Текст книги "Following Me"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

“No,” she said instantly.

“Alright.”

The conversation ended, and Devon sat there frozen, watching baseball highlights.  She felt bad for cutting him off so abruptly.  Maybe she was being ridiculous.

“How do you afford this place bartending?” she asked, hoping that the subject was neutral enough.

“Don’t like to talk about it.”  He took a drink from his beer.

“Oh,” she breathed.

Brennan finished his beer in silence and then placed the empty bottle on the coffee table.  Devon watched as he stood and stretched out his lean muscles.  He wasn’t overly built, but he was all muscle.  He raised his arms over his head, and her eyes darted to his exposed stomach, then quickly away.

He left for a minute and then returned with a bunch of blankets in his arms.  He tossed them onto the couch.  “You taking the bed, Belle?”

“Couch is good with me,” she told him.

“Whatever suits you, suits me,” he said.  “Here’s the remote.”

“You can just turn it off.  I’m going to pass out,” she said, averting her eyes.

He turned to go, but then he seemed to think better of it.  He sat down next to her on the couch again.  “You going to tell me what’s eating at you?”  He looked at her more intently than ever before.

She shook her head.  “Nothing is.”

“You pissed about Hadley?” he asked, hitting on the most superficial problem.

“How did you know?”

“I pay attention.”

“So…you know what she’s up to?” she asked carefully.

“That she’s snorting coke?” he asked.  “Yeah, I know about that.”

“Does Garrett know?” she asked quickly.

Brennan shook his head.  “No way.  He thinks she’s perfect.  Could you imagine if Mr. Perfect found out his Princess was a coke addict?”

“She’s an addict?” she squeaked.

“Depends on your definition.  She’s done it more than a few times.”

He was being loose with his words because he was drunk.  Devon probably shouldn’t have been taking advantage of the situation in his state, but she wanted answers.

“How do you know all about her problem if he doesn’t?” Devon asked out of curiosity.

“When you’ve done shit before, you can see it in a person.  Once she found out that I knew, she stopped hiding it around me,” he told her honestly.

“You do…coke, too?” she asked, her heart sinking.  Was that what was up with him?  But didn’t it normally make them upbeat or fidgety?

“Nah.  Just once and knew it wasn’t for me.  Mostly weed.”

Ah, that explains it, she thought.

“You could use some weed,” Brennan told her.  “You’re too uptight, Belle.”

Devon frowned.  Typical.  “I’m going to pass.”

“Suit yourself, but I think you’d like it,” he said, turning to face her with a smile.

“I’ve done it before,” she said, not wanting to admit how much she used to smoke.  For a long time, she had thought she studied better high.  It had become a problem when she was pretty much always studying.

“You?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah.  Surprised?”

“Wouldn’t have pegged you.”

“Oh right, square.”  Devon gestured at herself with her hands.

“I dig square,” he told her bluntly.

Oh damn, how messed up is he? Devon wondered.

“Thanks,” she whispered, glancing down.

She didn’t know how else to deflect the conversation.  Brennan was nice…well, kind of, and he was very attractive.  She needed to get out of this territory.  She was here for a place to crash, and crashing sounded like a good idea right about now.

When Devon felt his hand reach out and touch her cheek, her eyes fluttered up to meet his.  Before she had a chance to react, he leaned forward and kissed her lips.  Her shock held her at bay.  He did nothing more than hold his soft lips against hers.  They were foreign and strange yet enticing.

She felt her body respond to his touch.  His fingers moved and threaded through her hair, tugging on it slightly in his haste.  She had too many thoughts swirling in her head to keep it all straight at once.  The most prominent ones were how good this felt, how wrong this felt, and how surprised she was that he was even doing this.

Had he ever given her an indication that he wanted to kiss her before that last comment?  She couldn’t remember.

She didn’t know why, but tears welled in her eyes.  They slid easily down her cheeks, mixing salt with the taste of alcohol on his lips.

Brennan pulled back to look at her and she gasped out, “I have a boyfriend.”

Brennan dropped his hands into his lap.  “Oh.”

Devon bit down on her lip as she waited for him to say something more.  He just stared at her, his eyes slightly hazy.  She wanted him to say something, anything.  Was he pissed?  Was he shocked?  Did he expect something from her?

