Текст книги "Love Me"

Автор книги: Jillian Dodd

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 24 страниц)

“Give Mommy the chips, Gracie.”

“No!” she replies, clutching them to her chest.

“Go put them in the pantry if you want to see your other present,” Mom tells her. As she runs off, Mom turns to Brooklyn and me and says, “Tommy renamed this month NOvember. That’s about all that comes out of her mouth.”

Gracie does as she's told and gets led back to a room with a large wooden stage. Behind the stage, painted on a big canvas, is a rainbow, a blue sky, mountains, and a castle in the distance.

Gracie’s eyes get huge then she starts jumping up and down and clapping. “My very own stage!”

The triplets are already ahead of the game. They are dressed up as a horse, a dragon, and a butterfly.

Gracie runs to another room and brings back two crowns, placing them on B’s and my heads.

“You, prince. You, princess.”

She pulls our hands and makes us stand up on the stage.

I have to stand in the corner while B and the horse fight the dragon with a bejeweled sword.

“Die, dragon!” Gracie yells.

The dragon runs into the sword and then drops to the ground.

“Prince, find princess!” Avery, who is dressed as the horse, says. She drags B over to me, then pulls us both back to center stage. “Lie down and be asleep,” she whispers to me.

I lie down on the stage and close my eyes.

“Kiss!” Gracie yells.

I open my eyes wide and look at B.

“Kiss!” all the girls say.

He leans down and gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek.

“Ahh. No,” Ivery says, clearly disappointed by this.

“Don't wake up,” Avery, the horse, says to me. “That was not true love’s kiss.”

“Wait!” Gracie shouts. She waves a magic wand at Brooklyn, looking like she will curse him if he doesn’t comply. “Bibbidy, bobbidy, boo. Now, kiss!”

I quickly shut my eyes and pucker my lips, so B will know it’s okay to kiss me.

I feel his lips slowly press into mine and wonder if it is true love’s kiss. Will it wake me up? And when I wake up, will this all be over? Will my life go back to the way it was? Me and B on the beach. When my only worry in the world was what my friends would think of him.

I open my eyes slowly, like I've woken up from a really long dream, rub my eyes like Sleeping Beauty does, and sit up.

“My prince,” I say to B.

The girls clap and Emery says, “Now you have to dance. We all have to dance!”

B pulls me to my feet and into his arms.

Avery yells, “Wait. Cut!”

“No, Avery! Gracie say cut!”

“But we forgot the music,” Avery says back.

“Music!” Gracie screeches. “Turn music on.”

B and I stare at each other, ignoring most of what's going on around us.

When the music starts, he moves with me. Like he did that night at the Undertow. The night when I wished he’d kiss me. Now, I don't know what to wish for. B has changed. I've changed. We're not those two naive kids anymore. Vincent has changed us. I look at my sisters dancing with each other. The triplets are getting taller and are under constant surveillance. Mom and Tommy were nervous upon seeing me. My godfather, James, thought I was some sort of trap.

And I realize Vincent has changed us all.

I close my eyes and do something I haven't done for a while.

I make a wish.

“I wish we could have our old lives back,” I say quietly.

“I’ve been studying stalking cases,” B whispers in my ear. “I want to talk to you about it.”

“Not today, B. Don't ruin today with any other thoughts of him.”

I stop dancing and clap. “That was an amazing play, girls. Thank you for letting me be in it!”

“Let’s go outside!” Emery says. “I wanna bounce in the bouncy house.”

The triplets grab Brooklyn’s arm and pull him outside. I stop at the door to grab Gracie’s hand, but when I look back through the doorway, I see she’s still on the stage. She walks to the wall and runs her hand across the rainbow. Then she picks up a pretend microphone, walks to the center of the stage, and starts talking. At first, I don't realize what she's doing, but quickly understand that she's acting out a scene from The Little Mermaid. Playing Flounder and Ariel and Prince Eric.

I watch her perform all by herself. In front of no one. She even stops, getting irritated with herself when she messes up, and starts over. She wants it perfect.

I let her finish a scene then wander back in and sit on the edge of the stage.

“I practicing my lines,” she says.

“I saw. You're very good.”

She nods seriously. “I want to be on TV. I can dance too. Wanna see?”

