Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4) (30 page)

23

Beth

Banging came from the front door. Beth opened
her eyes and yawned. She’d fallen asleep on the couch while holding Corey, who
had cried himself to sleep. Without waking him, she shifted him off her and pulled
the blanket over him, their mother having covered them. She wondered whether
her mother had left again, since she wasn’t answering the door.

More banging rattled the door. Not
wanting it to wake Corey, Beth quickly opened it, finding Dante glaring at her,
his face furious.

He pointed a finger at her. “Why did you
lie to me?!”

“’Bout what?” she asked, still
half-asleep, his anger taking her by surprise.

He indicated to her stomach. “That! It’s
Ash’s baby, isn’t it?”

She inhaled sharply, his words slapping
her across the face, waking her up fully. “I only just found out.”

“Don’t fuckin’ lie to me, your doctor’s
receptionist mentioned you’re almost eighteen weeks. How the fuck didn’t ya
know that?”

“I only found out a coupla days ago.”

“And yet you didn’t think it wuz
important enough to tell me?”

“I wuz scared.”

“That’s no fuckin’ excuse! You knew when
I proposed to you that the kid wuzn’t even bloody mine, yet you said nuthin’,
absolutely-fuckin’-nuthin’!”

“I thought you’d leave me.”

“And this makes me wanna stay with you?
I don’t know if I can trust you anymore. You’ve lied to me too many times.”

“Only twice, and I didn’t intentionally
lie to you ’bout the baby. It wuz as much a shock to me as it wuz to you.”

“You still tried to keep it from me.”

“Cos you would’ve left me, and I
couldn’t let that happen. You told me you would’ve picked Kara if I hadn’t
gotten pregnant. Do ya know how much that cut me? How much
you
hurt me
when you said that? Then right after I learn I’m further along than expected, I
find Kara banging on your door, tryna get you back. I panicked.”

He didn’t reply, the hurt on his face still
there. Wanting to comfort him, she moved forward. He stepped back, moving out
of her reach.

“Dante! Please believe me. I love you more
than anything in the world. I’m even willing to ignore how much you care for
Kara—”

“I don’t just care for her, I love her.”

Beth screwed up her face. “I know that,
but you also said you love me. Why can’t you just be happy with me? We were
doin’ good until Kara showed up.”

He shook his head. “We were never doin’
good, we were always fighting, still are.”

“You fight with Kara too.”

“Not like with you.”

She moved forward again, desperate to
hold him, just wanting him to understand how much she needed him. He jerked
back, making her cry out.

“
Please
, Dante,” she sobbed. “I
can make you happy. Just gimme one more chance.”

“I’ve given you enough chances. I
forgave you for that nude text of me, but this ... you’re not making me happy,
you’re making me miserable.”

She swiped at her face and breathed in
through her mouth, her nose starting to block up from crying. “Don’t you love
me?”

“I do, but I...”

“But what?!”

“We aren’t good together,” he said,
looking pained.

“We are! You’re just upset.”

He breathed out. “For good reason. It
shouldn’t be this hard, Beth. Can’t you see that?”

“But I love you,” she sobbed.

“I love you too, but I love Kara more.”

“No! Things can change.”

He screwed his eyes shut. “I’m sorry; it’s
always been like that with her. She’s a part of me, always will be.” He opened
his eyes, looking stricken. “You will be too, but it’s not fair for me to be
with you if I love another woman more. I’ve tried so hard, but I know in my
heart, I can’t commit to you fully. I would’ve tried for the baby,” he waved a
hand at Beth’s stomach, “but it’s not even mine. I can’t do this anymore.” He
turned to go.

Beth grabbed his arm. “Don’t make any
rash decisions. Once you’ve calmed down, you might change your mind.”

Dante pulled free. “That’s the problem. I
can never make my mind up to do anything—other than I need to be by Kara’s side
right now. She’s had a miscarriage.”

“She wuz pregnant?” Beth gasped.

“With my child. I hafta be with her, no,
I don’t hafta, I want to.”

“But what ’bout us?”

“There’s no us anymore.” Dante turned
and ran for the road, his car parked on the other side.

Beth ran after him. “Stop, Dante!”

He stopped on the footpath and turned to
face her, his face so sad. “I don’t understand why you still want me. I’m
broken, Beth. And all I’m doin’ is breaking you too. You should find a good man
who treats you right, someone who puts you on a pedestal and worships you, not
a useful fuckin’ cunt who looks at other women. No matter how much I love you
and Kara, I still look. Today I jerked off while thinking ’bout fucking that
intersex chick. I don’t wanna do things like that, but I can’t stop myself. I’m
not only wrong for you, I’m wrong for everyone. I’m just fuckin’ wrong.”

“No, you’re everything right to me.”

“I wish I were, but I’m not.” He stepped
closer and cupped her face. “I do love you, I just can’t be with you, no matter
how much I wanna be.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers,
making Beth’s heart break even more, knowing this was a goodbye kiss.

