Everything I Desire (Lupine Valley #3)

Prologue

Adelaide

Senior Year of High School

This is the defining moment of my young love life. This moment, laying with him, wrapped up in his arms, the need for him to have me as close as possible. Nothing will ever be better than this feeling right now, right here.

Everyone thinks I’m too young, but my soul is meant to be with Porter Jackson. We are polar opposites, and I hear the whispers around town about us, but none of that matters to me.

We’re the classical high school opposites– me, a straight A student, the definition of a good girl. And Porter, the bad boy. He had tattoos before he turned eighteen. He drives a motorcycle, and shows up at school when he feels like it. No one believes we should be together, and my Dad is the head of that party.

But here we are, sitting on a blanket under the moonlight by the lake, talking about the matching tattoo we are going to get on my eighteenth birthday and our future once we graduate .

We found a spot at the lake last year that is hidden from everyone else who comes here. The view from our spot has inspired that tattoo. Porter designed it and slipped it into my locker as a surprise yesterday. The image of a serene lake surrounded by the peaks of the mountains that jut out of the land creating this valley of serenity.

Porter brushes a stray piece of my hair behind my ear, and leans in to place a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you, Adelaide Harper.”

I smile into his kisses. Every girl in Lupine Valley wishes he would whisper those words to them, but it’s me here with him.

“I love you too, Porter Jackson.”

After our confessions to each other, we lay under the stars together, holding hands and stealing more kisses until it’s time for me to go home.

We’ve been dating in secret for months after my father found out and forbade me from seeing Porter ever again. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen, and so I lied for the first time in my life.

Now Porter walks me home instead of me getting to ride with him on his motorcycle like I love to do. We sneak around the corner of the house like we do every night, where I climb the porch fence, and swing myself up onto the roof of the porch and climb into my window.

Every night I climb through that window, and silently close it before crawling into my bed.

Except tonight, my father is waiting for me in my room when I get home.

“Adelaide. Care to explain where you’ve been?” He asks, staring me down, already knowing the answer.

“Dad. What are you doing in here?” I try to deflect.

“Answer. Me. Were you with that Jackson boy?” he grinds out.

I hang my head and refuse to look at my Dad. “I was. You already know that though.”

“Damn it, Adelaide!” he roars. “I told you that boy was no good for you. I told you to stay away from him.”

I have never seen my Dad this angry, not at any of us. Especially not at me. I am the one who never disobeys, never argues.

“Why, Dad? You don’t even know Porter! You’ve never tried to talk to him, you’ve never even given him the time of the day!” I yell back.

Mom rushes into my room with my sisters close behind her. “What on Earth is going on?”

“Your daughter, Lorelei. Your daughter has been sneaking in and out of this room to go see that Jackson boy after I forbade her!” He points wildly between Mom and me.

“Yea, Addy! That boy is hot!” My sister Scarlett chimes in, but she quickly stops when Dad stares at her.

“Adelaide, darling, is this true?” Mom asks.

“Of course it’s true, Lorelei! Do you really think I’d be lying to you?” My Dad is even yelling at Mom, and it’s all my fault.

The guilt and the anger swirl together with the flutters in my stomach making me nauseous.

“Andrew Harper. I know you are angry, but you do not get to speak to me, or Adelaide in this manner. Please go downstairs so I can talk to my daughter as you pointed out.” Mom points at him within an inch of the tip of his nose, her other hand gripping a hold on her hip.

My mother knows how to get a point across, and Dad takes the hint, heading out my door and pulling my sisters with him.

“Baby doll, what is going on?” She pats the bed and I come over to join her.

“I love him, Mom. He loves me. I don’t understand why Dad is so angry.”

Patting my head, Mom holds me as I cry. “Oh baby doll, I know you feel like it’s love. But there are things you don’t know. Things your father is trying to protect you from.”

She is wrong. I do know Porter. I know all of Porter. Every good and bad detail about his life. We are one hundred percent honest and open with each other. His family is the reason I sneak out every night to meet him, to give him just a moment of happiness, to see the sadness, and the brokenness leave his eyes for just a fleeting moment.

