Doomsday Love: An MMA & Second Chance Romance (3 page)

W
ho were my parents kidding
?

Public school couldn’t have been better. I’d aced two years of it with the best grades in all my classes and all with minimal drama. It was great, so great it seemed my senior year had passed me in a complete blur.

The day before summer break, all of the seniors vowed to skip school and hang out. Trace, Kylie’s boyfriend, offered to buy us beers so we could pre-game—which I learned was to get a little drunk before the party began.

Trace was a college boy, three years ahead of us. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and two dimples that constantly made Kylie weak in the knees just thinking about them.

I could see why she’d fallen for him. Trace had a lot of charm and some devilishly wicked features. His only flaw was his extreme amount of confidence. Since he’d bagged Kylie, a girl every boy in Fox River wanted to bone, he considered himself special.

Everyone had skipped school that day. I had no assignments to complete, plus Kylie practically begged me over the phone the night before so I figured,
what the hell?

In the morning we ate breakfast at a pancake house and that same night, our entire class met at the darkest side of the lake.

The Dark Side was what they called it, and when I arrived, I figured out why. I’d never been there before. I’d only heard about the dirty things that happened there.

The hangout spot where everyone chugged down beer and made out until their faces turned red, was right beneath a cliff.

The
cliff.

How did I not know this?

Goosebumps ran up my arms and spine as Trace parked a few yards away.

Instantly, my stomach coiled in knots and I froze in the backseat. I had been excited to live a little with my best friend, but that feeling quickly evaporated as I stared at the rocky ledge above.

Ecstatic, Kylie hopped out of the passenger seat, rushing around to the driver’s side to tug Trace out of the car.

He glued himself to her once his feet were on the ground, grinning as he bent down to steal a swift kiss. Kylie giggled, then turned to swing my door open.

“Come on, Jen! The party is waiting for us, baby love! Gotta hurry before everyone drinks all the free beer and we’re forced to drink our own first.” Kylie’s grin was broad as she peered at me, but when she caught sight of my pale face and horror-struck eyes, her smile faded, her entire attitude changing from animated to serious.

“Ohmygod.” Her words came out rushed as she slid across the leather bench to get beside me. “Jen, what’s wrong?”

“It’s um…” I breathed as evenly as possible, and then swallowed hard to rid my throat of the unwanted thickness. I pointed towards the windshield, avoiding having to look at the cliff. “We’re right under the cliff.”

She frowned at first, looking back at it. When she realized what I was getting at, she sat up straight, her hazel eyes growing wide.

“Oh, shit. Jen, I completely forgot.
Shit
,” she hissed. Her face dropped as she sighed and sat back. “You know we can totally blow this off. We can have our own fun somewhere else,” she offered.

“No! It’s okay.” I shook my head, holding my hands up. I refused to be the spoiler of her night. I was eighteen years old. It was time to grow up. I had to accept some things about my past, the things that tormented me in all the worst ways. The cause of so many nightmares and waking up in cold sweat. “Can I just have a few minutes? I’ll meet you out there.”

“Yeah, yeah! Sure.” She put on a supportive smile, patting the top of my hand. “Come out when you’re ready. We’ll be by the keg near the bonfire. Text me if you need me to come back.”

I nodded, and with another sweet smile, Kylie climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind her and walking away with her arm linked through Trace’s.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“She just needs a minute. It’s a girly thing. You wouldn’t understand.”

My lips curved when she said that. Kylie always knew how to cover up for me. She’d gotten me out of so many tight places with my parents and even with her own.

She was a pro at protecting the truth, which was why I trusted her with a secret I’d never shared with anyone but her. The only people that knew about my issues were Kylie and Sue, our housekeeper…and of course, Mom and Dad.

When they were long gone, I pushed the door open again and stepped out, shutting it behind me, and tried to collect a less-frazzled breath. I tugged on the border of my blue dress, ridding it of the wrinkles that had formed during our fifteen-minute ride to the lake.

