Beyond the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series (7 page)

“What do you mean?” Taylor grabbed my arm, stopping me before we made it into the room.

“Let’s just say that interns are strictly off limits for a reason,” I sighed as my head dropped. “I’ll tell you about it when we can be alone.”

“We can be alone now. Come on,” he waved me in the direction of the stairs and began climbing them slowly. “I’ll be back in minute, baby. I’m just showing Ty to his room.”

“Ok,” Morgan called from somewhere behind us.

When we reached the top of the stairs, Taylor began turning on lights as we made our way down the hallway. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you came, but the house isn’t exactly ready for you,” he chuckled. “Virginia kept everything, and some of these rooms are still a little messy.”

“I’ll live,” I shrugged.

“So what gives?” Taylor stepped through a doorway, and then closed the door quietly behind us.

“I fucked the intern at work.” I turned my head so I wasn’t looking him straight in the eyes. Taylor was my big brother, and I knew that he was going to be disappointed in me.

“Shit!” he hissed.

“Oh, it gets worse.” I moved to sit down on the bed. “She’s my boss’s daughter.” I placed my elbows on my knees and dropped my head to stare at the space on the floor between my feet. Taylor shifted to sit beside me but didn’t say anything. “She came in my office this afternoon and told me she’s pregnant,” I let the words fall from my lips knowing it was better to get it all out like ripping a Band Aid off as fast as possible.

“Whoa!” Taylor whistled as he slowly processed what I had said. “Man when you screw up, you sure know how to do it big.”

“What the fuck am I going to do?” I swallowed as I lifted my eyes to finally meet his. “I’m gonna lose my job over this.”

“Are you even sure this baby is yours?” Taylor gripped the back of his neck.

“No,” I shook my head. “She said it was, but Christina has been around. We weren’t dating so it could be anybody’s. I’d like to think that she was being honest with me though.”

“Until she proves it’s yours, I wouldn’t trust her word.” Taylor shook his head as he stood. “Anything else?”

“She’s blackmailing me with sex, dude. She told me today that she wouldn’t tell Daddy about us if I kept fucking her,” I scoffed.

“Ty! What the fuck, man? Where in the hell did you meet this piece of work? I thought you had standards.” He shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Sorry to be such a disappointment,” I muttered as I turned to stare out the dark window.

“I’m not disappointed; I’m worried.” He moved closer to the doorway before pausing to look back at me. “Ever since Mia walked away, you’ve never been the same. It’s like she took a piece of you with her.” He stepped through the door and shook his head. “She’s back, you know. Showed up yesterday with her dad at the hardware store,” he paused before continuing, “on crutches. She seemed so lost and defeated. Maybe you can get some closure over the next few days.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled.

“Why don’t you change into something comfortable and come hang with us downstairs. CJ is going to bed soon, and I’m sure Morgan would like to catch up.” He looked hopeful as he waited for me to answer.

“Sure, bro. Give me a few minutes to get out of this stuffy suit.” I smirked as I began tugging at my tie. I wanted to burn the thing. It was the same tie that Chrissi had played with earlier in the day. If I tried hard enough, I could probably still smell her on me from when she climbed into my lap.

“DO YOU PLAN
to stay in bed all day again, or are you going to actually join us for breakfast?” my brother, Daniel, called from the doorway of my childhood bedroom.

“Go away!” I grumbled as I rolled over and tugged the covers over my head. I wasn’t in the mood for his teasing today, and I had no desire to leave the warm confines of my bed.

“Mom said I was to use any method necessary to get you up. So, get up or I’m going to come over there and jump on you,” he taunted. Daniel was my little brother, and a surprise to our family. I’m six years older than he is, but he thinks he can boss me around.

“Don’t you have school today?” I mocked as I threw the covers back from my head.

“Delay,” he shrugged. “It’s fucking cold out there.” He made a shivering motion as he smirked at me.

“You better not let Mom hear you talking like that,” I warned.

“I’m eighteen; I can talk however I want.” He shrugged, but not before looking over his shoulder to make sure neither of our parents were nearby.

“Right,” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, get up.” He tossed his arms out as he started to move closer.

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered as I sat up and winced. My ankle was still quite tender and throbbed, letting me know that I needed to pop a pain pill.

“Hey, you ok?” His face grew concerned as he stopped near my bed.

“I’m fine.” I swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill every time someone asked me that. “Now, unless you want to see me with no pants on, you need to leave.” I pointed at the door.

“Thanks for the warning,” he chuckled. “I don’t want to see what you have going on, but now if one of your friends was around…” He winked, but then ducked when I threw a pillow in his direction.

“Get out!” I screamed as I shifted on the bed. Daniel scurried out the door, leaving me there half fuming, half sulking as I began to dwell on my current situation. Joe had called the other morning, letting me know that the show would go on without me, as if I needed to be told. I knew dancers were a dime a dozen, and someone was always going to be ready to replace me. Garrett had checked in a few times assuring me that Shannon would never be as good as I was, and Daniel had mentioned he’d heard that Ty was back in town. I don’t know why he was, or how long he was staying, but I had no desire to even see him.

