A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for checking out the newest chapter for Star. Some people might think the progress is too slow but this isn't exactly a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kind of love story. LOL. Just because they're together, doesn't mean it's happily-ever-after. You know how it goes with my stories. =)
Anyway, hope you like it!
***P.S. Star is very outspoken about her views and some of you might not agree with her but I hope you don't jump into automatic defense or offense. Star's perception is limited by her own experience, by her own tribulations in life, by her own self-imposed edicts that have very little room for compassion—even for her own self. So yes, she's going to blame people when in truth, those people might be better served by more open minds, but give Star some room. She's growing and that growth has to come from somewhere. Thanks!
***
Later that morning, once Julian and I had both taken a shower—separately, to be clear—we walked to the café a couple blocks down to grab some lunch. A few steps out of the townhouse, he took my hand and held it in his. I glanced at our joint hands for a long time before looking up and finding him waiting for a reaction from me, a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
Julian Wilde is nervous about holding a girl's hand.
He's really been all kinds of contradictions to his notorious reputation since I met him.
I smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "Do you really want to advertise this? People might see."
Just then, a petite blonde stepped out of a bookstore and saw Julian, her eyes lighting up with recognition as she gave him a little wave.
The little bubble I've been floating in since last night popped as I realized that while I was joking about people seeing, there was a good amount of truth to it. And it wasn't just about running into people in general—it was running into all the girls Julian had built his reputation on.
With Ram, the presence and accessibility of other women were a relief to me because they distracted him from taking everything he wanted from me.
With Julian, I was feeling the opposite of relieved.
I attempted to slip my hand, irritated at myself for being irritated at an unfortunate truth I was already quite aware of, but Julian held it in place as he tipped his head politely to the blonde. He probably couldn't remember her name either. The girl blinked maybe because that was a much milder reaction than what she'd usually gotten from him, but then she glanced at me, then to my hand intertwined with Julian's, and her smile grew understanding and she walked on.
"Don't even try to use that excuse to pretend this isn't happening," he murmured in my ear as we continued on our way.
I arched a brow. "Didn't you used to have many things happening all at the same time with different girls?"
He countered me by raising his own brow at me. "This has never happened before. And you know it."
Okay, that was way more forthcoming than I was prepared for. It actually left my heart stuttering a little, as if I'd just burst into a short, fast run and was out of breath.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," I said to Julian, unable to stop myself.
His dark green eyes bore into mine with a seriousness that was uncharacteristic of him. "And don't go into this assuming that the worst is going to happen. Give it a fair chance."
I was going to argue because I was expecting the worst, like I always did because it served me well, but I didn't get a chance because Julian leaned down and dropped a kiss on the top of my head, effectively silencing all my protests even though he'd left my mouth free.
You did go into this wanting something, Star. Let yourself have it before you sabotage it.
So I shook off the alarms in my head, kept my hand in his and kept walking with him to the café.
After lunch, he dropped me off at Uni-Save on his bike for my late afternoon shift. He grabbed me just as I'd turned away to go in and pulled me in for a long kiss—out in public. He grinned at what was probably my dazed expression and winked at me before shooing me into the store.
Despite all that display though, we didn't tell people. At least I didn't. And none of his friends dropped by during the week that followed. We didn't spend too much time together in school because our breaks between classes didn't match and when I wasn't working, he would be at practice. A couple times, he cornered me for lunch but we went out to eat somewhere outside campus. It seemed as if we were staying on the down-low which I appreciated because the last thing I wanted was a barrage of questions from people I didn't even know.
The last time I was 'dating' someone, if you could term it that, it was with a gang leader. No one asked me questions then that I wouldn't like. But a part of me wondered if despite Julian's initial eagerness, he was somehow hiding me from the world.
I've been a dirty secret one time too many already and the thought grated a little, no matter how much I preferred the lack of attention.
One evening, while we were sitting next to each other on the sand at a quiet stretch of the beach where we drove out to after grabbing dinner, I asked him straight up.
"Do you want to keep us a secret?" I blurted out because there was no delicate way to say it.
He looked at me in mild confusion. "No. Why do you say that?"
I shrugged. "We seem to be avoiding your friends. And we don't hang out much in school. We're always just at the townhouse or out somewhere away from campus. I was just wondering exactly what we signed up for."
