Authors: Sophie Lira
I grab him again, shoving him onto my coffee table, and it breaks as he smashes into it. I pin him down, punching him with all of my strength again and again. Braden’s eyes widen and his jaw pops, lighting up like I’m playing whack-an-asshole as I pummel every pressure point I can remember. The need for revenge overcomes me and my vision goes dark. Braden stares at me as I slam my fist into his jaw once more, his pupils barely visible as his eyes widen.
Before I can break his neck for everything he did to Olivia, I pull myself away. My hand is on fire, and my knee is probably torn again. At least I’m supposed to go for surgery soon. My living room is demolished. The TV is smashed, couch ripped apart, and coffee table in shards of splintered wood. Braden pushes to sitting, laughing like a maniac.
“How fucking dumb are you? You come
here
?” I can’t look at him, but I need some answers. “She has a restraining order against you. She owes you nothing. Why did you come after her again?”
He laughs once, like the answer is written on his forehead. “Because she deserves it. That, and I miss that hot little ass gri—”
“I suggest you not finish that sentence.” I stand, approaching until I’m centimeters from his face. As I grab his jaw so hard my fingers burn, his eyes redden like I’m refracturing whatever snapped in the first place. “I swear if you come within a thousand miles of her ever again, I will end your life. You think your network reaches far and wide, you haven’t seen anything. I have eyes on you now. Wherever you go, you better watch your ass. If I hear that you even think about her, you’ll pay for it.”
Braden swallows, glaring at me, but I can’t pinpoint his reaction. Maybe he’s thinking about what Cam did, about how if that was bad, he doesn’t want to know what happens if oversteps his boundaries. I’ve never been like this, and I don’t plan on ever going this far again. But it’s Olivia. The person I love more than anyone.
Footsteps pound down the hall, and I step back and slump onto the stool. Two security guards come rushing in and charge Braden. I assume Olivia gave them the DL on who’s to blame for this; one officer flips Braden onto his stomach and handcuffs him.
As Braden’s dragged away, the security guard tightens his hold as he resists. All of a sudden, Braden stops dead in his tracks. He whips his head to me with a nod. “Why don’t you ask Tyler why he went to LA in the first place? And Kyle, I’ll always find her.”
Motherfucker.
I shove past both guards and sucker punch him as hard as I can. The spray of blood from his nose and down his shirt makes me happier than anything. “I wasn’t fucking around. Watch yourself.”
The guard separates us and drags him out of my apartment. The second, older guard, one I’ve seen around a thousand times, sighs. His salt-and-pepper eyebrows pull together and he walks over to me. “Are you hurt, son?”
I’m surprised he doesn’t acknowledge my Hulk-out. I shake my head even though I know a lot of appendages are probably broken, bruised, or sprained. “Is my girlfriend all right?”
“Yes, she’s with George in his office with your pup.” The guard swallows and holds out his hand. “I’m Randall. I’m the head of security here.”
“Kyle.” We shake, and I lean against the stool, alleviating the pressure on my legs.
He pulls out a notepad. “The police should be here any moment, but it might take until tomorrow to get you a new door.”
For fuck’s sake, I don’t want to stay anywhere but here. I’ll put up a piece of plywood if I have to. We talk for a bit longer; he asked me what happened and how we know Braden. I have no idea how he even found out where I live. I don’t want to know. All I care about is Olivia’s safety. At this point, I don’t know where else we should go to get that.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Companions
Olivia
Braden’s in jail again. One of his random
boys
bailed him out by selling Braden’s ostentatious new car and God knows what else. Tim doesn’t take shit from anyone. Especially when it comes to Kyle, and apparently me. Which is great because I’m so over this whole situation.
Puppies also make everything better.
Aubrey squishes Dale against her chest, burying her face in his fur. “He’s. So.
Fluf-fy
!”
He furiously starts licking her face. She giggles as she’s showered with affection. The orderly queue of yogis lining up to pet my canine bestie has nearly reached the door, each one cooing and squeeing more than the last. Dale can’t get enough of it, either.
I really should start charging people for this.
