Miles Apart (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock Book 2) (12 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Brooke~

“I can’t believe he actually had the gall to
expect me to just accept him back into my life with open arms.” I spit out,
still seething about the encounter. Reid had met me and, immediately sensing
that I was upset, had steered me to the nearest pub rather than heading home.
At first I protested, but after three beers I had loosened up and stopped
trying to get him to leave.

“You
really haven’t laid eyes on him since you were eleven?” I nodded slowly in
response. He’d just sat through the quickie version of my sad upbringing. With
the final pull on each beer I found myself getting more and more riled. “Maybe
he had a really good reason for staying away. When’s the last time you’ve
spoken to your mom?”

“About
a year I guess.” I shrugged casually, as if it really didn’t matter. Most of
the time it didn’t seem to affect me. Today, however, the impact of that
reality hit hard. Staying away had been easier, making it seem almost as if
none of it had ever happened. Seeing him face to face brought all of it back to
the surface, and the fear that went along with it. Without thought or
hesitation I began to cry. I cried hard, and Reid remained quiet, letting me
process all of it. After a few moments he pulled me against his chest and
rocked me back and forth, calming me with the soft sounds of his voice.

“I’m
okay. Really. Thank you.” I mumbled, removing myself from his embrace.

“You
sure?” He titled his head and peered down at me, his gaze lingering a bit too
long. I nodded once more. “I think this calls for one more drink.” He motioned
for the waitress and held up two fingers, indicating for her to bring two more
beers. A moment later she set them down before us.

“To
facing the past.” He raised his bottle to mine. “May the journey back not be as
hellacious as the escape.” I tapped my bottle to his and brought it to my lips.

“Amen
to that.”

We
stayed at the pub a while longer, talking and listening to the random songs
that blared through the overhead sound system. He really was a nice guy, and so
easy to talk to. With each drink it became easier to open up and share my life
with him. I usually never drank this much and found myself feeling a little too
comfortable with him. Something deep within me told me it was time to head home
and put an end to this, before things went too far.

I
missed Sebastian, that’s all it was. Right?

“Reid,
I think that we should probably head back home. It’s getting late.” I stood,
stumbling ever so slightly. He grabbed an elbow to steady me.

“You
okay there, lightweight?” He teased.

“Lightweight?
I've had four beers. That’s nothing to scoff at for a girl my size.” I
protested, hands on my hips.

"Look
at you, all sassy and cute.” He chuckled, giving me a wink and light nudge with
his elbow.

“You
know it.” I retorted back, full of sass.

We made our way
back to the apartment,
laughing and singing, which reminded me of Sebastian. He’d never called me
back, a fact that had left me a touch angry. I’d really needed him today. Thank
goodness Reid had been there to help me through it. I glanced over at him and
realized just how much I’d come to rely on his friendship over the past two
months. Being far from friends and family had been more difficult than I had
originally imagined. Having him there to invite me to parties, walk me home
from work, and care for me when I was sick had meant so much.

“I
still can’t believe you got me to sing karaoke.” I nudged him with my elbow.
Just as we had been leaving the bar we were approached by the waitress. She'd
handed us a slip of paper and gave a tip of her head toward a table of guys
sitting rows over. The slip was a challenge for a karaoke sing-off. Never one
to back down from a challenge, we had taken the stage.

“Hey,
we were great up there and you know it. Everybody loved us. Didn’t you hear
them screaming for an encore? I guess now we have a taste of what it must feel
like to be famous.” He laughed, hysterically.

We
were still laughing when we trudged up the last flight of stairs. We stood in
the hall, halfway between his door and mine, and remained quiet for a moment.

“Well,
good night." I offered, putting an end to the awkward silence. "Thank
you again for helping me through this. It was a nice distraction. I had a lot
of fun.”

“You
don’t have to thank me, Brooke." He took my hands in his own and made slow
sweeping passes over the back of mine with his thumb. "I’ll always be here
for you. Haven’t you learned that by now. I’m crazy about you.” The next thing
I knew he had my face in his hands and his lips were covering mine.

I
was stunned. I’d been aware that he had a crush on me, but after our talk a few
weeks ago things between us had shifted and he had been treating me more like a
friend. I suddenly realized how blind I had been. I was also painfully aware
that, without realizing it, I had been asking for this. Maybe I had encouraged
it. I should have known better. How was I ever going to explain this to
Sebastian when I couldn’t begin to comprehend it myself?

What
happened next was a complete blur. One minute Reid was kissing me, the next he
was on the floor with Sebastian on top of him. Fists were flying, and I heard
loud cursing. I couldn’t move. My heart was pounding in my chest, and stomach
acids churned in my stomach. I couldn’t believe that Sebastian was here. But it
wasn’t him being here that had me feeling sick. It was what had him rolling
around on the floor with Reid that made me want to throw up. He had obviously
witnessed us kissing.

“Stop
it! Get away from him!” I screamed, finally coming to my senses. He didn’t
listen. The punches kept landing and Reid’s blood splattered on the wall beside
me. I had never seen this side of him, he was out of control. “Sebastian, please,
stop!” I screamed again, jumping on his back. I didn’t care what he saw, it
wasn't reason enough to beat someone senseless. He shook me off and jumped up,
backing up to the wall. I looked over at him. His eyes were narrowed slits, showing
no sign of their usual light and happiness. Blood dripped from his nose and his
upper lip was split, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage. I glanced
down at Reid, bloodied and bruised, and my heart leapt.

“Look
what you’ve done to him. What the hell is wrong with you?” I hissed through my
clenched jaw. The combination of too much alcohol and violence suddenly had my
head pounding.

