Wrong Kind of Love (6 page)

“Damn. Now my shit doesn’t sound as bad.”

“I get that reaction a lot.” He slaps me on the shoulder and moves into the living room.

“How do you even deal with that? I’m not in deep like that, but I feel like I could have been.” Instead of moving to show
him where Jaden’s room is, I head into the kitchen and grab a beer out of the fridge.

Chance follows me and accepts when I hand him his own beer. “You don’t deal. That girl was my
everything and she just up and left about five months ago. Didn’t even say goodbye, just left me this hateful note and a diary full of bad memories. Yeah I stopped thinking about her every minute of every day, but I still think about her every day.”

“I’m sorry bro. I hope you can finally move on one day.” And I really hope he does. No one should be left with a broken heart this long.

He shrugs his shoulder before speaking. “Mind if I ask what happened?”

I shake my head but tell him anyway. “I met her last weekend at Declan’s party. We had a good time but when Jaden found out
, he got mad because he liked her too. So I backed off and he said he would. Then he went out and asked her on a fucking date. Now she tells me she wants me and not him, but I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You hooked up with Grace? Little sweet naïve Grace? Jesus,
that’s a whole lot of messed up I don’t want to touch.”

I chuckle. “I don’t
know where everyone gets that she’s this little goody girl. The Grace I know is wild and untamed.”

“I guess you know the real Grace then.”

You can run Grace, but I’ll eventually come after you. Whether you know it or not you’re mine and you better fucking get used to it
. I shiver under the covers recalling his words. I’m not going to lie and say they didn’t thrill me. But it’s too little too late. I don’t even know why the hell he said them. He basically pushed me aside for his brother, who told me to go after Caden. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be in the middle of twins. After being with Caden, I would never do anything with Jaden. If I did then I should get ‘slut’ tattooed on my forehead.

Teagan sighs in her sleep. I turn to look at her and see the soft peaceful features of her face while she sleeps. What I
wouldn’t give to be peaceful like that. I think I’m even uptight when I sleep. There is so much tension in my body and I don’t even know how to get rid of it. Any second, this life Aiden and I are building here, could come crashing down. It might not be perfect but that’s still amazing to me. My life in New York was so awful and I don’t know how I could ever go back to that.

My step dad is named
Daniel Hutson. He is forty-five years old. Two years older than my mother, not that it really matters. I love my mother to death but she could care less about anyone but herself. Daniel tortured Aiden and I most of our lives. Mom would be up in her room asleep after taking a pill that would knock her out for hours. Some would say she didn’t know what was going on, but I call bullshit. I had bruises on me almost every day for years, and she never once asked where I got them. But to love is to forgive and I do forgive her. I think she was raised much the same way and it was the only way she knows how to be. That doesn’t mean I’ll be inviting her over for Christmas dinner, like ever.

Daniel also happens to be a state
senator for New Jersey. Which means once a year I had to dress up and pretend to adore him. Aiden would have to as well and that only made it worse. Daniel couldn’t deal with having a gay stepson and when it became public knowledge that Aiden was gay, well it’s safe to say that shit hit the fan.

That was the night we left, the night we almost got away
without incident. Aiden was terrified of what would happen to me once Daniel found out that the whole world knew he was gay. Little did we know he was waiting for us.

I know
you’re thinking I killed him, but I assure you that you’re wrong. Daniel is happy and whole, the blood wasn’t his. It was one of his henchmen’s who tried to keep us in the house. Aiden wasn’t having any of it and beat the man to a bloody pulp. He stumbled around for a second before knocking me over and landing on me. I also assure you he is alive. I checked.

I would take the fear of being discovered here
, rather than the fear I had living in that house. Daniel used to tie my hands and feet and make me sit outside of Aiden’s room and listen while he molested my brother. It still makes me sick to this day. If I made any sounds or I protested I would get thrown around like a rag doll. He only stopped hitting me and leaving bruises where you couldn’t see when a teacher was concerned that I was always hurt. Nobody really cared though, nobody but Aiden.

I think Justin would have given a shit
, but I wouldn’t let him in long enough to. He assumed my home life was happy because I made him assume that. I told him I couldn’t have sex with the lights on, but in reality I didn’t want him to see the marks on my body. I was ashamed and not because of what was happening to me, but because I couldn’t stop it. What kind of person does that make me that I can’t stop someone from abusing me? It makes me weak. I never want to be remembered as weak.

Deciding that I won
’t be getting any sleep tonight, I quietly get out of bed and tip toe out of the room. I grab my cell phone off the desk before I exit. I know I shouldn’t and this might blow up in my face but I have to talk to Justin. I miss him with every breath I take. I may be over my love for him, but he was my best friend for years. We did everything together. I just want to hear his voice. One last time.

I get in my car and drive for two hours. I cross the state lines over into Oklahoma. I decided not to use my cell phone
, but bought a disposable one at a gas station.