Julian gave me a pained smile. "I'm not hiding you, Star. I'm just giving you time to adjust to this—to us. I don't want to send you running because you're overwhelmed."
"Oh." I didn't know what to say because I didn't expect that. "What makes you think I'll be overwhelmed?"
Julian looked sheepish for a second. "Don't be offended but I got the impression that you didn't really do relationships."
I feigned indignation and playfully punched him in the arm. "You don't either, kettle!"
He laughed and looped his arms around my waist, drawing me closer until I was practically on his lap. "True but I'm not as afraid of this as you are."
He brushed away a lock of hair that fell over my eye and cupped the side of my face. "If you think you're going to be just fine then by all means, let's stop protecting you from the world."
My heart skipped a beat.
Protect me from the world. Well, I don't think anyone's ever said that about me before.
"You don't know me well enough yet but I should tell you—I don't need to be protected from the world," I said, sliding a hand up around his neck. "I know how bad it gets and I've survived it. I'm not fragile."
Julian smiled. "Just because you walk around with a spiked cage doesn't mean a greater force can't break you."
"It can't if it can't catch you," I quipped smugly. "But in all honesty, I can handle this. It's a choice I made. I always live by my choices."
Julian shook his head. "You're way too intense for your age but I'm not going to argue with you. If you can handle it, then maybe you won't mind coming to Tyler's party this weekend with me. The team will be there but there'll be a bunch of our friends and other people too."
My automatic answer to this a couple weeks ago would probably be a quick, painless no because I had planned on staunchly avoiding wild, drunken college parties. And I still didn't like those parties all that much but I had just pushed Julian to this point and he also looked like he wanted to attend. He was doing this for me and it was only fair that I accepted.
Mutual benefit—I can justify that.
"Sure. We'll go," I said almost confidently.
If that surprised him, he didn't say.
"Thank you," he said with a smile before pulling me closer and kissing me slowly.
It normally didn't take long for the temperature to skyrocket when Julian and I were in each other's arms like this. The past week had been a test of how much heat we could take because while we couldn't keep our hands off each other, we were yet to cross that line.
It was strange for the both of us—for Julian because he probably crossed that line with most girls on the first date and for me because it was a line I'd never crossed no matter how close I got to it so many times in the past.
It was clear to me that I wanted him—just how far I was willing to go with him was a question I haven't fully answered yet. This irresistible draw to Julian was forcing me to reconsider a lot of rules I'd stood by my whole life and I was trying to pace myself.
Playing with fire was dangerous and for once, I wasn't afraid of getting burned.
I was afraid of burning Julian once it had all gone up into flames.
***
A typical girl would probably be taking her time getting ready for her first official date out in public with a guy—at least that's what I've seen in TV and books.
And it makes sense.
It's like a job interview.
To most people, the importance of that was to ensure their approval of you but to me, it was mostly about being confident that I was doing this for real. When you've spent years portraying someone other than your true self, it was critical to remember that this time, it's you, if you could even still remember who that is. I'm somewhere in between the traces of the girl who blackmailed her way to Cobalt Bay for a perfect life and the girl who was now living that life and could do no wrong.
The sad thing about this when it all ends is that I probably won't even know which girl he fell for.
But I quelled the voice in my head and focused on what was still for me to enjoy for however long it could last.
I'd have to make do because I could neither walk away nor stay for good.
After a two-hour, late Saturday afternoon shift at the Lighthouse, I spent some time in the staff locker room to get ready before Julian picked me up. I stayed out of the kitchen today and instead did some advanced math tutorials to a sullen twenty-year-old who wanted to try to get his GED. So I didn't smell like grease and my dusty-rose, short-sleeved jersey dress still looked pristine. Julian said the party was going to be casual but I knew I didn't have time to head back home and change so I wore the dress and just paired it with white sneakers. I was freeing my dark messy waves from the braid I'd hastily put together earlier and was arranging them around my shoulders when the door swung open and Hailey came striding in.
"Do you have a lighter?" she said as she dug around her jean pockets.
I studied my half-sister from the mirror I was facing.
She was pretty, resembling her mother more with the slender build, the light brown hair and dainty features. But her blue eyes were red-rimmed and underscored with purple shadows, the hollows of her cheeks deep enough to make her look gaunt. Her hair was flat and shapeless, her frame gangly and almost sharp around the joints. She looked two decades older than her eighteen years. After I had Selene get rid of her bodyguard and her then access to more drugs, she'd been on withdrawal, looking worse than she ever had.
