500 Days (56 page)

“
I’m so sorry, please
don’t punish me again,” he mumbled against my lips.

“
Never,” I mumbled back.
We clumsily made our way back to my room where Casper apologized
over and over again.

We both fell back on the bed, breathless.
“I’m an idiot,” he said, trickling wet kisses down my arm.

“
Yeah, but you’re my
idiot.” He laughed and then bit me. “Hey,” I said, smacking
him.

Once again Casper and I were almost late for
class. We rushed in and quickly took our seats in the back. I tried
to pay attention to the professor but Casper had other plans. He
tickled my arm lightly with his fingertips while his hot breath
brushed across the back of my neck as he whispered all the dirty
things he wanted to do to me. He only stopped when the professor
called him out on his inappropriate behavior. “Can you blame me?
Look at her,” Casper said, making my face turn beet red.

“
As that may be, this is
not the place.” The professor went back to his lecture while I sank
down in my seat.

Lunch was just as bad. We walked in holding
hands while most of the girls stared. Frustrated, I let out a sigh
and tried to keep walking, but Casper stopped me. He pulled me back
to him and planted a kiss on me that should have been saved for the
bedroom. I stumbled a little, blushing. “What was that for?”

“
Just giving them a little
something to talk about,” he said, gesturing to his groupies. He
threw his arm over me, smiling. I just shook my head as we walked
to the food line.

The days were just flying by and our
relationship had never been stronger. Most of the girls got the
hint that he was no longer available and after several nasty
threats from Casper the rumor of our bastard child was buried. For
the first time in a long time I was looking forward to Christmas.
My brothers had planned a trip to visit my mom and I decided I was
going to tell her about Casper. I knew she would be happy to hear I
was seeing someone so she wouldn’t worry so much. Things were
pretty much almost perfect, which scared the shit out of me.

“
I was thinking about
something,” Casper said, as his two fingers danced up my
side.

“
You, thinking? What a
rare occasion.” He frowned, narrowing his eyes at me. I giggled, I
just couldn’t help myself. I ran my fingers through his hair. “What
were you thinking?”

He rested his chin on my stomach. “There’s
just something about your mom’s trial that doesn’t make sense.”

I let out a sigh. Casper wouldn’t let it go.
Ever since I told him what really happened he seemed gung-ho on
trying to figure out why my mom was convicted. “There are a lot of
things that don’t make sense, Casper.”

His forehead creased deep in thought. “Who
else knows it was really Jack who shot him.”

“
No one except my mom,
Jack, and me.” His brow deepened further. “What’s going on in
there?” I tapped the side of his head.

“
When is your mom’s
hearing?”

“
Sometime in February. If
all goes well she’ll be out by summer. Five hundred days.” Casper
looked at me funny. I knew he was trying to do the math in his
head. “From when we first found out about the possibility of an
early release.”

Casper reached over me to grab his phone
from the nightstand. “Who are you texting?” I asked a little
annoyed.

“
Colton,” he said, never
taking his eyes of the screen.

“
What’s so important that
it can’t wait?”

“
I need to do this now
before I change my mind.”

“
Do what?” I asked a
little worried.

“
Have dinner with my
father.”

I shifted so I was in a sitting position.
“Should I be worried?”

“
No and you’re coming
with.”

“
No, no, no. Are you
kidding me? Your father hates me and I’m not exactly a fan of his
either.”

“
Neither am I, but I kind
of need you to do this for me.”

“
Why?”

“
I can’t tell you why, but
I just need you to trust me.” I didn’t like the sound of this and
with Casper this could be anything. When I looked into his eyes I
knew I would crush him if I said no. He wanted me to trust him. So
that’s what I did.

“
Fine, but I’m telling you
now
,
I will not
keep my mouth shut if I don’t like something he says.”

“
I hope not,” he smiled,
pushing off his elbows and straightening out his arms so he could
reach my lips.

