Chapter Thirteen ~ Gwen
Present Day (20 years old)
“I’ve missed you,” I said with a smile as I pulled back from kissing Victoria on the cheek. I took in her large belly, and felt envious that she still managed to look like she just stepped off a runway. Clad in a beautiful violet maternity gown, by some famous designer no doubt, her dark hair pulled back in a long straight tail that ran down her back. Victoria was the picture of a glowing pregnant woman. She looked so happy that she practically radiated sunshine and rainbows.
If I didn’t love her so much, I’d feel nauseous.
“I’ve missed you, too,” Victoria said with a smile. “You look beautiful.”
I blushed at her compliment. I had put forth a little extra effort with my appearance today. I’d told myself it was silly, but knowing Craig would be here, and that we’d agreed to bury the hatchet… or rather, I had, I felt a little flutter of anticipation of getting to see him today and really talk to him. Spend time with him. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him until he’d held me last night. I guess I’d tried to block those feelings out. But now that the block had been lifted, it was like everything I’d felt for him over the past ten years was magnified.
“Thanks,” I responded simply.
“Come on in.” Victoria took my hand and led me through the Spanish-style home that she and Brock lived in. It was the same home that Brock had been raised in, and that he’d taken over when his parents had been killed in an accident. He’d been eighteen and in his last year of high school when it happened, but had quit school and started working to support himself and his two brothers, Brady and Brendan, who were then young teens themselves. Brock had gone on to open his own painting business, which was now extremely successful. Victoria was an interior designer, who worked not only with Brock, but with Brandt Industries, the company that Scott worked with. Which was funny, because she and Scott used to be engaged.
It was pretty crazy when I thought about it, how intertwined this group really was.
We walked into the living room, which was a hodge podge of Victoria’s sophisticated taste, and Brock’s casual, comfortable taste. Somehow, just like them, it worked.
I smiled as I took in the people who had already arrived.
Sasha was gorgeous, yet refined, in her usual uniform of a form-fitting pencil skirt, beautiful jade-green peasant blouse, and killer heels. She tossed her long flaming red hair over one shoulder and she talked happily with Shelly, who had already managed to lose most of the weight from baby number two. She and Cal, Craig’s brother, had experienced a rough patch in their marriage over two years ago, but had managed to make things work and develop an even stronger relationship. Since then they’d had two children, Sophie, who was about a year and a half, and little Timmy, who was only a couple months old. Shelly and Cal were wonderful parents. Craig and I had made it back for both births, as well as Sophie’s first birthday party. Craig was over the moon at being an uncle, and spoiled the kids whenever he could. He’d gotten Sophie the sweetest little pink baseball glove for her birthday.
My sister was there already too, chatting with Ms. Rose and Victoria’s sister Abby, who was cute, but edgy, in a punk-rock kind of way. She managed to make her spiked hair, short skirt and layered tank tops look stylish, rather than crass, and I think it had to do with how comfortable she was in her own skin. I envied her that. I never felt that sure of myself.
“Where are Brock, and the guys? I thought Craig said he was coming,” I asked Victoria when I looked around and noticed that it looked like a normal baby shower, with the decorations, snacks, and party games… no guys.
Victoria rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Brock said that there was no way he was having a ‘joint baby shower’, so he and the guys are out back barbecuing and talking about manly things.” She leaned in and whispered laughingly in to my ear, “But he’s kidding himself if he thinks I won’t drag him in here when it’s time to open the presents. I had to let him think he was having a separate, guys party outside, but we both know that’s not the case.”
I laughed as she pulled away with a wink, and said, “I’m going to go say hi.”
“Okay, but hurry back. We’re going to start the games in a few minutes.”
“I will,” I promised.
Brock’s house was one of my favorite places. Not just because of how homey it always felt, but because when you walked outside, it was like crossing over into a different world. A fantasy.
With a grotto-style pool, swim-up bar, built-in slide, hot tub, and custom grill, Brock and Victoria had a setup that most people only dreamt about. Brock had told me it was his first big purchase after his business had taken off. At the time, he, Brady, and Brendan had all lived here together, and they’d loved updating their bachelor pad. But I knew, now, it was going to be a great place for their kids to grow up.
I grinned happily when I saw Brock manning the grill, a beer in his hand and a smile on his bearded face. I ran over to him and gave him a big hug, careful not to spill his beer, or hit the grill.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Brock said when I untangled myself enough to show my face. “How’s school?”
“Great,” I responded, still smiling happily. Brock was one of my favorite people in the world. When he’d dated Gaby, he’d shown a real interest in me, which meant a lot when you were a teenaged girl. I’m sure, because he raised his brothers, he had a natural ability with kids, but he was also just a genuine person. Full of love and affection, and even though he was a big, mountain of a man, he wasn’t afraid to show it at all. “How are you, Papa?”
At the term Brocks grin grew, and I could see how excited he was to become a daddy. I couldn’t help but think that baby was going to be one lucky kid.
