens the front door to find me standing at it, looking like a drowned rat.

“I hate storms, I’m home alone and I hate them.”

“So you walked here, got soaking wet, put yourself in danger, just to spend a night with Jase and me?”

I shrug. “You know you help me sleep.”

He grins and lets me in. I see Katie and John sitting at the table, Katie looks up and her eyes widen. She gets to her feet and rushes over, picking up a towel on her way from a nearby washing stack.

“Nevaeh, what on earth?”

“I don’t like being home alone. I thought I’d come and say hello.”

“You’re soaked, Jarrod, go and get her something dry to wear.”

Whiskey smirks at me and takes my hand, pulling me from his mother’s grips and leading me upstairs. When we get into his room, Jase is sitting on his bed playing the
playstation. He looks up when I come in and he grins, big and wide. I smile and rush over, leaping onto the bed beside him.

“
Whatcha playing?” I ask, crossing my legs.

“Ah, get off my bed
, woman!” Whiskey groans.

Rolling my eyes, I slide off the bed and catch the shirt Whiskey tosses me. I quickly pull of my shirt and replace it with his, then slide back onto the bed. Whiskey takes his controller and begins battling it out against Jase again.

“Ugh, you boys and your damn video games.”

“No one calls them video games anymore
, Nev,” Jase laughs.

Whiskey chuckles and drops the remote. “You lose brother!”

“You got me at a disadvantage, Nev was here, it doesn’t count.”

“A loser is a loser,” Whiskey smirks.

I roll my eyes and lie back onto Jase’s pillow. The boys lay down beside me and we all stare at the roof.

“Where’s your dad?” Jase asks.

“Work. Again.”

“Doesn’t it bother him to leave you at home alone?”

“I’m seventeen, he doesn’t need to be there all the time you know.”

“Still,” Whiskey says. “It’s not great to leave you alone all by yourself.”

“You two could come and keep me company more, instead of letting me walk in the rain.”

“Nah ah girl, you don’t get to use that one on us. You chose to walk in that rain,” Jase chuckles.

I giggle. “Yeah, I did.”

“Besides, I thought you were meant to be going out with
Yasmin tonight?” Whiskey murmurs.

I huff. “She went out on a date with Mike.”

“Ugh, that bloke is just…a drop kick.” Jase grunts.

“Yeah, a real piece of shit,” Whiskey agrees.

“And you two are candy dipped in chocolate?”

They both roar with laughter and Jase wraps an arm around me.

“Oh, you know we are.”

“Hey, Heaven…”

I lift my head from Whiskey’s back and realize we’ve stopped at home. I really did let that memory take me away. I sit up and sway a little.

“Hang on,” Whiskey says, jumping off the bike and pulling his helmet off.

He reaches across and pulls my helmet off, and then before I can argue, he lifts me off the bike and into his arms. I don’t argue, my body is so dammed drained that it’s easier just to let him carry me then for me to fight him. I close my eyes as he carries me into the house. I hear his parents murmur something, but my haze becomes deeper and deeper. You know those moments that just take you over the edge, you get so tired you just can’t function? It’s just impossible to keep your eyes open?

I feel the soft mattress touch my back as Whiskey lays me down. I don’t open my eyes as darkness creeps further and further in. I feel Whiskey move about,
then he reaches down and slips my shoes off. I feel him pull back the sheets and slide me under them, before tucking me in. Warmth washes over me, that and absolute exhaustion. I feel Whiskey lean down and graze his lips across my cheek. For a moment, I actually feel like it’s a dream. I’m on that line between consciousness and unconsciousness, where you’re just not sure which one you’re in.

“Don’t go Whiskey,” I murmur in my haze. “Miss you.”

He doesn’t say anything. I feel him stroke a piece of hair from my face and then he leans down close and whispers. “Jase was right, hearing you laugh tonight, it was like sunshine.”

I don’t know if he actually said it, or if I imaged he said it, because moments later I’ve sunk into the darkness.

Chapter 13

“No, no, no…”

I jerk in my sleep, I can hear someone yelling out in a far off voice but I’m not fully awake. I let my body drift down again. I don’t want to wake up yet, waking up means facing reality, I just want to stay in my bed for a few more moments. Just a few more moments. 

“No, please, no,” the voice cries out, full of agony.

I jerk again, this time my eyes flutter open. It takes me a moment to bring myself back to the land of the living. I blink a few times, it’s dark in my room and the house is quiet. When did I go to bed? I vaguely remember coming home with Whiskey. God, I was so tired. I honestly can’t remember falling asleep. I rub my sleepy eyes and try to adjust to the darkness, wondering what jerked me from my sleep. Then I hear it again.

“No!”

Whiskey? I sit up, taking a moment to fully wake up before sliding out of bed. I grip my robe and pull it around myself before following the sound of the yelling. Is Whiskey fighting with someone? Is he having a bad dream? I don’t even know if he stayed, maybe it’s John or maybe it’s one of the neighbours, they can be a rowdy bunch.

“No, please, don’t,” the voice cries again, and I know for sure now, that it’s Whiskey.

I step into the lounge and see Whiskey on the couch, his body is arching, his chest is pushed up towards the ceiling, his back bowed. He’s covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and he’s panting. His eyes are clenched shut and he’s…oh my….he’s aroused. He cries out no again and I realize he’s dreaming and whatever he’s dreaming about is both torturing and arousing him. I walk over quietly, wondering why he’s sleeping with the light on? When I stop at the side of the couch, I stare down at him. He’s bending and thrashing, his eyes are clenched.

“No,” he rasps. “Please, fucking stop.”

“Whiskey?” I whisper.

“No…”

“Whiskey?”

I reach down and grip his shoulder, shaking him slightly. Before I know it, his hand is lashing out and gripping my wrist. He hurls me down on top of him, my body falls hard into his and it jerks him enough that he wakes up with a gasp. I can feel his erection digging into my hip and I can hear his heart thudding. It takes him a moment to grasp where he is, his fingers are curling into my side painfully and I make a little whimpering sound.

“Heaven?”

“Whiskey,” I whisper. “You were dreaming. It’s me, Nevaeh. You’re ok now.”

“Shit,” he rasps, sitting us up. “Did I hurt you?”

“Why would you hurt me?” I whisper, still waking up myself.

“I…it doesn’t matter. Why are you laying on top of me?”

“You pulled me here,” I say in a small, tired voice.

I feel his erection hitting me right in my core, if we were naked, he’d be inside me with this position. He realizes it too and his eyes swing to mine and for a brief, heart wrenching moment, I feel like we’re back five years ago and nothing has changed. A massive part of me wants to slide Whiskey deep inside me and rock against him until we’re both crying out in pleasure. My groin clenches and my breathing deepens. I don’t want to need him like this, but god, I want him. I want him so badly.