Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance) (20 page)

I needed to give Noelle some time to heal and get better. I also needed to take some time to realize just how badly my words hurt her.

                     “Don’t worry about a thing; you just sleep. baby.” I spoke the words against her skin, as I placed a kiss against each eyelid. Noelle had me like no one else ever had. I would do anything to protect her. To keep her safe.

                     As soon as I knew she was in a deep sleep, I slipped from the room and headed out of the hospital. I had a couple of phone calls I had to make. I wanted to stay here with Noelle, but I wasn’t sure I could handle spending the next six months being around Viviana. She was already under my skin, and the fact that she was the reason for my miserable upbringing and everything that occurred with Noelle today didn’t make it better. I needed to distance myself from her before I did something that could land me in jail.

                     I pulled my cell out of my back pocket and hit my mom’s contact, listening to the phone ringing on the other end. Two rings later and she finally answered. I had no idea what time it was but I hoped she wasn’t asleep or at work.

                     “Hi, sweetie!” She sounded happy to hear from me. Guess there was a first time for everything.

                     “Hi, Mom!” My voice went flat. I didn’t want to bring up what I was about to, but I needed to let her know that I knew.

                     “Is everything okay? You sound upset.” I could see her now, pacing the floor, wondering if I had gotten into another fight or did something else that would get me into trouble.

                     “I’m fine. Perfect actually, I just need to ask you something, and then I need to make a choice.” I was more so saying what I needed to do out loud instead of just explaining what I wanted to.

                     “Okay…” She trailed off, hesitation laced her voice.  

                     “You knew this whole time and you didn’t tell me.” I left the comment open ended. I knew she would understand what I meant. There was a moment of silence before she started to speak.

                     “I didn’t think that it was something that would change things. You can’t dwell on the past, Royal. What your father and I had was amazing, but there wasn’t anything that could be done once Viviana became involved. I didn’t send you there to get involved in all of it, I sent you there because you needed a better relationship with your father.” She sighed.

                     “Well you got what you wanted there. I get him more than I ever did before, and I hate him less which I guess is a good thing. However, now that hate has shifted to Viviana, and I’m so angry, Mom…” I was gritting my teeth, and gripping my phone without meaning to. I took a deep breath so I could finish my sentence.

“I hate her, Mom! I hate her for hurting you, and for hurting me. I hate her for forcing my father to be married to her. I can’t stand her and because of that I think it would be best for everyone if I were to come home. If I don’t I’ll end up doing something I will one day regret.” As I spoke the words out loud, my chest constricted. Was this me walking away from Noelle?

                     I leaned against the exterior wall of the hospital, staring up at the light blue sky; the sun was shining down on me, reminding me of Noelle. Everything seemed to remind me of her.

                     “If you want to come home, sweetie, you can, but don’t leave because of her. If you’re finally getting things to a good place with your father, then I think you should stay.” My mother was trying to see the good in it all, but she wasn’t living with Viviana so she had no idea what kind of person she was or what it was like to live with her. I didn’t want to leave Noelle; even speaking about it was tearing me apart, but I had to do something to change the course of action I was on.

                     “I’ll talk to Mark, but you should know I’m coming home, Mom.” I assured her of that. I couldn’t stay here, not even for Noelle. Once gone I would do whatever I could to get her out of that mess, but until then I had to be okay with walking away from her for a while. No matter how much it ripped me apart. Maybe things with her mother would calm down with me out of the picture.

                     “Do what’s right for you, sweetie. If you want to come home, you know you have a room here and you always will. And one more thing, Royal. I’m very proud of you, son, for seeing that there was a problem and wanting to avoid a fight or doing something you shouldn’t.” I smiled, knowing I would soon get to see my mother. She was right about everything. Coming here and finding out the truth changed me. It made me a better person, it gave me Noelle, and I would forever be grateful for that even if it led to the dreadful truth.

