Captured Love (17 page)

“What’s with all the gloomy faces?” She handed me a bottle. “Are y’all sulking?” Rachel grabbed my hand and pulled me off my chair. Then she reached for Lindsey.

“What are you doing?” Lindsey asked.

“No gloomy faces around here. We’re going to dance.” Rachel grabbed Brianna next. “We’re beautiful young women who are going to have a great time.”

At first, we were reluctant, but by the time we hit the dance floor, the band started playing a faster-paced ballad, and with Rachel’s excitement, and Lindsey and Brianna’s giggles, it was easy to get lost in the moment.

I danced, but it wasn’t like the old days.

When I was young, I loved to dance. The dance floor was my second home. But since leaving Lexington, things had changed. I had changed. The events with Ryan changed me, and I was never the same carefree girl again.

288/504

Noticing my hesitation, Rachel bumped her hip on mine. “Where’s that fiery girl who nobody could make stop dancing?” Good question. Where was she? Could I still be that girl? Could she just be dormant inside me and in need of awakening? I closed my eyes and let the song envelope me. The beat carried through my body, energizing my core. I took a deep breath and let go.

I raised my arms above my head and moved my hips and shuffled my feet like I hadn’t done in four years.

“That’s more like it!” Rachel winked.

The four of us danced the next two songs as if nobody was watching. Until I spun around and met Ryan’s eyes. Now sitting at our table, he stared at me and his whole being screamed tension. His arms were folded over his chest, his jaw popped every two seconds, and his eyes … oh, his eyes weren’t only rough. There was more to 289/504

it, but I couldn’t name it, because once I named it, there was no going back.

I averted my eyes and turned back to the girls. My mojo was gone, but I didn’t stop dancing.

Several guys had gathered around us.

Some were bold and tried dancing with us.

Rachel and I kept the girls safe.

Hands landed on my hips, and I stepped forward and away. I whirled around, intent on lashing out at the drunk who dared touch me.

“Noah?” I asked.

He smiled at me. “Let’s dance.” Hmm, hell no. “We’re trying to have a girls’ night out, Noah. Maybe another time.” I started turning my back to him, but he grasped my elbow and pulled me against him. “Come on. Just one dance.” His breath reeked of alcohol.

I pushed against his shoulders. “I said no.”

290/504

His hand dug into my skin, hurting.

“You can’t dance that way and—”

“Let her go.” Ryan’s voice was harsh, cold.

Noah glanced at him and shook his head. The guy was drunker than I first thought. “I called dibs on her, Ryan. Go find some other girl to take home.” Ryan’s

face

reddened—pure

rage.

Pulling his arm back, he stepped toward Noah. “You sick bast—”

Jason, Luke, and Ethan appeared behind Ryan, their arms around his shoulders and waist.

“Whoa, whoa!” Noah swayed.

“Calm down, Ryan,” Jason said. His voice was even, but his eyes had murdered Noah at least three times already.

Ryan struggled against his friends.

“Ryan, you can’t fight,” Luke said.

Ethan squeezed between Ryan and Noah. “Remember. Only four months now.

291/504

Four more months without trouble. You can do it.”

Whatever he meant didn’t seem to have an effect on Ryan. He thrashed to get rid of his friends, but the guys kept a good grip on him.

Noah kept on dancing beside me, totally oblivious.

Jason looked at me. “We have to take him home. I know I have no right to tell you what to do, but please, you should consider going home too.” His eyes shifted to Noah for a moment. “If you know what I mean.” I nodded. The guys dragged Ryan back.

He disappeared into the crowd, but not before his gaze met mine once more. His eyes shone with concern and rage.

When they were gone, I pulled the girls away from Noah. He was so drunk that he didn’t even noticed we weren’t around him, and he danced as if he were in a trance.

292/504

I tried letting it go again and losing myself to the music and the moment, but the spark was gone. I kept seeing Ryan’s eyes.

The lust when I was dancing, then the rage when Noah hit on me.

A flutter made my heart beat faster.

Had he been jealous? Why would he? But if not, then why would he act that way?

Other questions took hold of my mind.

