Replace Me (2 page)

Lacey

I held the phone up to my ear and listened to it ringing. “Come on, Sky, pick up the damn phone!”

I waited a couple more rings.

“Lace, this isn’t a good time,” She giggled and I heard Ford in the background saying something to her.

“I need to talk to you. Shayne called me again.”

More giggling. “Ford. Stop!”

I rolled my eyes. They’d been making up for days and I was so utterly sick of hearing about their happiness. “Can you two just take a break for a minute and lend me your ears? Damn!”

“Sorry, Lace. I’m here. What happened?”

I plopped down on my bed and looked at the ceiling. “Same as last time. He called and kept leaving messages. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I called him back. Then he proceeded to feed me the same bullshit, and get this, I asked him if he’d ever cheated on me and he couldn’t even answer. What the hell?”

Sky was quiet and she got that way when she didn’t know what to say.

“Sky, I’m done with Shayne. I’m not being with someone that I can’t trust. He isn’t worth my time and effort if he can’t even man up and admit his wrongdoings. Obviously, he’s got too much going on in his life to want to make an effort with me.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see me. “I love him, you know. It’s hard walking away from something that I still want to have. How do people do that?”

“You don’t want my opinion on that. I mean, I was supposed to let go of Ford and move on, but we all know I couldn’t. I guess it takes time.”

I sighed and wondered what I was going to do with my time. “Do you want to go out? We could catch a movie or go shopping? Anything would be better than sitting around here thinking about the amazing sex that I’m never going to have again. I don’t even know if I’m more upset about breaking up or not being able to sleep with him again. We were so compatible in that category.”

“Right now?” She was whispering something and I could hear him laughing again, through the muffles. “We’re kinda in the middle of something.”

“Gag! For real, I didn’t need to know that.” I looked around my room, which was nothing to make a big deal about. Clothes were strewed all over the bed and floor. “I guess I’ll clean my room or something. God knows I can’t sit around and dwell on being boyfriendless and horny.”

“We never told you that you had to break up with Shayne. If you still want him, go for it. I won’t love you any less. I hate seeing you miserable.”

“I’ll love myself less and I don’t want that. We’re done. I’m hanging up now, to be depressed without having to hear the two of you banging each other and being so happy. Enjoy your night and call me in the morning, when you’re dressed and not in a bed.”

After we’d hung up, I felt even more depressed over the situation. For months I’d been so happy. Shayne seemed to be the kind of man that I wanted to be serious about. I’d already cried my eyes out several times and felt like they had doubled in size from swelling.

It was easy to say that I wanted nothing more to do with Shayne. Inside, it was destroying me. I wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear. The problem was, I knew I had to stay strong. Sky had been through so much and as sad as I was for myself, I wanted to be happy for her and Ford.

So, I did something drastic. With my phone already in my hand, I called my provider and had my number changed. Then, I erased his number and deleted him from my social networking page.. It was drastic, but needed to be done.

Then I cried some more.

A few hours later, I had changed into a pair of sweat pants and was eating ice cream out of the container. Sure, it was cliché, but I didn’t care. I was twenty-one years old, jobless and now alone. I was pathetic!

With my life in such a sudden disarray, I began to think about what I could do to change things. Instead of being negative, I decided that it was a perfect opportunity for me to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. My friends were already starting their careers and fully vested in college, while I’d dropped out and done nothing productive, but filled my closet with sexy outfits to wear for a boyfriend that no longer existed.

Two days later, and a lot of sleepless hours, I was sitting down in front of my mother, letting her know that I’d made the decision to go back to school. This time, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I was determined that my new goals were going to help me get over Shayne and move on with my life.

Chapter 2

Shayne

A few weeks after the whole episode with my cousin, I got a call from Ashley. I’d wanted to ignore her attempts to contact me, but knew that it would result in her showing up at my door.

My brother, who still didn’t have a clue about the pregnancy, was excelling his ass off at college. His coach was impressed, as was my father when he heard all about it. My parents made a huge deal about us making the trip up to his college to see him play in the first game of the season.

