Page 52 of Save You
“He’s up there, with my sister, the silly girl!” He turns to Pru while taunting me with his blasé attitude over what he’s just said. “I have warned her this is merely a booty call, but the poor girl is a little bit ridiculous when it comes to Oliver.”
Like waving a red flag to a bull, I turn on my heels and march toward the doors to go and confront the man who has ripped me away from everyone I hold dear. Chad merely chuckles behind me, clearly amused by the drama he likes to cause between people. He probably sees us as nothing more than his own little puppets to direct as he so chooses. Pru, on the other hand, is now calling after me, with the tip-tapping sound of her shoes running not far behind.
I jump the stairs, two at a time, as I race toward the ugly doors to my bedroom, only growing more furious when I hear a woman screaming and groaning from behind them. My stomach is literally churning when the ugly sound of skin slapping against skin and the lurch of a wooden bed frame thundering against the wall, rings out clear as day. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not jealous of her for sleeping with Oliver, far from it. If she wants to fuck him and keep him off my tail, she’s more than welcome. But the fact that he made me go down on him, then sent me out on an errand just so he can fuck some other girl in my bed? That’s a step too damn far!
“Beth, don’t, please-” Pru calls out just as she makes it up the stairs, sounding out of breath after having chased me, but she’s too late. The doors burst wide open to reveal what I knew I was going to find the minute Chad had told me he was here with his sister.
At first, all I can do is stare at the two naked bodies going to town on one another. My eyes literally sting with tears of rage when I see Oliver pummeled Felicity from behind. He is thrusting so hard and violently against her, she is having to grab hold the mattress; the whole scene looks like it belongs in a dodgy porn film from the eighties. Both look up at the intrusion, but neither one attempts to stop their sexcapade. In fact, she grins widely for her audience, whereas he appears to snarl with fury over the fact that I’ve just interrupted his impending climax.
I stand there, dumbfounded, as he roars over her giggling body, her tits swaying backward and forwards like a pair of cow udders. He pulls out and ejaculates all over her back, then spills more onto the sheets. She screams out an orgasm far too enthusiastic to be anywhere near real.
“Oh, hello, Beth,” she says as she wriggles her fingers up at me with a taunting, self-satisfied smile, “nice to see you again. I was just telling your fiancé, here, that we must all get together soon. I’m sure Chad would like a bit of swapsies!”
Did the bitch just imply she does things with her brother? Because that’s fucking gross! I grimace over such an idea before looking up at a very irritated Oliver who slaps her ass cheek a little too hard to be sexual.
“Get the fuck out, Felicity!” he mutters with a curl of his lips just before he jumps out of bed to put his robe on. “Don’t ever imply my fiancé is available for any man other than me. Now get dressed and get gone; you’ve served your purpose!”
“Pru?” I say as she stands awkwardly behind me, her head looking down, and no doubt wishing she was anywhere but here. The poor woman tentatively steps forward, clearly not knowing what to do for the best. “Please change the sheets after they’re done. I don’t want to get into my bed when it still reeks of cum and skank.”
Before I storm off, I look at them both like filth on my shoe, both as repulsive as one another, then return to the living room to sit with Chad. Right now, he’s marginally better company, and that truly is saying something.
Xander
After Beth’s folks leave to return to their house, which probably feels like a stab of intense pain through the heart in the absence of Beth, I ask my sister to look after Rosie so I can go and check out Stephen’s place. He’s promised me a new look, one which is less shrine-like and more befitting for small children. I hope it is because I won’t be afraid to say if I don’t think it’s suitable. Rosie has already lost the most important person in her life, so I’m going to do everything I can to try and make up for it.
Once inside, I’m a little taken aback over how different it is, pleasantly so. My trips here have always been creepy with Shelly’s eyes following me everywhere I walk, a real house of horrors. However, the walls are no longer plastered with her photographs, and the memorabilia of their wedding is no longer scattered over open surfaces. Instead, the tops are clear, the walls are plain, and I notice he’s even begun to put child safety measures into place. There is still the odd picture of his wife and him together, but nothing out of the ordinary; nothing to scream that this is somewhere to bring your friends at Halloween.
When I finally drop my gaze, I find him smiling at me a little smugly over having seen how shocked I am. He is clearly proud of his efforts. I guess it must have been quite cathartic for him too, letting go of all that bitter sadness.
“Coffee?” he finally asks and begins walking into the kitchen.
The large, open windows which overlook the beach behind make this one of the most beautiful rooms in the house. The sun that is filtering through the large, open-plan space makes for a bit of heat trap too. It makes me feel both happy and sad to know that Beth would have loved it here; she was so in love with the ocean.
I shuffle up onto one of the breakfast bar stools, nodding at his offer of a drink before staring through the window over the outside terrace. It leads onto the pristine sand of the beach behind it. I hate coffee, but it’s the polite thing to do. Plus, it will keep my hands busy while I tell Stephen the reason for why I changed my mind about working for his media empire.
“There you go,” he murmurs as he hands me a warm mug. “So, what do you think? Will the place do?”
“It’s amazing, Stephen; I can’t thank you enough,” I reply, frowning for a moment before sipping the bitter, hot liquid so I can try to find my next words. “Are you really sure you want a bereft father and his infant child living here? I can’t say I’d be rushing up to sign up to this if it were the other way around.”
My uncle laughs, a real laugh, one which rarely comes out of his mouth. He places his mug onto the bar, then leans back to rest his hands behind his head, looking both relaxed and certain of himself.
“Shelly and I had always wanted kids,” he admits with a hint of nostalgia behind his eyes. “Unfortunately, she was taken before we could even try. But more than that, Xander, I want to help you. I know what you’re going through, and I don’t want you falling down the same rabbit hole that I’ve been stuck in because it fucking sucks. Plus, you don’t have the luxury of only thinking about yourself. Rosie deserves to have a happy childhood, not one spent in mourning.”
“I know, trust me, I know!” I put my coffee next to his, hoping to let it go cold so I don’t have to finish it. “If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I would still be here if it weren’t for Rosie. I think I would have tried to follow Beth. You know?”
“Yeah, I know.” He turns sad, like he too, must have considered this option at least a thousand times after Shelly died.
“Anyway,” I cough to clear both my throat and the atmosphere, “I wanted to let you know that if I do this, if I train to do what you do, then you know who I want to go after.” He nods slowly again, his expression telling me that he had already guessed as much. “I’m also planning on making a will so if anything happens to me, Casey gets custody of Rosie.”
“If, and that’s a big ‘if’, and one I don’t even want to consider, but if something were to happen to you, Xander, let me reassure you that both Casey and Rosie would be taken care of. Both financially and in any other capacity.”
His words of support cause a few traitorous tears to run down my face. Oliver Lawrence may not have physically killed Beth, but he is certainly to blame for her dying from a condition that could have been managed, had it not been for the fact that we were forced into hiding. Not to mention the fact that he had repeatedly hurt her. I also want to bring them down for her grandmother, and for Mal too. And for all the other poor bastards out there who have suffered at the hands of Mayfield.
Stephen eventually stands and holds his arms out toward. me, inviting me to let it all out on him. And I do, if only so I can get back to my daughter and be the man I need to be for her.
“We’ll get them, Xander,” he murmurs, all the while patting me on the back in comfort, “I promise!”
“Thanks for everything!” I tell him, then pull away as I wipe my face along the back of my arm.