The guys insisted Ryan shouldn’t fight, and Ethan mentioned something about only four months. What the hell did that mean? I was going to ask Jason about it first thing tomorrow, even though I knew what he would say—that I had to ask Ryan. Well, I tried and he wasn’t saying anything. I had to find another way to find out what happened to him.

Not wanting to break the party, I stayed with the girls, but it was like only half of me was here. Rachel noticed right away, of course, but other than her knowing eyes, she said nothing.

293/504

***

Jason followed me until I parked my car inside the garage and crossed the front door of my apartment. But once he drove away, I raced back to my car and drove to my parents’ house. At some point, Jessica would have to drop Brianna off, and my sister would finally hear what I had to say.

I leaned against my car and waited. My mind betrayed me and went back to the club.

I closed my eyes and saw Jessica on the dance floor, her body moving with the beat, an inexplicable grace to her movements, her curves so sensual and inviting. No wonder drunk Noah hit on her. Rage rolled in my chest. Fuck, I had almost lost it back there. If it weren’t for Jason, Luke, and Ethan, I would have pummeled Noah, and then I would be in big trouble.

294/504

I shook my head. Everything was going so well. I was able to control my rage, to live one day at a time, one hour at a time, doing what I was told to do. I had been able to suck it up, to hide my feelings, to push them back.

Until she came back and brought everything with her, every feeling, every regret.

The sound of an approaching car aler-ted me, and I opened my eyes. It was Jessica and Brianna. Lindsey wasn’t with them. Jessica must have dropped her cousin off first.

It made sense, since my parents’ house was closer to hers than her cousin’s house.

She parked the truck in front of the driveway. Brianna leaned into her for a hug, and then slipped out the car.

“What you have to say, I don’t want to hear,” Brianna said. She walked in a wide arc around me.

I stepped in front of her, cutting her path. “You’re my little sister. If I want to say something, you’ll listen.”

295/504

“Ryan, it’s almost two in the morning. If you really need to be a jerk, can you do it tomorrow?”

She started walking again, but I grabbed her arm.

“You’re going to listen to me.”

“Hey,” Jessica called out. She was out of the truck and marching toward me with a big frown. “Let her go, Ryan.”

Brianna jerked her arm back and rushed inside the house. What was I doing?

Grabbing my sister and barking at her? If my anger was this uncontrollable, it was because of
her
.

I glared at Jessica. “You have no right to come between my sister and me.”

“This is ridiculous, Ryan. She was talking to a friend; she only drank Sprite. I know because I checked every few minutes, and she danced with me. What’s so wrong about that?”

“She’s only sixteen.”

296/504

Her eyes widened. “If I remember correctly, that didn’t seem to matter four years ago.”

That was different. Wasn’t it? I didn’t know anymore. “Why do you keep bring the past up?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “When are you going to tell me what happened to you after I left?”

I opened my mouth to tell her to go to hell, but the words didn’t come out. I shut my mouth before I said something else I regretted.

She shook her head. “We can’t keep doing this, Ryan.”

“This what?”

“Walking on egg shells around each other. We’re only making ourselves more frustrated and angrier, and we’re putting stress on our friends. I already said this the other day. This is a small town, and I’ll be here for the next two months.” 297/504

I strode past her, toward my car. “And I’m gonna say what I told you the other day.

It’s better if you stay away from me.” When she spoke again, her voice was soft, as if she really cared. “What happened to you, Ryan? Tell me. I need to know.” I whirled around and was surprised to see her only a couple of feet from me. “Why do you
need
to know?”

“Because … you don’t ride your bike anymore, and you have curfews, and you seem like you’re still carrying whatever bad thing happened on your shoulders, and it’s dragging you down.” She took a step forward, making us closer. I was aware of her body, and how I could extend my arm and touch her. “I’m not a bad person, Ryan. I might still hate you for what you did to me, and for a long time, I wanted you to suffer for it, but the truth is … I don’t like to see you hurting.”

298/504

I sucked in a sharp breath. Her blue eyes were fixed on mine, and I could see she was speaking the truth. She didn’t like to see me hurting. But … I had hurt her. She should be happy I was hurting.

