Her Destiny (20 page)

“I should get that,” I murmur, my eyes still closed. I don’t ever want to leave this spot.

“No, you shouldn’t.” Nick’s drifting his fingers up and down the length of my arm, drawing a circle on my shoulder, and his touch makes me smile. “Whoever it is, they can wait.”

“What if it’s Evan?” He’s the only one who would text me, beyond Vanessa or Valerie and on extremely rare occasions, Tally. Up to a few weeks ago she was still interested in getting me to come and party with her, not that I ever did.

“He’ll call you if it’s important.” Nick taps my shoulder twice, his touch firm. Opening my eyes, I glance up at him to find him watching me. “What happened to your phone anyway?”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“After you left town, I tried to text you but I never heard back. I thought you were ignoring me.”

I had no idea. Why this excites me when that was months ago, I’m not sure. I guess the admission proves he still cared when I’d always believed he gave up on us. “I never got them. Our phones were taken away from us because they were funded through The Flock of the Lambs. When the assets were frozen, they took everything. We had to start over.” I look away, resuming my position on Nick’s shoulder. “Evan got phones for the both of us and I have a new number. Of course, you already know that since I gave it to you.” I’d sent him a text for that intent last night and he’d updated me in his contacts list.

“You don’t plan on getting rid of that phone anytime soon, do you?” he asks.

I slowly shake my head, nuzzling closer, my mouth right at his neck. I love to kiss him there. I love to kiss him everywhere. His skin is so smooth and warm. His entire body is perfect. I wish I could explore it for hours, not just these few stolen moments before he has to take me to the bus station. “Evan and I are in a two-year contract so we’re stuck.”

Nick chuckles, holding me closer. “Good. Because I don’t want to lose contact with you again like that.” He presses his lips against my forehead, giving me a lingering kiss, and warmth spreads through me, making me languid. Sleepy. I’ve never felt so happy.

Ever.

I’m almost asleep, I can tell Nick already is, when my cell starts to ring, the sound sharp in the otherwise quiet of the room. With a frustrated growl I withdraw from his arms and grab my phone off the bedside table, seeing that it is indeed my brother calling.

I so don’t want to talk to him.

“What?” I mumble into the phone as I crawl out of bed and hide myself away in Nick’s bathroom, where I catch my reflection when I switch on the light. I’m wearing one of his oversized T-shirts, my hair is a disaster and my lips are swollen. I look like a mess. More like I look like I’ve just had sex.

“Nice greeting,” Evan says, sounding put out. “Are you already at the bus station?”

“Um, not yet.” I comb my fingers through my hair, trying to straighten it but it’s an absolute mess. I should just throw it into a ponytail or a topknot and forget about it.

“Where the hell are you then?”

“Nick’s apartment.” I bite my lip, waiting for his reply.

As expected, he explodes. “That is the last place you should be. Damn it, Rev, stop wasting your time and go catch that damn bus. The weather is bad, travel everywhere is delayed and the freeways are a mess. I just caught the news while I was on break and had to call you.”

“We’re leaving in a few minutes for the station,” I reassure him.

“You need to be on that bus in less than an hour,” he points out.

“We’re going soon, I swear. The bus I’m supposed to take is probably not even there yet,” I argue. “I’m guessing it’ll show up late. Maybe I should wait and take a bus home tomorrow? Should the weather be cleared up by then?”

“The ticket is transferrable,” Evan mutters. “But I want you home tonight.”

Translation: He wants me to get away from Nick now.

“I’ll go to the station and let you know what’s happening, okay? Circumstances might be out of my control.” I hope they are. I might even force them to be because I don’t want to leave. Not yet. I want to spend the night with Nick. If I let the fear get to me, I could almost think this is my one last night with him for good.

But I refuse to do that. I need to believe that this is going to work out between us.

“Text me and let me know what’s going on,” Evan says. “And let me know what time your bus is scheduled to get in here. I’ll make sure and be there to pick you up.”

“You better be,” I joke, wanting to lighten the mood. I don’t want him mad or thinking the worst about Nick. I want the two most important men in my life to like each other and get along.

“Did you get to make your statement to the police?” Evan asks.

“I did. It went all right. I think they’ll leave Nick alone now.” I frown when I hear a noise coming from the other side of the door and then there’s a light knock. I crack open the door to find Nick on the other side, his hair mussed, his eyes heavy. He’s wearing boxer briefs and nothing else and he looks good enough to eat.

“You all right?” he whispers, scratching his bare chest.

My gaze tracks his hand’s every movement. I wish I was touching him instead of talking to my pissed off brother. “It’s Evan,” I tell him. With an understanding nod, Nick pulls the door shut, leaving me alone.

“Rev. You didn’t…you didn’t make this up did you? You’re not giving this statement to the police to help get your boyfriend off the hook?” Evan asks.

Wow. I can’t believe he just said that. “Are you serious right now with that question?”

