Brooke & Ben: Before Fate Interrupted (17 page)

Chapter
Eighteen

 
The driveway felt lonelier than it ever had
before. The same driveway she had learned to ride a bike in and, subsequently,
skinned her knee up so badly it had left a scar that was still visible today.
Unlike that day, however, her mother’s Band-Aid and comforting words were
nowhere to be found. The porch light turned off, plunging her further into the
darkness consuming her thoughts.

She inhaled a
deep breath and tried to rise above them. Her cell phone made her squint as she
flipped through her contacts, tapped at the screen and pressed it to her ear. Hostile
thoughts raced through her mind much faster than the phone could ring.

“Hey you, what’s up?”

“Evy,” she
blurted, trying not to cry.

Evy’s tone
tightened.
“What’s wrong?”

Brooke inhaled a
hefty breath and readied herself for the cold plunge ahead. “Can I stay with
you tonight?”

There was a
moment of silence as her words settled in.

“Why?”

Brooke stared at
the house, imagining her father coming out to apologize. But he didn’t. She filled
her lungs with the crisp night air, tears claiming her cheeks once again. “I
just need to get out of here for a minute.”

A shuffling noise
shook through the line as Evy moved to a different room.
“Richie is staying here for a few days while they remodel his bathroom
but there’s plenty of room.”

An image of
Evy’s tiny one bedroom apartment fluttered through her mind, Richie waltzing
around in his underwear. She winced at the timing. “Oh no, that’s okay, I’ll…”

“Brooke, don’t be silly, you can sleep on the couch.
We’re getting ready to watch ‘The Shining’, so you’ll have that to look forward
to,”
Evy
grumbled into the phone.
“I’ll probably
have nightmares but we have to watch every stupid movie all over again in
Blu-ray now.”

“I don’t want to
impose.”

“You’re not imposing. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

Brooke pictured
herself in the bathroom, Richie rapping softly on the door. “No, I’ll call
Tasha and text you when I get there.”

Silence
stretched the six miles between them.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll talk
to you later.”

“Will you at least tell me what happened?”

Another quiet
moment passed between them and Brooke didn’t want to hang up. She wanted to
talk to Evy longer, like those late nights in high school, but needed to get
out of that driveway even more.

“It’s no big
deal, they’re just not used to having someone else around and it’s kind of…”

“Weird now?”

“Yeah,” she said
with a soft laugh. “I’m up shit creek without a paddle.”

Evy chuckled
softly into the phone.
“I can’t even
imagine.”

“I’ll text you
when I get to Tasha’s.”

“Okay, talk to you later, and call me if you change
your mind.”

Brooke hung up
without saying goodbye and looked up. The house’s dark windows looked like eyes
watching her every move. She peered at what she could swear was a silhouette
looking out the living room window, started the car and shifted into reverse.

***

Neon beer signs
lit up the gas station’s windows, which didn’t look like eyes at all. Brooke
put the red Ford Escape into park and let out a pent-up breath, glad to have
put some distance between her and her devastated parents. An older man with a
gray beard and ratty stocking cap sauntered past on the sidewalk, ambling
toward the front door. He flashed Brooke a crooked smile that made her casually
ensure her doors were locked. They were, so she dug the cell from her purse.
Her thumb hovered above the screen as her mind transported her to Tasha’s
apartment three hours in the future, where Tasha and her two roommates would
return with whatever science experiments they had dragged home from the bars
and start cranking music loud enough to rouse the neighbors.

Brooke exhaled a
weary breath and checked her watch. She had to be at work at nine in the morning,
which gave her exactly nine hours and forty-four minutes to find a place to
stay and get a good night’s sleep, while still leaving time to shower and
unwind.

Her thumb hit
the call button, blood pumping thickly in her ears. She cringed at the idea of
it all and pulled the phone from her ear to hang up.

“Hello?”

She stared at
the screen, the call connected, timer counting. Her thumb went to the END
button but didn’t press it. Instead, she pulled the phone back to her ear and
cleared her throat.

“I got your
text.”

Just the sound
of his breathing did something to her insides that she didn’t like. Not one
bit. She liked being in control and with him around, control was in short
supply.

“I’m sorry, Brooke, I screwed up. He saw one of my
tats when I reached for a ball and put two and two together.”
Ben snorted
into the line.
“I have a feeling he knew
all along, but who knows.”

“Yeah, I kinda
had that feeling to begin with,
Ben
.
Remember?”

“I’m sorry.”
He sounded tired.
“What’d he say?”

Brooke exhaled a
sour breath as a Volkswagen Beetle pulled in with wilted flowers drooping in
the dash. “Let’s just say I’m back in my car with all my worldly possessions.”

His voice raised
a little, the glimmer of hope lining his tone.
“Do you need a place to crash?”

“No!”

“Yes, you do.”

She glanced at
the clock in the dash, cursing its pressurized glow. “No, I don’t.”

“Where are you?”

She started to
speak but stopped short as the bearded man stumbled back out the gas station.
“Right around the corner.”

The phone
swished in her ear as Ben started moving around. She imagined him rounding up
loose socks or empty pizza boxes but, after seeing his spotless pad, figured it
wouldn’t take long.
“The sliding glass door
is unlocked. Come on in.”

“I’m not coming
to your place.”

“Yes, you are and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Are you crazy?
That is the last thing I need right now.”

The man rambled
closer, his bloodshot eyes fixated on Brooke.

“Please.”

“Fine.” She hung
up and stared at the screen, stunned by how much things had changed in such a
short amount of time. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing she just had to hang
on a little while longer. Evy was right. Things would get better. They always
did.