A new feeling fought for space against the lust, the rage, and the frustration. A feeling I thought I had lost once she was gone. A feeling I hadn’t realized I had missed.

“Jessica—”

The front door flew open with a bang and Jessica jumped back.

With a thin robe over his pajamas, my father marched down the front steps, his harsh gaze on Jessica.

“What is she doing here?” He pointed a finger at her. “You can’t be here. You were a disgrace to my son.”

Jessica paled. “I …”

I clenched my fists. “Dad, you’re going too far.”

299/504

My father huffed. “Am I? Look at the mess you are. All because of her.” His words were laced with venom, and I could see Jessica becoming sicker by the second. “Leave, girl. Leave now. And you better stay away from my son. Do you hear me?”

“Dad! Stop it.” I stepped in front of Jessica. “You can’t talk to her like that.” I was ready to defend her. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but it was too late. Jessica ran to her truck and peeled away from the curb as if the ground were on fire.

“Hear me, boy,” my father started. “If I see her near you again—”

“What, Dad, what? You’re gonna ground me?” It was hard to rein in all the rage swimming freely through me. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Everyone makes mistakes. Mine were a little bigger than the norm, and I’m paying for them.

When are you gonna get over it?” 300/504

I didn’t wait for an answer. My instinct told me to bolt, so I turned my back on him and took firm steps to my car.

An immense will to race assaulted me. I needed to work off my anger, to waste it somehow. Thank goodness, it was too late for races, and most clubs in Columbia were closing.

Without anything else to do, I drove to my apartment and lay in my bed with a full glass of Coke, pretending it was blissful Jack.

Chapter Sixteen

Jessica

Sunday afternoon, Mama insisted we visited my father, even if he was sleeping.

“I don’t spend much time with him,” she said, and the guilt was clear in each of her words.

I had no excuses not to go. After all, I had come here because of him. However, Jason rattled something about visiting Dad yesterday and left the house before Mama could inflict guilt on him too.

Mama drove the truck, and as we passed familiar streets, I remembered last night. The way Ryan watched me, his tense body, his words. I didn’t understand him.

One minute he was stomping over me like I was the last thing he wanted to see, then he was acting like a jealous boyfriend. And what about his father? I was a disgrace to Ryan?

302/504

What happened to him was about me? My curiosity had skyrocketed now.

We arrived at the hospital, and the nurse at the nurse’s station smiled.

“I was about to call you, Corrine,” she said. “Your husband is awake.” Mama beamed. “He is?”

I froze. He was? Oh damn.

She hurried her steps to Papa’s door, but she didn’t open it right away. She turned to me and rested a hand on my arm. “He’s crankier than before, and moody. Please, just

… be patient with him. Are you ready?” I nodded, but I wasn’t ready. I had no idea what to expect.

Mama pushed the door open, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Papa was lying in the same bed I had seen him in before, in the same room, but now he was awake, looking out the window. His face was pale and his brown eyes a little dull.

A pang ran through my heart.

303/504

Mama rushed to him. “Darling,” she whispered, taking his hand.

He turned his face to her and a small smile took over his thin lips. “Hi, Cor.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you’re awake. There’s someone here to see you.” She stepped to the side and gestured to me. Papa’s smile faded, his dull eyes hardened, and his frail body stiffened.

I took a step toward his bed. “Hi, Papa.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone harsh, his voice weak.

“She came to see you, darling,” Mama said, playing referee. “Jess came all the day from Cleveland to see you.”

He spread his arms. “You saw me.” A mix of feelings stirred within me and tears filled my eyes. His fragile state mixed with his words and body language hurt too much. I wanted to bolt, slam the door, and never come back. But one look at Mama, at 304/504

her desperate, begging eyes, and I knew I had to try. For her, I would try.

“We should talk.”

Papa turned his face to the window and stared outside. “What is done is done.

There’s nothing to talk about.” I took a deep, calming breath. “It has been four years, Papa. Four years. That’s a long time. I’m different now. More mature, more responsible. If you give me the chance, you’ll see I’m okay and what happened is forgotten and in the past.”