“Indie, I swear to God.”
“Hey, sexy, you up and ready? Because I feel like gate crashing.”
“You cannot come here— You will. Indie! Please don’t.” My head thumped, and when I looked down to my thighs, they were covered in purple and black bruises. A hiss escaped my mouth as I ran my finger over them. Indie’s voice came in again.
“Bry? Bry, are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. Look, please don’t. It’s bad enough as it is.”
“I’m worried about you, Bryleigh. If I have to face Leo to check on you, I will.”
“I’m fine,” I answered, swiping the stray tears that were falling over my cheek. When did my life get so bad? I knew I had done some horrible things in my past, but I don’t think anyone deserved this. I hadn’t told anyone about Todd. Not even Indie. Because if I told Indie, I would have to tell her the whole story, and I was just not ready for that.
“No, you’re not.”
“Look, I need to go. We will be back on Friday. I’ll see you then.” Then I hung up the phone and waddled toward the bathroom. Shutting the door, I reached for the faucet in the shower, turning it to scorching hot.
Running my hands through my hair, I wept softly with the sound of the trickling water in the background. I needed to find a way to get out of this mess. This was the first time Todd had ever put his hands on me this badly. Before, it was just shoving me around. He never inflicted pain on me. At least, not physically. After scrubbing off last night’s activities, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself, wiping the fog off the mirror.
Stepping back, I assessed myself for the first time in God knows how long. I guess seeing old friends had made me really look at myself. At twenty-four, I don’t think I’ve changed much. The new bags that sat under my green eyes were from last night, not permanently etched there. My above average sized lips were still a cherry shade of red, and my skin still sported a sun-kissed tan all year round, though it tended to darken more in the summer. My hair was a little lighter, sitting on the blonder side of the scale. It hung down to my waist in natural soft waves, though if I brushed it too much, it would frizz. My body was still petite, but curvy in all the right places. Basically, I still had a big ass. I was good with that.
Me and my big ass made peace with each other the night Ryker wanted to motorboat my cheeks. Yup, he actually wanted to motorboat them. Since that night, I figured they must be decent. My face was still molded in a square shape, and my lashes could still give fakes a run for their money. I guess I hadn’t really changed much, like the boys, only matured more. Ryker was still the same, only older. He would be twenty-six now. He continued to carry those penetrating eyes, the same strong chiseled jaw, and the same panty-dropping smirk. There was no wonder he was pictured with different women every night. I wasn’t even surprised when I saw the pictures strewn throughout the media. I rolled my eyes and flipped the page, because that was Ryker, and I was happy for him. I was glad he was living his life to the fullest. One of us had to.
I walked toward my wardrobe and pulled out a plain white sundress that hung to my upper thigh but had my back on full display, before slipping on some sandals and walking out to the kitchen. Todd would be on his run no doubt, and I wanted to get out of here before he got back. With my handbag in my hand, I walked out the door and down the corridor, opting for the stairs instead of the elevator, just in case I bumped into him on my way out.
My upper thighs throbbed with each movement. Every step down was a constant reminder of why I needed to get out. I needed to just run. But I couldn’t. Todd held all the power in a little black box. He held the power to destroy not just my life, but Ryker and the boys’ too, and ultimately, my father’s. That was up to me to deal with. If keeping their life as they were at the cost of having to take his shit every now and then, so be it. But if physically abusing me became his new thing, I don’t know how long it would take before I wound up dead.
The bell chimed above my head as I walked into the little boutique bakery that sat on one of the side streets. A young, beautiful woman walked out from behind the counter, wiping her hands on a washcloth.
“Hi!” she greeted, looking at me up and down.
“Hey. Coffee?” I asked, fishing out my wallet from my handbag.
She smiled. “How do you want it, babe?”
“Black, please. This is a cute little shop,” I replied, glancing around. The floor was laid with marble epoxy, and the walls were splashed in clean black and white décor.
