A Step Two Close

  Me: I’m fine. I had to leave home, and I’m not coming back tonight. No need to panic anymore. Calm your dick!

  I hit the send button knowing my reply would piss him off, but I couldn’t care less. He was screwing around with some chick in his room minutes after inviting me to sleep with him in it. He certainly had another thing coming if he thought I was going to play nice.

  I jumped at the sound of my phone ringing. When I saw it was Hunter, I ignored the call. He tried ringing again and I ignored it again. This went on for another couple of minutes before I decided to switch the damn thing off and go to sleep. It was after midnight, and I was exhausted anyway.

  I drank the remaining bourbon, took my jeans off, and got comfortable under the covers. I switched the light off beside me and rolled over to get comfortable.

  At first I couldn’t sleep. My arm was throbbing a little, and visions of tonight’s events kept swimming in my head. I thought about getting another shot of bourbon, but I didn’t want to have to become dependent upon alcohol in order to make myself fall asleep. Eventually, through sheer will and exhaustion, I managed to lull myself into la-la land.

  *****

  I was stuck in the attic... again. I hated it when my mother got like this. Sometimes, she would ignore me, and I was fine with that. I was okay because it was better than the alternative.

  It was evening, and I had just come in from studying at Mandy’s house. We were doing our end-of-year exams at school, and I was a little later than I originally planned. Mandy’s parents asked if I wanted to eat something, but I declined. I wished I had said yes because once I got in, my mother picked up my plate of food, opened the bin with her foot, and turned the contents inside. She then grabbed a hold of my hair, dragged me upstairs, and threw me into the attic. I knew then that I would be there all night. She didn’t leave a light on, so I had to make do with the torch I had snuck in one day when she wasn’t at home. I hid it underneath a floorboard because I was that paranoid she would find it and hurt me again. I also didn’t want to be alone in the dark. The first time my mother put me up there, I was six. The darkness scared me. I hated it because every shadow on the wall looked like a monster. As a result, I would scream when she dragged me in there. I couldn’t deal with my ever-beating heart as the panic consumed me. It was like living in a waking hell.

  In the end, however, I got used to the dark. Darkness was my friend because at least I was safe inside of it. My mother couldn’t get to me in the dark. She may have put me there, but I knew while I was there, I was safe from another smack. Safe from another curse from her vile tongue.

  It ended up being a good thing. While up there, I started rummaging through my dad’s things, and that was when I stumbled across his books. I sat for hours on end reading his books with my little torch. My mother may have taken my freedom from me, but those moments I sometimes cherished. It meant I could be alone and have a piece of my father with me. It made me want to be just like him. I already knew what I wanted to be once I left school, and I owed it all to my dad.

  As I sat there with my torch, a sound outside made me jump. I quickly flicked the switch and scrambled to hide the torch under the floorboard. Once I had secured it inside, the door flew open and my mother emerged with an enraged face.

  She rushed forward. “Ayden, what have I told you about leaving the attic without my permission?”

  I cowered in the corner. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been here all along.”

  She reached forward, grabbing my hair again. I yelped as she yanked at it. “Don’t you fucking lie to me. I heard you walking around the house.”

  I shook my head. “I swear—I’ve been up here all this time.”

  “Liar!” she roared, as her hand connected with my face.

  I woke to the sound of giggling. At first, I thought I was dreaming still, but then I heard a woman’s voice. “Hunter, don’t you want to cook my breakfast first?”

  “The only breakfast I want is you.”

  My eyes flew open at the same time my stomach rolled. I jumped off the bed and rushed to the toilet just in time for my stomach to empty its contents. Considering I hadn’t eaten that much there wasn’t really a lot to get rid of.

  I was in the middle of wiping my mouth and shaking my head from the dream when the door flew open. “What the fuck? AJ?”

  Hunter stood in the doorway, a mixture of fury and intrigue displayed on his face. Then, he saw my arm. “AJ, what the fuck is going on?”

