Left Together (13 page)

“Your
truck is a little hard to miss,” Jake states.

“Jake,
I’m not fucking around. I was
not
on the boat.”

“Evan!”
Meg shouts so I have no choice except to spin toward her.

“
What
?”
I’m ready to flip the fuck out on her for interrupting.

She
looks just as pale as Jake did a few minutes ago. “It was me.”

“What
was you?”

“On
the boat. It was me.” My cousin is shaking. She should be because I already
know who she was with on the boat. There’s only one person she wouldn’t dare take
home. “Danny had my car. That was the day I borrowed your truck.”

“You
were with Connor?” Tears are running down her face. That’s all the answer I
need. “What the hell were you doing with him, Meg?” My temper is beyond my control.

“You
don’t understand…,” she whimpers.

“Please
enlighten me then. Please explain why you were having sex with a
good-for-fucking-nothing druggie who uses you like his own personal whore.”

“Knock
it off, Evan,” my uncle warns.

“You’re
okay with this?” I ask him.

“No,
but it’s not the time to discuss it.”

“When
is a good time to discuss it? Do we just wait until she gets caught up in it,
too? Do we sit around and watch him drag her down right along with him?”

“You
have no idea how it feels,” Meg cries.

“How
what feels?”

“To
love someone who doesn’t love you back.” She slides off the desk. “The worst
part is that he used to. He loved me before he really got into this shit.”

“You
knew what he was doing this whole time and you kept seeing him? How do I get
you to understand that you deserve better?”

“I
convinced myself I had the power to remind him of what we had, what we could
have had. I know I was wrong. I was really, really wrong.”

Jake
pulls on my arm. “Leave her alone, man. She feels bad enough as it is. Let’s go
find Kacie. You need to tell her it wasn’t you on the boat before she takes off
with that asshole.”

He’s
right, but I can’t just walk out and leave Meg crying. I reach over and tug her
toward me. She comes without a fight. The tears automatically begin to slow
when my arms go around her. “I’m sorry for yelling,” I whisper into her hair.
“But I won’t sit by and watch this happen to you. I love you too damn much.”

“I
know you do,” she sniffs. “I love you, too. Do you want me to go talk to
Kacie?”

“No.
I’ll go. Get cleaned up. I might need you to close for me tonight.”

“All
of you, get the hell out of my club. I’m closing and I don’t want to see any of
you for the rest of the night,” Uncle Tim complains.

“Thanks,”
I say as I bolt for the door. Jake is right behind me.

“Whatever,”
he mumbles.

The
first place we look for Kacie is the last spot we saw her. There are so many
people dancing, I can’t tell if any of them are even familiar. “Do you see
her?” I call out to Jake over the music. He shakes his head. After searching a
bit longer, we head back to the table she was at. She’s not there, either. “Fuck!”
I yell.

“I’ll
try to call Jade,” Jake offers. I continue to look around for her. Maybe they
just switched tables. “Evan.” I turn back, thinking he was able to get his
sister on the phone. Jake is pointing at someone. Relief overwhelms me when I
see the guy who was dancing with Kacie. Knowing she isn’t having sex with him
helps calm the anxiety.

Jake
meets me beside the jerkoff’s table. “Where’s Kacie?” I demand.

“Who?”
he asks, unable to focus. This guy is fucking wasted. Great.

“Where’s
the girl you were molesting on the dance floor?” Jake gets in his face.

“Ah,
the redhead. Don’t know.” He goes back to his bottle.

I
twist him toward me. “Where did you last see her?”

He’s
squinting as if it’s daylight in here. “Aren’t you the guy she wanted to get
away from?”

“If I
were you, I’d answer him. His patience ran out a long time ago,” Jake advises.
It’s nice to have him back on my side.

“I
don’t remember,” he mumbles.

“Think…hard,”
I say through gritted teeth.

He
sighs. “She ran to her friends at the table. They went that way.” He indicates
a general direction that could mean they went to the bar, the restroom, or out
the door.

“Thanks
for nothing, dickhead.” Jake bumps into his stool, shaking him up a bit.

I lean
in. “If you ever lay a finger on my girl again, they will need dental records
to identify your body.”

“You’re
a bit possessive, don’t you think?” he laughs. Jake tilts his stool back so
he’s practically horizontal with the floor. He’s not laughing so hard now.

