What He Bargains (What He Wants, Book Nineteen) (40 page)

“Are you all right?” she asked him, feeling unsure now about how he was acting.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, but didn’t look at her. And then he was leaving the room, closing the door as he went out.

Raven just sat there, not knowing what had happened. He’d never really mentioned his fiancé before. Why did he bring her up at this time?

Maybe because he’s falling in love with you and now he knows it.

Wishful thinking, as usual, Raven.

But nothing else could quite make sense of how emotional he’d become just then.

Raven got out of bed and put on her clothes too. She figured she might as well join him downstairs, she certainly wasn’t tired anymore. Not after that bombshell.

Trust was broken.

What did that even mean?

Just as she was about to leave the room, Raven had a thought and stopped before opening the door. Although Raven had heard about Peyton and how she’d passed away, Raven had never actually seen what Jake’s deceased fiancé looked like.

Now, after hearing him talk about her, Raven was suddenly curious.

She took her cell phone and went online and searched for images.

You’re seriously looking at images of his dead fiancé now? You’ve really lost the plot, Raven. Get a hold of yourself, girl.

But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to see what Peyton looked like, she wanted to get a sense of who this woman had been.

Does it matter? She’s gone and Jake says that he feels more for you than he did for her.

And then the images came up. At first, Raven thought she must have made a mistake, it couldn’t be. But then she found articles that talked about Jake and Peyton’s doomed relationship, and her picture was there in unmistakable color, and in some pictures Jake and Peyton were even together.

There could be no mistake, but there had to be a mistake. She refused to believe what she was seeing—it was just too disturbing to be true.

Raven stared at the dead woman’s pictures in total shock and mounting confusion and fear.

Peyton could have passed for Raven’s twin sister, that’s how much alike they were. Everything, from the hair color, to the shape of her body, even her smile.

Oh my God
, Raven thought, as the pieces started to fall into place.

All the reasons why Jake had acted the way he’d acted, all the confusing things about his behavior were starting to make sense—and not in a good way, either.

Raven felt her legs almost buckle as she stared at the dead woman in the pictures on her phone.

Oh my God, I know why he chose me.

R
aven told
herself to stop looking at the pictures on her cell phone, but she couldn’t resist.

There were pictures of a woman—a dead woman, to be precise—who looked almost exactly like Raven. The dark hair, the curves in just the same places and almost exact proportions, the eyes just the same.

If we’d gone out in public together, people would have said we were sisters.

Jake’s deceased fiancé, Peyton, was a dead ringer for Raven. And the knowledge of it was absolutely shaking Raven to her very foundations.

Out of all those beautiful models at the party that night, you kept wondering why he took an interest in you. And now you finally know why he chose you and not anybody else. It’s not because you’re so amazing, it’s not because he likes your personality or thinks you’re special. It’s only because you look almost exactly like her.

Raven put the phone away, closed her eyes, tried to breathe slowly and calm herself, but it wasn’t working, because this felt like the biggest betrayal of all.

She felt dizzy with fear, anxious, like the world had just tilted on its axis. This was the nightmare turn that she’d been dreading, the collapse of her little fairytale she’d created, where Jake Novak swept her off her feet and took her away from everything.

Now she was seeing clearly that Jake had picked her because of her striking resemblance to his fiancé, and then he’d proceeded to punish Raven in order to somehow get revenge on a dead woman.

He’d been angry with Peyton, so angry that even her death hadn’t healed the wounds.

Trust was broken.

It was a gruesome and thoroughly defeating revelation.

As Raven prepared to go downstairs, her thoughts were still racing, but one thing was clear.

I’m going to confront him. I want answers. I want him to explain, to tell me the truth about all of it.

Tears of frustration and disappointment were close to the surface now. She opened the door and slowly began to walk to the end of the hallway and down the stairs, to what felt like a date with the electric chair.

Everything was a lie.

It flashed before her eyes, like a film played in reverse. All the times Jake had told her he couldn’t be her boyfriend, couldn’t give her more than what he was giving.

And what had he given Raven? Nothing but a few random encounters where he took out his anger on a woman that no longer existed, pretending that Raven was her so that he could more fully live out his fantasy.

Well Jake Novak wasn’t the only one who could get angry. Her anger was building now, like a slow, simmering fire that was growing exponentially as she tread down each step.

Raven could hear Jake talking with her mother and father downstairs. Even Danny piped in.

Ironically, they all sounded like they were enjoying one another’s company. Just a few minutes ago, such a scene would’ve given Raven infinite happiness. Hearing Jake crack some joke and then listening to her brother Danny laugh in response—that was a minor miracle.