During the drive, I thought about a million ways I could break the news to him. No matter how I did, it wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, I already knew what he was going to say. Parker didn’t want a baby spoiling his dream. He’d beg her to abort, so it wouldn’t ruin things for him.

Since I’d managed to keep the truth from my dad, and my uncle hadn’t spilled the beans, I felt it was necessary to handle the problem before it escalated. Of course, being that my cousin wanted nothing to do with me, I didn’t have anyone to run things by with.  The mistake that I’d made had caused my whole life to fall apart.

Where I felt like Lacey was just another girl I was banging, I was beginning to contemplate that maybe she’d been more. I thought about her all of the time and hated that I couldn’t have her.

I knew it was a shallow assumption, but I’d never been turned down by any female. As much as it frustrated me I knew it wasn’t realistic to think that I could have everything I wanted in life. I still missed her and it pissed me off that I did.

As soon as we pulled up to the college, my mind finally eased from Lacey to all of the fine ass that was walking around the campus. I must have been too obvious with my lingering eyes, because my sister smacked me a couple of times. I laughed it off and kept enjoying the scenery.

My brother was in a co-ed dorm which separated male and female tenants by floor. Since we had been invited, he’d made sure his room was pristine, on account of our mother flipping out over it. She put the t in tidy and hated when things were an inch out of place, at home.

Parker introduced us to his roommate before leading us on a tour of the campus and surrounding areas. We finished up the tour at a local restaurant where he’d gotten a part time job. My stomach turned when I thought about how responsible he was. I’d never studied my brother’s actions enough to consider that he always did the right thing, when it came to his life.

Then I knew.

Parker wouldn’t want Ashley to terminate the pregnancy. He would want to keep the baby and even possibly do the right thing, by dropping out of school and taking care of her. It was what my father had done when he knocked up my mother with me. Sure, they were still together, but sometimes I wondered what his life would have been like if he hadn’t married my mom.

They bickered a lot and I wondered if it was because deep down they resented each other.

Parker continued telling us how amazing his life was. When he introduced us to his beautiful blonde girlfriend, I felt like my lunch was going to come hurling back out of my mouth. They looked at each other like Sky and Ford, as if nobody else in the world existed. As curious as I was to feel that for myself, I knew that this secret could destroy everything.

My dad would be so disappointed, in not only him, but me. Since we weren’t exactly close anyway, I didn’t want to picture our relationship once he found out. It would all be blamed on me. That was a definite.

We stayed at a hotel near the campus, and to make it easier on Peyton, I got a room for the two of us to share. I knew she didn’t want to be near my parents. Her animosity towards my father was annoying as hell. Them rooming together would have made our weekend, and our ride home, unbearable.

Once inside of our room, she plopped down on the bed. “What’s wrong with you today? You haven’t said ten words since we got here.”

I sat down and played with my phone. “Nothin’! I’m tired.”

She flipped over and leaned on her elbow to get a good look at me. “No. It’s somethin’ else. You still miss Lacey don’t you?”
I shook my head. “No! She’s just a girl I was fuckin’. Mind your business.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever! It was more than that and you know it.” She sat up and faced me. “It was always more for her, Shayne. If it wasn’t, she’d be here with you right now.”

I cocked my right eyebrow and sighed. “I ain’t talkin’ about this with you, Pey. It’s between me and my dick.”

She threw her hands up, like I was a hopeless cause. “Ugh! You’ll never get it!”

I turned off the light between us, so she couldn’t judge me for giving her a dirty look. “I’m goin’ to bed.”

The light came back on and she was standing over me. “Mom and Dad are goin’ to bed. I say we sneak out and find a party. Come on. You know you want to.”

I ran my hands over my face and thought about the last time I’d partied with my siblings. My brother had knocked up my cousins ex and everything went to shit from there. “That’s a bad idea.”

She grabbed her bag and started walking into the bathroom. “I’m goin’ with or without you. You can either come with me and keep me safe, or lay in bed wonderin’ if some stranger is havin’ his way with me.”

