Cruel Boundaries (4 page)

Chapter Eleven

Noah~

I’m still in the same crappy mood as the day before. When I got home from work yesterday, it was only to find Amy gone. She didn’t let me know where she was going, if she was alive after her fall down the stairs … nothing, not a damn word! She didn’t even take my calls. I’ve been worried sick!

I know it’s Mom’s birthday, but I’m first going to settle this thing between Amy and I. When I get near to where she’s sitting on the beach, Sharon takes off in the other direction with a huge smile on her face.

“What the fuck, Amy?” I snap when I’m within hearing distance. She turns her head slightly towards me, but keeps her eyes on the ocean, refusing to make eye contact – and that is so unlike her. She never backs down!

I sit down next to her and rest my elbows on my knees, and then I pin her with a glare. “What’s going on with you? So you saw me having sex!” Her eyes snap up to mine, and they go huge. “It’s really no big deal. Can you stop being like this and can we get back to fighting?”

She stares at me for a long moment before she lifts her chin a little. “It has nothing to do with what I saw, Noah. I’m just trying to stay out of your way.”

I frown, a little upset by what she just said. “Look, I know we don’t get along, but if it’s one thing Dad taught me, it’s that you look out for your own. You don’t have to stay out of my way. I love fighting with you. I missed it the past year, and I missed it the past week. Instead of running off after nearly breaking your neck, I want you to get up, flip me off and tell me to go to hell. I miss that!”

A weird look shadows her face and she tilts her head slightly, and then she says, “I’ve been warned not to upset you. It’s a warning I’m going to listen to.”

Her words confuse me. “What do you mean? Who warned you?”

She lets out a deep breath before her eyes come back to mine. I can see a glimmer of fear in them, and I don’t like it at all.

“Brad told me to stay out of your way.”

“What?” The word sounds as confused as I am feeling right now.

Amy gets up and dusts the sand from her dress that just covers her ass. I stare at her long legs. Shit, she’s got a nice pair of legs on her. “Brad told me he’d kill me if I dared to upset you,” her words pour over me like icy water.

Not sure I heard her right, I get up. I stare long at her face, trying to find the truth of her words in her eyes.

She looks down to the sand. “I thought you were in on it, that you wanted him to hurt me,” her words cut like a thousand blades, it cuts me right out of the stunned stupor I’ve been caught in.

“Has he hurt you?” the words explode from me. When she won’t look up at me. I step closer, demanding that she acknowledges my presence.

She nods and I see her swallowing hard. Then finally, she looks up and I see tears glimmering in her eyes. “He pushed me down the stairs yesterday. I thought it was only an empty threat, until yesterday.”

A tear rolls down her cheek. The Amy I know never cries. A girl once punched her and she didn’t even blink, she just punched her back. And that’s when it dawns on me … it’s all an act. She’s trying to get to me by badmouthing Brad! I fucking underestimated her!

“You know,” I make sure I have her eyes on mine before I continue, “I thought you’d try to seduce Brad, and I would have been able to handle that, but this …” I shake my head, shocked that she went that low to get at me, “this is a whole new low for even you. You win this round, cause you actually had me there for a moment, but baby, you better watch your back. Payback is a bitch and she’s coming for you.”

I walk away, so damn sorry that I even tried to talk to her.

~*~

Chapter Twelve

Amy~

It feels as if the floor has just been ripped from under my feet. That whole scene about taking care of what’s yours is the biggest load of bull, and I fell for it!

I told Noah that Brad hurt me and he didn’t believe me. I actually took a leap of faith and he threw it back in my face! I will never go to Noah for anything. I’m done with hoping there could be more than hate between us.

I watch Noah walk back to the house and when I see Brad standing on the dock, waiting for Noah, my blood freezes. Noah is going to tell Brad and who knows what Brad’s going to do!

