Keeping Her (The Lexington Series Book 2) (17 page)

Lucy

Several hours earlier…

I dropped down on the couch next to
Naiyla. “Landon treats me like a damn china doll. He’s so overprotective.” I
complained.

She nudged me with her shoulder, “Hey
I can’t blame him… but I could see how it can be suffocating. How’s the
pregnancy coming along?” she asked.

“Thankfully I’m out of the first
trimester, and I haven’t had morning sickness in a couple of weeks. That was
dreadful. But I’m definitely full of gas. It’s like you get rid of one thing, and
you get something else.”

“Yes, you make pregnancy sound
wonderful. Have you been able to sneak any blue cheese yet?” she asked.

“No. he’s like a fucking hound. I
swear if I tried to have some now, he would know somehow and something will
probably shock me until I put it down. I’ve just been stuck inside for so long,
it’s like I know I’m pregnant and everything but I shouldn’t be in a protective
bubble.”

Niayla laughed. “So you want to do
something aye?”

“Yes please. I know he had this crazy
idea of us spending the next lord knows how many hours inhaling nail polish
fumes, but you could totally sneak me out. I don’t even look pregnant in this
dress.” I told her.

She laughed. “Yes your little baby
bump is still hidden. You have a little bit of time left before you look like a
house. I know of a party today, but I seriously don’t want to risk Landon
coming for me.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s going to come
after me first, trust me. I’ll tell him when he calls. But let’s get the hell
out of here before he figures it out and comes for me.”

“Fine. But if he kills me, I’m coming
back from the dead to take you with me.”

I threw a pillow at her, “dramatic
much? Now get up and move it woman.”

Naiyla got dressed and she drove us
to the party. Honestly I didn’t want to go to a party especially since I was
going to be no fun, but I was going stir crazy. I knew if Landon were here he
never would’ve let me out, so I’m going to take this opportunity. The place was
pretty packed and there was liquor everywhere. I fixed me a cup of soda and
spent the night dancing with Naiyla as she drank. I was exhausted and needed
some air. Naiyla said that she needed to use the bathroom so I told her I would
go out for a few minutes and meet back up with her here.

I went out and let the night air cool
my overheated skin. I don’t remember the last time I had fun like this. Just
dancing and letting go without a care in the world. I walked away from the
front door where people were stumbling in and out of the house. I didn’t want
to be knocked around accidentally. I walked towards the curb and looked up into
the night sky. It was truly a beautiful night out. I am happy that Naiyla
agreed to bring me out against the sergeant’s orders. When he called me earlier
and I told him, he lost his shit. Of course he also threatened to spank me when
he saw me. I just think he likes that kinky crap. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

“Lucy?” I heard and looked around.
Who the heck was calling me?

I saw a figure by a car closer to the
curb. I squinted trying to see better. “Who is it?” I asked.

She took a step closer. “It’s just
me, Jasmine.”

I sighed. “Hi Jasmine.” I called out.

“Can you help me with something over
here?” she asked.

I frowned. I didn’t see her with
anything. “Help with what?”

“My car, it won’t start.” She said.

I sighed again, she was a pain. I
started walking towards her as I spoke. “I don’t know much about cars so I
don’t think I could help you. There are plenty of guys around here that can
probably help you.”

“I can’t hear you well.” She shouted.

I rolled my eyes and got closer to
her. “I said I don’t know anything about cars. You should ask one of the guys.”

Her shoulders slumped and she sighed.
“Oh alright.”

I turned to go back to the party,
when she spoke up again. “Oh wait a minute.” I spun around and she walked up to
me. “I think you forgot this.” I looked down into her hand and frowned. It
looked like a napkin or handkerchief.

I shook my head, “No I did-“ but my
words were cut off when she grabbed the back of my head and pressed the cloth
over my mouth and nose. I tried to struggle but everything became hazy really fast.
I felt my body begin to slump and an arm wrapped around me. I heard her grit
her teeth as she tugged on me. I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn’t move
then everything went black.