I hated that she knew how to push my buttons. It also sucked that I was obligated to protect her, even when I felt like it was the last place I wanted to be. “You’re the worst sister, I tell ya. Do you really think that sayin’ shit like that is goin’ to make me want to help you? Why would you even put yourself in situations that would endanger your life?”

She jumped on my bed and wrapped her arms around me, while sticking out her bottom lip like a little kid. “Please?”

Knowing that it was a terrible idea, and that I was just adding more reasons to be homeless once my dad found out, I patted her to get off of me. “A couple hours and then we both come back here and sleep. You got it?”

Peyton got up and acted giddy. “It’s a deal!”

Lacey

Ford and Sky had found the perfect place to move in together. It was part of a single family home, that had been converted into two apartments. They had two bedrooms, which meant I could come over and stay the night whenever I wanted.

After helping them unpack, we got some movies and vegged out in their living room. I had to admit that they really were cute together. Ford, who gave off this asshole vibe, was like a gentle giant around her. He was so mesmerized when she talked to him and I could tell that she had his whole heart.

As much as I needed to get out of the house, I envied what they had so much that it became almost impossible to be around them without getting jealous. It didn’t matter how many days passed. Shayne was the only guy that I’d never been able to get over. Well, that was until Ford’s cousin Joey walked in. Then my thoughts of Shayne dissipated.

This guy was gorgeous and I was mad at Sky for not telling me about him sooner. He came right in, without being invited, and threw his keys on the table, before sitting down next to me, so close that our legs were touching. “Thanks for the invite, cuz.”

“I didn’t invite you, Joey!”

“Mom told me to stop by and see if you needed any furniture. She said she’s gettin’ rid of some shit and wanted you to have first dibs.”

Then he turned his attention to me. “So where were we?”

His cockiness caught me off guard. I should have known that he would be a total douche. Most hot guys were. “We weren’t anywhere!”

His raised his brows and smirked. “Not yet!”

Ford caught us off guard when he stood up and headed for the kitchen. “Leave it be, Joey. She doesn’t want what you’re offerin’.”

Joey didn’t look away from me. “I think we should let her make that decision.”

I was speechless, sitting there watching him fuck me with his mind. His eyes were a hazel shade of brown and his dark hair stubble across his cheeks made me curious as to how old he was. When he smiled, displaying his white teeth and perfect smile, I was taken back.

Sky stood in front of us. “Ignore your cousin. He’s being a terrible host. Would you like a beer?”

He still didn’t stop looking at me. “Yeah.”

I crossed my hands over my chest. “Staring isn’t going to get in anywhere near my underwear.”

He looked over to make sure they weren’t coming back into the room. “You can keep your panties in your dresser. There’s no reason to wear them around me.”

I was so shocked that he’d said it that I started laughing. “Are you serious? That’s the best you can do?”

Ford walked into the room with two bottles, handing us both one. “Give up, Joey. Lacey ain’t interested. She just broke up with Shayne.”

Joey looked at Ford. “Shayne? Your cousin on your mom’s side?” Then he looked at me. “You were with that player?”

My stomach knotted up. “Unfortunately!” I couldn’t let anyone in the room know how torn up I was over it. Had I been the only fool to trust someone like him? Did the whole universe know that he was a terrible boyfriend?

“Shit, you let me know when you want to experience what a real man can do to you. I don’t need to wear a pair of red lifeguard shorts to get pussy, that’s for sure.” He took a drink of his beer and didn’t crack a smile. For someone that was so flip, he was definitely confident in himself.

Sky walked back into the room and cuddled up next to her man. “Be nice, Joey. She cared about Shayne.”

“Aunt Viv could have called me. Why are you really here?”

Joey looked around the room. “Your dad mentioned the place next door is for rent. I was thinkin’ about gettin’ my own place. In fact, I just came from checkin’ it out and meetin’ with the landlord. I just stopped by to meet my new neighbors.” He looked back and me and winked. “And their sexy ass friends.”