All my nineteen years, I lived by the code that people made their own destiny—probably because I refused to accept that my fate was in the hands of people who would do shit with it—but I couldn't deny that there was something tragic about Hailey.
She was the girl who could technically have anything she wanted in life yet here she was—kicked out twice before she could graduate high school, a growing blemish on the prestigious Walterson legacy and unable to live without the very thing that would kill her someday.
What a complete and utter waste of life—a life that could be grand and happy and some of us could only dream of.
Yes, I laid a big part of the blame on Hailey's door because as much as circumstances and other people helped to bring her to where she was now, a much larger part of it was her choice.
It always came down to the decisions we make for ourselves and she needed to know that. Until she realized that she's just as capable of the solution as she was of the problem, she wouldn't do anything about it.
But hers was a world sheltered and protected by a family who didn't like the ugliness of human frailties and mistakes and would rather sweep them under a pretty and expensive rug than deal with them. Hailey's problem would continue to fester like an infection that would just eventually resolve itself in a bigger, messier ending. If her parents wouldn't get her the help she needed, Selene would need to intervene more than she already has.
"I don't have a lighter," I said quietly. "And to be honest, you probably shouldn't keep looking for one. Those things will destroy you."
Hailey's expression grew hostile. "All I asked for is a lighter, not your opinion."
I didn't want a full-blown confrontation but I couldn't stop myself. "I thought I'd throw it in there since your own opinion of the habit isn't doing you much good. Take a look at yourself in the mirror, Hailey. If this is how you see yourself—a young girl who doesn't look like it and one who'll probably die too young—then you're doing a great job. If you think you're better than that—which I assume you do considering how much you act like it around everyone here—then do something about it before it's too late."
"You don't fucking know a thing about me!" she hissed, her pale eyes glinting angrily.
I slowly turned around and gave her a deliberate once-over. "I know what you show me and quite frankly, it's pathetic."
"Don't you dare fucking judge me!" Hailey scoffed. "You have no idea!"
I had to get out of here before this exchange became violent but I had an in on Hailey—more like a fresh wound I'd ripped open on her—so I gave one last parting shot as I grabbed my small, chain-strapped purse. "Don't tell me about demons, Hailey, because I know all about them. You fight them, not let them own you."
I strode past my stunned sister and out the door where I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Julian was already waiting on his bike outside, looking gloriously handsome in the late afternoon sun. One glance at me though and the smile on his face dissolved.
"You okay?" he asked, cupping my chin to look at me.
I took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Yeah. This place has more teenage angst than a Dawson's Creek episode. I'll be good in a few minutes."
Julian still looked wary. "We don't have to go to the party."
I shook my head. "Don't be silly. A party might be exactly what I need right now."
Truthfully, I didn't like parties all that much but it would provide some unnecessary distractions right now. Besides, I promised Julian I'd do this with him and no matter how much little stock I gave other people's promises, I did my best to stand by mine.
"Alright," Julian said as he handed me the second helmet he'd started carrying in the past week. He tucked my hair behind my ears and pressed a quick kiss on my lips. "We'll go and we'll have fun but the second you feel like getting out of there, you tell me, okay?"
I just rolled my eyes and put my helmet on, happy to let the frantic energy from my confrontation with Hailey seep out of me as I wrapped my arms around Julian.
So Tyler was a bit of a rich kid—an understatement, really, if one took a good look at the big house Julian and I had pulled up to. It was two stories, right along the beach, and already overflowing with Prescott's student body who all seemed to know Julian.
"His Dad's a big Hollywood producer and this place is his substitute for actual parenting," Julian said with a smirk as he guided me through a throng of people.
The back of my neck was prickling at the size of the crowd, and of the dawning awareness that this party wasn't exclusive to Prescott students. It took little for someone of my experience to pick out who was wheeling, dealing and hitting but Julian didn't seem affected by any of it. I knew he didn't use but there was no vouching for everyone else.
"Wilde! Glad you made it!" boomed a big, loud voice from the top of the stairs. Tyler, whom I'd met at the grocery aisle after moving in with Julian, was standing there with one arm around a tall brunette and another fisting a red Solo cup. He trotted down the steps to meet us, the girl trailing behind him. He was already red in the face but he even grew more flushed at the effort of an even bigger grin when he saw me. "And look! You brought Star! Can I still make a wish?"
