Wounded But Not Scarred (New Adult Rockers 2) (22 page)

Shaking, I quickly dial Blake and
put him on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Blake! There is a car following
me, riding my ass with its high beams on and I’m almost certain it’s Savannah.”

“What?” His voice is a mixed one of
shock and anger.

“It has to be her. She pulled out
behind me just out of the arena, and now she’s driving like a maniac. It’s a
little red car.”

“That crazy bitch!” he yells. “Hang
up with me and call the police. I’m turning around now and coming behind you!”

Trembling, I hang up and call the
police. I’m a tolerant person, but this bitch has messed with me for the last
time.

Driving like a bat out of hell, I
turn my car around right in the middle of the road and start flying down in the
opposite direction, taking the roads that I know Paige takes home. I don’t know
what the hell has gotten into Savannah and I don’t give a damn at this point.

She's crossed one too many lines,
and this shit is going to stop tonight.

I continue to race down the road,
hoping that Paige has gotten in touch with the police and that they are on
their way. Better yet, I hope the police arrive before I do because if I
confront Savannah, I could wind up in jail, that’s how angry I am at the
moment.

I barrel through a red light, and
curse again not realizing how far I had traveled in the opposite direction
before I got Paige's call. I see the flashing lights of a police car on the
side of the road, and I slam on my brakes, inhaling sharply. At first, I think
there is an accident, but as I approach, I see that it’s just two cars pulled
over.

 Paige’s SUV sits parked on the
side, and right behind that is Savannah’s red sports car, and behind that is
the police cruiser. I swerve in front of Paige’s car, and then jump out,
hurrying along the side of the road.

“Blake!” Paige throws herself at
me, and I catch her as she lets out a sob. “I’m done! I can’t deal with this
anymore!”

I look over and see the officer
trying to calm down a crazed Savannah.

“She took my fiancé!” Savannah is
screaming, her hair waving wildly as the officer is restraining her from
running after Paige. “She has to pay!”

I stop, and feel my mouth drop
open. Savannah is literally unhinged. For the first time, I think that there
may actually be something seriously wrong with her.

“She’s not right,” I whisper to
Paige.

“Of course she’s not right,” Paige
snaps, “she’s a psychotic bitch.”

“No, I mean that she seems
literally crazy. I think she’s had a break down or something.”

“Alright miss, I’m going to have to
take you into the precinct for some questioning,” the officer says, pushing
Savannah into the back of the cruiser. She yells louder and than her screams
are drowned out by the slamming of the door.

The officer walks over towards us.
Clearly, he and Paige have already spoken.

“I’m Blake Evans,” I introduce,
pulling Paige protectively against me, “This is my fiancé, Paige Lawson.”

“Yes,” says the officer, “Paige and
I have spoken.” He gives us an apologetic grin. “And I’m a big fan of both of
yours,” he says, bowing his head slightly.

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

“Look, I take it here that your
ex-fiancé over there is having a hard time dealing with things. Has she been causing
problems before this?”

“Yes!” Paige answers quickly.
“She’s been harassing us for months.” She looks over at me and I nod, allowing
Paige to continue. “She’s shown up at our houses, her parents have shown up to
confront Blake, she’s called us when we’ve asked her to stop.” She pauses for a
moment.

The officer nods and jots a few
notes down. “Alright. I’m going to take her in for questioning. Not sure if
there is enough here to charge her with something, but can we call either of
you if we need to?”

“Yes, absolutely.” I give Paige a
reassuring smile.

“Great. Y’all get home safely now,
you hear?”

We nod and I walk Paige back to her
car.

“It’s fine. Hopefully this is the
end of it,” I say soothingly.

“It will be the end of the things,”
she says fiercely, “I’m done with her trying to interfere with things. I mean
it, Blake. It stops here.”

“I agree. Are you alright to drive
home?”

“I’m fine.” She sinks into my arms,
and I hug her and give her a lingering kiss.

“Call me and let me know you got in
okay. Alright?”

“I will.”

I stand on the side of the road and
watch her drive away. Once her car has disappeared, I slowly walk back to my
truck and turn around to head home.

Paige snuggles up next to me on the
couch, enjoying the fire roaring in Kenny’s fireplace. Christmas carols are
playing through discreet speakers built into the walls, and everyone around us
seems happy and relaxed.

Including us.

We spent the last few days putting
the Savannah drama behind us for good, and now it's Christmas Eve and we're
relaxing with family, ready to enjoy the holidays.

I see Paige watching her mother and
Jackson across the room. We're celebrating Christmas with them tomorrow
morning, and then Marybeth is heading back to Bristol to spend the rest of the
day with Paige’s grandmother at the rehab facility.

“They look happy, don’t they?”
Paige asks quietly, following my gaze.

“Yes, they do.”

“I doubt they’re as happy as we
are,” she teases, running her hand along the inside of my pants.

