Aligned: Volume 4 (14 page)

“She wasn’t legally able to turn over that video to the police. Don’t worry, that video will be inadmissible in court.”

“She didn’t turn it over.”
 

He narrows his eyes at me as he looks up from the papers in front of him. “Then who did?”
 

“Me.”
 

He just shakes his head in disbelief. “Why would you do that?”
 

“Have you seen the video?”
 

“Yes, I saw it when I originally wrote up the terms of the contract between you and Ms. Parker the first time.”
 

“I hadn’t. Not until yesterday. I hadn’t seen the video. I hadn’t seen what I had really done. I couldn’t live with myself without paying the consequences for what I had done. I couldn’t pretend I was a good person to my daughter when I’m clearly not.”
 

Allen just shakes his head at me. “You are a good person. That was one night that we don’t even have enough evidence to really know what happened.”
 

I shake my head. “We do. We have more than enough evidence. That surveillance video proves I’m a monster.”
 

“Do you know what he said to you? What he said that caused you to hit him?”
 

“No. But no matter what he said, I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. I shouldn’t have let it go that far. I could have killed him.”
 

He grabs my shoulders forcing me to look at him. “But you didn’t. You didn’t kill him.”

I shake him off. “It doesn’t matter. I could have. I’m no better than my father is.”
 

“Let’s gather all of the evidence first before you sentence yourself to a life of punishment for a crime you didn’t commit.”
 

“I did ...”
 

Allen puts his hand up, stopping me.
 

“We need to talk to the police. They will most likely want to arrest you. I will be able to easily get you out on bail by the end of the day, though. Then we will gather all of the evidence. We will find out what really happened before we determine how we are going to plea. Do you understand me?”
 

I nod although I don’t. I don’t understand why he doesn’t clearly see what I did. That I deserve to go to prison.
 

“I will most likely get them to take a plea deal and get you off on community service even if you really did this.”
 

“No. I want to pay for what I did. I don’t want to take a deal.”
 

“You let me decide that. We need to call them back in. You don’t say a word without speaking to me first. Not. A. Single. Goddamn. Word. Do you understand me?”
 

“Yes,” I say harshly. It’s just like every other time I’ve worked with him except this time when he looks at me, I see a hint of fear in his eyes. He’s worried about me. He knows I did this. He knows I should pay for this, and he can’t do anything to stop me from going to jail.
 

I watch as he gets up to let the police back in.
 

“We have enough evidence from the video alone to charge him,” the officer says, looking at Allen and not me.

“I understand.”
 

“It would be best if we hear from him what exactly happened.”
 

Jim shakes his head. “We have nothing to say at this time. Not until we have had time to do our own investigation.”
 

The officer nods and looks sad as he looks at me. He doesn’t look angry or hostile like I would expect an officer to look at me like for what I did. He just looks sad.
 

“Landon Davis, you are under arrest ...”
 

I hear him, but I don’t really hear him. His words are monotone. I don’t think about anything other than I deserve this. I deserve worse.

Instead, they treat me kindly as he escorts me out of the building to a police car. He escorts me out the back so that there are no paparazzi or members of the media to take my picture.
 

The drive to the jail is quick. Quicker than I expected. And somehow, we manage not to be spotted.
 

He gets out and helps me out of the car because my hands are still handcuffed. He leads me up to the building and presses a code on the door that unlocks the door.
 

He pauses for just a second at the door. “Don’t worry. Your lawyer will have you out of here in an hour, two max. This thing probably won’t even go to trial.”
 

I just shake my head at the officer that said things to me I’m sure he isn’t supposed to say.
 

He takes me inside and a female officer working the desk looks up at me in surprise.

“This is ...”
 

“Landon Davis,” the female officer finishes his sentence.
 

She looks up at me with bug eyes, and I know. I know I’ll be getting the star treatment while I’m in here. At least until the video goes viral and they see who I really am.
 

True to his word, Allen has me out of here in an hour. They don’t even bother moving me from a holding cell. When the female officer comes to let me out, she asks for my autograph. I reluctantly give it to her although I’m sure she will hate me soon. Just as much as I hate myself.
 

“Let’s get you home,” Allen says.
 

I smile as she pushes me away from her sensitive flesh, unable to handle my touch any further, but I’ve not had enough. I’ll never get enough.
 

It was hard to pull myself from Caroline when the sun came up this morning. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It felt incredible to have her in my arms all night.
 

I didn’t sleep a second. I was too afraid I would miss the sound of her breathing. Or the smell of her perfume. Or the feel of her smooth skin beneath my hand.
 

I was too afraid that something worse would happen. That Caroline would wake up crying or the morning sickness would get to her again.
 

I couldn’t chance any of it. So I didn’t sleep. Not one second, but when the sun began streaming through the window, I knew I had to get up.
 

So I did. I tore myself from her arms, and at the last second when my arm was almost free, she pulled me tighter to her, refusing to let me go.

The pain was almost unbearable in my heart as I pulled my arm away from her knowing that she will probably never hold me that tightly ever again. That she was only doing that because she was asleep and afraid, not because she wanted me.
 

Going back to her with breakfast is just as hard, though. It’s hard because when I wake her up, I know she won’t be dreaming of me. She’ll be dreaming of him.
 

