Wrong Side of Town (19 page)

“Come on.” I took her by the arm gently and led her down the hall, past Dylan’s room, to where mine was located right at the end.

This house wasn’t much to look at, but me and my brothers had done our best to fix it up over the years and had expanded it so that we had a lot more room. My room was one of the new rooms we’d built, and it stretched across almost half the back of the house with a window view of the trees that surrounded the creek.

I didn’t bother turning on the light; I just led Estella right to my bed and pulled back the covers, waiting for her to get in. She hesitated for a few seconds, but finally slid into the bed.

Taking a deep breath and telling my hormones to keep themselves under control, I slid in beside her and pulled the covers over us. It was a cold night and I could feel her shaking beside me, so I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

When she didn’t fight me and relaxed against me, I let out a breath and planted a kiss on her forehead. We lay there in the silence, both of us wide awake, but neither of us saying anything. It was a comfortable silence; nothing needed to be said. We weren’t going to have sex; I just needed her with me.

It’d been a long time since I’d had a girl in my bed without having sex with her, but that’s not what I wanted to do with Estella right now. All I wanted was to be close to her, so she knew that, yeah, I was drunk; I was stupid, but I cared about her more than she could understand.

Finally, when the silence became too much for me, I spoke. “I meant everything I said tonight.”

“I know.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Estella

Even though Vincent and I hadn’t had sex last night, I felt like I was doing the walk of shame when I left his bedroom the next morning and walked to the kitchen.

If you asked me why I’d decided to stay the night with him and sleep in the same bed, I honestly couldn’t tell you. Maybe it was because I did have strong feelings for him, or maybe it was because he had sounded completely genuine about everything he’d said to me last.

Whatever my reasons were, I’d made my choice. I’d chosen to stay with him. And you know what? I’d actually liked it. I’d liked being close to him and holding him, and running my fingers over the taut muscles of his stomach.

I’d liked that he hadn’t tried to make a move on me even though he’d been drunk and could easily overpower me. Most of all, I liked that I could trust him.

The delicious smell of bacon and eggs frying wafted in from the kitchen, and when I stepped inside, I found Vincent and Dylan standing at the stove.

“Um, good morning,” I said, suddenly feeling shy.

Both Vincent and Dylan turned around, and Dylan ran to me and hugged me so tight that my ribs started to hurt.

“Estella! Vin’s cooking up breakfast for us!”

My eyes locked with Vincent’s. His expression was serious as he watched me before turning back to the stove and continuing with his cooking.

“Oh, wow,” I said, not really what to make of Vincent cooking. I didn’t even know he could cook. “
I
guess I'm rubbing off on you, huh? Well, I'm pretty hungry so I'
m
excited to try Vincent's cooking."

Dylan beamed. “Let me get you a plate.”

He bounded off and started rummaging around in the cupboard. Vincent turned around again and took the pan off the stove and advanced towards me.

“Sit
down, darlin’.”

Sill surprised that Vincent had cooked breakfast, I took a seat at the table unsure of how to act around him.
Was he still the same guy from last night who'd confessed his feelings for me, or was he someone completely different? Sometimes with Vincent you never knew what you were going to get.

Dylan set the table and sat down across from me, and Vincent walked over with the frying pan and filled my plate with eggs and bacon. There was way too much food for me on the plate, but it smelled delicious.

Vincent sat down across from me and gave me the smallest smile. "Eat up, Stelle."
I didn't want to offend him so I dug into the eggs. They were a little under cooked so I took a bite of bacon instead. It was difficult to bite into so I put it back on the plate and stared around at the table.

There was an awkward silence as we all looked at each other before Dylan burst inti laughter.

“Hey, if it’s that bad, just say it.” Vincent said, scowling back at us.

“It’s really bad,” I blurt
ed out.

“You try and do something nice
for someone but no one appreciates it.” Despite the scowl on his face, Vincent’s tone was light and it was pretty clear that he wasn’t actually annoyed. He ate a forkful of eggs and made a face. “Okay, fine, it does taste bad.”

The entire situation got to me and I also started laughing. Vincent tried to glare at me, but
as soon as he made eye contact, he burst into laughter too.

“Do we have to eat this?”
Dylan asked, picking at his eggs with his fork.

“No, Kid
, you don’t have to.” Vincent reached over and tousled his hair. “Why don’t you go eat some cereal? I need to talk to Estella for a sec.”

“Okay, sure.” Dylan pushed his chair back and stood up, and was just about to walk across the kitchen when he stopped and fixed me with a strange look. “Hey, why is Estella here so early?”

My cheeks immediately flamed at Dylan’s innocent question and my eyes darted to Vincent for help.

“She brought me home last night and fell asleep here.” Vincent didn’t miss a beat.