                     “Okay! I’ll see you soon. I love you, Mom,” I spoke into the phone before hanging it up. I didn’t know what Mark would say about me coming home, or how he truly felt about any of it. I would find out tonight though. I headed back into the hospital and back to Noelle’s side. I had to see her beautiful face one last time before I left.

Chapter Twenty-Six

-Noelle

Time seemed to move at a snail's pace when you were left alone in a huge house like this. It’s been seven long ass boring days since I was released from the hospital, and even longer since I last saw Royal. The house was twice as quiet and twice as lonely without him here. I felt like I was going stir crazy locked inside with nothing but my thoughts to occupy myself with.

It was strange how much it could hurt when you had to go without seeing someone that had become a constant in your life. Someone you had every day for months. Everything went from being a norm, to being something that never happened again.

                     My fingers glided across the handwritten note I found left on my nightstand the night I came home from the hospital. It was a letter Royal left for me the night he left. This was the last thing I had left of Royal minus the shirt he left in his room.

I tried texting him and calling him. Nothing worked. He either blocked my number or he just didn’t care to respond. I read the letter to myself for the hundredth time as I laid in bed wondering what the hell happened between us.

                    
-Noelle

                     Please understand that me leaving has nothing to do with you but everything to do with me. I’ve learned to deal with things so much differently because of you. You have changed me for the better and will forever hold a special place inside my heart. Even if it hurt to hear the truth of what happened between my father and Viviana, it hurt more to have to leave you there knowing that you would have to deal with her alone.

                     As you already know your mother is a raging bitch, and she’s the reason I had to leave. I couldn’t be in the same house with her anymore, not after finding out what she did. I promise I will come back for you, and I will do whatever I can to remove your mom’s evil claws that she has embedded in my father and you. I hope with me leaving she will leave you alone and allows you to make your own decisions.

                     I want you to know that if I knew what love was or how to love someone, I would choose to have that with you. I want to be a better person for you, and I hope you never doubt what an amazing person you are.

                     I’ll come back for you one day.

Never forget that.

                     Love,

                     Royal. Xxx

                     I wanted so badly to be angry with him for leaving so abruptly but I couldn’t be. Not after Mark told me what my mother did. She was the reason his life was so fucked up. My mother was the cause of all of his pain, and I couldn’t blame him for wanting to leave because of her. I wanted to leave, and she was my own mother.

                     Instead of being angry, I cried because without him I felt lost. So utterly lost. I felt like a piece of me was ripped away, stolen from me. Royal had no idea of the impact he had upon me. Royal opened my eyes and allowed me to see I was perfect just the way I was. I might have changed, but it was because he helped me see it through, to see that I didn’t have to be what my mother demanded me to be.

I couldn’t muster up the energy or desire to get in and out of bed. I was suffering from a broken heart that I feared would never heal. Royal blew into my life like a raging storm, barreling down on me with hurricane force winds. He turned my entire life upside down, and then walked away because he felt like it was the right thing to do.

                     The fact that he could leave even when it wasn’t what he wanted to do, spoke volumes to the type of person that he was. He thought that he was no good and that he didn’t deserve me, but he just proved what a great and honorable person he was.

 Staying here with my mother was killing me. She refused to speak with me unless it was to bitch about something I did, and she was apparently angry with me for the things that I did to her.

It was just like her to think I was to blame and I wronged her instead of the other was around. She would never take responsibility or acknowledge anything she ever did. She was fucking perfect, inside her own mind.

Then came the moment when Royal left, and you should’ve seen the glee in her eyes. She was beyond thrilled once she discovered that Royal was going back home. She walked around here like she won something, like she asked him to leave and he just decided to listen to her. I tried to talk to Mark about what happened, why Royal left and what happened between him and Royal’s mother, but he refused to tell me anything. It was his and Royal’s business.

