Escaping Me (27 page)

“
You really want to do this, rich boy?  I've been waiting weeks to beat the shit out of you.  You sure you want all your friends to see it happen?” he asks, stretching his arms out and acknowledging the crowd that stands silently watching.  I know Cole isn't afraid of a fight. Maybe it's the fact that he's been bottling it all up since the last time we saw Wes, but I can see it in his eyes that there is a good chance he'll kill him if he makes another move.  Every muscle in his arms is tight against the fabric of his shirt and he starts bouncing on his toes in anticipation of the next move.

“
You'll be in jail before the sun sets, you son of a bitch,” Wesley threatens.

“
I'll take my chances,” Cole warns.

“
That's enough!” My father steps between them.  “I think you've made your point, Cole.”  He turns to me.  “Are you alright?”

“
Yes,” I nod.  “Wesley started all of this.” I defend Cole's actions, knowing that it won't be long before the police show up.  At least one person here has already called 9-1-1—I am sure of it.  What Cole just did is not the way Vandaveers—or any of their friends—handle a confrontation.  Cole scared the shit out of them and I am sure they would take Wesley's appearance to mean he was attacked.  Cole doesn't have a mark on him.

“
I know.” My father nods his head in agreement before looking at the rumpled, bleeding mess that is Wesley Thorton.  “Wes, I think it's time for you to go.”

“
Are you kidding me?” he asks, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the concrete.  “You're going to let this asshole stay here?”

“
I think the asshole is the one who put his hands on my daughter.  Cole was simply defending her.  At least that's the way I saw it,” he adds.  “Right?” He looks around at his party guests, who start nodding in agreement.  “You need to go before the police show up.”

“
This is bullshit,” Wesley yells when he realizes no one is on his side.  Apparently Robert Vandaveer has the final say on things at his house.  Wes stomps through the crowd alone and disappears from sight.

“
All right then.” My dad turns his attention to the party.  “Let's get back to celebrating my wife's achievements.”  He smiles as Jessica slips up next to his side.

“
Why don't you take Cole inside and help him get cleaned up?” Jessica suggests.

“
I'm really sorry that I messed up your party,” Cole apologizes as I put my hand in his.

“
Don't worry about it.” My dad shakes his head.  “We haven't had that much excitement at one of these parties in, well... ever,” he laughs as he and Jessica shift back into host mode.  “We'll talk to you two later,” he adds.

“
What the hell is going on?” I ask, looking up at Cole.  “Did you perform some sort of lobotomy on my dad while you two were together?”

Cole smirks. “Let's just say we finally reached an agreement on all things Whitney.”

I am still confused.  This entire day has been surreal, and the fact that my father took Cole's side after he kicked Wesely's ass is icing on the cake.

“
I'll explain everything later,” he promises.  “Can you please show me where the bathroom is so I can wash that piece of shit's blood off my hands?”

Chapter 28 – Cole

I shouldn't have been surprised that the statue Robert supposedly needed help moving had already been put in its correct place.  This whole thing was just his way of getting me alone for “the talk.”  I'd been through this once with Megan's dad.  Of course, his words were much more colorful than I expected Vandaveer's to be.  I was sure he was just going to remind me that I wasn't good enough for her.  As he led me into the house and back to his home office, I was preparing myself for whatever it was he was going to say.

“
I didn't need your help moving anything, Cole.” He confirmed my suspicions as he poured two glasses of whiskey.  “I actually wanted to talk to you—alone.”  He walked back over to me, handing me a glass.

“
I figured,” I said, waiting for him to take the first drink.  This whole scenario had me questioning him.  Maybe it was irrational, but if there was a chance that he'd poisoned my drink, I sure as hell wasn't going to fall for it.  I'd seen way too many movies.

“
My daughter has made it perfectly clear that she is going to do what she wants,” he began, pausing to take a drink.  I followed suit when he didn't drop dead and let a drink of the aged bourbon coat my throat.  “Like I said before, I may not agree with all of her decisions, but I realize that I need to let her make her own mistakes.”

“
Whitney and I are not a mistake,” I defended.

“
I'm sorry,” he acknowledged his choice of words.  “It's just that I had certain hopes for Whitney—go to college, find a deserving guy, be taken care of.”

“
I understand where you coming from, Robert. Really, I do.  But I don't think you understand exactly how much I love your daughter,” I confessed, figuring I might as well lay it all out on the table.  “I know you think someone like Wes can make her happy, but that's not the case.  Maybe I'm not the guy she is going to end up with in the long run, but at least I respect her enough to let her make that decision.” 

He sat stoically as he finished he drink.  “Tell me this,” he spoke.  “What are you going to do when she goes back to college in the fall?” 

“I'm actually getting ready to start my own construction business out in Georgia,” I admitted, knowing that he was already forming a list of questions for his daughter. “I expect to be up and running by the early fall.”

“
I appreciate your enthusiasm, Cole,” he chuckled.  “But, let's be honest.  Start-up businesses fail all the time.  I suppose you think you're going to take her with you?”

“
No. Actually, she's insisting on staying here for college,” I confessed.  “Because she's scared to tell you that she wants to transfer.”

“
Scared to tell me?” His expression fell as he took a seat on the edge of his desk.

“
If you haven’t noticed, she has a hard time telling you things.”

