Fireflies From Heaven (10 page)

Three hours
later Isabelle sat on the floor beside the coffee table at my dad’s house
sipping on a screwdriver I’d made with the vodka in the cabinet.
 
I told her to meet me here knowing Dad
was still at work, and Jack liked the company. I was also hoping I could stop
by Reed’s place on the way home.

“I shouldn’t
have freaked out like I did,” Isabelle whispered.
 
I’d never seen her look so broken, and
it made me sad.
 
She was always so
strong and confident and full of life.
 
“I’m scared for Reed,” she admitted, taking a sip of her drink.

A slither of
unease weaved inside of me.

“Darryl was
abusive to both of us, but Reed had it much worse than I did. It was like
Darryl hated him. I’ve always prayed my brother didn’t have any lingering
issues from the abuse, but I’m not sure.”

My heart was
pounding. I couldn’t stand thinking of Reed and Isabelle as children and being
hurt by the person that should have loved them the most.

“You know what
a bastard Darryl was, but you don’t know everything that happened.” Isabelle’s
haunted eyes met mine.

I was all of
the sudden uneasy.

“Reed always
had a strong effect on women even when was younger.
 
When he was fifteen, he caught the
attention of our landlord’s wife.
 
She was rich and beautiful, and she looked at Reed in a way that no
woman should look at a fifteen year-old boy.”

The hairs on
the back of my neck lifted, anticipating what I knew was coming.

“Reed and I
both worked, but one month we just couldn’t come up with the money for
rent.
 
Darryl didn’t seem to care,
but Reed and I were desperate.
 
The Fosters
had already helped us out several times, and we couldn’t go to them again.

 
That’s when Mrs. Cox made a deal with
Reed.
 
I didn’t know about it until
afterwards, but I should have. I wasn’t paying attention, didn’t question why
our rent was suddenly paid in full because I was too relieved to care. It went
on for months.”

Tears slid down
Isabelle’s face and dripped from her chin.
 
“Reed slept with her in exchange for rent money.”

I clasped my
middle like someone had punched me.

“I noticed a
change in Reed. He’d become quiet and withdrawn. Amber was worried about him
too. Then one day I came home from school and found them together in bed.”
Isabelle closed her eyes.

I felt sick.

“Reed actually
tried to protect her saying it wasn’t her fault but he was lying.
 
The next day I went to see Mrs. Cox and
told her I’d go to the police and have her charged with statutory rape if she
ever went near my brother again.”

Isabelle
brushed away her tears, and I was surprised to realize that I was crying along
with her. Sorry wasn’t enough but I said it anyway.

“Even though
he’s a grown man now, he’s still my baby brother.
 
I can’t stand to think of him in pain.
Ellie, you don’t think Reed has some weird sexual fetishes because of what
happened to him, do you?”

The image of
myself lying across Reed’s lap while he held the riding crop flashed in my
mind.
 
I hadn’t for a heartbeat been
afraid because I knew Reed would never hurt me.
 
As much as I wanted to reassure Isabelle,
I didn’t think I she’d want to hear about what had happened between Reed and I.

 
“I don’t think you should worry about
Reed’s sex life.”

Isabelle looked
at me with uncertainty.
 
“You don’t
think so?
 
I know he’s using those
things with someone, and I doubt it’s Amber.”

“Would it be
okay if he was using them with Amber,” I asked curiously.

She seemed to
think about the question. “I can’t stand thinking about Reed having any kind of
sex, but I know how much he loves Amber. If they were into some kinky sex, I
guess it wouldn’t be any of my business.”

I didn’t like
how convinced Isabelle was that Amber and Reed were meant to be together, but I
didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. Not yet.

“I’ll have to
talk with Amber about this,” Isabelle said, clearly distressed.

“Why?”

“She knows Reed
better than anyone, and she would know if he’s having problems.”

“Do you think
that is a good idea since they’ve broken up?” I asked gently.

“That’s only
temporary, and if Reed is having issues I’ll insist he go to a therapist before
I let him end up some sexual deviant.”