“I’d love to see.”

“I'm the bestest in my class. Wait. I need my special tutu,” she says and goes tearing off.

She comes back wearing my pink tie dyed tutu. The one I was wearing when I met Tommy.

She marches up on stage, bows, and does a little choreographed dance. Twirls. Spins. Smiles at a crowd that's not there.

I clap.

“Shh,” Gracie admonishes me. “Not until I yell, Cut.”

I run to the stage, swoop her into my arms, and hug her tightly.

“Kiki, you cry too much. Is Kiki sad?”

“Kiki is sad because I miss you.”

“I miss Kiki too.” She lays her head on my shoulder. I automatically sway and pat her back when she’s in my arms. Like I used to when she was little. I take in her sweet scent. A mix of bubblegum, chocolate, and baby shampoo. When she doesn’t move, I realize she's fallen asleep.

I hug her tighter and stop fighting the tears that I haven't wanted anyone to see.

Cooper walks in, sees me holding a sleeping Gracie, and smiles a sad smile at me. I carry Gracie into her bedroom and lay her on her bed. Her hair is all sweaty, so I gently push it off her face. She opens her little eyes and smiles at me.

A streak of wet yellow dog bounds on the bed, licking our faces and dripping water on us.

“Bad Kiki!” Gracie says, now fully awake and drenched.

The dog stops bouncing, pausing only to shake its body and spray water all over. Gracie and I both giggle when Tommy chases the dog. B picks me up and carries me out of the room.

I'm laughing but also wondering when he got so strong. Before, I used to feel like I'd crush him when he gave me a piggyback ride. Now he's solid. Stronger.

We go outside to bounce in the bouncy house. After a while, Gracie climbs into my lap and promptly falls asleep again.

Eventually, Cooper says, “Keatyn, we need to get going.”

I give the girls hugs and tell them I’ll be back soon. Because I don't care what anyone says. I'm coming back soon.

This time, it’s not a happy goodbye. This time when I leave there are tears.

“Don't go, Kiki. Don't go,” the triplets plead.

I’m glad that Gracie is asleep. I don’t want to ruin the end of her birthday. I reach in my pocket and pull out four heart lockets, handing one to each girl and one to Mom. “These are for you girls. I have one just like it. Do you remember that James got it for me for my birthday?”

The girls nod.

“Be really careful, but if you open the heart, there’s a picture inside.

“Kiki!” Avery declares, being the first one to get her locket open. I take her locket and clasp it around her neck.

“I have to go back on my adventure, but I got you these so you would know that you're always in my heart. I love you.”

They cry. I cry. I give them hugs.

Finally, Nanny takes them to their room.

Everyone else walks into the entryway.

Mom gives me a hug. “It was so good to see you, honey.”

Brooklyn says, “I'll walk you to the car.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the car. It's a rare occasion that I haven't planned out a script in detail. That I don't know exactly what I’m going to say.

I smile at him. Run my hand through his shaggy blond hair.

"God, I've missed you," he says and presses his lips against mine. It's a hot kiss, full of a passion I've never felt from him before. He pulls back just as quickly. "I'm sorry. I said I wouldn't."

“It's okay, B. Thank you for today. For being here. For giving me a little happy piece of my life back. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I love you, Keats. I always will."

"I'm pretty sure I'll always love you too."

Pull the trigger to shoot.

7pm

I’m walking up the stairway to board our plane when a black town car pulls up to a sleek jet that has just landed. A man gets off and starts down the stairs. “Oh my God.”

The man turns in my direction, locks eyes with me, and smiles.

“Cooper! It’s him. He’s just getting off that plane. They were right about me. I led him here. I shouldn’t have come!”

Cooper drags me into the plane and yells at the copilot, “We need to take off. Now!”

I somehow get out of Cooper’s grip and back to the door. I see Vincent is on his phone.

I wave at him to get his attention. Then I raise my middle finger to my lips, kiss it, and hold it out to him. Then I mouth, Come and get me. I don’t even care if it pisses him off.

I want him pissed. I want him to follow me.

I want him far away from my family.

Vincent bounds down the stairs and starts running toward me just as the door is shut and the stairs are rolled away.

I grab my phone, hit 911, and call Garrett.

