Left Together (15 page)

My
father clearly never thought he’d see the day that Noah stood up to him. He
takes a step backward and my brother releases his arm. I don’t wait to find out
what happens next. I run for the foyer, slip my feet into the flip flops by the
door, grab my keys off of the table, and sprint to my car. Noah is a few steps
behind me.

“Kacie,
please don’t go,” I hear him say. “I need you.”

“I
have to get away from them.” I fumble with the keys, trying to get the car door
open.

Noah
reaches me before I can get in. “Addie’s pregnant.” He blurts, almost afraid that
if he doesn’t tell me now, he’ll never get the chance. “I have no idea what to
do with a kid. I need your help.”

I hug
my brother tightly. “I’m so happy for you and Addie, Noah. I really am. You’ll
be just fine. I have no doubt.”

“Please
stay,” he begs.

“I’m
not running away,” I say. “Just get them out of my house. I’ll be back soon.”

“Where
are you going?”

“I
don’t know,” I admit.

“Go to
my house. Addie’s home. I’ll take care of this and meet you there.”

“Okay,”
I whisper. He hugs me again and heads around my car to go back up the front
steps.

I
collect myself, then hop in my car to make my way through the neighborhood. Since
I left my balcony, it has begun to rain. It’s not pouring, but it’s just enough
to make everything wet and slippery. I’m driving along when I happen to glance
in my rearview mirror and notice a familiar orange car speeding up behind me.
“What the fuck does he want?”

Evan

Sitting
on this hard floor is going to make this one long ass night. I’ve only been in
this spot for a little over an hour, and my back already hurts like a bitch and
my neck is starting to stiffen up. There’s a very good possibility it could be
from avoiding my bed for a week, passing out in the office last night, and not
going to the gym since Saturday. I shift positions and stretch my legs out,
trying to provide some relief. Realizing it’s not going to get much better, I
settle in for the long haul.

“Are
you really going to sit by the fucking door all night?” Jake asks when he
reaches the top step.

“Unless
you want me to bust down your sister’s bedroom door, I don’t have a choice.”

He
holds out a beer and once I take it, he slides down the wall on the opposite
side of the hallway. “I’d do it,” he says, chugging on a bottle of his own.

“It’s
not like I didn’t consider it,” I clarify. “If Kacie is really as drunk as Jade
claimed, I can’t wake her up. She’ll puke.” I tilt my head back against the
door. “I made that mistake before.”

Not
that long ago, Kacie and Jade had another girls’ night with their friends from
high school. Even though they were all sleeping over at her house, Kacie still
wanted me to go there after work. It was after four in the morning by the time
I got to her room. I guess she had been trying to wait up for me because she
was passed out in the chair. When I picked her up to carry her to bed, she woke
up. Good thing she directed me to the bathroom.

“She
was definitely wasted,” he chuckles.

“Looks
like you aren’t too far behind her.”

“That
girl sure does know how to get under my fucking skin,” he complains.

My mouth
turns up in a half-smile because I understand exactly what he means. She can be
just as irritating as she is loveable. “What did she do to you?” I wonder,
sipping on the ice cold beer.

He
looks down the hallway toward his room, then sighs. “I tried talking her out of
going to Skyline tonight, but she wouldn’t listen. She never fucking listens
anymore.” His knees are bent up and he has his arms resting on them. Focusing
on the glass bottle, he starts talking again, “In all the years we’ve been
friends, she’s never been this damn difficult. I get the whole going to college
a million miles away, but taking off like that without telling us where she was
going was a little much, even for her. Sometimes I wonder what the fuck goes
through her head.”

“She’s
just trying to deal with shit in her own dysfunctional way,” I comment.

“I
haven’t talked to Jade about this yet, but I’ve decided to move out,” he
announces out of nowhere.

“Why
would you do that?” I ask.

Jake
laughs as if I should know the answer to my own question. “Man, I’ve been
putting up with these two girls and their bullshit for half my damn life. It’s
about fucking time they grow the hell up and take care of themselves.”

“What
about all they do for you? I thought you guys were one big happy family.” He
must be drunk if he’s talking like this.

“Noah
seems to have taken up a new interest in his little sister, and Jade has Kyle.
They don’t need me.”

“Is
this a jealousy thing? You feel left out that the girls have other people to
rely on? Or is it the booze? None of this sounds like the Jake Quinn I know.”

“I don’t
know,” he grumbles, getting to his feet. “If you change your mind about being a
fucking guard dog, there’s a perfectly comfortable bed in the guest room.” I
watch as he stumbles to his door and quietly closes it once he makes it inside.
Maybe I should check on him to make sure he doesn’t fall and crack his skull open.

