Trusting You: The Switched Series book two (11 page)

“Here’s the last box,” I say, finally sitting down for the first time today. “I’m going to have to go the store. We don’t even have anything to drink in this condo.”

“I’ll finish unpacking if you want to do that before it gets too late,” Brody says, giving me a quick kiss. “I’m really glad you decided to come with me and not wait another week”

“I am really glad I didn’t wait too. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I say rushing out the door. I have always loved this town. I will definitely always be a beach girl. Growing up here, I always imagined living here and starting a family with Josh. Of course, that was before my sister got her grubby little hands on him. In a way I would really love to know what made him suddenly decide to marry her. Who does that? Within a month he was over me and married to her. Something is definitely strange about that entire situation. Oh well, I am here with Brody now and there is no way she is getting near him.

After pulling in to the grocery parking lot, I head inside and grab a shopping cart. I really wish I had made a list. I am way too exhausted to think about what I am going to need for the rest of the week. I have the cart half full when I decide I have enough to get through a few days anyway. I am heading to checkout when I hear a voice I have dreaded ever since we decided to move here. The one voice I was hoping I could avoid for the rest of my life if possible.

“Oh my goodness, look what the cat drug in,” Manna says from behind me. “What are you doing here?” I slowly turn around to see my sister staring at me. At least she is by herself. I really don’t think I could have handled seeing her and Josh.

“I am grocery shopping. That’s usually what people do in a grocery store,” I say hoping I can get out of here quick.

“Are you on vacation?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at me. I guess now is as good of a time as ever to tell her the news.

“No, I am actually living here for a little while. Hopefully, not forever,” I say. Maybe that will make her think this is a quick think and I didn’t come here to see her or Josh.

“He doesn’t want you back. We are happy.”

“I am really glad you are happy. I am too. I am with someone now and he is amazing. I am not interested in Josh anymore. I pretty much lost interest when he married you,” I say, trying not to sound bitter. I actually don’t care anymore. I really do love Brody and I am very thankful every day that I found him.

“Good for you,” she says with a fake smile. “I would love to meet him. Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow night,” she says, pulling a piece of paper out of her purse. After writing something on it, she hands it to me. Is she serious?

“This is our favorite restaurant. I can’t wait to meet this new guy. We will see you tomorrow,” she says before adding, “Unless it would be too hard for you to see me and Josh so happy.” This girl drives me completely insane. I definitely do not want to have dinner with the two of them. But if I don’t, she is going to think it’s because I’m jealous of her and Josh.

“We would love to have dinner with both of you,” I say hoping my smile looks a lot better than I feel.

“Great, see you then. I am really glad to see you here, Leighton. I have really missed you,” she says, giving me a quick hug before walking in the opposite direction. I haven’t even been here a day and I have already ran into the one person I didn’t want to see.

I pay for my groceries and head out to my car. I grab my phone and call Callie. If I don’t talk to someone, I may go crazy.

“Hello,” she answers sounding exhausted.

“Did I walk you up?” I ask.

“No, I don’t think I ever sleep anymore,” she says, laughing. “How’s Florida?”

“Oh it’s great. I had to go grab some groceries real quick and you will never believe who I ran into.”

“Josh?” she asks.

“Nope, I saw Manna. Seriously, all the grocery stores in this town and I find her at the first place I go.”

“Oh no. How did that go?” Callie asks.

“Horrible. We have to have dinner with both of them tomorrow night. How am I supposed to get through a meal with him? I don’t want to see either of them ever again. What am I going to do?”

“Don’t go. Why would she think you would want to have dinner with them?”

“I have to go. She said if I couldn’t handle seeing how happy they were together, she completely understood.”

“Have you told Brody yet?” Callie asks.

“No, I just left the store. I called you first. I hope he will go with me. I really didn’t want him to meet either one of them. This is a nightmare.”

“He will go with you and it will be fine. If it gets bad, get up and walk out. I don’t think Brody is going to let them be mean to you if he’s there. You will be fine,” she says.

“I hope you’re right. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow night. How are my sweet baby girls?”

“They are cute as ever. They never sleep though. It’s a really good thing I don’t have a job right now,” she says.

“Try to get some rest and give those babies a kiss for me. I’ll talk to you soon,” I say, before hanging up. I pull into a parking place and grab the groceries before heading into the condo. We found a great condo on the beach and I am so glad we got to it before it rented out. I have always wanted to live right on the beach.

“Hey, you didn’t get much,” Brody says, taking the bags from me.

“I got distracted. My sister was there,” I say, watching him turn around to look at me.

“I’m so sorry. I guess I should have gone instead. Was she nice?” he asks.

“She was okay. We have to have dinner with them tomorrow night,” I say hoping he agrees.

“Okay, but why are we having dinner with your sister and your ex?” he asks.

