The right kind of wrong, p.11
The Right Kind of Wrong, page 11
“What happened?” asks Emily. I turn and see her standing on the side of the pool. “Maybe I can help,” she offers.
“She walked in at exactly the wrong moment, when I was going off on my dad.”
She sits down on the side of the pool. I approach her and stand next to her side, where I’m at eye level with her waist. She moves her feet back and forth in the water and I glance toward the pool house wondering why they are taking so long, or actually, wondering how much longer they will be.
“I was defending your honor,” I say and she actually laughs.
“Seriously, Owen. Come on.”
My arm touches the side of her leg and she has this quick jerk reaction. I grin. “I was. And then he said something about my mom and it really pissed me off.”
“Oh.”
“Honestly,” I tell her. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want Molly pissed at me, but I’m not telling her why I did what I did.”
“Don’t you think she’ll find out how he really is? Aren’t you afraid to keep her so naïve?”
“She’ll find out eventually, but not from me. And Blake and I lived a lifetime of beatings and dad trying to control us. I won’t let that happen to her. But she has this image of him built up in her head and I can’t be the one to crush that. I’m responsible for a lot of damage in this family, but that won’t be one of them.”
I look up at her; and I can see that look in her eyes, like she just wants to solve all of my problems. While I just want to pull her into the pool and kiss her.
“How can she not know?” she asks as she looks down at my scars. I put my hand over the left side of my chest, covering the biggest one. “She thinks these are from random accidents.”
She sighs and starts to get up, just as the pool house’s door opens. She looks down at me. “You’re nothing like him, Owen. I wish you’d see that.” And she walks away from me, and toward Craig.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Melissa has a red bikini on. She stops near the pool to put her hair up, jumps in, and swims over to where I am standing. She tries to make small talk, but I find myself distracted by Craig and Emily sitting on the steps. His arm goes around her and I notice how he seems a lot clingier recently, but it doesn’t seem to bother her. Watching them has become overwhelmingly irritating.
“Sorry, Melissa. I have to get inside to take care of a few things.”
She chuckles and looks from me to Emily. “Huh. I never thought the day would come when Owen Crawford was jealous.”
I turn around and cock my head to the side. “Jealous?” I ask and she nods while smiling.
“I noticed the way you look at her,” she says jokingly as she splashes water toward me.
“I wouldn’t call it jealously, sweetheart. It’s more like curiosity. I just don’t get why the fuck she keeps going back to her cheating boyfriend.”
Melissa sighs. “I guess you have a point. Well, don’t let me hold you up. I’m just going to lay by the pool for a while and then head home.”
I grin at her, lean in, and give her a kiss on the cheek. She chuckles. “Now, she on the other hand, well, she is either into you or she is just as curious as you are.”
I glance back and see that Emily is watching us. I look at Melissa and shake my head. “I’ll see you later. Don’t be a stranger.”
I get out of the pool, grab a towel from the table next to it, and wrap it around my waist. I then take my swim trunks off from underneath the towel and throw them at Melissa.
She bursts out laughing. “Is that an invitation, Crawford?” she laughs.
“Maybe?” I shrug. “Either way, the maid will be thankful for not having to dry off the floor inside.”
She’s still laughing. “I’ll see you later, Crawford.” I look over at Emily, who watches me curiously as does Craig, and I wink at Emily before I turn around and go inside.
Curiosity seems to be the theme of the day. I walk inside to find dad chatting and laughing with Will and Molly. That poor guy doesn’t know what he’s getting into.
I start to head upstairs when dad calls me, “Owen. Will needs to get back to the dorms to get his things set-up. Would you take him?”
I turn around and raise an eyebrow at him, because for one thing, dad has a damn driver, and also because Molly has a license. I’m about to state the obvious, when I look at Molly and wonder if maybe this will get me off her bad side.
“Yeah, I’ll take him.”
“Good,” says dad. “I’m going shopping with Molly. We’ll be back in a few hours. I told Craig and Emily they’re welcome to stay and use the pool. They’re going to join us for dinner.”
“Okay…” I say before I look at Will. “I’ll be right down.”
I throw on a pair of black pants and a black shirt, and I come back minutes later. Molly and dad are already gone, and I find Will waiting outside. It’s an awkward drive, full of one-word answers from him. The most I get out of the guy is that he wants to be a teacher and he’s working in the English department. I definitely see why Blake likes the guy. Eventually, I give up on having a conversation with him and I turn the radio up.
I drop him off and go to the club to do some paperwork, mostly with the intent of missing dinner. I go in and Justin is talking to Shayne. I wave as I make my way to the office, but once I’m there, I can’t focus on anything. I spend most of my time just staring at papers and zoning out. Not having slept much, I go back home early evening, before we even open.
When I walk in the house, Molly, the douchebag, and Emily, are sitting on my couch, watching a movie. Craig has his arms wrapped around Emily as she sits at an angle with her back against him. Not even a minute later, there is a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” I say. I just got here, but I’ll take any excuse I can to get the fuck out of this room. I open the door to find Will standing there. He looks distant, and also out of breath.
