The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) (35 page)

“You can’t do that,” I reply with fearful debate.

“Don’t underestimate me, my dear. You have no idea what I’m capable of doing. If you’re still in this town as much as one second into July first, and if you ever return here, you’ll wish you died in that car accident, too.”

“I’m supposed to leave and never come home to see Luke or Claire?”

“Oh, no, they’re going with you.”

“You wouldn’t do that to them. You can’t…” I begin.

“They’ve already cleared out their desks.”

Consequences.

I stand in shock, having no cards of my own to play. Will was right when he said it would make his father even more determined if he wasn’t able to pay me off or shame me into leaving. My only hope is in Claire’s promise that they have enough dirt on Gregory Meyer to shut him up, so I stand silently, waiting to be dismissed.

“I’m sorry that it had to come to this. Had you heeded my earlier warnings we wouldn’t be standing here. Now, you and Will can have your little fling through prom and graduation. I’ll even let him help the three of you pack up your house. You have until the end of June,” Mr. Meyer says so matter of fact. It’s eerie the way he speaks. He has no remorse for what he’s doing to us. I took a psychology class last year and I’m pretty sure that he is the definition of a sociopath.  “
Then you can be on your way to Tallahassee, or wherever, and my son will never see or hear from you again.” He takes a drag from his cigarette and flicks it to the curb. “I hope you did well on your finals. I’d hate for there to be a glitch in the system when you go to register for your college classes.” He scans my body with his eerie eyes, igniting my gag reflex. “It’s a shame, really. Had you played your cards right, I could have done
so much
with you.”  With that, he turns and walks confidently back to his car. His thug of a driver opens and closes his door, doesn’t give me so much as a glance, and drives ahead, leaving me standing in the middle of the road about as close to tears as I’ve ever been without crying.

The entire drive home I run though scenarios from tax evasion to sexual misconduct as I wonder what power Luke wields in his personal filing cabinet.
When I walk through the door and find Will, Luke and Claire in the kitchen, I’m sure they’ve spent the morning strategizing. When I ask what the plan is I’m flabbergasted at the news they deliver.

“We took the deal,” Luke says.

“Just to make it look like we’re cooperating, right?” I clarify.

“No. We really took it.” Luke replies.

“What?”

“Layla, it’s for the best,” Will agrees.

“Am I going crazy? Claire, c’mon, help me out here,” I beg.

“They’re right, Layla. It’s for the best. His next move will be to erase our identities. You won’t be able to go to
any
college let alone Florida State; and none of us will be able to get a job or find a place to live. It will be as if we never existed.” Claire’s angelic tone is not calming me this time. I’m angry and I feel alone and betrayed.

“I can’t believe all of you! You’re giving in
that
easily? After everything…that’s it…it was all for nothing. He wins?” I’m more than flustered. Stand? Sit? Run screaming out of here? I don’t even know what to do with my body. Everyone is just staring at me. “Fine.”

Before I know it I’m standing at the edge of the dock, wishing, praying, hoping for some clarity. Some answer that would make sense of why I have had to endure all I have; why I have had to lose the ones I love.

“What happened in there?” I demand from Will as he approaches me.

“What were we going to do? We’re not going to let him erase you, Layla. I’m going to do my best to get down there to you, but…”

“Maybe I can go up there? I know I’d never make it into Princeton, but there’s got to be another college I can go to closer to you.” I’m desperate. I can’t believe we’re giving up after all we’ve done to stand up and not let him win.

“You think he’s going to just
let go
after you move? He’s going to have both of us watched, our mail monitored, our phones bugged. We couldn’t even fake a bad break up. He’d never buy it. I told you, Layla, he
never
loses.”

“So that’s it? We have until the end of the month? Then I have to walk away from you forever and pretend that
we
never existed? This isn’t fair, Will.” I start to cry and am torn between wanting the safety of Will’s arms and being too mad at him to let him touch me. I decide that I’m not that mad and take shelter in his embrace.

“Layla, love…I need you to trust me. Look at me.” He takes me by my shoulders and stares into my eyes with more passion and intensity than I’ve ever seen in him. “You need to know that no matter what happens, and I mean
no matter what happens
, I love you and nothing is going to keep me from you. I promised to protect you and that’s what I’m going to do.”

I stare at him blankly, trying to decipher some hidden message but come up empty.

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” I say, believing that they must be pulling something together that’s going to blow him away. Give him a taste of his own medicine. All they have done is work to protect me. Making me think we’re going along with this asinine plan has to be a move for my best interest. They know me well enough to know I’d never sit still if I knew what they were doing
, so until all is revealed, and I watch Gregory Meyer pay for his crimes against humanity, I choose to trust them. I stood my ground with him as much as I could and now there’s nothing more I can do.
 

*****
 

It takes all three of them to convince me that going to prom is still a good idea. Will’s father is chaperoning and I hate the thought of him watching us in our last moments together, relishing in his victory. I agree to go because Claire already got a dress for me, and I admittedly want nothing more than the opportunity to dance with the love of my life.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and am met by Will holding a clear box with my corsage.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” he says just before kissing me. My dress is a simple knee-length black
satin strapless number with an empire waist. Claire bought it for me from a small boutique in Charlotte. While it wasn’t made special for me, there are only five of its kind and was tailored to fit me perfectly. I’m wearing actual high heels in black satin and I’ve pulled my hair up into my favorite Audrey style, which adds to the effect I was going for.