As I sat on the edge of the bed, I stared out the window. The glass panes were covered in small ice crystals where winter was making itself known. A fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, and the smell of the woodstove in our family room was wafting down the hallway. Very few people in Cherryville had central heat. This area of New York just got too cold for it to be cost worthy. So when you sat at home you were either really warm in your family room, or cold in your bedroom.

I shoved a slipper on my good foot, and placed a sock over the air cast before hobbling to a standing position and grabbing the crutches. My sweats hung on me, and my mother had been trying to fatten me up for days now. When I glanced in the mirror, I gasped. Dark circles ringed my eyes from the lack of sleep I’d been getting, and my hair looked as if a bird had taken up residence in it. A Johnson High sweatshirt was hanging off one small shoulder as I gripped the crutches the best I could. I released a groan before beginning my trek out to the kitchen. I knew my parents and brother were all waiting on me, and despite my depressed state, it felt good to be wanted.

“So,” my father said as he stuffed another piece of toast in his mouth. “I’ve got a few errands to run. Wanna come with? It’ll get you out of the house for a few hours.” He sipped his coffee as he looked over at me.

I lifted a shoulder as I pushed the eggs on my plate around with my fork. “I don’t know. Isn’t it like negative a hundred degrees out today or something?”

“Honey.” My mom placed her hand on my forearm. “You’ve got to eat. You’re not fooling us.”

I turned to see her sad eyes as she watched my plate. I wasn’t really hungry. I couldn’t remember the last time I had breakfast. I’d trained my body to not want it. A chai tea or a coffee was usually it for me until I had a light salad for lunch. “I’m really not hungry,” I murmured. “Besides,” I sighed, “every pound I put on over the next few months is one more I’ll have to lose when I get back.”

“Honey,” she tried again. “You’re as thin as a rail. There’s nothing left of you. You need the nutrients to heal properly.

I knew this, but the fact that they were pushing the issue was driving me crazy. “Fine!” I growled as I shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth. I gagged on reflex and paused to make sure the food would stay down. “Happy now?” I barked as I forced a swallow.

“Don’t make me the enemy. We’re all worried about you. We’re sorry you got hurt, but happy you’re home. Why not take this time to relax and think about something other than dance?”

“What?” I gasped. “Dancing is my life! I don’t want to think about anything else.”

“Ty’s back.” My mom changed the subject as she sipped her coffee. “I saw him the other day. Maybe you should go say hey. He’s staying over at the Cooper place.”

“I don’t want to see Ty. I don’t want to think about something other than dance. I don’t want to be here,” I cried. “I want to be dancing as the snow queen in
The
Nutcracker
. None of you seem to understand anything that’s happening to me right now!” I shoved back from the table, grabbed my crutches, and hobbled to the door. After slipping a boot on my slippered foot and wiggling into my coat, I grabbed my mom’s keys, and made my way outside.

“Wait! Where are you going?” my father called as he raced to the door.

“I need time to think.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I’ll be careful, I promise.” I hopped on one foot as I climbed in the car. Luckily my injured foot was the left one, and I didn’t need it to drive. “I’ll be back later.” I slammed the door closed and cranked the engine as my dad stood there watching me. After giving the car a minute to warm up, I put it in gear and took off to the only place I ever felt truly at home… my old studio.

AS I DROVE ALONG
the deserted road, I couldn’t get over the weather. Snow was coming down so hard that visibility sucked. I had the heat on as high as it would go, but the car had yet to warm up, and you could see my breath every time I puffed out air in frustration. “Damn you, winter! Why couldn’t any of this happen when it was nice out?” I growled as I inched along toward town. I couldn’t see much of anything, so when I came upon the stranded driver, I slammed on the brakes and almost ended up in the ditch myself.

“Shit!” I hissed as my foot slammed on the brakes. I used my other foot to brace myself forgetting that it was hurt, and then yelped in pain. The car began to skid, its rear coming around toward the front, and the lone figure on the roadside dove for the ditch.

When I came to a stop, I sat there trying to control my breathing as my heart slowed. “I’m ok,” I muttered to myself as my foot throbbed, reminding me of the mistake I’d just made. “Who the hell is out this way?” I wondered. The area of town I lived in was on the outskirts. My parents almost lived in the next county. If they’d put their driveway just a few more feet to the left, I would have gone to a different school. No one came out here unless they were heading to see us. “Probably one of Dan’s friends. Stupid kids,” I grumbled as I rolled down my window to try and get a better look at the person.

“You know standing in the road is a bad idea!” I shouted into the falling snow. The figure straightened before shaking their head, brushing the snow off their coat, and slowly turning to face me.

“You should learn to drive in this crap better then,” the voice growled before facing me and causing me to suck in another breath. There, standing not ten feet from me was none other than Tyler Cook.