“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” The anger that laces my voice isn’t really at her but in a way it is. She still isn’t being open with me. She spins around, her hands on her hips.
“I just gave you a piece of me, Steele. Don’t ask for all of it at once.” With that she walks out of my room slamming the door behind her. I suck air through my nose before climbing out of bed and grabbing my shorts. I don’t want her to leave, not yet. And I sure as hell don’t want her anywhere near Nathan until I can figure out what the hell is going on. Storming into the hallway, I’m down the stairs only to find her sitting at the counter with Callan. She turns her head toward me, not a hint of a smile on her face before looking back to him.
“So, Intensity. Halloween Bash, you in?” Callan asks her. Her smile lights up the goddamn room as she nods her head.
“What’s the theme? Are we getting matching costumes?” she teases.
“That depends, you want to be jelly? I’ll be peanut butter?” he asks. She laughs and that right there is the best sound I’ve ever heard. Why I’m so drawn to Whisper is a mystery to me. To anyone else, she is probably just another girl, but to me, she’s everything. What the hell is wrong with me? I turn around when I hear Knox stomping down the steps.
“Dad called.” My arms immediately cross over my chest as I glare at him.
“And?”
“And he wants to see us,” he says not sounding at all happy about it.
“About what?” I know the answer before I even ask but I still need the confirmation. His eyes slowly drag to Whisper even though she isn’t paying attention to us. She’s still laughing with Callan.
“This isn’t going to end well,” Knox says looking back at me.
“I know that.”
“What are you going to do?” he asks. Ultimately this is all up to me. No matter what I choose someone is going to get hurt. The thought had crossed my mind more than once but now that Dad knows we’ve been around her, or that I’ve been fucking her for that matter, shit is going to fly. The question is, am I going to toss her ass to the side and continue with our mission or take what he has to offer and keep her? Scrubbing my hand over my face, I look back over at her before shaking my head and turning on my heel. I quickly climb the stairs and head back into my room. Closing the door, I clench my eyes shut and restrain from punching the wall. Instead, I go into my bathroom, turn the water to the shower on and stare at myself in the mirror.
My entire life has revolved around being the man that my dad wanted me to be. Doing his dirty work and to a point I love it. I’ve thrived on being who I am. The founding families of this place, of Rolling Springs are twisted and warped. They’re people that normal people wouldn’t want to mess with because they have the power to bring you to your knees. I’ve always known that playing against the rules would land me in trouble. I just never expected it to be a girl. A girl that I was supposed to break. A girl that could turn out to be the most powerful person in Rolling Springs. That thought alone pisses me off more than it should.
The door opens slowly and she walks in, pulling the shirt over her head and tossing it to the floor. Without another word, she walks past me, grabbing my hand on the way and pulling me toward the shower. We both step in and the heat hits me. She spins around, pressing her hands to my chest as I lower my head to look her in the eyes.
“Something I’ve learned a long time ago is, you can’t choose your fate. It’s always been written in the blood that covers your hands. It doesn’t matter how hard you want to change it, you are who you are and who you were meant to be. No one can change that for you.” Her words don’t settle me. In fact, they piss me off more because I know my fate isn’t a part of hers. This life, these people, they will suck you dry and leave you for dead if you don’t follow their rules.
“Fates change,” I tell her, watching her as her hands slide over my chest and down to my cock. She grabs it in her hand, slowly stroking it as she shakes her head.
“No, they don’t. In the end, fate always wins. We’re born to be something, to do something, and that’s just God’s plan for us. We don’t have the power to change it so whatever it is you’re thinking about me and you, don’t. There’s a connection, that part is undeniable, but we aren’t fated to be together, Steele. We’re merely two dancers on the same stage but we will never share the spotlight.”
17
Whisper
“I heard you were sexy as hell at Intensity the other night,” Shane says as we walk down the hall. I’ve avoided the Alder boys the last few days in search of what I need to know.
“Yeah, it was hot. Are you going to the Halloween Bash?” Shane shrugs but then looks to me.
“Is Callan going?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Then I probably won’t.” Annoyed with her whiny shit, I turn to walk backwards and stop in front of her.
“You know what, I like you Shane. You are probably one of the most down-to-earth people that I’ve met here but this shit is annoying. You want him. You love him, so stop being such a goddamn baby and go after him. I don’t care what happened in the past between you two and frankly it’s not my business. Be who you are meant to be, Shane.” Her mouth falls open as I spin around and walk away. I hurry through the halls and into the library before I can be seen. I need more information than what anyone is giving me. All I’ve heard is that I’m supposed to be here. I don’t know what the hell that means but I intend to find out.
I stopped and asked the librarian where I could find books on the history of Rolling Springs. She happily directed me, but she’s been lingering close by ever since.
I’ve read through page after page about anything and everything. The founding families are the Alder’s, the Macron’s and the McLean’s. From what I can find, the Weatherly’s married into the Macron family but were later run out of town because they didn’t stick to the rules which are still vague. I search and search until my eyes cross and I drop my head onto the table in front of me.
“What are looking for?” I snap my head up at the woman’s voice only to realize it’s the librarian.
“Uh, just looking.” She fingers the books and glances around before sitting across from me.
“The Alder’s basically run this town. McLean is the mayor but that doesn’t really mean much. The McLean family was second to come to Rolling Springs. They made a place here, a home. The Alder’s accepted that because they needed to branch out into the world. Their sole properties, houses, businesses were here and eventually those would fill up. They were smart, the older Alder’s. They allowed the Macron family to come into their world based solely on the fact that they were from old money. Their connections ran deep.”
“And the Weatherly’s?” I ask curious to know more.
“Ah, the Weatherly’s married into the Macron’s. Long ago one of the men fell for the lovely Weatherly. Nancy was her name. She was a nobody. Not of wealth, not of their class. The McLean’s let it happen, but the Alder’s and the Macron’s didn’t agree. They despised her and that turned into a war. A war that ended in blood and the Weatherly’s being removed from Rolling Springs,” she says. I’m so confused.