She placed a hand at the back of Dante’s
head and returned the kiss, putting everything into it so he could understand
how much she loved and needed him.

He broke the kiss and placed his
forehead against hers, breathing heavily. “You’re making this hard.”

“It doesn’t hafta be. Please just stay.”

“I can’t, no matter how much it hurts.”
He went to pull away.

She gripped onto his hair, not willing
to let him go. “Don’t do this, it doesn’t hafta end.”

He placed a hand over hers, detaching it
from his hair. “It already has.” He gave her hand a squeeze, then let go. He
turned to the road and cut across it, disappearing around the neighbour’s large
truck.

Beth ran after him, shouting, “Dante!”

Dante stopped by his red Holden and spun
around, his eyes going wide. He screamed, “No!”

Beth turned her head, seeing the car too
late.

24

Corey

Corey had watched Dante and Beth break up
before his eyes, their yelling having awoken him. He’d hobbled over to the
front door, finding them arguing in the driveway, both of them looking
shattered—Beth the most, his sister’s anguish undeniable. Despite everything
she’d said about his relationship with Sledge, it broke his heart to see her
like that, her cries for Dante so raw and pained. He’d felt like screaming at Dante
to listen to her, that she meant every word she was saying, but instead he’d
just watched them, unable to utter a word.

Then Beth had run onto the road.

Dante had screamed a warning, but it was
too late. The car hit Beth, flinging her backwards like a ragdoll, Corey’s
sister hitting the road hard. The car spun around, barely missing hitting her
again. Burnt rubber wafted up into the air as the car turned a full circle, stopping
a few feet away from Beth, who was lying on the ground, her right leg at an odd
angle.

Dante ran for her, screaming her name. As
though Dante’s voice was a switch, Corey jolted into action. He didn’t know how
he’d gotten a phone in his hand, but he went with it, shouting across the line
for an ambulance. Then he was out front, hobbling down the driveway, needing to
get to his sister as fast as he could, terrified she was dead.

Dante breathed into her mouth, then started
pumping her chest, yelling at her to wake up. The driver of the car got out,
his young face dumbstruck.

“You bastard!” Corey screamed at him.

The guy’s face turned angry. “It’s not
my fault the stupid bitch ran out in front of me,” he said, pointing at Beth.

Corey threw one of his crutches at him.
“Go away, just go away!”

The guy jumped back into his car, taking
off within seconds.

Corey fell to the ground by Beth’s side,
his sister’s head bleeding badly. “Is she breathing?”

Dante placed an ear to her chest. “Yes!

Corey cried out in relief.

Dante cupped her face. “Beth, wake up, please
wake up.”

The sound of sirens split the air. Corey
looked up as a green and yellow ambulance drew closer. He could hear Dante continuing
to beg Beth to wake up, but it felt like it was far away, everything surreal.

The ambulance stopped a few feet away
from them. Medics burst out of the doors. Within seconds, one of them was
pulling Corey away from Beth, while the other was telling Dante to move. Then
they were working on his sister, their words not making sense. It was as though
they were speaking a foreign language, Corey unable to take anything in.

Large arms circled him from behind, pulling
him hard up against a strong body. Corey jolted and looked back, finding Sledge
sitting on the ground, holding him tightly. Sledge’s wheelchair was a few feet
away, tipped over, Sledge probably having crawled to him.

“She’ll be all right,” Sledge said.

Corey’s head snapped around as the
medics shifted Beth onto a stretcher, strapping her in. Lifting her up, they
carried her to the ambulance, with Dante following close behind. They climbed
into the back, another medic shutting them in. The ambulance engine started up,
snapping Corey out of his stunned state. He screamed at them to wait for him,
terrified he wouldn’t see Beth again. He went to push up, but Sledge held onto
him tight, not giving him an inch. He started struggling against Sledge, but despite
Sledge’s damaged arm, he couldn’t get free, his boyfriend too strong. The
ambulance pulled away, intensifying Corey’s panic. He started screaming
hysterically, begging Sledge to let him go.

“It’s too late, Corey, they’re leaving,”
Sledge said.

“No it’s not, no it’s not! Lemme go!”

Corey stopped yelling as his mother’s
car appeared around the corner, driving past the ambulance. The station wagon came
to a stop a few feet away from them. His mother jumped out of the car, dropping
down in front of Corey.

“Are you all right, Corey?” she asked,
checking his arms and legs, her expression worried.

Unable to tell her about Beth, he buried
his face into Sledge’s chest, crying his heart out.

“What happened, Sledge?” she asked. “Is
he hurt?”

“No, but Beth is. She wuz hit by a car. An
ambulance took her away, the one you passed.”

“What?!”

Corey turned back to his mother, who was
already scrambling to her feet. Within seconds she was in her car, starting the
engine. Before Corey could ask to come, she yelled at two neighbours to look
after him, the couple heading their way.

