Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (15 page)

           
“I
was a carbon copy for her… I won’t be one for you,” he says and gains not only
my respect but also jealousy. Not just because of his stand with me but also
because of the truth.

           
“You
really love her,” I say.

           
“Yes.”
He has so much proudness about him as he declares it.

           
“Just
promise me one thing,” I begin to slur. “Don’t let that destroy you… or her.”

           
The
room is spinning and my head slowly falls into his lap. He clears his throat
and combs his fingers through my hair. I drift off and I think I hear him say,
“I’ll try.”

HUGO

I
walk through the door. I want nothing but to crawl in bed next to Juliet and
just try to sleep.

           
“Hugo
darling, is that you?” Ms. Eleanor calls for me. I enter the living room to see
her lying by a fire. She pats the pillow next her. “Come.”

           
I
sit next to her and watch the fire with her. She sips on a glass of wine. Not
her usual Bloody Mary, which is surprising. Before I can ask, she speaks.

           
“The
last time I sat by a fire was on my honeymoon with my third husband. The fire
began spreading in the fireplace and I was a little too close to it, but I was
blinded by the risk. Blinded by love. Finally I got burned. It was very
unpleasant, yet still I did not let it ruin my night. I’ve never let the burns
and risk ruin me. I should’ve. Maybe if I did you children would not be in
harm.”

           
A
single tear falls down Ms. Eleanor’s cheek. Her eyes strained on the fire.

           
“If
you hadn’t been the strange yet kind woman who freely opens her home to others…
none of us would have a chance,” I assure her.

           
“A
chance of what exactly, darling?”

           
“Of
discovering who actually does care. Ms. Eleanor, you have nothing to feel sorry
for. Blame is for the biological authorities whose only responsibility was to
love us.”

           
“Everyone
is to blame, Hugo. Even the victims. Everyone sees the risks, but our desires
are overpowering.” She looks at me and runs her fingers across my face. “One
day, Hugo. One day that anger in you will go completely.”

           
I
don’t answer because I don’t believe her. Not because it is impossible, just
because it is impossible for me. I stand up. “Good night, Ms. Eleanor.”

           
“Goodnight,
darling.”

           
 
I go to my room and there she is. Sound
asleep, making my bed look like heaven on Earth just because her presence is
that much of a blessing. I take off my clothes and crawl in next to her. I
don’t want to wake her, so I just look at her. I just want to enjoy this peace.
My peace, because when I tell Juliet about the kiss, she is going to be pissed.
Relationships are so annoying.

9

SCARLETT

Charlie
Webber, another former student of our old high school, is sitting at his
station where high quality computer equipment surrounds him – four
computer screens, a very large keyboard, two printers and other gadget shit I
have no idea about. Charlie Webber was the kid to go to in high school. If you
wanted fake IDs, grades changed, transcripts, anything, he was the kid to see.
Especially when it came to people’s bank accounts and to guarding mine. I had
recruited Charlie as my private beck and call when he was a fresh, pimple-faced
scholarship freshman when I was a junior. Originally from Staten Island, he had
risen to his own luxury loft in Lower Manhattan. He still had bad acne and wore
thick eyeglasses, but due to my recommendations never lacked in experiences
with women.

           
“Charlie,
what do you have for me today?” I ask as I sit on his red couch behind him. I
look over to my right and see a half-naked girl sleeping in his unmade bed. “I
see you’ve been doing good.”

           
His
fingers continue banging on the keyboard. When Charlie is wired in, there is no
getting him out, so I’ve learned to be patient. He should be done in five…
four… three… two… one.

           
He
spins around in his chair to face me.

           
“Karlie
Fairchild is a very wealthy woman.”

           
“No
shit. But when you texted me you got something, I assumed it would be something
less obvious.”

           
He
nods his head and slides down his desk, grabbing something from the printer. He
glides in his chair to me and hands me the information.

           
“Basically
Karlie Dale is still a saint.”

           
I
feel myself starting to tick. “Again. You are not pleasing me, Charlie.”

