The Bad Boy’s…What?

Drew’s POV:

There’s a fracture of time in which the beating of my heart just up and quits at the sight of my dad, the man responsible for my mother’s death, so close to Khloe. In this moment I want to stomp over to him, grab him by the collar and inflict on him the pain he’s caused what used to be our ‘family’. I was about to do just that when the picture of what I’m seeing comes into focus, the both of them sitting down as if conversing with one another. Khloe’s eyes meet mine and the guilt in them makes the betrayal all the more forceful.

“I knew you were hiding something,” the words slip out of my mouth as I step inside the room and shut the door behind me. The silence permeates the air like a tidal wave washing over us and consuming the oxygen from my lungs. For minutes my eyes can’t look at Khloe, so contradictorily to the moments in which I can’t take my gaze off her. There’s a cold grip in my chest that feels as if I’m being crushed, it’s that she’s the one that hid him in the house that really doesn’t sit well with me. Why’d it have to be her? Why not someone else?

“I can explain,” she finally blurts out with a slight tremble in her voice. It almost makes me want to smile, that jumpy-nervous personality one of the things I like most about her.

“Can you?” she flinches at the cool tone of my voice. My dad, Damian, just sits in his chair calmly, as if he has no care in the world. And why should he, he’s not the one that had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Whatever reason he had to break my mom’s heart and remove her from our home, whatever it is, I’ll never forgive him. Now the question that’s ringing in my head is, can I forgive Khloe for bringing him into the house, so close to Lucy? I lean back against the wall as she opens and closes her mouth in several attempts to explain her actions.

“Well,” I prompt.

“Well, who gave you the right to barge into the room?” she throws her hands up, her brown locks flailing with them. I cock an eyebrow and her shoulders slump as she buries herself further into the chair. “I was hiding him in the panic room that’s in the closet under the stairs,” she murmurs but is heard in the otherwise silent room. My eyebrows raise in surprise.

“That’s why you kept sneaking in there? I thought you were doing some sort of Harry Potter reenactment,” I reply.

“Why does everyone keep thinking that?” her outburst makes me want to laugh, my dad doesn’t hold his smile back.

“Because you have a duplicate wand along with the Gryffindor robe,” I shrug.

“Were you going through my closet?” she scowls while folding her arms across her chest, not that I was staring or anything. Not at all.

“Maybe,” I quip.

“What are you doing?” Khloe questions curiously as I pull out my phone and dial someone to help me with this situation. Her eyes widen and I think she knows who it is I’m calling, I smirk.

“Can’t you fuck off for an hour or something?” Adrian’s usual cheery greeting makes me roll my eyes.

“Come to the study, Khloe has a surprise for all of us,” I smile at her but I think she knows not much good is going to come from it. Her gaze keeps straying towards the window, motioning to my dad and the window as if telling him to jump. I wouldn’t doubt they’d do it seeing as the study is on the first floor.

“What’d she do now?” he grumbles before hanging up. I stride towards the window after pocketing my phone, giving her a challenging look.

“I’m not going to run,” she scowls. She looks like a kitten clawing at a ball of yarn. Yeah, that’s fierce. “I know that you’re trying to intimidate me by bringing the rest of the guys here, but I’m not changing my mind,” she states sternly. Damn, can she believe so much in my dad to stick up for him? she straightens up in her seat as footsteps near the door before the door opens and in walks Adrian followed by Sammy, Lucas, Kim and Kohl.

“You. Didn’t,” Adrian looks at her in confusion, but underneath the anger I know she might have hurt him. Despite the tough exterior and badass attitude, no, he’s not nice, but when he trusts somebody it’s all the way. And for some weird reason, he trusts Khloe.

“Maybe you should explain,” Lucas tries to mediate the situation though I’m pretty sure we’re all thinking the same thing: what the hell possessed her to hide him, of all people, in her house? Taking a deep breath, she begins to explain how he came to the house before to tell her Ruby was safe and where to find her, all the way to him being stabbed. All the while her eyes keep finding my own and each time I advert my gaze to my worn out Vans. My dad on the other hand just observes everyone, gauging their reactions carefully. He loves to observe people, finding things in their mannerisms that they probably don’t know themselves. That’s what he used to teach me.

“Why didn’t you tell us he wasn’t dead?” Adrian glares.

Great, he’s going to be in a mood now.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you would do this,” Kohl pitches in shaking his head in disappointment, for some reason he keeps looking at us nervously.

“You stitched him up,” Khloe retorts. All eyes seem to train in on him and see what his next response is going to be.

“You bribed me with a date,” he points at Kim.