“Thanks. You look pretty great yourself.” Will is wearing a classic black suit and is more handsome than I’ve ever seen him. I’ve daydreamed about marrying Will one day and wondered what he would look like as I walked down the aisle to meet him. I try to soak this moment in since, as of right now, this will be the first and last time I’ll ever see him like this.

Luke and Claire take obligatory pictures of us, and when Chris, Tyler, Gwen, and Caroline arrive they’re included. Against my protest, Will got a limousine for the night. As we all pile in, Will holds me back to tell me that the others don’t know about what has transpired with his father. They don’t know that this will be the last time we’ll all be together like this. He didn’t want to upset them and I agree.

We spend the evening avoiding any place in the venue where we know Will’s father is. Even though our friends don’t know I have just weeks left with them, steering clear of Gregory Meyer is always a part of any game plan. We dance and ignore those who continue to give Will and me dirty looks. Peppered in between the evil glances, some of our silent supporters make themselves known. They hug me and wish me well. It’s sweet, but awkward considering the circumstances.

We leave the dance before it’s officially over, having successfully evaded Will’s father. It’s about one in the morning when the limo drops us off at my house. When we get out of the car Will stops me from walking to the porch.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says, taking my hand and walking me around the side of the house. As we reach the corner there’s a small bag there. Will picks it up and pulls out a flashlight.
I take my shoes off because I can barely walk on solid ground in them. The grass is a no-go for these heels!

We pass through the gate and follow the flagstone path to the safest place in my world. As we approach the dock I see a glowing lantern sitting in the center of a huge red blanket. There are two plates covered with silver domes, and two bottles of soda.

“Oh, Will.” I cover my mouth in amazement. He’s recreated our first date, every detail down to the cream soda. “This is so wonderful.” Will leads me onto the blanket and helps me sit. I sit and wait for him to join me. He lifts the cover from my plate and reveals a chicken salad sandwich with tarragon mayo. “You remembered,” I say, holding back my overwhelmed tears.

“Luke and Claire helped. When I told them what I wanted to do for you tonight, they were totally on board. They really love you, you know,” he says.

“I know. I love them, too. Thank you for this.” I drop my head to collect my thoughts. I’m overwhelmed with the finality of it all. I have only a few weeks left with the man I love more than anyone in the world. I have to choose to make these moments count or else when I look back on them, all I’ll remember is the heartache. It’s something I’ve thought a lot about with my parents. Had I known that they would be taken from me so quickly, I would have made every second with them matter more than the last.

“Hey…it’s going to be ok.” Will moves closer and wraps his arms around me. “I love you, Layla, and I promise that it’s all going to work out.”

“
How
is it going to be ok? What are you and Luke going to do to make everything ok?”

“You’ve just got to trust me. Please. I don’t want to talk about my father, or you leaving, or anything that doesn’t have to do with how immense my love for you is…ok? Tonight is all about you and me and how much we love each other.” Will has a way of talking me down off my emotional ledge and making me feel better, even when I don’t understand everything that’s going on.

“Ok, you’re right. You and me and nothing else.” I agree.

“Good. Eat.” Will smiles and I’m instantly at peace.

He’s recreated our first date, but added some enhancements. We have a lantern this time for added light since the moon isn’t nearly as full as that first night. Will also brought his iPhone and is playing the playlist he made of some of my favorite songs and new ones he thinks I need to become better acquainted with. He’s done an excellent job over the past year educating me on good music. I don’t doubt for one second that I will love every song he suggests tonight.

“Dance with me,” Will says, standing and reaching his hand out to take mine.

We danced all night at prom but there’s no way I can resist him now. I take his hand and stand to my feet. I’m much shorter than when we danced earlier since my five inch black satin heals are laying on the blanket. His arm is immediately around my waist and my hand in his being held close to his heart, where everything I am belongs.

“What if we don’t leave?” I propose.

“Layla…”

“No, listen to me. He couldn’t erase us if we stay here. Everyone knows us,” I say.

“People may know you, but without any proof of your identity, there’d be nothing anyone could do. You’d have no birth certificate, no social security number, and no school records. You wouldn’t be able to get a job or go to school. Going to Tallahassee is the best option. Luke told me you’re already registered for classes. I won’t let you give that up. You and I will be together, Layla. It might not happen in the way we hoped it would, but it
will
happen. I promise.”

“It’s just not fair.”

“I know, but his reign of terror on both my mother and me is about to end. Just ride this out with me and it’s going to be ok.”

“
Ok,” I say in a conscious choice to trust him. I’ve done all I can do. “But you’re not going to tell me what the plan is?”

“I
will
tell you that everything I have planned
tonight
was cleared through both Luke and Claire… so let’s go.”

“Where are we going? It’s after two in the morning!”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about any of that,” Will replies, packing up our picnic. He leaves it all there to be picked up by his cohorts and we start walking up the path to the house. I didn’t put my shoes back on and the flagstone is hard on my feet. All it takes is one “ouch” and Will sweeps me up in his arms and carries me the rest of the way to the back door. Will carries me over the threshold into the kitchen and my daydreams flash before me once again.

I’m instructed to close my eyes as we enter the house. Will puts me down and says nothing else as he leads me quietly upstairs to the loft. When I’m expecting to stop at the top of the stairs, we don’t. Will keeps walking and I know we have just entered my bedroom. He’s never been in my room. I always tried to be respectful of Luke and Claire, and I never wanted them to think anything inappropriate was going on, especially since Will made sure there never was.

“Will…I don’t think you should be in here,” I warn as I open my eyes.