Finding Ever After (7 page)

           
Kyden fixed a pointed look on Bas who just ignored it and stood up to get in
his face. “Don’t give me that
Ky.
I already told you
to keep your
shit
away from her, so back the fuck off
and go find Kaylie.” The hostility was rolling off Bas in waves. Everyone in
our circle was focused on Kyden to see how he would react. He was a mass of
tightly wound anger, but he didn’t
so
much as blink.
His eyes just bore into
Bas’s
, a silent conversation
taking place between the two.

           
I wasn’t going to wait for one of them to snap or say something they’d regret.
“Relax Bas, Kyden’s just screwing around and I can take care of myself. Both of
you need to just drop it.
Nothing,
and I mean nothing
is going to happen.” Still neither one spoke or moved. I didn’t know what else
to do. This is not how I imagined my first night back going.

           
Finally Chris, who must have walked into the kitchen sometime during the heated
exchange stepped forward and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder to try and
calm him down. At the same time a shrill voice broke the tense silence.

           
“What the hell is going on?” It was too much to hope that she had just
disappeared. I should’ve known Kaylie wouldn’t be far from Kyden for long.
Just what I needed to make this worse.

           
Bas shrugged off Chris and turned to storm out of the room, Chris tailed behind
him. I wanted to follow, but I was
froze
in place with
Kyden’s stare now fixed on me, his expression unreadable. I was sure everyone
was watching this moment pass between us, but I couldn’t look away. I didn’t
even know if I wanted to. Thankfully I was released from his captivation when
once again Kaylie demanded to know what was
gong
on,
this time stepping between the two of us. He continued to ignore her and I
hurriedly moved to go after Bas. As I stepped out of the kitchen Danny started
in on Kyden.

“That was a stupid fucking move man. You can’t blame
him for being pissed at
you,
she’s pretty much his
sister.”

           
“I don’t give a fuck.” Just great, two pissed off alpha males.

           
I made my way through the house, pausing at the partially opened front
door,
I could hear Chris’ voice outside. I softly pushed the
door open, and discreetly stepped out onto the front steps. I wanted to hear
what was being said without disrupting them. It was more than likely about me.
They were standing on the walkway
below,
Chris was
trying to reason with Bas.

           
“I know you just got her back and you feel like it’s your job to look after
her, but she’s a big girl now and can take care of herself. She’s obviously
been doing it for the last three years. You’ve
gotta
let her make her own decisions. You can’t tell her what to do or what not to
do. You, more than anyone, know how well that works, and by trying to order him
to stay away from her you’re just making it a challenge for him.”

           
“She’s too good for him. She doesn’t know his game. Come on you live with him.
We’ve all watched the never ending parade of girls. He gets what he wants then
discards them to move on to the next.”

           
“She’s not like the rest of them. She’s far from his usual
skanks
.”

           
“Exactly.
He won’t just disappoint her or hurt her, if
she actually lets him in, he’ll destroy her. He’ll use her up and toss her out
and I’ll be the one left to pick her up just like before.” It would not be like
before, I needed to speak up.

           
“No you won’t, because
it’s
not
gonna
happen.” They both looked
up,
neither seemed surprised
at my eavesdropping. Bas let out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair
in frustration.

“You say that now, but I’ve watched him seduce
countless girls. I saw the way you were looking at him in there, hell everyone
saw it.”

           
“I’m
gonna
let you guys work this out.” Chris brushed
past me, gently squeezing my arm and giving me a sympathetic smile. I descended
the steps until I was standing on the last one, putting me at eye level with
Bas.

           
“So what?”
I was more irritated with him than
anything. I knew his intentions were good, but he had to know it wouldn’t be
like that. “I can’t help it that I’m attracted to him, I sincerely doubt that
any straight female wouldn’t be, but that’s all it is. Do you really think I’d
let myself fall for his game after everything I’ve been through with my father
and Connor? Do you really think I’m so blind and naïve not to see through that,
or did you just forget that he’s not the first jerk to try and use me for what
he wants?”

           
“No, it’s not like that. You’ve been through too much and I want to protect you
from the Connor’s out there.”

           
“And you think Kyden is the same?” I was a pretty good judge of character, I
had to be. I was definitely picking up arrogant jerk from Kyden but that was a
long way from what Connor was.

