Left Together (6 page)

The
door swings open and Joe, the head of security, comes in. “Everything okay in
here?”

“I was
just leaving,” my unwanted guest says. “Make sure you decide wisely. I’m
curious to see how this plays out.” He walks out of my office and I nod at Joe
to follow him.

What
the hell just happened? Why was it necessary to dig up shit about me? Why do
her parents think Kacie will date who they want her to even if they get rid of
me? What the hell do I do? There’s no way I can let anything happen to Skyline.
My aunt and uncle put everything they have into this place. They went out
tonight, so I can’t get them involved right now. Meg. I need to talk to my
cousin. She always knows what to do.

After
the third ring, my heart starts racing. Meg never lets her phone ring that many
times. “Come on. Pick up the damn phone.” Two more rings, then her voicemail
picks up. “Meg. I need to talk to you. It’s important. Call me back the second
you get this.” I drop the phone on the desk and impatiently wait a few minutes.
Nothing. I try to call her again. Still no answer.

I’m
supposed to meet Kacie soon. When her dad said I needed to decide tonight, did
that mean he’d follow up and check on her? Something tells me he’ll know if
she’s with me. We can’t be together tonight. How do I tell her I have to cancel
our date without telling her why? She can’t know about this just yet. It will
only make shit worse. “What the fuck do I do?” I slam my fist on the desk as
Joe walks back in.

“What’s
going on, Evan? Who was that guy? As soon as he got in his car, he called
someone. I couldn’t hear anything he said, though.”

“That
was Kacie’s dad. The son of a bitch just threatened me.” I stand up, grabbing
my phone and keys.

“Why
would he do that?”

“He
doesn’t want me with her. If it was just me he was threatening, I wouldn’t even
give it another thought, but he said something about Skyline. Keep your eyes
peeled tonight. If anyone looks remotely suspicious, toss them the fuck out. I
don’t care if you have to call in extra guys to help out. I’m going to find
Keith and give him a heads up.”

“Did
you tell your uncle?”

“Not
yet. I will. I highly doubt anything will happen tonight. I’m going to give him
what he wants until I figure this out.”

“Should
we call the cops?”

“What
are they going to do? It would be my word against his and, knowing him, he
probably has connections high enough that my call wouldn’t even get returned.”
My finger taps on my cousin’s name on my phone. Now her phone goes straight to
voicemail without ringing. “Where the fuck is Meg?”

“What
are you going to do about Kacie?” Joe wants to know.

“I’m
going to break up with her. She’ll realize something’s up. She has to. If she
doesn’t, Jade will figure it out. Her dad also said something about taking
Kacie’s house from her. I have no idea if he’s bluffing or not, but I can’t
take the chance. That house means more to her than anything.”

“I
don’t know, man. I think you should talk to her,” Joe suggests, but he doesn’t
get it. He doesn’t know what these people are capable of. I don’t think I
really did, either, until her dad said something about what I did back in New
York. I don’t care if any of my friends found out. What’s bugging me is he was
able to find out shit no one knows. “Do you want me to call her? At least
she’ll know what’s going on then.”

“No.
If Kacie knows, she’ll freak the fuck out and run right over there. I think it
will be better if I just deal with it this way and apologize later. She’ll
understand why.”

“Maybe,
but will she forgive you for keeping her in the dark?”

Another
sigh escapes me. “I hope so. She’s not a fan of her parents and has seen them
pull some horrific shit.”

“I
really don’t like the feel of this. There has to be another way.”

“It’ll
be fine. Just worry about making sure nothing happens here. I’ll go to my uncle
in a little bit and see what he says.” I pat his shoulder on my way by. “Figures
the girl I fall in love with has a crazy fucking family.”

Keith
isn’t hard to find. Out of habit, he’s always near the bar. I quickly give him
the short version of what happened and tell him Joe is aware of what’s going
on. I assure him everything will be fine and I’ll be close by if he needs
anything. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem overly concerned.

The
hard part is calling Kacie, but I keep telling myself I’m doing the right
thing. We’ve grown so close over the last month, she’ll have to realize
something’s up and wait for me to come to her. There’s no way she hasn’t
figured out by now how I feel about her and that I will do anything to protect
her. I expect her to be angry and stubborn enough to demand answers to her
questions. Hearing her pissed is what I need, but it still hurts like a bitch.
At least if her dad checks on her, there will be no mistaking how upset she is.
He’ll leave Skyline alone and he won’t touch the house. I wish there was a way
I could contact Kacie’s lawyer without her finding out to see if what he said
was true, but Jade would be all over that. If I don’t end this call, I’m going
to tell her everything. She won’t let me go, so I do the only thing I can. I
hang up on her and instantly feel as though I’ve lost her forever. Not answering
when she calls back is worse. I really hope I’m right about her figuring
everything out.

