Lia James
I felt the weight of a million tons. I woke up nearly startling myself as what felt like five thousands pounds crushing my lungs.
Is this what death feels like? Cause it really sucks.
I try and suck in as much breath as I can, and shortly after I hear myself wheezing. I don't even know what's on top of me, I can barely see two inches in front of me. My windows are closed, and all the blinds were shut.
"Whoops, sorry Lia." I hear a masculine voice say, and then I feel weight transferring from my chest to the other side of the bed.
"Who's here? Is it Tom Brady?" I can almost swear that I'm dreaming.
"Nah. Kind of like the high-school version of Tom Brady." The voice said matter-of-factly. It took me a bit of thought, but then I caught on.
"Mason? What are you doing in my room at..." I glance at the clock on my nightstand. "Nine in the morning on a Saturday?"
"Well, as you know, Lina has a sleepover with Dante. And by sleep, I mean none. Seriously, I couldn't get even a blink of sleep. Lina's bed kept rocking against my wall."
I shuddered at the image, and sat up on my bed, scratching my head. I still couldn't comprehend why Mason was here, in my room.
"So, are you going to explain why you are in my room, or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?"
"Well, you're the only room, besides my Mom's, that is on the other side of the hallway." He was hoping I would get it. "Look, I needed a place to sleep while those two animals did the nasty. I didn't want to listen to it."
I grimaced, patting him on the back for moral support. "Thanks so much for those vivid words."
"You're very welcome." He smiled. "Anyway, did I snore? I would hate to have kept you up all night."
"No, but you do get up close and personal. Hence the 'you crushing me' part that happened this morning." I reminded him, and he nodded his head.
"I didn't realize I got all cuddly when I sleep." He laughed.
"I'm gonna feel so bad for your future wife." I mumbled quietly, hoping he wouldn't figure out what I said.
"What?"
"Oh nothing!" I flung the linen sheets that clung to my body, and got up from the bed. "I'm gonna make some breakfast. What would you like?"
"You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I would like some eggs-"
"Frozen waffles it is!" I raced out the room, and headed for the stairs. I could almost hear Mason's "Awwww" from me rejecting his choice of breakfast.
Aunt Alex was having breakfast with some of her co-workers, which left the kids to fend for themselves. I wasn't about to take her place as the cooker of the house.
I grabbed the frozen waffles from the freezer, and placed them each in a slot. I pulled the lever down, and while waiting, I poured myself a cup of coffee.
While sipping my black coffee in peace, I see the patio doors open without hesitation. Cole casually walks into the dining room like he lives here.
"What are you doing barging in here?" I give him a weird look.
"What?" He shrugged. "The door was unlocked."
"How often do you do this without anyone ever noticing?" I placed the mug on the granite counter. He walks over to the other side of the island, and sits down on the middle bar stool.
"Surprisingly, a lot." He sways the chair back and forth.
"Yeah, it usually happens every day." Mason strides in, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and pouring himself a cup of coffee that Aunt Alex had left.
"And Alex is okay with that?" I look at both of the boys.
"She doesn't know." Cole shrugs, grabbing my mug and drinking from it.
"Hey! Get your own." I snatched it from him before he could get another sip. He gave me the puppy dog eyes, and I was instantly compelled to get him a mug.
Cole and his ways. He's too cute for his own good.
Once I get what Cole wanted, I sit down in the bar stool next to him, leaning into him for support.
Cole's the only one who knows what I'm going through. And right now, I'm glad that he's here with me because I needed him.
I needed to know that I wasn't alone.
Cole begins snickering at his phone, and begins typing to someone. I try and peak at who he's texting, but he turns his body and I fall from his touch. Mason begins laughing shortly after, and it didn't take me long to realize what was going on.
"Are you guys texting each other in the same room? Seriously?" I put my hand out in confusion. They both look at me like it was normal.
"Mason's trying to convince Ryan and Ollie that he's a better kisser than I am." Cole informs me, and I feel stupid for even asking in the first place.
