AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We got the go bags, I’ll get Leah’s shit.” I frown as I peek over at my brother.
“Pack extra, we got two strays in the back.” Cody and Katie bristle at being called strays and I don’t blame them.
“Is that a good idea?”
Corvin sighs tiredly, he’s dressed in his football uniform, pads and all. “I didn’t have a choice, they blocked my car.”
“We going off grid?” What the hell does that even mean?
“Yeah, brother, for at least a week until we can get out in front of this shit.”
“We’ll see you in eight hours.” Corvin ends the call.
“Where the hell are we going?” Cody asks.
“To the Batcave.” I roll my eyes at Corvin’s stupid answer. The longer we drive, the more the ache in my cheek begins to grow. I didn’t feel it before but now that the adrenaline has worn off, it’s fucking painful.
* * *
My eyes sting and my cheek continues to ache but I refuse to say anything and risk Corvin going off at me again. I check the time on the dash and stifle a groan. It’s after one in the morning, the girls fell asleep a couple hours ago. If the pain in my face wasn’t so bad I would be fast asleep as well. Corvin exits the interstate, I look around and see nothing but mountains. Where the hell are we? We continue to drive for another twenty minutes on darkened roads with no street lights. He finally slows the car and pulls into a gravel driveway that is lined by pine trees. Even with the windows up I can still smell the scent of pine. It reminds me of Christmas. Mom always said we could never have a fake tree, it had to be real or it just wasn’t Christmas.
I spot a lone light up ahead and gasp when the car’s headlights display the cabin in front of us—it is majestic looking. It’s a two-story with a wraparound porch on the second level, and huge A-frame windows, allowing you to see the beautiful mountains that surround the property. Downstairs is all windows, allowing the natural sunlight to beam in daily. Shrubs are planted around the house, and a swing seat hangs on the front porch. Corvin parks the car and shuts the lights off, taking away my source of light. I sigh. I guess I’ll just have to take in the beauty of this place tomorrow in the daylight.
“We’re here!” Corvin says loud enough to wake the girls. They both yawn and stretch before we pile out of the car. My ass is numb and my back is aching from the long drive, I need a hot shower and some Tylenol to numb the pain in my face, then a nice comfy bed would be great. “Come on,” Corv says as he leads the way up the paved path to the cabin. The moon is high in the sky and lights the way for us to not trip on our own feet, well the moon and the porch light. I stumble up the stairs thanks to the lack of lighting. My brother doesn’t even offer to help, just grunts and continues to the door. I sigh, Corvin has never been this angry at me before. Katie reaches out and squeezes my hand in silent support. Right now, they are the only two people I have on my side and who actually seem to care about what I went through at the hands of Gary.
Corvin reaches behind the porch light and pulls out a key, he unlocks the door, reaches in and flicks some switches before light blinds us. I blink my eyes to adjust before taking a deep breath and following my brother inside. My jaw hits the floor, this place is stunning. High vaulted ceilings with a chandelier that hangs in the entryway. Beautiful pictures of landscapes adorn the walls, I round the corner and gasp, a sunken living room with high ceilings and another chandelier, white suede couches that wrap around the area and a cozy open fireplace. I turn the other way and find an open plan kitchen with wooden bench tops and a stainless steel gas stove—a pot rack hangs above the butcher’s block in the center of the room.
I continue through the kitchen to the open door off the back where Corvin disappeared. I marvel at the room. It’s a game room with a pool table, air hockey and a projector screen on the other side with recliners. I follow Corvin as he leaves through another door that leads us past the kitchen and living room. We head up the beautiful wooden stairs that lead up to the second floor. I peek over the side and love how you can see the entire downstairs from the landing.
“That’s Beck’s room.” I turn to where Corvin is pointing to a closed door on the other end of us. “Next to his is… Darius’s, then a spare room which your friends can sleep in.” I get the double meaning, I’m not to be trusted to share a room next to Darius anymore. “There’s the bathroom.” He points to the open door next to the spare room. “Then that’s my room.” He points to the last door, I frown.
“Where do Saint and Crue sleep?” I ask.
“We converted the basement for them, they stay down there,” he answers in a clipped tone.
“And, where do I sleep?” I ask as I nibble on my bottom lip nervously. His gaze drills into me and I look away unable to meet his angry glare.
“Next to me so I can make sure you don’t sneak out for a midnight romp.” I cringe and Cody snorts next to me. Corvin swings his gaze to her. “Something funny?” he snaps. I expect her to remain silent but she surprises me when she steps into Corvin, spearing him an angry look of her own.
“Yeah, it is, actually. You stand there and judge her for sleeping with your best friend but not once have any of you selfish sons of bitches acknowledged what happened to her! Your sister was fucking date raped and all you care about is Darius fucking her?” She doesn’t give him a chance to answer. “You’re fucking pathetic and she isn’t sleeping in your room either.” She reaches back, grips my arm and drags me toward the spare room leaving an open-mouthed Corvin standing there on his own.
CHAPTER2
Darius
My forehead is numb from leaning against the window for hours, none of us have spoken a word since we left the house. I know Beck, Saint and Crue are pissed at me. I told them that I wouldn’t let things with me and Leah come between any of us and I fucking broke that promise. I’m so fucking livid at her for what she has done to me! But, I’m also so fucking angry at myself for not piecing together what happened to her on my own, I didn’t even question it when I found her in that bed, I assumed the worse of her.
“You couldn’t have known.” I turn to look at Beck, he keeps his eyes on the road as he shrugs. “You aired that shit out loud.” I shake my head and go back to looking out the window.
“You know Corvin is gonna beat your ass, right?” Irritated by Saint’s stupid ass statement I just flip him off. He scoffs and doesn’t take the hint to shut the fuck up. “Stay quiet all you want but you brought this on yourself. You should have fucking told him!” he shouts.
“I know!” I yell. “I should have done a lot of fucking things, but I didn’t.” My breaths are rushing in and out of me as my annoyance grows.
“Yeah you should have! We are all in the shit because we fucking knew you were fucking his sister and you didn’t have the balls to fucking tell him.” I fucking hate that Saint is right. I’ve landed them all in the shit because I didn’t come clean. “I won’t fucking let this family that we’ve all created be torn apart. You guys are all I have and sister or not, I won’t let pussy come between us.” My first reaction is to turn around and punch him in the mouth for speaking about Leah like that. My second, is to feel immense guilt for putting our makeshift family in jeopardy because I fell in love with the wrong girl.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Not as sorry as Gary is right now,” Crue butts in, and within a second the four of us laugh and some of the tension flees from me.