As I carry her breakfast back to my bedroom, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I pull it out and glance at it, but it is not Allen, our lawyer, who I tried calling as I made her breakfast. It’s the music label. I hit ignore and slide the phone back in my pocket. That phone call is going to have to wait. I can’t deal with the label right now.
 

I push the door open and carry the breakfast over and set it on the nightstand next to the bed. I stare at the beautiful woman in my bed who has been through so much. Who has fought for everything her entire life. She makes me feel at peace staring at her.
 

It does feel strange, though, to see a woman in my bed. Even a woman who I have dreamed about being there every night of my life.
 

I lean down and kiss her softly on the cheek.
 

“Wake up, beautiful,” I whisper in her ear.
 

To my surprise, that’s all it takes to stir her. The smile on her face, when she opens her eyes, is one of pure joy. Not something I would expect to see after yesterday’s events.
 

“Good morning,” she says still smiling at me.
 

“I made you breakfast.” I point at the food sitting on the nightstand next to her.
 

She sits up in bed as I put the tray of food on her lap.
 

“Thanks, but I’m not really hungry.” She holds her stomach as she speaks.
 

“I made your favorite, though.”
 

“Oh, really. You made my favorite. I doubt you even remember what it is?” Her eyes finally leave mine long enough to look down at the food before her. And then her mouth falls open, but no words leave her mouth.
 

“Biscuits with chocolate gravy and strawberries. It’s still your favorite, right?”

“How did you know? I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody that. My grandma used to make this for me.” She looks down at her plate with tears in her eyes. “It looked just like this. How?”

I shrug. “You talk in your sleep.”
 

“Last night?”
 

I laugh. “No. You didn’t say a word last night, but you did a lot when we were kids. Landon never heard you.”
 

“He snores too loudly for that,” we both say and laugh.
 

“But I was always a light enough sleeper. I heard every word you muttered.”
 

“What else did I say?” Her cheeks flush bright pink as she says it, which just makes me smile brighter at her. I take a seat on the edge of the bed near her feet.
 

“Eat first then I’ll tell you.”
 

She begins digging into her breakfast, and when I feel she has eaten enough, that she is no longer starving herself or the baby, I speak. “Let me think. You used to talk a lot about Landon. How you had the hots for him.”
 

“I did not,” she mumbles between bites.
 

“Did too. You’ve been talking about how much you loved Landon since you were eight years old.”
 

She blushes again but doesn’t argue.
 

“You used to talk a lot about how much you wanted a horse.”
 

She nods and takes another bite.
 

“You would talk about how you wanted at first to be a princess, and then a veterinarian, and then an actress.”
 

She smiles at that.
 

“You used to talk about how scared you were.”
 

I meet her gaze, and both of our eyes have turned serious. Her fork drops to her plate.
 

“You remember all of that?”
 

I nod. “I remember every word you’ve ever said. Whether you were awake or not.”
 

She just stares at me for a while longer. Neither of us says a word. Maybe if things were different right now, I would throw the tray to the floor and kiss her. I would confess my undying love for her, but things aren’t different. She’s in love with my brother and carrying his child. I’m nothing more than a friend and manager to her.
 

I watch her face as the tears pick up and stream faster down her face. So fast that I’m afraid she is going to break down like she did last night.
 

I grab the tray and move it to the nightstand again. My hands immediately go to her face to wipe the tears and then I’m holding her again. I’m holding her so tight trying to take away all of the pain she is feeling because of my idiot brother.
 

She pushes me away, though, until I’m sitting inches from her with a stunned expression on my face.
 

She buries her face in her hands and continues to sob. I don’t know what to do. So I just wait for her to decide what she needs.
 

“I’ve done something horrible,” she finally says between sobs.
 

I wipe the tears from her cheeks smiling at her as I do. “You are not horrible. You’re amazing. You’re strong and beautiful and going to make an amazing mother to my niece.”
 

My words only make her tears cry harder and her face turn even more distraught. I have no idea what has brought this on. What has brought on her feeling this way?
 

“I lied.”
 

I take her hand in mine. “It’s okay.”
 

She shakes her head. “It’s not. I lied. I said that Landon destroyed my brother’s life because Landon hurt me so much when he broke up with me. I couldn’t bear not to be with him.”
 

“What are you talking about? The video is perfectly clear that Landon was the one who hurt your brother.”

I watch her head move side to side, but I don’t believe her. I don’t believe that Landon isn’t to blame for ruining her brother’s life. I hate her brother. I’ve hated him since he was eight. I’ve hated him since he tried to hurt Caroline, but he didn’t deserve what Landon did to him. Sean never physically hurt Caroline. He didn’t deserve to live his life in a wheelchair.
 

“I lied. That video doesn’t show what you think it does.”
 

I stand from the bed. “What are you talking about? Are you saying you manipulated the video?”
 

She shakes her head. “No. The video is true. One-hundred percent true. You just are missing one thing when you look at that video. You didn’t see the gun that my brother was holding in his hand when he approached Landon. You didn’t see it pressed into my back as my own brother used me to try to blackmail Landon into giving him money for drugs.”
 

She gets out of bed until she is face to face with me.
 

“Landon wasn’t attacking my brother out of spite or because he drank too much. He was attacking him to protect me. To keep me safe. Just like he always does. Just like he has my entire life.”

Caroline has never made me angry. Not one fucking time. Not even when we were children and she would make fun of me for being too serious. Not even when she would mimic everything Landon and I would say. It would drive Landon wild but not me.