“You
have no fucking idea.” I make sure he knows how serious I am.

“Fine.
I’ll stay away from her,” he concedes. Jake flips the stool back up. “Fucking
psychopath.” If I had time, I’d beat the shit out of him just for the fun of it,
but it’s more important we find Kacie.

We
don’t see them at the bar. Jake is checking all of the tables as we pass them.
“Ladies’ room?” he suggests. The hallway to the restrooms is overcrowded. It is
a little quieter back here, so Jake tries to get Jade on the phone again.

“Why
don’t you try Kacie’s phone?” I ask.

“She
left it at home.” That’s why she wasn’t looking for it when I sent her the text
earlier. I open the door to the restroom. “Are you really going in there?” Jake
asks.

“Yes,”
I say before walking in. I don’t give a shit that everyone is looking at me.
“Kacie!” I call her name a few times and only one girl answers.

“I can
be Kacie, if you like.” She doesn’t even deserve to get a response out of me.

I exit
and see Jake standing there, waiting for me. “I can’t believe you just went in
there.”

“I’ll
go anywhere I have to. Did you get in touch with Jade?”

He
shakes his head. “Not yet.”

“Let’s
go check with Joe. He wouldn’t let them leave without talking to me first.”

We
make our way to the main door of Skyline. Joe is putting someone into a cab.
“Why don’t these fucking people come with designated drivers?” he bitches to
me.

“Did
Kacie leave?” I blurt out.

“I
know better than to let that happen, boss.”

“We
can’t find her, Jade, or Kyle. Keep an eye out.”

“No
problem.”

“Where
the hell could they be?” Jake asks, looking around the parking lot.

“Go
check out on the deck. I’ll check the office.” He agrees and disappears.

The
office is empty. When I return to the floor, Jake is running toward me with the
phone to his ear. “They’re at my house.”

“How
the fuck did they get out without Joe seeing them?”

“Don’t
know.”

“Tell Jade
not to let Kacie leave. We’re on our way.” He repeats what I said into the
phone and disconnects. “We’ll take my truck. It’s closer.”

“Good
thing because the bitches left me here.”

The
ride feels like it takes days. I disregard every speed limit sign posted, plus
a traffic light or two along the way. Jake hasn’t made a peep since we got in
the truck, which is fine by me. The only thing I can think about is what to say
to her when I find her. I should kick her ass for thinking I’d even
consider
sleeping with someone else, but how can I blame her? I blindsided her with the
phone call. After all the times I spent trying to tell her how much I cared
about her, how much she meant to me, it all came undone with only a few words. I
would have probably believed the same thing.

“Why
didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you come kick my ass? Why did you let me go on
thinking this was about her dad? We could have ended this shit days ago,” I
interrogate Jake when we get to his neighborhood.

“She
didn’t want you to know,” he says. Something is bothering him.

“What
didn’t she want me to know?”

He
doesn’t answer until we pull into his driveway. “That you have the power to
hurt her.” I can sit here and analyze that or I can go in and talk to Kacie.

My legs
can’t get me in the house fast enough. I run in, shouting her name. No one’s in
the kitchen or the living room, so I take off up the stairs. Jade is leaning
against her closed door at the end of the hallway. She’s in short shorts and a
tank top. Any other time, I would have had a remark, but I’m not in the mood.
Jade looks up at me when I get to her.

All of
a sudden, I feel nervous. “She here?” Jade nods. “Does she know it wasn’t me?”
Jade nods again.

“I’m
sorry I didn’t realize what was going on. I should’ve known it wasn’t you the
second I heard the story.”

I
shove my hands in my pockets. “I fucked up. Not you. Can I see her?”

Jade
sighs. “She just passed out. You can talk to her in the morning.”

“You’ve
got to be shitting me right now, Jade,” I say, frustrated.

“She
was drunk and crying hysterically. That’s what happens.”

“I
made sure her drinks weren’t strong. She wasn’t that drunk.”

“Kacie
was drunk before we went out.”

“Just
let me see her.”

“Take
the guest bedroom. I’ll make sure she comes in as soon as she wakes up.”

“I
don’t understand. If the only problem was that she thought I was banging some
other chick, why didn’t she come running to me as soon as she heard it wasn’t
me on the fucking boat?”

