The right kind of wrong, p.9
The Right Kind of Wrong, page 9
“Owen, I haven’t ended things with Craig.”
“But you will,” he says more like a statement than a question. I don’t answer.
“He doesn’t deserve you,” he says while staring into my eyes.
“Owen…”
He lifts his hand and tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. I stay frozen in place as he holds my gaze.
“Would you stop me if I tried to kiss you?”
He leans forward and I yelp. “Would you please not move! You’re making this whole thing shake.”
He chuckles.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” he says.
I look down and the Ferris wheel starts moving again.
I can feel him closer to me and the second I turn around, his lips are on mine, and I find myself unable to pull away.
I get so lost in that kiss that I lose track of where I am. I don’t even feel the Ferris wheel moving, and it is not until someone clears his throat and says, “sorry guys. It’s time to get out,” that Owen slowly pulls away. My gaze lowers to his lips, and he is smiling.
OWEN
I extend my hand to her when we get off the ride and I lead her toward the exit. Her hand is freezing cold and I can tell she is tense. We barely step out of the gate when I get the call. I look at my phone. “I have to get this.” I tell her.
I step away and answer my phone. “Hello, Jones.”
“The deal has changed, son.”
“I’m doing freaking wonderful. Thanks for asking. How are you?” I say sarcastically.
“I could be better, Owen. I may be out, but you seem to forget that we’re still bonded and I can tell when you use black magic. I don’t care the reason. Trust me, I don’t want to do this, but it is the only way I have to keep you on track, Owen. We had a deal to keep you out of trouble and you broke it.”
“What are the new terms, Jones?” I say impatiently.
The line goes silent for seconds that feel like an eternity. I can hear Jones taking a deep breath before he speaks again. “For every time you use, John will get his power back. Every time you use, you’ll make him stronger.”
I laugh, knowing that this is a bluff. Jones would never risk that. “You wouldn’t do that, Jones. Come on. You don’t want him to have that.” I call him out.
“I don’t and neither do you, so don’t allow it to happen.”
I hear the click on the other side of the call.
“Hello?” Damn it. I shove the phone in my pocket. I look over and Emily is standing by the ticket window, staring at me from the distance. I need to find another way to get to her. I stop and shake my head. Jones is losing his mind to try that on me. Of course he won’t do this. He wouldn’t risk giving my dad what he wants the most. I take a deep breath and run my fingers through my hair before I start to make my way back to her.
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“Yeah. It’s fine.” I pause. “Do you trust me?” I ask and she bursts into laughter.
“Not really,” she says.
I chuckle. “I want to take you somewhere. Would you come with me?”
She raises an eyebrow at me.
“You think you can fix me, right?” I ask and she hesitates. “Come on,” I grin. “I know you still want to. Whether it is for Shayne or just out of the goodness of your heart, or as a social experiment. It doesn’t matter. I’ll give you a shot.”
“What are you proposing, Owen?”
“Spend the rest of the weekend with me. You’ll get all answers you want. No games. I’m just tired of fucking things up.”
She looks shocked. “Okay,” she agrees.
I grin and to her surprise, I reach for her hand again, and we walk quietly to the car, where I call to book the plane tickets.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I take her to the other side of Blake’s island; the side with the old house that carries entirely too many bad memories for all of us. Something about this place will always feel heavy and dark.
She’s curious the entire way, but I don’t tell her where we’re going or what this place means, and surprisingly, she doesn’t bug me about it.
When the boat reaches shore, I help her out and she stares at the house. Nothing has changed since I was a kid. The same old wooden chairs and breakfast table are on the front porch. Looking past it, there are large windows, and inside, there is nothing but darkness.
“What is this place?” she asks.
“My brother’s island. This place holds the best and worse memories I have. My biggest mistake, my biggest realizations… It all happened here.”
She nods once but doesn’t say anything.
She takes her shoes off, steps into the sand, and starts walking toward the house.
We walk into the house, I turn the lights on, and I sit on the couch. She sits across from me.
“So where do we start?” I ask her.
“You tell me.” She laughs. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing when it comes to you, Owen, but I’m here to listen if you want to talk.”
I grin. “What do you see when you look at me?” I ask as I cock my head to the side.
She bites her bottom lip.
“Honest answer,” I tell her.
She takes a deep breath.
“I see someone who is looking for approval. Someone who is trying to find himself.”
I nod. I get up, go to the bar and pour two glasses of whiskey. I hand her one and she sets it on the coffee table.
I sit back down with the glass in my hand. “Imagine growing up with a man who cheats on your mother and doesn’t hide it from you because he believes that is how real men act?”
“But you know better. You learned from his mistakes and that is why you avoid relationships. In a way, you’re already a better man than he is.”
“Don’t do that,” I say.
“Do what?” she asks confused.
“Put me on a fucking pedestal for choosing another course, even though it is still the wrong way.”