They're just idiots. But, you can't not love them.
"I'm totally a better kisser than you!" Mason put his elbows on the counter, continuing to type on his phone.
Cole suddenly gets a lightbulb, and he turns to me with a smirk. He's up to something and I already don't like it.
"I know who could be the judge of that." He eyes me, before smashing his lips against mine.
I gasped as he caught me by surprise, his lips moving faster and faster. I just sat there, not even kissing him back. I was surprised at how quick he responded to his idea.
He pulled away, looking like he mentally patted himself on the back. He felt accomplished at suffocating me with his lips.
Well, I know one thing, his lips aren't as great as Andrew's. His kisses are even worse.
Ugh.
Snap out of it, Lia. Andrew's long gone from your life. Leave him alone.
"Ugh. Okay." I dry laugh, still completely taken aback. "Don't do that ever again."
"I'm gonna go for a run around the neighborhood quickly." Mason puts his phone in his pocket, walking over to the bar stools. He first gives Cole a bro hug, before he approaches me and smashes his lips against mine.
Not again.
I closed my eyes from the horror and disgust with Mason kissing me on the lips. He's like a brother to me, and we've been friends since we were babies. Him kissing me is like borderline incest.
I'm sorry for the horrible mental image, but it's true.
He releases, and takes in a deep breath, before casually walking out the door. Without a single word.
I shake my head, trying to get those last minutes out of my head. I look toward Cole, who was suggestively raising his eyebrows.
"So, what do you think? Who's the better kisser?"
"I think that if either of you try that again, I will staple your lips together." I tell him, and he gets all tense.
Good, I scared him. Mission accomplished.
Cole and I snapped our heads to the right when we hear a creak at the bottom of the staircase. It was Lina, and she looked exhausted. Her hair was a tousled in a mess behind her head, and the bags under her eyes were getting even more noticeable than before.
Ever since she was with Dante, all she's been doing is sex. I should probably tell her to calm down, even if it isn't any of my business.
But if I don't, she might end up pregnant, or with a disease.
When Cole sees Lina, he stands up from his chair. He runs his hands through his hair, nervously and Lina looks at the ground, sheepishly.
"I'm gonna go Lia." Cole puts his mug on the island counter before giving me a kiss on the cheek and leaving the way he first came in. Lina still stands there by the stairs.
"Aunt Alex isn't here, if that's what you were wanting to know." I told Lina from across the house, and she nods quietly. When she approaches the kitchen, she looks like she's in pain.
"Are you okay?" I ask her, and she gives me a hesitant smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Lina opens up the fridge to find something to eat, and I drop my jaw so far that it nearly touches the ground.
There were bruises and black and blue marks all over her neck and back, disappearing behind the light blue material of her shirt. I wasn't sure if she realized what Dante had done, and if that's why she was in pain.
"Lina, your back..." She turns around.
"What?"
"Your back is full of bruises." I said in disbelief. She attempts to look at her back, but then she moans in pain.
"Well, I did say that Dante likes it rough. He's sure living up to that reputation." She winces in pain, as she stretches her arms out.
This is not normal.
There's something really wrong here, and I'm going to get the the bottom of it.
"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that." I tell her as she nods, sitting down on the bar stool Cole sat at not that long ago.
"What's up?"
"Well, judging by all the bruises on your other half of your body, I want you to be careful." I put my hand on top of hers, which was sitting on the white granite. "You've been doing some things a lot since you've been dating Dante. I just want to make sure that you're safe and that you don't end up pregnant in the long run."
"I'm fine, Lia. I appreciate you caring about me, but this is my life. And that's how I want to live it. With lots and lots of sex." She seems proud of herself, and I can't help but doubt what she's been doing.
"Are you sure you're fine? It looks like Dante's hurting you." I glance at her back once more, and scrunch my nose at all the marks on her back. I feel bad for her, she must be going through a lot of pain if sex with him is always like that.