“Okay, Jenny. Get it together,” I huffed, shutting my eyes as I walked back and forth beside the black Sahara Jeep.

When I opened my eyes, pointing my gaze up towards the very top of the cliff that was a straight dive into the rocky bottom of the lake, I could see why they called it
The Dark Side
.

It was pitch black on the top of that cliff, not even the stars twinkled. The moon was perched on the opposite side of the velvety midnight sky, far away from the jagged, nightmarish edge.

Questions about Mitchell hit me like a tidal wave, and I froze with the wind, practically breathless. I couldn’t imagine how it happened. What did he do before he jumped off? Did he attempt to dive or did he tuck his legs and drop in? Was he really trying to kill himself, or was it an accident that led to his death?

That last question is what haunted me most… and then the memories arrived.

“
I
hate living here
, Jenny. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”

I was confused, watching Mitchell pace my bedroom. “What do you mean?”

I was lost. I was only eight years old, but Mitchell talked about everything with me, even the big people stuff that was way ahead of my time.

He was also nine years older than me. Because of that, I’d always figured I was a mistake for my parents. I wasn’t planned. The age gap was too big. Luckily I turned out to be a precious little girl, which probably softened the blow.

“Mitchell, stop it!” I jumped off the bed and found his large hands, gripping them. I looked up at him, meeting the brown eyes that swirled with hurt, anger, and something I just couldn’t understand.

“I can’t be here, sis,” he murmured. “I just want you to know that I love you no matter what…even if
they
don’t.”

“But they do love us,” I whined.

My defense wasn’t enough.

Nor was my begging, my beseeching.

“No…they think we’re objects. They think I’m an object, something they can toss and juggle like a fucking schedule. They want me to live up to whatever they want me to be. They never ask me how I’m feeling or what I need. I just can’t anymore…and Coach Kord… God…” He yanked away from me, roughly raking his fingers through his curly, dark hair. “Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.” He cursed so much that day.

“I’m sorry, Jenny, I’m just…” He blew a breath, gathering most of his composure. “I shouldn’t be talking about this with my baby sister…but you’re the only person in this house that understands me—the only one that listens.” Mitchell finally looked at me, his face turning serious. He then dropped to his knees, grabbed my hands, and said, “No matter what I do or what happens to me, I want you to be strong, Jen. You’re the better of us two. You have much more to accomplish. You’re so young—” His voice broke as he looked me deep in the eyes, swallowing hard to clear his throat. “I need to get away,” he breathed again. “I can’t keep taking it….I can’t keep doing it just because he thinks it’ll be worth it in the long run. He doesn’t understand how painful it is—how
wrong
it is. And I can’t tell them. Especially Mom. It would ruin their lives, and I can’t risk that when you’re here. I need you to stay safe.” Mitchell studied my face, the tears collecting at the rims of my eyes. He heard a door shut downstairs and looked over his shoulder with extreme paranoia.

“Mitchell! Hurry down! Coach Kord is here for dinner!” we heard Mom shout.

He shuddered as he looked at me again, his face turning paler than a blank sheet of paper. “When it’s time for dinner, tell them I won’t be joining them tonight.”

“Where will you be?” I pleaded as he started to pull away from me.

Mitchell stood up straight and shrugged, looking around my bedroom. “I don’t know, Jenny. I honestly have no clue.” He looked down at his feet. “But it won’t be here.” He bent down, kissed my cheek, and then hugged me so tight it caused the unshed tears to spill down my cheeks.

I watched him leave my bedroom, but I should have stopped him. I should have held him up, begged for him to just stay in my room so I could protect him from Mom and Dad.

I knew I couldn’t fully protect him, but I could try—even if I didn’t know what he was running from back then. I would kick and scream, punch and slap. I’d do whatever it took to protect my Mitchell.

Unfortunately, I had no clue what was going on. I didn’t know why he was so distraught. I mean, I didn’t like my parents very much either, but they were tolerable enough.

I didn’t understand why he was so hard on them… or why they were so hard on him.

I guess none of it mattered in the end anyway, because I never saw Mitchell again.