She sits up straight and looks into my eyes, but I can tell by the way she is biting her bottom lip that she is tense. “I’m not putting you on a pedestal. Trust me. And why do you say it is the wrong way?”
I take a swig and get up to grab the bottle and pour another glass. I keep my back to her and I admit something to myself for the first time. “Because my life has absolutely no fucking purpose.”
She doesn’t say anything. The room is complete silence. When I finally turn around, she shakes her head. “Do you know what else I see when I look at you, Owen Crawford?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Do tell, jailbait.”
“I see someone who protects his brother and sister. I see someone who would do anything for them.”
“You really do?” I ask and she nods.
“I do. I see someone who is putting his life on hold because he—you—believe that is keeping them safe. I see someone who is successful, smart, and… Should I go on? I mean, I don’t want all of this to go to your head,” she gives me a nervous laugh and I just stare her, not even sure how to react.
I take a deep breath. “Maybe we should have a break. I need some air.” She watches me curiously as I grab the bottle. I grin as I step outside.
It takes less than five minutes before I can smell her perfume.
EMILY
I suck at this. Why do I feel this need to go outside and comfort him? I stand by the door and watch him and all I can think about is how much I want to just pull him into a hug and say that everything will be okay. And I give in.
I walk outside and toward him. When I’m close enough, he looks up at me and I can see the pain in his eyes. He always has this intense look, but this is different. The sadness is almost tangible.
He looks toward his side and I sit on the sand next to him, then he looks toward the ocean and just stares into the distance.
He sighs. “It kills me to see that you keep going back to that piece of trash. I want you to leave him, Emily.”
I close my eyes for a split second, taking in his words.
“Owen, I—”
He looks right into my eyes.
“If I do, what then?”
“That is for you to answer. Don’t leave him for me. Leave him because you deserve better.”
I look away.
“Tell me you don’t,” he says. “Call him right now and I guarantee you’ll hear a woman’s laughter or voice in the background.”
He whispers something in another language again and I tilt my head to the side wondering what is the deal with that. He ignores me and glances at his arm, then back at the ocean.
With shaky hands, I call Craig and a woman answers his phone. It doesn’t even faze me anymore. I ask to talk to Craig.
I can hear him shush the woman before he comes on the line.
“Hey, babe,” he says and I can hear the girl laughing.
I think about asking where he is, but something I can’t explain comes over me. “Craig, it’s over,” I hang up and Owen is watching me curiously. His eyes are glazed over from drinking.
“How does it feel?” he asks.
I grab his bottle and take a drink. “Not as bad as the first time.”
My phone rings and I look at the screen, confirming it is Craig. I shut my phone off.
He nods. I lie down on the sand and stare at the stars for a while.
When I sit back up, I face him and ask, “Is there anything you miss about your childhood, Owen? Anything that you think back on and makes you happy?”
He shrugs. “I must have blocked the good stuff from my memory.”
I shake my head and notice he is watching me.
“Why do you keep taking him back?” he asks and catches me by surprise.
“I don’t know how to answer that question,” I say, after trying to make sense of it myself. “But this time feels different. I feel strange.”
“For now,” he whispers under his breath and I choose to ignore it.
“Well, we are two kinds of fucked up. That is for sure,” he says.
“Yep.” I start to get up to go back in the house, but he grabs my wrist. I look down at him.
“Stay with me,” he says.
“I can’t, Owen.”
“Why?” he whispers. And he is giving me this look that pierces through my soul. I hate how much power that one look has over me.
“Because you scare the hell out of me.” I admit.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know—I just—”
He pulls me down toward him and kisses me. He pulls away just as I start to feel like I’m out of breath and he whispers against my lips, “Don’t overthink it.”
That’s exactly why he scares me. He has the power to make me put my heart before my head. He has the power to put me in this position where I don’t know what to expect, where I’m afraid to fall and get hurt in a way that I can’t handle. I saw what he did to Shayne. He put her on top of the mountain and then, flipped a switch and brought her down like she was nothing. Craig may be an ass, but at least with him, I know what to expect.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I just need to be alone for a while,” I say.
He nods once. “Just pick one of the bedrooms in the house. We’ll go back to the city tomorrow,” he says.
I get up, walk away, and leave him sitting there. Inside the house, I go into the first bedroom I can find. I go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. I want to go back out, but I know that being with Owen for any amount of time, will only complicate things. It’s not even about overthinking things. It’s clear as day. He has a lot to figure out, and so do I.
I walk around the room and see a photo album on the dresser. I suspect maybe this used to be his mom’s room. There are pictures of three kids, two boys and a girl. I recognize Owen right away. I flip through the pages noticing how formal they are. There is not one picture of them just being kids. I see a piece of paper sticking out from behind one of the pictures. I pull the paper out and open it, and it is a letter to Owen from his mother.