“I was going to try to get out of it until she made a comment about how she understood if I couldn’t handle seeing them so happy. After that, I couldn’t tell her no. Will you go with me?” I ask.

“Of course I’ll go with you and we will show them how happy we are. It will be fine, Leighton. I have your back, baby.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you don’t have to go to work tomorrow. I would probably go crazy sitting around all day waiting on you to come home. I can’t believe I have to have dinner with both of them,” I say.

“Well, I definitely think I have a few ways I can keep you distracted,” he says, smiling.

“It’s going to be fine. I really wish you would calm down. I know they both hurt you, but I am actually kind of glad it happened. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have you here with me right now,” I say, hoping she realizes how much I care about her. I really can’t imagine my life without her.

“I know. I am so glad I’m not with him. I just wish he had found someone that wasn’t my sister. Sisters just don’t do that,” Leighton says, leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek. “I love you. Thanks for doing this for me.”

“I would do anything for you. You should know that. I am going to have dinner with your crazy sister and your ex-boyfriend that you dated for four years,” I say, smiling at her. “Remember, we can leave anytime you want. Just let me know and I will get you out of there.”

I pull into the restaurant and find a parking place. We head inside and Leighton walks up to the hostess to see if they are already seated.

“Right this way,” the hostess says, leading us to a table. I glance up and stop dead in my tracks when I see a face I never wanted to see again. Sam. Great, not only do I have to endure a dinner with Leighton’s sister and crazy ex, now I have to walk by the only girl I have ever thought I loved other than Leighton. This night is already a disaster.

As soon as her eyes meet mine, I know there is no way I am going to be able to avoid her now. I really wish I had gotten a restraining order that lasted a lifetime.

Have you ever had one of those moments that seemed to last forever? The kind that feels like it’s happening in slow motion. I have.

The next thing I know, Sam is standing up and Leighton is walking straight to her table. This cannot be happening. I know Leighton is saying something to me, but I honestly have no idea what. How can this be happening? Leighton and Sam are sisters. This is going to kill Leighton. I absolutely have no idea what to do at this moment.

“Brody,” Leighton keeps saying. I finally take my eyes away from Sam to look at Leighton. “I said this is Samantha, my sister.”

“That’s not what you said your sister’s name was,” I say, knowing I am sounding like a complete jerk right now. This girl is a ticking time bomb and there is no way this night is going to happen now.

“I call her Manna. I couldn’t say Samantha when I was little, so that’s what I have always called her. What is wrong with you?” she says, looking worried.

“We need to go,” I whisper. “I promise I will explain later, but we really need to get out of here.”

“Wait, you’re Brody?” Some guy finally asks. He has been sitting at the table just staring at everyone this whole time. I’m assuming he is the ex-boyfriend.

“How do you know Brody?” Leighton asks him.

“I don’t, she does,” he says, nodding his head at Sam.

“I’m really confused. Do you two know each other?” Leighton asks.

“We used to be together. We were so in love. Oh the stories I could tell you,” Sam says, with a smirk.

“No, we were not so in love. You are crazy,” I say, turning to look at Leighton. “We need to go.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on right now,” she says, with tears in her eyes.

“We’ve already ordered appetizers. Please, sit down,” Sam says, pointing to the chairs across from her. To my surprise, Leighton sits down. I have no choice but to sit next to her. I don’t know if she’s really confused or just wants to punish me right now.

“Hi, I’m Josh. Nice to meet you,” he says, holding his hand out for me to shake. I shake his hand and look over at Leighton, who is staring at her menu.

“So Brody, are you working on a case here in Destin. Joshy here is a detective too,” Sam says, putting her arm around his shoulder and squeezing. I don’t know what is going on with these two, but he is one miserable man. He actually looks physically sick when she touches him. I think I actually see him cringe.

“You’re a detective?” Leighton asks, finally looking up from her menu.

“Yes, I am. I finally found something I enjoy and I’m pretty good at it too,” he says, smiling at her.

“What do you do, Leighton?” Sam asks, looking angry. How does she not know what her own sister does? These two really aren’t very close.

“I teach,” she snaps back.

“That always was your dream. I’m glad you get to do something you love every day,” Josh says sweetly to Leighton. This has to be the strangest conversation. This man is looking at Leighton with so much love. Why in the world is he married to her sister?

“How are your brothers?” Sam asks me, rubbing my leg with her foot under the table.

“They are good,” I say, quickly moving my chair back. “We need to leave,” I say, looking over at Leighton.

“You two like really know each other,” she says. I keep looking at her, hoping she is seeing in my eyes how serious I am about this. I have got to get out of here.

“I will explain everything, but right now, we really do need to get out of here,” I say again, hoping this time she will finally listen to me.