“I
honestly have no idea. I told her as soon as I heard. She got this look on her
face and she just lost it. She really believed you were on that boat, Evan.”

“Does
she still? Is that what this is?”

“No.
It’s been a really long few days and she hasn’t slept. I’m sure you haven’t,
either. I promise, she’s not going anywhere. Just let her sleep this off.”

“Is
she going to take me back?” I’m pretty sure that sounded just as pathetic out
loud as it did in my head, but I’m too wiped out to give a shit.

“I
have no doubt.” My whole damn body relaxes when she says that. Jade hugs me and
kisses my cheek. “I’m so glad this is over. I really missed you guys.” I watch
her go into her room and close the door.

There’s
no way I’ll be able to close my eyes. Why won’t Jade just let me see her? Kacie
does get to a point when she has had enough to drink that she falls asleep and
it’s best just to leave her that way. She’s going to feel like shit in the
morning and promise herself a hundred times that she’s never drinking again. I
sit down and prop myself up against Jade’s door. If I do doze off, Kacie won’t
be able to get out without waking me up.

How
can it be that loving this girl is both the easiest and the most difficult
thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my entire life?

Kacie

“You’re
joking, right?” It’s not right to be eavesdropping on this conversation, but
Kyle’s tone caught my attention. “Please tell me this is a fucking joke!”

“Afraid
not,” my best friend replies.

“Why
would she want to go there?”

“You
wouldn’t understand.”

“Try
me,” Kyle demands.

Jade sighs.
“Kacie has to show Evan she’s okay without him, that she’s moving on.”

“Is
that really what she’s doing, or is she just trying to piss him off?”

“If I
were you, I’d be really careful with what I say next,” Jade snaps. “Because it
sounds like you’re a little more worried about the cheating bastard than my
best friend.”

“Don’t
turn their problems into ours. This is between them. I’ve stood beside you all
fucking week while you stressed over their bullshit. I’m not going to sit here
and let you help her make a bad situation worse.”

It’s
wrong to let my best friend and her boyfriend get into an argument because of
me, so I pull my robe tight and walk out of my closet. “Jade, he’s right. I
told you I’d be fine doing this myself. You don’t need to get involved.”

“And I
told you I’m not letting you go alone,” she says sternly.

“Kacie,
I’m glad you’re home, but going to Skyline will not make any of this better and
you know it. Let’s just stay in and watch a movie or something.” Kyle gives it
his best shot to persuade me.

“I
appreciate the offer, but it’s just something I have to do. I won’t be able to
move past this until I face it.”

“I
think you’re making a huge mistake,” he says.

“You
don’t have to go. I’ll take the girls,” Jake says from the doorway. He had gone
home shortly after I told him and Jade where I wanted to go. My guess is he
probably had to decide if he’d be able to stand seeing Evan.

“Not
you, too.” Kyle can’t believe my friends are supporting me.

Jake
comes into the room. “Telling Kacie ‘no’ won’t get you anywhere. The best you
can do is go along for the ride and hope you don’t have to do too much damage
control.”

“I’m
not that bad,” I pout.

“Yes,
you are, and you know it.” Jade smiles.

“You
aren’t any better,” Jake tells his sister. She sticks her tongue out at him.
“My point, exactly.”

“Something
tells me I’m going to regret this,” Kyle concedes.

“Go
get ready,” Jake instructs. “I’ll make sure Kacie stays put until you get
back.”

“Can I
trust you this time?” Jade asks too harshly. “We both know what happened the
last time you were supposed to be ‘watching’ her.” A pained expression appears
on Jake’s face and my heart breaks for him.

“You
realize I don’t need permission to do what I want, right? I’ve been coming and
going for a long time without reporting to anyone.” Don’t they see how
irritating it is when they act like my parents and try to control my life?

“You
realize your actions impact more than just you, right?” Kyle snaps.

“That’s
enough!” Jake glares at him, forcing him to back down. “If you’re coming with
us, go get ready.”

Jade
pushes Kyle across the room before those two really get into it. One thing’s
for sure. Jake won’t tolerate someone talking to me that way. He may do it, but
no one else is allowed. “It won’t take us long. We’ll be back shortly,” she
announces.