  I ignored him, found some mouthwash and took a swig. When I was finished, I spat and quickly pushed past him out the door.

  “AJ, talk to me!”

  I spun around to face him. “Don’t worry about me, Hunter, just get back to your breakfast.”

  I inwardly cringed because I had snapped and hadn’t meant to.

  Hunter moved closer. “AJ, you fucking ignored me. You wouldn’t answer my calls or text messages. What was I supposed to think?”

  I crossed my arms, which was difficult considering one was out of action. Not only that, but it hurt like hell. “Erm... I don’t know—maybe the same thing you thought when you were fucking some other tart in your room last night. Or maybe she’s the same one?” I shook my head. “Nah, that can’t be right because you wouldn’t dip your stick twice in the same girl in two days, would you?”

  Hunter looked confused. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  I sighed, getting more and more pissed off. “Last night after Robert forcibly stuck his tongue down my throat, I went in search of you because I thought you would be close. When I went upstairs, I heard a woman in your room—” Shit, I couldn’t even say it.

  Hunter thought for a moment and shook his head. “That’s what all this is about?”

  I gasped. “Isn’t that enough? Hunter, you invite me to your room and then minutes later you fuck someone else in there. Really, do you think I’m that stupid?”

  Hunter came closer and grabbed my arm. “Did that fucker do this to you?”

  I pulled it away. “No. Anyway, we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”

  Hunter wasn’t having any of it. “Ayden, who the fuck did this to your arm?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not the one on trial here. You’re the one who can’t seem to keep his dick in his trousers for more than five minutes.”

  Hunter closed the gap between us. “Ayden, I won’t ask again. If you don’t tell me who did this to you, I will personally go hunting for Robert and then for that fucking sick uncle of yours and teach them a lesson they will never forget. Do I make myself clear?” I gasped again at the audacity of this man. “AJ.”

  I sighed. “I did it. Okay?! Are you happy now? I sliced my arm trying to cut into a melon, and I needed eighteen stitches. Your dad took me to the hospital, but I didn’t want him telling anyone.”

  Hunter’s face was stunned. “You told my dad not to say anything just because you wanted to get back at me for something you thought you heard?”

  That wasn’t the case, but I wasn’t going to argue with him about it. “I know what I heard.”

  Hunter gripped his hands in his hair and then he gave me a death stare. “Ayden, do you realise how fucking out of my mind I was last night when I couldn’t find you? I thought maybe Robert had done something to you or taken you—that something bad happened because I thought, deep down, that you would never leave me in the dark like that.”

  Shit, I felt bad. Although he was an arsehole, he had a point. “I didn’t mean for—”

  “No, you didn’t mean for anything, did you, Ayden? All you can think about is yourself. I thought you were a better person than that. I thought you were smarter and a lot more mature.” He looked away, disappointed. “I guess I was wrong.”

  He turned away from me, and I was about to ask how could he judge me when he was fucking another girl, but then he interrupted me. “Last night, I was looking for you. I couldn’t find you anywhere, so I panicked, thin
king Robert had led you upstairs. When I couldn’t find either of you in your room, I went searching in mine just in case you were waiting for me. You weren’t, but someone else was. She said she wanted me to fuck her, but I pushed her away and told her it wasn’t happening. I then went to search for you again, but I couldn’t find you anywhere.” He sighed, his back still facing me.

  Shit. I really had fucked up.

  “Hunter, I’m sorry.”

  I saw his shoulders rise and fall. “It’s too late for that now. I’m done with your games. See you around, sis.”

  He walked out the door leaving me rooted to the spot in shock. Shit. What had I done? Maybe if he knew the circumstances, he wouldn’t have been so hard on me, but he was right about one thing. I did shut him out because I was pissed at him. I had felt, in a sense, that he had betrayed me.

  What an idiot I was.