“Thanks. Took me a while to get myself sorted enough to kick it off.”
“You look familiar.” I tilted my head at her.
She nodded. “Phoebe’s bridesmaid.”
“Oh, right! Melissa?” I asked, placing the puzzle pieces together in my head.
She smiled. “That’s me. How’re you finding Westbeach?” she asked, while grinding the coffee.
I pulled out some money and placed it onto the counter. “It’s beautiful. We only came for the wedding and to spend the next week here.”
“Right!” Her eyes narrowed. “Oh! Bryleigh? You grew up with Ryder and the guys?”
“That’s me.” I smiled as she handed me my coffee.
“Well, I hope to see you around.”
“You too, thanks for the coffee.”
“No problem!” She waved at me as I turned on my heel.
I walked out of there and began scanning the quiet streets of downtown Westbeach. If that was even a thing, I wasn’t sure.
When I arrived back to the hotel, Todd was leaving the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. “Where were you?”
“I went to get coffee and check out the scenery,” I answered, placing my coffee down onto the kitchen island.
His head drew back briefly while he eyed me up and down. Once he had walked into the bedroom, I followed him in. “We have that dinner tonight. Are you coming?”
He pulled a shirt on, his abs tensing at the movement. The fact I hated his guts did not stop him from having a decent body. When we first met, he had all the charm that I was automatically attracted too, reminding me of Ryker in a way, I guess. I don’t know, maybe all these years I had always been searching for someone like Ryker. He was my first love though, and I was well aware of how that can affect any girl’s better judgment.
“Yeah, and yes, I’ll be coming. You and I may not be in this for the right reasons—”
“You. I didn’t come into this relationship with thoughts of blackmailing you, Todd. Don’t put me in the same basket as your sick and twisted head,” I interrupted, and he stilled.
This was nothing new; I had always answered back. I guess his infliction on my legs last night had him thinking I was going to cower down, but he was sorely mistaken. I may have been stuck in my decisions, but I’d always been a fighter. I would fight through this piece of shit relationship if it was the last thing I’d do. I knew he wouldn’t kill me. There was far too much at stake, and he wanted my father’s trust more than anything in this world, so he wouldn’t jeopardize that. He was too self-absorbed and his ego was too large.
He walked up to me, and his hand gripped around the back of my neck tightly, shoving my face up to his. “You will not embarrass me, Bryleigh. There’re a hundred other things I could do to you that people wouldn’t be able to see. Watch your fucking step.”
He shoved me down onto the floor and my back hit the end of the bed. “Put that fucking smile back on your face and give them the show you have become so good at giving.”
My jaw ticked and my palms throbbed with sweat. It started with shoving me around; he’d always done that, and at first, it hurt me. I would lock myself in the shower and cry. There’s something liberating about crying in a shower. You feel the pain, but you can’t touch the tears. It almost takes you to a new dimension, like maybe you’re not crying; you’re just hurt. That is until you stepped out of the shower and wiped the fog off the mirror to see your puffed red eyes. Now, he jus
t angers me.
I’m at the end of the road with him. I don’t think there’s much more I can take, and seeing Ryker, having that small talk with him on the beach and just being in the same town as him again, gave me a sense of comfort and empowerment.
We pulled up in my Audi and I jumped out, handing the keys to the same young valet worker from the night before. Ryder did well with this house, although I’m not surprised at all.
We walked up the stairs, and Todd pulled on my hand, jolting my body back into his. “You behave your fucking self. I mean it, Bryleigh. No fucking bullshit.”
I nodded my head, pulling my hand back out of his grasp. “I understand.” My lip curled up in disgust as I turned on my feet and walked through the doors. Since last night, the desperation of getting out of this relationship had become stronger. I didn’t know how, but I needed to get out, and I needed to fast. Once we walked inside, I removed my long coat, hooking it on the hanger that sat inside the foyer. My dark plum dress hugged my curves perfectly, with a slit going across my midsection. I wore my hair up in a loose but tidy bun on the top of my head. My eyes were shaded in dark smoke, making my green eyes pop, and my lips were nude. My height was added to by the three-inch heels I wore strapped at my feet, showing off my athletic legs and their cut lines. Todd tugged my hand into his as we began walking down the hallway toward the laughter, following the young valet’s led.
