Cursed Love: Cursed Love (Cursed, #1) (12 page)

“I’m not worried about it. It’s good you dropped into our lives like you did. I think we’ll all get along just fine.”

A big smile crosses her lips. She really is a cute little thing. There’s a sparkle in her eyes that I didn’t see before. I don’t know if it’s happiness, security, or whatever the hell it may be, but it suits her just fine.

I dig into my pocket and hand her the key.

“It’s all yours now. Take good care of it and let us know if you need anything. Do you have a cell? I’ll give you our numbers just in case.”

She steps back and starts to fidget again. Man this girl’s nerves are worse off than mine.

“Actually, no I don’t have one,” she replies looking up at me as though she’s embarrassed.

“No biggie, but you really should get one. You know, just for emergencies and stuff.”

She nods her head and puts the key in the lock.

“I’ll grab one when I go out later.”

“Good girl, don’t forget to swap digits with us later.”

“Thanks, Linc,” she says, walking through the door and into her side of the house.

Making my way into my house, I toss the keys down on the table. I kick my Chucks off and plop down onto the couch.

A good nap sounds really good about now.

I reach for the remote and turn on the television. Not sure what will be on, I flip through the channels until I come across
Airborne, a
‘classic’. Well, to me it’s an oldie but goodie; I don’t know if Dault or the guys would agree.

I surf to see what’s coming on afterward and it looks like there’s one hell of a lineup for this afternoon. TNT is playing
Airborne, RAD,
and then
Top Gun
. This is just what I need to chill and relax until I can fall asleep.

Propping a pillow behind me, I extend my arm and rest it behind my head. Before too long, I can feel my eyes start to get heavy and I drift off into a deep sleep.

My body started to shake. The paramedics checked me out a couple of times and I kept telling them I was fine, but they still wouldn’t let me leave until my mom and dad got there.

That’s why I was shaking; I was scared for them to come get me. I knew they’d to be really mad at me.

That night was a big event for Dad and they had to leave the party to deal with me.

I never thought something like that would’ve happened. How could I have known?

There were so many people walking around and asking questions. I just wanted to pull the blanket over my head and pretend like it was all just a really bad dream.

The police took Daulton in the cop car and I started feeling all alone. The look on his face before he said goodbye was of fear. I didn’t know what was going to happen to us.

My eyes darted out onto the street where lights were flashing. I heard a car door slam and my body jumped. My mom came running toward the porch in her long black dress and red coat. Dad walked over to a police officer and looked at me while shaking his head.

“Lincoln Minzotto, what have you gotten yourself into? How could you leave the house, tonight of all nights? What’s gotten into you?”

She asked a million questions at one time and my head started to spin.

Tears began to fall from my eyes and she grabbed my arm to pull me up off of the chair.

“I’m sorry, Mom, I didn’t know,” I replied in between sobs.

“This was a very bad decision on your part, Lincoln. We raised you better than to make choices like this. We’ll discuss your punishment when you get home.”

My punishment?

I didn’t want to think about the real trouble I was going to be in when I got home. All I wanted was my mom to hold me and take away the memories of what had just occurred, but I knew that would never happen.

Why couldn’t I have a mom that loved me and wanted to protect me?

She walked me over to my dad with my arm still in her hand. The grip of her fingers got tighter and caused the tears to flow down my cheeks.

Dad’s eyes darted to mine and an angry scowl came across this face.

“Lincoln, get in the car with your mother. Because of your childish acts tonight we have a lot to discuss. Until we get home, you must obey everything I say to you. Once we get down to the police station, you are not to speak a word unless I direct you to. Do you understand me?”

I wiped my eyes with my free hand and nodded my head in his direction.

“I didn’t hear a response, Lincoln,” he said with anger in his voice.

My chest felt like there was a hundred pounds sitting on top of me and my head hurt from crying. I looked to the ground and then back to my father’s eyes filled with hatred and anger.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“Now get in the car until I finish speaking with the detective.”

Mom pulled me away and positioned me in front of the car door.

My hands were shaking as I tried to open my door. The blanket wrapped around my body began to fall and I could feel it being pulled off of me.

“Give me this,” Mom said. “You don’t need it; let me give it back to the officers for someone that really could use it.”

I let go of the blanket and slid into the backseat of Dad’s car. Buckling my seat belt, I rested my head back onto the seat.

The images of what I had seen flashed through my mind along with the loud banging sounds.

The car door slammed shut and my body jumped as my eyes fly open.

I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to erase those sounds and sights from my mind. It really was too much for me and I was so scared of what was going to happen once I got home.
 

Chapter 14

Sarasota, Florida

I’ve finally made it to my parents’ house and I’m dead tired. I texted Daulton a few minutes ago to let him know I was close and that I’d be in touch in a few days.

I’m not sure if he’ll communicate my message to Linc, but a small part of me hopes he does.

As much as I want to move on and forget, there will always be a small part of me that wants to go back and convince him to love me in return.