           
“He’s not as sick as that bastard, but he’s a man
whore
and he’ll break your heart if you let him.”

           
“I appreciate you looking out for me, but it’s really not necessary. I’m not
going to let him.”

           
“Promise me, Jazz. Promise me you won’t fall for him.”

           
“Okay, I promise.” He was really worried about
this,
the least I could do was reassure him that he didn’t need to be.
“You happy now?”

           
“Yeah.
I am.” He snorted. “He might be a dick to the
girls he screws, but he really is a good friend and I’d hate to have to beat
his ass.”

           
“Well don’t worry, I’m sure after tonight this will all blow over and my
novelty will wear off.”

           
“I hope so. He’s not always like this.” I cocked an eyebrow. “Okay, so he’s
usually like this, but it’s different when it’s you he’s trying to mess with.
He’s my friend but tonight he pissed me off. It’s one thing when the girls know
what they’re getting themselves into, but-”

           
“No buts, I’ve officially been warned and I know what I would be getting into,
which is why it won’t happen. So relax.”

           
“Okay, I believe you. I’m sorry if I freaked over nothing. I just don’t want
anything to happen that will take you away again.”

           
“I’m not going anywhere except back to my house and my bed. It’s been a long
day and I don’t feel like going back in there.
Too much of
this emotional stuff.
I’m about ready to pass out from the exhaustion of
it all.”

           
“Yeah, I should probably head out too, I told Lissa I wouldn’t be out to late.
She was just getting off work when she called so I want to get home before she
goes to bed. I’ll just run in and tell Chris I’m taking off.”

           
I grabbed his cell phone and saved my new number for him. He told me he hadn’t
changed his just in case I’d ever needed him. He pulled me into one last hug
before we said goodnight.

           
When I got home I climbed into a hot shower and stood under the hot spray,
letting it wash away the stress of the evening. I felt all of the tension leave
my body as my muscles relaxed beneath the scalding flow of water. The water had
started to turn cold by the time I forced myself out and toweled off. I was too
exhausted to bother
unpacking,
I just dug in one of my
bags for an extra large t shirt and curled up on my mother’s bed.

           
I woke up with the strange feeling I was being watched. I opened my eyes to see
a pair of bright blue ones hovering above me. I startled and almost screamed
before I recognized the bright smile and wild blonde curls.

           
“Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty.” It was way too early for
Violette’s
bubbly personality. How did she even know I was back already and how did she
get in here?

           
“What are you doing here Vi? You almost gave me a damn heart attack.”

           
“You just returned home after a three year vanishing act. What do you think I’m
doing here?”

           
“I meant what are you doing here, in my bedroom, at the crack of dawn?”

           
“Eight o’clock is hardly the crack of dawn.”

           
“It is when I didn’t get to bed until after three in the morning.”

           
“Well
who’s
fault is it
really? If you had just called me when you got to town last night, I would have
been partying with you into the wee hours of the morning and then we would both
still be sleeping. But you didn’t, so here I am, and we are going to breakfast.
Get your ass out of bed sunshine.” She yanked the covers back and I groaned.

           
“I know
,
I’m sorry I didn’t call you but I had to go
see Bas and I didn’t think I could handle the two of you ganging up on me. How
did you find out I was home anyway?”

           
“Lissa texted me last night.
Hell of a way to find out
you were back by the way
skank
, but she was worried
about how Bas would handle it and wanted to know if I thought she should show
up at the party. I told her it would be
fine,
just
give you two space to work it out. I knew you two needed that, which is why I
didn’t hunt your ass down the second I found out you were back. I gave you your
time with Bas but now it’s my turn and I’m not leaving
til
I get my Jaxy time. I’ve got three years to make up for so get up before I drag
you out of here in nothing but that t-shirt.”

           
I knew resistance would be futile, it was better to just give in to her. She
was as tenacious as they come. A lot of people were fooled by the blonde hair
and sorority girl image, but she was seriously smart, pre law at Boston U. She
was also very out-spoken and could get fired up about the things she was
passionate about. She was like a bulldozer when she set her mind on something,
it was best not to get in her way. There was no winning an argument with her.