Julian glanced heavenward for a second before giving his friend a pained smile. "Be nice to my girlfriend, Tyler."
Tyler blinked at the very obvious term, glanced at our linked hands and laughed out loud. "My, God! You did it! You sure got balls, man, because if I remember the last time, she ain't too sweet to us. Not like my Lizzy here."
The girl Tyler was nuzzling was staring at us with wide eyes. "She's your girlfriend?"
I gave her a wry smile. "Yes. And she speaks. She's also sentient and capable of a wide range of motions."
Lizzy's expression cooled a little as she studied me. "You're not at all who I thought would land Julian Wilde."
My smile brightened and I muttered under my breath in a voice still loud enough for Lizzy to hear. "And that's why you never could."
I felt Julian tense beside me, his hand tightening around my own, and I reminded myself to hold back a little. No need for cruelty here.
"She's a pretty special girl and I'm very lucky," Julian said. "And now we're going to go get ourselves some drinks, if you don't mind."
Tyler, who had been a bit in and out of our conversation considering how drunk he already was, waved us away. "Go. There's plenty of stuff. Anything you like, man. Your wish is my command."
I followed Julian to the massive kitchen where several people looked up from their conversations to wave and say hi to us.
"I'll do my best to get along," I grumbled, noting how quiet he was as he looked through the fridge.
He paused, closed the door and turned to me. "I don't want you to be anything other than who you are, Star. And right now, part of who you are can't trust that people aren't always out to get you. I understand that."
"Then why are you angry?" I asked.
Julian frowned. "I'm not angry at you. For one, Lizzy may not have been out to get you but she definitely sized you down with her comment. She deserved a little dose of her own medicine and you weren't too far from the truth because she used to show up wherever I was until she eventually gave up."
"Then what's bothering you?" I insisted.
"I'm just wondering how I can get you to learn to trust a little more than you're able to right now," he said gently, a smile slowly lifting the corners of his mouth. "If I have any hope of keeping you from running, I have to help you learn that this—what we have—isn't something to be afraid of."
"I'm not afraid of it," I said, looking away and opening the fridge door to give me something else to do other than meet his eyes. I took a couple cans of beer and handed one to Julian. "I'm a big girl. I can handle being with you. You need to trust that if you want this to work."
Julian didn't open his beer, his green eyes so focused on me I started to feel restless. "Maybe, I'm the one who's afraid."
I finally looked up at him. "Afraid of what?"
He moved closer to me, his gaze dropping to my lips. "Of this. Of us. Of waking up one day and finding you gone."
I couldn't reassure him because one day—hopefully still very far into the future—I will be gone. But it didn't mean that I didn't want this now. It didn't mean that I didn't want him. Us.
I set my beer down on the counter, stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around Julian's neck, my face pressed against his chest where I could feel the steady beat of his heart.
"I'm right here, Julian," I murmured softly, squeezing him to me.
His arms gathered around me in a tight embrace, his face buried against my neck, his fingers winding themselves through my hair as we held each other for an eternity.
"Oookay, then. So it's true."
Julian and I gently pulled away and turned to see Nisha standing on the other side of the vast kitchen island with Kit, both of them grinning knowingly.
"Nisha's been pestering me every single day to confirm if this petite brunette that's been spotted with Julian recently is you," Kit told me with a wink as he slung an arm around his beaming girlfriend. "I told her we'd know for sure when the two of you decide it's time for us to know."
I grinned. "And here I thought we were really really good at being secretive."
Nisha rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. As if Julian Wilde's romantic escapades could ever stay a secret around here."
Julian groaned and I gave him a teasing side-long glance. "I'm starting to get that idea."
Nisha rounded the kitchen island to bump Julian away and give me a quick hug. "I'm so happy for the two of you, Star. I think you're exactly what he needs."
No. I'm pretty sure he needs someone better for him but he's what I need.
But I said none of that. I didn't want to spoil the moment. Not when Kit was heartily thumping Julian's back for a job well done and Matt popping up with a big grin and a hug for everyone and there were just chuckles and good, warm camaraderie all around.
It was strange to find myself feeling young and a little drunk on life.
We found ourselves in the basement rec room, drinking and munching on chips and trying to beat each other at pool. It was quieter down there except for a few people who'd wandered in and stayed to either watch us play or help themselves to a video game in Tyler's big entertainment center.