"What?" She gets up, frustrated. "Dante's not hurting me. I told you, Lia, he likes it rough. And I don't mind it. So, leave it alone, okay?" She says as she rushes back upstairs to her sex-craved boyfriend.
I shake my head, trying not to ponder certain situations about what could be happening here. Lina told me to leave it alone, but I can't. Dante is hurting Lina, and I can't have them be together if she keeps getting bruises and constantly having to hide herself from everyone else.
Should I tell Cole? I'm sure he'll know what to do.
But wait.
He will most likely freak out and think of the worst possible reason of why this is happening. I can't have that happen, and create a big scene. We don't know what is exactly happening, so I can't assume what is going on yet.
Once I find evidence, then I will conclude what is going on. I can't just confront the both of them without some evidence to prove my point.
So, I decided to call the best lawyer in town. Well, not exactly a lawyer. Just someone who's great at investigating things.
"Eli." I spoke as he picked up the phone.
"What's up, blondie? Need some assistance?" He sounded all cocky like.
What a doofus.
"Your ego keeps getting bigger and bigger every time I see you." I hope he can tell that at that moment I was rolling my eyes.
"Technically, we haven't seen each other yet. Unless you want to..." He said, suggestively.
"I'm not here for a booty call, Eli. I'm here for some help."
"Sure. What do you need?"
"Well, something is going on. I don't want to say right now because of risk of being heard, but I'll explain everything in person. Can we meet somewhere?" I was very urgent toward him.
"Of course. How about my house?"
"Okay." I sighed. "What's your address?"
"It's 1112 Sunrise View Avenue, Apartment C." He informed me, and I rushed over to the kitchen to grab a notepad and pen.
"Wait, you live in the city?"
"Why live in San Diego if you're not going to be in the center of everything?"
He did make a good point. But downtown San Diego can be quite sketchy.
"I guess that's true. Well, I'll see you there-"
"Wait." He said before I managed to end the call.
"What?"
"Is it bad, Lia? With what you need? Because judging on how you sounded over the phone, it sounds like it's life or death."
I sighed, finally realizing how horrible this could get. "It could be serious. I'm not completely sure what's going on, but that's why I need your help. It could be life and death if we don't find out soon."
His whole tone changed, almost like a wave of seriousness washed over him and ripped him away from his old-fun self.
"Okay. Get here fast." His voice was stoic.
I hung up the phone, grabbing my coat and keys in the process, and then I rushed out the door with urgency.
I needed to find out what was going on. Lina could be in serious trouble.
***
It took me about twenty minutes to get from the Butler's house to Eli's apartment. And when I say apartment, I mean penthouse.
The building wasn't so appealing on the outside, but as soon as you walked into the lobby, glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and plush gold covered sofa's decorated every corner. The floor was granite and the ceiling was painted gold, with intricate detailing.
It was like the outside was masking the truly beautiful inside of this building. It was amazing, and I couldn't wait to see what Eli's penthouse looked like.
"Name please." The receptionist asked me.
"Lia James. I'm here to see Eli Madden in Apartment C."
The receptionist grabbed the phone and dialed a number.
"Mr. Madden. Hello, sir. We have a Ms. Lia James waiting for you in the lobby."
"Okay great, thank you." He hung up the phone and gestured for the elevators.
"Thank you so much." I said before pressing the up arrow on the elevator.
The elevator music was a full of slow classical songs, mostly of piano and violin. It was peaceful to listen to in a quiet setting such as this. But being here, I feel almost underdressed. Everyone here looks all fancy and proper, and I'm just...normal.
But you know what? I'm glad with being just normal. Andrew made that pretty clear.
The gold doors opened to Eli's apartment and I stepped inside, ready to find out what's going on between Lina and Dante.
~*~
Don't forget to tap the star at the bottom of the screen if you enjoyed this chapter!
What's going on with Lina and Dante?
Cole and Mason's kisses with Lia? What the heck was that?
What will Eli and Lia do to figure out what's going on?
Find out next chapter! All of your questions will be answered then!
Much love.
XOXO