“What a man,” Sammy smirks. “I knew he was here and we kept him hidden,” she adds, giving Adrian a challenging glare when he turns to her.

“Damn, seems like everyone’s keeping secrets, huh?” Lucas asks sarcastically.

“Yeah, seems so,” Khloe glares at the rest of us, catching me off guard. What the hell secrets have I been keeping? Well, except for Kohl’s. Yeah I know, you should be honest but it’s not really my secret to tell. It’s not a big deal anyways. Her eyes meet her brother’s and it’s like she knows he’s the one keeping something from her.

“I think you should just talk it out, there’s no use in attacking each other,” my dad’s words really piss me off. Isn’t that what he did, attack my mother at the first sign of trouble?

“Yeah, you’d know about that,” I grumble causing him and Khloe to look at me.

“Let’s leave the past alone for now,” my dad tries to placate but I don’t think it worked. I didn’t notice when I balled my hands into fists or when I strode over to him to land hit after hit, all I saw was red. The anger, the hate, the betrayal, everything I’ve kept inside for what seems so long, pouring out in every punch I land on his face. All I keep seeing is my mom’s face as the oxygen left her lungs, her eyes pleading with me to look after my sisters.

“She was calling for you,” the words escape my mouth without my consent. Silence falls over the room and the hands that were trying to pull me from him suddenly stop, replaced by a pair of feminine ones that I’d know anywhere. I shrug Khloe’s hands from me, she’s the last person that needs to see me like this. Nobody understands the anger, the disappointment I feel towards my father. I was the only one there when my mom died, when she told me how much he loved all of us. How much she loved him, she told me that I didn’t understand. But I do, he’s a bastard. I get up from the floor and walk away from his bloodied face. I walk out the front door and over to my car, I don’t need to turn around to know she’s following me. I climb inside and a minute later Khloe does too.

“So, where are we going?” I fight the urge to smile, remembering that I should be mad, before peeling out of the driveway without answering her question. “I asked Claire to look after Lucy,” she fills the silence. I nod in acknowledgement. I speed down the streets but come to a stop at a red-light, no need to break anymore laws.

“Are you mad at me?” Khloe’s voice grows softer as I step on the accelerator, the belt keeping her from flying into the dashboard.

“Let’s not talk about it,” I demand before reaching and lacing her fingers with mine.

This is the one thing I won’t let my dad ruin for me. Not Khloe.

She seems to relax at my words and strokes her thumb over the back of my hand as she watches the scenery pass by. Due to the dark, most of the town is lit up by random streetlights and the stars.

“You’re going to kill me aren’t you?” Khloe mutters as we near the deserted roads, I roll my eyes at her conclusion.

“Something like that,” I smirk at her widened eyes. We jump as the car goes over small bumps and I can hear the crunching of tires on gravel before I pull up into a clearing. It’s an old lot that hasn’t been fenced in for years. Whenever we came around this town I used it as my place. The only place I could come for some peace and quiet. Small bushes litter the ground and grow the further you walk into the woods. I park the car by the creek that opens up to the other side, before getting out and walking into the wooded area with Khloe on my tail.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“I don’t think it’s safe for me to walk any further,” Khloe pants from behind. At first, I thought she was hyperventilating from some fear of me bringing her here to dispose of her body, but when I turned around she was hunched over, hands on knees trying to catch her breath. With a chuckle, I walk over her and place my hand under her thighs causing her to jump ten feet in the air before putting ten feet of space between us.

“You just made our relationship official,” she accuses.

“What?” sometimes her rambling can get confusing.

“There’s gonna be no hanky-panky in these woods,” she points at me before waving her hand to the open area. Her words sink in and my eyes widen in realization while I feel heat come onto my neck.

“I was trying to carry you to the spot I’m trying to show you,” I clarify while digging my hands in my pockets, feeling much like a scolded kid.

“You were trying to carry me?” she repeats.

“You were the one that stated that piggy back rides were a must for us,” I recall. Twigs crunch on the ground as she walks over to me.

“Carry on,” she orders, not before reaching up on her toes to place a kiss on my cheek. I smile before leaning down and carrying her into my arms, my steps falter as her hand moves on my chest. “Your heart’s beating fast,” she points out, before placing her head above my heart.

“You should work on your athletic skills,” I point out. She glares up at me with her nose scrunched up like a kitten, she’d actually put a kitten to shame.

“My athletic skills consist of clicking the mouse rapidly, copying and pasting urls with efficiency, and being able to scroll down a screen for hours at times,” she explains with complete seriousness on her face. “I can also make a mean bowl of cereal, and eat massive amounts of junk food,” she adds.