I stared at the bags that I packed a few days ago. They’ve been sitting next to my bedroom door for the last three long days. I haven’t touched them since I packed them because I wanted to make certain that this was really something that I wanted to do and not something I would regret.

                     My eyes roamed over the letter again, and then back over to my waiting bags. I had the flight booked and the plane would be leaving in two hours. I just needed Royal’s address and everything would be perfect.

                     Waiting until Mark left his office was harder than I thought it would be. I was eager to get out of here, and all I wanted to do was walk in there and make him tell me Royal’s address. But he wouldn’t and I couldn’t blow my cover and what I was doing just to get the info. As soon as he left the house, I slipped into the study. I didn’t know where to look exactly, but I was certain that he had to have some type of paperwork on his divorce in that office.

                     I sunk into his leather office chair, spinning around to face his file cabinet. I wiped my brow realizing that it was thankfully unlocked. Pulling open the cabinet, I sifted through file after file looking for the one I needed. Most of them were clients, their addresses, and contact numbers, shit that I didn’t care about, and most importantly shit that was useless to me. I sighed, about ready to give up on my search, I whirled around in the chair to face his desk. I scanned over the papers that were stacked and covering his desk.

                     One of them stuck out more than the others, forcing me to shove from the chair and scatter the papers to get to the one I needed. It looked like some sort of agreement between Mark and Royal. I read the page from top to bottom so fast that I missed Royal’s address that was plastered at the top of the page.

                     Anxiety filled my belly as I jotted the address down on one of the sticky notes from Mark’s desk. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of agreement they made and what it was for. It felt like every time I turned around secrets were being exposed, and new ones were being started every day.

                     I placed the papers back on Mark’s desk just as they were before I came in and started sifting through them. I knew if this plan was going to work, they couldn’t know where I was going. At least not until after I got there.

       I was a full of nerves.  I couldn’t believe that I was finally leaving and flying clear across the United States. What if Royal’s note was nothing but a lie? What if I got there and he was different, or he had someone else back home?

                     It had only been a week, but a week was a long time to be away from someone that you cared about; someone that you possibly loved. I needed to see Royal because we had to resolve whatever it was that was taking place between us. The distance and the unanswered questions were driving me mad.

                     I headed back into my bedroom and took one final look around. Years of memories rushed back to me at once. If things went the way I hoped they did then I wouldn’t be coming back here. I grabbed the bags from beside the door, walking past Royal’s empty room. The absence of him could be felt throughout the house; at least by me. I hated it. I hated feeling alone, and I hated being here without him.

                     Worst of all I hated not knowing what was going on inside of his head? Did he miss me like I missed him? Did he crave my touch like I craved his? I hustled down the stairs my bags in tow, praying that I wouldn’t run into my mother.

She stayed out of my way for the most part, but she always made her opinions known. I felt as if I was in the clear when I entered the garage, opening my Jeep door so that I could place my stuff in the back seat. Just as I was about to slip into the front seat, the entrance to the garage door opened, and my mother’s face appeared.

                     “Where are you going?” she questioned me with accusing eyes.

                     “Out. I’ll be back later.” I lied, climbing into my Jeep and starting itt. She continued to watch me, unmoving from her post by the door. I hope she gets a good look because it would be the last would see of me if I had anything to say about it. I wasn’t going to tell her what I was doing just so she could try and stop me. I backed out of the driveway and headed in the direction of the airport. It was less than a twenty-minute drive, and as I pulled into the parking lot I realized that I was actually going to follow through with this. I was actually going to be free and follow my own desires.

                     I was going to go to Royal and get the answers I needed. I was a nervous wreck, knowing that I could be walking into something unexpected, but I had to know if he felt the same. I was tired of thinking about him when I wanted to be kissing him. I was claiming Royal as mine own, and I wasn’t letting go this time. I headed into the airport. My heart beating out of my chest. Fear of the unknown and excitement for what’s to come was making me almost giddy.

                     I was going to capture love.