Twisted (17 page)

I knew that was coming and I smile
sweetly. “He's off limits tonight, remember?”

“Brat.” Tate picks up a fry
and throws it half-heartedly at me.

A laugh escapes me and my
mood has lightened considerably. Tate's right, we do need this.

“At least tell me you're on
birth control and I'll drop it.”

My laughter comes to an
abrupt halt. Birth control. I haven't thought twice about it but if Cole and I
stay together, I am going to have to do something to protect myself. An
unwanted pregnancy would be a nightmare.

“Aw, shit. Set up an appointment
and I'll pay for it. No questions asked,” my brother says gruffly as he
concentrates on the rest of his fries instead of looking at me.

“Okay,” I mutter, taking a
long drink.

“I'm going out of town
overnight on Saturday into Sunday. Will you be okay?”

I look up at him. “Is Noah
going?”

“No.”

“I'll be fine.”

“I'd like to set up a cookout
one night. You can meet the rest of my friends and I can meet yours. Sound
good?”  Tate asks, pushing his empty plate aside.

“What about Cole?” I ask
tentatively.

“He can come. If you're
serious about this guy, I better try to get to know him.”

When we get back home, Tate
takes off again to run errands and I find myself heading to the mall in hopes
that Paige is working. When I enter the bakery, I am happy to see that only a
few people are at the tables and Paige is indeed working. She glances up from
where she's wiping the top of the glass case. “Hey,” she says lightly.

“Are you...okay?” I ask
hesitantly. The topic might be off limits and I could understand if it was.

She sighs and automatically
starts dishing up a large cinnamon roll for me. “It's not the first time I've
had to pay Blake's debt,” she says quietly, motioning for me to sit down at a
stool in front of the counter.

“It's happened before?” I ask
with concern as I sit down.

Paige rubs her cheek wearily
as she glances at her customers, who are completely engrossed in their own
conversation. She turns back and meets my gaze. “It's happened only one other
time. I thought Blake had learned his lesson but when he gets around Cole, he
gets stupid.”

“Paige, did Ethan...did he
hurt you?”

Shame flickers across her
face. “No. I was willing, he didn't use force.”

“Why would you do that for
Blake, especially if it's happened before?” I can't help but ask. I can't imagine
sleeping with a creepy stranger.

Paige's lips tighten. “I
refuse to walk away from him, the same way you refuse to walk away from Cole.”

I fall silent for a long
moment before speaking up again. “How is Blake handling it? I know it's none of
my business, so you can tell me to shut up,” I add quickly.

“Nah, it's actually nice to
have someone to talk to about all the crap Blake gets himself into. And to
answer to your question, he's upset. Not at me but at himself. He knew better
and he got himself in a mess anyway that he could have easily avoided.”

“What happens now? Will he
finally avoid getting pulled into poker games?”

“He damn well better. I
warned him last night that next time it's his finger.”

I nod. “Ethan's creepy.”

“
You're
telling
me
?”
she asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Sorry.”

“A word of advice. Stay away
from Ethan. If he's around, bail on Cole.”

“Cole warned me not to draw
attention to myself. I didn't realize...”

“Ethan is used to getting
what he wants and he has no conscious. He's hit on me in the past and when that
didn't work, I think he set Blake up to get to me. I bet he was cheating at the
party and Cole didn't want to rat him out. Be careful,
Blayre
,”
she warns seriously. “I wouldn't put it past Ethan to set his own brother up
just to mess with his head and to toy with you. He's worse than Cole when it
comes to messing with people.”

 A shiver runs down my
spine. “Thanks for the warning. If Cole and I aren't over, I'll be careful.”

Paige snorts. “Blake told me
a little about what Cole's doing. You don't really believe the bull he dished
out to you, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on,
Blayre
. How can you be so smart in some ways and naïve in
others? Cole's manipulating you. He's not mad. If he was, he'd erase you from
his life. He wants you to
need
him and he wants you to fear you're
losing him so that you'll be more likely to give him what he wants. It's all
just a game to him.”

“You don't think he cares
about me at all?” I ask sharply.

“Oh, he does, in his own
little fucked up way.”