“Watch it,” I warn, feeling my body
warm up instantly. She chuckles and withdraws her hand. “Are you sure you’re
okay with everything?” I ask again.

“Blake,” she sighs, “I’m fine. It’s
over, so let’s not talk about it anymore.”

Savannah hadn't been arrested, but
Paige and I had been granted a rushed restraining order thanks to a judge who
knew Kenny. And who was probably also one of the only judges not influenced by
the Devlin and Prescott families. And not only did the restraining order apply
to Savannah, it also applied to both of her parents.

If the Devlins thought they were
embarrassed before, they were a hundred times more humiliated now. It made
front-page news that the Devlin family had been issued a restraining order
against Paige and I.

At the last minute hearing
yesterday, a mortified Mrs. Devlin promised Paige and I that her family would
not bother us again. Clearly, they thought they could get away with harassing
us without any retribution. Jeffrey Devlin had also mumbled something about
getting Savannah the help she needed.

It turns out that even in Nashville,
with all the money in the world, you can’t always buy your way out of things.

My phone buzzes and I pull it out.

“It’s Cici,” I say to Paige.

Her face lights up hopefully. We are
still waiting to hear about our bid on the house in Belle Meade.

“Hello?” I say.

“Merry Christmas, Blake! How are
you?”

“Merry Christmas, Cici. I’m great.
How are you?”

“I’m doing well, thanks.” I can
hear her smiling through the phone. “I have a very special Christmas present
for youuuu.”

“Yes?”

Paige is literally hanging on my
every word.

“Your offer was accepted! The house
is yours!”

“Hot damn! That’s great news!” I
nod at Paige and she lets out a little whoop and jumps off the couch.

“Just wanted to let you know. I’ll
be in touch with you next week to go over details, contracts, attorney review,
and other closing stuff.”

“Okay. Great! Thanks so much, Cici.
You’re the best!”

"Congratulations! And have a
wonderful holiday." Cici says cheerfully.

We hang up and Paige gives me a
huge hug and kiss. “Oh my god! I can’t believe we got the house!”

She runs over to tell her mother,
who gives her a huge hug and then she yells the news across the room to Kenny
and Daisy.

“So, what else did Cici say?” she
asks, coming back over to me, her eyes bright.

“Just that she’ll be in touch next
week and we can work out the details of the closing.”

“That is the best Christmas present
ever,” she squeals.

I pull her in and hug her. As sappy
as it sounds, I feel like our life together is finally starting to fall into
place.

The buzzing of my phone rips me
from my sleep, and I fumble on my nightstand for it. It’s still dark outside,
and a quick glance at my clock tells me it’s almost four in the morning.

“Hello?” I croak.

“Blake!” Paige’s voice is a broken
sob.

I dart up in bed, my head quickly
clearing. “Paige? What is it?”

“My grandma,” she chokes. “She’s –
she’s dead.”

It takes me a moment to process
what she’s said, and I rake my hand through my messy hair.

“Oh god, Paige. I’m so sorry. I’m
so, so sorry.”

“I need to go to Bristol,” she
weeps.

“Okay, okay. Look, let me shower
and pack a bag and I’ll be right over to get you. We’ll head up right away.”

She hiccups. “O-okay. Thank you. I
love you.”

“Love you too, baby.”

I end the call and jump out of bed.
I flip my light on and pull out my duffel bag and start throwing clothes
inside. It’s two days before New Year’s Eve, and we still have a week before
we’re due back on tour. I’m sure that all the funeral arrangements will happen
before we have to be back on our schedule.

I haphazardly toss clothes in the
bag, and then pull out a suit and dress shoes. I try to be quiet as I make my
way down the hall to the bathroom, but my mother emerges from her room, bleary
eyed and pulling a robe around her.

“Blake? Is everything okay?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Paige’s
grandmother just died. I’m going to take a quick shower and then we’re heading
up to Bristol.”

“Oh gosh! I’m so sorry to hear
that! Can we do anything?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so,
but thanks for offering.”

“Poor Paige,” she murmurs. “Well,
keep in touch with us and let us know if we can help. Your father and I will try
to make it up for the services.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

I give her a quick kiss and head
into the bathroom.

I shower and dress in no time, and
the roads are deserted at this hour. It’s still dark outside and Christmas
lights twinkle at me from many of the houses. It’s just after five when I pull
up in front of Paige’s house. Before I can knock, Kenny pulls the door open.

“Come on in,” he says gravely.

Paige is sitting at the island in
the kitchen, crying, and Daisy is standing behind her, rubbing her back.

“Blake!” she cries when she sees
me, jumping up and running to me. I give her a hug, pulling her close to me and
inhaling her scent.

“I’m sorry, Paige.”

I notice there are two bags by the
door, along with a garment bag, which I’m assuming contains a funeral dress.

Daisy gives Paige another hug, and
Kenny carries the bags out to my truck. Kenny gives Paige a hug and a kiss and
then she climbs in the passenger seat next to me. I wait until we’re on the
highway before I speak.