Cammi made an appearance on the arm of a cute blond boy who so obviously worshipped her. She acted calm, cool and collected as she and her date, Kevin, joined us for a round. But the moment Julian reached for me after my winning shot and pulled me against him for a quick, hard kiss, her composure seemed to have crumbled. When I caught her gaze later on, it was harsh and accusing.
I didn't say or do anything because I did tell her that I had no plans to take my relationship with Julian to the next level but I did. I wasn't going to apologize or explain myself but I knew it wasn't fair to rub it in her face either.
"I'm going to find something non-alcoholic to drink," I told Julian just as he and Kit collected the balls for the next round. "Want anything?"
"I want to taste your breasts again but that'll have to wait," he whispered, chuckling when I actually blushed and shoved him away. "Just some water, baby."
I went to look through the mini-fridge by the wet bar and only found beer inside. There was tap water but I wanted something sweet without the alcohol. I didn't want to drink past my four cans of beer if I wanted to keep a keen eye out for trouble. In this kind of party, trouble was always stirring just beneath the surface.
I went upstairs to the kitchen, navigating through the ever-thickening crowd as if this party was just getting into full swing when it had already been three hours since we got here. Even with all the windows open, the entire place was too warm with every corner cramped with bodies, the air smelling of sweat, cigarette smoke, booze and cloying perfume.
"Hey, pretty," a really tall, really lanky guy said as he stepped into my path, leaning down to my great misfortune so I could smell his stale beer breath. "Want a private party with me?"
Undaunted, I flashed him my sultriest smile. "Sure—if you're willing to be hacked up and tossed into a garbage bag later. I'm a serial killer, don't you know?"
The guy's eyes bulged and he backed away quickly, tripping over some girl who shrieked at him.
No one else attempted to get in my way despite the attention I was getting—both from male and female groups for different reasons. I went through the fridge and found a couple of water bottles and cranberry juice. I was just about to take them back down with me when I decided to get a breath of fresh air before diving back into crowd. I always got a little claustrophobic in a packed crowd like this.
I slipped through the back door of the kitchen and stepped out onto the back patio, welcoming the cool breeze that quickly enveloped me.
There were a few people hanging out in small groups across the yard but in the distance, in a small arbor just by the gate that led to the front of the house, made discreet by a few tall palm hedges, I spied someone very familiar.
Hailey was on a bench, her top bunched up from the hand of the guy who was groping her breast while her head was tipped back, her eyes closed as she laughed.
My lip pressed into a thin line.
Dammit!
I shouldn't do anything. As far as I could see, Hailey was doing what she wanted to do. She was old enough to make her own decisions, no matter how poor they often were. But I continued to watch as the urge to call Selene and turn back around warred inside me.
Then I saw her push the man away who didn't budge much considering he was twice her size. She tried to snatch something from his hand (probably the drugs she was buying from him) but he just clutched her thin shoulder and pushed her down, straddling her hips now as she tried to twist free. He then moved his hand up and clamped it over her mouth and I could see her face mottling red from the effort to get free.
Muttering a curse, I dropped the plastic bottles on the grass except for one and marched toward the bench. I dipped into my purse and with a hard flick of my hand, the three-inch blade of my knife unsheathed. I placed it flat up against my arm to conceal it from view. I took a cursory glance at the perimeter, noting that the man didn't seem to have any buddies with him. Perfect. All the violence coursing through me at this second wouldn't have to be shared.
As I got closer, I took a better look at the man—probably in his early twenties, a little rougher around the edges than the tennis-playing preppies of Prescott's student population. He was definitely bigger than I was but a lot more drunk. I just needed a little advantage. He was too busy yanking his fly open that he didn't notice me behind him before I whacked him in the back of the head with the water bottle, sending him toppling down on the ground. With my height advantage, I kicked him on the back of his knee and planted a foot on the back of his thigh as I pressed the flat of my blade against his neck, the sharp side biting into the curve of his shoulder.
"Hailey, move away from the bench," I said in a clipped tone, digging my blade a little deeper into the man's skin when he started to thrash around beneath my weight. A thin line of blood appeared against his ruddy skin. "Run back inside and stay there until I come and get you. And keep your mouth shut."
In my periphery, I could see my sister trembling as she dragged herself off the bench. Then she remembered what she was just about to get raped for and started back toward my direction. "Don't even think about it."