Meg
has me so pissed off, I’m ready to strangle her skinny ass. Every few minutes,
I try to call her cell, but only get her voicemail. The first place I look for
my good-for-nothing cousin is her house. She’s not home. I drive by a couple of
her friends’ places. My truck is nowhere to be found. Then I wonder if she was
going out with Jade and everyone else, but I can’t remember. Of course, I can’t
remember where Jade said they were going, either. I didn’t think I’d need to
know. For a moment, I consider texting Jake. He’s with Jade, who probably
already spoke to Kacie. That’s not an option. Besides, if Meg is with them, she
would have also heard and would’ve already called me, flipping out. Meg and
Kacie have gotten to be pretty good friends. After checking a couple of smaller
bars she goes to, I give up.

The
rain is really starting to come down and I can’t help but worry if Kacie made
it home. Despite the possibility of getting caught by her father, I head in the
direction of her neighborhood. I have to know she’s safe. By the time I make it
to her house, it’s pouring so damn hard, it’s almost impossible to see through
the windshield. Relief runs through me when her car comes into view, parked in
its normal spot. It doesn’t look like any lights are on inside. She could be in
her room, which is at the back of the house. I want to go in so bad. I want to
explain everything and beg her to forgive me for pissing her off. That’s when I
realize I don’t have her key. Did I leave it in the truck? “Damn it!” I yell
out. I decide to stick with my plan and keep driving down her street. There are
lights on at Jade’s house, so she could be there. Hopefully she is because I
don’t want her to be alone.

When I
get back to Meg’s house, my truck still isn’t here. There’s no point in driving
around Tampa anymore. I hit the button to open the garage door and carefully
pull my car in. Looking around, I notice my uncle’s car isn’t here, either.
This really fucking blows. Any other time, my family would be all over my ass
for not coming to them when I needed help.

As I
walk in the kitchen, my phone buzzes. I answer right away because it’s Joe.
“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.
I’m just calling to check on you. Everything okay?”

“Walking
into my uncle’s now.”

“Need
me to do anything?” he asks.

“You’re
already doing it. Just make sure we have a place to go to work tomorrow.”

“Do
you think this guy was just blowing smoke up your ass?”

“If
that’s the case, he needs to find a better fucking hobby. I’ll let you know if
my uncle wants you to do anything different than what we already discussed,” I
say, hearing the disgust in my own voice.

“All
right,” Joe sighs. “Later.”

For
the next hour or so, I consume more alcohol than I probably have in the last
year. The second-guessing of myself begins about halfway through. How many
times has Kacie warned me about her malicious parents? I would listen to story
after fucking story, constantly promising her they would never get to me. That
I could handle anything they tried to throw my way. At the first opportunity, I
break every promise I made to her. Thinking back, the reason I reacted the way
I did is because of my fear she’d pick the house over me. Maybe I feel this way
because the last time the issue came up, she almost did. I’ve always worried
that if it came down to this scenario again, I’d lose her for sure.

A
short time after finishing the rest of my uncle’s Jack Daniels, Meg finally
strolls in. She must have gotten caught somewhere in the storm. Her hair is
drenched and she’s carrying some clothes. She better not have ruined the seat
in my truck.

“Hey.
What are you doing here?” she asks cautiously, taking in my appearance. I’m now
realizing I’m slumped over the table, barely able to hold my head up. My cousin
picks up the empty bottle and moves it to the other side of the table. Like I
could do any more damage to it. “Wasn’t your date with Kacie, tonight?”

“I had
to cancel it,” I answer while playing with my glass.

“Why
did you do that? You were so excited this afternoon. It was actually kind of
sickening.” She’s trying to distract me from whatever the problem is. When I
don’t respond, she nudges my shoulder. “Seriously, Ev. What happened?”

“Kacie’s
dad came in to see me at Skyline when I was about to leave.”

“What
the fuck did he want?” she asks, instantly pissed.

“To
threaten me. He said I had to leave her.”

“Please
tell me that’s not what you did.” My cousin sits down next to me, trying to get
me to look at her.

“I
didn’t have a choice, Meg!” I snap. I take a deep breath and return to my quiet
state of misery. “He said something would happen to Skyline if I stayed with
her.”

“Did
you call my dad?” I shake my head. She jumps up and grabs the cordless phone
off the wall. While she’s dialing, she comes back to sit next to me. I barely
hear what she says to him, then she drops the phone on the table. "He’s
around the corner. He’ll be home any second.” I feel her rub my back. “I’m
sorry you’re dealing with this bullshit.”

