Secrets Behind Those Eyes (19 page)

“Shit look man I gotta go, we are
pulling out for a mission. I’ll be out of touch for a few weeks
probably till closer to Christmas. My mom is going to be worried so
look in on her.”

“Will do man. Stay safe. Keep your
head down and all that shit.”

“Roger.”

I have a few drinks and finally head
to bed. Maybe the alcohol will help me sleep. Sliding into my bed
it feels so lonely without her. I went from never having a person
besides myself in here to having to have Scarlet in my bed. I start
to realize my drinks are catching up with me. I roll over to her
pillow and smell the coconut scent of her hair.

~*~*~

Waking up this morning I feel just as
alone as I did when I went to sleep. I walk into my bathroom and I
smell her again. I see her hair crap all over my vanity. I grab
some aspirin and take a shower. I’m going over to take her to
breakfast and we are going to talk. She’s going to let me grovel
and apologize. Then she’s coming home with me and I’m probably not
going to let her leave my house again.

After I slide some jeans and a shirt
on I grab my phone off my dresser. Still no text or calls from her.
After I put my boots on I jog out to my jeep and head over to her
place.

Pulling up I notice her car isn’t in
the driveway. Shit this is like before. I wonder if she went to
Cade’s again. But I know she has projects due, she wouldn’t leave
town with those due.

I call Annabelle.

“What do you want
fucktard?”

“Have you talked Scarlet?”

“Yeah I talked to her yesterday right
after you basically called her a slut.”

“I didn’t call her a slut.”

“Anyway, we are supposed to go to
lunch today.”

“Well, I can’t find her this morning.
She’s not at home and she won’t answer her phone or even a text. Do
you know where she is?”

“No she’s probably just avoiding
you.”

“Thanks Annabelle, you’ve been so much
help.” I say with sarcasm dripping from my tongue.

“For the record. I hope you can make
it up to her because you guys are good together when you don’t have
your head up your ass.”

“Thanks Annabelle. I appreciate it. By
the way Judd called me last night he said that we wouldn’t hear
from him until closer to Christmas.”

“Okay thanks for the info.” Her voice
sounds hollow as she hangs up.

I pull in at he florist I bought
flowers at the other day. I buy two bouquets of spring flowers and
drop them on her door step with a note.

Scar- I love you. When you
are ready to talk I am too. Love Ryder

I need to head home and look in on the
cows. Nelson had an appointment today.

Now it’s 3 in the afternoon and she
still hasn’t called me I’m starting to get a little pissed off,
you’d think she’d at least call me and tell me to go to
hell.

My phone rings. It’s Cade, probably
telling me to quit harassing his sister.

“Hey Cade.”

“Hey I can’t get ahold of Scarlet and
campus security is calling me. They said her car has been there all
night and it’s had tickets issued. They’ve tried to get in touch
with her to let her know it’s about to be towed, but she hasn’t
been in class either. I asked them to wait until someone can get
there to check it out. ”

“Why in the hell is her car still
there?”

“I don’t know genius that is why I’m
calling you. Where is she?”

“I don’t know, we had an argument
yesterday. I’ve been trying to talk to her but she won’t answer my
calls.”

“Well go down there and check the car
see if something’s wrong with it. Maybe that is the reason it’s
still parked there.”

“Okay. I’m already in my jeep driving
that way. I’ll call you when I get there.”

Ten minutes later I’m
pulling into the campus parking lot and see her Infiniti. As I walk
around the car I can tell it’s been here overnight. I walk toward
the big lecture hall and start calling her phone. As soon as I
round the corner I hear my ringtone
Ladies
Love Country Boys.
I keep looking for her
until I see her phone in a hedge by the door.

I call Cade back.

My heart starts racing as he answers.
“Hey Ryder you talk to her?”

I’m already running back to my jeep.
“I think we have a problem. Her car looks fine, but I just found
her phone in a hedge, but the lecture hall.”