Before I lose my nerve I dial Justin’s nu
mber and hold the phone up to my ear. It rings four times before a female voice answers. “Hello?” her voice is scratchy with sleep and I feel my stomach drop.

“Who are you?” I don’t know why I feel a little jealous. I guess the selfish part of me was hoping he hadn’t moved on and he was sitting around moping the loss of our relationship still.

“Carly, who the hell are you?” she sneers into the phone.

I roll my eyes. I’m thousands of miles away bitch you don’t have anything to be worried about. “
An old friend of Justin’s. Can I talk to him?”

“No
he’s sleeping. It’s like 3 in the morning.”

I pinch the bridge between my eyes and try to calm down. This bitch doesn’t know who she is dealing with. “Wake hi
s ass up and put him on the phone. He will want to talk to me.”

“I don’t think so sweetie. I’m hanging up now. He has a new girlfriend now and he doesn’t need booty calls anymore.” She says it sickly sweet and I want to reach through this crappy phone and punch her.

“I’m not a booty call you idiot. This is Kayla!” I scream through the phone.

I’m met with silence and I look down at the phone making sure she didn’t really hang up.

“Oh my god. I’m sorry, let me wake him up.” I hear her shuffle around and then I hear Justin grunt. They talk in low voices before Carly comes back on the line. “Here he is, Doll.”

More shuffles and then,
“Kayla, God tell me where you are. Tell me you’re okay. I have been so fucking scared.” I hear tears in his voice and my eyes get blurry. Don’t cry you big baby.

“It
’s so good to hear your voice. I miss you so much, Justin.” I hold back the tears my eyes want to spill. I refuse to cry on the phone with him.

“I miss you to
o, Kayla. God things aren’t the same around here without you. You have to come see me. Where are you? I’ll come get you.” His voice washes over me, filling me with old memories and happy times. Times I can never return to.

“I’m to
o far away for that. I just wanted to hear your voice. I wanted to know if you were okay. I figure Daniel would have come to harass you.” I shift in my seat looking around at the dark parking lot. I parked my car in at a Wal-Mart in the middle of nowhere but my paranoia is starting to mess with my head.

“He did. Threatened me with in an
inch of my life if I didn’t tell him where you were. I finally went down to the police station and took a lie detector test. When I passed he left me alone.” He pauses and I imagine him running his hand down his face. That’s a sure sign that he is getting frustrated with me. “Tell me where you are. I will come where ever and get you. I can protect you Kayla. I swear it.”

“I have Aiden for that. Don’t worry about me.” I hate to let him go but I have been talking to him too long. If I stay on much longer they can trace the call. “Look I have to go. Don’t call this number because it’s a throw away. Just know I miss you and I’m safe.”

I hang up before I can hear what he says. The phone starts ringing a moment later and the tears start over flowing in my eyes. He was never a good listener. I quickly shut the thing off and get out of the car. I place it right in front of my tire and get back in the car. I run over it until I hear it crunch under the tire. I get back out and stare down at the little pieces that are left. We didn’t talk about the girl who answered his phone but I’m glad he moved on. Because I’m pretty sure no matter who I date or end up with, Caden Harper will be the one I never get over.

I don’t know the guy
, but what I do know is enough to make me start to fall. The way he protects Teagan, while overbearing, he means well and that’s something I share with Aiden. He has amazing talent when it comes to his art. Those paintings are wonderful and beautiful. You can tell they mean something to him and it makes a girl want that kind of attention. But most of all the way he wouldn’t do anything to hurt his brother. Jaden means enough to him that he wouldn’t date me, wouldn’t give us a chance. Yeah it sucks, but you have to swoon a little at it. I wouldn’t give up amazing sex because Aiden liked the guy. Besides the guy probably wouldn’t bat for his team.

I sigh and get back into my car. Aiden is going to kill me if he ever finds out I called Justin. I just hope it wasn’t the biggest mistake I ever made.

It’s damn near eight o’clock when I make it back. I took my time driving, just enjoying being alone. When I pull into the parking lot of my dorm my eyes wonder to the front doors. I gasp at seeing Jaden standing there. At first I think he is just waiting on Teagan but his eyes are staring at me through the windshield.

I swallow hard before getting out of the car. I make my way slowly over to him and stop about a foot away.
“Hey.” I say softly not meeting his eyes.

Before I
know it Jaden grabs me by the upper arms and slams his lips down on mine. I’m still for a second in shock before I find myself kissing him back. It’s nice and sweet nothing like Caden’s kisses. There I go comparing. I break away after a minute and look into Jaden’s eyes. “What was that?”

His whole face lights up as he smiles. He reminds me of an angel
, which makes me think of Caden. Damn I need to stop that crap. “I have been thinking of kissing you since I left you last night. It was driving me crazy, so I drove over here before class. Glad I found out.” He pecks my lips once before letting me go.

“Wait, what did you find out?” I
ask while rubbing my index finger over my bottom lip.

“You taste like Heaven.” Jaden winks before walking away.

I knew those damn Harper twins where trouble.