Choking on the
words ‘sexual deviant’, I wanted to shake Isabelle and tell her that Amber and
Reed were not getting back together and that there wasn’t anything deviant
about Reed.

 
“Ellie!” my dad called from the
kitchen.
 
He’d come in through the
garage and Isabelle and I hopped off the floor as he walked into the living
room still dressed in his slacks and dress shirt with a tie, gun and badge.

“Hi, Dad!” I
hugged him. He kissed the top of my head and told me he’d missed me. “Dad, this
is my friend Isabelle Bentley. Isabelle, this is my dad.”

“Isabelle,” my
dad said, smiling at her and taking her hand.
 
“It’s good to see you again.”

I was puzzled
at that, but Isabelle wasn’t.
 
“Captain
Bentley,” Isabelle said, shaking my dad’s hand. “It’s good to see you again
too.”

“Have you two
met before?” I asked, confused.

“We ran into Isabelle
at The Pit just after you started working with her,” Dad reminded me, smiling
at Isabelle, who was still shaking his hand.
 
As if is suddenly realizing that, Isabelle
blushed and let go. I don’t think I’d ever seen Isabelle blush.

“Oh, I’m sorry
I must’ve forgotten.” They’d met almost two years ago, briefly. It was
interesting that they both remembered it when even I’d forgotten.

My dad was only
forty years old. Isabelle was twenty-eight. Tonight had been crazy. That was
the only explanation I had for what was going through my mind as I watched Isabelle
laugh at something my dad said.
 

I couldn’t stop
watching them together.
 
It had
definitely been a bizarre night.

I texted Reed
when I left Dad’s house.

Me: Can I come
over?

His reply came
quickly. I’d learned over the last few weeks that Reed, like Cora and I, didn’t
abbreviate much in text.
 
Probably
because he didn’t text much.

Reed: I want to
get out of the house. I’ll pick you up.

Frowning, I
wondered if he’d driven since the accident.
 
I didn’t think so, but I knew that the
doctor said it was okay since it was his left leg that was injured.
 

Me: Are you
sure?

Reed: Hell yes.
I haven’t left the house in a week.

Me: Funny. I
meant sure about driving.

Reed: I know.
Trust me.

Me: You already
know I do.

I went home and
took a quick shower and changed into a pair of denim shorts and a green tank
top.
 
Sliding my feet into my
favorite flip-flops and pulling the ponytail holder from my hair, I ran my
fingers through the waves and wondered if I should pull it back in a
ponytail.
 
I left it down and
applied peach lip-gloss.
 
Grabbing
my purse, I hurried out the door to meet Reed.
 
Our apartment was on the second floor,
and I didn’t want him to have to try and make it up the stairs.

“Hey, Ellie!”

I turned and
smiled at my neighbor’s son. “Hi, Tyler.” I glanced at the skateboard under his
left arm. “Be careful,” I told him and he grinned with the cockiness only a
twelve-year-old boy could manage. “Are you going to the skate park?” I asked,
frowning because of how late it was.

“Nah, Mike and
I are hanging out here. We’ll be careful. You don’t need to worry,” he
promised.

 
I’d just gotten to the parking lot when
Reed’s blue Ford truck pulled up.

“You shouldn’t
be out here by yourself at night. I would’ve come inside,” Reed told me when I
hopped into the truck.

“You sound like
my dad.” I liked that he cared, though.

“What, are you
hiding Hot Kiss in your apartment?”

I turned to
look at Reed, unable to tell if he was angry or joking, but he was staring
straight ahead at the road. “I was joking,” he told me with a smile in his
voice, as if reading my mind.

“I’m sorry,
Reed.”

“Don’t be,” he
replied gently.
 

A few minutes
later, he pulled into a vacant lot behind the runway of George W. Bush
Intercontinental airport.
 
Reed
killed the engine and turned his attention to me.
 
“I used to come here a lot when I was
younger and I needed to think.
 
I
love watching the planes take off and land.”

