Taken In by the Pack: Second Chances (6 page)

“Adalyn, Elijah was following you on my orders.” His tone was stiff, but strangely matter-of-fact, as if this should have been perfectly obvious. It wasn’t.

For a long moment, I was genuinely worried I would pass out; I felt light-headed, and my vision began to fuzz out at the edges. I must have actually started to swoon, because he took hold of my arm again, but gently this time, supportive.

“Your… orders?” I finally managed in a rough croak. He nodded slowly, his brows furrowed, the corners of his mouth turned down and his eyes full of concern at the way I was reacting. “What do you mean ‘your orders’? Why would a guy like that listen to you? You’re like half his age. And why would you have someone following me anyway?” By the end of this string of questions, my voice was rising again.

“Shhhh, Ada, honey calm down,” he soothed, rubbing my arm gently.

“Don’t you dare call me that! And answer my questions!” I lowered my volume a bit, but I was no less vehement.

He sighed, regarding me for a long moment before he started to talk.

“Maybe you already figured out, I am the… leader, of this… group.” The pauses seemed odd, like he was having to find the words. “I had Elijah follow you when I couldn’t.” He seemed uncomfortable now, as if finally becoming aware of how creepy that sounded.

Good.

“Oookay.” I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to make this make some kind of sense. “But— I still don’t understand. Why are you the leader? Why would these guys so much older than you pay any attention to what you say?”

“It’s-” he paused, chuckling faintly, “well, it’s sort of an inherited position. Most of the time.” He lifted a hand to run it through his chin length brown hair, leaving it tousled it a bit so that it was messier when he was done instead of neater. “So when my dad died unexpectedly, I sort of became the leader. That’s-” he paused again, scuffing his feet a bit, like a child caught doing something naughty. “That’s why I left Charlottesville. To come back here, to fulfill my obligations to the… group. To take his place.”

❖ ❖ ❖

I had the strangest sensation, as if the world literally lurched sideways under my feet. I felt light-headed again, and dizzy.
This
is why he had left me, crushed, all but destroyed? To take over as the leader of a freaking
motorcycle gang
, or whatever this bizarre group was? Had he never cared at all? Or was he just insane?

“You aren’t making any sense!” I was whining, and I knew it, but I just couldn’t help it at this point. I was so dazed and bewildered, I just couldn’t make any sense out of any of this. “Why were you watching me? Why didn’t you tell me any of this when you left? Why did you just disappear? Why didn’t you stay in contact, or stay together with me? You clearly didn’t go far, we could have made it work!” This all came rushing out, mostly in a single breath; I must have sounded rather ridiculous, but he managed not to laugh at me.

“Adalyn, slow down. One question at a time.” He made a stopping motion with one hand; his voice still sounded so calm, so reasonable, his expression concerned and attentive. His composure was infuriating.

“Why. Were. You. Watching. Me?” I bit off each word through clenched teeth; my fists were likewise clenched at my side. I wanted so badly to slap him again, but I didn’t dare with his little coterie watching avidly nearby. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not normally a violent person. But he had hurt me so severely, and this whole situation was so frustrating and confusing that it verged on funny.

“I wanted to make sure you were safe, obviously. That someone would be on hand if you… needed anything.” He seemed earnest enough, which somehow just made it more preposterous. I gawked at him in amazement before rolling my eyes.

“Oh, sure, silly me. I can’t imagine why I didn’t realize you would want to assure my safety.” Okay, so maybe I was being just a touch sarcastic. Surely I was allowed, after all of this, after everything he had done and was doing.

He flinched at that, at least, his face tightening in a pained expression. For just a moment, I felt a flash of guilt, but then reminded myself I was not the one who should be feeling guilty, here.

“Of course I wanted to know you were safe, Ada.” I gave him a long, level, dubious stare. He returned my gaze, still looking rather distressed, and a bit petulant, as well. It was a strange, but somehow amusing expression on his confident face. I didn’t let it deter me, though.

“If you care about my safety, then why did you just disappear?” I challenged tartly.

“I didn’t have a choice, Adalyn.” His voice sounded so anguished when he said that, I almost believed it.

Almost.

“Of course you had a choice! You were only an hour away! We could have made it work.”

He shook his head slowly, sadly it seemed to me. “It wasn’t that simple, Ada. I wish it had been, you have no idea how much I wish it could have been.”

“It seems pretty simple to me! You could have picked up the phone! Or written an email! Or hell, even written me an effing
letter
. Anything. It’s as simple as anything could be!” I took a half step forward, getting as ‘up in his face’ as I could given our height differences.

❖ ❖ ❖

He sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his eyes and then pushing it back through his hair. A small part of me wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but the larger part of me would sooner have reached out to slap him again.

“If it had just been about the distance, sure I could have. But there is so much more to it than that.”

I snorted softly. “Like what, exactly?” Yes, I was bitter, and it showed in my tone.

His wide lips pulled down in a thoughtful frown, studying my face for a long time. I was just drawing in a breath to push my question again, when he finally spoke.

“I can’t explain properly right now, Adalyn.” He sounded pained again.

“Well try, damnit!” I came close to actually stomping my foot petulantly, but I stopped myself at the last moment.

“No, no, I will Ada. I just can’t right now, not here.”

He lifted his hand, brushing my cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. I stiffened, but I didn’t pull away. There was a strange cold-heat that coiled in my belly that I couldn’t readily identify.

