Cursed Fate: Cursed Series #4 (11 page)

Oh shit, I didn’t even think about that before I said those words to him. Our situations may be different, but he has dealt with the loss of the woman he loved.

“I’m so sorry, Steve. I didn’t even…”

Before I can finish my thought, his lips are back on mine.

The door to the bathroom door creaks open and I quickly pull myself away from Steve. Our affection for one another is definitely not what Etty needs to witness right now.

Turning on the couch, I face her as she walks through the hallway and into the living room.

“You feeling okay?” I ask sheepishly.

She nods her head and takes a seat on the oversized reclining chair.

Steve and I both situate ourselves on the couch to face her. With her hands on her lap, she lets out a heavy sigh and focuses her eyes on me.

“Okay, so this plan…ugh, I don’t even know where to start. It seemed so much easier when Ash and I were just bantering about it; maybe it’s not as good of an idea as I originally thought...”

“Etty, stop, it’s a great idea and it will work.”

She gives me a half smile, half smirk and runs the palms of her hands down along the jean fabric covering her legs while looking to Steve.

“This Cursed Crew, that I have fallen in love with, isn’t just a group of guys. All of you have become family to me. There are no words to express how much I care about each and every one of you. When I moved here and was at my lowest point of my life, you guys came to my rescue. Now it’s my chance to return the favor. After the accident, I felt like a piece of me died…in fact
he
did. Ten years of Dault’s life has vanished, he doesn’t remember a trace of Birmingham, Cursed Magic, his brothers, or me. He’s lost and so far away from his home, from us. I know the doctors are telling him that it will take time for him to remember anything, but how the hell is he supposed to remember his life in Alabama if he isn’t here?”

Etty’s chest is rising and falling so fast that I’m worried she’s about to go into a panic attack. This is hard for her and I want her to be able to tell Steve her idea on her own, I just hope it’s not too much for her to bear. I glance to Steve to see his reaction to her words. He’s intently listening and watching as she continues to talk.

“Ugh, fuck his amnesia!” She shouts and jumps up off the chair.

As she starts to pace a path in front of Steve and me, she pulls the ponytail holder out of her hair and runs her fingers through her long, tangled locks.

“At first I understood why his Aunt Kellie came to get him. He was beyond confused from the amnesia, it killed me to look him in the eyes and see a blank stare in return. The man I loved with all my heart couldn’t remember me or his life, for God’s sake. But now…now, I know more than ever that he needs to be here with me, with us. We are the ones that are his real family; together we can help him remember who he was…who he is.”

She stops her movements and stands directly in front of Steve, her hands on her hips.

“So what do you think?” She asks him.

“Umm, well, I don’t really know what to say. I mean, you have a good point, but… how the hell are we going to convince his family to let him come back here? In his mind, we are a bunch of complete strangers.”

With a look of defeat on her face, she falls down onto the coffee table placing her head in her hands.

“No, Etty, don’t you dare start doubting your plan!” I say while giving Steve a glare.

I’m sure he didn’t mean it to sound the way it did, but for Etty, this is all she’s hoped for the past few months.

With tears streaming down her face, she looks up to both of us.

“I’m not saying it won’t work. Hell, I don’t even know what you have thought up yet. Give me a chance to hear you out before you shut it all down. Have you talked to Linc about this yet?”

Nodding her head she gets up and curls back up on the chair.

“I told him what I wanted to do, he’s willing to help me however he can...Jo too. If I want to make this work, I need all of us on board. It’s the only way we can try and jog his memory to come back. I’ve been doing so much research on this shit the past few weeks; I might as well have my Ph.D. by now.”

“Okay then, let’s do it. What do you need from us?” He asks.

Etty’s body perks up in the chair and a smile spreads across her face, her blue eyes beaming.

“Really, you’ll help?”

“Of course, I’ll help you. Dault is one of my brothers and you’re one of my girls. I’d do anything to get him back here and on track. There’s nothing I want more than for all of us to be how we were before the accident. It’s taken me a long time to get through the blame of this incident. I was the driver of the car, had I been paying better…”

Etty stops Steve’s thought as she bounces off the coffee table to stand in front of us. With her hands waving like a crazy woman, she lays into him.

“Don’t you fucking think for a minute that any of this is your fault, you dumbass. Yeah, you were driving. Yeah, there were four of you in the car that got smashed by some low life drunk driver, but you are not the one that was behind that wheel of that truck. It could have been Linc’s car that got hit. Let’s just say you four were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Never…ever did I truly blame you for this.”

Etty’s entire body is trembling as she points her finger in Steve’s face. The sight itself is quite hilarious, but I’m trying my best not to bust out in laughter…it’s not the time.

Chapter 13

My mouth is hanging wide open at the scene playing out right in front of me. Holy fucking shit, insert foot into mouth. Damn this chick is crazy and apparently me blaming myself for the accident was the wrong thing to say. Hell, I’m just beginning to get through my own issues and now this little thing is ripping me a new asshole.

The look on Etty’s face right now is of pure fury. She’s breathing heavily and her chest is heaving, good lord what the fuck?

“Okay, Etty, calm down. The accident shook us all really hard. What Steve is trying to say is that since he was driving, he wished he could’ve prevented the accident. Like I’ve told you before, the plan will work. Did Linc say more when you talked to him?”