Raven hated the fact that hearing Jake and her family spending time together gave her no pleasure. For Jake, this was just another group of strangers to win over, like he’d done so many times in his life.

Well, charming people is what he does best
, she thought. But then her mind made a correction.

No, using people is what he does best.

She’d been used by Jake Novak. Completely and utterly played, and looking back now, it was almost ridiculous how she’d been so blind to his manipulations.

Finally, Raven entered the kitchen, and Jake was crossing the room with his mug of coffee. He glanced over at her and smiled, seeming not to notice that anything was wrong. “Hey,” he said. “You having coffee?”

She shook her head no, unable to speak.

“I’ll make pour you a cup,” he said.

“I’m fine.” That was a lie.

He looked at her curiously.

“Jake!” her father called from the living room where he was sitting on the couch with the remote in hand. “They’re talking about you on TV.”

“Oh, great,” Jake sighed.

“I’m sure Jake doesn’t want to watch those silly stories about him,” Raven’s mother said from her place near the oven, where she was readying eggs and bacon for the pan.

Jake shrugged. “I’m used to it,” he replied, walking into the living room. “Let’s see what new crap they’re shoveling today.”

Danny was sitting at the table reading the paper. He glanced up at Raven and suddenly his brow creased. “Hey, are you okay?”

She looked at him and then looked away. “Yeah. Just tired, I guess.”

From the television in the living room, she could hear pieces of the story. “Jake Novak has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately,” a female reporter’s voice was saying, “but for the first time in a long time, the news isn’t about him, but a mysterious female companion that he’s been romantically linked to in the last week.”

Raven felt her body stiffen as if someone had just put a gun to her back.

This “news story” wasn’t about Jake at all—it was about her.

“Raven,” her father called, “they’re talking about you too!”

She made eye contact with Danny, and he just shook his head slowly, as if to say, I told you this would all go wrong.

Raven’s mother wiped her hands as she scurried past Raven to see what was going on.

“Aren’t you going to watch?” Danny asked her. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“No,” she said. She didn’t even know what the story was about. All she knew was that anything to do with her and Jake was a lie. Whatever this story was going to be about, it didn’t matter.

But her father was turning up the volume on the TV now and the reporter’s voice was louder than ever. “Raven Hartley has been gaining notoriety as a member of Jake Novak’s entourage who has been seen more and more often in public him lately, and it appears the two are now dating. This comes at a difficult time in the embattled pop star’s career, as a tremendous backlash occurred when an old video was leaked that showed him making controversial remarks about depressed people, victims of bullying, and even those who have committed suicide.”

Danny slid the newspaper slowly away from him. “Do you know what they’re going to say?” he asked Raven.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. She wondered if this was just some sort of puff piece, where it was all leading. Maybe they were going to show pictures from yesterday, when some of the paparazzi had snapped photos of them walking to the bar, and afterward the brawl, from when they were talking to the police.

The reporter’s voice took on a new tone of seriousness and excitement. “But in a bizarre twist,” she said, “a new video has surfaced. Only this video has nothing to do with Jake Novak. This is a video of Raven Hartley, and it shows her engaging in some very naughty dancing at a party.”

Jake sat forward on the couch.

Raven’s mother gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

Raven felt like she was going to faint.

“They found the video,” Danny said, his voice angry. “Of course they did.” He shook his head. “You had to come back and drag all of us back into your mess, didn’t you Raven?”

“Shut up, Danny,” Raven said, and then walked quickly into the living room to see it with her own eyes.

There it was, in living color, right there on the television screen.

Raven was dancing, starting to tease Caleb as she lifted her shirt past her belly. Caleb’s voice, from off camera, could be distinctly heard, as he laughed. “Wow, that’s so hot, Raven. You are seriously crazy.”

“You have no idea how crazy I can get,” Raven said, smiling seductively into the camera.

Suddenly, the TV screen cut back to the anchor desk, where a couple of women and a man sat shaking their heads.

“And that’s not all of it,” the reporter said. “That’s just what we can show on network TV. The rest of it is available, and will surely be all over the internet—it gets pretty racy.”

“So what’s the big deal?” the other woman asked. “A girl dancing and taking off her top is not big news these days.”

“No, it’s not,” the reporter replied. “But our sources tell us that a few years ago, this video caused a pretty major scandal in Southbridge, where Raven Hartley is from. There were accusations that she’d engaged in sexual activity with a group of boys at a party that night. This led to a whole slew of legal activity, and Raven Hartley engaged in a lawsuit against some of the participants, which included her boyfriend at the time. Eventually, she was hospitalized for a suicide attempt, and then dropped all charges before leaving Southbridge.”

The male anchor at the desk looked disturbed. “Sounds like a very strange story,” he said.