“Is he there?”

“He’s at the airport in Vancouver.”

“Your locket says you’re at school.”

“I took it off. Doesn’t matter. He’s coming toward our plane. He left Miami. Must’ve heard I was here. Call the airport. Say it’s a national emergency or something. Just get us off the ground.”

“What’s your tail number?”

I run to the cockpit and ask the pilot as politely as I can, “Can you please give him our tail number?” I hand him my phone. Then I run and look out the window. Vincent is standing outside the plane, gesturing big with his hands, and screaming into his phone.

I think he’s trying to get them to roll the stairs back.

“Cooper?”

Cooper nods at me and grabs a black bag that he didn’t have on the way here. He unzips it quickly, pulls out a matte black gun, and hands it to me. “The safety is on. Click here to unlock it. Pull the trigger to shoot. There are fifteen bullets in the magazine. If something happens to me, shoot until you take him down. Do not stop shooting.”

He pulls two more guns out of the bag. A smaller one, which he shoves into the back of his pants and a larger one that he keeps in his hand. “God dammit. I knew I should have taken you to the gun range.”

The copilot walks back with my phone. “I gave it to him but all flights have been temporarily grounded.” Then he notices the guns in our hands and says, “What’s going on?”

“She's a federal witness,” Cooper quickly lies. He pushes the copilot's head down even with the window. “That guy out there is the mob's contract killer. We have to take off now. Because when he comes to kill her, he'll kill you too. Won’t think twice. Get us ungrounded. Now.” Cooper even pulls out a badge of some kind and flashes it at the copilot. “Move,” he says.

The copilot gets on the headset and speaks to the tower. “We’re requesting an emergency takeoff.”

“Emergency takeoff? You mean landing?” the tower replies.

“No. Take off.”

“Can’t right now.”

Cooper grabs the headset. “This is Cooper Steele, NSA. There is a possible terrorist suspect standing outside our plane. He just arrived from . . .”

 “Miami,” I whisper, as Cooper says, “Miami.”

“A flight did just arrive from Miami,” the tower replies, sounding confused.

“Apprehend him and clear us for takeoff,” Cooper commands.

“I can apprehend him but I'm afraid I can't clear you for takeoff. Only the . . .what? Yes, sir. You are cleared for take off.”

Quickly, we are moving down the runway.

As our wheels leave the ground, Cooper’s phone rings.

“Fuck,” he says before he answers. “Yes. I know, sir. Right, but . . .” Sigh. “It's on me. Yes, I understand.”

He disconnects the call and shuts off his phone as we climb into the air.

Then he stands up, takes the gun out of my hand, and puts it back in the bag along with his.

“What the hell were you thinking? He didn't know you were in here until you called attention to yourself.”

“He was going to the house.” I picture Gracie sleeping in my arms and feel sick. “I couldn't let him.”

“He put something in one of your sister’s backpacks, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

He runs his hand across his buzzed hair. “Garrett just fired me.”

“Bullshit,” I say.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, bullshit. Although I appreciate everything he's done for me, and although he may think he is, Garrett is not the boss of me. He works for me.”

“It seems personal to him.”

“It's always been personal to you. And it just got more personal because you met my sisters.”

He nods.

“You were right, Cooper. About me being the weakest link in my security. I need you to teach me all the martial arts stuff you know. And how to shoot. You're not leaving school.” I roll my eyes and give him a grin. “The girls would all be grieving for days.”

After we level out, the co-pilot comes back. “We were just informed that our flight plan was changed. We’ll be landing at Santa Monica airport in a few hours.”

“Santa Monica?” I ask after the pilot goes back into the cockpit.

Cooper shakes his head. “That’s where Garrett is meeting us. He’ll be getting you back to school.”

I get up and pour us each two fingers of scotch.

I set the glass in front of him. “Drink.”

“I can't drink on the job.”

“Technically, you just got fired. Drink.”

When we land, Garrett pulls Cooper aside. They’re having a very animated conversation.

 I walk in between them. “That’s enough, Garrett. There’s no reason to yell at him if you’ve fired him.”

“The hell there isn’t. I can’t believe the two of you pulled a stunt like this.”

“Garrett, calm down. Cooper planned everything out. He’s really smart and he did a really good job. You need to hire him back.”