“I couldn’t be better. Did Victoria show you the baby’s room yet? She picked out the furniture, but the boys and I did the painting.” I thought it was sweet that he still called his brothers boys, even though they had to be twenty-five and twenty-seven.
“Not yet, I just got here and wanted to come say hi.”
“Well, you’d better get back in there before she comes out here looking for you. I don’t want to give her any reason to try and make me go in there, and play pin the baby on the nipple, or whatever crazy shit you guys are going to be doing.”
I laughed as he looked worriedly over my shoulder and gave him one last hug.
“Okay, just let me say hi to the guys, then I’ll go back inside with the womenfolk.”
I hugged Cal, then Scott, who were sitting at a raised table by the pool, having a discussion about Sophie and Emma. They were boasting about their respective baby girls’ accomplishments. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. I left them to their boasting to say hi to Brady and Brendan.
I didn’t know them as well as I knew everyone else, but I’d gotten to know them during visits home over the past few years.
Brady was the older of the two, with short dark hair, dark skin and a killer smile. He was the quieter of the two, and worked with Brock. He also lived right down the street from his brother, which I thought was great. They had a really tight relationship.
Brendan was the younger, more rock-start dangerous of the two. With a long, lithe body, and dark shaggy hair that reached his shoulders, Brendan was the lead singer of the band the brothers had together, as well as a culinary student. After Victoria and Brock got married, Brendan moved out of the house he’d shared with Brock, and had taken a break from culinary school. He’d left and gone on a trip to Europe, which had lasted over a year.
“How are you guys?” I asked after I gave them each a hug.
“Same,” Brady replied with a small smile, and I knew that was about all the response I was going to get out of him. He was a man of few words.
“Great,” Brendan said, a little more enthusiastic than his brother. “I start my last semester in a couple months, so I’ve started researching where I want to work once I’m done. Oh, and, we’ve booked our firs
t gig for a couple weeks from now, over Thanksgiving. If you’re home on break, you should come check it out.” Brendan’s smile turned devilish as he looked me over, but I just patted him on the arm and gave him a grin. I knew what a terrible flirt he was, and although he was a very charismatic and handsome guy, only one person made my blood boil.
“I’ll be there,” I said in response, but I’d already turned my attention to Craig, who was sitting in a lounge chair across from TJ, but watching me and Brendan with a frown.
I said my goodbyes, then allowed my legs to take me where they really wanted to be.
I said, “Hey, guys,” then sat down next to Craig on the lounge chair.
“Hey,” Craig said, then surprised me by leaning over and kissing my cheek. I wanted to place my hand over the spot his lips touched, but saved myself the embarrassment and forced my hand to stay still.
I scooched forward to meet TJ for a quick kiss, then leaned back to smile at the handsome man. Sasha’s husband was not only wickedly handsome, but hilarious, and kind-hearted. Out of all of the guys, he was the one who Craig gravitated toward the most, and looked up to. That’s why he was the person Craig had gone to when he needed help after everything went down with Brad and Dave.
“How’s it going in there?” TJ asked tipping his head toward the house.
“As expected,” I answered with a shrug. “We’re about to start the games, so I’m sure the baby fever’s about to get amped up.”
“Speaking of which, when’s it gonna be your turn?” Craig asked TJ with a chuckle.
TJ just smiled back and shook his head.
“Sasha and I are good with being the kick-ass aunt and uncle, spoiling the kids rotten, then passing them back to their parents.”
I looked over at a knock on the window and saw my sister waving me back inside.
“I’d better get in,” I said to Craig and TJ as I stood. “Talk to you a little later?”
“Definitely,” Craig answered.
While TJ said, “See ya in a bit.”
Chapter Fourteen ~ Craig
(16 years old)
I waited outside the back door of the automotive shop where my brother and TJ worked. The door led to the small apartment that TJ rented from the owner of the shop. I looked around nervously. It was early, so Cal should still be at home, but I didn’t want him to see me like this.
The door opened and TJ stood there, hair disheveled, with his eyes still puffy from sleep, and a pair of boxer briefs as his only coverage.
“Craig?” TJ asked as he ran a hand over his face, as if he were trying to make sure he was actually awake.
I could imagine what I looked like. Brad had gotten a couple hits in, and I think Dave landed one on my chin, before I took him down.
“Can I come in?” I whispered, looking around the empty parking lot.
“Yeah, man, c’mon.” TJ pushed back from the door and I followed him down the small hallway and into his place. It was small, really just one room with an adjacent bathroom. His bed was unmade, since I’d obviously just woken him up, but the rest of the place was tidy.
He pressed a button on the coffee pot in the corner, then sat in a chair, indicating that I should sit in the other.
“Who worked you over?” he asked, his eyes sharpening as he took in the bruises forming on my face, arms, and hands.
“I owed a couple guys a lesson,” I started, unsure of how much I should say. “I came here because Gwen doesn’t want anyone to know what happened, and I’m gonna keep that promise, so I can’t tell you everything…” TJ leaned forward in his chair, all traces of fatigue gone. “But something happened at a party the other night, and Gwen doesn’t want Gaby, her mom… anyone, to find out. She made me promise I wouldn’t tell, but I couldn’t not do anything. So, this morning I waited at the school. I knew theses assholes, Brad and Dave, would drive together to practice. The do every day.”