As she drove off, no doubt heading for
Middleton, the neighbours helped Corey and Sledge up, the man settling Sledge
back into his wheelchair. Corey climbed onto Sledge’s lap and buried his face into
his chest, too upset to do anything else. One of the neighbours pushed them
towards their house, mentioning phoning Corey’s dad. Corey started shaking,
shock setting in.

Sledge wrapped his arms around him,
muttering, “Beth’ll be okay.”

Corey started crying again, knowing it
wasn’t true.

25

L

L climbed the staircase, hearing crying
coming from Dante’s room. He walked over and placed his ear to the door. It was
definitely crying, no doubt Kara suffering from her miscarriage. His mind went
to his sister, who’d had three miscarriages, her fourth pregnancy finally
having a happy ending, his nephew now two.

Wanting to comfort Kara, he pushed open
the door. She was on the bed, curled up into a ball, her soft cries pulling at
his heart strings. He closed the door behind him, not wanting Jade to see her
like this, his friend heartless when it came to Kara.

“Kara,” he said softly, hoping he didn’t
startle her.

She lifted her head, her pale blue eyes
shiny with tears, the whites bloodshot. “Why are you here? Where’s Dante?”

“He went out to speak to Beth.”

Kara squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t
give him a child like she can.”

Sitting down on the bed, L placed a hand
on her arm. “Beth’s baby isn’t his.”

Kara’s eyes snapped open. “What?”

“She’s too far along for it to be
Dante’s.”

Kara stared at him, looking taken aback.

L continued, “Which means you could
still have another baby with Dante.”

She screwed up her beautiful face again.
“It won’t happen. Every time I get pregnant I miscarry. This is my third
miscarriage. I had one before I met Dante and another with him. I never told
him back then, but now, I can’t keep it a secret anymore. It hurts too much.”
She touched her stomach. “I can’t give him what he wants.”

“What Dante wants the most is love. I
don’t think he’ll forsake you because you can’t have children.”

“He did! He chose Beth because he
thought she was having his baby, even though he promised he would never leave
me. I’m not enough for him. In all truth, both me and Beth aren’t enough for
him. I tried not to believe it, but I can’t kid myself anymore. Dante’s not a
monogamous man. He can’t control his emotions or desires. He needs more than
me. He kids himself when he says he wants a monogamous relationship, because I
know deep down, if someone fascinating walked into his life, he would cheat on
me.”

“Has he cheated before?”

“Not that I know of, but you should see
how he flirts with women
and
men. I know he won’t act on the men,
because he’s just teasing, but the women ... I can see he wants sex. It’s why I
told him we could have an open relationship. I also thought he would want me
more if I said it, because Beth would never allow him to be with anyone else
like I would. But now he knows I can’t carry a baby to full term, he’ll move on
without a second thought.”

“I don’t think he’s that shallow. I
think he genuinely loves you.”

“You don’t know him, so how can you say
that?”

“When he told me and Jade about your
miscarriage, he looked in pain. He was hurting for you. He also bit Jade’s head
off when Jade said you couldn’t stay. He loves you Kara, it’s obvious.”

“And he loves Beth too.”

“I don’t think Beth will be any competition
for you now. He told me she lied to him about the baby. He was furious.”

She screwed up her face. “But my baby is
still dead.” She turned and pushed her face into the pillow, her shoulders
shaking.

L lay down and placed an arm over her,
giving her a hug. She turned to him, pushing her face into his shoulder. She
continued to cry, L giving her the comfort she needed. His mind went to Dante,
wishing he was here for Kara instead of confronting Beth. He wondered how the
man could be so different from his brother. Ash looked just like Dante, but all
Ash wanted was one woman, always one woman: Tiana. Yet, Dante flirted with
anything that moved, even L.

L frowned, wondering whether it had
something to do with Dante’s stepfather. No, Ash had been abused by the man too,
so it was probably due to Dante’s bipolar disorder, although L didn’t think that
was an adequate excuse for the way he behaved.

“What did you say?” Kara asked, lifting
her head.

L looked back at her, realising he’d
spoken his thoughts out loud.

“What did you say about Dante’s
stepfather?” Kara said, raising her voice.

L’s mind went to catching a
thirteen-year-old Dante drinking vodka under a big tree. He’d been staring out
at the sea, looking so young and lost, his expression devoid of hope.

L sat down next to him. “You shouldn’t
be drinking, Dante.”

Dante continued to stare out at the sea,
slurring, “It makes me forget.”

“About what?”

“How I’m responsible for Ash gettin’
hurt.”

“What do you mean?”

Dante took another swig of the vodka.

L pulled the bottle out of his hand.
“Tell me what you meant?”

Dante swiped the bottle back. “I kept what
my stepfather did to me a secret, cos I wuz too ashamed to tell anyone. If I
hadn’t, Ash wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“What did your stepfather do to you?”

Pain passed over Dante’s eyes. “The same
thing he did to Ash.”

L frowned. “But he raped Ash.”

“I know.”