I woke up half lying across the
backseat of a car. I groaned and sat up. I looked up to see Jasmine behind the
wheel and she was speeding. I peeked out the window but everything kind of
blurred past. Then I remembered her covering my face with that cloth and me
passing out. “What the fuck did you do to me?” I asked sitting up fully.

She began to panic. I heard her
whisper fuck under her breath and start feeling around. I checked the door
considering jumping out of the moving car but also afraid if I do I might hurt
the baby. She turned around and raised her arm. It came down quickly and I felt
an explosion in my head. Everything went black again.

I don’t know how long I was out of it
for, but I woke up with a piercing headache. I touched my forehead and I felt
wetness. I pulled my hand back and found blood. The bitch hit me in my head
with something. I groaned and looked at my surroundings. There were old pipes
and not much else around me. I sat up and took a good look and realized that I
was in a basement. I got up slowly and felt a wave of nausea. I fought it and
started to look around. Eventually I found a door and tried it. Of course it
was locked. I wouldn’t have been so lucky to have found an open door that would
let me just prance out of here. Why the fuck am I even here? What does this
girl want with me?

I found a spot on the floor and made
myself comfortable. I toyed with my bracelet to keep myself entertained. My
stomach growled telling me that I was hungry and I sighed. I wonder if anyone
figured out that something happened. Naiyla must have figured it out by now since
she won’t find me anywhere. My body was exhausted and I wanted to sleep, but I
couldn’t let myself. I didn’t think it would be smart to go to sleep in a
situation like this. Time continued to pass and I just sat there for god knows
how long. I must’ve dozed off at some point because I was startled awake when I
heard a door opening and closing. There were footsteps on the stairs and I
peered up to see who it was. Jasmine entered and stood by the stairs staring at
me.

“Why am I here?” I asked.

“Because I bought you here.” she said
simply.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
Now
she wants to have some backbone. “Ok, why did you bring me here?”

She laughed. “Well I
told
you
to go away… but did you? No. I warned you that this would happen Lucy.”

My heart stopped.
She
was the
one sending me those threats and stalking me. She was planning to kill me?
“Why? What is all of this about? How long have I been here?”

She took a couple steps towards me. “So
many questions. You’ve been here maybe 10 hours or so. You slept like a rock
I’ll tell you that. Is that little baby of yours hungry yet?”

I instinctively covered my stomach.
“I’m fine.” I lied. No wonder I was so hungry. It’s been hours since I’ve last
eaten.

“Sure you are.” She picked up a
folding chair from the corner of the room and settled it close in front of me.
“Now let’s chat shall we?”

“This is your show. You have the
mic.” I told her.

She scowled. “I wouldn’t be such a
smart ass if I were you. Look at the position you’ve already gotten yourself
into. You should really consider playing nice, unless you’re ready to end this
already.”

I sighed. “Ok, can you tell me what
this whole thing is about? Why did you start threatening me?” I asked.

“You know. It’s a small world… you’d
be surprised how everyone is connected.” She told me.

She was starting to piss me off going
in circles. “What does that have to do with
this
?” I asked gesturing to
the room.

“Well, everyone wants Lucy. I knew
about you… Landon’s precious
angel
. It used to drive me crazy hearing
him pine for you, and all the while he barely noticed me. Do you know how much
that hurts? Having to endure the guy you’re in love with talk about how he’s in
love with another girl. You know one time I asked him if we could get married
when we grew up and he told me no. Why? Because he’s only going to marry
you
.”
She said with a sneer.

I scoffed. “Landon and I were friends
back then. I admired him too, but we were too young for love or to even fully
comprehend it. He liked me and I liked him as well but we weren’t doing more
than sharing snickers or playing in the playground.”