I stopped talking and took a deep breath, the adrenaline still making me a little shaky.
“I’m not ashamed to say I jumped them before they knew I was there. I knew I’d need the element of surprise, since there are two of them and one of me, and it worked… mostly. They got a couple hits in, but I gave them the lesson they deserved.”
TJ closed his eyes at my last statement, and I knew he was imaging all sorts of horrible things that could’ve prompted me to fight.
He clenched his fists, then opened his eyes. “Why didn’t you get someone to go with you… to confront these guys?”
“I thought about coming to you, but they’re my age, and I figured you’d get in a lot more trouble if someone found out, than I would. I handled it.”
“What makes you think they won’t rat on you?” TJ asked, his face full of fury and concern. “This could mess up baseball for you.”
I’d thought of that, but I shook my head and explained, “They don’t want this shit getting out; it would ruin their chances too, ya know?”
“You’re sure you can’t lean on Gwen, get her to talk?”
“No.” I hung my head as I thought of how hard things had been for her the last few days. She seemed to be shutting down right before my eyes. On one hand, she was an emotional wreck, and on the other, she was trying to pretend that nothing happened. “It took all I had to convince her to go to the doctor today. She’s going this morning. Getting checked out. I plan to meet her there. I don’t want her to be alone.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” TJ said, rising from his chair and crossing over to his dresser. As he pulled on a pair of jeans he added, “You don’t want anyone to see you the way you look now. I’ll do what I can, and you can say you fell while running bleachers or something. I’ll go with you to check on Gwen.”
I started to argue, but he stopped me with a pointed look.
“I know you came to me to help you get fixed up, and I’ll do that. But I also know that you’re carrying a burden that’s too heavy for a sixteen-year-old kid to carry alone. You don’t have to tell me the particulars, and I’ll tell Gwen that you kept her secret, but I can fill in the blanks… You also know some of the shit I went through as a kid, so you came to me, because you know that I can relate. I know what it’s like to have your choice, your free will, taken away, and I know what it’s like to want to push that shit down and pretend that it never happened. That everything’s okay. I’ll be another available shoulder, should Gwen ever need it. Cool?”
I tried to tap down the emotion that threatened to emerge at his words, but he was right. Those were exactly the reasons I came here. I knew that TJ’s childhood was a difficult one, and that out of everyone I knew, he was the person who could help Gwen, and me, the most.
TJ grabbed a first aid kit from the garage, and got to work on cleaning out the cuts after I washed most of the blood off of me. I closed my eyes and held my breath, so I wouldn’t wince or curse when the sting of the antiseptic hit.
It seemed to take forever, but each sting of pain felt like a badge of honor.
Maybe I was wrong to take matters in to my own hands. To get in a fight, rather than turn in Brad and Dave myself, but it was the only thing I could think of to do, without going against everything Gwen had asked of me.
She was probably going to be pissed that I confronted them, but I was satisfied that they deserved every hit, kick, and elbow that they’d received. Maybe it made me a monster, but I was glad that I did what I did, and I’d take her anger, because I think deep down she’d understand why I did it, and maybe even feel some satisfaction over it herself. But what I couldn’t live with was betraying her, and I knew if I went behind her back and told someone what happened, without knowing the whole story myself, I’d be discounting the choice that she made.
And I couldn’t do that.
Gwen needed to feel like her decisions were valid. That what she wanted mattered. She needed to take control back, so I had to let her, even if I didn’t understand it.
Chapter Fifteen ~ Gwen
Present Day
(20 years old)
“It was a really great weekend,” I murmured as we made our way down the highway, back toward school. “Victoria looks amazing.”
“Yeah, she makes even pregnancy look classy,” Craig agreed with a chuckle.
“I’m glad we went.” I turned my head, rolling it along the headrest, to look at Craig’s profile. My chest ached with how handsome he was. I knew I saw him that way, not only because he was beautiful on the outside, but because he was so good inside. He’d been my champion since I met him, and I’d lost sight of that because I’d felt an almost desperate need to keep my heart safe from him.
I wasn’t going to do that anymore.
“I like you,” I said, then watched his eyes crinkle as he smiled at my words.
“I like you too,” he replied, never taking his eyes off the road.
I guess that made it easier to say what I said next.
“I like you, more like love you, probably been in love with you since the day we met,” I said softly, watching the expressions run over his face as what I was saying registered.
Pleasure, surprise, disbelief, a flash of hurt, then… wonder.
Craig was silent as he pulled the car off at the next exit, then pulled into the parking lot of the first business he saw. Once the car was in park, he turned fully toward me in his seat, his right leg bending to rest awkwardly on the driver’s seat.
“You’re in love with me?”
My heart skipped a beat at the vulnerability in his eyes.
“Yes.”
“But… you’ve basically fought with me at every opportunity for almost three years. You’ve taunted me, argued with me, and acted like I was the bane of your existence.”