“Good night then,” he said finally as he stood.

She stared up at him, her brow furrowed with trepidation.  Was that it?  He wasn’t mad?  He wasn’t going to push the topic?  Didn’t he have more to say?

He made it all the way to his bedroom door before turning back to look at her.  He seemed to be waiting for something, but she didn’t know what it was.

“Good…good night, Brennan,” she told him.

Whatever she was supposed to say…that wasn’t it.

He hung his head a little and then nodded.  “Have a safe trip tomorrow, Devon.”

As Brennan shut the door behind him, she realized that was the first time he had ever called her by her name.

DEVON WALKED DOWN the dirt lane kicking her cowboy boots against the small rocks in her path.  The day was approaching dusk, and the sun was hanging heavy over the horizon, splattering the sky with pink, orange, and yellow.  She finger combed her blonde hair down to her waist.  She wished she had a hat because her hair was a rat’s nest.

She whistled her latest tune recalling the lyrics she had sang for her parents earlier that day.  They liked them the song so much that they wanted to send it off to a label.  They thought their Dixie girl would be a star.  She didn’t know about any of that, but she liked writing it all down.

Devon veered off the road, taking a shortcut through an open field.  She was thankful for her boots as she trekked through the waist-high grass.  It had been a warm day, but the night was rapidly cooling the temperatures.  She shouldn’t have been surprised in the least, but somehow, she would always forget her cardigan for the walk.

The wind whipped across the grass, tying her hair in knots and matting it to her face.  She struggled to keep it away, but there was just too much of it for it to make a difference.  While she fought with her hair, her sundress flew up around her stomach.  She yanked it back down to cover herself, but she was having little luck.  Grumbling in frustration, she cursed the wind for its timing.

She and her brother, Dustin, had taken this shortcut for years.  It was only a matter of time before Dani knew about it as well.  That thought terrified Devon.

When she crossed the halfway point between the road and the woods, she heard boots crunching against the earth behind her.  Rolling her eyes, Devon turned back around.

Dustin better not be trailing me again, she thought.

Her eyes roamed the field, trying to make out if someone was on the road.  She couldn’t really see anyone, but out here, that didn’t mean no one was there.  Shaking off the feeling, Devon turned and continued across the open field.  She had plans, and getting spooked out in the open wasn’t going to stop her.

When her feet hit the tree line, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.  Devon swallowed and looked around, her stomach sinking in apprehension.  She felt ridiculous for feeling anxious like this, but her parents had filled her head with stories from the news about girls getting abducted, being sold into prostitution, and then getting killed.  Too many stories like that had happened recently.  She had always told her mom that she was a worrywart, but now that her nerves were getting to her, Devon was wondering if her mother worried for good reason.

She still didn’t see anyone approaching, but she could feel eyes on her.  It was an obvious feeling, like the way Matt had stared at her in the back of the classroom.  But this was worse.

Hightailing it out of there, Devon broke through the trees onto the narrow trail.  It wasn’t a long walk from there, but she increased her pace anyway.  She had a terrible feeling about all of this.  Why hadn’t she just stayed home?  Why couldn’t she listen to anything anyone told her?

She definitely heard footsteps behind her.  They weren’t exactly close, but they didn’t have to be to freak her out.  She was alone after all, and all things considered, she was a small person.  There was no way she could fend off someone purposefully chasing her.  Her only hope would be for her to make it out of the tree line.

Fear pushed at her pores, and she felt panic hitting her like a ton of bricks.  What kind of person would chase after her in the middle of the woods?  Would she be one of those news stories—pieces of a dead body from a young woman found buried in the woods near her house?  Bile rose in her throat, and she swallowed it down.  She was only freaking herself out more.

Taking off at a sprint, Devon pushed forward as fast as she could go.  She had never been a runner, and the last beer she’d had was sloshing around in her stomach, slowing her down.  Why had she done that?  If she hadn’t, would she be faster?  She couldn’t think about it.

Her boots slowed her down even more.  They weren’t meant for running distances.  They were meant for horseback riding, and more importantly, they looked good.

Her feet pounded the dirt as she tried to hold her pace.  The end of the trail was approaching, but she could feel her pursuer gaining on her.  On a straight stretch in the trail, she looked over her shoulder, and her long hair flew out in every direction around her face.  She could definitely see a figure, but with a quick look, she couldn’t tell who it was or if she even recognized the person.

