Page 14 of Dear Future Husband (The Dearly Written #1)

Trey

I lingered on the dark span of the beach, far enough away from the party but close enough to watch as Maybelle and Liam shuffled into their mom’s car and drive away.

Once they were gone and the red of the taillights were far down the road, I exited the beach and climbed into my Jeep, having no desire to take part in the rest of the party.

I didn’t put the keys into the ignition after sliding into my seat. Instead, I leaned my head back on the headrest and dwelled in the calm silence, thinking over the overwhelming events of the night.

After graduation, my mom and I went to dinner, then ran home so she could change into her scrubs for work.

I volunteered to drop her off at the hospital for her shift.

It made me late for the party to give my hardworking, nurse mother a ride to her night shift, but it was much needed time with her that I was more than happy to give.

I eventually showed up at the party and instantly searched for that beautiful head of curly gold.

When my search was drawing up blank, I quickly found my best friend who I then wanted to throat punch.

When Liam, the said best friend, told me he didn’t know where the curly-haired, shy girl ran off to, I panicked .

I loved Liam like a brother, but damn it, he was an idiot sometimes. Maybelle wasn’t helpless, but she wasn’t fond of traipsing around large social gatherings all alone. That fact was obvious by all the plans she refused to attend and her very lacking number of friends.

After scouring the chaotic area around the bonfire a while longer, I finally found her, in the absolute last place I’d ever want to find any soft-spoken girl—with Dirtbag Thomas.

I wanted to break my knuckles across something, preferably Clayton Thomas’s face, as I remembered finding her alone with him.

I knew Clayton had harassed Maybelle before tonight.

My friends and I were behind the school building one day and witnessed Clayton with his grubby hands all over an unwilling blonde. My buddies hadn’t recognized the girl before she ran off, but I knew those blonde curls anywhere.

After school, I found Clayton and pinned him against a wall in the locker room. I threatened to rip him apart if he ever went near Maybelle again.

As far as I saw, until the rally Monday, Clayton had heeded my threats by keeping his distance from her.

At the rally I noticed him getting handsy, but I was stuck in the dense crowd, not able to get to Maybelle when she needed.

So, when Clayton made eye contact with me, I made sure he knew that I saw him and that I hadn’t forgotten the promises I made in that locker room.

Honestly, I didn’t feel like Maybelle needed me to save her. She stood her ground and stared Clayton down like he was no more than dirt at both the rally and tonight. I was impressed, even awestruck, by her defiance.

She was stupid pretty.

When she strolled up to the ceremony building in that blue dress and those curls bouncing around her shoulders down to the shelf of that perfect ass… I had to lean against the wall for stability as I crossed my legs to hide the uncontrollable reaction happening in my pants.

I almost didn’t speak as she and Liam passed me so I could stare without consequence. But I would’ve felt like a jerk if I didn’t interfere on Maybelle’s behalf during the awkward encounter with Williams.

I shifted in my seat as I remembered the rest of the night, specifically when I had Maybelle in my arms. The way her gorgeous eyes looked up at me and how she asked if this was a game. Admitting that, like me, her whole heart was on the line.

I tensed, thinking back to our almost kiss. The kiss I’d been fantasizing about for almost three years. Recalling the feel of her hauled up against me. Literally a breath away from finally pressing into her when the reminder of Liam’s face, full of anger and betrayal, interrupted.

That sucked.

I was such a tool, letting my desperation and attraction for Maybelle fog my common sense. I should’ve talked to Liam about my feelings a long time ago. Liam was cool. He would’ve been completely fine with me liking his sister.

Tonight, Liam was caught by surprise, a little drunk, and finally had his arm around Penny Howell.

The pretty redhead cheerleader he’d had his eyes set on all senior year.

Liam and Penny had been best friends since Liam’s first day at Harbor High.

He was obsessed with her from the start, but she always kept him at arm’s length when it came to being anything more than friends.

She must’ve finally given into his begging tonight but finding me with his sister interrupted whatever they had planned.

God, I felt like an idiot.

I owed my brother an apology. And—I needed to talk to him about what his speech had been about. Liam never talked about what their lives had been like before their family moved here three years ago… But I couldn’t ge t his voice out of my head.

“ I don’t cry when I remember what it was like to be powerless. I smile and I move on ...”

I would need to call him tomorrow, after a day of sleeping off the alcohol and dramatic events of the night.

Checking the time on my phone, I saw how late it was, but it was only a few hours from when mom would need me to come pick her up. I wanted to sleep in my own bed, but I was too tired to drive home alone, and I was closer to the hospital from here, so I reclined my chair back and closed my eyes.

***

The chaotic ringing of my phone had me sitting up in my Jeep with a jerk.

I glanced down at my phone to see my mom was calling.

Instantly, I was filled with anxiety that I was late to pick her up, but the sun was barely turning the sky purple with morning and my clock proved that I still had a couple hours before her shift was done.

I answered the call curiously, “Hey Mom, what’s up?”

There was hesitation on the other line. Thinking she couldn’t hear me because of poor reception, I repeated, “Hey, Mom. Can you hear me alright?”

This time I was answered with a choked sob and sniffling.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked, panic gripping my gut as I waited. Hearing my mom cry always brought on a sense of urgency.

There was a deep breath fuzzing through the phone speaker before she finally said, “I’m alright, Hun. Where are you?”

Despite her answer, I could tell something was wrong, but I answered, “At the beach still. I fell asleep in my car.”

She sniffed some more. “Okay, you didn’t drink during the party last night, did you?”

I shook my head without thinking, then responded aloud, “No, I didn’t drink, I was just tired.” I hesitated a beat before asking again, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Mom let out a relieved sigh, and her next words shattered my whole world.

“Your friend, Liam Mason and his family are here… There was an accident.”