I bite my lip and sigh. “I
know I shouldn't like him, but I do, Paige.”

“Listen to your head, not
your heart. He is bad news. He's ignoring you right now to put you on edge. Use
this time wisely and get him out of your system. Cole can't and won't ever offer
you anything but a good time. That's all he's good for. Trust me.”

I look away, knowing there is
some truth to her words. “I don't know...”

“Look at where I am at,
Blayre
. I just slept with a man I can't stand because of my
boyfriend. Do you want to end up like me?”

My eyes lift to hers and they
are grim. “If Cole and I break up, where does that leave you and me?”

Paige's eyes drop to the
counter. “We won't be friends anymore.”

“That's what I thought. Is
there a way to work around it, Paige?”

She looks at me again and
shakes her head. “No. We play by Cole's rules. When he's done with you, we're
done with you.”

“Is that what you want?” I
ask, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.

“No,” she says softly. “But
you haven't seen the things I have,
Blayre
. Trust me,
you're not going to like where you're heading. I'd rather see you get out than
see Cole destroy you.”

“To be honest, I don't think
he can destroy me anymore than I already am.”

Her eyes search mine. “What
do you mean?”

I shake my head and turn my
attention to my untouched cinnamon roll. “You wouldn't understand.”

“Try me.”

“You want to meet my
brother?” I ask, changing the topic abruptly as I glance at her.

She blinks at me but goes
with it. “Sure.”

“He wants to take you and me
out to eat sometime. He's also thinking of having a cookout. All his friends
and you guys, plus Cole.”

“No,” Paige says firmly.
“Cole will start something, especially with your brother being a cop.”

“You don't think he can play
nice for a few hours?”

“No.”

The next day, I find myself
staring out my third period's classroom window as I tune out Mrs. Carson's
lecture on literature of the nineteen hundreds. Instead, Paige's warnings keep
floating around my head. I know in my heart, I need to start considering them
and stop brushing them aside. Cole is
bad.
I've known it from the
beginning but I'd originally been drawn to him anyway because I instinctively
knew he's just as messed up as I am.

Probably worse.

For once in my life, I don't
feel alone. It feels good to have someone want me, even if it happens to be for
the wrong reasons. I want him even though I know he's going to cause me more
pain because nothing about Cole is ever easy. But I also know it would be wise
to get out now. Only breaking up with Cole meant losing Paige. It would also
mean going back to being
a nobody
. I would be that
lonely girl that fades into the background.

What am I supposed to do?

Saturday morning, I end up
waking up earlier than normal and I go for a drive instead of waiting for Tate
and Noah to get up. I spend some time doing a little window shopping and then I
splurge a little and buy a bikini for my nightly swims, and another thrift shop
tee-shirt. I loved the ones with the sarcastic sayings on the front. This one
was sure to get Tate going. It'd be fun wearing it the next time I was in the
mood to rile him up.

When I return home, I see
that Noah's car is gone already and instead I find an unfamiliar car in the
driveway. Tate has company. I find Tate, Vince, another man, and a woman
lounging around the kitchen.

Tate brightens when he sees
me as he turns around from the refrigerator, a six-pack of beer in his hand.
“Hey, I didn't think I'd get the chance to see you before I leave town.”

“You're leaving
now?” I'd forgotten he was going out of town with his friends.

“In a few. You've met Vince
already. This here is Alec and Marley. Guys, meet my baby sis,
Blayre
.”

This earns him a glare from
me. “I am not a baby.”

“Definitely not,” Alec agrees
as his hazel eyes run over me appreciatively.

Marley, a pretty brunette
with shoulder length hair, smacks him across the back of his head. “Don't mind
him. He matured more slowly than the rest of the boys.”

Alec shoots her a look.
“You'll be eating those words later.”

“We'll see,” Marley says,
looking amused.

Tate ignores them both and
centers his attention on me. “If you need anything, just ask Noah. He doesn't
work tonight so he'll be home. I'll be back close to noon tomorrow.”

“I'm eighteen, you know,” I
remind him lightly. “I'll be fine.”

“I know, but I'll feel better
knowing you're not alone.”