When we rounded the corner, toward the kitchen, valet boy led us to the floor-to-ceiling doors that opened out onto the porch at the back, where we were greeted by Ryker, Ryder, Tommy, Phoebe, Leo, my mom, my dad, and another guy who was sitting beside Ryder. He was built big, bigger than the boys, but there was more to him than that. He was handsome and resembled Ryker and Ryder in a way, but he had an edge to his eyes. An edge that was a lot more twisted than Ryker’s. I would even go as far as to say dark. He grinned at me, and I smiled politely at him, a blush probably sprawling out across my cheeks, because—let’s face it—the man was hot, before sitting down on one of the seats. The midsummer weather proved this it would be best to dine outside than in, and because we were situated by the beach, the spritz of the salt water in the air smelled of a warm summer night. I think I loved this town.
“Hey, babe, wanna come help me pour some alcohol?” Phoebe asked me, taking a stand from the table. She was stunning. Her sandy blonde hair hung long, and her brown eyes danced with mischief. I’m glad Ryder met someone even a little exciting. He needed it.
“Sure,” I answered, leaving my clutch on the table and purposely ignoring Ryker’s burning gaze on the back of my head. How was it, after all these years, the man could still set my insides on fire? Dangerous… we were a dangerous combination. I followed Phoebe to the kitchen, where she opened up one of the white marble kitchen cabinets.
“So,” she started, opening and closing cabinet doors. “Oh, you can take a seat. I just wanted to pull you away so we can drink and talk dirty,” she said mischievously. “Ah-ha! Here it is!” She pulled down a clear bottle, placing it onto the table.
“Um,” I answered, pointing to the bottle. “What’s that? It looks like my next mistake.”
She laughed, twisting the cap off the bottle. “It’s absinthe, and it’s a rite of passage.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to get me drunk,” I quizzed, cocking my brow up at her.
She paused, waving my comment away. “We can both get drunk. Deal?”
“Well,” I led on, sliding my glass to her so she could fill me up. “My parents, my ex, and my fiancé, are all sitting in the next room, so I can’t think of a more appropriate reason to drink.”
She laughed again, pouring the liquid into our glasses. “Bottoms up, princess,” she said, with a smirk around the rim of her glass.
I coughed at that nickname, bringing the rim of my glass to my mouth with an eye roll. “Yeah, yeah, bottoms up.”
Slamming down our fourth glass, she turned her lazy eyes on me. “So, how were the boys when they were younger?”
I snorted, my head swimming in the depths of my buzz. “They were teenaged boys. Drama and all that. But we had some good times, and some sad times. And some fucked up times. I was… a rebel, I guess you could say,” I answered, shaking my head. “So naturally, I took to Ryker.” I rolled my eyes again.
“Ahh,” she laughed, filling up our glasses again and sliding mine across the countertop. “He was already a shit back then, huh?”
I nodded with a smile. “Yeah, he was. He actually… It doesn’t matter.”
“No, please, go on. It does matter.” Her eyes twinkled with devilry. My God, this girl was ruthless. Yet, I found myself completely comfortable around her, and that wasn’t because of the alcohol. She just… she just felt like a downright good person.
“Well.” I raised my glass and took a giant gulp, the burn from the potent alcohol leaving a numbness to my throat. “Let’s just say I moved to Croatia after he started a rumor about me that got spread out across the entire school. I can thank social media for that one. Anyway, we never spoke after that. Until the wedding.”
“What did that shithead do?” Her face became distressed and her eyes narrowed.
“No, it’s okay. Really, I forgave him a long time ago. But anyway, that’s that.”