Aubrey hands him off, waving the throng of canine-deprived people into the studio. “Let’s go, guys! We can all swoon over him later!”
Dale heaves a sigh as I place him on the giant dog pillow behind the counter. Kyle had surgery on his knee three days ago, and I didn’t want him hobbling all the way outside to walk him. Dale’s been a trooper, staying put and listening to my commands. He always licks my ankle when he needs to go outside and does nothing but sleep or gnaw on a bone. He really is the best, most well-behaved puppy on the planet.
“How did it go this morning?” Helena comes out of the back room and sits on the bench, patting the space next her.
“The same. Lots of talking. I didn’t cry this time, though. Yay me.” I lean my head on her shoulder. I breathe deeply through my nose and close my eyes. I’ve left talking about Braden to my counselor and her alone. I’m nowhere near repaired, but I’m hopeful.
Everything is okay.
I am okay.
I will be okay in the future.
“Do you feel like she’s helping?” She scoops up Dale as he trots over and places him on my lap. Helena went out of her way to look into some counselors in the area. After I rambled on and on about never taking off another day again, she nearly fired me for overthinking the situation.
I nod. “For sure. It was really sweet of you to look into this for me. I know I keep telling you that. It just … it means a lot.”
“You need this, though. It’s important to talk about what’s going on inside, dear. Even though we rely so heavily on yoga, it won’t cure everything. There are some things that will need work outside of your
om
.” She gives me a big squeeze.
The screen door creaks open. I hold Dale’s collar as Cam, Natasha, and June walk in with cups of coffee from the little shop next door. My heart melts at the surprise.
Cam stomps over to me, opening his arms. “Miss me?”
I nod furiously, a goofy smile on my face. I think Kyle knows I need another guy in my life to balance out my brain. Natasha will always be my best friend, and Aubrey’s creeping up to that status quickly, but Cam gives me this layer I didn’t know I needed. Kyle always gives me a confidence boost in love, while Cam provides more strength.
I giggle as he gives me a giant hug. Dale pipes up, nearly jumping out of my arms as we embrace. I think Kyle’s jealous because Dale likes Cam better. You’d think there’d be a King of the Jungle showdown, but Dale is more than happy to slobber at Cam’s kneecaps.
“Helena, this is Cam and June, Kyle’s mom. And I’m sure you know Natasha.” I give Natasha a wink, my heart still bursting at the surprise of seeing her. While Helena and June make adorable pleasantries, Cam and Dale play. They have a man-to-man reunion filled with playful shoves and puppy slams into the carpet. I stifle a laugh as Cam fakes death as Dale gnaws on his hand, and then jumps on his chest.
“Shhh!” I hold out my hand and glance into the studio. Thanks to the deeply tinted window and soundproofing, no one seems to notice the circus going on in the foyer. “What are you guys doing here anyway?”
“Ah, we missed your face.” He scratches behind his ears and Dale zones out like he’s on some kind of dog-nip. Cam holds him up so their faces are level and laughs. “Dude, we are totally twins.”
I pout as Dale licks Cam, and with his mostly black fur and bright blue eyes, they do look really similar. Cam sits on the bench, still holding Dale. I really can’t wait until Dale turns into a monstrosity of a husky and to see them roll around together. It’s going to be like Goliath and Goliath.
“You look gorgeous today, honey. I’m so glad everything fit.” June runs her hand along the sleeve of the cashmere cardigan she sent me. Her perfume bursting with jasmine and vanilla blossoms is calming and I breathe it in deeply.
I blush a little. I nearly had a mental breakdown when I received a giant box from Saks a few days ago.
Seeing what she could pick up
really meant a few thousand dollars’ worth of clothes. Kyle reassured me that with the sample sale and her connections, it cost pennies compared to the retail tags.
However, pennies to him and to me are two different things.
But I’m more than willing to weed my pathetic closet of things held together with safety pins and replace them with more respectable garb.
“I have to run to the market to get more mint and eucalyptus. Olivia, lock up after class. I’ll close out when I get back around eight.” Helena gives me a kiss on the cheek and leaves.
“Hey girl, hey!” Natasha skips over and ropes me into a giant hug after she gives Dale a big smooch.
