I Won't Give Up on You (22 page)

Silence.

“Mom? Please, say something.”

This time I hear a deep wheezing breath. Now I’m scared. That sound isn’t normal.

“Did he hurt you? If he hurt you… Mom, if he hurt you press a button.”

There is a pause, a wheeze, and then BEEP.

Fuck! “Mom, I’ll be right there. You hear me. I’m coming.”

I don’t even hang up the phone. Bursting through the doors of the restroom I run in a full sprint to the car. I can hear the principal running after me, but I know she won’t be able to catch up. Plus, I don’t care if I have to run her over. I have to get to my mom.

I snap back to reality. Looking over at Beverly to see if she noticed my distraction. She didn’t, thankfully. She was too busy looking at herself in mirror.

“See something you like, big boy?”

For the first time, since I met her, I’m not ready to fall to my knees for her. Thankfully, we pull up to the condo before I have to answer. She waits for me to open her door, but she takes off into the condo before I can even shut the door.

There’s a tense silence between us.

“I need a hot bath. This jail grime needs to be soaked off for hours.”

“Can I bring you some wine?”

She stops on her way to the bedroom, looking over her shoulder. “What do you think?”

I cringe, stupid me.

In the kitchen, I reach up to grab a wine glass and a bottle of merlot. I’m so used to having my music blaring when I’m home the silence is nerve wrecking. So much so that I almost drop the glass and wine bottle when my phone goes off.

Damn, Mark, hold your shit together
, I scold myself.

Quickly shifting the items to my other hand, I reach into my pocket. Kaitlyn’s picture lights up the screen.

“Hey, baby,” I answer.

“Hey. I miss you.”

Moving to the patio, so I wouldn’t be heard, I lean up on the fence. “You have no idea. I want to see you.”

“I have two more weeks of non-stop travels for work. Then I was originally planning on heading home, but I could come to see you?” Her voice breaks at the end as if she is unsure if she overstepped.

I run my free hand through my hair. Am I really going to ask to see her again? I can’t believe I’m even considering this. What are these feelings? Relationships with feelings aren’t really my thing, but something is different with Kaitlyn.

“Oh baby, I’d love to have you stay with me, or I can go with you.”

Okay, no turning back now. The sentiment has been spoken out loud.

“Really?” She squeaks.

A smile creeps over my face. “Really.”

I can hear the smile spread over her face just by the way she’s talking.

“Kaitlyn, I have to go. I’ll call you back tonight. Will that be okay?”

“Of course. Bye, Mark.”

Hanging up, I quickly head back inside and toward the bathroom to give the wine to Beverly.

The room is full of steam. I can see her resting her head back on a bath pillow. Bubbles threaten to spill over the top of the tub. Jasmine wafts through the air.

“About time you brought my wine.” She doesn’t even open her eyes when she holds out her hand for me to place the glass in.

“Once I finish this job for you, I’m done.”

I place the glass in her hand and turn to leave the room as I hear her shift, making water slosh over the side. I can only assume she’s sitting up, but I don’t look behind me to find out. I won’t give her an inkling that I’m afraid of her. She would feed off of it and hold it against me.

This is
my
place, I’m not going to walk on eggshells around her. Walking into the living room, I pick up the remote and turn on “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, turning it up loud. A lot louder than I normally would, but I want to make a point.

This is it. Exactly as the song says. Welcome to the new age. My age; my time.

I sit on the brown leather couch and cross my leg, resting my ankle on my opposite knee. Staring at the doorway between the rooms. A foreboding sense of doom fills me, but I won’t give up.

No more will anyone run me. It started with Ric, my step-dad, moved to my coaches, and now it’s her. I want to run my life. My soul is alive for the first time.

As the music pumps through me, she suddenly appears.

“Turn this shit down.” Her face is hard and unrelenting.

My eyes harden. I shake my head slowly, purposely. I’ve woken up.

She walks over to me and smacks me across the face. I don’t even flinch. I can tell she is flustered when I don’t give in to her. She backs up a few steps, almost stumbling over the coffee table.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You respect me.”

I stare at her. I don’t speak. I hold my ground.

“Mark, kneel. NOW.”

I want to fuck with her, so I stand up. Towering over her, I look down and see her straighten her spine. An evil smile crosses her face, but I intend to wipe it right back off.

“Kneel,” she commands, but I hear that slight crack in her voice.

She’s now mine. I control her. Placing my hands on her shoulders I press down. She resists at first, but she finally gives up and sinks to her knees. I’m stronger than she is physically, and now I have the motivation to take back the control of my life.

Welcome to the new age.

I’m the master now.

We’re on high alert since Broc’s email. Terrance and I scheduled a meeting with him back at my office in a few days to see what he knows. Right now we’re relaxing in Mexico, and Sabrina is safe in my arms.