With a sinking horror I watch them talk. Noah must be telling him everything I just told him! Brad looks in my direction and I don’t care what my family will think, I walk in the opposite direction. I need to get away from Brad. If Noah didn’t believe me after seeing me fall down the stairs, then no one will.

I take a cab back to the apartment and it costs me an arm and a leg. I’ll pack everything before Noah gets home and go to a hotel for the night. I need time to think about how to protect myself, without having to tell Daddy why I can’t live with Noah. Maybe I should just move into Daddy’s apartment. By the time they find out I’ve moved in there, it will be too late to make me move again. Yes, I’ll do that!

I pack faster than I unpacked when I moved in, and when I’m done I leave the bags by the front door. I just want to take one more look to make sure I have everything. The room I used is empty, nothing left there. I check the bathroom and then head to the kitchen. I almost forgot my favorite mug. I grab it from the cupboard and turn to leave. The front door is wide open and my bags are gone! I left them inside! I’m sure of it. I race to the front door and when I peek out, the mug falls from my hands and shatters at my feet. The air whooshes from my lungs, and it feels as if my world is shaking with shock.

Brad grabs my arm and his fingers bite into my skin. “I warned you!” he snaps and then his eyes go dark, as if all the light has been snuffed out. “I did warn you,” he hisses, and then he throws me forward. I try to grab hold of anything and in the process my hand gets stuck between the railings. I feel a sharp pain in my wrist, burning up my arm, and then I slam into the first stair, and the pain in my wrist is replaced with a blinding pain in my head.

~*~

Chapter Thirteen

Noah~

She just left and I had to think up an excuse to tell our parents. That woman is really taking this whole thing too far!

I take the stairs two at a time. Tonight we end this! It’s time for her to grow up. Fuck this, we’re not kids anymore! When I get to the apartment and I reach out to unlock the door, something crunches under my shoe. I glance down and see pieces of glass. The front door is unlocked, which means Amy is home! I ignore the glass and rush in, yelling. “Amy get your ass out here!”

I go to the kitchen and grab myself a beer, I’m going to need it for the face-off with Amy. I talked to Brad and he assured me that he has never touched her. He also brought up the fact that Amy might have the hots for me, hence her weird behavior. Amy is smoking hot, I’ll admit that, but there is no way we can ever get involved. Our parents would kill us.

When I come out of my deep thoughts, I’m already halfway done with the beer, and there’s no Amy. I stalk to her room and slam her door open. The sight that greets me, stuns me into a stupor.

There’s nothing. She left?

Why the fuck would she leave? I don’t understand this woman! First she makes up lies and then she takes off?

I fish my phone from my pocket and dial Uncle Garrett. I’m a damn babysitter.

“How is Amy?” he answers his phone. “She still feeling ill?”

This just sucks balls! “She packed her stuff and left,” I just come out with it. “She’s been acting weird lately.”

I hear Uncle Garrett take a deep breath and then his voice comes over the line, sounding livid, “What do you mean she’s been acting weird?”

I decide to just come clean. Uncle Garrett will cut my balls off if he finds out I’ve been keeping something from him. “She caught me in an intimate position with a woman, and since then she’s been acting weird.” I suck in a quick breath and rush on before he can stop me, “And then she came up with this thing that Brad threatened her and I-”

“Hold it! Brad did what?”

I roll my eyes, of course he’d focus on that piece! “She said Brad threatened her, but I had a talk with Brad and he said he didn’t come near her.”

“I don’t give a fuck about what that bastard said!” Uncle Garrett screams, “my baby girl told you that your friend threatened her and you did nothing?”

For the first time since Amy told me that Brad had hurt her, I start to wonder if I was wrong to take Brad’s side. “I figured she was making it up to get to me,” I say, knowing Uncle Garrett is going to explode.

“I’m coming over. Don’t touch anything!” he snaps and then the line goes dead.

Now I’m really panicking. I dial Amy’s number and when it goes to voicemail, my blood runs cold through my veins. I dial Brad’s number and his, too, goes to voicemail. My heart just about stops.