Analyzing
Jake’s drunken ramblings probably won’t help the anxiety I’ve been feeling
since he basically admitted to being in love with Kacie, but I force myself to
push that shit away. That’s something I definitely don’t fucking need. The only
thing I can focus on is figuring out how Kacie and I will put all of this
behind us…permanently. Hopefully she wakes up tomorrow with a clear head and
makes it a lot easier on me than she should. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Every
so often throughout the night, I nod off. Jake hasn’t resurfaced since he went
to bed, and there hasn’t been a peep from the girls. A few times, I stand up to
pace back and forth. If nothing else, it gets the blood flowing into my legs
again. Passing by the empty bedroom is very tempting at this point, but I can’t
give up now. With my luck, I’ll pass out and that would be when Kacie wakes up.
Daylight finally breaks into the open rooms on either side of the hallway.
Kacie probably has had enough sleep that she won’t feel too shitty, but I
decide to give her a few more minutes and prop myself in front of the door to
rest my eyes. They’re so heavy, I doze off again.

Someone
waking you up when you are beyond tired sucks. Someone yanking out what’s
holding you the hell up while you sleep fucking blows. One second, I’m sound
asleep; the next, I’m sprawled on my back, half in the hallway and half in
Jade’s room.

“What
the fuck?” Jade squeals and jumps as I’m trying to get my bearings. “Did you
really sit there the whole night?” The sound of her yelling must’ve disturbed
Jake, as well. He suddenly appears at my feet, zipping up his jeans.

“What
the fuck is all the screaming out here?” he asks, clearly pissed.

“Sorry,”
Jade snaps at her brother. “I wasn’t expecting a body to fall at my feet when I
opened the damn door.”

“Kacie.”
While they continue to bicker, I remember why I’m here. Getting up proves to be
a bit of a challenge since my whole right side is numb. The second my feet have
stabilized underneath me, I brush by Jade and into her room. Her bed is made.
The curtains are wide open, letting in the bright light. The bathroom is empty.
“Where the fuck is she?” I ask, close to losing it.

“Yeah,
about that…,” she says. Before she gets out another word, I rush out of the
room toward the stairs. “Evan, wait a second.”

“Wait
a second? I’ve been waiting all fucking night, Jade.” I stop dead in my tracks
to glare at her. “I’ve been waiting a whole goddamn
week
!” I yell. “Why
the hell wouldn’t she want to see me last night?”

“I
don’t know. Because she’s Kacie Foster and she does irrational things most of
the time?” Her answer isn’t good enough. I leave her standing in the hallway
and race down the stairs. When I make it to the foyer, Jake has somehow caught
up.

“Evan,”
he calls out.

“What
the fuck now?” I bitch without turning around.

“I
have to talk to you before you go next door.”

“What’s
so important that you need to keep me from going over there?” I know I’m being
a dick. I’m just not in a giving a shit mood. His hesitation forces me to
glance over. Something is really off with him. Last night, I assumed it was
because he had been drinking. “Are you going to tell me or can I go?”

“I
slept with Kacie.”

“Jake
Quinn, this is no time for bullshit! Knock it the fuck off!” Jade hollers,
coming into the small space.

It’s
quite obvious he’s not fucking around. His body posture says it all. “When?” I
demand to know through a clenched jaw.

“I
didn’t mean for it to happen,” he explains.

“When?”
I ask again, a hell of a lot more pissed off than the first time.

“The
night you broke up with her,” Jake admits. “When she got home from the marina.”

Whatever
it was that held me back from punching him last night at the club is no longer
here to help. It’s been a long fucking week and the frustration I have built up
takes over. Without winding up, my arm extends out until my fist connects with
the side of his face. Jake either wasn’t expecting it or just doesn’t care
enough to protect himself. He probably figures he deserves it. Whatever the
reason, I don’t care and I land two more on him. The last one must have pissed
him off because he starts to fight back. In the shuffle, a table gets knocked
over and I vaguely hear glass shattering. Somehow, I manage to get his ass
pinned against the wall. Stupidly, Jade forces her tiny ass in between us,
screaming for us both to stop. Lucky for her, I have enough control to snap out
of the rage I feel toward her brother and not flip the fuck out on her, too.
Our breathing is erratic as we stare each other down.

“How
could you?” I get out.

“I
believed you were on that boat as much as she did,” he explains.

“You
knew I fucking loved her!” I yell, starting to lose it again. We both try to
get around Jade, but she stands her ground.

“You
two need to stop this shit,” she warns. She’s too fearless for her own damn
good.

“I
told you not to fuck up,” Jake snaps back.