I read it, then I re-read it and I keep wishing these family secrets would quit falling into my lap. I find myself crying when I think of how someone like him can handle so much heartache. Why sometimes it seems like it is all falling on one person. It’s just too much. I contemplate giving it to him, but instead, I end up putting the piece of paper back where it was.
I wipe the tears away, take a deep breath, and step back outside.
He is still sitting there, watching the ocean. I walk over and kneel down in front of him.
By the look in his eyes, I can tell he’s had a few more drinks.
My hands shake, but I ignore it. I lean in and kiss him. A slow, soft, but short kiss.
“What are you doing?” he says against my lips. “I thought—”
“Shhhh. Don’t overthink.”
This is going to complicate things more than I can imagine, but I know that we both need another one of those moments like we had at the fair.
That moment that takes the focus off of everything and nothing else matters.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
OWEN
I have Emily underneath me on the sand. My shirt is already off, and I’m about to take hers off, when I hear a crashing sound from inside the house.
She pulls her lips away from mine. “What was that?” she asks.
I ignore her question, the noise, and kiss her again. Minutes later, music is blasting everywhere.
“What the fuck?” I ask as I pull away and get up. I help Emily up and she fixes her shirt. I glance at the house to see lights on. Obviously, the Universe is cock-blocking me.
I grab my shirt off the sand, throw it over my shoulder, and go toward the house.
“Who do you think is there?” Emily asks, alarmed.
“I have a guess, but I better be wrong.”
I swing the front door open and the house is filled with teenagers. I go over to the sound system and shut it off and just like that, all eyes are on me.
“Where is Molly?” I ask.
They all just look at one another. I roll my eyes.
“Where is she?” I growl.
This tall kid with a freaking man-bun, says, “She’s out back with Will.”
This night couldn’t get any worse.
“How did you all get in here?”
They all just look at one another again. Bun-Kid speaks again. “We were camping outside for Molly’s going away party, but the girls started freaking out about weird sounds, so Molly suggested we come here.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “And does my brother know you are here?”
He gives me a confused look. Jesus. “Blake. Molly’s older brother.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t know, man.”
Before I even head for the back of the house, Molly rushes in.
“Please don’t be mad!” she says. A tall, tanned guy with dark hair stands right behind her. My gaze goes to him. “Will?” I ask and they both nod.
“When the fuck did Blake start letting you have camping sleepovers with guys?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m almost 18, Owen. And Blake trusts me.”
Everyone else just watches like this is the best thing since reality TV. Emily included.
Molly crosses her arms over her chest. “Are you going to call Blake?”
“Damn right I’m going to call Blake,” I’m already dialing his number as I finish my sentence.
“Hey Owen,” he answers.
“Are you aware of where Molly is right now?” I ask as I keep my eyes on Will.
“Camping out with some friends. Why?”
“She’s at the old house with friends. Guys included.”
“I’m on my way,” says Blake.
Molly doesn’t seem concerned at all. “What are you doing here anyway?” she looks over at Emily, then back at me.
“Vacationing,” I say sarcastically.
Molly rolls her eyes at me and sits down on the couch. Will stands behind her and he looks everywhere but my direction. Some of Molly’s friends start to chat amongst themselves and I face Emily, who seems to be entertained by all of this.
“You don’t play around when it comes to Molly, huh?” she asks in a low tone.
“Nope. I know how guys think. She shouldn’t even be dating.”
Emily starts laughing and I keep looking out the window, waiting on Blake. Minutes later, I see Blake’s jeep pull up in front of the house. He gets out and slowly walks toward the house. He walks in and everyone seems to look in my direction.
“Hey guys,” says Blake.
“Hey guys?” I ask. I cock my head to the side. “Is that all you have to say? Our sister is having an unsupervised sleepover WITH her boyfriend!”
Molly interrupts. “Well, with friends in general. My boyfriend just happens to be here too.”
I glare at her and she chuckles. This girl is going to kill me.
“Relax, Owen,” says Blake. “Will is a good guy. Not all guys are like you.”
“BURN!” One of the kids says and it irritates the crap out of me. They want to be cute. I’ll play that game. I’m about to annoy every single one of them at once. “If that is how it’s going to be… Girls, you all can take the bedrooms. Guys, you camp out in the living room.”
“You’re joking, right?” says Molly.
“No. Not one bit.” I say while smiling at her.
She looks at Blake who looks amused, but before he opens his mouth, I tell him, “You. Outside. Now.”
Blake follows me outside and I close the door behind us.
“What the fuck was that?”
He smiles. “What?”
“Can we be on the same page about this? What the hell do you find so amusing?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Owen. Honestly, you got this handled. It’s nice not being the bad guy for once.”
“Ugh.” I turn around, open the door and go back inside. Everyone stops talking and looks at me. Molly looks at Blake, “Do we have to do what he said?” she glares at me.
“It’s not a bad idea, Molly,” says Blake. “I’m disappointed you didn’t even bother to tell me you were coming to this side of the island. Their parents know they are here, but we said we’d keep an eye on everyone.”