Never
in my life have I been uncomfortable being left alone with Jake Quinn…until
now. We’ve spent plenty of time together over the years. The tension between us
is unpleasantly thick. He must be feeling the same way because he hasn’t moved,
except to shove his hands into his pockets. I’m trying to get my feet to move
so I can go back into the closet and get dressed, but I’m frozen. Part of it is
fear of finding out that Luke was right, and the rest of it is because I’m
afraid of how Jake will be from here on out if Luke was wrong.

Jake
clears his throat and I brace myself for what’s going to come out of his mouth.
“Where did you go?” he finally asks. I hesitate and it worries him. “Please
talk to me, Kacie. I don’t give a shit if it’s about something as lame as the
weather. I just need to hear your voice.”

It’s
enough to get me moving. I head back into the closet. “Hilton Head,” I confess.

“What
made you go there?”

“Addison’s
family has a place there. You should go sometime. It’s beautiful. Kind of quiet
compared to here, though.” While I chat about where I was to keep him from
bringing up anything else, my robe falls to the ground and I grab my dress off
of the hanger. As I start to put it on, Jake follows me in.

“I’m…I’m
sorry,” he apologizes, but doesn’t turn his eyes away from my naked back.

“It’s
not like you haven’t seen it before,” I slip. More awkward silence. “Since
you’re already here, zip me up.” Goosebumps cover my body as Jake steps up
behind me. He takes a breath before slowly raising the zipper.

“Um,
about that…,” he begins. When he finishes with the dress, he rests his hands on
my shoulders, then spins me around.

“Jake,
I’m not sure I can deal with facing Evan and talking to you about that all on
the same night. Besides, we both agreed it was a one-time thing that wouldn’t change
anything between us, so we don’t really need to bring it up.”

“But
it did fucking change something, Kacie. The look on your face the next morning
said it all. You skipped town because of it. I know you didn’t take off because
of what Evan did. I’m pretty sure that warrants a discussion.”

“Why
do you think I left because of…?” I whisper. How the hell did he know?

“You
can’t even say we had sex.” He starts pacing in the small space. “If it was no
big deal, you’d be able to say the goddamn words.” He shuts up. Is he quiet
because he’s waiting for me to say it? I can’t. It’s almost as if the words
don’t come out, there’s still hope for us to remain friends. “I’ve known you
long enough to know something’s going on by how you act. And why else wouldn’t
you talk to me on the phone?” He rubs the back of his head. “You’ve never
not
returned one of my phone calls before.”

“You
really want to do this now, Jake? Fine. Let’s do it. I’m sorry. I feel absolutely
terrible I let that happen between us. It was completely selfish of me.”

“Kacie…”

“I’m
not done.” If I let him interrupt me, I’ll never get this all out. “As soon as
I woke up the next morning, I realized how wrong it was. Regardless of how much
I drank, it was no excuse to be insensitive to your feelings. The guilt was too
much for me to handle. I admit, running away was sort of fucked up, but I
needed to be alone. You wouldn’t have allowed that if I stayed. I really hope
you can forgive me, Jake, because I can’t lose you, too.”

“Kacie,
stop.” Jake pulls me into his chest and doesn’t let go. “Please, just stop,” he
whispers sadly.

“I’m
so sorry for being such a horrible friend.” My voice is muffled since Jake has
me pinned to him.

“Come
here.” He reaches for my hand and leads us out to the chair. Jake sits down and
motions for me to do the same. “Let me make one thing very clear. You’ve never
been a horrible friend, nor could you ever be. No one else has been there for
me the way you always have.”

“But,
I…”

“It’s
my turn to talk.” He rubs his hands together, like he’s giving himself an
internal pep talk. “When you showed up at my door that night, it almost seemed
too good to be true. I spent the whole day agonizing over the way I spoke to
you earlier that morning. It really isn’t any of my business what is said or
not said in your relationship with someone else.” I remember how he had gotten
all bent out of shape over the fact that Evan hadn’t said he loved me yet. It
briefly made me question things between Evan and myself. Apparently, not
enough, though. “It’s just, for some reason, I was trying to pick a fight with
you. I wanted to be angry at you.”

“Why
would you want to be angry with me?” I ask, confused. My friend leans forward
to rest his arms on his knees and focuses his attention on the floor in front
of him. “Jake? What did I do?”

“You
fell in love with Evan,” he whispers.