Something
occurs to me. “Meg?”

“Hmm?”

“Why
didn’t you answer your phone? I’ve been calling you all night.”

“I
forgot to charge it before I went out.” Meg reaches for her purse and pulls out
her phone. She tries to turn it on, but it has absolutely no battery left.

“Where
were you?”

She
hesitates until I turn to her. “With a friend,” she whispers. The liquor in my
system prevents me from caring which friend, but something tells me I should.

Silence
fills the room until my aunt and uncle come rushing in from the garage. I feel
terrible because this is
not
how they wanted to end their night. “What
the hell is going on?” Uncle Tim demands. My aunt slides into the chair on the
other side of me and grabs my hand. As best I can, I start from the beginning
and explain everything. Hearing myself repeat the story another time only
confirms how fucked up it sounds.

“Evan…,”
my uncle starts. My eyes squeeze closed as I wait for the speech telling me how
bad I screwed up. “I understand why you did what you did and we really
appreciate what you were willing to risk for us.” It doesn’t sound like his normal
lecturing tone, so I open my eyes. My aunt looks to my uncle, who is across the
table from me. “But Kacie is family. Nothing, not even Skyline, is more
important than family. Meg, please call Kacie to check on her. Ask her to come
here in the morning for breakfast. Apologize, tell her it was all a
misunderstanding, and that I’ll explain everything to her myself when she gets
here.”

“Okay.”
Meg kisses my cheek as she gets up.

“You
don’t have to do this. It’s my problem to fix,” I say, trying to get out of the
chair. Meg’s still standing behind me, waiting to see if she’s going to make
the call or not.

My
uncle nods for Meg to go do what he asked. “There’s no way you’re fixing
anything anytime soon. Go get some sleep. It’s our turn to look out for you the
way you did for us.”

I start
to protest, but the look on Aunt Grace’s face stops me. “This is what family
does, Evan. We love you and so does Kacie. Tomorrow, this whole thing will be
over and we’ll put it behind us,” she says. Her soft voice is enough to relax me.
My aunt has convinced me that, in a few hours, my girl will be right where she
should be…in my arms.

Evan

The
moment my eyelids open, I know something is wrong. Really fucking wrong. The
room isn’t nearly as bright and sunny as it usually is. Even on cloudy days, I
need to immediately pull a pillow, a blanket, something over my head until my
eyes adjust. The sheets aren’t soft the way they always are. Not that the ones
underneath me are bad. They just aren’t what I’ve become used to. The worst
part is that I have entirely too much room to myself in this gigantic bed. Any
other morning, my arms are full and my body is warm. This bed doesn’t smell
right. It doesn’t smell like her. That’s when I start remembering. Her dad was
in my office. I panicked. Then, in a ridiculous attempt to protect both my girl
and my family, I broke every promise I ever made.

“Kacie!”
I call out, sitting up way too fast. Where the hell is the goddamn pounding
coming from? The room starts spinning. My hands automatically grab onto either
side of my head, trying to keep it still. It’s not working. I swing my legs
over the side of the bed and lean my elbows on my knees. When my feet hit the
floor, the rotating slows and takes its time coming to a complete stop. Fucking
Jack Daniels. Or, more appropriately, fucking Sam Foster.

A
little more careful than the way I sat up, I raise myself out of the bed to a
semi-standing position. Since the room doesn’t move, I straighten up all the
way and walk to the end of the bed where my pants landed last night, or this
morning…whenever the fuck it was. After putting them on, I pull out my phone from
the front pocket. No missed calls. No new texts. “Shit,” I grumble,
disappointed Kacie hasn’t tried to get in touch with me. 

It’s
late morning, so she could already be here. After a quick stop in the bathroom,
I grab my shoes and shirt before heading downstairs. Voices are coming from the
kitchen, but I don’t smell anything cooking. Although that may be a good thing
right now. When I walk into the room, my heart breaks because the only people
here are my aunt, uncle, and cousin. They stop their conversation to look over at
me.

“Where
is she?” I ask nervously.

“Come
sit down. What do you feel like eating?” Aunt Grace asks.

I
don’t move out of the doorway. “Where is she?” I’m not directing the question
to anyone specifically, but someone better fucking answer.

Meg is
the one brave enough to deliver the bad news. “I haven’t been able to get ahold
of her. I left a few voicemails and sent some texts since last night, but she
hasn’t called back yet. Jade isn’t responding, either. Maybe they’re still
sleeping? They were probably up just as late as you were.”