Hadn’t her mother told her that 95 percent of reported cases were people that the victim knew firsthand?

Finally reaching the road, she looked both ways before crossing.  She ran straight across the lawn between the double oak trees and up the creaking wooden stairs.  She yanked open the screen door and banged on the front door.  Devon heard a familiar answering call, and she pushed into the house without another thought.

It was a small run-down one bedroom shack that hadn’t been inhabited for as long as Devon had known about it.  She had been sneaking away here to have sex with her boyfriend for nearly as long.  He should already be here.  He would protect her.  Would the person following her try to get into the house?  It wasn’t secure by any means.  Her pursuer wouldn’t have a hard time breaking in.

Devon slammed the door shut and slid the lock into place, hoping that it would help.

“Mason!” she called out frantically.

No answer.

“Mason!” she yelled again, rushing to the closed bedroom door.

He had knocked back when she came to the door.  It was their signal.  She hadn’t made up the fact that he had knocked back.  Where the hell was he?

Devon pushed open the bedroom door and found the room transformed.  It was stark white everywhere from the walls to the four-poster bed to the carpet and curtains.  The room was unbelievably bright, like she had entered another world.

She looked around, taking a few hesitant steps into the room.  When she heard the door close behind her, she jumped and glanced over her shoulder.  Her exit had been sealed off, and as far as she could tell, there wasn’t another exit.

“Mason?” she whispered, the words lodging in her throat.  Her heart hammered in her chest as tears welled in her eyes.

How do I get out of this? she thought.

She felt eyes on her again, and she turned around to meet her pursuer.  Before she had a chance to scream, the person grabbed her arm, wrenched it painfully behind her back, and planted her face-first into the mattress.

DEVON AWOKE WITH a scream erupting out of her throat, the one she hadn’t been able to let loose in her dream.  She sat straight-up on the couch, her breathing heavy and her skin clammy.  Pushing her hands up into her hair, she let the tears fall freely.  She cried there helplessly until she had no more tears left, until her eyes were red and puffy, and until her throat was sore.

She moved the covers off her body and pushed herself off the couch, standing up on shaky legs.  The door to Brennan’s bedroom remained closed.  She wondered if he had heard her screams or if he had slept through them.  Either way, he hadn’t opened the door, making his position very clear.

Stumbling forward into the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of water and downed it.  Her clothes were wrinkled, and she didn’t even want to think about how rumpled her hair was.  Knocking on the bathroom door, she waited for an answer, and when she didn’t hear one, she entered.

Her reflection stared back at her from the mirror over the sink, and she tried not to cringe away.  She looked like a wreck—pale and gaunt with dark circles under her eyes.  At least Brennan hadn’t seen her like this.  It wouldn’t have mattered after what had happened last night, but still, it was better this way.

She scrubbed her face and tied her hair back into a ponytail, trying to make herself look presentable.  It wasn’t much use, not after crying so hard.  She was an ugly crier; she always had been.  Now that the blood was rushing back to her face, she was all red and splotchy.  At least it would go away eventually.

Bending forward at the waist, she cradled her body against herself and begged and pleaded to whoever would listen for the nightmares to stop.  This was the first time she had dreamed of home.  It had felt so nice to be back in the Tennessee woods, and then the same thing had happened all over again.  How many more times could she be chased?  How many more times could she get caught?  How many more times before she didn’t wake up in time?

Her heart ached for home, and she pulled out her phone.  She really wanted to call her mom, but in her condition, her mom would know how messed up she was.  Instead, she tried calling Dustin’s phone.  He had just finished his third year of pharmacy school at the University of Michigan, and he was sticking around Ann Arbor to be close to his girlfriend, Kelly.  They were in the same program and had only been dating for one semester.

“Hey, Dev,” Dustin said, answering the phone.

“Hey,” she said.  “How have you been?”

“Better than you, it sounds,” he said, knowing as quickly as her mom would that something was wrong.

“Well, I’ve been better,” she admitted honestly.

She had a hard time lying to Dustin.  Growing up, he had been her rock.  They’d had their differences, but he was her big brother, and he had always been there for her.

“What kind of trouble are you getting in?  Does this have anything to do with Mom badgering you about New York?” he asked.

