War & Peace 04 - This Isn't You, Baby - K Webster.pdf

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I was a pawn. Weak and someone easily manipulated. To be played
with as he saw fit. Until YOU.
YOU shone light in my now dark world.
It was YOU who made me smile.
For the first time in this game, I had hope.
All because of YOU.
The more powerful pieces on the board, however, were a threat to YOU
and me.
They would win at any cost. Two kings ruling with an iron fist. Allies
or opponents, it was hard to tell.
YOU promised to save me. Told me we would win.
But then I was on the wrong side of the board.
This isn't YOU, baby.
And I don't know what to do.
The game is almost over and I'm counting on YOU. Tick, tock...
Ren
Age Sixteen
"This is stupid, Dad," I say with a grunt. "We should have called the
cops and had them follow us to Coronado Beach. That prick belongs in
prison."
Dad leans back in his office chair and swivels to regard me. Frown
lines mar his otherwise smooth forehead, and I swear he's sporting a
few greys that weren't there last month. The meeting with Gabe and
Hannah at the beach several days ago has taken a toll on my father. It's
driving him crazy not being able to tell my mother. The guilt is written
all over his face. "We can't and you know that. They'll take her away
from us."
I wince at his rough tone and pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration.
"I know," I concede. "I just hate him. Hate that the old fucker is with
Han."
"Language, son," he grunts before turning back to his computer where
he's been looking up Gabe's daughter's whereabouts. "I hate him too.
He's evil and unpredictable but..." he trails off.
So is Hannah.
We're both thinking it but neither of us voice it.
She killed Gabe's wife, for crying out loud. If we called the police,
they'd take away my sister right along with him. And while that would
upset our family, it would devastate my father. He loves her with damn
blinders on. Sees past her moments of crazy that the rest of us in this
family can't always overlook.
"Heath Berkley looks good on paper," he says as he toggles
between screens. My dad is smart as shit with computer stuff. I'm not
stupid enough to not know that what he's doing is illegal. But when it
comes to his family, I think Dad would do whatever needed to be done.
"I just wish there was a way we could keep an eye on her. She's our
only insurance. The Berkleys live about an hour from here. It'll be hard
to stay on top of her."
While Dad flips through his financials, I scroll through my pictures to
some selfies Hannah took with my phone. In the pictures, my sister
looks calm and casual. The storm that brews sometimes in her eyes isn't
present in the photos. It saddens me. I fucking miss her crazy ass.
"Jesus Jacopo."
"What?"
"That's the name of the kid who mows their lawn. They don't use a
fancy lawn service. Just some kid," Dad states as if this means anything
to me.
"Okaaaaaay," I draw out, furrowing my brows together in confusion.
"I' m going to call Jesus and double what he makes in an entire season
working for them. You're going to take his place." At this I laugh. "No,
Dad."
"Ren," he grumbles. "You're sixteen with no job. Just because we aren't
hurting for money doesn't mean you'll get away with not having a job.
Most males have a job at sixteen. It's like a rite of passage."
I huff. "Hannah didn't have a job."
"Hannah's different. We've discussed this."
I curl up my lip in disgust. "So I'm supposed to mow lawns for some
family just so I can spy on psycho Gabe's daughter."
He frowns and turns to regard me. "The girl lost her mother and her
father without any explanation. It isn't fair for her. Just do this for our
family. Please."
Guilt surges through me. Not because of the girl but because Dad has
never really asked me to do anything of such importance. I don't want
to let him down.
"Fine. But if she's insane like her dad, I'm out."
I pull up to the sprawling gated Berkley Estate. They're clearly loaded
as hell. The house is gigantic and so is the damn yard. I could be surfing
this summer but instead, twice a week, it looks like I'll be the
Berkeley's indentured servant.
Thanks a lot, Han.
With a huff, I climb out of the black truck my parents bought me eight
months ago. My irritation shows as I stomp to the back of my truck and
wrangle my brand new lawnmower out. Dad purchased the lawn
equipment for me last night. We spun a story for Mom and she believes
I' m mowing to earn some extra cash to start paying for my own car
insurance. Dad droned on and on about how teens need to earn things
so they don't turn out to be spoiled brats. After all that's happened with
Hannah lately, I don't even think Mom was really listening.
At first, as I begin mowing the big ass lawn, I'm pissed. I crank up some
Nine Inch Nails on my headphones and ignore the world around me. I'
m supposed to be keeping an eye out for this Gabriella girl, but she's
nowhere to be found. Just me and the damn never-ending yard. When I
become completely drenched in sweat, I yank off my wet T-shirt and
stuff it into the back of my shorts. It's then when I feel it.
Someone staring at me.
Stopping the mower, I swipe at the sweat on my forehead as
Closer
starts thumping its bass in my headphones. I drag my gaze along the
windows of the house. The shades are all drawn and I wonder why I
feel like someone is watching me. When I glance up at the second floor,
I lock eyes with a brown-eyed girl. The same brown eyes as that
motherfucker who is banging my sister.
Gabriella.
But this girl's eyes
don' t look evil. They look sad. She peeks at me from behind the glass
with her plump lips in a pout. A red-headed girl pops in beside her to
see what she's staring at. Then, the other girl tries tugging Gabriella
from the window.
Gabriella reaches for the glass—almost as if she's reaching for
me—and my heart rate quickens in response. She disappears and I feel
disappointed almost immediately. A protectiveness—much like I
always

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