Afflicted (16 page)

I discreetly pulled out my phone to text my friend Len to see if he had everything organized and ready to go, he did.
I felt like a kid on Christmas as I had her get ready so we could leave. I pulled Piper out the front door, calling a goodbye to my parents and taking off toward Lennox, which is about 20 minutes from here. We used to go there a lot on the weekend when I was growing up. It’s full of parks and trails and held the perfect place for what I had planned.

“Where exactly are we going?” She asked as we started getting furt
her and further away from Phoenix.

“It’s a surprise
, but I think you’re going to like it. At least I hope you do.”

I pulled into the parking lot of the park and helped her out spotting Len’s Audi
four cars away. She was looking at me with a curious expression as we made our way past the entrance and headed into the wooded section. Following the trail until I spotted it, it still looked exactly like I remembered.

“A tree fort?” She asked
, rolling her eyes.

“Not just any tree fort. My dad and I built this when they redid the park
ten years ago. It’s special to me, and I wanted to bring you here, but there’s more.” Right then Len dropped the rope set of stairs that he obviously took up so no one else would be able to get up there before us.

I helped her
climb up, following closely behind her. When she got to the top she seemed shocked to see Len in there. He was an old friend of mine that I’ve kept in close contact with over the years. He was tall with dark shaggy hair and a goatee. The blanket was spread out on the floor adorned with rose petals and champagne sitting in an ice bucket settled in the corner. The curtains that my mom made were drawn closed and shut us out from the rest of the world. The picnic basket sat next to the window with the big surprise inside.

“Nice to meet you, Piper. I’m Len.” He said putting his hand out.

“You too.” She replied shyly.

“Well, I’m gonna get out of your hair. Have fun you two.”
He winked.

“Thanks Len.” I said patting his back. As soon as he was off I pulled the stairs back up and closed the hatch secluding us in the fort.

“What do you think?” I asked her, curiously.

“It’s neat. You and your dad
really made this?”

I nodded and patted the floor next to me. She took a seat and kept looking around. I pulled the basket to me
and took out the sandwiches and salads that Len picked up for us. I made sure that Piper got her favorite Turkey and cheese with extra mayo. I fixed her up a plate adding some macaroni salad and chips.

My heart started
hammering behind my ribcage. It felt like it was going to grow wings and fly right out of my chest. I don’t know why I was so damn nervous all the sudden. Picking at my sandwich hoping that my nerves would subside I decided just to go for it.

“Piper, y
ou know I care about you, a lot.” She nodded with her mouth full. “I guess the main reason I wanted to bring you here was to bring my past and my future together. I know you’re still feeling conflicted about what went down with Cole, and I accept that. I know that this is still really new, but I know what I feel, and I’ve felt it for a long time. I-” Taking a deep breath I let it out, three words that said everything I’ve been holding in for the past 6 months. “I love you. It’s okay if you can’t say it back yet, but I want you to know how I feel.” I pulled the box out of the basket and handed it to her.

She stared at me with her mouth agape and slowly lifted the lid revealing a skull padlock encrusted with
gems and diamonds, an exact replica of the tattoo she did for me. Hanging alongside the lock was the key. The chain was made of titanium and looked very industrial, which was exactly her style. I wanted her to have something she could wear that reminded her of me, and this was it. Len did an outstanding job on it to boot.

Picking it up and examining it closer
, she looked at me with a single tear rolling down her warmed cheek. “It’s beautiful, Blake. Thank you.”

I wasn’t surprised that she didn’t say it back. I secretly wished that she would have
, but she owned me in every sense of the word, so it was fine. Taking the box from her I pulled it out of the satin and fastened it around her neck. I pulled out two champagne flutes from the basket. Popping the cork I poured the bubbly liquid handing her one. Clinking glasses I leaned in and kissed her. I showed her exactly how much I loved her until the sun was starting to set before heading home to see Joss.

W
hen we arrived back at the house, I pulled in next to Joss’ little, white Volkswagen. I parked and hopped out, grabbing Piper and heading inside. As soon as I opened the door Joss was there wrapping her legs around me and pulling me into a hug. Her hair grew a lot since I saw her last time and she looked a little thinner, but was still the same beautiful sister I remembered.

“Blakey!” She yelled
, squeezing me tighter.

I
squeezed her back. “Hey Joss, I missed you. This is my girlfriend, Piper.”

“Oh my God, I’ve heard a lot about you. I see he gave you your present. It’s gorgeous
, by the way.” She cooed.

“Thanks, he’s full of surprises this one.” She said pointing her thumb at me
, and laughing.

“Come in to the kitchen
and meet Tom. Mom’s just about done fixing dinner, and then we can all catch up.”

I noticed a guy
sitting at the table talking with my dad. This must be the boyfriend that he was telling me about. Just one look at him and I already didn’t like him. He looked too Abercrombie and a total kiss ass, but something else was amiss. His blonde hair was gelled without a single hair out of place.
Weasel looking motherfucker.
He stood up to shake my hand when I walked in. I grabbed it hard enough to really crush some fingers, feeling pleased that I was still able to be the intimating brother.

“Tom Brody, J
oss has told me a lot about you. I constantly hear about her rock star brother, so it’s good to finally get to meet you.” He said flinching.

Nodding
before letting go of his hand I went to go wash mine. My mom ordered everyone to take a seat and put the pork roast on the table, along with all the fixings. I dug in filling my plate and making sure that Piper had some before stuffing my face.

It was
melt in your mouth delicious.

I couldn’t
stop eyeballing Tom from across the table. I wanted to know what his deal was, and why I got bad vibes off him. What did Joss see in him other than his looks? He was making small talk at my dad who was trying his best to act polite and failing miserably because the dude was such an arrogant douche.

