Obsession (Dangerous Love #1)

CHAPTER 23

_______________________________________________________

RETURNING TO KATHERINE WRISE

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

While I waited to pay, people kept giving me cautious glances. One woman took her child by the hand and pulled it back when the child came a little too close to me.

I didn’t blame her.

I was wet, smelled like a burned engine and my makeup was probably smeared down to my chin. I avoided the cashier’s gaze and paid for my stuff, then went back to the car, which thankfully wasn’t smoking so badly anymore, but that’s where my luck ran out.

I could no longer start it, the engine was coughing as if it had suddenly contracted tuberculosis and started emitting fumes from under the dashboard and hood.

As I continued to struggle, I noticed an Uber driver finishing a ride in front of the store and I didn’t think twice, jumped out of my car and got in.

The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror, seemingly full of questions, but he didn’t voice any of them as I gave him the address.

I was tempted to ask him to drive me all the way to New York, but I knew that running away wasn’t an option.

I had entered this world of my own free will… his world, and it was time for me to fight back against the shadows that haunted me.

I was tired of being the frightened, hunted victim.

I’d had enough of the family drama, my father’s drama and his secrets.

The first thing I did when I got home was light a cigarette and shove a chocolate bar in my mouth. I threw myself onto a chair in the kitchen and let my head fall back, the thick smoke doing wonders for my poisoned mind. I managed to calm at least five percent of the disaster that was going on in my head and then remembered the hair dye.

With the cigarette between my teeth, I went up the stairs to the bathroom. I didn’t give myself a second to think about whether it was a good decision or just a stupid one.

My tears had dried, or I had finally run out, as I had found that crying was limited lately. My eyes were dry, but that didn’t mean my soul was healed. I poured the hair dye into the first plastic bowl I found and took a few minutes to read the instructions. My life was interesting enough without risking baldness.

Still smoking cigarette after cigarette, I put on my gloves and took a whole fistful of color and slapped it directly onto my hair. Who had time for using a brush and applying in sections? I spread it like shampoo, all much easier than the transition from black to blonde, which had taken me five separate salon sessions.

In less than 10 minutes, all my blonde hair had turned black.

I put it all up in a bun and tried to clean up the mess I had made in the bathroom.

My father hadn’t come home yet, and he probably wouldn’t for a while as he had an ex-wife and a secret daughter to comfort.

The toxic smell burned my nostrils after inhaling an excessive amount of smoke. I went downstairs and smoked another cigarette, but that wasn’t enough.

I wanted drugs.

I wanted to get so high that I would forget about everything bad in my life. I was back to square one, back to where I’d been three months earlier after getting busted at Decepticon fast food.

Fuck, compared to now, my life back then seemed simple and boring.

Back then, I wasn’t in love, nor was I being stalked by psychopaths who wanted revenge through me.

I wasn’t afraid that the boy who had stolen my mind was a professional criminal.

I was the perfect example of how when you think it can’t get any worse, everything can blow up in your face, proving that it can indeed get worse. Everything that is bad can eventually take a turn for the worse.

I returned to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.

I looked like her again.

Female perfection.

Amanda Wrise.

My mother.

A promiscuous woman. She slept with my father the same night they met. A drunken, unknown client who forgot to use protection and gave her an unwanted pregnancy.

I punched the mirror and screamed in rage.

The proof that someone was really messing with me. Proof that the universe had a really fucked-up sense of humor was Amber. Of all the girls in this damn world, she had to be my stepsister.

I wanted to leave, to disappear, to never see anyone again.

Every single person I trusted and loved was destroying my life. My father was the last person in the world I trusted, and now I realized that he had lied to me even more than my mother.

I stepped out of the jet of water and stared at myself in the color-stained mirror. My face had stained black too, and I began rubbing furiously with a towel over my skin, reddening the spots and causing an unpleasant burning sensation. The hair dye had reached some of my cuts and the pain was excruciating as the abrasions now looked like tattoos.

My hand hurt a lot too, even though I hadn’t broken the mirror. I was in the same situation as Harris, my knuckles bruised from uncontrollable rage.

I looked at the pale, emotionally drained face in the mirror.

The black hair completely changed my features. I looked more mature, whereas the blonde had given me a more childlike expression.

