“Marti! Just let it go!” Lola screeched as Marti got in a good punch to her jaw, sending her sprawling backwards. She had a split second to throw her hands up as Marti lunged, balling up a fist and thrusting it forward into her gut with all her might. Marti doubled over, the breath knocked out of her.
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Marti promised, once again raising the gun. Lola rushed forward and grabbed Marti’s arm, aiming the gun high up in the air. She’d obviously underestimated Marti’s skills when she took her down with a sweeping leg to the back of Lola’s ankles. She landed hard on her back, seeing stars when her head bounced off the floor. Not willing to give up, she went for the dirty tricks and pinched Marti’s nipple before yanking her hair and bringing her knee up to jam it roughly into her pussy. Her former best friend let out a series of grunts in pain, her focus on the gun momentarily lost.
Lola made a grab for it, the steel body feeling cool against her fingertips. They wrestled on the floor, each landing blows as they fought for possession of the weapon. “I fucking hate you! You stole what should have been mine! We could have been so good if you’d just — “ The loud bang startled both of them and for a moment Lola didn’t understand what had happened.
There was a stinging sensation in her left side and it felt as though she’d wet her pants. Confused, she glanced down and spotted the growing pool of blood. Their eyes met and Lola saw the regret and horror in Marti’s at what she’d done. “I didn’t...I mean, fuck, Lo. God, I’m sorry.”
Her voice sounded far away, Lola’s vision going from gray to black and back again. She was aware of Barkey licking her face and fear for his safety arose again. Tucking him close to her side, she whispered for him to stay very still.
There were sounds of a commotion and she thought she saw Beckett, but that didn’t make any sense, was she having another fantasy? Maybe this time they’d be alone on the beach, wait that wasn’t right either. Beckett was her step-brother.
And her best friend...well her best friend had killed her. With that last though, the invisible fingers struggling to claim her soul were victorious, and she slipped into the darkness.
Chapter Seven
One Year Later
Twilight was always the most fascinating time of day; when the darkness rose up to meet the light, the shadows taking up sentry as guardians of everything sinister. As the last day of her first year of university came to an end, Lola couldn’t have welcomed the darkness more. Life was very different for her after the incident with Marti. She’d been lucky Beckett had found them in time, thanks in large part to Barkey sending up the alarm with his signature incessant barking. Had he not got her to the hospital when he did, she likely wouldn’t have survived.
Marti was nowhere to be found, having fled the scene. She’d obviously had a getaway planned, as no one had been able to locate her since. As much as Lola resented how she treated her, a small part of her was happy she’d escaped her horrible home life. The road to recovery after she’d been shot had been a long one, complete with weekly trips to therapy as she worked through the trauma.
The opportunity to accept early admission to Harvard had come as a welcome surprise, and her family agreed that living on campus was a good decision given the circumstances. Her parents had been made aware of everything that happened with Beckett, and as embarrassing as it was, she was glad it was out in the open as it allowed her the chance to fully heal.
Dissecting all the events that led up to her shooting allowed her to see that by keeping herself closed off from others the way she did, she wasn’t able to pick up on social cues. There was a reason she completely overlooked the dark sides to both Marti and Beckett and they lay completely inside her. Her therapist suggested it had a lot to do with unresolved emotions over being adopted, and she was probably right. At the end of the day, she was working on becoming the woman she was meant to be.
“Come on, Barkey,” she called, tugging him away from the bush he was currently peering into. When he refused to budge, she moved closer, curious what had caught his eye. The familiar sensation of being watched pricked at the edge of her senses and she whirled around. There, several yards away at the end of the path was Beckett. He stood alone, hands in his pockets, intense gaze locked on her.
Her heart rate sped up and her breathing turned rapid. Even though they’d had minimal contact since the shooting, she thought of him often. He had a hold on her that was undeniable, their connection left unresolved.
They moved towards each other, stopping when they were just a few feet apart. He was handsome as ever, a fact that had a hot need growing in her belly. She hadn’t been intimate with anyone since him, unwilling to open herself up in such a way again for fear of getting hurt. Despite everything, she still wanted him.
“What are you doing here, Beckett?” she asked, studying his face.
“I had some off time at school, thought I’d check in. We never really get the chance to talk alone. I need to apologize to you, Lola,” his deep voice sounded