“Why not? What’s wrong with here?” I waved my hand vaguely, trying to indicate the relative privacy in which we were talking.

He chuckled softly and shook his head. “There are too many strangers around. And trust me, some things are easier shown than told. A picture’s worth a thousand words, right?”

I scowled up at him, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides.

“You can’t possibly expect to tell me all this and then me just walk away without any real answers!” I protested, once again through gritted teeth.

He chuckled again, and I could tell he was trying not to fully laugh at me. “You’re like an annoyed pup worrying at a rag. I promise, I will explain, okay? Please, just give me this much trust.”

“
Trust?
” I shrieked, the hurt, angry tears that had threatened earlier now blurring his face in my vision. “You really expect me to
trust
you, after what you did to me?” I felt the first tear break free, trickling down my cheek.

“Shhhh, shh, Ada, hush now.” He wasn’t looking at me just then, he was looking past me, over my shoulder, his gaze serious, shaking his head. Calling off his attack dogs, I supposed. He rubbed my arms gently, though, and after a moment he looked back down to me.

“Yes, trust. Next Friday night, alright? Join us next Friday night, and I will explain everything. I give you my word.”

I sniffled once, swiping angrily at my damp cheeks. “Your word isn’t worth a whole lot, to me.” I could hear how petulant and pouty my voice was.

He looked truly hurt, and contrite. “I know I hurt you, Adalyn, but you will understand if you will come next Friday. Will you, please?” His question was oddly shy, the first time I had heard his voice without that innate confidence it had gained in the years between when we had dated and now.

I looked slowly back up at his face, blinking a few times to try and clear the blurriness. He was so handsome it made my whole body ache, even more than when he had stolen my heart years ago. He had hurt me so badly; he had stalked me, and had one of his pals stalk me when he couldn’t. Could I trust him again?
Should
I trust him again?

Part of me yearned to say yes, to throw myself at him, to take anything he would give me. Another part of me told me I was insane to even contemplate it.

He watched me in turn, seeming both apprehensive and patient at the same time.

Finally I sighed, almost defeated, and slowly nodded. “Alright. Next Friday, then.”

His face split into a positively radiant grin. “Thanks, Adalyn. Come here, where the cars are parked, at sunset.”

I nodded again, trying not to look like a moping kid.

❖ ❖ ❖

Since he clearly wasn’t going to share anything more tonight, I turned and made my way back up towards the fire. I gave a wide berth to the knot of people from Bryson’s group, glad enough to be in the dark and relative quiet for a few more moments to try and clear my overcrowded mind. There was no way I could even begin to sort all this out right now, so I tried to just shove it into a corner of my mind to deal with later.

Soon enough, though, I was back amongst the mingling partiers. I looked around, and spotted Angie, standing and talking to Josh, glancing nervously now and then in the direction of Bryson’s group. She apparently hadn’t spotted my return trek.

I slowly made my way around the fire towards her, my arms crossed on my chest, almost like I was giving myself a hug. I must have looked as wretched as I felt, because no one even tried to speak to me, which suited me just fine. Until Angie caught sight of me, of course.

“Adalyn!” she squealed, and ran the short distance over to me, throwing her arms around my neck, hugging me crushingly tight as if she had been afraid she would never see me again.

I chuckled softly, despite myself, and patted her back. “I’m fine, Angie, really. I’m-” I paused a moment, not sure what to say. “I’m confused. But I’m okay.”

“Did you find out why that guy was following you?” she asked anxiously in a hushed tone.

“Apparently on Bryson’s request.” Her eyes widened. “To make sure I was ‘safe’.”

She giggled a bit. “Safe from what? The only thing you’ve needed safety from was
them
.”

I chuckled again, giving her a hug in return. “Come on, let’s try to enjoy the party. How’s things going with Josh?”

She bounced a bit and began to gush, easily deflected. “He’s so amazing! I think we’re gonna go out for dinner, maybe next week.” She continued to ramble for a bit, but I wasn’t entirely listening.

I smiled, however, genuinely happy for my bubbly friend. “That’s great. I’m sure you’ll be great together.”

“I know, right?” She beamed, tugging me over in Josh’s direction again. Josh nodded to me, but this time red-haired Pete didn’t have a smile, or even an acknowledgment for me, as though seeing me merely speaking to Bryson — or, you know, maybe the screaming or the slapping — had made me below even his notice.

Feeling mildly uncomfortable between the newly-happy-couple and being pointedly ignored, I left Angie with Josh again, more relaxed now. I tried to mingle with the crowd, but my heart wasn’t really in it. I made my way over to the far side of the fire, where there were self-serve drinks on hand, and a handful of guys were providing the background music with a couple of guitars, a bass, and a fiddle. They were pretty good, I hadn’t realized it was impromptu amateur live music until I saw them.

I grabbed myself a soda, and found a place to take a seat, on a hay bale with a horse blanket thrown over it. I just listened to the music for a while, before glancing around, and spotting Bryson, back with his little group again.

He wants me to trust him? After what he did? How could he possibly have the gall to act hurt that I didn’t immediately take his word as absolute?

I wondered why it should matter, that there were ‘too many strangers’ here. Not to mention what in the world he could ‘show me’ that he couldn’t just tell me now.

As I watched, the mood in his group gradually relaxed, and lightened. Soon they were laughing and chatting with one another until you would never know something untoward had happened only a short while ago.