“Is Molly here?” he asks, his voice breaking.
“Did you walk here?”
“Yes. Is she here?” he asks. I get a gut feeling I should say no, but she comes up right behind me just then.
“Will?” she asks surprised. “Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Molly. Can we talk?”
“Sure. Come in.”
He keeps looking around. “Actually, can we talk outside?” he asks in a nervous tone.
I cross my arms and give him a warning look.
She hesitates. “Okay,” she says. She steps outside and closes the door behind her. I go over to the window where I can see them. I happen to look back for a split second and I see Emily watching me curiously.
It takes less than five minutes before I see Molly crying. I step away from the window and I’m about to go outside to beat his ass when Molly comes barging into the living room and goes upstairs. I debate whether I should go after him or check on her.
Emily comes up behind me. “You should check on her,” she says. “Unless you’d like me to.”
“I will go.” I rush upstairs and knock on the door.
“Leave me alone!” Molly yells from inside her room.
I put my arm up and lean against the door. “Come on, Molly. Open the door.”
“No!”
Emily comes up behind me and touches my shoulder. I turn around and my attention goes straight to her lips. Fuck. I should’ve never came back home…
“Do you mind if I try?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Go for it.” I step out of her way.
“Molly, it’s Emily. I just want to make sure you’re okay. If you need me, I’ll be out here, okay?”
She doesn’t say anything. Emily and I stand in the hallway, waiting. After a while, we sit down, side by side, against the wall, facing Molly’s door.
“I like seeing how much you care for your little sister,” she says after a long and awkward silence.
“She’s blood. That is what we do for family.”
Emily tenses, and there is this look in her eyes that I can’t quite explain.
She puts her hand over mine. “She’ll be okay. Everything always seems to be a thousand times worse when you’re a teen, but whatever happened, they’re going to be okay.”
“No, we won’t,” says Molly. I didn’t even notice she opened her door.
Molly looks at me. Her face is red and she’s furious - more so than before. “What did you tell Will? He said that he needs to think about his future… focus on school and his grades to keep his scholarship.”
I stand up, feeling confused, “First of all, I didn’t tell him anything. And I’m sure you’ll get back together eventually.”
She gives me the death glare and throws her hands up in the air, “You must have told him something! We were fine before you gave him a ride. He also said that I should move on. That no matter how well he does, he will never amount to the kind of person I need to be with.”
Fuck no. She was already pissed at me before. I’m not getting blamed for this shit too. This has dad written all over it.
“What dorm is he in?” I ask.
She laughs in between tears. “I don’t think so, Owen.”
“You can either tell me, or I can find out. Your choice.”
“What are you going to do?” she asks.
“Prove that dad is involved with this. It wasn’t me, Molly.”
“What?” she says sarcastically, “Just like it was dad’s fault that you attacked him this morning? Jesus, Owen. Stop blaming dad for everything. He’d never do this! He loved Will.”
I cock my head to the side. I’m so done. She needs to know at least part of the truth.
“Wanna bet? Come on… get ready to go. Either way, I’m talking to Will tonight.”
“Fine! I’m ready. Let’s go,” she says.
I go to the front door. “Are you coming?” I ask Emily and I know she wants to, but the douchebag is watching her like a hawk. I just shrug. “Let’s go, Molly.”
We don’t say a word on the way there. We get to the dorm, and she tells me what room he is in. “I’m going to call your phone. Leave it on so you can hear our conversation. I don’t want to be accused of making shit up,” I say before I get out of the car.
She nods. I call her phone once I get to his floor, and put it in my pocket.
He opens the door. The poor kid breaks easily. He’s upset, and he looks like he may have been crying.
“Can we talk?” I ask and he motions for me to come in.
“What the fuck happened?” I ask.
There is a pause. “I want the truth,” I say. “And I’m not leaving until I get it. You didn’t want to tell Molly, fine. But you’re telling me. You can’t go from hearts and flowers to ‘I can’t do this’ within a matter of hours.”
He turns around and faces the wall. “Your dad came by a few hours after you left.”
“Okay, go on.”
He turns back around. “He’s right, you know? She does deserve better.”
I roll my eyes at him. Freaking people in love. I swear…
“He threatened you,” I say, already knowing the answer.
“He said he donates a lot of money to the school and that he would make sure I lose my scholarship if I don’t get away from Molly. And I love Molly. I really do. I said it didn’t matter, that I would change schools if I have to, and he said he’ll follow me wherever I go and that either way I won’t be able to give Molly the future she deserves. I freaked out. My parents worked their entire lives to get me here. And I heard Blake and Arianna talking about him before, when Molly wasn’t around. I heard Arianna begging him to not let Molly near your dad and that he’s a horrible person. So I agreed to back off. I know it was stupid, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“Why didn’t you tell her the truth?” I ask.
“She loves your dad, man. I didn’t want to destroy that for her.”
“Story of my fucking life,” I say.
He looks past me, toward the open door and sees Molly standing there.
She looks up at him. Of course, she is in tears. Between her and Emily, I don’t know how much more I can handle.