“Dad used to
bring me here.
 
It’s one of my
favorite places.”

Reed got out of
the truck, came around to my side and opened the door. Walking to the back of
the truck, he let the tailgate down and we sat down.

 
“Are you still mad at me?” I asked when I
couldn’t hold it in any longer.
 

He glanced over
at me in surprise.

“I’m not dating
anyone else, Reed.
 
I can see how
you might not trust me now but I hope you can forgive me.”

“Ellie, I’m not
mad at you.”

“You’re not?”

He reached over
and brushed a piece of hair from my face, his fingers brushing my skin and
making me quiver.
 
“I was jealous,
but I guess I can’t fault you for not wanting to hurt the guy’s feelings, even
Doctor Hot Kiss.”

“It’s all good,
then? We don’t have to bring this up anymore?”
 
I asked hopefully.

Reed seemed to
think this was funny.
 
“I’ll never
refer to a dude by those two words again, trust me.”

I smiled,
feeling better.

“Do women really
call him that?”

“Not to his
face.
 
His name is Hotchkiss so it
sort of fits, not that I would know if he’s a hot kisser since I’ve only been
kissing you.”

“I like that.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth.

My nipples
hardened. “I like you, Reed.”

His gaze lifted
from my mouth and he looked into my eyes. “That’s good, Ellie, because I like
you too. I always have.”

“Me too. Even
in high school I noticed you and it wasn’t just because you were hot.” My voice
quivered.

Reed chuckled.
“You thought I was hot?” he teased.

“All the girls
did, you know that. It wasn’t what intrigued me about you.” Looking up at him,
I saw his unwavering gaze on me, listening and waiting for me to finish. Reed
always made me feel like there was nothing more important to him than what I
was saying.

“When you asked
Cora to dance at Homecoming, you stole a chunk of my heart.
 
Everyone knew she had a crush on you,
and some of the kids had a bet going that she couldn’t get you to dance with
her. Watching you dance with Cora was one of my favorite moments in high
school.”

Reed held my
hand, rubbing the pad of his thumb across my knuckles.
 
“I should’ve asked you to dance too.”

I shook my
head. “That night was Cora’s.”

He looked into
my eyes, and my heart tripped a beat. “Ellie, tell me how I can get the rest of
your heart.”

A soft sigh
escaped my lips before I could check it, and I reached out to touch the side of
his face but hesitated.

“It’s okay to
touch me, Ellie.” His gaze dropped once again to my mouth.

My hand tentatively
brushed his jaw, and I marveled at the feel of the stubble against my palm.
 
He was going to kiss me. I saw his eyes
darken, felt him tense and I waited.

A plane raced
down the runway, engines roaring as it picked up speed until it suddenly sailed
into the air above us, accelerating until it was just a blur of light in the starlit
sky. We both watched the plane, the moment soaring away with it.

Maybe it was
for the best because I couldn’t think straight when Reed touched me, and we
hadn’t talked about what happened with Isabelle.
 
“Are we going to talk about it?” I asked
him.

His brows drew
together like he was thinking about the question. “The kiss or what happened
with Isabelle?” he asked with a smile in his voice.

“It’s up to
you,” I said not wanting to push.

“How about we
talk about Isabelle now, and I kiss you later.” Reed’s gaze locked with mine
and he seemed to be trying to find the answers to whatever questions I read in
his eyes.

“I should never
have brought that stuff to your house.”

He looked
surprised. “What happened with Isabelle isn’t your fault.”

“It sort of
is.
 
I only wanted to have some fun
with you not upset Isabelle.”

“I had fun.”
Reed squeezed my hand. “Isabelle was upset about something that had nothing to
do with you.” I felt him tense.
 
“Ellie,
our mom made Isabelle promise to take care of me if something ever happened to
her.
 
Maybe she knew then that she
wasn’t going to be around to raise us.
 
I don’t think she meant it as literally
as Isabelle took it, but ever since then my sister has been overprotective and
has blamed herself for every bad thing that’s happened to me.”