“Has she been doing that to you as well?” Devon asked, thinking about how she had avoided her mom’s calls the past week.  She would rather talk about New York than her real issues.

“Hounding me like a dog, but she doesn’t want me to bring Kelly.  Said she wanted it to be a family thing.”  He sounded irritated.

“She said the same thing to me.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Dev.  I don’t think I’m going to go, but if you have a better suggestion for your birthday, let me know.  I’d rather get wasted in St. Louis with you than spend quality time with the fam.”

“Seems a bit unfair to Dani,” Devon said.

“Oh no, it doesn’t.  Mom wants her to bring her boyfriend.  Personally, I don’t think Mom trusts Dani enough not to sleep with every guy she meets there. But who knows Mom’s reasoning?” Dustin told her.

Devon laughed lightly.  It felt good to laugh after everything else that had happened.  She didn’t feel healed, but Dustin certainly had a calming effect upon her.

“I never know her reasoning.”

“So, you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Dustin asked, changing the topic.

She sighed, wishing she knew how to tell Dustin.  The more removed she got from what had happened, the more she wondered if it had happened at all.  Maybe she had just blown it out of proportion.  Maybe she had simply overreacted, and there was no need for her to run away.  Maybe a conversation could have changed it all, and then she wouldn’t have had to leave.  Maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough.

What if she told him and it all became a reality?  Then, she couldn’t take it back.  It would be out in the open.

“Do you remember when we used to go through that shortcut in the woods off the road that led to the abandoned house?” she asked tentatively.

“Yeah, we used to go there all the time,” he said.

“I had a dream about that place, and it really freaked me out,” she told him lamely.

“A dream about the old abandoned house?  That’s random, Dev.”

“Yeah,” she said softly, “really random.  Someone seemed to be chasing me.  Seriously, Dustin, it was really scary.”

Dustin laughed in a mocking way that Devon had become so accustomed to.  “It was just a dream, Dev.  I have dreams about zombie attacks and getting chased up trees by a Tyrannosaurus rex.  They’re pretty scary, too.  I wouldn’t let these dreams mess you up too badly.”

“True,” she said disbelievingly.

“Oh, hey, Kelly just woke up.  I’ve gotta run.  I’ll talk to you later.  Let me know about your birthday.”

After Dustin hung up, Devon dropped her head in front of the sink.  He hadn’t given her the opportunity to say anything more.  It was reason enough for her to stay silent for a bit longer.  She needed to figure out what she was doing and where she was going.  She couldn’t stay in Chicago because she didn’t have the funds to remain, but she couldn’t go back.  Her life was in limbo as she teetered between staying and leaving.  She had a decision to make, and it had to be made today.

Straightening, Devon exited the bathroom, smoothing out her clothes along the way.  She didn’t know if she should knock on Brennan’s bedroom door and say good-bye or not.  She nearly did three times, and then she decided against it.

When she reached the front door, she saw a note taped to it.

Went to the gym.  Food in the fridge if you’re hungry.  Just lock the door on your way out. —Brennan

Ugh!  How could he even want to go to the gym after the amount of alcohol he had consumed last night?  Or was that just a cover so he could leave the house and avoid her?

She shook her head, lost in her own frustration.  She grabbed her things, left the apartment, and walked to the nearest train station.  She took the train back to Marina City.  She wanted the embarrassment of what had happened with Brennan to be as far from her mind as possible.

Instead, Devon focused on something else she couldn’t control.  She needed to talk to Hadley before she packed up and left.  Last night had ended poorly, and Devon didn’t want to leave on these terms.  Hadley was her best friend.  Devon was pissed at her, no doubt, but she didn’t want to see Hadley devolve any more.  Devon couldn’t leave and wonder if her friend was on a further downward spiral than she, herself was.

Lunch? We need to talk, Devon texted Hadley.

Devon received her response as she took the elevator up to the apartment.  Fine.  Jenn’s? Hadley responded

I’ll just meet you at that place across from your work.  This is going to be quick.

I’m off at noon.

Devon changed into fresh clothes and brushed her teeth.  She was glad Garrett wasn’t there.  She didn’t want to face him this morning.  He was always so bright and cheerful, and while he did tend to make her feel like a better person, she wasn’t ready for that right now.  Plus, he might know how pissed she was at Hadley.  He might somehow see it, and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that his girlfriend was a coke addict, at least not until Devon knew if it was necessary.

