Finding Strength: A Club Dark Novel Read online

  “That sure is a sassy little girl there,” my dad says from behind me, laying the western slang on a bit thick. “She screams trouble, son,” he finishes with a smile. I can always count on him to make a dark situation bright.

  “Actually, she’s pretty great. If it weren’t for her, I’d be picking up the broken pieces of my club right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing, it’s done and over with now and I have more important things to worry about.” I try to walk away, but I should’ve known it wasn’t going to be that simple.

  “Cory, your mother and I would like to talk to you.” As if on cue, she comes strolling in, her hands firmly placed on her hip.

  “We’re worried about you,” she starts. Just from the look on her face, I can tell she wasn’t finished. I take a seat on the arm of the sofa, prepared to bolt when the conversation inevitably turns sour.

  “We just don’t want to see you go through what you did with Lanna again. You couldn’t have known this girl very long, are you sure she’s even worth it?” She looks to my father and I’ve just about had enough. I’m about to tell her as much, but it’s apparent she’s not done.

  “Has it not occurred to you that all of this could just be a ruse between the two of them? Honestly son, you’ve known this girl for all of two seconds. How do you know that the two of them haven’t conspired to overthrow everything you’ve worked so hard for?”

  I feel my anger start to rise the more she continues to talk. “Mom!” I shout. “Just stop. No, the thought never occurred to me because I trust Lacey, and I plan to ask her to marry me WHEN she is found. I don’t care how long I have known her. You’re either here to support me or you’re not. But I’m not going to stand here and listen to you drag her name through the dirt.”

  With that, I leave her and dad and step out on the front porch for some fresh air.

  I should’ve known I wasn’t going to get even two minutes of alone time before my dad’s stepping up beside me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

  “You know she only wants the best for you, son. You have to understand, watching what went down with Lanna wasn’t easy for us. But your mom took it worse. She’s only worried for you. You really should give her a break.”

  Looking in my father’s eyes, I break down, right in front of him. I feel the prick of tears in my eyes as I bury my face in his chest. Gently, he rubs circles on my back. Normally, I’d shy away from this kind of contact, but at this point, I need it. I need my parents. I need to find Lacey.

  “I feel lost. I want so bad to ride in and be her knight in shining armor, but something in my gut’s telling me I’m going to be too late. I can’t lose two loves in one lifetime. I HAVE to get her back.” I say as I pull back and wipe the tears from my face.

  “You know we will do everything we can to help you. Give your mom some time, she’ll come around.” He pats me on my head like I’m five years old all over again. As much as I love my parents, they haven’t exactly been there the past few years, so I’ll make it known once again that they are either with me or not. Lacey is my future, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anyone stand in the way of that.

  “I know, dad. But I need support here, not criticism. I expected my parents, of all people, to understand.”

  “We do understand, sweetheart.” Mom says from behind me. “We want you to understand, as parents, we can’t handle watching one of our kids close in on himself again. That was so hard on us. All I ever want to do is protect you three.” She finishes with tears in her eyes. If I’m being honest here, her tears don’t mean very much to me right now.

  “Then why did you leave us? Do you not know what that did to me? I was at my most vulnerable, and you just LEFT!” I shout. “But let’s not forget about Lance, he was just a child and you abandoned him.” At this point, she’s sobbing, something new for my mom. I’ve always known her to be the backbone. Still, I find it hard to feel sorry for her.

  “Cory, I don’t know what else to say except I’m sorry. I was selfish and put my hurt above yours. We shouldn’t have run and I see that now. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that’s what it takes to earn your forgiveness.”

  I didn’t want this. I was just fine in my own bubble. Why does everyone have to come around and make me feel again. It hurts, and yes... a little pity is seeping in for my mother right now. But that doesn’t excuse her leaving her kids behind.

  “I don’t need you to make anything up to me, I need your support. The son you left behind was a broken shell of his original self. Lacey brought me back to life. She’s done for me what you should have years ago, so the least you can do is stand by me now when the woman I love needs my help.” I say with so much finality, there’s no room for argument.