It was much darker than my natural hair color and much darker than the chocolate brown color my mother had. None of this detracted from the unmistakable resemblance between the two of us, a resemblance that was enhanced by the dark color.

At least that was me. The real me, and I would never change anything about myself to avoid looking like someone else.

I left the bathroom with my hair still dripping. As it was a cheap box dye, it was still dripping black even after four washes.

I went to my room with the thought of changing and leaving this house that I wouldn’t be returning to anytime soon. I paused when I spotted a large cardboard box next to the bed.

I walked towards it and picked up the envelope that was attached to it. I gulped and felt myself getting dizzy when I realized it was from my mother.

Angrily, I tore open the envelope, curious to see what she had to say.

What she had to say now.

My father hadn’t told me that I had received a package from her. Of course he had other things on his mind.

I thought it was another apology letter, and I wasn’t prepared for such a shock. I whimpered as I took out a thick paper that was nothing more than a wedding invitation.

This couldn’t be real. She couldn’t have sent me something like this.

The colors varied between silver, black and a little red.

The illustration was a snake winding around some roses, without their names, just the message:

You are invited to our wedding.

My God!

I started to breathe normally, unfolded the letter and began to read it…

My dear Katy,

I know that you hate me and that you no longer think of me as your mother. These are the things that tear my soul apart, and I wish you would have just given me a few minutes and listened, but you rejected me, and I can’t blame you. I can’t turn back time, but every living second breaks me because of the hatred you have for me.

Maybe you think I never loved you, but you know that’s not true, Katherine. You were, are, and always will be the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me.

It breaks my heart to know that you gave up dancing because of me.

I am sorry that I made this decision. I believed until the last moment that I would take you with me, that you would choose to come with me. You know how close we were and I would have given anything to have you here with me. I would never have left you, Katherine.

Your father and I no longer had a future together. I started a new life, and he probably did the same.

But you still connect us, sweetheart, and I wish with all my heart that even if you don’t want to live with me, you will at least talk to me.

I know you hate Hugh, but I can’t change my decision. I am going to marry him and I want you to come to my wedding, Kath. I need you, darling. I need you to forgive me and at least tolerate me if you can’t love me anymore.

You are and always will be my soul, and I can’t take this step without you. I hope you won’t hate me even more because of it.

Maybe one day you will understand why I did it.

I love you, my little girl!

I clutched the paper tighter to stifle the sobs and tears that had returned like a storm. I sank to my knees and swallowed painfully.

Why had she done this to me?

I reread the last words and gritted my teeth. She didn’t even have the decency to write by hand to show me how she really felt. This text was poetic and cliché, probably written by someone else and typed into the computer.

Angrily, I walked towards the box, not caring what was inside. I picked it up, it was heavy, and I threw it straight over the balcony, letting out another scream of rage, expressing all the sorrow inside me, hoping it would release it.

I was wearing nothing but a towel and noticed my neighbor outside in her yard, watering her flowers. She let out a short scream as the box hit the ground loudly.

“What?” I yelled at the old lady, who looked at me like I had no manners.

Maybe I didn’t have any, but who the fuck cared?

I turned around and slammed the door behind me.

I didn’t want her damn presents, and she still didn’t realize that she couldn’t buy me with them.

How dare she invite me to her wedding? How could she think for a second that I would accept? It was obvious why it was hard for her to marry that bastard: she didn’t love him. She did it for his money, but she felt forced and tortured because she had lost me. Somehow I felt good, at least that proved she loved me a little.

I was her child. Even a beast loved its cub, but my mother didn’t love me enough. It was a matter of priorities, and there were many things ahead of me on that list.

I threw the towel off me and pulled on a pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt.

Harris.

As soon as I saw myself in the mirror, I thought of him.

He was the only one I had left, even if he was also the cause of the chaos around me.

I would have cried some more, but I had no tears left.

I smoked another cigarette to give myself some courage so I could go back and get my phone.

I sat on the bed, my hair wetting my T-shirt and causing discomfort.

I wanted to go to the bathroom to get a towel, but on the way there I stopped when I heard that engine. It braked so suddenly that I could hear the wheels squealing even from inside the house. I stopped at the window and breathed a sigh of shock when I saw Harris get out of the car and walk quickly towards my house.