DEVON HOPPED ON another train to Hadley’s building.  Arriving at the restaurant across the street, she took over a booth in the back.  It appeared to be nicer than Jenn’s with fancy tablecloths, classical music playing in the background, and expensive artwork hanging on the walls.  Devon wasn’t a big fan, but it would be better to meet here than somewhere comfortable…somewhere near Brennan.

Hadley walked in, looking worse than Devon had expected.  Had she been looking like this all week and Devon just hadn’t noticed?  Had Devon been so lost in herself that she hadn’t seen her own friend’s problems?  She hadn’t seen a lot of Hadley this week because of her job, but Devon didn’t think Hadley had seemed that different.

“Hey.”  Hadley took a seat across from her and opened the menu, not making eye contact.

“Hey,” Devon responded.

Hadley clearly wasn’t going to throw her a line or anything.  She stared stock-still at her menu.  Devon was sure Hadley wasn’t reading it.

“Hadley, come on,” Devon pleaded.

“Don’t act like you’ve been forthright the whole time you’ve been here,” Hadley snapped, still not looking at her.

“Fair,” Devon said, trying to bite back her retort.  “I’ll give you that, but I also wasn’t flaunting my problems in everyone’s faces in a public place.”

Hadley dropped her menu down on the table.  “I wasn’t flaunting anything, Devon!”

Devon sighed, seeing how this was all going to go.  “Fine.  You weren’t doing that either.  I just happened to see it.  But how long has this been going on?  And how long are you going to keep it up?”

Hadley bit on her lip, her anger slipping slightly.  She looked really young in that moment, less than her twenty-two years.  “It hasn’t been that long.”

“How long?” Devon prompted.

“Only a month or two.”

Devon’s eyebrows rose.

“Okay, two.”

“And you’re stopping…when?” Devon asked.

Hadley looked away, her blonde hair framing her face.  “It’s not as often as you think,” she said, her wall slamming back up.

Devon swallowed, wanting to take her friend by the shoulders and shake her.  It was sad, considering everything she was hiding from Hadley.  As much as this mirrored her problems, it was so very different.

“I just want you to take care of yourself.”

“I can take care of myself just fine,” Hadley snapped.

“I’ve no doubt,” Devon drawled, her Southern accent coming out in full force.

“Don’t use that tone with me,” Hadley muttered.

“Does Garrett know?” Devon asked.  She already knew the answer since Brennan had told her last night, but she wanted to hear Hadley’s response.  She needed to hear what Hadley would say face-to-face, no hiding.

“Of course, he knows,” Hadley said, not meeting her eyes.  “Do you think I would be living with him if he didn’t know everything about me?”

Devon sat back hard in the booth, staring at her friend.  Had Hadley ever purposely lied to her?  Had Hadley ever been openly dishonest in any way?  Hadley was many things, but a liar?  No, she had never been a liar.

And then Devon knew what she had to do…

“I want to stay in Chicago for the summer,” Devon told her.

Hadley’s eyes shot to Devon’s face as she looked at her incredulously.  “Well, have a great time,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m staying with you and Garrett,” Devon told her matter-of-factly.

“What?  It’s Garrett’s apartment.  There is no way he is going to let you stay for three more months.  Why do you want to stay anyway?  Don’t you miss your boy toy?”

“Doesn’t really matter why I want to stay,” Devon said.  “I’m staying, and you’re going to call and convince Garrett to let me live at the apartment.”

“What?” Hadley asked, eyeing Devon like she was insane.

“Otherwise, I’m going to tell him that you’re doing coke.”

“But he already knows,” she spat back as if Devon would believe her.

“Fine,” Devon said, pulling out her phone.  “Then, I’ll just call and talk to him about it.”

Hadley openly glared at her.  She was clearly waiting for Devon to bluff.

Hadley thought there was no way Devon was going to dial through to his line, no way Devon would actually do it.

Devon’s finger was poised over Garrett’s number.  She was about to push call.

Then, Hadley cried, “Wait!  Jesus, Dev.  You can stay with us.  Of course, you can stay with us.  I’ll call him right now.”