“What? No.”

“Um, yes, Garrett. Otherwise you're fired.”

Garrett's head practically does a 360-degree spin. Almost like a horror movie.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Garrett says, now completely pissed off.

“Garrett, you know I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I have to put my foot down on this, just like I did with Cooper. I need both of you working together to help keep me safe. My rehearsals just ended and Cooper is going to start teaching me martial arts.”

“And how to shoot,” Cooper says with a grin.

“Because even though school is pretty secure, I’m the weak link.”

 “The weak link?”

“Tell him, Cooper.”

He does and then, finally, they shake hands.

Garrett gives me a hug, then dangles a set of car keys in front of us and says, “Drive from here to Vegas. Spend the night. Catch a charter there.”

Cooper and I get into the car and drive away from the airport.

“I don’t want to go to Vegas tonight.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“Sure, we do. It’s past ten, we’re exhausted, and it’s over a four-hour drive. It’s not safe.”

“Where do you want to go then?”

“We’ll stay here in Santa Monica.”

“Vincent can check our flight plans.”

“If he does that, he’d go to Malibu. Shit. I wonder if he knows B was in Vancouver? Hang on. I need to call him.”

I push B’s number. “Hey, are you still in Vancouver?”

“Yeah, spending the night at your parents’ and then flying to my next tournament.”

“Where’s that?”

“Portugal. Then Hawaii for the Thanksgiving break. You doing anything? You could come.”

“I don’t think that would be very smart, B.”

“Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking.”

“Thanks again for spending Gracie’s birthday with her.”

“No problem. Bye, Keats.”

I hang up. “He’s not coming home. And I know just where to stay. Let me call and see if they have any rooms.”

Cooper and I get to the iconic Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica and check into the Presidential suite. It was all they had available and I would pay just about anything to stay on the beach tonight.

After we get checked in, I immediately swing open the balcony doors and take in the fresh ocean breeze.

I get a crazy idea that Cooper will probably never agree to. But I check anyway. I pop on Facebook and pull up Mark’s profile. He always posts the night before where they are surfing in the morning.

There across my phone are the words: Manhattan Beach is where it’s at.

“You better get some sleep tonight,” I tell Cooper. “We’re getting up at sunrise and going surfing.”

Cooper stops drinking the beer he just pulled out of the refrigerator. “No, we are not.”

“Yeah, we are. We’re going to Manhattan Beach. It’s nowhere near Malibu. Some of B’s old surfer friends are going to be there.”

“I think it’s a bad idea.”

I smile at him. “So’s going to sit out on the beach right now, but I’m still going to do it.”

“I’m coming with you and you’re going to pretend to be with me. Understand? Like we’re a couple.”

I grab his hand. “Come on then, sexy. We’re going to make out in the moonlight.”

I drag him down to the beach and plop down in the sand.

He wraps the blanket he took from the suite around us.

I close my eyes and take it all in. The smells, the sounds. All of which feel like home.

Except.

Not quite.

“Tell me about your sister,” I say to Cooper.

He shakes his head. “It’s not a pretty story.”

“I’m sure it’s not. Please. I need to know.”

“She broke up with her boyfriend because he was cheating on her and that’s when things changed. He started showing up at her apartment unannounced. Standing outside her car waiting for her after work. Sending her flowers and leaving her notes. Of course, she told him they weren’t getting back together, and that he needed to leave her alone. He did for a few months until she started dating again. Then, one night he was waiting for her when she got home. He told her she was his and that if she ever even looked at another man, he would kill her. Before he threatened her, she considered him more of an annoyance, but after that, she was scared. They tried to get a restraining order at that point, but didn’t have any proof. So, she started noting all the times he was around. Saved his cards and letters. Finally got a restraining order. Two days after he was notified of the order, he went to her apartment, raped her, and killed her.”

My hand flies up to my mouth. “Oh my god.”

“The neighbors heard the shot and called the police. There was a standoff and he shot himself.”

“That’s awful.”

“My parents still blame themselves. They tried to get her to stay with them, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“She was trying to live her life,” I say, sort of understanding.

Tuesday, November 8th

The single biggest reason.

5am

Cooper and I get up early and drive to Manhattan Beach.