“Come on, I had to ask. It’s just…it’s so unlike you to go from being the goody goody little sister, always wanting to be perfect at the beginning of summer, to end up messing around with the help by the end of the summer and spending the night at his place alone. You have to realize how this looks,” he says. “You went totally against character.”

I’m sure everything I’ve done since the summer looks completely out of character but I don’t really care what anyone thinks, even Evan. And his opinion has become the one that matters the most. “I would never lie about something like this, Evan. I swear. I’m telling the truth. Nick was with me that night. He never left my side.” He barely left the bed the entire night.

“I just wanted to make sure. Didn’t want you caught up in something that was bigger than the both of you.”

“Like Mom and Dad,” I murmur.

“Yeah. Exactly. They bit off way more than they could chew,” Evan says. “I’m not calling you a liar or anything I just know…it’s easy to get caught up in stuff. Look at our parents. I bet they didn’t start off intending to steal from the parishioners.”

We’ve never really talked about what our parents did. Never so bluntly, at least. “I’m sure they didn’t.”

“Right. We all try our best at life. Sometimes we end up doing something wrong and there’s no going back.”

“Are you implying Nick might’ve done something wrong?”

“I think that dude has bad luck. There’s no other explanation for all the shit that’s happened to him.”

Maybe I could be Nick’s good luck charm. He needs one.

And I want to be that for him. I want to be everything for him.

8 p.m.

I’
m scrolling through my phone when Reverie slips back into my bedroom, looking cute as hell wearing one of my T-shirts and nothing else. The shirt is big on me and it positively dwarfs her, hitting her just about mid-thigh and offering me a sweet glimpse of those long, pretty legs.

Glancing up from my phone, I watch her, entranced with the way she moves, the smile on her face, her long, wavy hair a tangled mess about her head. She looks gorgeous. Happy.

She looks like she belongs to me.

“Whatcha doing?” she asks as she crawls into bed beside me, snuggling close and resting her chin on my shoulder as I continue to look at my phone.

“Checking out stuff.” I pause to look at her. “So. Is Evan mad at you?”

“More like he’s worried,” she answers. “He wanted to know if I’m at the bus station yet.”

“Yeah, about that. I don’t know if you’ll be able to make it out tonight.” I go to my local news station’s app, bringing it up to the main page. It’s full of reports on the weather and the havoc the storm has wrecked, especially over the last few hours. “There are floods everywhere in the area causing road blockages. Fallen trees bringing with them power lines so the electricity is out in the more rural parts. And there are some major accidents snarling up traffic on the highways. It doesn’t look good. I don’t know if I want you out there.”

I love his protective streak. It makes me feel cherished. “Then I’ll just stay here with you.” She tilts her head to the side, her cheek pressed to my bare shoulder before she turns her head and drops a kiss on my skin. She makes it sound so easy, but I know her brother would absolutely shit if she weren’t on that bus in the next hour. “I don’t want to leave tonight anyway. I’d rather stay here with you.”

I’d rather she stayed with me too but I need to respect her brother’s wishes. I don’t need that guy pissed at me. “We should at least try to go to the bus station and see what’s going on, don’t you think?”

She pulls away from me so we can look at each other fully. “Can’t we just call and check on the schedule? I really don’t want to go down there if I can’t leave tonight.”

“Good idea. I’ll call now.” I go into the web browser and look up the local bus station, pushing the link for the number so my phone makes the call. I let it ring for ten rings. Fifteen. I lose count after a while and finally hang up. “No answer. I’m guessing it must be busy.”

A heavy sigh leaves her. “I don’t want to go down there if it’s crazy.” She leans her head toward the window. The storm still rages on, we can both hear it in the otherwise stillness of the room. The gust of wind against my window is harsh, bringing with it a hard smattering of raindrops hitting the glass. “It still sounds awful out there.”

“Yeah.” I’m torn. I want to do what her brother wants me to but I also want to be selfish and keep her with me for the night. I know Evan would want us to be safe… he would never forgive me if something happened to his sister on my watch. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself either. “You want to stay?”

“Yes. Yes, yes.” She grins as she tosses her arms around my neck and presses a kiss to my cheek. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her look so happy. “Thank you, thank you.”

I sling my arm around her waist and pull her into my lap so she’s lying on her back, her head cradled by my thigh as she stares up at me. “You need to text Evan and tell him what’s going on.”

She nods solemnly, her smile still tickling the corners of her mouth. “I will. I swear.”

“Tell him we did it for safety reasons. And I’ll have you on the bus back home tomorrow,” I continue. I want to make this right with Evan, not have him believe we’re defying him on purpose.

Though maybe we are. Just a little bit.

Reverie mock pouts. “I don’t want to go home.”

“Yes, you do. This place gives you the creeps, remember?”

“Not when I’m with you,” she says.

Ah, this girl. She’s going to make it impossible for me to be away from her for even a minute. “We’re going to make this work, huh?”

Her pout fades, replaced with a look of concern. “We’ll make what work? Us?”