Mom sits with me for about half an hour until I stop crying. I am not upset about Porter, I will never stop seeing him. I will never give him up.

But I am upset that my Dad is making this a strain on our relationship together. I’ve always been Daddy’s girl, and it kills me to blatantly ignore what he is saying. The guilt will eat at me, but never enough to lessen the love I feel for Porter.

Clink. Clink.

I sit up in my bed to listen, it sounds like something is hitting my window.

Clink.

I walk over to the window and see Porter in the front yard. I motion to him that I will be right down. He has his hands in his pockets and looks wild, like he’s afraid of something. His hair looks as if he’s been running his hands through it as it sticks out all over.

When I get to him I place my hands on either side of his face.

“What happened, Porter?” I ask.

“Baby. The cops. They’re at my house, looking for me. Someone called the cops on my buddies and insisted that I was with them when they broke into the old mill. They got caught with drugs, Adelaide. Given my family’s record and my sister’s recent run-ins with old Sheriff Miller, they believe this anonymous tip, my so-called friends even agreed, they said I was the one who bought the drugs and it was my idea to break into the mill. I don’t know what to do. They’re going to pin this on me and I’m going to jail.” He tells his story frantically, looking over his shoulder at the street constantly.

“That’s crazy, Porter. I’ll just go with you. Tell them we were together. You didn’t do anything.” He wipes a tear from my cheek. I didn’t even realize I had begun crying .

“You will do no such thing, Adelaide Harper. You will get your behind back in this house and never see that boy again.” Shit. I was so focused on Porter I didn’t hear Dad open the door. The sound of his voice sends chills down my spine.

“Mr. Harper. I’m sorry. I’ll go.” Porter squeezes my hand for comfort, but it isn’t comfort. The sadness haunts his eyes, and burns my soul. It’s goodbye. I can feel it in my bones.

“That’s right you will. And you will never come back here again, Porter. You understand me? Don’t even look at my girl.” Dad stares straight at him and I can feel the anger radiating from the porch.

“Yes, sir. I understand.” Porter grits out.

He leans down to whisper in my ear, “Adelaide, I will always love you. I promise.”

“No, Porter. Please don’t leave. I was with you. I can tell them.” I am desperately following him through the front yard, grasping for him just out of my reach.

Once he reaches the edge of the yard on the street, out of sight from my Dad, he reaches out and cups my cheek.

“Adelaide, I can’t. It was your Dad. He’s the one who called. I can’t prove it, but is it a coincidence that he was waiting for you tonight? Who are they going to believe? Your Dad carries a lot more weight in this town than I do. You know he won’t stop.”

“Then we’ll run away. We’ll leave tomorrow. Wherever you want to go. We can go to that small beachside town in Maine we visited in the fall. We’ll start our own life. Please, Porter.” I refuse to let him go. I refuse to accept it. I hold onto his arms like my life is about to be ripped from me. Tears stream down my face, because I know this is it. As much as I don’t want to admit it.

“You can’t. You are meant for so much more than I can offer you. I was always kidding myself.”

“No, you weren’t, Porter. You are everything good in my world, please, don’t do this. Meet me tomorrow morning at our spot. Six, it’s only a few hours away. Please.” I bury my face in his chest.

“Ok, baby,” he hugs me close and holds me tight. “Just remember that no matter what happens I love you. And I will always love you.” His lips crash to mine, surely leaving a bruise, and kisses me deeply, as if he’s saying goodbye.

I run back inside to pack a bag and run right past my Dad. I never look back at him, I’m too angry.

I write a letter to my mother and sisters, dotted with the splashes of my tears to explain to them where I’ve gone. I only have a few hours to make sure I’m ready to go.

I wait for three hours until I hear my sister, Willow, calling me. I can’t even get up and go to her. I am frozen in my spot, tears falling down my face, knees hugged tight to my chest. Porter hasn’t come, and I know that he’s gone. It feels like half my heart is missing too.