Dismantled (Girls on Top #2) (17 page)

They sat in the now familiar parking lot waiting for Notso to leave for the day. They already saw Traxx drive away with a large bag. Now they want to find out what’s going on with him.

As soon as Notso pulls out of the parking lot, they are on the move. Grabbing their supplies from the back of their vehicle they set out to do what they came here for.

After opening the door, they set the supplies to the side and start snooping. They go through the mail, the kitchen, the trash, the laundry. In Traxx’s bedroom, they find a notepad with an airline’s flight information. A picture is taken of said note.

“The boss won’t be happy about this.”

“It’s not our fault.” The creeper shrugs its shoulders. “I’m getting tired of the following and the snooping. I’m ready to take our plan to the next level.”

“Yeah, yeah. We need to find out where he’s going and when he’s supposed to come back.”

“Let’s finish up this job and go back to our place to do some research on flights and destinations.”

After the other creeper nods in agreement, they set out to do as agreed and continue with their plan.

It’s a long fucking drive from Texas to Florida. Ass face over here hates driving long distance, so I’m doing it. I’ve never been too close to my brother – or should I say half-brother, mainly because our mothers couldn’t stand each other. But our dad tried to make sure we saw each other at least once each year. We would take a flight and go to Dallas, Texas to pick up Wyatt and then we would go away for two weeks, just us boys. Damn, I miss those simple days. Some years we would go fishing, other times we would get lost visiting a city we’ve never been before, but we were always happy and had fun. I glance at him and we are almost identical. He’s buff like me but about one inch taller. We both have dark hair and olive skin. Our lips and jaws are identical. He has green eyes and I have brown eyes – that’s the main difference, that and our personalities. He was blessed with the easy going kind and I’m the brooding kind.

Now Dad has convinced Wyatt to move over to the Florida office and created a position just for him. Wyatt is a nice guy but ruthless when it comes to business. If I was a customer, I would want him handling all my accounts.

The first few days I was away, I spent my time working hard trying to forget about Ciara. I haven’t been successful. She is always inside my head and in my heart. I can’t believe I left the way I did. I know she believes we should go through life without regrets, but there’s no fucking way I don’t regret walking away from her the way I did. I’m such a fucking asshole. I’ve picked up my phone to call her at least a hundred times, but never make the call. The groveling I’m going to have to do, will have to be done in person.

I’ve been wondering what she is up to. Torturing myself thinking that maybe she hooked up with some random dude. The thought alone that someone may be kissing and touching her soft skin… No! I refuse to believe she has moved on. No fucking way. Our time together may have had a rough start but it was special. I’m ready to make amends. I’ve been so consumed by thoughts of what I let go of, that I haven’t had any visions of Marcy since I went to Texas.

“There’s that look again. The one that makes you look constipated but you’re really just pissed off.”

“Fuck off, Wyatt.” He aggravates the shit out of me.

“Tell me, bro, what’s got your panties in a wad? Or should I say who’s got you like this”

“I sure hope that’s not the way you talk to the investors.”

“Hell no! Dad would have a conniption. But really, what’s got you thinking so hard? I’m a good listener.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s a long ride, we still have hours to kill.”

I say nothing.

“I bet it’s about a girl. I was the same way a few weeks back when Sarah broke up with me.
So I know
. That’s another reason why I agreed to move.”

Silence.

“Okay, suit yourself.” His hand reaches for the radio, set it on Bluetooth and the sad guitar strings of country music come thru the speakers. Fucking great.

We finally get to the apartment and I quickly scan the parking lot for her car. I don’t see it. She’s normally off work by this time. I try not to let my mind wonder too much. I
obviously
have a wild ass imagination given that I can see dead people interacting with me, so no, I try not to think too much about it.

I help Wyatt carry his bags upstairs, and leave his furniture in the locked trailer so we can take it to the storage unit later. He’s planning to buy a condo anyway and will be making an appointment with a realtor in the next couple of weeks, as soon as he knows where he wants to go.

“I bet you are wore out, Traxx, after all that driving. Thanks for doing this.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Payback is gonna be a bitch for you.”

“Shit, it ain’t my fault that I fall asleep when I drive long distance!”

Putting the bags down, I search inside one pocket for the key and then the other pocket. I can’t find it. Maybe it’s in my bag. I bend down to start looking for it when I hear a familiar set of steps coming up.
Fuck!

Of course, she lives on the second floor, so she shouldn’t be coming this way. I hear her unlock her door and then music floats through the stairs. I smile because she always has music on. She said she had the system installed for Brianna, because Brianna hated silence but I think she got used to it, too, so after Brianna moved out, she still played music 24/7. The knowledge that she’s so close makes me smile. The fact that I have to beg her for forgiveness takes the smile away. I hear her door close and then her steps seem to be getting closer. Yep, she is right here on our landing, looking like an angel.

Ciara’s still wearing her work clothes. She had a tight black skirt that hit right above her knees, with a pale blue shirt. Her long blond hair is sporting a loose braid to the side, and she’s got some fuck me heels on. My dick just got hard.