  I watch as she pulls herself together. Her back straightens, shoulders flatten out. If it weren’t for the red, puffy eyes you’d never know she was crying.

  “Of course, we will stand by you, son,” she says, “whatever you need, we are here for you.” I hope she means that. Once upon a time, my family was there for each other. No, we’ve never been all about the hearts and flowers, but we were there when it counted. Lately, not so much. It would be nice to know I could count on them to be there, as parents should.

  Blood, it’s everywhere. My hands disappear in the warm, almost sticky liquid, as I try to push myself upright. Jerking back and nearly falling flat on my ass, I start to wipe it off on my shirt, only to find more blood covering me. My heart accelerates as I check myself for the source. With shaky hands, I tug at my clothes, searching underneath for some sort of wound. I breathe a sigh of relief when I find the skin underneath flawless. Still, my heart is racing because I haven’t found the source.

  Standing on legs that feel like they are weighed down by a ton of bricks, I only then realize that I’ve been kneeling on asphalt.

  Suddenly, the whole scene changes and I’m standing right behind a man dressed in black, there’s a sense of familiarity that I can’t quite put my finger on.

  But that doesn't matter when I see he’s got a gun raised and pointed straight at my mom’s head.

  I try to scream, but nothing comes out. When I try to take a step in their direction, I find myself running straight into a glass wall. Banging my fist wildly to gain her attention, I feel more than hear, the bang of the gun as it resonates deep into my soul.

  Bringing my fist down even harder against the glass as tears stream down my face, all I can think about is getting to her. How, if I could just break through this glass barrier and take her in my arms, everything would be okay.

  Faintly, I can hear someone saying my name, but I couldn’t care less. Throwing all my strength up against the glass, I watch as it slowly starts to fracture.

  All at once, the glass shatters into thousands of tiny pieces around me, as I’m jolted awake, sitting straight up in bed.

  “Shh, shh. Everything’s okay. I’ve got you,” Aaron says as he wraps his arms around me, slowly rocking me back and forth in a soothing rhythm.

  Instantly, I’m thrown back to a time when I would find myself waking up after nightmares of my parents’ deaths every night when I was just barely a teenager. Years later, not long after Aaron and I got serious, he became my anchor, keeping me steady while my world kept falling apart.

  Now, I don’t even know what to say to him. I haven’t dreamt of my parents’ murder in years. But it’s always the same.

  I’m always covered in blood, and there’s always a barrier between mom and I, taunting me with her just barely out of reach.

  “Were you dreaming of your parents again?” Aaron interrupts my train of thought, “I thought you were over those?” He says, as he’s still rocking us back and forth and gently caressing my back.

  I’m only just realizing I’m no longer tied up. I must have been pretty knocked out to fall asleep in such an awkward position, and not hear him come back.

  “I haven’t had a nightmare in yea
rs,” I take a deep breath before adding, “not since after I met you.” The room falls silent for a few minutes. I’m honestly at a loss for words at this moment as I’m still trying to get my heart rate under control.

  “I remember the first time I witnessed one of your nightmares, scared the shit out of me,” Aaron begins, breaking the silence I was just starting to get comfortable with. “You were thrashing around, swinging your arms in every direction…”

  “I caught you in the mouth with my elbow,” I say with a small smile, completely cutting him off.

  “Yes! That sucker swelled up quick, but it didn’t matter. I was more worried about you.” His hands glide up to stroke through my hair and for a brief second, I allow myself to seek comfort in his presence. More than anything, my heart hurts right now. Thinking about anything else is just going to have to wait. It’s been a long time since I thought about my mom and dad, now I can’t get them off my mind.

  Sitting up and scooting back, I look Aaron straight in the eyes, “I’m okay,” I assure him, only because the expression on his face seemed to be asking if I was.

  He stands up and starts walking towards the little refrigerator on the other side of the room.