It
occurs to me that I shouldn’t only be pissed at Jake. My heart breaks. Maybe
what Kacie and I have isn’t all that special after all. “She just jumped out of
my bed and into yours that easily?” I spit out, disgusted.

“Evan,
stop right now before you say something you’ll regret.” Jade is dead serious,
but I don’t give a fuck.

“It
wasn’t like that.” Defending Kacie is not something he should be doing right
now.

“Oh,
really? Then, please, tell me what the fuck it was like?” I yell, moving toward
him.

“EVAN!”
Jade screams.

I look
at Jade and take a deep breath. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” I back
up a few steps, putting as much distance between me and them as possible. “You
know what, Jake? You can fucking have her,” I say before walking out the door.
Jade gasps and tries calling my name, but I slam the door shut. I’m fucking
done with all of them.

My
sight is fixed on the black truck in front of me. I don’t even have the
smallest urge to glance at the house next door to check for Kacie’s car. For
all I care, she could have disappeared again. I hope we never see each other.
Ever. The truck roars to life and I stomp on the accelerator. The only thing
preventing me from peeling out of the driveway is a fire truck and an ambulance
speeding past, their sirens blaring. Since the night Ethan died, seeing that
shit gives me the chills. I steer the truck in the opposite direction. There’s
no reason to find out what they’re racing toward.

Feeling
like I have nowhere else to go, I maneuver the truck onto the highway and head
to the marina. Spending time on the boat, even if I keep it docked, will do me
good. It makes me think of Kacie trying to track me down the night my life went
to hell. I turn up the music, hoping to drown out all thoughts of her. About
halfway there, my phone buzzes with a call. Jade’s name flashes on the screen
through the Bluetooth. Not wanting to talk to her, I hit IGNORE on the phone
sitting in the cup holder next to me. A few seconds later, the obnoxious bitch calls
again. I know she didn’t do anything wrong, but there’s nothing she can say
right now to make any of this better. This time, I turn my phone completely off
and toss it onto the passenger seat. It bounces off of the leather and lands
somewhere on the floor. It can fucking stay there. I don’t need it right now.

This
last week, I’ve been living in sheer agony, worrying about a girl who didn’t
give a fuck about me. After what happened to Ethan, how did I not see this
coming? I was a fool to think Kacie was different. She’s just like Jenna.
“Fucking jackass!” I curse myself and slam my fist on the steering wheel. This
is what I get for dating in the first place. All it does is cause grief. I
won’t make that mistake twice.

Once I
get to the boat, calm begins to fall over me. I sit on the starboard side
because there’s a clear view of the water in the distance. For a long time, I remember
when my brother and I used to come down to visit as kids and my uncle would
take us out on his old boat. It wasn’t nearly as big as this one, but we had a
blast every damn time. We’d get up long before the sun, pack up the cooler with
the food Aunt Grace had made for us, and spend hours fishing on the bay. My dad
wouldn’t have done that kind of thing with us, so we really appreciated our
time with Uncle Tim. Meg was never big on boating, so being able to take us out
was something he enjoyed, as well. He’ll still occasionally talk about it, but
he doesn’t like to mention Ethan.

As
much as I’d like to hang around for the rest of the day, the club won’t manage
itself tonight. My growling stomach is more of a reason to get back on the
road. Begrudgingly, I quickly check around the boat to make sure it’s okay
before heading out. Along the way, I grab something to eat and devour it. I
probably should have found my phone to see if there were any messages.
Whatever. There’s no one who would need me that bad anyway. Taking my time, I
drive with the windows down, letting the sound of the wind fill the cab.       

Walking
into my living room sets me off all over again. Everything reminds me of Kacie.
Not that she’s spent too much time here, but we’ve had sex pretty much all over
the damn place. The sofa. The table. The kitchen counter. Up against the wall.
And that’s just out here. I’ll never be able to sleep in my bed or take a
shower in peace again. How the fuck am I supposed to forget her if, everywhere
I turn, I’m reminded of the two of us together? I swipe my arm along the
kitchen table, knocking all of my mail and other random shit to the floor, then
flip the fucking table over. It bangs into the wall behind it. A chair gets in
my way when I go to walk out of the room, so I kick it toward the table. The
leg breaks off, giving me the perfect excuse to get rid of it. In the bathroom,
I open the cabinet to grab my toothbrush, only to see Kacie’s pink one in the
cup next to mine. It gets slammed into the ceramic trash can, causing loud
dings as it rattles around until it settles on the bottom. She has other shit
in here, too. I pull it all out and add it to the trash. The color pink will
forever be an ugly reminder of the only girl I ever let in.