Coastal Runaway (Coast to Coast #1)

Eighteen

eighteen

Keegan

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee. I opened my eyes to find a smiling Maeve sitting in bed next to me with two steaming mugs in her hands.

“You know it's creepy to watch people sleep, right?” I grumbled, sitting up and grabbing the mug that she extended out towards me.

“Yeah, yeah,” Maeve waved a dismissive hand at me, “now, tell. Me. Everything.”

I rolled my eyes, “ I simply don’t know what you’re talking about, ” I echoed Maeve’s signature phrase in a high pitched voice.

“Shut up, I do not sound like that,” she scoffed, “and besides, you’re a terrible liar. Nolan might not have noticed your face last night, but I sure did.”

I placed my coffee on the bedside table and laid back, pulling my duvet over my head. “We hooked up,” I muttered, knowing it was muffled from under the fluffy blanket .

“I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that,” Maeve said, putting a hand to her ear.

I pushed the blanket to my waist and repeated to myself, “we hooked up. Happy?”

A high pitched squeal, that was too loud for this early in the morning, escaped Maeve's mouth, “I KNEW IT!” She shouted.

“Would you keep your voice down?” I hissed, “it was a one night only occurrence under the influence of tequila and sexy masks… and one kiss a few days ago. It is not to be repeated.”

“Why not?” She asked.

“Have you forgotten everything? Me and Luke having sex? Him saying degrading things? Me fleeing the East Coast to escape him?” I was very clearly exasperated and didn’t want to explain myself again.

“I mean, I know what happened. But have you ever stopped to think that maybe it was a misunderstanding?”

I pinned her with a glare.

Maeve raised her hands in surrender and added, “okay, down girl. But also it’s been three years. You are not the same girl you were when you left Connecticut, so why is it so hard to believe that maybe Luke isn’t the same guy who said those awful things?”

“I know you’re probably right, but what if I let him in and he breaks my heart again?” I asked, letting her words really sink in.

“That’s just part of the risk of opening your heart to others, Keegs.” She patted my knee with a loving look on her face, “okay, now that that conversation is out of the way, get dressed. We’re going to the beach!”

She jumped up and practically skipped out of my room.

“Oh yeah!” She popped her head back into the room, and added with a giggle, “you might want to put on some concealer. You’ve got a little something on your neck.”

I sprang out of bed to see but my leg got caught in my duvet and I fell flat on my face with an oomph. I could hear her laughing all the way down the hall as I peeled myself off the floor. I ran up to my mirror and lifted my chin. Sure enough, there was a massive multicolored bruise on my neck with distinct teeth marks around it.

Fuckkk.

“You might want to check your ass too.”

I screamed and jumped in the air, clutching my chest. Whipping around, I found Luke leaning with one hip propped against my open sliding door, arms crossed and looking at me with a boyish grin.

“I may have had too much tequila, but I think I’d remember you biting my ass.” I scrambled to pull down my joggers and looked over my shoulder in the mirror— just in case . A red blotchy mark, that could easily be a handprint, was spread across my right cheek.

“I hate you!” I threw my hands up in the air.

“I think I actually remember you begging me for more.” Luke pushed off the door and strode into my room.

“I was drunk. You could have convinced me to beg for anything at that moment.” I whisper-yelled, too aware that there were three other people living in this house, two of whom I wanted to spare the intimate details of the dirty sex that Luke and I had last night. “Unfortunately for you, now I’m clear-headed and not so easily swayed. ”

Luke chuckled and shook his head, “is that a challenge?” He cocked one eyebrow in my direction and took a few steps toward me.

My core heated at the thought of his hands on me. I wanted to feel his talented tongue explore my body again.

I backed up at his approach until my back hit the door. Luke slowly ran his finger up my stomach, between the center of breasts, all the way up to my collarbone before he spread his fingers and purposefully grabbed ahold of my throat. He was gentle enough that I had no difficulty breathing, but firm enough that I couldn’t escape.

“What would you do if I took you by the neck and forced you to your knees right now?” Luke whispered, moving his thumb up my chin until it pressed against my lips, prompting me to open for him. He pushed his thumb into my mouth and I suctioned my lips around it, sucking until he pulled it out slowly leaving my lips with a distinct pop.

“Thats a good fucking girl.”

I could feel the wetness pooling between my legs.

“You think you’re so charming. Last night was a one time thing. Don’t get it twisted.”

“I’m going to figure you out, Tig,” He pulled his hand off my neck and slowly started walking backward, “I’m going to figure out why you keep running from me so I can make sure it never happens again.”

With that he ducked out of my room and disappeared across the balcony. I touched my fingers to my lips and struggled to catch my breath. My mind was racing. This was what I got for allowing my body to have a night of fun.

What the fuck just happened?

What did he mean “he’s going to figure out why I ran?”

How did this get so complicated…?

Sunday dinner that week felt too normal. My dad ordered a buffet of Mediterranean food and got a two-tier cake so that everyone could sing Happy Birthday to Nolan and I. We sat around the table and laughed without fighting or tension.