As soon as Tate and his
friends leave, I head up to my room and change into a black tank and a pair of
comfy pink boxers that have
Take
a picture
written across the butt in bold black letters.
Gotta
love the local thrift shop. My hair goes up in a
sloppy knot and then I head down to the pool, my favorite place to think.

Once I sprawl out on a lounge
chair, a huge sigh escapes me. I'm not any closer to making a decision about
Cole. No, scratch that. I know what I
should
do, but doing it is a whole
other story. I almost text messaged him earlier to say we were over, but I
ended up staring at the message for quite some time before deleting it.

I am clearly addicted to Cole
to the point where I feel like I
need
him in my life. There's also a
part of me that wants to prove Paige wrong. I want to show her that Cole really
does care about me and it has nothing do with some messed up game she thinks
he's playing with me. But...I sense she is right at the same time. I think Cole
is playing with me to some extent. If this happens to be nothing more than a
game to him, then I don't want any part of it.

Cole is fun, I'll give him
that. He's proven to be an excellent distraction from all the things that are
wrong in my life. In some ways, he is exactly what I need and in other ways,
he's my poison. Sweet but deadly.

The sliding glass door opens
and I turn my head to see Noah stepping outside, his eyes on me. We haven't
really talked since the night he kissed me. I'm hoping he won't ever bring it
up again. It's something I need to forget about, even though I have a tendency
to re-live it every night when I can't seem to fall asleep.

“Mind?” Noah asks, pointing
to the lounger next to mine.

“Go for it.”

He sits down, his eyes
questioning. “Tate leave already?”

“About an hour ago.”

Noah looks out over the pool
for a minute before turning his attention back to me. “You really like it out
here, don't you?”

“It's a good place to think.”

“Sounds to me like you have a
lot on your mind.”

I'm silent for a long moment
before asking, “How do you do something you don't want to do, even though you
know you'll be better off in the end?”

Noah studies me. “Everyone's
different,” he says. “Depending on what the situation is, I just push through
and do it rather than stressing over it. Other times, if I am doubting the
decision, I wait it out before I act on it.”

I let a sigh escape as I sit
up, wrapping my arms around my drawn up knees.

“Didn't help, did it?”

“No.”

“Want to run it by me? I'm a
good listener,” he offers.

“Thanks, but it's something I
have to figure out myself.”

“I understand. Did you and
your boyfriend work things out?” he asks me quietly, his eyes watchful.

His question has me
hesitating.

“I'm asking as a friend,
Blayre
. Nothing more,” he assures me.

His admission has me slowly
relaxing again. I'm glad that he’s come out and stated that things would stay
the same between us. “We're...giving each other some space,” I say, opting for
the truth.

“Was that your idea or his?”

My lips tighten. “His.”

Noah falls silent for a
moment. “You hungry?” he finally asks. “I'm going to make dinner.”

“I'm always hungry,” I laugh,
perking up at the idea of having something to do. “Want some help?”

“Sure.”

We both head inside and I
watch as Noah begins to pull out a couple of tomatoes. He sets a cutting board
and knife on the counter top, his eyes sliding to me. “Can you slice the tomatoes
and pull out lettuce, cheese, and whatever else you usually like on your
burgers? I'm making turkey burgers, or I can do up a beef patty if you prefer.”

“I've never had a turkey
burger before, I'm game.”

We work in silence and when
our meal is ready, we go out on the patio to eat at the table.

I polish off the last of my
burger and wipe my hands on a napkin before reaching for my nearly empty glass
of lemonade. “Are you the one who keeps the lemonade pitcher always full?” I
ask when I see that I have his attention.

“That would be me.”

“I'm sorry I've been drinking
most of it. I think I'm addicted,” I state as I set the empty glass down, my
expression sheepish.

Noah looks amused. “I make it
for you, so no need to apologize.”

“You do?”

“I noticed you always
gravitate towards water or lemonade. I don't think I've ever seen you touch a
glass of milk.”

I'm amazed he's observed some
of my habits. “I can't stand milk. Thank you for the lemonade. You don't have
to do it though, I can make it when it runs out.”

“I don't mind, it's become a
daily habit in the mornings.” His expression turns serious as he studies me.
“Can I ask you a question,
Blayre
?”