“So, why are you guys really here?” I wrap an arm around Natasha and lean into her.
“I’m going to take care of my gimpy son tonight and make him dinner. Cam and Natasha were nice enough to pick me up from the airport.” She smiles, pulling a small envelope out of her back pocket. “Tim and I know you girls have been through a lot the past few months. We wanted you to have a nice night to relax and spend some time together. I know when I don’t see my best girlfriends for a while I start to go a little batty.”
“June, thank you.” I take the card and my stomach drops at the inscription
Windsor Court Hotel
. The four-star hotel with impeccable dining, rooms, and a spa is the best in New Orleans. I tense at the price tag behind all this. It feels like too much. They’ve already done so much for us already.
“Swanky … ” Natasha’s eyes widen as she takes the card from me. The smile overcoming her face is contagious.
“We already reserved you a mini-suite, but whatever else you girls want is on us.” She grabs us both into a group hug. If anything else happens today, I might actually pass out. I’ve been overwhelmed by Kyle’s family and how quickly they’ve adopted us into their clan. I know a lot of families are probably like this, but I can’t help thinking things like this don’t happen for me.
“What, nothing for me?” Cam grunts and slumps back into the bench.
“Cameron, you really think I’m going to fatten up my only son with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese and not ask his questionable other half along?” June winks at me. “I was already planning on going to the wholesale grocery store to make you two a spread.”
My counselor’s voice explodes inside my head.
If they didn’t want to make you feel welcomed and loved, they wouldn’t.
You’ve hit the lottery and it’s a genuine win.
Accept these new people in your life as angels.
Be. Gracious.
***
The forest-green seaweed wrap plastered all over my body almost relaxes me into a coma. My feet wiggle into the dingy gray mud and it slides between my toes. I breathe the steam consuming the room, and the crisp smell of eucalyptus and cucumber invigorates my lungs. The seaweed is supposed to pull out toxins and the mud is supposed to soften the skin. Right now, I think I should really be on
Dirty Jobs
and hanging out with Mike Rowe.
“You guys totally did it,” Natasha whispers with a laugh. “You’re always so smiley and shit lately.”
The aloe parchment mask starts to slide down my face from the heat coming off my cheeks. “Like you haven’t with your human jungle gym!”
She shuffles onto her side in the ceramic mud pit next to mine. “We were really bad. In Kyle’s apartment, that first night … ”
I choke on my own breath and start coughing, cracking the drying seaweed around my shoulder. “Natasha Annabelle Schaffer!”
“I couldn’t help it!” Her bright blue eyes are glassy, probably reminiscing about her illicit tryst.
I turn my head to her and wiggle the papyrus-infused mask off my face. The blush scorching my cheeks must be like the surface of the sun. “Well, did you at least—”
“Like a volcano, every time.” She shakes her face and her green mask falls into the mud as well.
This is the table reading of the bad porn. Oh my God, why did I ask?
“That wasn’t what I meant! I hope he was … prepared.” My jaw hits my chest. I’m not really shocked they had crazy sex in Kyle’s apartment after knowing each other for under four hours.
“Of course he was. Ain’t no one got time for baby daddies. I still don’t know how I’m walking right now, even after all this time.” She smirks. “Post-traumatic sex with a triple-black-belt martial artist is life-altering.”
“I thought you said you both decided to step back and were
just friends
.” I wink at her and shut my mouth. For some reason, I can’t deal with hearing about sex involving someone who’s like my brother. Even if it’s not shocking that he knows what he’s doing.
Lord knows Kyle does.
Maybe I should talk to my counselor about sex addiction.
“I can’t totally stay away from him, Chip.” She shrugs. I’m done telling her to not get so involved with Cam. If he’s treating her well and looking after her, that’s all I care about.
Neither of us says anything for a while. We both lay in our little mud pits, relaxing and listening to the serene bamboo chime music. I miss Natasha so much and I should be talking to her, but I don’t know what to talk about. Everything is so different now. I’ve sprung into a new lifestyle I never imagined and it scares me. I don’t want to change who I am because of who I’m with.