  “Would you like something to drink?” He asks with his back to me.

  “Please,” I mumble quietly under my breath.

  I watch in a daze as he grabs a glass from the squeaky cabinet above the sink, and fills it up with water from the tap.

  My back is planted firmly against the headboard and my knees are drawn into my chest. I lay my cheek down on the tops of them and just let the tears I’ve been holding at bay since waking up, spill down my face.

  I feel the bed dip at my feet as Aaron sits down in front of me. His hand comes up to wipe the tears from the corner of my eye. He doesn’t say a word, but in this moment, all I can see is the old Aaron. The one who was there for me from the very beginning.

  I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t miss that part of him.

  His hand glides down to my mouth, his thumb sliding slowly across my bottom lip. A shiver rolls through my body. I can’t tell if it’s from fear, or old feelings coming to life once again.

  Looking in his eyes, I see a fire deep inside promising to consume my entire world.

  He pulls his hand back and just stares at me.

  I watch his eyes follow my tongue as I trace it along my lip where his thumb was just at.

  The lust in his eyes deepens and just as he starts to lean in, I pull in a deep, shaky breath.

  “Why did you have to screw things up for us?” I let the thoughts slip out of my head.

  No sooner than the words leave my mouth, my head is snapped to the side, my cheek immediately lit on fire. I hear the glass I forgot he was holding shatter as it hits the floor.

  I lift my hand to my cheek to ease the pain of the backhand I was just dealt.

  “You screwed us up, you stupid bitch.” His face is now red with anger. His hands are now fisted into the blanket beneath him. “You were not supposed to be home. You didn’t even give me a chance to explain…”

  “You cheated on me with MY BEST FRIEND, what’s there to talk about?” I interrupt.

  Smack! I’m once again met with the brutal knuckles from the back of his hand. At this point, a bruise is guaranteed to make an appearance.

  “From this moment on, you don’t speak unless I ask you to. Am I understood?”

  With my hand still cradling my cheek and warm tears steadily streaming down my face, I give him a slight nod.

  “As I was saying, you just ran off without so much as a goodbye. Because of you, I had to say goodbye to my father, alone. And then,” he pauses, but the look in his eyes says he’s on the verge of breaking. “Then, I see you with him!” He snarls and jumps to his feet.

  I watch him pace back and forth like a caged animal.

  Suddenly, he’s right in my face. I feel the spittle spraying out of his mouth as each word is thrown out in anger. “Do you know how much restraint it took for me not to just snatch you straight out of that club that night?”

  He wraps both of his hands around my tiny biceps, his fingers almost meeting. As his anger rises, his grip becomes tighter. I can almost feel the bruises that are inevitable at this point.

  He gives me a shake, causing my head to snap back, banging against the headboard. My vision starts to blur in and out. I feel the darkness start to wrap its tentacles around me, pulling me under quickly.

  Right before I’m submerged in total darkness, I feel his warm mouth right below my ear; his hot breath tickling the hairs at the base of my neck. His next words chill me right down to the bone.

  “Don’t worry baby, I’ve got you now and where we are going, no one will ever find you. You’re mine now, forever.”

  Waking up with my head spinning and yet another pounding headache, I try to bring my hands up to see if I could feel the inevitable bruising. Unsurprisingly, my arms are once again secured to the headboard.

  This time, my arms are stretched out above my head with me flat on my back.

  “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,” Aaron says from the table beside the bed.

  He’s got his feet propped up and his gun lying in his lap. Fear has sweat trickling down the side of my face. I tried warming up to him, to trick him into giving me some freedom, but I can’t hold up to it. We’re clearly on two separate playing fields here, with him being much smarter than I have given him credit for.

  Now, watching him sit there with that sinister look on his face and the gun he obviously wanted me to see, I’m not sure getting away from him alive is in the cards for me anymore.

  “Have you lost your ability to speak?” He questions.