Casper made plans for all of us, including
Declan and Colton, to have dinner at his father’s house on Sunday.
I changed my outfit about three times. I didn’t really care to
impress this man but I couldn’t shake my nerves – end result,
changing my clothes a million times. Casper was lying on the bed
with his arms behind his head, enjoying the show. “You know you
could help.”

“
I’m better assisting with
the removal of clothes, not the other way round.”

I threw a shoe at him, narrowly missing his
head. “Declan!” I yelled, walking out of the room. “I need
help.”

“
Alex, maybe this isn’t a
good idea.”

“
Of course it’s not, it’s
a horrible idea, but Casper said he needed me to be there and I
have to trust him.”

She placed both hands on my shoulders,
steadying me. “In that case, you look fine, you’re going to be
fine, and you’re going to walk out of there like a champ. Because
Alexis Radcliff does not let some snobby, crooked lawyer get her
down.”

I let out a deep breath and let Declan push
me out of the room.

My jaw dropped when we pulled up to Casper’s
father’s house. The mansion looked more like a ritzy hotel that was
surprisingly tastefully decorated for the holiday season. “You
never told me you were loaded.”

“
Would that have made a
difference?” he asked, shutting off the engine.

“
I might have said yes
sooner.”

He smiled, kissing my hand before exiting
the car to open the door for me. A butler greeted us at the door.
We exchanged introductions and then Casper escorted me into the
living room where we greeted the rest of his family. His sisters
Candice and Cecelia and brother Cayden were all sitting around a
fire, chatting. We exchanged hellos. A little blonde girl wearing
purple fairy wings tugged at the bottom of my skirt. I bent down so
I was eye level with her. She placed her two tiny hands on my
cheeks, turning my head side to side, inspecting me. She then
squinted, leaning in close. “What’s your position on fairies?”

“
I think they’re awesome,”
I told her, tapping her nose. She giggled.

“
She’ll do,” she told
Casper.

“
Alex, this is Katalina.
Kat, this is my girlfriend, Alex.”

Katalina tugged on his pant leg and wiggled
her finger for him to come closer, whispering in his ear. Casper
stood back up, clearing his throat. “My apologies,” he said to
Katalina. “Correction, Princess Katalina,” he corrected with a
flourish of his hand.

“
It is a pleasure to meet
you, Princess Katalina,” I curtsied as she bowed her head in
appreciation before running off to hop on her mother’s
lap.

“
She said you’re very
pretty and I did a good job,” Casper said. “I think you may have a
new best friend.”

We took a seat in one of the oversized
chairs while we waited for his father and stepmother. They arrived
shortly after the drinks were served. My whole body tensed the
second he stepped into the room. Seeing him again brought back all
the memories of that day. I remember sitting outside the courtroom
with my brothers and Aunt, waiting to hear the outcome. He walked
out of the courtroom, smiling, and shaking hands with his partners.
I’ll never forget that smug look on his face. His eyes found mine
and he just stared at me, not blinking, not speaking. It was only a
second that passed but it felt like an eternity. He looked away,
smile gone. I hadn’t known what I was doing. My body had a mind of
its own and I was standing next to him, tugging on his suit jacket.
He squinted, looking down at me. “Please don’t send my mommy to
jail,” I asked him. His eyes searched mine and for a moment I saw
kindness in them, but quickly it was replaced by his deep
scowl.

“
Alex.” Jack grabbed me,
pulling me back to sit with them. Only a look was exchanged between
the men, but enough to cause a stream of tension. A few years later
I learned Casper’s father had pushed to put us in foster care,
claiming, even though Jack was eighteen, he wasn’t mature enough to
take care of three siblings. Jack knew if they put us in foster
care we would be split up and he refused to let that happen. The
only reason they let Jack become our legal guardian was because
Declan’s mom said she would sign off on it, saying she would make
sure she would oversee all his decisions technically making her our
guardian even though she was never there.