“I don’t need stuff, Will. You know me. I just need you in my life.”
She hugs him, and then she looks at me. “And you and I… we need to talk!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Where is your roommate?” I ask Will.
“I won’t get one until the fall.”
I nod. I decide that he should be with Molly when I tell her what I am going to tell her.
I walk over to his desk and sit on the chair in front of it. They both sit on one of the beds and I see Molly reach for his hand.
I lean my head back, wondering where I should even start. Then I lean back forward and look at Molly.
“Dad is not a very nice person, Molly,” I say and she just sits there waiting for me to volunteer more information. I sigh and start with what she knows by now. “He is controlling. What he is trying to do to you and Will is no different than what he tried with Arianna and Blake.”
“Is that why Blake won’t see him anymore?” she asks.
I stare down at the floor. That, I know I could never tell her. I take a deep breath before looking back at Molly. “Part of it,” I say. “There is so much more, but it is Arianna’s story to tell.” I pause. “Molly, dad won’t just leave it alone. Blake offered to pay your expenses to live on campus. It’s probably late now, but we can work something out. I’ll find a place and you can move in with me.”
I can tell this isn’t enough to convince her.
“Molly,” I say and she looks at me with those eyes full of sadness. “I promised Blake I would protect you, and I hoped I could do it without you knowing the truth, but… I didn’t expect him to move so fast to get rid of Will.”
Her eyes widen as I say that. I hate every second of this.
“Why were you about to hit him when I walked in on you?” she asks and I run my hand through my hair and look away again.
“He said something about mom.”
“What did he say?”
“Molly,” I say, suggesting she leaves it alone.
“Tell me,” she says in a firm tone.
I sigh and shake my head. “Molly, dad cheated on her our whole lives. He beat the shit out of me, and Blake. I’m sorry. He is just not who you think he is.”
She starts to cry but quickly wipes her tears away and takes a deep breath.
“I’m not going back to that house,” she says, and I feel relieved.
“Good,” I say.
“Good,” she says back.
“We can move to a hotel until I find us a place.”
She nods. She turns to Will and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asks and she nods.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says to Will, and then she follows me out to the car.
“I don’t want to see him at all,” she says. “Emily is probably still at the house. She says Craig is there a lot. Can you ask her to grab my things and bring it to the hotel?”
I scratch my chin. “I can check in and you can stay there while I go get your things.”
“Please call her,” she says. “I don’t want to be alone.”
I sigh and call Emily.
EMILY
I sit on the couch watching TV with Craig when my phone rings. I see Owen’s number on the screen and so does Craig, as he looks over my shoulder.
“Answer it,” he orders. I hesitate but end up answering it.
Things have been different since I came back from the island. At first, it was like Craig had this hold on me. I couldn’t stay away, and now, I’m mostly confused and trying to figure things out. Staying with him feels safe in the sense that I can’t allow myself to have feelings for Owen.
“Hello,” I say.
“Emily. I need a favor. Are you still at the house?”
“Hmmm. Yes. John said Craig should stay for the night because they have an early meeting. His driver is taking me home in a while though.”
“Good. Molly is not going back to the house. Can you pack her things and bring it to the hotel by the club? Just ask the driver to bring you.”
I move away from Craig and sit on the edge of the couch. “Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Yes. I’ll fill you in when you get here.”
“Okay.”
I hang up the phone and look back at Craig. He is watching me intensely. “I need to grab some of Molly’s things before I leave,” I say without offering further explanation.
He tracks my every move as I get up and head toward the stairs, but doesn’t ask questions. I go upstairs to her room, where I grab a suitcase from the closet and start to put her things in it.
When I turn around to go grab a few things from her bathroom, Craig is standing at the door.
I let out a nervous laugh. “You scared me. How long have you been standing there for?”
“A few minutes,” he says dismissively as he takes a few steps in the room and leans in to kiss me. I give him a quick kiss and when I pull away, he puts his arms around me and pulls me back in.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Forget about them. Just stay here with me for the night.”
“Craig, I can’t. They need-”
He cuts me off. “You mean he needs you!”
“What?” I ask confused.
He moves his hands to my upper arms and pushes me against the wall, while tightening his grip on my arm. My eyes widen in shock.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask. My mind flashes back to the many times when I’ve seen this same exact situation, only my mom was the one in danger.
“I saw the way you looked at him all day today. Making me look like a fool in front of my dad.” I feel my heart racing. “Your dad?” I ask.
“Yes. And I’m sick of hiding it, but I know you won’t say anything, right sweetheart?”
I flinch. “Let go of my arm,” I tell him.
“Not until you get the message that you’ll not even think about cheating on me.”
He lets go of my arm and I don’t know what he is about to do next, but I act without thinking. Remembering everything my stepdad taught me about self-defense, I quickly move my knee up in between his legs, and as he crouches down in pain, I run out of the room and out of the house. In midst of panic and paranoia, I decide that I don’t trust the driver. I left my purse in the house, but having my phone on me, I keep walking for a few blocks until I get to a coffee shop. I walk in and call Owen back.