The coldness of my voice must have cut into her consciousness because she backed away again. The stupid girl still didn't run back inside as instructed but hovered around instead. Oh, well.
"You fucking bitch!" the man beneath me spat out, his face getting as red as a tomato. "Puta! I'm going to fucking cut you for bleeding me."
"I wouldn't make those threats to someone who can carve your spine out with just a little nudge of the blade down south," I said as I moved the blade away from his neck and pressed it parallel to his spine. He suddenly heaved himself up as if to throw me off him but I leaned down more of my weight on him and grabbed his hair, smashing his face into the pavement multiple times with as much force as I could. "You should learn to keep your hands off women who don't want you touching them."
My years with strange men had taught me how to defend myself. Felix taught me and Josie once we were old enough to attract male attention. And later on, after one of Ram's enemies snatched me off the street to use as bait, I asked Ram to teach me how to fight properly and deliver as much damage as possible. His efforts were not wasted.
"You just don't know how to stay down, do you?" I muttered in disgust as I released his greasy hair. He tried to lurch back again so I grabbed my discarded water bottle and thumped him in the head with it many times until I remembered that I didn't want to kill him, despite the mad instinct to do so. He moaned in pain, his eyes squeezing shut, and twisted his fast-swelling head. I saw the tattoo of a scorpion down the side of his face, a sight familiar enough but one I couldn't pin down.
I considered asking who he was but I heard steps around me. I clutched the man's neck to keep him down as I twisted around to meet whoever was headed my way.
"Star, oh, Star. This is not what you told us you were going to be doing in Cobalt Bay when you left, kiddo."
I stared at the mildly chastising expression on my brother's face as he came to a stop a foot away. Felix looked pretty much the way I saw him last—thick with muscle and sporting a shaved head and tattoos on every spare inch of his skin. He had a proper denim button-down shirt on but no one would think twice on the fact that he didn't belong in this upper-class stretch of town.
"I can take it from here, beauty." Ram, who dropped into a step next to my brother, smiled wryly as he glanced at the man I still had pinned on the ground. "Good job, by the way."
"Star..." Hailey's voice—small and wary—penetrated my awareness. "Who... who are these men?"
I lifted myself off the man, handing my knife to Ram who took a handkerchief out to wipe the thin smear of blood off it. I went to my sister who despite having yelled my ear off this morning, sidled up to me and away from Felix and Ram. Couldn't blame her. Despite the nice clothes they'd put on, they still looked dangerous.
"Hailey," I said to her, gripping her arm hard to get her attention. "I need you to go back inside, okay? We'll get you home but you have to go back inside and look for Julian. He's in the rec room in the basement. Tell him I sent—"
"Star, I'm here!"
I looked up at the sight of Julian sprinting toward us, his face darkening at the sight of my brother and Ram whom he recognized.
"Now you're here, pretty boy, when she doesn't need you anymore?" Ram sneered before stomping a foot down on the back of the man still writhing in pain on the ground. The moaning instantly stopped.
I glared at Ram. "I didn't need you either so shut it."
Julian didn't say anything but he came to my side, stepping right in front of Felix before peering down at me. "Are you okay? What happened?"
This confrontation between people in my lives who should never intersect was the last thing I wanted but I'd acted on impulse, like an idiot, and now I had to deal with the collateral damage.
"Someone got a little too handsy with Hailey so I told him off," I said casually despite knowing that the man I'd brought down was still inhaling the earth. I didn't think Ram broke his neck with that kick. "I work with Hailey at the Lighthouse. Hailey, this is Julian."
"How about me, kiddo?" Felix said as he slung an arm around me, grinning when Julian scowled at him. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your boyfriend?"
I resisted digging an elbow into Felix's side. Julian was growing even more intense and I didn't want to have to break up a fight between him and my brother and my ex-boyfriend.
"Felix, this is Julian," I said. "Julian, this is my older brother, Felix."
"And I'm Ram." He gave Julian a measured look as he flicked my knife back close and handed it to me with a mumble, "Wash it, okay?"
"I know who you are," Julian bit out in a cold tone, his shoulders drawing up in challenge.
Uh, no. Nuh-uh. There was going to be none of that shit.
"Good," Ram said with a sardonic smile. "Then maybe you won't mind taking a bit of advice. Keep an eye on your girl. Or someone else will do it for you."