  “What do you want from me, Aaron?” I ask in defeat. All my will has drained completely out of me. What’s the point, when I can’t see this ending in any other way but in a body bag?

  He places his gun down on the table while rising slowly to his feet. Maybe I can distract him enough to get to that gun. But, that would require him freeing my arms.

  “Let’s get something straight here, Lacey.” He begins as he steadily walks closer to me. The look in his eye is all predator, setting all the signals in my brain on high alert.

  “I know what you are doing.” He’s now directly beside me. The rage burning in his eyes has me shivering in fear.

  “You think you’re so smart.” His hand lands softly on my thigh, just above my knee.

  “You think you can get inside my head, but I know the game you are playing.” His fingers start traveling up my leg slowly creating a path of chill bumps in their wake. I try squirming away from him, until his hand circles around the top of my thigh. He squeezes with so much strength that tears immediately spring to my eyes.

  I sink my teeth into my bottom lip to try and keep from screaming, he doesn’t deserve that kind of satisfaction.

  “But that’s where I’m already one step ahead of you.” He continues his tortuous path up the side of my body, his fingers grazing over my hip and trailing up the side of my stomach.

  Without warning, he wraps his fingers around my throat, restricting all my air supply.

  “I was prepared to take it slow, give you an opportunity to adjust. Yet you take advantage of my generosity.” His grip grows tighter, the look in his eyes saying he’d kill me and not think twice about it.

  This realization has my body locking up with the fear that this very well could be it.

  “You feel that, don’t you?” He asks, already knowing the answer, as I’m on the verge of passing out.

  “I love you, Lacey, but do not think that means I won’t end your life right here, right now.” To emphasize his words, he gives another impossibly hard squeeze to my throat before letting go so fast, I see stars.

  Before I can drag in the much-needed breath my lungs are screaming for, his mouth crashes down on top of mine, stealing the oxygen trying to make its way in.

  I’m panicking now, kicking and t
hrashing around the bed, which only stirs him along more. Shoving his tongue down my throat, my instincts to fight kick into overdrive. Biting down hard, the taste of copper fills my mouth.

  Aarons head jerks back and his fist connects with the side of my face. It hurts like a bitch, but I can’t help the feeling of satisfaction at the bright, crimson trail running out of his mouth.

  His next words have me rethinking my actions. “I’ll make you regret that,” he starts, wiping the blood from his face. Clearly he’s fine, seeing as he can still talk. “Our time together could’ve been pleasant, but you’re determined to make me an asshole, just remember that you brought this on yourself,” he says as he pulls the key to my restraints from his pocket.

  My heart doubles its speed when he releases my wrist and snatches me roughly into his arms.

  “Wh-what are you doing?” The panic has set in deep now.

  Without a word, he storms us into the bathroom and dumps me into the disgusting tub.

  I nearly lose my footing as he turns the shower on with the cold set at full speed.

  “Wait, Aaron stop.” I try to reason with him but his grip is like steel bands wrapped around my arms, making sure I stay directly below the spray.

  The cold sets into my bones as my clothes are soaked through. My jaw starts vibrating violently as an uncontrollable shiver wrack over my entire body.

  “Pl-ease,” I’m begging now. Trembling in his hold. If the cold water was affecting him, he doesn’t show it. There’s no trace of emotion when I find his eyes boring into mine.

  My body goes slack as the fight drains completely out of me. My body still shakes as the shivers take over me, but I no longer feel them. I’m numb, completely to the core. Aaron’s grip on me loosens, allowing me to fall ungracefully to the bottom of the tub.

  My arms somehow make it up to wrap around my legs while the shower continues to rain down on me. My head rests upon my knees as I watch the water flow down the drain. For once, I feel like an empty shell, hollow on the inside.

  We’re all seated around the table, no one touching the food Al has laid in front of us. There’s an awkward tension in the air, despite the uneasy truce between my parents and me. I’m just getting ready to say screw it and call it a night when Al comes back in the room, Amber strolling in behind him.