           
“I
know.” He gets nervous. “Which is why I dug deeper. Into some real high top
secret shit and I dug up the will William Fairchild had created, which of
course left everything to her. I mean, no dirt is found, but then I noticed
something else. I hacked into the history of the Fairchild lawyers and there
was this like vault, metaphorically speaking, for cyberspace and it was very
hard to get into – like I could only get through five walls out of maybe
thirty-two. That shit has never happened to me, but this system is good. In
those five walls I found something interesting.” I look at what he gave me and
I realize what I am reading.

           
“Very
interesting.” I smile.

           
“Yes,
it is and something tells me that this is only the cherry of the sundae Karlie
Fairchild has created. I can keep working on it.”

           
“You
can do that… but I think I’ll have fun with the cherry.”

JULIET

“Well
this is a pleasant surprise.” I wake up to see him sitting up staring at me, in
nothing but his underwear.

           
He
sighs. “Karlie kissed me last night.”

           
I
sit up and I don’t know why I’m still fucking smiling. He told me it in a way
he would say what color the wall was.

           
“Usually
I don’t know how to handle these situations, so… I figured we could have sex
rather than talk about it.”

           
“Oh,
so you literally thought you laying here half naked would take my mind away
from that confession?”

           
“Yes.”

           
“Well,
it hasn’t.” I hurry out of his bed and head into the bathroom, slamming the
door and locking it. I lean against the sink holding on to my stomach, hoping
the grim feeling goes away. Should I even fret about a kiss? I don’t really
know, but I am. I am livid. My lungs feel so compressed with anger and
frustration.

           
A
knock on the door comes along with a twist on the knob.

           
“Juliet,
be sensible,” I hear him.

           
“Sensible?!
We’ve only been exclusive
—
a title
you
decided to give us, for the record
—
for what? A few weeks? And already you’ve cheated
on me.”

           
“I
did not cheat on you.”

           
“What
part of ‘Karlie kissed me’ doesn’t define cheating?”

           
“Every
part. She kissed me. I didn’t kiss her back.”

           
“Did
you stop her?”

           
“No.”

           
I
scoff.

           
“I
just… I let her have her moment.”

           
“Her
moment?”

           
“Her
moment. She was down about Gabriel and she was drunk and sad… and last night
was his birthday.”

           
“Did
you know that?”

           
“No.
It never even crossed my mind.”

           
I
sigh closing my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

           
I
hear him chuckle. “Why are you sorry?”

           
“Yes,
you are an arsehole for letting her kiss you, but… I’m sorry about the
revelation that you realized that your dead brother’s birthday is not even a
factor in your life… that must really suck.”

           
“See
that’s another reason why I love you.”

           
“What
– that I’m sympathizing when I should be angry?”

           
“I
would never have admitted that. That I had a problem with that before I met
you. I do, Juliet. It’s like there’s something inside of me that doesn’t work
right. Something that needs to feel, but it doesn’t and I don’t understand it
and it painfully bothers me. I don’t. I don’t grieve. I don’t have remorse for
most things when I should. Or when people think I should.”

           
I
open the door before he says anything else and lean against the frame. “You’re
just human.”

           
“Am
I?”

           
I
squint one eye. “Still might be debatable.”

           
He
chuckles again and pulls me towards him. “I let her kiss me. It was just a
moment of understanding. But I can promise you it will never happen again.”

           
I
may be dumb, but I believe him.

           
“I’ll
leave it be for now… especially since you’re about to make it up to me by doing
a lot of very naughty things to me.” He grins and leans in to kiss me, but I
tilt my head back. “But you do realize this just adds to the reasons I am not
fond of her, yeah?”

           
He
nods. “We’ll work on that after I make you scream.”

           
“I
don’t scream,” I whisper as he slips his hands into my pajama bottoms.

           
He
gets on his knees, tugging them down before pressing his lips against the
cotton of my panties. He looks at me with that sexy, annoying smirk. “Yes. You
do.”

           
I
no longer can argue with that.

           
“Am
I forgiven?” he asks still laying naked in his bed. I throw on his t-shirt and
my pajama bottoms and head out.

           
“Nope,”
I say before slamming the door.

