Can't Go Home (Oasis Waterfall) (25 page)

“Fuck Pebbles, I’ve missed you,” I moan into her ears running my hand up the back of her shirt, reveling in the feel of her bare skin.

“Then flip me over and show me how much,” she begs, sending heat straight to my groin. Flip her over? Fuck yeah.

“How in the world can you possibly be okay with all this?” I ask, confused.

“Oh my God, did I just ask you, no tell you, to turn me over and do me from behind and we’re still talking? Did you grow a vag since the last time I saw you?” Kathryn asks, laughing.

Taking off her shirt, she says, “We’ll talk about this too, I guess, but we’re going to get started at the same time.” After she unfastens her bra and it slides slowly down her arms, she says, “I decided on my way here that nothing was going to keep me away.”

I nod, taking her nipple into my mouth. “I realized that I wanted you, and we’d get through whatever had your panties in a bunch … together,” she moans as I tug lightly on her hardened nipple. The pressure she’s putting my on head, urges me to suck harder; I acquiesce. “Oh God … yeah …”

“Keep talking Pebbles,” I chuckle, squeezing both of her breasts together, looking up at her with heated desire.

“Nothing was keeping me away,” she pants truthfully. “But then when I got here, I thought … thought … Oh Dre … that … that …”

I stop, lifting her up. Kathryn stands as I unbutton her pants, pulling them down. Her hot pink lace panties remind me how sexy and confident she is, confirming how lucky I am to have her. “That what?” I ask, shimmying her underwear down over her hips, slowly, as I soak in the beauty of her body.

“That Ava was your wife,” she admits, as my hands massage her thighs. With each stroke and knead, I maneuver her body closer to me; her sexy scent captures my attention, and my body weakens with need.

“Did you say ‘wife?’ Fuck Pebbles, what kind of asshole do you take me for?” I ask, realizing how hurt she must’ve been. My chest aches, knowing the pain and torture I put her though, all while not wanting to ever hurt her.

“I’d never do that to you … to anyone. That’s un-fucking-forgivable.” My fingers find her desire, wet and slick, slippery and sensual. Her knees buckle; I hold her into place.

“But you still came back here after you thought I was with Ava?” I question, quickening the pressure and rhythm of the tiny circles I’m manipulating within her.

Her breath catches, “Dre, I was so hurt, so pissed.” Kathryn rounds her hips, swaying into my touch as she says, “Ready to fight, but the truth is … I just … just … I want you. I can’t stop.” Kathryn’s body tenses; I can feel the mini quakes inside of her as she clutches my head grabbing fistfuls of my hair. “Oh God, Dre, I’m … I’m … yours.”

I yank her body down onto the blanket, laying her on her stomach. Grabbing a condom out of my wallet, I rip open the foil packet and glide the thing over my straining cock. I trail my tongue up her calves, along her thighs, and on her beautifully rounded tight ass. I knead the flesh, filling with unbearable need and desire.

“Please … now Dre,” she begs, lifting her body onto her hand and knees, pushing back against me.

“Holy shit, you are just sexy as Hell,” I say, placing my hands on her hips as I slide between her legs. Her body welcomes me, enveloping me in wet, slick warmth. The feeling is incredible; reality floods through me. Everything that I questioned all these months finally seems so clear. The truth. The answers. Myself. I’m nothing, nobody, insignificant, if I’m not with Kathryn Howell.

She rocks back against me; I’m soaring, growing, grinding, and yearning. This is everything. She is everything. I can feel my need for her deep within my body, my soul. This is right. It’s perfect. Kathryn rolls her hips; I mimic her rotations. Her moans send me to the edge. I’m climbing—almost over the top.

“Adrian! Adrian!” Rory bellows, coming through the tent.

“Fuck dude!” I scream, as Kathryn lunges into the blankets, and I fall on top of her, covering her naked body, pulling the blankets over us. “What the Hell?”