Fed up with both Ram and Felix's intervention, I took Julian's hand and forced him to look me in the eye. "We'll talk later, okay? But I need you to do something for me right now."
Julian's eyes softened. "Okay."
"I need you to bring Hailey inside," I said. "We'll get her home. I just need a few minutes to talk to my brother."
I didn't say Ram's name but it was there, thick as the truth between the lines.
Julian nodded curtly. To reassure him, I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'm okay, babe."
Then I turned to Hailey who was still dazed both from being drunk and high and scared. "Go inside with Julian. I'll be there in a minute."
I waited until they were halfway to the door. There were a few people who noticed the ruckus and looked on curiously. Julian barked something at them and they scuttled away.
"Your boy toy's got some balls," Ram remarked. "Good to know he's not just pretty to look at."
I ignored that.
"What are you two doing here?" I hissed in a low voice. "This is dangerous playground for you both—"
"We came to find something Alonzo stole from us," Ram interjected in a soft but deadly tone. "This little pussy you chucked down might have some information we need."
I glanced at the man on the ground again. He might have a concussion or internal bleeding. I did bash his skull to the ground. I studied the scorpion tattoo again, recognition dawning. My gut coiled in trepidation.
"That's Luisito, his younger brother," I rasped. I haven't seen him with my own eyes before but I've heard him described a few times by some of Ram's men. Alonzo and Ram had been gridlocked in a territorial fight for power in Nevada and California in the past few years.
"Good memory, mi estrella," Ram said with a pleased smile. "He likes them young and fresh and rich so he's often found in parties such as this—dealing and slamming."
"He must've come here with some men," I said, looking around slowly despite my growing frantic.
Felix whistled. "Already taken care of. We were tracking him down here where he disappeared with that scrawny little piece only to find you trying to decide where to start ripping his spine out."
I inwardly shuddered at how ugly it could've gotten had Felix and Ram not already been on his trail. Alonzo was extremely dangerous. No one who cared to live fucked with him or his family. I should have had better sense and evaluated the situation first before diving headfirst into it.
"Get him out of here, then," I said, stepping back. "I don't care what you do to him but get him out of here."
Ram, who could still read me well enough despite how much he'd miscalculated with me, stepped closer and put a hand on my shoulder. "We'll make sure you're not involved, Star. You know we'll protect you."
"I don't need to be protected because I don't live this life anymore," I retorted, shaking his hand away in anger. I forced myself to tamp it down and pull myself together. Hysterics was useless. "You never saw me here. And I'll try to forget that I ever saw you two."
Ram looked like he was going to say more but he didn't. He just turned around to check on Luisito.
I glanced at my brother who was looking disapprovingly at me.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Sometimes, I don't know if you're even awake. Reality is what it is, Star, and not whatever pretty picture you paint in your head."
I didn't say anything. I drew the line and kept myself on one side of it.
After nothing more than a curt nod, I turned around and made my way to the house. I took my cellphone out and dialled Selene.
"Star? What's the matter?"
"Take note of the address I'll give you," I said in as calm a voice as I could manage. This was already going to be hard enough news for the old woman. "Hailey's here and you need to get her home."
***
So, what do you guys think?
I was busy working on The Home of a Heart for a while but I kept posting updates here because I did have several chapters written ahead but I'm pretty much caught up now so I'm going to really take the time to plot out the rest of Star's story. Yes, it's a love story but as with most of my love stories, the main characters tend to be put through the wringer first before they find their happily ever after. Just one of those things. I think it's important to see why what Star has with Julian is going to be different and that it'll stick. She's a girl who'd lived most of her life with no interest in being with someone. She won't know what this is worth to her until she realizes that she'll keep choosing it every time.
Till the next update!
XOXO!
-Ninya
♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Everybody Lies by Jason Walker♪♪♪
We do what we have to when we fall in love.
We say what we need to get out when it's not enough.
Whether it's to yourself, or lookin' at someone else.
Everybody lies, lies, lies.
It's the only truth sometimes.
Doesn't matter if it's out there somewhere waiting for the world to find.
Or buried deep inside. Everybody lies.
Just being honest, we're playing for both sides.
It's easy to decieve but it's hard when the trust that's broken is mine.
For better, or for worse, for the happy, for the hurt.
Everybody lies, lies, lies.
It's the only truth sometimes.
Doesn't matter if it's out there somewhere waiting for the world to find.
Or buried deep inside. Yeah, everybody lies.