           
Maybe
he’s slightly forgiven, but I won’t tell him that just yet – not that he
needs it. I head down the stairs to my room to check on Jaz. I stop at the
sounds of a screaming Poppy.

           
“Oh
God! Oh God! Oh God!” My mouth drops. “Yes! Yes! Yes! MMMMHHMM rainbows!” My
hand covers my mouth compressing the laughter. The door opens and I jump back
as Poppy comes out in a white silk robe with an incredible amount of fuck me
hair surrounding her face. She shoves it out the way and smiles brightly.

           
“Um...”
I clear my throat. “Poppy, you’re… glowing.”

           
“I’m
really glad you came here.” She wraps her arms around me hugging me tight. I
look over her shoulder to see an equally glowing Jaz lying in her bed covered
in nothing but her pink silk sheet.
 
She lets go of me and looks back in her room. “I’ll be back, boo.”

           
Boo?

“Hurry
back, boo!” Jaz yells as Poppy goes downstairs and I am just flabbergasted.

I
walk into Poppy’s room as Jaz chuckles.

“Boo?”
I ask.

“It’s
a term of endearment between my girl and I.”

“Excuse
me, did you say your girl?”

“Yes,
I did. Mate, she is perfection.”

“Jaz…
you really like her, don’t you?”

“Hell
yeah I do. She’s fun. She’s hot. She’s smart… well in her own way, and I think
her pussy is made of rainbows.”

I
cover my ears in disgust. “Oh my God! Please don’t mention that again.”

“She
thinks my lil Hammer is made of rainbows too.”

“Again,
Jaz!” I stop. “Wait, you call your dick lil Hammer?”

“Don’t
judge, JuJu, but yeah. I like her. She likes me. Nothing complicated in that.”
He shrugs.

“Yeah,
less complicated sounds nice right about now,” I say more to myself.

“You
don’t mean that. Simple things never were for you. That’s why we never dated.”

I
laugh and don’t disagree. People always saw Jaz and I getting together, but
what we both wanted in other people was different from what we needed in a
friend.

“Well,
have fun and don’t hurt her, best mate,” I say to him.

“Same
for you.”

I
feel my cell buzz in my pocket and pull it out hoping the text is from Jess.

“Is
that Jess?” Jaz asks.

“No,
which is odd. I’m beginning to worry…” My thought is lost when I see who the
text is from.

“You
okay?”

I
look at Jaz and nod. “Yeah I am. I’ll see ya later, yeah?”

I
leave out the room and head to mine. Once in, I look at the text again.

“Don’t
do it, Juliet,” I say out loud to myself. “Don’t do it.”

But
I’m doing it. I’m responding back to the text. I’m taking the bait.

HUGO

In
the kitchen sits a gloomy Cody spoon in hand, playing with his bowl of cereal.

           
“Still
sulking, I see,” I say pouring myself a cup of coffee.

           
“I’m
not sulking. Just pondering.”

           
“Pondering
on what?”

           
“Whether
I should take Anika back or not.”

           
I
chuckle and he frowns. “What’s funny?”

           
I
turn around, cup in hand and wisdom to spare. “You are more arrogant than what
people think.”

           
“What
the hell are you talking about?”

           
“You
have a beautiful woman who for some reason finds you attractive and wonderful,
yet you are so into your pride you dignify your reason for being petty to the
first girl to hurt your feelings. Guess what, Cody, you got a long line of
girls waiting to hurt and break your heart.”

           
“This
coming from the guy who breaks hearts. Whose never even had his broken.”

           
“My
mother. She broke my heart.” He doesn’t protest, feeling guilty, and I
continue. “She was helping her sister.”

           
He
shakes his head. “I know,” he laughs a little. “She told me to man up.”

           
“Then
man up.”

           
I
take my coffee to go and let him ponder on that.

JULIET

I
enter the rooftop lounge. I sort of love parties and restaurants on rooftops of
luxurious buildings. In London I went to rooftop parties all the time. Got
hammered and watched the skyline. This is no party though. This is a quiet spot
with a lovely view and what smells like great food, but I can’t enjoy it.