“It’s about time. I don’t see why I had to wait in the car. It’s not as if your sister and I aren’t friends. Why wouldn’t she want me here?” She fired off before I could speak a word or even reach the car.
“Because it’s my sister’s wedding, not yours. This isn’t about you.” I wanted to add that my sister would rather eat her own tongue before calling her a friend but didn’t need the headache of the blow up that would follow.
“She said yes, didn’t she?”
I watched her smug attitude spread like a wildfire until it reached her lips and wanted nothing more than to send her away. Her acceptance to the wedding would only further delude her idea that we were meant to be.
However, before I could offer a reply, the sound of an engine roaring and squealing tires shifted my attention the dark van barreling up the long driveway. My heart rate accelerated almost as fast as the van as it sped toward the entrance. Instinct caused me to duck behind the car as did Rosalyn, who was already screaming bloody murder. I waited for the gunshots I was sure would follow, but none came. Instead, the sound of a door as it slid open, followed by a loud thud and shouting, cut through Rosalyn’s screaming. When I was sure the van had retreated, I took my first look around the car. The driver was already out and kneeling over what looked like a person. I ran over and came to a dead halt when I was able to confirm it was not only a body, but it was the body of someone I knew all too well.
“Dash?”
Fuck me.
CHAPTER FOUR
WILLOW
MY MISSION WAS clear. How I could ever go through with it was what I didn’t understand.
As I looked around the room, I saw a mixture of emotions—surprise, wariness, fear, and anger. I could understand it because each one was warranted. I had not spoken with or laid eyes on any of them in almost four years, and my entrance back into their lives was less than exemplary.
I was just happy to be alive.
I’d deal with the fallout and consequences of that fact later.
“Is anyone going to say anything or should I start?”
“I think it’s only fair,” Keenan answered slowly. “You were the one who was just thrown out of a moving van.”
“Yes, I, um—didn’t enjoy that… if you were wondering.”
“How about, why?”
“I wanted to crash the wedding. My invitation was lost in the mail, and I didn’t want to come empty handed, so I came with entertainment.”
“Willow,” Keiran warned. It was obvious he hadn’t changed much. Threatening was still his tactic of choice. Lake, my best friend of ten years, stood by his side. She stumped me the most because for once there was no emotion in her blue-green eyes. They were blank but ever watchful.
“Right. The short, less entertaining version is that I hitched a ride and pissed some people off. That will teach me to take rides from strangers.”
“Why would you?” The rough tone of my first and former lover vibrated down my spine sending tingles to every sensitive nerve I possessed. The cold anger in his eyes matched his tone, but the way I responded to it was most frightening. I never expected to lay eyes on him again.
“Why would I…?”
“Take a ride from a stranger.”
“Because I didn’t have a choice.”
That at least wasn’t a lie.
“Why not?”
“Because I didn’t have a ride.”
That was a lie.
What none of them knew was for four years, every other month, on the third Saturday of each month, I visited my mother. It was a lie we managed and a secret we kept until today.
I just didn’t have all the answers.
“And you couldn’t call someone?”
“Sorry… new phone.”
“You’re lying,” Dash growled.
“I forgot how much of an expert you were at that. Figures you would be able to tell.”
“What about your mother? Your brother?”
“Unreachable.”
“How convenient.”
“Look, I’m sorry I ruined this happy moment, but it’s none of your business.”
“I beg to fucking differ. You ruined my bride’s wedding day. If you don’t start talking, I’m going to make you scream the truth.”
Keenan was out of his seat and across the room before anyone could move. The violence in his eyes was unmistakable and I was taken aback by it all. I’d never known him to do anything but supply an endless run of jokes and come-ons.
His anger reminded me that I didn’t know these people anymore.
“Because it’s my sister’s wedding, not yours. This isn’t about you.” I wanted to add that my sister would rather eat her own tongue before calling her a friend but didn’t need the headache of the blow up that would follow.
“She said yes, didn’t she?”
I watched her smug attitude spread like a wildfire until it reached her lips and wanted nothing more than to send her away. Her acceptance to the wedding would only further delude her idea that we were meant to be.
However, before I could offer a reply, the sound of an engine roaring and squealing tires shifted my attention the dark van barreling up the long driveway. My heart rate accelerated almost as fast as the van as it sped toward the entrance. Instinct caused me to duck behind the car as did Rosalyn, who was already screaming bloody murder. I waited for the gunshots I was sure would follow, but none came. Instead, the sound of a door as it slid open, followed by a loud thud and shouting, cut through Rosalyn’s screaming. When I was sure the van had retreated, I took my first look around the car. The driver was already out and kneeling over what looked like a person. I ran over and came to a dead halt when I was able to confirm it was not only a body, but it was the body of someone I knew all too well.
“Dash?”
Fuck me.
CHAPTER FOUR
WILLOW
MY MISSION WAS clear. How I could ever go through with it was what I didn’t understand.
As I looked around the room, I saw a mixture of emotions—surprise, wariness, fear, and anger. I could understand it because each one was warranted. I had not spoken with or laid eyes on any of them in almost four years, and my entrance back into their lives was less than exemplary.
I was just happy to be alive.
I’d deal with the fallout and consequences of that fact later.
“Is anyone going to say anything or should I start?”
“I think it’s only fair,” Keenan answered slowly. “You were the one who was just thrown out of a moving van.”
“Yes, I, um—didn’t enjoy that… if you were wondering.”
“How about, why?”
“I wanted to crash the wedding. My invitation was lost in the mail, and I didn’t want to come empty handed, so I came with entertainment.”
“Willow,” Keiran warned. It was obvious he hadn’t changed much. Threatening was still his tactic of choice. Lake, my best friend of ten years, stood by his side. She stumped me the most because for once there was no emotion in her blue-green eyes. They were blank but ever watchful.
“Right. The short, less entertaining version is that I hitched a ride and pissed some people off. That will teach me to take rides from strangers.”
“Why would you?” The rough tone of my first and former lover vibrated down my spine sending tingles to every sensitive nerve I possessed. The cold anger in his eyes matched his tone, but the way I responded to it was most frightening. I never expected to lay eyes on him again.
“Why would I…?”
“Take a ride from a stranger.”
“Because I didn’t have a choice.”
That at least wasn’t a lie.
“Why not?”
“Because I didn’t have a ride.”
That was a lie.
What none of them knew was for four years, every other month, on the third Saturday of each month, I visited my mother. It was a lie we managed and a secret we kept until today.
I just didn’t have all the answers.
“And you couldn’t call someone?”
“Sorry… new phone.”
“You’re lying,” Dash growled.
“I forgot how much of an expert you were at that. Figures you would be able to tell.”
“What about your mother? Your brother?”
“Unreachable.”
“How convenient.”
“Look, I’m sorry I ruined this happy moment, but it’s none of your business.”
“I beg to fucking differ. You ruined my bride’s wedding day. If you don’t start talking, I’m going to make you scream the truth.”
Keenan was out of his seat and across the room before anyone could move. The violence in his eyes was unmistakable and I was taken aback by it all. I’d never known him to do anything but supply an endless run of jokes and come-ons.
His anger reminded me that I didn’t know these people anymore.