A knock on her
window made her scream. She backed away from the bearded man’s filthy hand like
he could reach through the glass and grab her. He motioned for her to roll the
window down but Brooke started the car instead.

“You like
dolphins?” he yelled through the window as Brooke shifted into reverse. “I know
one who’ll let us pet it!” He stretched a confident smile, revealing teeth that
reminded her of an old picket fence that had seen one too many storms. He
followed as she slowly backed up, yanking on the door handle, trying to get in.
“I can take us to him! I just need a ride.”

Brooke slammed
on the brakes, nearly clipping a beat up minivan taking its sweet time pulling
into the lot. She cursed under her breath and the man stumbled into the car,
his wrinkled face pressing up against the glass, giving 3D a whole new meaning.

He took
advantage of the extra time to start making what Brooke could only assume were
dolphin noises. “See? I can communicate with them!”

She finally
cleared enough ground to back up a little more and slip into drive. “Tell your
friend I said hi,” she said, flipping the man off and getting into the gas.

***

The door cracked
open and Brooke’s eyes dropped to Ben’s bare chest. He had the perfect amount
of hair running across his rolling fields of muscle. The sleeves of tats gripping
his arms made him look superhuman, like he should be wearing a cape at all
times. She tried looking back up to his face before her gaze slipped to his
six-pack abs but it was no use. Another epic fail. She could almost feel that
washboard beneath her fingers, could almost feel the V in his hips beneath her
lips. And she knew what was hiding inside of those sweats. There was nowhere to
hide for a monster like that.

“Where’s your
box?”

 
Her eyes jerked up to meet his. “In the car.”
She pushed past him, trying not to let her arm brush against his stomach.
Failure struck again, sending tingles rippling across her flesh. She set her purse
down on a chair. Just like last time, the place was in perfect order and she
liked him for that. Had there been crap strewn everywhere, her patience may
have reached its limit.

“Glass of wine?”
Ben padded his bare feet into the kitchen.

“You drink
wine?”

He took a bottle
from a small rack on the counter, leaving three more behind, and cut off the
metal top. “Not really.”

She plopped down
onto the red couch with straight edges. “Just like to have a few bottles around
to help loosen up…
company
?”

A loud pop echoed
through the room when he pulled the cork out. “Actually, I just picked it up
today.”

“You did?”

He poured her a
glass, the gurgling sound music to her ears. “I did.”

“Oh.”

“It’s your
favorite.” He came over and handed her the wine glass and sat down next to her
on the couch with a cold beer of his own.

“Thank you.”
Brooke took an overachieving sip while ignoring his lack of belly fat. “How’d
you know cab was my favorite?”

“You said so at
dinner.”

“I did?”

He nodded with a
warm smile.

“Oh.” The weight
of his eyes made her drop his gaze. She swirled the wine in her glass, refusing
to let her eyes go anywhere near that chest again. And no matter how much she
thought she had caught a glimpse of the monster in his pants, she declined to
investigate further.

“I still don’t
get why you told your parents about Halloween.”

She ran a finger
around the rim of the glass, producing a hollow tone reminiscent of what she
was feeling inside. “Because I can’t lie to them; I hate it. And I had to tell
them something, I didn’t have anywhere to go.”

“But why get so
detailed about the
tattooed guy
?” he
asked, pressing the point.

She took a quick
sip and swallowed. “Because someone needed to take the blame who wasn’t me. I
didn’t think I would ever see you again.”

“Do you wish you
hadn’t?”

“Oh, sweetie,
you’re going to have to get much more specific than that. There are about a
million different things I wish
I hadn’t
right now.”

“Hadn’t of seen
me again.”

Brooke held his
steady gaze, fearful her eyes would betray her. “Yes.”

His gaze tightened.
“Your eyes say different.”

“I knew you’d
say that.”

“Why don’t you take
your shoes off and get comfortable.”

She grimaced
inwardly when she realized she still had her work clothes on. “Can I use your
shower?” she asked, freeing the ponytail that felt like it was pulling her hair
out.

He watched her
shake her hair loose. “Sure, I’ll bring you a towel.”

“I can get it,”
she said, getting up.

“In the closet
just outside the door.”

She grabbed a towel
and shut the bathroom door, turned on the shower and admired his clean tub and
sink. Things definitely could have been worse. Once, she dated a guy who – for
reasons unknown – left half full glasses of milk lying around his apartment for
days on end. She could only imagine having to deal with a disgusting shithole
on top of everything else right now, and was thankful she didn’t have to. She
kicked out of her shoes and jeans. Even the toilet sparkled. Her panties, shirt
and bra hit the floor next. Brooke stood there naked, staring in the mirror as
it began to fog over. She looked away before the older version of Brooke could
make another appearance.

The glass door
clicked open. Steam rolled into the room as she stepped into the shower, where travertine
tile ran from the floor to the ceiling. A wide shower head rained down hot
water that felt like it could wash away her sins. Brooke rubbed her face with
both hands, the water turning her hair black. Ben’s sweats flickered through
her mind. She toiled feverishly on the bar of soap, hoping for enough lather to
scrub away the past. Her memory meandered across his chest and down his stomach,
where it toyed with his waistband like a high school tease. She started with
her face and worked the soap down her body, rubbing it into her shiny skin
while imagining herself pulling back his elastic waistband for a quick peek
inside. Before she knew it, her hand found the warm spot down below. She closed
her eyes and shut out the rest of the world, her mouth pulling in a mixture of water
and air. She leaned her forehead against the sand-colored tiles and massaged
the swollen lips between her legs. Water dripped from her chin in streams as
images of Ben poured through her mind’s eyes. There was only one way to stop
them and that was by taking care of the problem herself before she could make
any more of a mess than she already had.