“Oh, okay.” Dylan shrugged and proceeded to the cupboard.

I didn’t know why I hadn’
t said that instead of feeling all awkward about it. I guess a part of me felt like something more had happened between Vincent and me, even though it hadn’t.

Vincent stood up and I followed him out onto the porch. We were silent for a few minutes before Vincent finally spoke.

“I’m sorry for putting you in that position last night.” He paused. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I’ve thought about the things you’ve said to me. I’ve thought about the choices I’ve made and what I can do differently.”

He turned his obsidian eyes on me, and it was like they were on fire. “I want to change for you. I need you to know that I can be a better person. I remember everything I said to you last night and I meant every single word.
I want you to know that.”

My voice was soft when I spoke. “I believe you.”

I reached out and touched his face, his mouth, his forehead. Our eyes drank each other in and I suddenly felt as though the final obstacle between us had been overthrown. Whatever walls had been built up between us were now gone.

Vincent was someone I could trust. He was a friend.

***

When Vincent pulled up outside my house, my heart san
k. Seth’s BMW was parked out front.

I knew he’d come over to see Savannah, but honestly, I didn’t want him to see me with Vincent. He wouldn’t like that I was hanging out with a guy like Vincent. I mean, it had nothing to do with him who I spent my time with, but I just knew that this was not going to play out well.

“Whose car is that?” Vincent asked, a protective edge in his voice as we both got out of the car.

There really wasn’t any way to avoid the confrontation that was coming. I could already sense that Seth and Vincent would not warm to each other.

The front door opened and Seth and Savannah stepped outside. Savannah waved at me. “I thought I heard you pull up!” She raised her eyebrows in question at Vincent but said nothing.

Seth, on the other hand, looked mad as we all met halfway. There was an awkward silence in which Seth—dressed in a crisp, clean suit—and Vin
cent—dressed in his usual leather jacket and jeans—eyed each other up.

Seth’s bottom lip curled and he looked revolted. “Who the hell is this
, Estella? You stay out all night with guys like this? Where were you?”

Before I could open my mouth, Vincent took a step forward.  “I’m Vincent Madden. Who the fuck are you?”

Seth looked like he’d been slapped across the face. I guess no one had ever spoken to him like that before. We Markson kids were always polite and well-mannered. Vincent was from another world.

“I’m Estella’s cousin.” Seth straightened up and puffed out his chest like a rooster on display. In comparison to Vincent, there was nothing impressive about him.

Vincent snickered and he had that smirk playing around his mouth whenever he was feeling particularly smug or confident about something. He turned to me and lowered his voice.

“Dylan told me it’s your birthday tomorrow. I want you to come by the house at
six.” He eyes flickered over to Seth. “If that’s okay with your cousin.”

Seth’s face turned red and he looked like he was about to say something nasty to Vincent but then thought better of it.

“My cousin doesn’t own me,” I said, fixing Seth with a fierce look.

“Good. As long as he knows that.”
Vincent ran a hand through my hair and inclined his head at Seth before leaving.

I didn’t eve
n bother acknowledging Seth further, and hurried past him and into the house, wondering what Vincent had planned for me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Vincent

“Vincent, I can’t see anything!” Estella cried, waving her arm in front of her as she tried to feel for anything that was in her way.

She was blindfolded
and I had her other arm linked through mine, guiding her down the path to the creek.

“It’s just a little further,” I said into her ear, smiling at the way goosebumps popped up
on her neck.

When we finally reached the clearing in front of the dock, I took of Estella’s blindfold and waited for her to react.

Her eyes grew wide and she clamped a hand over her mouth, staring at me like she wasn’t sure what to say. “I-you-oh my gosh! You did this for me?”

I nodded, placing a hand on her lower back. “
Yeah, I knew you liked the creek so I got Dil to help me out a little.”

Estella’s eyes wandered over the lanterns in the trees, to the fairy lights wrapped around the tree branches, and then to the table set up just in front of the dock
. There was a picnic basket on it with some bread and cheese and chicken that I’d bought pre-cooked—nothing fancy, but I hoped it was the gesture that counted.

Estella’s face was glowing when she turned to me. “This is amazing! I can’t believe you did all this! No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”

“I hope you like it,” I said, leading her to the table and pulling out her chair for her.

Once she was seated, all I could do was stare at her. Estella was goddamn beautiful and here she was looking at me like I was the most amazing person she’d ever laid eyes on.

And there was a smile on her face—a genuine smile that I’d given her, not that fake shit she was always putting on.

I served her up a plateful of food and she eyed it warily before accepting it.

“Don’t worry,” I said with a laugh. “I didn’t cook it this time.”

“I liked that you cooked for me,” Estella said as she chewed on a piece of chicken. “Even though I’ve tasted better food from an eight-year-old.”