“It is very strange,” the reporter told him. “I think what’s unfortunate here is that by getting involved with someone as popular and famous as Jake Novak, Raven Hartley’s checkered past is truly going to come out and be revealed in all its gory detail. And based on her history of mental health issues, that could be a recipe for disaster.”

“I’m sure Jake Novak’s friends and family are probably scratching their heads and wondering about some of his recent choices as well,” the other woman added.

“Strange stuff indeed. We’ll make sure to check back on this story as it develops,” the anchorman said, his face as serious as if he’d just announced a war with Russia.

They cut to another story, and Raven’s father turned the television off.

Raven’s mother had her face buried in her hands, and her shoulders were shaking.

The room was completely silent.

Jake was still staring at the TV, as if he was somehow continuing to watch the program even with the power off. His expression was blank.

“I shouldn’t have turned it on,” her father said softly. “I shouldn’t have even turned the fucking thing on!” He suddenly threw the remote across the room and it hit the wall, instantly shattering.

Raven startled. “Dad!” she cried out.

He shook his head, his cheeks turning purple. “I can’t…believe this…is happening again.” His breathing was becoming labored.

Danny was brushing past Raven now, shoulders hunched. “Dad, come on, we need to get you in your wheelchair and back on oxygen.”

“Fuck my oxygen,” her father shouted.

“Come on Dad.” Danny grabbed hold of her father’s wrists and started pulling him to his feet so he could get him into the chair.

Her father was wheezing badly.

Raven ran over and started to help, maneuvering the wheelchair closer.

Even Jake was involved, as they got her father seated and put the tube of oxygen up to his nose. Her dad was taking big, heaving breaths in through his mouth, and his cheeks were growing a deeper shade of purple while the rest of his face was growing paler.

“Dad, relax and breathe slowly,” Danny said.

“Is he okay?” Raven asked.

Danny shot her a look. “I don’t know. I’m not a doctor.”

Raven’s mother was wringing her hands. “He’s having trouble breathing!” she yelled. “Look at him. Help him, please.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Danny replied. “Dad, take slow deep breaths, okay?”

Her father nodded and he really did seem to be trying, but his chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his skin was waxy and clammy. Something was wrong.

“Do you have a pulse oximeter?” Jake asked, taking her father’s wrist and applying pressure with two fingers.

“Yeah, yeah, we do,” Danny said, spinning and then bending down and grabbing a small bag slung over the side of the wheelchair. He dug through it quickly, grabbed a small white piece of plastic and affixed it to Raven’s father’s finger.

Jake looked into her father’s eyes. “He’s struggling to breathe, like an asthma attack. Does he have an inhaler?”

“Yes, but—“

“Get that. Something’s wrong. Misses Hartley, call 911,” Jake said.

“Okay,” Raven’s mother replied, and ran into the other room to get the cordless phone.

“What’s happening?” Raven asked Jake.

Jake glanced at her. “He can’t breathe and I’m not sure exactly what’s preventing him from getting enough oxygen. Could be his airway is narrowed, or could be something to do with the airflow from the oxygen tank.”

Her father’s hands were jumping off the chair, as if he was having some kind of fit.

“Come on Dad,” Danny said. “You have to breathe.”

“His oxygen saturation is at seventy nine percent and falling,” Jake announced.

“What’s it supposed to be at?” Raven said, her heart pounding.

“Over ninety percent, at least,” Jake replied. He tried to push the oxygen tube deeper into her father’s nose. “Get the inhaler, Danny, quickly!”

Danny had dug the inhaler out as well, but he fumbled it in his nervousness and dropped it on the floor, where it bounced, the cap skittering away. Raven bent down, picked up the inhaler and put it to her father’s lips.

“Dad, you have to try and breathe in on the count of three, okay?” Raven asked him.

He nodded, but barely. His eyes were rolling in his head.

“Jake, please help him,” Raven said. She couldn’t believe this. Her father was dying in front of her eyes.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jake said, checking the air hose for leaks all the way down to the oxygen tank affixed to the rear of the chair. “Everything looks normal,” he said. “But there must be something wrong. He’s not getting the delivery of the oxygen.”

Raven counted to three out loud and then pumped the inhaler into her father’s mouth, but he didn’t seem capable of really taking it in, he was struggling too much trying to even breathe at all.

“Shit,” Danny said, checking the oximeter. “His oxygen’s at seventy two percent, Jake!”

Jake was kneeling behind the wheelchair, his eyes fixed on where the tube met the tank. He started to turn something—some kind of valve—Raven knew nothing about the tank or how it worked.

Jake’s face was completely transfixed, completely focused as he tried to work on the oxygen tank.

Raven’s father’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head.