My mom was grinning from ear to ear as Joss talked about school and the new friends she was making at the design f
irm she was apprenticing at. Joss was talking to Piper about tattooing and said that she wanted to get one if Piper would draw it up and do it for her. Piper agreed.

They seemed to hit it off right away
, and I felt myself unwind a little more. Piper kept putting her hand on my thigh and squeezing, as if reassuring me she was okay. I moved my hand to her lap and slid it right up her center making her drop her fork, letting out a small gasp. It didn’t matter that we already did it three times today I still wanted her more. All day, every day.

“Tell me Tom
, what exactly is it that you do again?” My dad said gruffly.

“I’m in sales.” He said smugly.

His tone irritated me and automatically sent off a light bulb in my head.

“What kind of sales? After all, sales is a broad profession.” My dad pressed.

“
She’s a tattoo artist and you’re on my ass about being in sales.” He started getting loud until Joss glared at him. I fought the urge to lay him on his ass right then and there. “I’m in pharmaceutical sales.”

Something in my gut told me he was selling pills to kids on campus. I knew from my one semester that a lot of kids took Ad
derall so they could stay up late working on papers and lots of other took stuff recreationally just because. Joss seemed to be getting uncomfortable, and I started looking at her for signs that she might be using something too.

My heart dropped as soon as I realized that she
damn well might be.

That fucking dirt-bag!

My hand started shaking, and Piper excused us dragging me upstairs and slamming her lips against mine as soon as we were in the safety of my room. Instantly, I forgot everything but her, and her almond and coconut shampoo that engulfed my senses. I pulled her close to me until we were as close to becoming one as possible and laced my fingers in her hair holding there until we were both breathless.

“Are you calmer now?” She asked
, looking up at me.

“A little, but now I’m all worked up again.” I complained looking down at my
dick protruding in my pants.

“Not now cowboy, I’ll give you your ride later.” She winked and grabbed me pumping a handful of times before flopping on the bed and crossing her feet.
Damn, I’m gonna have blue balls.
I climbed on top of her and snuggled into her chest.

“Do you think she’s using too?” I felt
guilty asking her, knowing it was going to bring up emotions that she didn’t really want to deal with just yet.

“I don’t know, Blake. It’s hard to tell. Look at Cole
, I had no idea for months and by the time I did it was when he got sick of trying to hide it and didn’t give a fuck anymore.” She said sadly.

“I’m sorry babe,
I didn’t mean to bring it up. I’m just trying to get a grasp on the situation. I wonder if my parents know. She’s my little sister Pipe, if she needs help I want to make sure she gets it.”

“Maybe I can convince her to go out with me tomorrow for shopping or something
. I might be able to pick up on more signs if it’s just the two of us since her guard won’t be on red alert.” She said with a shrug.

Piper hated shopping
, so that alone made me love her even more knowing that she was willing to sacrifice doing something that she hated to make me happy. I nodded and put my head back down on her chest, listening to the calming sound of her heartbeat. I wanted to close my eyes and stay like this, but we needed to get back downstairs. Rolling off the bed and pulling her with me I stole one more kiss before going back to face the music. I heard yelling start as soon as we hit the bottom stair. Piper looked at me with concern in her eyes.

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” My dad yelled.

“Your daughter’s nothing other than a great piece of ass anyway.” He said heading toward the door. I was about to step forward to punch him when Piper pushed me back and punched him right in the side of the face, hard. 

Damn, she’s got a mean right hook.

“You’re a spineless,
dickless, piece of shit! Go fuck yourself and stay the hell away from Joss, or I’ll hunt you down.” She yelled, pushing him out the door slamming it behind him.

“That’s my girl.” I said howled
.

She looked at me smiling proudly. My dad stood there in disbelief.

“You can pick your jaw up off the floor at any time, Dad.” I laughed.

Shaking his head.
“She, you, wow. Wow!” 

“I can’t believe you just did that!” Joss shrieked at my dad.

“Joss, he’s no good for you. Can’t you see where this is leading?” I was glad I wasn’t the only one that noticed something was off with Joss.

“Yeah, to me leaving!” She said defensively.

“Not a chance!” My dad said blocking the doorway.

“How’s he supposed to get home?” She yelled
, getting aggravated. I’ve never seen her get like this before.

“Let him walk for all I care. Your brother’s here, you belong here
, not with that pill popping loser.”

My mom sat at the table wiping tears from her eyes.

“You are all unbelievable! I’m almost 20 years old, not some fucking little kid that you can tell what to do all the time anymore!” She walked out the door, slamming it behind her. Piper took off in a sprint behind her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

GOODBYE

Piper

“Joss, hold up!” I called after her as she was running toward her car. She looked like she didn’t want to stop, but I managed to grab her by the arm and turn her, so she was looking at me. “Just hear me out then you can leave if you want. I won’t stop you. We can even go for a drive if you want, but please just listen to what I have to say.” I pleaded.

She didn’t say anything
, but started walking down the street away from the house.

“They’re just worried about you, you know. I know you don’t
really know me, but I care about your brother and I know how important you are to him. For the past eight years I was with the same guy, Cole. Four years ago he left to go into the military, he came back after his platoon was attacked by insurgents and hasn’t been the same since. He’s addicted to pain pills and getting drunk. He takes off for days at a time, which left me worried to the point that I couldn’t take it anymore. I tried so hard to save him from himself that I lost who I was in the process.” Fighting back tears I stopped walking, just talking about it made the hole in my chest start to bleed for what once was.