“Oh my goodness, she’s the girl you got the restraining order on,” Leighton says finally putting all of the craziness together. “I can’t believe this.” I look up at the table to see Sam sitting there with a wicked smile and Josh looking as miserable as I feel.

“I can’t do this,” Leighton says, standing up. I get up and follow her out of the restaurant. I open the door for her and help her in my truck before getting in and starting the engine.

“I’m sorry. I promise I have no feelings for her whatsoever,” I say, hoping she wasn’t thinking that anyway.

“I know. Usually when a man gets a restraining order on a woman, he doesn’t care much about her,” she says, with a small smile. “I just can’t believe you dated my sister. And for the record, you did say she was the first girl you loved.” She’s right, I did say that. But that was before I realized what true love really was. I don’t even know what to say to her right now, because the thought of losing the girl sitting in the truck with me right now, absolutely scares me to death. The thought of not having her with me when I wake up in the mornings is something I hope I never know.

“For the record, he’s still in love with you,” I say, reaching over to grab her hand. I can’t stand the distance between us right now. Not only is it physical, but it is emotional right now too. I’m really hoping she’s not in love with him too.

“If that’s so, why has he been married to her for seven years?” I don’t even know how to reply to that. She is definitely not sounding like someone who is over him. I don’t know why, but I can feel her pulling away from me right now. Tonight is not going to be a good night.

I pull up to the condo and get out and walk over to open her door. When I get over there, she is already out and leaning against the truck. I grab her and slam my lips to hers. I have no idea how tonight is going to end, but right now I have her and I am going to make sure she knows exactly how I feel. I stop kissing her and lean my forehead against hers, watching the tears fall down her face.

“I love you,” I whisper. She puts her hands on the sides of my face and pushes my face back where she can look me straight in the eyes.

“I remember you,” she whispers, confusing me.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“Right before I left for college, you two were dating. I wasn’t home a lot because I was usually with Josh. I came home one night to finish packing for school and you were at the house having supper. I was so jealous that night. Josh and I had been fighting about something so stupid and you two looked so in love. I was so afraid we would never have that. I can’t believe I didn’t remember that sooner,” she says, reminding me of the first time I saw her. I’m the one who can’t believe I could ever forget her. “I knew the first time I saw you that you looked familiar, I just couldn’t figure it out. I really wish I had realized it sooner.”

“I remember that too,” I whisper. “It was after that Sam started acting weird. I think she caught me staring at you and that’s when she got all clingy and needy. I can’t believe I had forgotten that,” I say, wiping the tears off of her face. “Let’s go inside.”

We go inside and sit down on the couch. I still have no idea what to say to her to make all of this better. I never thought Sam and Manna could possibly be the same girl. I wish I knew how to make all of this go away.

“Are you hungry? I can fix us some supper,” I say. Leighton just shakes her head at me and tries to give me a smile.

“I think I’m going to take a bath. I need some quiet time,” she says, standing up and heading to the bedroom. I want to follow her, but I know I am probably not the person she wants to talk to right now. I think about calling Callie and seeing if she can fix all of this, but I figure she has enough going on.

After an hour I decide I need to go check on Leighton. I start to head into the bedroom when someone starts knocking on the door. I am really hoping it’s not Sam. I walk over to the door and open it to find Josh standing there.

“Is she here?” he asks, before barging inside.

“Who? Leighton?” I ask.

“No, Samantha. Is she here?”

“Why would Sam be here? I hope I never see that crazy woman again,” I say.

“Yeah, well get in line. It’s pretty long,” he says, confusing me even more. “Is Leighton here?”

“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be,” Leighton says, walking back into the living room. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you. Samantha was pretty mad when y’all left tonight. I didn’t know where she went, so I came to make sure she wasn’t here,” he says, watching her.

“Why would she be here?” I ask, trying to remind them I am still in this room.

“She has some serious issues. I have no idea what she is going to do,” he says, turning to look at Leighton. “You never should have come back. You need to leave.” Why would he say that to her? I look over at Leighton who looks like her heart has broken into a million pieces.

“Why does she hate me and why did you marry her?” Leighton screams at him.

“It’s complicated,” he says, before turning back to me. “Keep the doors locked. Don’t open it for anyone. I don’t think she would send anyone, but just to be safe, don’t open it. I’ll be in touch and Leighton, I really am sorry,” he says, walking out the door. I have no idea what is going on right now. All I know is Sam is crazy and Leighton is in tears. I’m just not sure if she’s in tears because this night has been a living nightmare or if she is crying because she is still in love with the man that just walked out that door.

“I’m going to take a shower. Will you be okay for a few minutes?” I ask, walking over to her. She nods at me and tries to smile once more. I know she is slipping through my hands right now, but I need a few minutes to figure out what the hell is going on. I give her a quick kiss on the forehead and head to the bathroom, not realizing that may have been the biggest mistake of my life.