Did Amy tell me the truth?

Oh fuck!

She practically put her trust in me for the first time ever and I threw it back at her!

I shove my hands through my hair and turn in a circle, looking for any sign of Amy when my eyes land on the shards of glass by the front door. I walk to it and kneel down. Picking up a piece, I can make out some words
‘dad and ang’.
I pick up another piece with more letters on and piece them together.

An eerie feeling crawls up my spine as I read the complete words ‘Daddy’s Angel’.

~*~

Chapter Fourteen

Amy~

When I wake up, I feel groggy, as if I’m dragging my consciousness through sludge. My head is pounding something fierce

When I try to move, my eyes snap open and the grogginess vanishes. I’m tied face-down on a bed, my arms and legs spread wide and tied to the four corners of the bed. The room is filled with sunshine, and the light seems to spotlight my horror.

I drag harsh breaths into my lungs, trying to remember what happened but I can’t remember how I got here, or where here is!

I try to see as much of the room as possible. From what I can see the room is furnished nicely. I see a dresser from the corner of my eye. The windows are wide, and it’s even open, letting in a cool breeze.

I hear a door open somewhere and then it closes. I keep my eyes on the door, my heart beating harder with every second that drags by, and then the door opens.

I start to shake when Brad comes in, a sinister smile pulling at his lips.

“Where am I?” I croak the words out and every nerve in my body goes on high alert. I’m scared to death. I’ve never been so frightened in my entire life!

When Brad comes close to the bed, I start to yank on the restrains. When he gets on the bed, I start to scream. Every beat of my quivering heart, pumps a fresh flood of horror through my body. He straddles me from behind and I’m powerless to do something so I start to ramble, begging for my life. “Please! I didn’t mean to upset him! I’ll never do it again! I promise. Please …” Sobs wrack through my body as he starts to push my dress up, over my butt, up my back and bunching it by my shoulders. Except for my panty and bra strap, I’m exposed to him. “Please, Brad!” It comes out on a shrill scream as I feel something sharp pressing into my hip.

I feel him lean down on me, and then his hot breath is in my ear. I try to yank my head away, but that only makes him grab my hair, forcing me to stay in place.

“I love your screams. They are music to my ears,” he whispers.

“Please don’t hurt me,” I whimper. “If you let me go I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

He chuckles darkly and it makes my body start to tremble with panic and dread.

I feel his lips on my ear, as he continues, “You think you’re beautiful? You think you can please a man like Noah?” He yanks at my hair and I can only whimper in response. “You’ll never be able to satisfy a man like Noah!” He screams, making my whole body jerk with fright. He yanks my head up until it can’t go back any further. “I want to hear you say it!”

I don’t know what he wants to hear! I can only focus on the terror pulsing through me. I wish Daddy was here! Why didn’t I go to daddy?

“Say it!” he roars and I try to flinch away from him.

“What?” I croak out, willing to say anything if only he’ll let me go.

He presses his lips against my ear and sneers, “that you can’t satisfy Noah.”

My mouth and throat are dry and I lick at my lips. “I can’t satisfy Noah.” When he lets go of my hair and my head falls forward, I suck in huge gulps of air.

I feel pressure against my back and then a hot searing pain tears through me. I start to scream, thrashing as much as I can … and then I hear him say, “I researched how to break a person. They say a broken soul is the worst thing. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll kill yourself. It will be perfect, you taking your own life because you’re so pathetic. First I isolate you. You’ll get to see outside, but you’ll never be outside again. Then I’ll make you dependent on my for everything, even to take a piss. This is going to be so much fun!”

I feel the sharp point press against my skin again and then he cuts into my lower back again. “Stop!” I shriek, “Oh God, please stop! I promise to do anything!”

“We’re going to play a game. If you can guess what I’m writing on your back, I’ll let you go.”

Writing? He’s fucked up! He’s slicing me and he calls it writing!

I’m going to die!

~*~