           
I dragged myself away from the warmth of my old princess bed and took the
fastest shower of my life. It was hard to enjoy it with
Vi
standing outside the bathroom beating on the door to rush me along. After
hurriedly dressing and applying minimal makeup she was shoving me out the door
toward her
shiney
BMW.
Vi’s
dad was a partner at one of the larger law firms in Boston and her Mom came
from old money, so Vi always had the nicest things. She loved her Coach bags
and
Louboutin
heels, but she never flaunted her
wealth. Even though she led a pretty pampered life she wasn’t stuck up like
most of the girls at the private high school we all attended. That’s where Bas
and I first met her freshman year.

           
She drove us to a quaint café/coffee shop, just a few miles from my house. I
remembered it being a bookstore when I left but the inside had been completely
remodeled. It had a very eclectic but cozy atmosphere, there was funky art
hanging on every wall and, the chairs were all mismatched, but they all worked
together to create a really laid back vibe that reminded me of the quirky
little coffee house that was a regular hang out for me in Portland.

           
We sat in the little area just off the entrance that used to be a reading nook
when the bookstore was here. Back then I loved to come here to get away. I
would sit in that spot and lose myself in a good book for a couple of hours. It
still had a few comfy chairs set up to be an ideal spot to curl up with a book
or laptop and your favorite drink. I could definitely still see myself spending
a lot of time here, especially if the food tasted half as good as it smelled.

           
I ordered the caramel pecan
french
toast and a strawberry pineapple smoothie, while Vi opted for blueberry
pancakes with some fancy coffee drink that took longer to say than it probably
did to make. I had never been a coffee drinker, but
Vi
practically bathed in the stuff, nectar of the Gods she called it. She couldn’t
function properly without it.

“Okay spill.
Right now.
I
need to hear all about the adventures you were off having while I was eating,
sleeping and breathing LSATs.” The waitress collected our menus and barely made
it two steps from our table before
Vi
started in, but
it wasn’t the lecture I was expecting.

           
“Wait, you’re not going to yell at me for leaving and making you worry?”

           
“Nope, I’m sure Sebastian already covered all that.”

           
“So you’re not mad at me?”

           
“No, I am. Or I guess I was, but I think I understand a little better why you
left. Don’t get me wrong, after I knew you were okay and had just taken off, I
was ready to kill you for making us worry like that, but things were always
different between the two of us than you and Bas. Maybe because I didn’t meet
you until later, but I never saw you as the little girl who needed a hero like
he did. I know I’m not Bas and the relationship you have with him is even hard for
me to understand sometimes. You two are so close, but being a girl, I think I
get it a little better, what was going on with you then, what he couldn’t see.”

           
“So you don’t hate me for abandoning you guys? I feel like I let you both down
as a friend. What I did was selfish.”

           
“I could never hate you, and you aren’t a bad friend babe, you didn’t let us
down. If anything it’s the other way around. You never should have had to feel
like leaving was your only option.”

           
“I feel weak for running away.”

           
“It wasn’t weak. What you were dealing with wasn’t typical teenage stuff. You
had real shit going on. Your dad is, well, who he is, and when he wasn’t trying
to manipulate you and make your life hell, he ignored you like you didn’t even
exit
. Your brothers and sister never did anything but
torment you and don’t even get me started on that son of a bitch Connor.

“Bas just wanted to make everything better for you and
protect you by keeping you in a bubble. That’s how guys are. They want to fix
things and they don’t realize that sometimes that’s not always what we need. As
much as I missed you, and as pissed as I was at you for scaring the crap out of
us, I’m proud of you for taking control of your life. You’ve always been a lot
stronger than you think and I knew you were capable of handling anything. You
just needed to figure it out for yourself. I knew you’d come home when you were
ready to face it all.”

           
“I don’t know if I am ready to face anything. So much has changed. I’ve
changed, but I’m still not sure what it is I want for my life." I wasn’t
ready to tell
Vi
about Shane finding me in Portland
and everything that happened during that visit. I hadn’t told Bas either. I
wasn’t sure how either one would react. First I had to decide if it changed
anything for me. I didn’t think there was anything that could ever make me see
my father as anything other than a ruthless monster, but there was a time when
I thought similar things about Shane.