Reality is a bitch and one that I want to kick in the box with a pointy hooker boot.

I fall back onto the bed in my parents’ guest room and stare up at the ceiling. Sarasota isn’t the most exciting part of Florida, but I’m hoping that a few days in the sun at the beach will keep my mind busy.

I’ve never been out of work for more than a sick day, so the time off should do me good.

Over a mid-afternoon snack, Mom went on and on about all the places she wants to take me. It’ll be good to spend some quality one on one time with her, but I can guarantee I’ll want to play hooky after a week.

Resting my head back onto the pillow, I close my eyes in hopes of falling asleep. I asked my parents to let me nap for a few hours before hauling me off to the club for dinner.

With my eyelids closed, my memory plays a trick on me and flashes his smile. I quickly open my eyes to erase the image and then close them again.

Damn it to hell, I need to rid my mind of Linc. I’ll never be able to let him go if I see him everywhere I go.

I shut my eyes tighter, hoping to focus on the black space behind my closed lids. Instead, it’s him that I see. Rather than fight my own mind, I scan the image of the one and only man I’ve ever loved.

He’s wearing a fitted baseball cap backward on his head. Short, random pieces of his dark hair poke through and I laugh at how obsessive he is about his hat hair.

His dark eyes are staring back at me as a smile spreads across his face. Two subtle dimples appear and my heart starts to flutter.

My vision continues to scan down his muscular body, starting with his strong shoulders. He’s wearing a red t-shirt that hugs his body perfectly. The old faded jeans that I love so much are hanging loosely on his hips as he slides a hand into his pocket.

He’s perfection—there’s just no other word to describe him.

The tattoos on his body are so rare, so unique, that they speak for him, his life, and his past.

I’ve tried too many times to break him free of the fears that lie dormant in his mind, but I was never able to get through to him.

Maybe if I had tried harder I would have been able to help him and in return he would have loved me.

Chapter 15

After I shut the door on Linc, I decide to look around the house for a few minutes, trying to get accustomed to my new surroundings. I still can’t believe things have come so easily for me since I got here.

I don’t know if it’s a sign of good things to come or what, but I’ll take it.

Spending the afternoon with Linc was fun. I feel like the little time we spent with each other gave us a chance to know one another a little better.

We both seem to have a past we are sheltering others from; I just don’t know how deep his secrets really go.

The things I’ve dealt with over the past few years will never be erased from my memory, but I can still try to move on and push them further away.

I like the guy I met today. He’s quirky, fun, and knows what he wants for himself.

The passion he feels for Cursed Magic is sincere. It makes me happy to know that I’ll be a part of that world, even if it
is
for a short time.

I want to feel that passion for something in my life—to be proud of something that’s all mine. I don’t know what direction I’ll find myself going or even what will interest me enough to take that plunge. I just need to find something that speaks to me like Linc found with his art and his shop.

Who knows? I may even learn a thing or two from Linc and Daulton.

I can already see it now—Linc being the protective big brother and Daulton…well, that’s a fantasy for another time.

Spending the night getting to know the guys from the shop should be fun. If nothing else, it will help me keep my mind busy and temporarily forget the fears that are stuck in the back of my mind.

Walking through the kitchen, I make my way into the living room. I grab my small suitcase and carry it up to the second floor.

Once at the top of the stairs, I stand and look around, trying to figure out which room I want to claim as mine. Should I pick the one to the left or the one to the right? They look exactly the same, so it’s not like one of the two choices jumps out at me.

I’ve never had to make a decision like this before. It may seem small and simple to some, but for me it means a lot to have my own place to call home. The house isn’t massive or anything, but it’s still a lot more room than I’ve been used to over the past few years.

It sure as hell beats the dump of a studio apartment Rick and I were living in back in Oregon.

Turning my body to the right, I decide to take this bedroom. It has a window that overlooks the front of the house, so it wins the toss up.

I set my suitcase down on the dresser and begin to open the zipper. There aren’t too many things that I brought with me for this trip, but I figure I may as well unload the clothing and bathroom products I grabbed from the hotel.

I remove the dirty clothing that I’ve worn the past few days and set them down on the bed. A few pieces of clothing that remain have been bunched up toward the bottom of the suitcase.

Laying them all out on the bed, I try to remove any wrinkles with my hands. Once I feel that they look good enough to wear, I fold them and place them into the dresser drawers.

I grab for the toiletries and make my way to the bathroom. Walking past the vanity, I stop to look at my reflection.

My blue hair is twisted in a messy bun on top of my head and strands that have fallen out are now hanging around my face. My eyes aren’t as bright as they usually are and there are dark black circles surrounding them.

The past few years have really taken a toll on my mind, body, and spirit. I used to be the girl that was smiling, happy, and wanting to bring life into everyone I was near. I’ve lost a lot of weight, too. My appetite was something I lost early on. When food was put in front of me, I’d rather throw up than eat.