My neighbor was outraged.

“Young man, this street is not a racetrack!” She shouted at him, but Harris just ignored her, making me giggle.

I heard the front door open loudly and his quick footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Katherine?!” He shouted as his feet stomped on the stairs.

“In here!” I replied in a shaky voice as I quickly wiped the tear stains from my face.

Harris stormed into my room, looking frantic with worry, then suddenly stopped.

“Harris…”

I began, but I didn’t know what to say. I gave him the time he needed to calm down, as he was probably making sure I was standing in front of him.

“I’m sor…”

“No!” he interrupted me, raising a finger and coming closer to me. “Don’t make a sound, because I’m capable of blowing up right now. Do you have any idea how much you’ve scared me?”

“No…”

“I told you not to make a sound.” I closed my mouth and kept the comment to myself. “Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”

I couldn’t be angry with him because his tone was one of pure fear.

I simply nodded.

“Fuck,” he exhaled heavily, then pulled me against him and kissed me with fury and relief, passion and ferocity. I clung to his neck as if it were my own life source.

He held me tight, then I leaned my head against his chest, listening to his breathing calm as he stroked my wet hair.

“If you do that one more time, Katherine, I’m going to go completely insane.”

I swallowed and pulled back slowly.

“You knew I left with my father, why were you so scared?”

“Because I called you like ten times, and guess who finally answered the phone…”

“My dad?”

“Amber.”

I raised both eyebrows in surprise as Harris sighed and pulled something out of his pocket. My phone.

“Oh, God, you were there…”

He looked at me, a little fussy.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“What did Amber tell you?”

“All kinds of shit, I didn’t care much about it, I thought I’d find you there. It’s possible she’ll file a complaint against me.”

“What, why?”

“Because I ripped the door off its hinges.”

My eyes widened.

“She had your phone but wouldn’t explain and wouldn’t open the door. She just told me to forget about you. Can you imagine what happened to me at that moment?”

He sighed, seemingly tired, and took me in his arms again.

“Is she alive?”

Harris giggled into my hair.

“Yeah, she still is, but if she pulls another stunt like that, she won’t be so lucky.”

“I wouldn’t mind so much if she wasn’t.”

He took a step back and looked at me.

“Tell me what happened? Where did you disappear to? Why were you at Amber’s house?”

From what he had told me, he had only found her there. My father and Roberta were already gone.

I blinked, still confused, and I noticed how closely he was analyzing me, but he didn’t say anything yet.

I took his hand in mine and we sat on the edge of the bed.

“She’s my stepsister,” I said simply, looking down at the floor.

Harris didn’t make a sound, and when I looked at him, it was as if he was trying to figure out if I was serious or just in the mood to make bad jokes.

He looked at the floor too, frowning, as if making the connections on his own.

“You have the same last name, but I didn’t expect the connection between you two to be so…”

“Yeah, me neither.” I finished the sentence for him when he couldn’t find the words. “Did you know?”

He looked at me immediately.

“You looked at my file, my past. Ty’s an expert. Did you know we were stepsisters?”

He cupped my cheek with his warm palm.

“I stuck my nose into your life more than I should have, I will admit that, but I didn’t know about this, baby. You were the only one I was interested in, so I didn’t go looking for information about your father, too. Yes, Ty would have found out quickly, but I didn’t ask him to.”

I believed him, and even if he had known something, it didn’t matter now.

I told him everything I’d found out since I’d left school with my father. I couldn’t hold back the tears as I told him about my mother, about my parents’ past and about Amber, my stepsister and his ex-girlfriend, who still wanted him back and who was probably trying to destroy me by any means necessary.

“Look at me!” his voice sounded almost demanding as he took my chin between his fingers and pulled my face closer to his.

I lifted my eyes and wiped my tears with the back of my hand. I would have preferred it if he hadn’t seen me in this pitiful situation.

“Katherine, you’re not alone,” he murmured slowly, moving closer, “I’m right here.”

I gulped.

“For how long?”

I couldn’t suppress the sigh of pain that escaped my throat like a hiccup before another wave of tears flowed down my cheeks. After everything that had happened, I didn’t trust anyone anymore. All the people I loved kept betraying me.

“Forever!”