By
now he was now pacing frantically, which was typical behavior for him when he
was agitated. This went way beyond agitated, this was insanity. “What’s wrong? What’s
wrong?” He repeated, the tone of his voice shot up a notch. “I saw you… You
were kissing him!”

“That's
not what happened!" I argued. Anger surged through my veins. I couldn't
believe what I had just witnessed. This was not the man that I knew and loved.
What I had just seen was a man completely out of control. It frightened the
hell out of me. I rolled my eyes as he continued to stare at me with contempt
on his face.

"Oh
for crying out loud. Help me get him up.” I ordered. “We can't leave him here
like this. We need to get him into his apartment.” I straddled Reid’s body,
struggling to lift him.

“Move.”
Sebastian barked, pushing me gently aside. “Unlock the door and then grab hold
of his feet.” I moved quickly, hands shaking as I fumbled for his keys.

“Reid,
I am so sorry about all of this.” I muttered, softly, shaking my head. We
placed him on the sofa and Sebastian stood by the door as I tended to tucking
him in and checking to be sure that he was okay to be left alone.

 
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked,
quietly.

“Yeah.”
He stirred and answered hoarsely. “It’s just a few bumps and bruises. No big
deal. The question is, will you be okay? That guy has a short fuse, Brooke. I
warned you about that. Has he ever hurt you?” He whispered.

“What?
No. He’s never. He wouldn’t. I told you, he’s just protective. He loves me.” I
ran my hands back and forth over my arms, attempting to wipe away the goose
bumps.

“Do
you still love him?” His eyes pleaded with me to say no.

I
hesitated before answering, then looked over my shoulder at Sebastian. He stood
there quietly, arms crossed in front of him, jaw firmly clenched, and every
muscle pulsed as he fought to regain control. “Yes.” I answered, quietly.

“He
doesn’t deserve you.” I squeezed his hand and walked out the door, never making
eye contact with the man that I loved, though I felt his stare penetrate right through
me. I thought about what Reid said. In my heart I knew that Sebastian would
never raise a hand to me, but after witnessing his rage I suddenly realized
that there was a side to him that I didn't know. He had an adventurous side, a
wild side, a tender side, and apparently a violent side. Why had it taken me
nine months to see all of them? Was there more that I didn't know about him?
Could you ever truly learn all there was to know about someone?
And
, did
you really want to?

“What
are you doing here?” I spun on him after we made it into my apartment. “And
where did you come from? You just appeared out of thin air.”

“I
came to see you. I wanted to surprise you. Guess I’m the one getting the
surprise. It’s like my friggin' birthday all over again.”

I
was aware that something was different about this room. I turned around and
found it full of hundreds of roses, all red, and there were candles lit
throughout the apartment. Music played softly in the background. I walked over
to the iPad, switching it off.

“How
did you get in here?” I asked, still angry for a lot of reasons. He hadn’t
answered my call, or called me back. We hadn’t talked a whole lot over the last
two months. The times we had spoken it seemed that we’d spent them arguing
about one thing or another. He had just attacked a dear friend. And, on top of
everything else, had somehow managed to get into my apartment and stage a
romantic setting. Well, guess what. I wasn’t feeling very romantic at the
moment.

“I
convinced your building manager to let me in.” He shrugged.

“And
just how did you do that? Did you bribe him?”

“I
may have slipped him a little cash and told him that I was your fiancé.”

“I
don’t believe this.” I threw my hands up and walked over to the nearest candle,
blowing it out. I kept my back to him when I spoke next. “What you just did out
there, I’m not sure what to think about that. Who the hell was that person?"
I turned around, my arms remained folded tightly over my chest. "That
wasn’t the Sebastian that I know and love." I leaned my hip against the
back of the nearest armchair. "Or is it?”

“I
heard what he said to you. I watched him kiss you. You didn’t stop him.” He
stated calmly. His hand rose to his face, wiping aimlessly at the blood
dripping from his nose.

“What
do you mean you heard what he said? Were you eavesdropping on our
conversation?” I turned and grabbed a kitchen towel from the counter, handing
it over to him.

“I
wasn’t eavesdropping." He grabbed the towel, wiping his hand on it. "I
was waiting here for you. I heard your voice and went to the door. I couldn’t
wait to see you. I just wasn’t expecting to see that.” His voice sounded small,
broken, nothing like the man I'd just watch pummel another human being
senseless.

“Sebastian.
There’s nothing going on between us. That’s the first time he’s ever kissed
me.”

“You
expect me to believe that? I saw it with my own two eyes. You didn’t stop him.
You let him kiss you. I think you wanted him to.”

“What?”
I placed my hands on his chest and shoved him back. “Why would you say that?”

“You’ve
been acting different, ever since you’ve met him. I should have known something
was up. I sensed that there was something going on, I was just too afraid to
ask you about it.” He sat on the nearest chair.

“What
was all of this about?” I waved my hand over the room.

“Tonight
was the night I was finally going to propose to you. God!” He jumped up, pacing
the room. “I’m so stupid. You never wanted to be with me did you? Not after you
took this job. That’s why things have been so strained between us.”

“That’s
not true! Things have been strained, but I’ve tried, Sebastian. I’ve tried
really hard to make this work. It’s not easy. We never talk anymore. We used to
make time for each other. Now we go a week without so much as a word or text.
It’s like we don’t have time for one another. It’s almost as if we’re no longer
important to each other.” I brought a hand to my mouth, stifling the choking
sobs. “I needed you today. I really needed you, and you weren’t there for me. I
called you. I left a message begging you to call me. And nothing. I saw my dad
today, for the first time in thirteen years. I was scared and I was hurting and
I needed you, but Reid was the one that was there for me. Not you.”