“
I never meant for her to feel like that,” he divulged.  “I guess it’s my fault she feels that way.  I have a hard time turning off the prosecutor side of me.”  He sat silently and I could see him replaying everything he'd said to his daughter over the years.  He took in a deep breath and reached into his jacket pocket.  “I have an offer for you.”  He pulled a piece a paper out and presented it to me—a check for an obscenely large amount of money with my name on the 'pay to the order of' line.  “Before you say anything, know that I'm doing this for Whitney.  You can use this money to help start a life for the two of you.”

“
That's a lot of zeroes.” I stared down at the check in my hand and thought about the possibilities—and consequences—that came along with accepting this offer. “Thank you for the offer, Robert, but sometimes a man needs to make his own way.  Even if that means taking the long way around.”  I handed him the check back.  He took it from my hand, his eyes questioning my decision.

“
I'd be willing to double the amount if you call things off with Whitney,” he added.

Is this really happening?
  At first his gesture seemed sincere, but then I realized his real motivation.  For me to disappear.  He was out of his mind if he thought I could be bought.

“
With all due respect, sir,” I responded sarcastically.  “There's not enough money in the world to make me leave Whitney.”

“
Thank God.” He cracked a smile.  “I was hoping you'd say that.  Sorry for the power play,” he chortled.  “I just wanted to know exactly what I am dealing with.”

“
I don't have a hidden agenda and I plan on sticking around as long as she'll have me.”

“
It would seem that way,” he agreed.  “Just remember that the second you screw something up, I'll be there.”

“
I wouldn't expect it any other way.” I laughed as he extended his hand to me.  I wasn't sure if I should consider our conversation Robert's way of saying he approved of me or just that he'd be watching my every move like a hawk. 

“
We should get back to the party.  I'm sure Whitney is dying to know what we’ve talked about.  Feel free to leave out the part about me paying you off.  I have a hard enough time staying on her good side.”

“
Will do,” I said.  Robert may have had a demented way of protecting his daughter, but I understand it.  I'll probably be the same way if I have a daughter of my own.  At least for the time being I don't have to worry about him hounding her to stay away from me because there is absolutely no way I'll mess up the good thing we have going.

“
And I'm going to talk to her about transferring,” he added.  “I don't have a problem with it as long as she's in school.”

* * *

“Well that went better than I expected,” Whitney admits as we are driving home.  I look at her, confused.  After the party was over, she and her father sat down in his office and had a lengthy conversation about her future—minus the bullshit.  They actually talked about everything each of them was thinking and he assured her that he had no part in Wes's scheme tonight.  By the time they came out both of them seemed pleased with the results.  He'd agreed that if she could get all of her credits transferred then he would continue to pay for her schooling in whatever state she decided.  I can tell she is excited about the possibility of us only being apart for a few months instead of two years.  I am pretty excited too.

“
How about the part where I kicked your ex-boyfriend's ass?” I ask.  “You're not mad?”

“
Are you kidding me?” She smiles.  “I'm not saying I want you to throw punches at every guy that looks my way, but I have to admit seeing that asshole get what he deserved was kind of great.”

“
A lot of guys look at you?” I tease.  “Oh, well I'm definitely kicking all their asses.  Make me a list.”

She rocks her shoulder into mine and laughs.  “You know what I mean.”

“I do.”

* * *

The next week slipped by a lot more quickly than either of us wanted it to.  Whitney is leaving for school the next day and I don't want her to go.  I've done my best to be the tough guy and not let her see that us being apart is going to be the death of me. 

“
I have got to go pack,” she states as she pulls herself from my arms and climbs out of bed.

“
Just a little bit longer,” I beg, reaching out for her.

“
It's almost two o'clock,” she giggles as she swats my hand away.  “We've been in bed all day.”

“
You loved it,” I say, falling back against my pillow and resting my arms behind my bed.

“
I did.” She pulls her shirt over her head and leans over me.  “Every single second of it,” she breathes, her lips hovering over mine.  I quickly move a hand around her neck and pull her mouth to mine, tangling my fingers in her hair.  She tries to pull back, but her resolve only lasts a second before she lays her body on top of mine and lets me kiss the hell out of her lips.

“
I'm going to miss this,” she sighs when we have to come up for air.

“
Me too,” I admit.

“
Him too?” she giggles as she brushes her hand along the length of me that is now firmly straining against the sheet over my waist.

“
You have no idea,” I snicker, letting her roll off of me.  I know as well as she does that if she doesn't move quick we'll be spending the next hour in bed and she'll never get packed.

“
I'll be done soon,” she tells me as she pulls on her jean shorts and redoes her ponytail.  “Why don't you go meet Zeke for a drink at Pauly's or something?” she suggests.  I shrug.  I know she is just offering up an idea to take my mind off of things. 

“
I will,” I confirm, knowing I need to do something.  “Today sucks.”

“
I know,” she says as I sit up and put on the pair of sweats I picked up off the floor.  I stand up and walk over to her, snaking my arms around her waist.  I squeeze her tight, wanting to remember exactly how she feels in my arms.  I wonder if she knows how important she is to me.  Sure, I tell her I love her all the time, but I don't think she actually understands how much she's changed my life.  If it weren’t for her I never would have gotten my shit together.  I'd probably still be sitting on a barstool somewhere, hating myself and believing all the things people say about me.

“
I love you,” I say into her hair.  She pulls back and looks up at me.

“
Months,” she says as she smoothes her hand down my cheek.  “Only months and we'll be together all the time,” she reminds me. She's already started working on getting her credits transferred, and it is looking like she'll be a student at Georgia Southern University by the end of the semester.