“My mistake,” I reply sarcastically. I look up when the bushes thin out once again and find what I’m looking for. I let the girl in my arms down gently before grabbing her hand and pulling her forward with me.

“Is that?” Khloe doesn’t finish her sentence before I nod in response.

“Mom, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Khloe,” I kneel down by the headstone with my mom’s name engraved on it. “She’s crazy,” I add to lighten Khloe’s quiet mood. Khloe swats my shoulder before kneeling beside me.

“Hi, Mrs. Collins, Drew does not know how to drive,” she remarks with the traces of a smile on her face. I chuckle, my mom always used to scold me on my driving habits. “How’d you get her buried here?” she turns to face me.

“I bought this lot with my inheritance from her and went through the process to bury her here,” I explain.

“What did she say to you before she died?” Khloe sighs before running her hand through my hair. I lean into her touch, debating whether or not I should tell her.

“She was trying to tell me my dad wasn’t a bad man, asking me to look after my sisters. And you,” I reply.

“Me?” she pulls back to gaze into my eyes.

“She knew your parents and about someone coming after you, wanted me to look after you,” I explain.

“Is that all she told you?”

“No, she told me how much she loved my dad. After everything she still managed to say that,” I shrug feigning nonchalance. I didn’t use to understand her, how could you forgive someone who could hurt you all because of how they make you feel. I didn’t understand it, but I’m starting to.

“Maybe she knew something about him that you didn’t,” Khloe points out.

“What?” she shrugs in response.

“I don’t know but he doesn’t really open up much. Just tells me what I need to know, kind of like you in that aspect.”

“I tell you stuff,” I protest.

“Not everything.”

“Because I don’t want you to worry,” I grab her hand. “I don’t know how to open up to people but for you, I’m trying,” she smiles at my words. It’s that smile that makes it my mission to see her happy, to keep her safe. I don’t think she knows how important she is to me. She stands up and walks a couple of feet away from me, giving me some privacy. I know my mom can hear me from wherever but talking to her, like this, gives me some sense of comfort. After keeping my promises I walk Khloe back to the car, but her gaze seems to drift to the sky and the creek.

“It’s pretty,” she lets go before kicking her shoes off and stepping into the water that barely reaches her knees.

“You just got your jeans wet,” I point out dumbly.

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“This,” I answer before kicking my shoes off and my pants down my legs, leaving me standing in my boxers. I toss my shirt to the side before stepping in after her. Her eyes move from my face down to my legs before quickly moving back to my face.

“You didn’t have to take your clothes off, you can’t even swim here,” she stammers out.

“No, but I know where you can,” I reply before picking her up and moving down the creek until it opens up to the lake. “Here we go,” I proclaim as the water begins to rise.

“Don’t drop me in here,” she warns. “At least let me take my shirt off,” she adds quickly just as I was about to lower her into the water. I swim us over to the river bank so she can put her clothes there. I wasn’t counting on her undressing, merely teasing her, but when she tosses the shirt aside and slides out of her jeans, all jokes are over. She gracefully dives in and swims over to me, distracting me long enough for her to dunk my head under water. We continue to play around in the water before getting tired and heading back to my car.

“Wait here,” I pop the trunk and pull a blanket out before going to the front and laying it over the roof of the car. I jump on top before hauling Khloe up, her noodle-like arms have no upper body strength, and we lie on top of my car just watching the stars and letting ourselves dry.

“I really like this,” Khloe mutters. I pull her to my side with a smile, if only every day could be like this. “I miss them,” she sighs wistfully. I don’t need to ask to know who she’s talking about.

“I miss my mom too,” I look over at Khloe, but my gaze can’t help but look down at her body pressed against mine. She’s beautiful, even if we are an odd match at times.

“Khloe?”

“Yeah?”

“Why do your panties say Gryffindor?” I chuckle.

“Why are you looking?” she squeaks as she starts to swat at me. I grab her hands and pull her on top of me. Her dark eyes meet mine and I pull her down for a long kiss. “I’m gonna go put my clothes back on,” she pulls away from the hot and heavy kiss and I let her go reluctantly. Once in my clothes I move to the driver’s side to pull the door open, only it doesn’t.

“Khloe, did you by any chance bring your wand?” I call out.

“No, why?”

“I think I locked us out of the car,” I answer sheepishly. Even though she begins to scream at me and throw tiny punches, I realize that I really would like every day to be like this, except without locking ourselves out of the car.

“You’re such a Hufflepuff,” she throws one last insult, at least I think it’s supposed to be.