Uh-oh. This did not sound
good. “You just did,” I say lightly.

He smiles. “Funny,” he says
dryly, then goes back to serious mode. “Who's got you thinking so negatively
about yourself?”

My entire body stiffens up in
the chair. “You misunderstood what I said the other night.”

“No,” he says, while his eyes
bore into mine. “I don't think I did. I watch people and their faces much more
closely than the average person because of my deafness. I read your lips
perfectly fine and I saw the self-incrimination on your face. You believe
exactly what you said and you didn't get there on your own. Someone has been
messing with you.”

I'm not sure how to respond.
I should have known he wouldn't let that little slip of the tongue go. Damn.
“You've got it wrong,” I say.

“Then explain it to me.”

“It's none of your business.”
I stand up and grab my empty plate and glass.

“Don't. Don't be like the
others and walk away while I am trying to talk to you.”

That has me freezing where I
stand and I wince slightly. Slowly, I sit down and meet his gaze. “That's not
what I was doing.”

“I get that it's none of my
business and I'll back off,” he says steadily. “You don't have to run off to
get your point across.”

“I'm sorry,” I say with a
sigh.

“Apology accepted.”

My lip quirks. “You sound so
formal.”

He shrugs a broad shoulder, his
brown eyes suddenly shifting to teasing. “You probably think I'm an old geezer
compared to you.”

“You said it, not me.”

“Thanks,
Blayre
,”
he says dryly even as he smiles slightly.

“You set yourself up for that
one.” My amusement fades though as I turn serious. “Tate never said a word
about the other night. You didn't tell him?”

“Your brother has a really
nasty temper. I got you home safely and at the end of the day, that's all that
mattered.”

“Thank you, Noah.”

His eyes glint with warning.
“If he puts you in a bad situation again, your brother is going to hear about
it.”

“No worries,” I say with a
grimace. “Like I said, Cole and I are taking a break.”

I wake from a sound sleep,
feeling confused and groggy. My heart isn't racing and I'm not feeling the
familiar dread in the pit of my stomach or the panic that accompanies it, so I
know it wasn't a nightmare that woke me up.

When I turn over on my side
and peer at the clock, I see it is one-oh-three in the morning. Something
interrupted my sleep but what? I listen intently but only hear silence. With a
large yawn, I snuggle back into my sheets and my eyes immediately drift shut.
My phone on my dresser chimes in the silence of my room, letting me know
someone has sent me a text message. My eyes pop open.

Cole.

I lift my head and stare in
the direction of my phone. I told myself earlier that evening that I need to
avoid him and try to pull my thoughts together where he's concerned. My phone
chimes again. I should ignore it but I am curious. I fling my sheets back and
grab my phone off my dresser. The screen glows as I scan the messages.

COLE: 
Blayre
, I need a favor.

COLE: 
Blayre
?

COLE: 
Please. I need
your help.

Cole
never
asks for
help. Something is definitely up and my fingers quickly fly across the keyboard
on my phone.
What's wrong?

COLE: 
Come meet me.
I'm at the end of the block.

My eyes widen as I read his
message. He's outside waiting for me? This isn't like Cole and if I went by the
sound of his messages, he is in some sort of trouble. Do I really want to get
dragged into the middle of whatever it is?

My phone chimes again.
COLE: 
Are you coming?

ME: 
What do you need
help
with?                             

COLE:
  Seriously? I'd
help you if you needed it, no questions asked.

My eyes roll. Typical Cole
answer. Fine, I'll go see what he wants.
I'm coming
, I text back.

I quickly change into the
black tank top from earlier and slip on jean shorts, shoving my feet in
flip-flops as I twist my hair up into a tight knot.

I pause hesitantly at my
bedroom door. What if Noah is still up? It's one in the morning and if Noah
caught me, I'd be screwed. I just told him tonight that Cole and I are taking a
break. After a moment of deliberation, I remember that there is a tree by the
other window in my room that faces the right side of the backyard. I quickly
walk over and pull the curtains back to peer outside. It looks close enough. I
slide the window up and stick my head outside. I should be able to climb down
it but it is definitely going to be a pain to do.