Seeing this man tonight made my blood boil.
Our first reunion made me want to run for the hills. I was guessing
it was the initial shock of seeing him after all this time. But I
wasn’t eight years old anymore and he didn’t scare me. He stood
before me and I knew he was judging me, trying to see if he could
under mind me. I held my head higher, showing him I could take on
whatever he could throw at me. “I apologize, apparently we have
gotten off on the wrong foot,” he spoke in a low tone.

“
I was told once by my
mother to never judge a book by its cover. I will offer you the
same advice.” Casper patted me on the behind, approving of my
verbal exchange with his father.

I watched as Casper’s father barely moved
let alone breathed. The silence thickened, anticipating his
response. He smiled tightly. “Your mother is a wise woman, almost
too wise for her own good.” I hadn’t realized I had tried to take a
step forward until Casper pinched my side. “But I do agree and will
offer you the same request. Now, shall we eat?”

I stayed back a moment while everyone else
entered the dining room. I just needed a minute to collect myself.
“Are you okay?” Casper asked. “Because I have to say you’re doing
pretty great and if you keep sticking it to my father like that I
just might have to take you upstairs to his room and have my way
with you on his bed,” he smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind my
ear. I laughed out loud, feeling some of the tension lessen.

I could feel Casper’s father’s eyes on me as
Casper pulled out the chair for me and sat down. I placed my napkin
in my lap, returning his icy stare. Upon meeting Dallas I could
understand Casper’s dislike for her. The way she clung to Caper’s
father it was like she was holding on to a gold mine. She screamed
gold digger and I wondered if she hadn’t purposely pushed him over
the edge hoping for a fatal heart attack. Her tacky red nails
rubbed her small baby bump constantly as if we could all forget
that she was pregnant.

“
So, Alex, what is it that
you do?”

“
I work part time at a
club to help pay for rent and what my financial doesn’t cover for
school.”

I knew he was trying to keep the disgusted
look off his face. “I’m sure Casper could help you out with any
financial issues. So you wouldn’t have to work at some bar.”

“
I’m sure he could but
that’s not what I want. I like my job and I prefer to earn my keep.
I have no problem paying my dues.” Casper squeezed my thigh and
gave me a proud smile. “My job also allows me to beat up
pretentious assholes.” Candice and CiCi tried to hide their smiles
while Casper’s grin could have lit up the sky.

Caleb cleared his throat. “What are you
studying, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I knew my answer was going to be a true
test. I took a breath before answering. “Pre-law,” I said, matching
his steady gaze.

He bared no change in his expression. No
click in his jaw, no twitch of the eye, nothing. “Maybe you could
convince my son to change his mind. I always hoped he would follow
in my footsteps, but well as you can see, he has chosen a different
path. One that some would consider reckless, irresponsible…”

“
Enough,” Casper growled.
I patted his leg letting him know I had this.

“
Maybe Casper’s lifestyle
is not one you have chosen for him but I can assure he has
accomplished more than most young men his age.”

“
It’s hard to accomplish
much when you have no goals in life.”

“
That’s not true. I’ve
already accomplished one of my goals.”

“
And what’s
that?”

“
To be nothing like
you.”

Caleb paused, slowly taking a sip of his
scotch. We spent the rest of the dinner in silence. After dessert,
Casper excused himself to use the restroom while everyone else
retreated to the den. I made a beeline for Declan when Caleb
cornered me. “Excuse me,” I said, trying to sidestep him, but he
blocked my path. I raised my head and met his stony eyes.

“
I do not know what your
intentions are with my son, but I suggest you walk away now before
this ends badly.”

“
Are you threatening
me?”

“
No, I’m warning you. It’s
only a matter of time before he realizes who you are. Yes Miss
Radcliff, I remember. Thirteen years is a long time and thousands
of cases but I never forgot your mom’s or those green eyes of the
little girl pleading to let me set her free.” He smiled, thinking
he got me. “What do you think he’s going to do when he finds out
the truth?”