“Sorry Kathryn,” Rory apologizes, looking away. “Adrian, I’m sorry buddy, but I had to come.”

“Adrian? Ummm … Dre?” Kathryn asks, looking between the two of us.

“There’s no time for that. Sorry buddy,” Rory says, walking over to me, looking solemn and frightful. “Piper’s in the hospital,” Rory explains, tears filling his eyes. “It’s bad.”

“What? What happened? How bad is it?”

“I booked you … both … on the next flight out,” Rory explains. Looking at Kathryn, Rory says, “Syd’s at your apartment packing you some shit. She’s meeting us at the airport.”

“Holy fuck Rory! Is it that bad that I’ve gotta go home? Now?” I ask, feeling my stomach lurch. “Like how bad? Is she gonna … gonna—”

“Adrian man, I don’t know. Lafferty just called me; he doesn’t know much,” Rory said, averting my eyes.

My entire body convulses; my eyes betray my strength, filling and spilling with tears and pain. “Oh God, Rory. Oh no,” I cry, hitting my knees. “I left her. I fucking left her.”

Tears streaming down Kathryn’s face, she looks at me, terrified, and says, “Who’s Piper?”

“My baby sister.”

Relief and pain battle each other inside my heart. Piper is his sister, his baby sister; crisis over her title, their connection averted. But pain and worry overtake my heart. Dre, or I mean, Adrian, is crushed. Why would he lie about his name, too? Maybe that explains why I couldn’t find him on Google, Twitter, Facebook, or anything. Not that I spent hour after hour, day after day searching. Maybe that’s even why there was no “Dre Donley” registered at Brown, too. Dre really wanted to get away from his previous life, alienating himself from every part of who he used to be.

Feeling concern and helpless, I eye Rory, looking for guidance. Rory shrugs, shaking his head, as worry splays across his face. Rubbing Dre’s shoulder, “Man, come on, we need to get to the airport. Syd’s on her way.”

Glancing up at me, Dre pleads, “Go with me. Please. Come to New Hampshire with me?”

“Of course Dre, Adrian, anything … anything you need,” I comfort. New Hampshire? Dre’s from New Hampshire?

Grimacing, he says, “Dre, please, God Kathryn, please, please don’t call me ‘Adrian.’ I don’t ever want to be ‘Adrian’ to you, Pebbles.”

I nod, extending my hand for him to take. “Whatever you want, Babe,” I comfort.

The three of us walk in silence across the beach to the McAllisters’ walkway. Crossing the walkway, Rory says, “I got everything out of your safe. It’s in the car. I charged your phone on the way here.” Rory hands Dre an iPhone, a phone he swore he didn’t have or use.

“Thanks,” Dre nods, squeezing my hand. “Lafferty didn’t say anything? Didn’t tell you what happened?”

Rory hesitates. Dre and I both realize he’s not telling us something. Dre stops, turns to Rory, and pleads, “Man, you’ve gotta tell me if you know something. I can’t get there … be fucking around … them … and hear whatever it is all at once. You know that. Come on, you’ve gotta tell me.”

Rory wipes his eyes, nodding. “Alright Buddy, alright, she’s in ICU. Pipe’s lost a lot of blood. They’ve given her a transfusion already, but the rare blood type is a concern. You’re gonna need to donate when you get there.”

“God, fuck, of course … what else? Is that it?” Dre asks, looking distraught.

“If … I mean, when … when … she wakes up, they’re gonna monitor her … before … before …”

“Before what?” Dre grabs Rory, shaking his shoulders, urging him to disclose everything. I’m standing there, watching all of this unravel, feeling nothing but pain for Dre and an overwhelming sense of uselessness to him and his family.

“Before they move her to the psych floor for evaluation,” Rory finally explains.

“Psych ward? Why the fuck would they—” Dre stops; his eyes widen, spilling over with tears all over again. “Piper didn’t … she wouldn’t …” Rory grabs Dre as he begins to sway, his knees buckling from the weight of the situation.