I hear him slamming things in the
background. “Call the cops NOW! I’m heading that way. I’ll call
Gable, you call Whisper.”

I start up my jeep and start circling
the campus just in case she’s walking somewhere. “Okay.”

I don’t even realize the quiver in my
voice until Cade speaks. “Ryder. We are going to find her man. Stay
calm. I’ve been there man.”

I wipe a tear that I didn’t realize
was running down my cheek. “Thanks.”

Chapter 31

Scarlet

I wake up with a pounding headache. As
I try to open my eyes I realize they are almost swollen shut. Then
yesterday comes flying back to me. Last night.

“I’m not the whore here
you are, so you can go to hell Brandon.”

“You are such a stupid
bitch Scarlet.”

“I’m not scared of you. If
you were a real threat to me, you wouldn’t have to tie me up. You
know that if I’m not tied up that I can kick your ass.”

“No you can’t kick my ass.
You are psycho and will grab something like an axe handle to assist
in your efforts. I remember I was there.”

I chuckle. “I’m psycho?
Says the person who kidnapped me and has me tied to a chair, just
so he can try to intimidate me. Because he can’t beat me up
otherwise.”

He draws back and punches
me in the face. “I fucking hate you. When Dustin started seeing you
to cover for himself, I told him you were a mistake. He just
planned to use you as a cover for a while and keep his parents from
finding out. Then you actually became a friend to him.” He’s pacing
around the room. “Here’s the thing Dustin has always been MY best
friend. I’ve always helped him cover up for his preferences. I
always filled his needs so he didn’t pick up any random townies to
screw. Now all of a sudden after you went to jail he decides he
wants to come out to his parents. What did you say to him Scarlet?
Who were you going to tell? How did you blackmail him?”

“I didn’t say anything to
him about it. Until today I haven’t seen or heard from him since
that night at Swampy Tonk.”

“You’re lying.” Another
crack to my face.

“No I’m not did you ever
think he just wants to be honest about who he is? So that maybe he
can have a real relationship with someone other than you. Because
if someone is using someone here, it isn’t Dustin using you, it’s
you using him. It’s your way of controlling him.”

He punches me again. “YOU
DON’T KNOW SHIT ABOUT IT! Now he’s planning on coming out to his
parents, they will tell my parents and we’ll both be cut off. So
Scarlet I’m going to ask you again. What are you threatening him
with? Because he wouldn’t come to this decision on his
own.”

“I told you nothing.
You’re sex life or love life has nothing to do with me.”

“YOU LYING CUNT!” Then the
lights went out.

~*~*~

“Ah so you decided to wake up.” I look
up to see Brandon and Kelsie standing there.

“What were you hoping I
wouldn’t?”

Kelsie shrugs. “Maybe.”

I try to smirk. I won’t let them break
me. That’s what they want. “Well you’re probably too late because
when I saw Dustin yesterday he had planned on coming out to his
parents last night.”

I see a look across both of their
faces. “Shut up you skank.” Brandon sneers.

I’m going to either drive them crazy
or they are going to kill me but I’m done with this. “So Kelsie,
what’s in all of this for you? Why do you need a relationship with
two gay guys?”

Brandon glares at me. “I’m not
gay!”

“Okay bi-sexual whatever.”

“I’m not bi-sexual either you dumb
bitch.”

I chuckle. “Oh I’m dumb. You drill
another man in the ass and that doesn’t qualify you as bi-sexual?
Whatever.”

Kelsie chimes in. “Brandon is going to
marry me. Our two families are going to own this town. I’ll keep
his secrets and he’ll keep mine. We’ll have an open marriage and
all of the money we want.”

“No wonder Dustin is sick of the two
of you. You guys are both real pieces of work.”

Brandon’s face turns red. “Dustin
isn’t sick of me! He worships me.”

“So that’s what it takes to be your
friend blackmail and worshiping you? Glad I never made the cut
then.”