He was so close that I could feel his breath on my face and I gulped as I heard the seriousness in his words.

He pressed his lips to mine.

I wanted to believe him. I had to believe him.

Slowly, he ended the kiss, then pulled me into his arms.

“You still haven’t told me where you disappeared to after that.”

I licked my lips as panic spread through me again.

Harris didn’t know where I’d been after that, which meant whoever was driving that car had nothing to do with him.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the driver had saved my life.

That only meant one thing: My role in his game wasn’t over yet. He still needed me… alive.

Bitterness made my throat burn, but I couldn’t tell Harris what had happened. I was pretty sure he was going to lock me in his house.

“I was driving around aimlessly and I think I ruined my dad’s car,” I finally explained.

Harris raised an eyebrow.

“That old Opel?”

“Yeah.”

Harris chuckled, then leaned down to my ear.

“Baby, your character and anger need a much stronger car.”

I looked at him and the corner of my mouth tilted up.

“Can you get me a job as a bodyguard so I can afford one?”

He burst out laughing.

Damn, this was pure therapy. I found myself smiling just because his laughter was so honest and beautiful. I bit my lips, and he leaned in for another kiss.

“I might have a better idea.”

I didn’t ask any questions because something else was making me uncomfortable.

“You said you took care of Joshua, right?”

He suddenly became serious too.

“I’m taking care of him. I’m waiting for Walker to let him go.”

“What about Olsen? Is he still a threat? I want to hear it from you.”

The amusement from earlier evaporated as quickly as it had appeared.

“No, baby. He’ll never be a threat again.”

I couldn’t stop the shiver that ran under my skin. I didn’t want details, I didn’t think to ask, I didn’t want to know who had killed that man.

“But Joshua was working with other guys too, wasn’t he? Adam was jumped by a lot of guys.”

“I took care of them all, every single one of his loyal friends.

Not all of them, of course. So there was someone else, someone Harris didn’t know about.

“How many?” I asked, looking down.

“Five.”

The pit in my stomach widened as he held my hand tighter.

“Not like I did with Olsen. I’m just holding them captive until I can deal with Joshua.”

I lifted my gaze to him.

“Harris, you can’t…” I froze, unable to say the words.

His eyes darkened.

“I have given him plenty of chances to stop. He doesn’t seem to want to. I’m not going to risk it again. I will not risk anything else when it comes to you.”

I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair.

“Did he admit anything to Shane? I am assuming he’s not just locking him up to protect him from you.”

“That’s exactly what he’s doing,” he muttered, standing up to move closer to me. “He hasn’t admitted to anything involving you except the things he did at school, but Walker kept throwing shitty accusations at him to keep him locked up. He can’t do that forever.”

I know that very well, and I wanted Shane to find a way to put him in jail.

I started laughing as I revisited the situation I was in.

“Has Amber ever had to deal with anything like this? Have other girls… before her?”

His frown answered my question.

“No. There were episodes, but never anything like this. That’s why it drives me crazy that you’re the one,” he stroked my cheek with his fingertips, “going through this.”

“Why?” I asked angrily.

“Because he found out that you’re… different. Ever since the first night I hit him just for daring to talk about you. Then it only took the little details that followed for him to realize that you were much more important and special to me.”

I blinked rapidly to stifle the tears. Harris leaned forward, pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes.

His silence was worth a thousand words.

I could feel the wound pulsing inside him, the pain he couldn’t overcome. The helplessness to protect me from what lay ahead.

Because I knew and felt that Joshua had only been the first, but not the last.

His love was as dangerous as poison in honey. All he represented was a perfectly sweet camouflage that hid the demons that lurked within.

“I want you to tell me what happened to Joshua and his brother. What does that have to do with the colored dust and the photos?”

He sighed and nodded.

“But not now! Take me out of here, take me somewhere, I just want to get out of this house,” I mumbled, lifting my gaze to him as he stroked my hair and kissed my forehead.

“We can go anywhere you want.”

That sounded so tempting.

“To the end of the world,” I smiled, and he did the same.

“That can be arranged.”

I wondered why I hadn’t doubted it.

He looked at me for a few seconds, slowly biting his lip. I sensed his indecision about what he was going to say.

“Would you like to meet my mom?”