A
tree branch
snapped behind me, pulling me out of my memories, and I gasped, spinning around.

Two girls rushed through the line of trees, giggling as they stumbled their way towards the party. Relief took worry’s place, easing me for just a millisecond.

I looked around, up at the bushy, dark trees that surrounded me. The strange animal noises made my skin crawl and my stomach clench again. I paced a little more, collecting much needed oxygen.

As I pressed my palms to the hood of the car, I heard another one pull up behind me. The engine was loud, a deep growl that clearly belonged to some type of truck or SUV.

Peering over my shoulder, I watched as the headlights shut off and three boys climbed out of the metallic blue pick-up truck, hooting and hollering, ready to get their night started.

One of them looked my way, frowning. “What the fuck is she doing?” He laughed with the other boy that joined his side. They were making fun of me.

I tore my gaze away, avoiding their eyes at all costs, a blaze making my chest burn. When the two boys were long gone, I realized there was another that hadn’t made his way towards the bonfire.

With haste, I turned and stood tall. But my breath caught in my chest as I spotted the familiar stranger.

My eyes expanded and my chin dropped when I caught sight of him.

Holy crap… it was
him
!

Drake Davenport.

After so many years, he was right there, standing only a few feet away from me. I always wondered what happened to him. I thought he moved from Fox River or something a long time ago. After I started high school, I never saw him again… until now.

He stood by the driver’s side with his large arms folded. He’d gotten ink.
A lot
of ink. His familiar green eyes latched onto mine, and as I released a ragged breath, he took a step forward.

“You okay?” His voice had changed over the years… well, duh. But I mean, dramatically. It was much deeper than what I remembered. Smoother. Like dark silk.

My belly flipped, all of the anxiety I once had now fading away as he looked me over.

He came towards me, the moonlight giving me a better view of his hard, sculpted face. His chiseled cheekbone held a single cut, right below his left eye. It was red around the edges, somehow increasing his dauntingly good looks.

It was a fresh wound. Recent.

His black T-shirt fit snug to his large torso, molding around his abs.

His inky hair was no longer long, curly, or scattered all over his head. It’d been cut and shaped neatly around his ears, shaped with gel and spiked, giving him that ultimate bad-boy appearance.

Though his looks had changed, his intimidating air had not.

“Jenny, right?” Drake asked.

“Yeah,” I breathed.

His brows drew together as he took another step closer. “Are you okay?” His question was full this time. Not partial or incomplete. Full.

He was concerned. It was written all over his face.

“I’m…fine. Just needed some air before hitting the party.” He frowned, his eyes still glued to mine. They flickered with the sparks a short distance behind me.

I looked away, towards the shimmering water of the lake. “Hey, what are you doing here, anyway?” I asked.

“I can’t join the party?”

I looked up, and his arms were folded again, his expression smug. “I never said that. I was just wondering.”

He fixed his lips to respond, but quickly held back on it.

“Nah-uh. What were you going to say?”

“Still ask a lot of questions, I see.” One of his brows lifted.

I zipped my lips.

He stepped closer. “Was gonna say something smart, but I can see right now probably isn’t the best time to make jokes.” He scanned me with those big green eyes, and then he narrowed his eyebrows again.

He was only a few steps away. He watched my worried face, how a light sweat swathed my forehead and my skin had paled.

“You don’t really look like you want to be here.”

“I don’t,” I admitted.

“Specific reason why?”

I glanced at the cliff, giving away the primary cause for my unease.

When I looked at him again, he was focused on the cliff, head tilted, eyes full of curiosity. I expected him to ask about it—pry, like anyone else would have.

He didn’t.

Instead he unfolded his arms, and his pink lips flattened. He moved to my side, leaning against Trace’s Jeep. It was my turn to furrow my brow and try to figure out what he was doing.

He focused on his truck ahead, inhaling before exhaling. We stood in an awkward silence, and I fiddled with my fingers and then the edges of my hair.

I watched him pick his head up to look at the sky. The stars. The moon. The beautiful layout.