We lie on the outdoor bed on our balcony. The sun makes her hair shine with an auburn highlights. The slight wave is more prominent because of the humidity. I listen to the waves crash onto the shore. It’s so peaceful.

Her finger slowly traces a swirl pattern around my muscles, sending a shiver to run through me in this heat.

“I love listening to your heart,” she says it so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

Turning my head, I place a kiss on the top of her head. I take a deep breath, but don’t say anything. I don’t want to distract her thoughts. She’s been tense since I arrived. Isolating herself, avoiding Sara, staying quiet—she’s making me very worried.

“Your heart and the waves crashing make the perfect combination.” She shifts so she’s resting her chin on my chest, staring up at my eyes.

I place one arm around her and stroke her back with my thumb while the other hand goes behind my head. “What’s going on, Bre? What has you so worried?”

She bites on her bottom lip, and her eyes leave mine.

“Nope, I’m not going to let you get away with that today.” I shift, so I’m sitting up a little more and cup her cheek to make her look back at me.

Tears are threatening to fall from her eyes. “I’m scared, Caston.”

I pull her up into my arms and cradle her. “What is there to be afraid of?”

“This crazy path my life has led me on. I’m scared that I’m going to wake up, and it’s all been a dream. We’ve been through so much and made it through. One day we aren’t going to be so lucky, then what am I going to do?”

“Baby, I can assure you this isn’t a dream. You and I, we’re in it for the long haul. Nothing can take you away from me. We’ve made it this far. I promise you, we’ll make it through anything. Honey, look at me.” Her glistening eyes shift and meet mine. “There’s something else wrong. You’ve been distant.”

Her eyes widen as if she was caught doing something wrong. She tries to scoot off my lap, but I pull her closer.

“You aren’t going to get away that easily. Don’t make me resort to tickling you.” Sliding my hand up the side of her body, I already have her squirming.

“Okay, okay. I can’t handle you tickling me.”

My hand stops.

She takes a deep breath in, blows it out, and now she’s making me nervous. “Caston, I had a moment with Sara, when you weren’t here. I feel so guilty. It shouldn’t have happened. I pushed her away as soon as I came to my senses. I don’t know what came over me. I’m not usually so reckless, but the music and alcohol were flowing through me. Not to mention the damn dancing—”

I silence her with a kiss. She backs away from me. “Nothing happened between you the two of you.”

“We kissed Caston, I wanted it to go further. That makes it so wrong.”

“Bre, I’ve seen you kiss her before.” She turns a beautiful shade of red and looks away. “You’re fucking hot as hell when you kiss her.”

“But, Caston, you weren’t there. What if I didn’t stop? That’s cheating. I couldn’t live with myself.”

I move her, so she’s looking at me again. “Bre, you didn’t, you stopped. I saw you in the club when you were dancing with her, remember? If I hadn’t stopped you then it would have happened that night too. Do I think it would have gone farther? I’m not sure. I would hope that Sara would respect me enough to stop if I’m not there. They have an open relationship, but I don’t want that with you. Yes, we have been with them, but Sara is the only one that has done anything with you. I’d never let another man lay his hands on you. Sabrina, I trust you. I don’t want this to be a source of tension between you two.”

She nods and whispers, “She’s intoxicating. It’s confusing.”

Laughing, I grab her face and pull her into a deep kiss that leaves us both breathless.

“You’re intoxicating.”

I’m fucking hard as granite thinking about them together, but I need to have her get all her worries out. I know there’s something else on her mind because she pulls her legs up into a hug and stares out over the ocean.

I rearrange my hard on and once again pull her down into my lap. Stoking the hair that has fallen away from her eyes.

Thankfully, she spills what else is bothering her before I have to push her to say it.

“I’m scared to get married.”

I stiffen, stilling my hand on her hair. My heart feels like it just plummeted into my stomach. Is she saying she doesn’t want to get married?

“Okay.” My voice cracks a bit.

Immediately she sits up.

“Oh God, Caston. I still want to marry you. That’s not what I’m saying.” She places a kiss on my lips lightly.

I feel my heart begin to beat again.

“Fuck, Sabrina, you scared the shit out of me.”

I kiss her again and again.

She giggles and lets me kiss her. I feel her smile widen on my shoulder when I pull her into a hug.

“I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I’m scared to get married in front of all those people I don’t know. All those eyes on me, judging me.”

She takes a deep breath and blows it out. I know she’s really upset because her parents won’t be there.

“Those eyes who judge are just jealous of you. Don’t let them get to you. Bre, you know your parents will be there, right?”

She starts crying again and nods her head. “I’ve felt them so much the last few months. It’s like you’ve brought them back into my mind.”

I smile. That makes me feel so amazing. I love to bring her happiness. I want to be her strength when she feels like it’s gone.

I take her in my arms and pull her close again. “I promise you, I will do everything in my power to keep you feeling them.”

Sliding my hands into her hair, I pull her mouth to mine. We get lost in each other’s kiss.