“I hear you’re the only girl he ever loved. Except for me. Apparently him tormenting me means he loves me.” She shook her head with a scoff. She wouldn’t know just how accurate those words were.
“He loved Becca,” I answered, swallowing past the memories of her.
Phoebe’s face dropped along with her hand. “I’m sorry. Ryder told me a lot about her. She sounded like a beautiful person.”
“She was. She was just a little lost, I think. She loved the boys. God, did she love those boys.” I cleared my throat when I realized I was babbling.
“Anyway, shall we talk happy?” she prompted, pouring more into my glass.
“Let’s talk happy,” I answered, taking my glass from her and dropping the liquid down my throat in one hit. A shadow moved in from the corner of my eye, and I didn’t have to look to know it was Ryker. He leaned against the doorframe and nudged his head at us.
“You tryna get her drunk?” he asked Phoebe, with a smirk.
“Go away, this is girls only.” She pointed outside and I chuckled lightly. The girl was bad ass. She raced cars, was raised in a motorcycle club, and managed to attain the highly sought after Ryder Oakley, who, unlike his lovely brother, isn’t seen with different women every night. The opposite.
“Hey, I can talk girls,” Ryker replied smugly, before bringing his eyes back to mine with a cocked eyebrow. “Right, Bry?”
My eyes narrowed and my fingers tingled. His eyes began to lower over my body, pausing on my boobs before carrying on. That was until his smug smirk was washed off his face in an instant and his body jolted up from his leaning. His jaw ticked as he walked toward me.
“Ryker?” I questioned, but he brought his face directly up to mine, his fist on the table.
“I’m only going to ask you this once, and once only,” he started, and my brain jumbled in confusion.
“Ryker, leave her alone.” Phoebe shuffled out of her seat, slowly walking to stand beside me.
His eyes were piercing through mine, like a hot knife slicing through cold butter.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I whispered, looking down to his lips that were an inch away from mine, and his warm breath panting across my skin, sending jolts of electricity pulsing through me.
“Bry, just ignore— Oh, my God!” Phoebe’s voice dropped, and when I followed her line of sight, my insides shriveled. Pushing down my skirt that had ridden up from my sitting on the stool, showcasing my bruises, I pushed off the chair and placed my hands up against Ryker’s chest that was now flush against mine.
“Look, don’t either of you get involved in something you know nothing about,” I said surly, my eyes faltering away from Ryke
r’s stare. He could see right through my shit, always had.
“Look at me, Bry.” His voice dropped to a deathly low husk. “He do this to you?” His muscle-laced arm pointed toward the outside door, and I knew that shit was about to turn downward real fast.
“Ryker, you—” He spun around and walked out of the kitchen. “Ryker!” I yelled, dropping my glass to the table and following him.
“Babe?” Phoebe breathed, taking hold of my arm. “Talk to me.”
“No offense, because I think you’re a really nice person, but I barely know you right now, so can you not ask me to talk with you about stuff I haven’t shared with anyone and let me go before Ryker makes a huge mistake.”
Her grip on my arm loosened and her eyes dropped to the floor with a nod. I knew I might have hurt her feelings a little, and I knew she probably meant well, but right now was not the time.
Before I even reached the doors, I heard all the glasses smashing. My heart leaped in my chest as I sprinted toward the door. Ryker was on top of Todd, plowing into his face. It was like Jason all over again.
“Ryker!” I screamed.
It took my dad and all the boys to pull him off Todd. Ryker’s chest heaved as Todd propped himself up on his elbow and spat bright red saliva out of his mouth.
“Son, what the fuck is wrong with you?” my dad questioned, his grip around Ryker solid.
Ryker looked toward me, his eyes darkening. “Ask your daughter.”
I swallowed, looking at Todd, who was rising to his feet slowly. He didn’t look good and should probably sit down.
“Bryleigh?” my dad prompted, watching me closely.