Plopping herself back down on the coffee table, she looks to me with regret and sorrow. Whoa, she really needs to stay put for a few minutes, between her sudden movements and her change of personality, I’m about to get whiplash.

“I’m sorry for lashing out at you just now, there are just a lot of emotions running through me and sometimes I just let go. I miss him so much and will do just about anything to have him back here with me, with us. As for Linc and Jo, they asked if we could all meet them at their house tonight. I was trying to call and text you guys all day about it, but apparently y’all were busy.”

I look to Ash, who now has a big smile across her face.

“Yeah, I’m not about to apologize for that, Etty. It’s been months since I held my girl in my arms.”

We all start to laugh as I wrap my arms around Ash, falling into her body on the couch.

“Okay you two love sick teenagers, let’s get a move on…lots to discuss with Linc and Jo.”

Trying, but not wanting her to push me off of her, Ashley sits up on the couch attempting to comb through the tangled web of hair falling in her face.

“Well, you have our attention now. Let’s head over there and get this plan underway,” Ash replies getting up off the couch and pulling her pink locks into a messy bun on top of her head.

My eyes scan her body and instantly my mind goes back to last night and this morning. Trying to will my raging hard on to go down, I reposition myself in my now tight ass jeans. This woman does things to me just from her mere presence and thoughts of the passion we shared…
damn it, Steve, focus
.

Turning my gaze from her, I blink a few times attempting to regain my composure.

Still completely unsure of this plan, I follow the girls through the living room as they both grab their purses and head out the apartment door.

I haven’t seen or spoken to Linc since before he and Jo left for South Carolina. I was in a depressed state of mind, unwilling to listen to one of my best friends. I turned my back on him when I needed him the most. We were all going through a rough patch and instead of leaning on one another; we chose to go our separate ways.

Things are different now and I have a new perspective on how I want to handle the way in which I live my life. It just sucks that the last moments spent with them I was in a bad place.

As I pull the car in behind Etty’s along the sidewalk, an aching feeling begins to grow in the pit of my stomach. Ashley looks at me as I sit completely still in the driver’s seat. The air in the car is thick and my heart is beating so loudly I feel as if she can hear the rapid sounds over the music playing through the speakers.

Resting her hand on mine, she squeezes it and gives me a tender smile. The setting sun casts a glow around her heart shaped face, the dim light beaming off her hazel eyes. She appears as an angel sitting in front of me…she’s my angel, my savior.

Captivated by her appearance, I can’t help but stare into her eyes. Even though Linc is like a brother to me, I’m still nervous as shit to face him after what I’ve done. Regardless if he blames me, Etty blames me or I blame myself…I’m still not comfortable with the fact that I was the driver and now Dault is gone.

Ashley clears her throat and her sweet voice pulls my attention back to the here and now.

“We got this, babe. It’s all going to be okay. Linc loves you like a brother and I can guarantee he will be ecstatic to see you again.”

I look to her with shock spread across my face. My brows are scrunched up as she leans in and places a kiss to my lips. The taste of her sweetness turns my senses back to reality as I pull away.

“It’s like you were reading my fucking mind, Ash,” I say rubbing circles on the top of her hand with my thumb.

She winks back at me and turns to face forward.

“It’s kinda how I roll, Steve. I’ve known you for far too long. It’s easy for me to pick up on your emotions without you saying a word.”

“I love you, Ashley. Thank you for being here with me through all of this.”

Her beautiful face turns over to look into my eyes.

“I love you, too. Always and forever, Steve, I’m never letting us go again.”

With a smile, I lean in to kiss her on the forehead.

She’s right, we got this.

Turning off the engine, I hop out and round the front of the car, moving toward Ashley’s door. As I open it, she steps out and Etty comes alongside, walking between the two of us.

“Thanks again, you two, I know this is a bit chaotic. Hopefully after we talk things through with all of you, I’ll have a better sense of what I’ll need to do to get him back home.”

Trying to be supportive and empathetic of her feelings, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her into my embrace for a hug.

“We got this, Etty. It’ll all work out.”

Looking up to me, her face beams with hope.

As we get to the front porch, Etty walks in the front door announcing that we are here. Jo comes running out to the front room grabbing both girls in a tight hug.

“Oh ,Ash, it’s so good to see you and Steve,” she says pausing for a minute. “You look so good…it’s so good to see you here.”

Pulling herself away from the girls, she moves to me, her arms spread wide open. Stepping closer to her, I allow her to give me the bear hug I know very well she wants to share. With her arms squeezing the life out of me, I laugh and pry her limbs away from my waist.

“Whoa there, tiger, I can’t breathe when you’re sucking the life out of me.”

She giggles and backs away looking me over from head to toe.

“Really, Steve, you look so much better. I’m glad you guys came. Linc is just getting out of the shower and should be down soon. Can I get y’all a soda or something else to drink?”

Etty and Ashley follow Jo into the kitchen while I remain in the living room. I’d like to talk with Linc when he comes down, before we get into the logistics of Etty’s plan.

Looking around the living room, I can see that a lot has changed in this place. No longer is it a bachelor pad. Jo has added a few things to make it really look like a home, it looks great.