“I
don’t understand,” I admit. “From the time I met him and started stressing over
what to do about my feelings, you’ve been nothing but supportive of Evan and I
getting together. Why would you be pissed about it all of a sudden?”

“Because
you’ve never fallen in love with anyone before,” Jake says, frustrated. He
stands up to pace again. “For years, I watched from the sidelines. There were
the guys who took you to school dances, Nate, guys I’d see you with when I’d
come to visit you at college… You never even pretended to be in love with them.
They understood, but hung around anyway. I never had a problem with you dating
because I knew it would never last.” The direction this conversation is heading
scares me. It’s as if I’m about to witness a train wreck and there isn’t a damn
thing I can do to stop it. “So when Evan came along, I assumed it would be the
same thing. You just needed to get him out of your system, then you’d forget
him the way you forgot the others. When everything was said and done, you
always came back to me. I kept hoping one of these times, you’d see it and
realize you belonged with me.” I get to my feet, hoping it will make him shut
the hell up. It doesn’t. “But it was obvious you weren’t going to do that this
time.”

That’s
all I can take. I storm out of the room, down the stairs, into the kitchen, and
straight over to the cabinet where I store the liquor. Once my throat is
burning with warm liquid, my heart rate slows to its normal speed. What the
fuck is going on here?

“Kacie,
can we please finish this before you drown yourself in that bottle?”

“How
the fuck are you not done?” My feelings are all over the place. I’m so pissed
off knowing that, despite how honest I’ve been with Jake, he’s admitting to thinking
there was still a chance for me to change my mind. I’m hurt because I trusted
Jake and he’s been lying to me all these years. It’s disappointing to find out
how stupid I was to believe the things he has said to me. I thought my judge of
character was a lot better than that. And my heart broke over the fact that I
was losing my best friend.

“I
knew how drunk you were, Kacie. I should have just let you go to Jade’s room
and sleep.” He hasn’t come close to me. I’m sure he knows better. “But I
couldn’t. If there was ever a time for me to get you to fall in love with me,
it was then.”

“Jake,
you seriously need to shut the fuck up,” I warn.

“I’ve
come this far. You should probably just let me get the rest of it out.”

“What
the fuck else do you need to get out that I’m not already assuming?” I yell.

“I’m
sure your assumptions are correct,” he says softly. Jake decides to venture
around the counter. He reaches out for my hand, but I pull it away.

“Don’t
touch me!”

Jake
flinches at my tone. “I warned Evan. I told him the moment he screwed up, I was
going to take his place.”

“Nice
to know I’m only some trophy for the two of you to pass around. That’s fucking
awesome!” If nothing else comes out of all of this, at least I’ll be a lot
better at drinking hard liquor. I’ve already lost count of how many sips I’ve
taken from this bottle.

“That’s
not what I meant!” The frustration is getting to him. “It was wrong of me to
take advantage of the situation but, if I remember correctly, you didn’t put up
much of a fight.” If there was any possible way he could have kicked me while I
was down, that was it. I know damn well I’m not completely innocent, but
basically calling me a slut was the most hurtful thing he could have done. He
may as well just have stabbed me in the chest. “I’m so sorry. Nothing is coming
out the way I wanted it to.”

“Oh,
I’m pretty sure it’s coming out
exactly
how you wanted it to,” I growl.

“What
the hell’s going on?” Jade demands. I’m so pissed at Jake, I never heard them
come back in. How much did they hear? My eyes immediately meet Jake’s, warning
him to keep his big mouth shut.

“I was
just trying to change Kacie’s mind about going to Skyline.” Jake attempts to
repair the damage.

Kyle
looks at the bottle in my hand, then my face. “Did it work?”

“No.”
I slam the bottle on the counter. On my way out of the room, I inform them,
“Now I’m even more positive Skyline is the only place I want to go.”

***

For
the most part, I’ve managed to get my temper under some sort of control. Jake
hasn’t tried speaking to me since I stormed out of the kitchen like a hormonal
teenager. Kyle insisted on driving tonight because he probably felt he needed
to have a say in something. Jade and I sit in the back while she tries to
figure out what the hell’s going on. I don’t want her to know, but I’m going to
have to give in and tell her the truth at some point. Once we get to the club,
I ask my friends to sit somewhere other than where we usually do. Jake doesn’t
sit at our table, which is fine with me. I’m still shocked he came.