It felt like just maybe we were reaching a rhythm where Luke and I could co-exist in peace.

“I know I already gave you your big birthday gifts,” Dad addressed Nolan and I, “But I have something for each of you.” He left the dining room and returned a few minutes later with two boxes covered in black-and-white striped wrapping paper, topped with gold bows. One was large and square, the other was the size of a ring box.

As soon as he handed me the small box, I knew what it was. Before our mom died, she set aside family heirlooms for each of us to be gifted on our twenty-first birthdays. My mother had each gift inscribed with a message specific to every kid, along with a note explaining its significance.

Owen was gifted a vintage Rolex watch that belonged to our grandfather, Ryleigh was gifted a compass that belonged to our great grandfather, and Aiden was gifted an antique wrench, which had an unknown origin but was passed down to different family members for generations.

Somehow, even though we were all young when she passed, she managed to pick out gifts that represented each of us in the perfect way. I had been dreading receiving this gift ever since we learned about the tradition on Owen and Ryleigh’s twenty-first birthday.

My hands trembled as I ran a finger over the meticulously wrapped box. I looked up to find Nolan staring at me.

“Ready?” He asked, nodding towards the box. I nodded.

I let Nolan rip into his first, not having the courage to open mine yet. He tore off the wrapping and looked into the box. He reached inside and pulled out a stack of records. On top of the first record was a written note.

“Nolan,” He cleared his throat, “my sweet, energetic boy. I am sorry that I am not there with you for this special day. I wish so badly that I could see the man that you have grown into. Even at only four years old, you love so loudly and with your whole heart. I just know that you are going to grow up to be the life of the party; making everyone you meet smile with your contagious laughter. I am giving you the record collection that I started in college. I know that it is not as old as some of the other gifts, but I wanted to share my love of music with you so that you can continue to spread that joy to your kids someday. I hope that you fill your home with this music and never lose your love for life. I love you with my whole heart, Mom.” Nolan swiped at his eyes as he finished reading. “This is awesome,” he said with a shaky smile.

Everyone turned their attention to me. I looked down at the box, and with shaky hands, I opened the wrapping.

There was a small velvet jewelry box inside. I lifted the top slowly and gasped as I took in a stunning gold locket on a dainty gold chain. It was oval, a little larger than a quarter, with small ruby flowers embedded into the front. On the back side was an inscription: Fly free, and let the others flock to you. A small folded piece of paper sat beneath the locket. I unfolded it and took a deep breath.

Keegan,

My free spirit. This locket belonged to my grandmother. You never got the chance to meet her, but my god, would she have loved you. You share the same strength in everything that you do.

I see the way that you take on every new challenge in stride. The way you draw people in. You are a light, baby girl. You are the sun and everyone orbits around you. I know that this is going to be the toughest for you. You feel everything so deeply, even at such a young age.

Don't run from your feelings; embrace the love in your heart because it is a feeling that not many people get to experience. I hope that Nolan can teach you to love out loud, and I hope you can teach him to feel deeply.

I love you with my whole heart,

Mom .

I ran my fingers over her handwriting as the tears fell. Placing the note on the table, I plucked the locket out of the box and opened it. I broke into a sob while taking in the pictures.

On one side of the oval locket was a picture of my mom and her grandmother. The picture was grainy and my mom looked to be about ten years old. She was sitting on her grandmother's lap in front of a Christmas tree; both women smiled ear to ear with laughter.

On the other side of the locket was a picture of my mom and I that I’ve never seen before. We were laying together in the hospital bed that was in our living room after she transitioned to hospice care. My head was on her chest with her fingers in my hair as she hugged me tightly.

That pushed me past my limit; I dropped the locket on the table and did what I do best— I ran . I ran out of the living room and right out the front door. Realizing that I couldn’t actually leave, I hoisted myself onto the hood of Baby Blue.

Everyone always assumed that I named this car after the obvious color when I chose it after I passed my driving test, but in reality, it was named for my mom. I once asked my dad what his favorite thing was about her and he said he was always drawn to her baby blue eyes.

The moment that I saw this Jeep, I knew I had to have it. Sometimes when I just need to think, I’ll come out to this car to feel closer to her. I sat on the hood and let the tears fall, embracing my feelings instead of pushing them down, like my mom told me to do.

My mom’s letter made me realize that she knew exactly who I was going to grow up to be. She knew that I was going to push everyone away in order to cut off the feelings that consumed me. I kissed my pointer and middle fingers and pointed them to the sky with my eyes closed, a silent I love you as I took a deep breath and centered myself.

I felt the car shake slightly and quickly opened my eyes to the sight of Luke and Nolan climbing onto the car hood on either side of me. We barely fit, but they squeezed in close, looping their arms around my shoulders. We sat there, wrapped together, embracing the silence as more tears sprang to my eyes. I didn’t realize how lost I was without the three of us together. Right there, in that moment, with my two best guys at my side, it finally felt right.