“Come on Buddy, ya gotta pull it together. Ya gotta be strong for her right now. She needs you,” Rory begs, trying to give Dre the strength he needs to go forward.

“Kathryn, why don’t you go start the car and tell Syd we’ll be at the airport in twenty minutes?” Rory says. I nod, taking Rory’s keys and heading to the front of the house, knowing there’s more that Rory and Dre are keeping from me.

Walking to Rory’s car, I notice Warren’s truck, and my stomach falls. It’s amazing how life still seems to go on for others when someone else’s life comes crashing down. I get in the car, start it, blast the air conditioning, and text Warren, praying that Syd and Rory will take care of getting Warren’s truck back to him tomorrow morning. Rory must have some effect on Sydney. She’s not usually one to step up to the plate when tragedy hits. I’m lucky to have her. I’m lucky to have everyone in my life. It’s crazy how something awful makes you realize just how blessed you really are.

Warren’s truck is his pride and joy. How ironic? One man loves his truck, an inanimate machine, while another fights adamantly against material love—only to discover that his baby sister lies fighting for her life in a hospital bed, a life she may have wanted to end herself. Holy heck, life is one confusing and agonizing turn after the next. Life sure doesn’t make sense; there’s no rhyme or reason to what’s thrown at you.

Dre and I sit in silence, fingers interlocked in one another’s hand, waiting for the flight, boarding the plane, and all throughout take off. After the flight attendant fills our drinks for the second time, I finally speak, “Dre, I don’t know what to do—for you.”

Dre looks at me, bewildered, as if he just realized someone was actually attached to the hand he’s holding. “Just being here is everything to me,” he says.

“I just … I … I’ve never dealt with anything scary or hard before,” I confess, feeling worthless. “I’m afraid I’m gonna say or do the wrong thing.”

“Kathryn, I’m not gonna lie or sugar coat this. It’s gonna get really intense. I’m so sorry for what you’re gonna see and hear,” he explains, kissing my hand. “I wish I could just protect you from it all, but Baby, having you with me is what’s going to get me through this.”

“You’re kind of scaring me, Dre.” I say, feeling a sense of doom looming.

“I wanted to get away, to start over, because of my family,” he begins. “They’re awful, horrible fucking excuses for human beings.”

“Piper?”

“Oh God no, she’s the best we’ve got,” Dre swoons, his face lighting up. “Unfortunately, she’s only seventeen, so she’s stuck there until fall.”

Shaking his head, he continues, “Growing up, I always knew my parents were assholes, but it wasn’t until last year that I really saw them for whom they really are.”

“Doesn’t everyone have problems with their parents?” I ask, wanting to appease his anger and resentment. People shouldn’t give up, turn their backs on their families, no matter how screwed up and dysfunctional they are.

“Not to the degree at what the O’Donnells have,” he confesses. “The money, power, control, it’s all the O’Donnells want or need—they’ll stop at nothing to get it too.”

“O’Donnell is your real last name?” I ask, wanting to fill in all the holes in the stories, fabrications, downright lies he’s told me. Dre’s lies pile higher than any skyscraper I’ve ever seen, but there’s something about him that allows me to still trust him, forgive him, want to be with him. God, I pray I’m not making a monumental mistake flying to his hometown with him.

“Yeah, I became ‘Dre Donley’ to sever the ties to them—as well as hide from them,” Dre admits, shaking his head. “They’re pissed that I’m ruining their reputation, destroying their perfect family image by going into medicine, refusing my place in the O’Donnell status hierarchy.”

“I just don’t understand why it matters. Who cares? You’re a grown man; you can make your own decisions—live any way you want.” I question.

“You’ll get it once you’re there, and you see first-hand how they operate,” Dre says, his face falling. “I just fucking hope they let me in to see Piper.”

“Of course they’ll let you in. She’s your sister!” I exclaim.

“No Pebbles, it’s not that easy with them. You haven’t met them. Nothing is ever that easy with them.”