“Ouch, that hurts my feelings.”

Estella laughed, tilting her head to the side so that her honey brown locks flowed over her shoulders.
She was so beautiful and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was everything I needed. Nothing else mattered anymore.

“I’m glad that you’re trying to change, Vincent. It gives me hope.”

I reached across and took her hand in mine. “I’m trying to change for you. I want you to see that I can be a better person. I want you to proud of me instead of being disappointed all the time.”

“Yes, but you being in this gang, you fighting, those are things that aren’t right. You can’t use violence and intimidation to solve all your problems.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’m leaving all that behind, Stelle. I’m giving all that up for you, for Dylan. I want us to have a life together because there is no way I could picture you not being in my life. I want you, all of you, and I’m giving it all up for you.”

“What about the fight that’s coming up?”

“I told Ryder I wasn’t going to do it. I told him I quit.”

Estella’s expression completely changed and her mouth fell open as she pulled her hand free from my grasp. She stood up from her seat and shook her head, backing away from me slowly at the same time.

Suddenly it felt like a crushing weight had descended into my chest at the look in her eyes. I’d been sure Estella felt the same way about me, but now I wasn’t even sure.

“Vincent, I don’t know how to
do this with you.”

Her words cut into me like broken glass. I struggled to piece together what she was saying, but none of this was making much sense to me. As different as we were, we were right for each other. We didn’t make sense on paper, but we made sense on some other level. It was a level that only we could understand. So why was she pushing me away?

“You don’t realize someone was missing from your life until the moment they enter it. You were missing, Estella. Something brought us together, and I’m not going to let go. Push me away if you want. Deny that there’s anything between us. But listen to what I’m saying; I refuse to let you go. You can’t make me let go because you’re the only thing left for me to hold onto.”

Estella’
s bottom lip quivered and I’d never seen her look so sad before.

“I’m a shell Vincent—empty, lifeless, dead. There’s nothing left inside of me to love.”

***

Estella

Vincent seized me by the shoulders, pulling me close to him so that I was faced with his dark eyes that seemed to be burning into me with each second that passed.

“Yes, there is, Estella. There’s a lot left inside of you to love. I see it in the way you put others before yourself. I see it in the way you take care of everyone. I see it in the way you look at me.” Vincent placed a hand on the center of my chest. “There is so much inside of you for me to love, but you have to love yourself first. You have to believe that you’re worth it, the way I know you are.”

His words were reassuring, but a part of me didn’t know what to believe.

“Don’t you understand? I’m dead. I died two-and-a-half years ago. I had to die so I wouldn’t keep reliving what he was doing to me. I didn’t want to stay alive anymore, so I killed a part of myself.”

Vincent took my hands in his, brushing his lips against my skin in a soft kiss. “Then let me bring you back to life.”

His words had me shaking all over. I didn’t want to feel this way, yet at the same time I did. I loved the way he made me feel. Everything was so confusing. Why couldn’t I just give into my feelings?

Without really thinking about what I was doing, I started to turn away.

“Don’t go, Stelle.”

If Vincent’s voice wasn’t enough to glue me to one spot, those eyes definitely were. They were so full of lust and desperation that I had to turn my head away. My legs still refused to budge—they were so immobilized by him that I was pretty sure my feet had grown roots and were absorbing nutrients from the sidewalk.

“Stelle?” Vincent asked, his voice uncertain.

I sighed into the night
air, wishing I was a stronger human being, wishing I had the guts to pull away from him. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I knew as soon as he took a step towards me because my body went into some weird sense of hyper-awareness. The tiny hairs on my arms were standing straight up and every nerve in my body was reaching out, wanting to be closer to the source that was making me feel this way.

Vincent. I wanted Vincent.

And then he was in front of me, and those eyes burned into me like coals. And, still, I didn’t move. I couldn’t bring myself to move away from him. He was all wrong for me. He wasn’t the kind of guy you spent the rest of your life with. But then why wasn’t I running in the opposite direction?

“Say it.” Vincent’s voice was low as he ducked his head down to meet me; those lips of his were like a cruel taunt. “I want you to say it.”

What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t even form words, so I did some weird half-shrug thing. Wow. The hottest guy to walk this town was inches away from me and all I could manage was some lackluster gesture. I was too pathetic for words.

Vincent let out a low growl that sent shivers shooting across my skin. “I told you, I won’t lay a hand on you until you tell me to, Stelle.” Vincent’s eyes were hooded, dark with lust. The look in his eyes made me weak and I felt my pulse speed up. He leaned in, his mouth close to mine. “And I
really
want you to.”

I lowered my mouth to his. “I want you.”

And then without warning, our bodies were one. Vincent’s hands were everywhere. We were the same person. He was kissing me everywhere and every part of me was alive.

Vincent was bringing me back to life.