  In no time at all, I heard his door slam and then more giggling. I had to get out of there. There was no way I was going to stick around and hear the freak show next to me.

  I gathered myself together, grabbed my bag, and headed for the lift without looking back. I switched my phone on, and several messages and texts messages came through—all from Hunter. What must he have thought of me?

  I took the lift to the ground floor and asked the security man if he wouldn’t mind calling a cab for me. As I waited, I typed a message on my phone.

  I’m sorry, Hunter. I never meant to shut you out. I hope in time you can forgive me.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hunter

  Fuck that shit. Why is that girl getting under my skin all the time? If I don’t want to throttle her, I want to hug her instead.

  What the hell was that?

  I had been frantic last night wondering where the hell she was. I went looking for her and instead found my father’s secretary, Casey, waiting for me on my bed as naked as the day she was born. Any other time, I would have fucked her. She had an amazing body, and she knew it. She certainly wasn’t shy about covering herself up either. She wanted me to see what she was offering. I knew she wanted me. The amount of times she had flirted with me every time I was at the office was unreal, but I never went there out of courtesy for my dad. Plus, I was going to be working there shortly, and there was no way in hell I would mix business with pleasure.

  All I could do at first was stare in shock, but then she pinned me up against the wall and asked me to fuck her. I was used to that shit, but not like this. I was too busy worrying my stupid sick head over that girl. That woman. The one I couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard I tried.

  It was her feistiness that drew me to her in the beginning. That was hook number one. She knew what she wanted and was determined to get it. It made my dick strain. Most women were too eager to please me. They were so eager that, in a sense, it was off-putting. Not AJ, though. When I first met her, she was a no-holds-barred, take-me-as-you-see-me-or-fuck-off kind of girl. I liked it. I liked it a lot. Then, she told me she wanted to forget... Shit! I got even harder. This woman seemed to bare her soul to me all within a space of ten minutes. Fuck— I was hooked from the beginning. I knew without even touching her that she was going to be explosive in bed, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. That comprised hook numbers two and three.

  But then what did she go and do? The one thing that had all of those hooks ready to get me line and sinker? She left me the next morning. She. Left. Me! It both pissed me off and made me hornier for her than I had ever felt in my life. For two weeks, I moped about with a constant hard-on because all I could think about was finding this girl and making her pay for leaving me. No one leaves Hunter Davenport. No one.

  Then, two weeks later, I saw her. At first, I was shocked, but then the raging fucking snake in my pants got angry. It wanted her no matter what the fucking cost. She was soon to be my sister, yet that fact just made me even harder. Was that sick? She was a forbidden fruit that I had to taste again. Just once more.

  I only need to have her once more. Then, I will finally be able to get her out of my fucking head.

  And that thought was what I clung to. I was still determined to get my one day. Once she gave in and let me have her, I was sure I would be able to move on and forget about her. I just needed to have my say. I knew it was damn right fucking childish, but I needed to have the last word. I needed to be the one to leave, not the other way around.

  And that was what led to last night. Last night when I got so angry with her that I did something I wouldn’t normally have done. I picked up the phone and called Justine. I had only had Justine once, and I wasn’t going to repeat. The only agreement I had was with Samantha, and I was starting to regret that arrangement as well. She was getting too clingy, and I hated clingy women. I was planning on ending it on Monday. I was going to text her tomorrow and ask her to meet me after study period on Monday. I was going to take her for a coffee—somewhere public, so she wouldn’t expect sex—and then let her down gently. I was hoping she would be okay about it. She knew I didn’t do relationships, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.

  But then I got into my apartment and heard the sound of someone being sick. At first, I thought it was Angelica, our cleaner, but then I opened the door to find AJ, cheeks flushed, eyes blotchy from crying hunched over the toilet as she was wiping her mouth. I saw her arm and wanted to kill someone. I immediately thought Robert had something to do with it. He was the reason I thought she fucked off last night and didn’t return.