She looks at me with a frown on her face then takes a glance at all the bags on the floor. When her eyes get to Wyatt, a fucking smile shows out of nowhere.
What the fuck?

“Hello there, you must be Wyatt.” She moves towards him and extends her hand.

“I’m afraid that I don’t know who you are and that’s a real shame.” He gives her his hand and sultry smile.

“Let’s fix that. My name is Ciara, Ciara Collins, a
friend
of your brother’s and Notso’s. I stopped by to drop off some things that Notso asked me to get from the store. I think he’s planning on grilling this evening. Here, can you put these groceries in the kitchen for me?”

Another fucking smile. Bastard. “I can take those.” I say hoping she looks at me, but she doesn’t.

“Nah, brother. You’re busy looking for the keys. Carry on, I’ve got this.” And then he winks at her and she blushes FOR HIM. Motherfucker. I’m pissed. If he thinks he’s gonna take her away from me, he’s got another thing coming.

I hear Wyatt explaining that I’ve misplaced the keys and how unreliable I can be. I literally bite my tongue because I’m about to kick his ass.

“Traxx, here, use my key.” Ciara comes towards me, but refuses to look at me in the eyes.

Aggravated, I try not to snatch the key from her, but after I unlock the door and disable the alarm, I hand the keys back to her. While passing the key to her with one hand, I grab her wrist with my other one.

“Can we talk? I really need to talk to you, Ciara.”

Her angry eyes finally look at me. “The talking time has passed, Traxx. We’ve got nothing to say to each other except for polite comings and goings.”

The coldness of her words freezes me in place. I’m shocked. I’ve never seen her like this. If I was worried before, I’m stressing the fuck out now. I’ve got to fix this. When Notso gets home, I will grill him for some answers.

She pulls her hand with the keys away from me, and turns around to walk back downstairs. When she passes Wyatt, she smiles like nothing’s going on and says goodbye and see you around. Oh, hell no!

We hear her heels step on the wood at a leisure pace, until she reaches her door and all sounds disappear inside her walls.

Wyatt grabs some bags and as he passes by me he shoulder checks me, causing me to stumble a couple of steps.

“What was that for?” I ask him, aggravated.

“For being doggone stupid, that’s why. It took me less than a second of your little exchange with Ciara to figure out what was going on between the two of you!”

I invade his personal space and lower my voice to a growl. “Stay out of it.”

“The hell I am! You have been acting like a zombie since the incident and I see your reaction in front of this girl, it’s obvious. You’ve got to fix this.”

“I can’t! Like I always do, I fuck everything up. She warned me and now she’s following through with her promise. I can’t fix it.”

“Okay, then. Since you give up so easily, I guess Ciara’s fair game.” He gives me a mischievous smile that sends chills all over my skin.

“Fuck, no! Stay away from her!”

“Nah, the girl is a looker! What? Traxx, are you afraid to lose something that you just said you ain’t got? Newsflash, you can’t have it both ways.”

I have to leave or I’m going to bust his ass. I walk to my room to get my spare set of keys. When I open the front door to leave, Notso was getting ready to come in.

“Hey, man! What’s going on?” He looks at me and then looks at Wyatt. “Hey, Wyatt! Welcome. What’s going on?”

I start to walk away. “I need fresh air. I’ll be back later.”

As I passed the second floor, I hesitate in front of her door. I put my palm on it and try to decide if I should knock or not. I don’t even know what to say. At the last minute I walk away. I’m always walking away. She was clear she didn’t want anything else from me. I don’t blame her. I’ve always known I’m not good enough.

I can’t believe the pull I felt when I saw Traxx earlier today. All I wanted to do was to throw myself at him and forget about all the stupid things he did. It was so hard not to look at him. Although, Wyatt could be his twin. My goodness, they look so much alike, it’s uncanny. Ultimately, I was strong. I did what I was supposed to do. But, wait, if I did what I was supposed to do, why do I feel so rotten inside?

Keagan comes in as happy as usual. I’ve been so sad these past few days, everyone has been walking on eggshells around me.

“Hey sweet pea! Whatcha doin’?”

“I’m sitting here, feeling sorry for myself.”

“Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

I take a deep breath. I haven’t told anyone. They think Traxx and I had a fight and that’s it. I’m not ready for all of them to feel sorry for me and be mad at him.

“Nah. Maybe later. What are you doing for supper?”

“Notso is grillin’. He wants
us
to come and eat with him and Wyatt. I can’t wait to see my cousin! I’ve missed him!”

“Just him and Wyatt? Where’s Traxx?”

They don’t know for sure. They think probably at Colton’s. If not, he’s probably drowning his problems at a bar, visiting with Jack Daniel’s. Don’t you worry about him. He’s a big boy and he can take care of himself.”

Feeling like the entire world is on top of my shoulders, I get up off my couch slowly. I’ve changed into jeans and a comfy shirt. “Let me go put on some shoes and I’ll come up with you.” Keagan nods, and even though I don’t feel like it, I have to face my friends and face the world. We’ll see if those acting classes I took in High School were worth it.