The Bad Boy's Sister 2

Chapter 19 - Karma, You Son of a...

My hands are shaking and I can feel myself breaking into a cold sweat. I don't think I've been this nervous to approach someone in my life, not even when I was facing my brother Cody. I worry about what Brighton's going to do to Jake. Is he going to try to kill him? Is he going to hurt him? Is he going to hurt me because I'm not upholding to his deal with Jake?

"You can do this, Sam," Jace says from the top of the stairs. He's noticed how nervous I am and he's trying to soothe me, but I don't think he's realized that it isn't doing anything. "You're so strong and you can get rid of him. Jake will be okay, Kasen and I will make sure of it. We want to help him, but more importantly, we want to help you and breaking up with Brighton is a great step in the right direction."

I open my mouth to reply, but I think better of it and close it. If I respond, he's going to give me another monologue and right now, that's the last thing I care to hear.  I just stare out the window, waiting for Brighton to show up. He should have been here ten minutes ago and normally I don't care when he shows up late, but tonight I definitely do. 

With a sudden itch of dryness in my throat, I feel parched and turn to go grab a drink while we wait. Jace stays at the top of the stairs, something we've planned so Brighton doesn't try to hurt me when I drop the bomb on him, but I can tell he's uneasy by my anxiety. I turn back to the kitchen after glancing at him and fill a glass in the sink with water as cold as it comes. I gulp it down in a matter of seconds and go for round two. 

"Careful not to drink too much. You really don't want to have to pee if things get intense...it could end badly," Jace says just as I attempt to swallow my first mouthful of the next glass. Next thing I know, my water has sprayed all over the sink, up on the blinds, and I've sucked some water down the wrong tube. I start choking dramatically for air and bend over, trying to get my air flow back. 

"Sam! I'm so sorry!" Jace stifles a laugh in the back of his throat and starts coming down the stairs to give me the Heimlich when the door flies open. 

Karma, you son of a...

"Hey, what's going on?" Brighton gasps and runs over to me, not realizing that Jace is right behind him on his way. I'm coughing so forcefully that I don't even think a sub woofer could overpower me. I try to hold up my hand to stop them, but it only gets about halfway before I start pounding on my chest to get the air flowing. 

Finally, I feel the water come out of my tubes and I start to gasp in air like it's going out of style. I look up to see only Brighton kneeling in front of me and I notice that Jace has resumed his place on the stairs to watch what's going on. I can tell he wants me to handle this situation myself, but it sure would have been better if he hadn't tried to kill me first...

"Brighton," I pant, looking around and getting up. I panic at the mess I've created and go to find the nearest towel. With only hand towels on the oven handle, I decide that'll do and start wiping up my mess while he watches me curiously. I can feel it all over my front, but I try to ignore it while I wipe the water off from around the sink. 

"Is everything okay?" Brighton wonders while I keep wiping my mess up frantically. 

"Everything is perfectly fine. As a matter of fact, it's never been better," I pant, still trying to return oxygen to my brain after nearly choking to death. I can feel his stare boring into my side, but I ignore him and continue to climb. 

"Are you sure? You're acting...different?" he says, leaning back against the kitchen counter and running and hand through his hair. 

"It's just what comes with almost choking to death I guess," I shrug, accidentally throwing the towel over my shoulder when I do. I need to get myself together now. 

"What happened?" he asks. 

"I just slipped on the floor and was drinking water when it happened and voila, water got sucked in and then the rest of it blew out my face all over here," I point to the area I had sprayed and he nods, shrugging. 

"Well, that's all well and fine. So, if everything is fine, when am I gonna get a kiss from my favorite girl?" he wonders, grabbing my arm and pulling me close to his body. I quickly pull back and take a step back. His jaw nearly drops, but he contains himself. However, that doesn't stop the disappointment from washing over his face. 

"Something is definitely up. What's going on?" he demands, folding his arms angrily. I glance up at the stairs quickly to make sure Jace is still watching and when I see that he's still there, I decide it's safe to continue. 

"Brighton, I think it's time that our relationship ended," I say, watching his face turn a light shade of red when he hears the words come out of my mouth. "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but I just haven't had it in me until now. I'm just not in love with you anymore. I'm so sorry."

"So the little twit got to you, huh? He tried to lure you back and apparently it's worked?" he seethes, gritting his teeth angrily. A surge of terror passes through my body that he knows about it so easily, but I recover and start coming up with the quickest lies as I can. 

"What are you talking about?" I demand. "What little twit? Jace?"

"You know who I'm talking about, Samantha," he growls. "Don't think I didn't see you with him today." 

"Brighton, I haven't been anywhere but-"

"Lies!" he yells, turning to go toward the door. Jace starts coming down the stairs at this point and Brighton stops dead in his tracks. 

"Oh, look, I bet you were the one who instigated her finding out about it," he hisses. "You were always one to get in the middle of things and destroy them, weren't you, McFarland?"

"Brighton, he has nothing to do with this," I yell angrily. "This is my decision. I chose to break up with you because all you seemed to want from me is sex. Well, you're not getting that from me. No, I'm going to be married to the man I do that kind of stuff with. So seriously, you can stop blaming everyone else because this is not about them. It's about me."

"What if that's just the way I express my love?" he retaliates. "What if I didn't do it for that reason but I did it to show you I love you? Is that really what this is coming to?"

"Whatever it is, I just don't think our relationship is right. I've moving to college soon and I need a fresh start. I'm sorry, I really am. Thank you for all you did for me, but we need to end and I'm afraid we need to end now."

"If that's what you truly want, then I guess I'll be on my way, but I can tell you one thing, Samantha McFarland," he says with the most evil sneer on his face. "You will regret it." 

With that, the door slams behind him and I look at Jace with my jaw plummeted toward the ground. Did he really just say that? That I'll regret it?

"Jace, I'm scared," I say, running into his arms for a hug. He starts rubbing my back soothingly, but it's not helping. Brighton is out to get someone and he could hurt so many things that I love, but more importantly, two people that I love more than anything else in this world; Jace and Jake. 

"Sam, it's going to be okay. We're going to help keep an eye on Jake. Kasen and I are going to help like I promised and you're going to be fine, too. We're not going to let Brighton win this, you hear me?"

"Okay," I say, but I'm not convinced. Brighton is sneaky. How in the world did he know I was with Jake? We were in disguise and we took the back roads, not the freaking highway. 

"I'm going to have Kasen come over, is that okay? And you need to go eat something, you are so pale. And also, sorry for making you joke. I didn't actually think that would make you laugh," he admits. I actually crack a smile and punch his arm; give it to Jace to ease the tension.