“Maybe to you. See this is why I knew
you don’t deserve him. You didn’t even love him like I did. Then you broke his
heart and he spoke to me even less. I thought I was grateful at first, but then
I realized the only things he had to say to me had to do with you. So I bid my
time and let him mourn losing you. I figured as time progressed he would
realize his feelings for me and we would finally be together but he still
didn’t give me the time of day. I would make sure I knew if he was around and I
would seek him out just to be in his presence. When he got a little older he
became something of a slut. He slept around and never had girlfriends and that
eased my worries some. I knew he saw me as more than a one night stand. He
needed to get all of the wildness out of his system and when he was ready to
settle down he would come for me, someone he actually cares about.”

I cleared my throat. “It sounds to me
like your problem is with him, not me. I didn’t do any of these things to you,
I didn’t even know you.”

She barked out a laugh. “It is your
fault. You had to worm your way back into his life after disappearing. Then he
falls all over you and acts like you’re a god. I see the way he’s fiercely
protective of you, and how crazy he is about you.”

I snapped. “Newsflash Jasmine. Next
time when you do your research do it thoroughly.
I never left
. I was
always there. When he thought I broke his heart as you so eloquently put it, he
tortured me. Him and all his friends… for years. I never knew why and I didn’t
understand it but I was always on his radar. It wasn’t until sometime passed
and Nick’s prodding that he confessed to me the reason he did what he did. He
never stopped wanting me he just thought he couldn’t have me. You’re holding
onto a torch that you know holds no hope.”

She stood up. “I have hope! There
is
hope. I just need to get
you
out of the picture. And then you trap him
and make him knock you up. Is that your way of trying to keep him around? Well
that will be our first order of business. I’ve been googling how to do an
abortion at home. I will save him from you and that bastard child. When I
explain to him how toxic you are he will thank me and that ring on your finger
will be mine.”

“I’m toxic?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, you are. You think this is all
about Landon don’t you? But it’s not. You’re the reason why my cousin will
never walk again. You lied to him and messed with his feelings. You made him
love you and you broke his heart too. Then you accused him of raping and trying
to kill you when you were the one that wanted to run away with him. I promised
him that I would take you out. He told me all about how you tricked Landon into
falling for you too. He knows how much I love him. You not only took the man of
my dreams, you took my cousin and best friend away from me.”

My stomach clenched and my hands flew
to my mouth. “Dan is your cousin?”

She gave me a humorless laugh. “Yes
he is. I transferred to your school to see for myself. I tried to do things the
easy way and lure Landon to me. Make him leave you that would’ve been enough
for me. You know getting what I want while hurting you at the same time. But
you kept hanging around. You just won’t fucking leave… now I have to make you.
It’s obvious you’ve got him seriously fooled about you. So this is the
only
way.” She started walking towards the stairs and threw over her shoulder. “I’ll
give you a couple of minutes of privacy to say goodbye to that baby of yours.
I’ll be back with my hanger to try out the procedure. I’ve never done this
before, it should be fun.”

I grimaced and she left. There was no
way that I was just going to sit here and let her do those things to me. I knew
that Landon wouldn’t find me. Truth be told, when I was thinking about who
could be threatening me she never even popped on my radar. She was a little
thing and I knew for sure I could take her, that’s why she had to drug me. I
think that all of the anger and blame going through her head is making her even
more delusional. With my mind made up I looked around the room. I started
feeling along the pipes to see if any of them were loose. This was the only
thing in the room I could use as a weapon. Yea, I was planning on knocking this
bitch out and getting the hell out of here. I kept feeling around and I was
getting desperate. None of the pipes were budging and she said she would only
be a few minutes. I didn’t have much time. I heard the door open and my heart
started pounding. My fight or flight instincts kicked in. I will not let her
hurt my baby. I spotted the chair that she sat in before and I folded it
quietly. I backed up into the corner on the side of the stairs. I heard her
coming down the stairs slowly while she whistled. She was a fucking nut job.