“She
very rarely sleeps late,” I mumble, dropping my shoes to the floor so I can
throw on my shirt. While I fasten the buttons, my feet slide into my shoes.
“Meg, where are my truck keys?” At least I haven’t forgotten she had them. Out
of the corner of my eye, I see my cousin shuffling over to the counter.

“Evan,
just relax. Maybe Kacie is getting a late start. She knows to come here,” my
uncle says confidently from his spot at the table. His iPad is out in front of
him, along with some paperwork. He’s obviously dealing with work shit that I
should offer to help him with or do myself, but I can’t think about it until I
see Kacie. “Don’t go off chasing her. Give her time to calm down.”

Meg
holds the keys out for me. She knows damn well I’m going after Kacie. I reach
for them on my way by her. “If she comes here, don’t let her leave until I get
back. Restrain her if you have to.”

“I’m
sure she’ll be here. Just wait a little longer,” my aunt says, following me
toward the front of the house.

“She
would’ve called,” I say over my shoulder.

“Evan!”
Aunt Grace shouts as I close the door behind me.

The
first thing I do after unlocking my truck is search to see if the key to
Kacie’s house is in here. It isn’t in the cup holder, on the passenger seat, or
the floor. “Fuck!” I punch the steering wheel as if it’s to blame for me not
being able to find it. Did I have it when I left her house yesterday? I may not
have. There’s a possibility I just turned the lock on the handle from the
inside and closed the door. We do that sometimes when we’re in a hurry. The
alarm was set anyway. The stupid thing could have fallen on the floor when my
pile of shit fell off the dresser. How the hell could I have forgotten to grab
the key? Today is really not my fucking day.

It’s
Saturday, so traffic blows. The ride takes me twice as long as it normally
would, which is seriously pissing me off. Even Kacie’s neighborhood has more
people walking around and riding bikes than it normally does. When I finally
turn onto her street, my chest begins to ache and breathing becomes nearly impossible.
She’s going to be so pissed when she sees me at the door. Knowing how stubborn
she is, Kacie may not even open it. Perhaps I should’ve asked Meg to come. My
cousin has always been good at getting people to listen to her.

Kacie’s
house comes into view and the first thing that catches my attention is the
absence of her car. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” I say. Once I park in her
driveway, I dial her number, climbing out of the Ram. Her phone is going right
to voicemail the way Meg’s did. She has it set so the default message plays. I
don’t even get to hear her beautiful voice. “Kacie, it’s me. Listen, I’m so
sorry about last night. Please give me a few minutes to explain.” My voice
vanishes while I try to come up with the magic words to convince her to give me
a chance. I’ve got nothing. “This is killing me. Please call. I miss you,” I
whisper as I hang up and dial my cousin. Mercifully, Meg is back to answering
on the first ring.

“Ev?”
she says, concerned.

“Please
tell me Kacie’s there.”

“Sorry.
She still hasn’t called.” Meg is probably wishing I’d leave her out of this.
“Where are you?”

“I
just got to Kacie’s. Her car isn’t here.” I’ve made it to the door. Even though
it’s clear she’s not home, I press the doorbell.

“What
about next door?” Meg suggests. Since you can’t see the front of Jade’s house unless
you’re in Kacie’s driveway, I go back down the steps.

“Both
Jade’s car and Jake’s pickup are gone. She’s definitely not with either of
them. One of the three cars would be around.” I glance at every one of Kacie’s
windows, searching for any indication she might be in there.

“Maybe
she just wanted to get out of the house for a little while.”

“I
don’t know,” I respond, defeated. “What am I supposed to do now?” My body leans
against the passenger side of my truck.

“I
think you should come back here. If she wants to see you, this is the first
place she’ll go, especially after all of the messages. But, if you want my
honest opinion…” My cousin pauses to see if I’ll stop her from saying what
she’s about to tell me, and when I don’t, she continues, “she’s probably more
than pissed off at you, Evan. Regardless of what Daddy or I say to her, you’re
the one who hurt her and she has to work through it. Kacie may not want to talk
to you for a few days.”

“But I
didn’t mean to hurt her. I was trying to help everyone and shit just got out of
control.” I look up when I hear the sound of a car coming down the street. The
spike of adrenaline it caused takes a nosedive when it’s not her.

“I
know, and she will, too. You’re going to have to give her some space and time,
though.”

“I
don’t want to,” I groan. “I want to stop her from hurting.”

“Come
home, Evan.”

My
eyes roam over the house in front of me. In twenty-six years, I’ve never felt
more comfortable, more alive than when I am here with Kacie. “I am home,” I
whisper.

“I’m sorry.
Do you want me to ask my dad to cover for you at the club tonight?”