Last night I asked the hotel to get us wetsuits, swimsuits, towels, and changes of clothes. We didn’t pack anything since we weren’t planning on spending the night.

“Have you ever surfed before?”

“On a summer vacation to Hawaii.”

I carefully look at the surfers who are assembled, double checking that Vincent’s not one of them. Or even to see if there’s someone who looks like they don’t belong.

I spot Mark and wander over to him.

“Keatyn!” he says, giving me a full body hug. “What’s up, girl?”

“Not much. I was back in town and saw this was the place to be. I don’t even have a board.”

“Aw, hell. I’ve got three in my van. You can borrow one.”

“Thanks. This is my friend, Cooper.”

Mark gives Cooper a fist bump, and I say hey to the guys that I used to surf with almost every day.

“Brooklyn is shredding it up on the tour,” one says.

“How is he?” another asks.

“He’s living his dream,” Mark answers for me, coming back with two boards.

Wherever they take him, I say quietly to myself as the sky brightens.

I was so worried about how his leaving would affect me that I didn’t once stop to think how good this would be for him. He’s already changed so much. The boy I left has grown into a man.

I sit down in the sand and call him, knowing he’s already awake. “Hey, guess where I am.”

“Are you safe? That's all I care about. Tommy and James told me about everything that happened at the airport and how Garrett fired your bodyguard.”

“Two things I want to tell you before we get into that.”

“What's that?”

“I’m proud of you for living your dream, and I'm really sorry I wasn't more supportive.”

“Keats, you're the one who encouraged me. I'll never forget you telling me to follow my dream that night at the Undertow.”

“I was so afraid you were never going to kiss me.”

“I told you I've been researching stalking cases, but I’m not loving what I'm finding out. So I'm going to come up with another way.”

“Okay.”

“We're gonna be together again, Keats. On the beach, where we belong. Don't lose sight of that dream, okay?”

I look out at the waves, the guys surfing, and feel calm.

I feel like he's right.

“Are you at the beach?” he asks.

“How did you know?”

“I can hear the waves and a seagull.”

“I’m at Manhattan Beach surfing with Mark and the boys. They say hi.”

“How many sunrises have we watched together, Keats?”

“A lot.”

“My favorite part of the day.”

“I’m gonna go catch a few waves before we have to go.”

“Show those boys a little chaos.”

“I’ll try.”

We’ve been surfing for a couple hours when Cooper pulls me aside and says, “I'm starting to get nervous about being here.”

“Why?”

“He knows you like to surf. He probably went everywhere and offered a reward to anyone who tips him off when you show up. I don’t like the way those two guys over there are looking at you.”

I smile. “Maybe they just like my bikini.”

“They took your picture, made a phone call, and seem to be watching you even closer. I'd like to get out of here.”

“If you’re right, we won’t want them to see our car. You go get the car. Drive up two blocks. I’ll meet you.”

“Two blocks? No way. What if Vincent shows up or they try to grab you?”

“Surfers are territorial. All I have to do is say the guys are creeping me out, and that they took my picture. They still think of me as B’s girl. While they confront them, I’ll sneak away.”

Cooper grins at me. “That’s a good plan.”

I walk up to Mark and tell him the guys are creeping me out. He immediately grabs three guys and goes to confront them.

When he does, I take off running.

I hide behind cars, dodge behind a restaurant, and then sprint down a sidewalk.

I see our car ahead, idling at the curb.

I jump in the car, slightly out of breath. “It worked. Go!”

Cooper drives all over, making sure he’s not followed. Then we head back to the hotel, where we get a different rental car, just in case. We order room service and eat it on the deck overlooking the water.

“I could get used to this,” Cooper says, looking out at the beach and down at his huge breakfast.

He flips through the paper while he eats.

“Oh, wow.”

“What?”

“Look at this.”

I read a small piece about how Vincent cut short the Miami tryouts and won’t be back, much to the outrage of fans who had waited in line for up to three days to audition.

“That really sucks for them,” I say, feeling bad.

Cooper cocks his head. “I never paid attention to the name of his film company before. Have you?”

“Uh, no. What is it?”

“A Breath Behind You.”

A shudder runs down my spine. “Think that’s directed at me?”

“I’d say so, considering it spells out ABBY.”