  At once, all my anger at her was gone, and I only wanted to comfort AJ. She looked so lost, so vulnerable, and so fucking beautiful that my instincts screamed to protect her. I needed to shield her from the monsters. They just seemed to flock around her. Men both good and bad wanted her. She couldn’t help it, though. She couldn’t help how beautiful she was. All her spirit and vulnerability seemed to call out to the male population—whether AJ wanted it to or not.

  But then she told me that she had this “accident” and was too angry with me about an incident that never took place because she was too pig-headed to ask the questions. Fuck, that got me even angrier. She made me worry sick over her when all the time she was pissed at me for something I never did. I may as well have fucked that woman now with all the shit I had gotten from it.

  So, I blew. I told her how petty-minded she was, and she was, but the whole time I was shouting, I still couldn’t help worrying about her. And that carried on even after I left her standing in my father’s room. My father who had aided her last night and never told me a fucking thing.

  So, I went to my room and slammed the fucking door. I was determined to try and fuck this girl to get AJ out of my head. I went to Justine, and when she started kissing me, all I could think about was AJ. She was fucking with my head and was making me even angrier towards her. I started thinking again about last night and what happened with her and my father. The more I thought about her, the more pissed off and worried I became.

  When Justine tried to pull my zipper down, I grabbed her wrist. “Justine, stop. This was a bad fucking idea.” I pushed her off me and she pouted. “Get dressed. I’ll take you home.”

  “But you rang me,” she objected, confusion marring her face.

  “I know I did, but it was a mistake. I have a crisis at home, and I need to call my dad.”

  “Was it something to do with who was next door?”

  I nodded. “Yes, and I need to sort it out.”

  Justine put her skirt back on over her hips. “Will you call me when you’re done?”

  I knew I probably wouldn’t, but I also didn’t want to put a never on it. “I don’t know, Justine. I don’t normally sleep with girls twice in a row. It’s just my thing. I like my space.”

  She came up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Okay, babes. Whatever you say. Hopefully you can sort out whatever you need to and then call me back, but if not, I’ll understand.”

  Now I knew I wasn’t going to call her back. Already she was faking being concerned
for me when I knew all she was after was a fuck and my money. Like they all were. Never going to happen.

  “Are you ready?” She nodded her head. “I’ll take you home.”

  *****

  Once I dropped Justine off, I gave my father a call on the hands free. He picked up after two rings. “Hunter, is everything okay, Son?”

  I gritted my teeth. “No, everything is not okay, Dad. Guess where I’ve just been and who I found there?”

  My father sighed. “You went to the penthouse. I probably should have warned you, but I didn’t think you would be entertaining a guest there so early on a Saturday morning.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because she didn’t want anyone to know, but I tell you one thing, Son, she’s hiding something. I don’t know what it is, but she’s definitely hiding something that’s going on. She was distraught last night. I kept asking her what was wrong and she said it was nothing. In the end, I knew she didn’t want to tell me.” He sighed again. “Did you know I caught Robert forcing himself on her last night?”

  I gripped the steering wheel tightly. That fucking chump. I was going to kill him. “She mentioned something, but she never told me it was that bad.”

  “Well, that’s the thing. Ayden keeps hiding how bad things are. She even tried to go to the hospital by herself last night. She was hiding her arm from me.”

  “Fuck,” I shouted, banging my hand against the steering wheel. Why the fuck was she doing this? “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t know.” Now I felt like a complete shit for shouting at her. She was injured and probably in pain, and the last thing she needed was me kicking her when she was already down.

  “It’s not your fault. I think Ayden is obviously going through something. I don’t know what, but as her family, we need to be there to support her. When’s she’s ready to talk, we can be there for her. Kat doesn’t know about her arm, but I did ask her if Ayden was okay. She just seemed to think she’s going through a teenage phase and that we should just leave her alone to get on with it. I just don’t know.” He sighed heavily again.