           
"I needed to come home though. I realized this was the best place to
figure out what I want to do with my future. I do know that it won’t have
anything to do with my father’s world and I am done letting him have any say in
my life. I’m hoping I can avoid confronting him for like ever. In fact it would
be wonderful if he just never realized I was back.”

           
“Yeah, you know that’s not going to happen right?”
Vi
didn’t know everything about my dad, but she knew his name and that was enough.

           
“I can hope.” Our conversation was put on pause when the food arrived. It
looked amazing, and I was starving. I sighed as I took the first
bite,
it was probably the most delicious thing to ever enter
my mouth.

           
“Damn, that must be some French
toast,
you look like
you just
orgasmed
.”

           
“I think I might have, it’s incredible.”

           
“If your breakfast is getting you off, then I think you are in serious need of
a man. That’s going to be my welcome home present for you. I’m
gonna
get you laid girl. You are obviously in desperate
need of a night of wild, kinky, up against the wall, monkey sex.” I choked on
the bite I had just put in my mouth. My face turned beat red as her explicit
illustration caused an image of dark green penetrating eyes and a wicked smile

to
flash
in my mind

           
“Oh, what was that look?”

           
“What was what look?”

           
“Uh uh, don’t try that with me. You just got all hot and bothered thinking
about someone. Who is he?”

           
“No one.
I mean there isn’t anyone.” Trying to deny it
only made the blush deepen. I can’t believe I had even thought of
him.          

           
“Oh really?
Because your face is more red than that
smoothie
your
drinking. So come on, tell me”

           
“There’s nothing to tell, really. It’s just that there was this guy last night.
He was probably the most gorgeous guy I’ve ever seen but he was so arrogant and
completely
vulgur
and degrading. He thinks he’s God’s
gift to the female population and that he can do and say whatever he wants. He
was so infuriating.”

           
“Oh, I’m sure.” She had a knowing look on her face. “Sounds to me like you’re
trying a little too hard not to like him.”

           
“No.
No way.”
I protested. “He’s hot, but like I said
he’s just another womanizing pig and I don’t want anything to do with him.”

           
“Okay, okay.” She conceded, a little too easily. “So what’s his name?”

           
“Kyden McCabe, he’s in the band with Christian.”
Vi’s
eyes widened and a sly smile formed at the corners of her mouth, “Oh, I know
who he is, and if I were single I‘d jump him in a heartbeat.”
Vi
had been with the same guy since junior year in high
school. She talked slutty, but Jake wasn’t just her high school sweetheart, he
was the first and only boyfriend she’d ever had, which was one more than me.

           
“He’s not exactly relationship material.” I told her.

           
“I didn’t say anything about a relationship. I believe I said you needed-”

           
“Yeah, I remember what you said.” My face was still warm from the visual her
words provided.  

           
“Then you know he’d be the perfect one to give that to you. I’m sure he’s an
expert on all things wild and
kinky.”           

           
“I don’t doubt that, but he's not my type.”

           
“No, your
type
is all straight laced, buttoned up and boring.”

           
“That’s not true.”

           
“You hardly dated in high school, and the guys you did go out with were as
bland like oatmeal, and you, my friend, are not oatmeal. You are an ice cream
sundae and that boy is the hot fudge sauce you smother it in!”

           
“Exactly!
I don’t even like chocolate.”

           
“It was a metaphor. Normal, sane people like chocolate, and even though you
shouldn’t eat it every day, once in a while you have to indulge!”

           
“I don’t want to indulge, so can we stop talking about my love life.”

           
“You don’t have a love life. How many dates did you go on in the last three
years?”

           
“I don’t know, a few, but dating wasn’t exactly my top priority at the time.”

           
“Let me guess, they were all wannabe bankers, or accountants or some other
stuffy,
Prius
driving, khaki wearing tool?”

           
“Those are all respectable careers. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to date
someone stable and responsible, who can provide security.”

           
“Oh
my gosh
, you’re twenty one, you’re too young for
words like stable and security. Now is the time for making mistakes and having
one night stands with sexy, bad boy musicians that you can regret later!” The
last thing I need is more regrets in my life. I have too many already and my
entire existence was one big regret for my father.