He grits his teeth. “No you were
always just temporary. We were almost done with you anyway, when
you walked in that morning. So you just sped up the process and
made us out to seem like victims of a crazy girl.”

My head is still pounding. “Look as
you can well see I don’t want Dustin. I have a real man, who cares
for me and loves me.”

Kelsie laughs. “Oh really. Ryder
Abbott care about someone other than himself. That would be a
first. Oh wait he always cared about that poor boy he’s friends
with.”

“Judd is serving our country, you need
to shut up. Also I know what you chicken shits did and how Ryder
took the fall.”

I see Brandon throw his phone at the
couch. “IT’S ALL FUCKING OVER!!!! Dustin did it. he actually came
out to his parents last night. I just got several messages from my
dad and his.” He storms over to me and hits me so hard the chair
flips over.

“We are both fucking cut
off.”

Kelsie looks at him. “You better
figure out a way to fucking fix this Brandon. Call Dustin and make
him tell them you weren’t involved.”

I see Brandon pick up his phone and
dial. What the hell I’m gonna make sure he knows I’m here. “So
Kelsie I guess this puts a damper on your plans huh?”

“Yeah well, if this doesn’t work out I
can always go after Ryder. Like you said he’s a real
man.”

I’m going to get louder so Dustin
might hear me. “Hell Dustin’s a real man! He told the truth to his
parents! YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING SELFISH SORRY EXCUSES FOR
HUMANBEINGS!”

Brandon looks my way as he’s speaking
to Dustin on the phone. “No man.” He looks at Kelsie and whispers.
“Shut her up.”

“WHY DO YOU WANT TO SHUT ME UP
BRANDON?”

He slings the phone across the floor
and storms over to me. He uprights the chair I’m in and stares at
me. “I’m fucking done playing games with you. I fucking hate you
and you’ve ruined my life.”

“I didn’t ruin your life. You’re
really fucking delusional.”

He hits me hard, once again the chair
goes over, but this time I land different and I hear a snap in my
arm. Pain radiates through it, I see his foot coming at my face and
then everything goes dark.

~*~*~

Sometime later in the distance I hear
people screaming, but I just can’t bring myself to care.

I’m tired and I hurt. I try to move
but pain shoots up my arm and my head feels like it weighs a
hundred pounds. I just want to sleep, sleep will be
good.

Chapter 32

Ryder

I have looked all over this town for
Scarlet. Annabelle and I have talked to the police, but since it
hasn’t quite been long enough for her to be considered a missing
person. I thought it was crazy since her phone was found but they
say that isn’t enough to go on. Whisper and Cade are on their way
here. Gable called me but they are in Seattle and he can’t get a
flight out because of fog. Cade and I both told him to just wait
and we’d figure something out.

My phone starts ringing. I look down
to see Dustin’s number. Why in the hell is he calling me? I ignore
it and Annabelle’s phone starts to ring, she answers it.

“Yeah Dustin. Hold on.”

She looks at me. “He says he has to
talk to you right now it’s an emergency.”

I grab the phone. “What?”

“Ryder have you talked to Scarlet?”
There is a panic in his voice.

“We are trying to find her now. Do you
know something?”

“I think Brandon has her. I called him
earlier and I thought I heard someone screaming in the background
and it sounded like her. Brandon is pissed because he can’t control
me anymore.”

“Where does he have her?”

“I’m on my way there now. He has a
small studio apartment just outside of town. I’ll text you the
address.”

“Okay I’ll meet you there.” My heart
is pumping so fast it’s about to explode. “Annabelle get in the
jeep. Dustin thinks Brandon has Scarlet.”

She nods and starts
raising all kinds of hell, but
I
can’t pay attention I have to get to Scarlet. I get the address for
the apartment and as I manage to pull up at the same time as
Dustin. We get out and I see Brandon’s Audi. I start beating on the
front door of the apartment. Dustin speaks up. “Brandon open the
door!”