“No.
I’ll be there. I’m going to my condo. If you hear from her, please…” I sigh,
unable to finish my sentence.

“I’ll
call you the second I do,” Meg assures me.

I hang
up and send a desperate text to Jade.

If u c
Kacie, PLS tell her I’m looking for her
.

My
thumb taps SEND, despite knowing she won’t respond.

***

Getting
through the rest of the day is tough. It turns out that going back to my place
wasn’t the best idea. Who’d have thought something I decided wasn’t the
greatest thing to do? I keep thinking about the last time Kacie and I were
here. Only three nights had passed, but it feels like a lifetime ago. She had
been working late at Shining Stars, then came to sleep over since my condo is
much closer to both the school and Skyline. It made sense because we were going
to my aunt and uncle’s early the next day to help them get everything ready for
the barbecue. It doesn’t hurt that we don’t have to worry about pain in the ass
neighbors dropping by unexpectedly. While she waited for me to get home, Kacie
cleaned up, made us something to eat, and had the bedroom ready for us to mess
up all over again. Other than going in to get my work clothes, I steered clear
of that room. Why torture myself? It was bad enough looking around at
everything she had touched just a couple days ago.

It gets
to the point where the walls start closing in on me and I have to get out.
Instead of sleeping off my hangover, I go to the gym. It’s more in the hopes of
finding Kacie or, at the very least, hearing she had been there. Pulling into
the parking lot and searching for her car, which isn’t here, is reason number
one this was a bad decision. Reason number two comes about fifteen minutes
later when I run into Kacie’s trainer. The day Kacie and I walked in to sign up
for a membership was that punk’s lucky day. He’s closer to her age than I am,
but has an ego bigger than anyone I’ve ever met. The asshole started hitting on
her before Kacie even opened her mouth. She wanted someone to help her set up a
workout plan that incorporated her running and swimming schedule. He
volunteered some decent information and she liked him right away. At the time,
I didn’t think much of it. After all, Kacie was going to and leaving the gym
with me. She never spoke about him outside of the gym, so I figured she didn’t
even notice his flirting. From a distance, I kept an eye on him whenever he was
within ten feet of her.

Wes,
or whatever his stupid name is, comes over and says, “By yourself today, I
see.”

I’m
getting ready to start lifting and try to blow him off. “Sorry to disappoint
you,” I remark under my breath.

“You
look way more bummed about that than I do,” he responds. I set the weights down
and twist toward him. His arrogant smirk almost costs him his life. “Trouble in
paradise?”

“Fuck
you!”

His
grin only grows. “Good to know,” he says before walking away. He stays out of sight
the rest of the time I am there. Good thing for him.

After
showering at the gym, I pick up a strawberry milkshake and drive over to
Kacie’s again. Still no car in the driveway. Where the fuck can she be? I get
out of the truck. Her other neighbors might begin to think I’m a stalker. As I
expect, no one answers the door. I leave the milkshake on her top step so she’ll
know I stopped by. There’s no sign of anyone next door, so they’re probably
avoiding me, too.

I feel
physically and mentally drained, so I grab something to eat and go into work
long before it’s necessary. It’s the only place I’ll be able to keep myself
busy enough to not completely lose my damn mind. My uncle comes in shortly
afterward and finds me sorting through the bottles I just stacked on the shelf
yesterday.

“How
are you holding up?” he asks.

“I’m
not.”

“Why
don’t you go home, Evan? There’ll be plenty of us around tonight.”

“Because
I have nowhere else to go!” I snap. Hollering at him isn’t going to get me what
I want. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Hopefully, my apologies improve
when Kacie decides to show up.

Uncle
Tim gives me a sympathetic look. “It will be fine. Do you have any idea how
many times I’ve screwed up and, after some major pleading, begging, and some
expensive gift buying, your aunt took me back?”

I sit
down on a stool behind the bar. “I promised Kacie this would never happen.”

“Amateur.”
He shakes his head, smiling slightly. “That wasn’t a very smart promise to
make.”

“I
don’t know how her dad got to me, but it doesn’t matter. There’s a very good
possibility she may never speak to me again.”

“She
will,” he says, then pours two shots and hands me one.

“You
sound so damn sure of yourself,” I reply after swallowing it. You’d think I
would’ve learned after last night.

“I
am,” he claims. “Because if she doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s probably
not the best time to tell you this, but you’ll fuck up again. And a whole
shitload of times, too. So will Kacie. You have to decide what’s more
important. Learning to forgive or learning to let go.”

“Stop
pretending like you’re smart, old man. How often has Aunt Grace told you that
shit?” I grumble, calling his bluff.