Page 35 of Van Cort

BEFORE

LARA – AGE FIFTEEN

West knew something had happened between her and Rhett.

She knew he could sense the dynamic between them all was off.

It had been weeks, and she was waiting for West to ask, or ask her about the bruises on Rhett, but neither came.

It wasn’t her place to tell, either. While she was theirs, she didn’t betray what they did in private.

It didn’t happen often, but kissing, touching and sharing had become a game they played. They may have only spent a small amount of time as pairs alone, but Lara always had a pang of guilt when she was without the other.

She’d gone to town after the first time to make sure they’d be safe from that point on.

She shoved the embarrassment down as she paid for the packet of condoms at the store.

The girls at school talked about sex, but with the way some of them spoke, she suspected they were bluffing or lying.

Sex hurt. And there was blood. Neither of which the other girls had mentioned.

Lara fought with the worry that Rhett didn’t like what they’d done, that perhaps he was too angry or embarrassed.

But when she thought about him and everything she knew, deep down she understood that the edge and rawness she witnessed was all him.

While his father might have pushed him, that side, that danger and harshness, was what gripped her heart and had her stomach in flips.

She still had that smoky bitterness that he tasted of ingrained in her memory, as if that first time had been imprinted on her very being.

He didn’t make her wait long before he sought her out again and put her anxious mind to rest. He’d pulled her into the secret passageway. The usual harsh kiss or roaming hands that had fed them for months was now replaced by a shove to the wall, as if desperation drove him.

The edge of pain was dulled when they had sex, but it was the need she felt from him that made her dizzy; the fear that they might be caught, and the excitement of what they were all doing. That’s what made her core contract and explode around him.

But they still hadn’t told or shared anything with West.

***

Lara’s birthday wasn’t something she especially looked forward to.

It was just another day, but she did look forward to spending her time with Rhett and West. They always made her feel special on her birthday.

Or West did, anyway. This year, it fell on the weekend, and she could hardly contain her excitement.

She’d finally be spending the night – a sleepover party for her sixteenth – with both of her boys.

Her mother made her pancakes, and they had a family breakfast together as she opened her gifts.

A pair of pearl earrings that were her mother’s, a new school bag and a hunting knife from her father.

She loved them all and made sure to keep the knife and its leather sheath in the bag she packed, along with a swimsuit, a change of clothes and toiletries.

She hugged her mom and dad before she left.

They didn’t mind her being out with the boys.

They’d had plenty of time to get used to it over the last few years since they moved here.

Secretly, she knew that they liked that she had friends.

Her mom had given up asking if any of the girls from school were coming over for sleepovers.

Lara would only ever want to do that with her best friends, and until now, staying overnight at the Van Cort house wasn’t something her mom or dad had approved.

The thought of staying there tonight, all night, made her toes curl and her heart thump.

Mr Van Cort was out of town, something that wasn’t unusual behaviour, and the cook and the rest of the staff hadn’t governed Rhett or West for some time. They appeared to. They even thought they did. But Rhett was in charge.

She made the walk through the trees to the small trail that led directly out onto the lawn, and her smile grew, spreading over her face until it was a full grin.

She danced up the steps to the main hall.

West was waiting for her, his own eyes brightening when he saw her.

“Happy Birthday!” He came down to meet her, not hesitating to steal her hand and give her a kiss. It was quick and chaste, but his eyes promised more.

“Thank you.” Her heart skipped a beat, and her stomach turned as she looked between West and the hallway. She’d be here all night. “So, what’s the plan? You said you’d handle everything. What are we doing?” As she looked at him more closely, she could see a slight swelling to his jaw.

“Impatient, much? Rhett’s got it planned out.”

“When did your father leave?” Did he hit West, too?

West’s body stiffened, and his hand gripped hers tighter. “A few days ago. Back on Tuesday.”

Okay. So not from his father then.

She suspected Rhett was trying to protect West from their father’s rages. She’d never seen bruises on West, but Rhett had them regularly. Guilt ate at her that she hadn’t noticed them before.

The boys talked about Mr Van Cort in a way that she could never understand, given the relationship she had with her dad, but what she saw through the window that evening had clicked everything into place.

West led her through the house to the music room.

Of course he would. It was their space, so she wasn’t that surprised.

But when Lara stepped inside, she saw the room had been moved about.

All of the instruments and the piano were pushed to the sides, making room in the centre for the huge couch that had appeared from somewhere and another plush-looking chair.

Mrs Avery’s drinks cart and her things had been shoved to the side next to the fireplace.

The room looked huge.

There was a cake on top of the piano, and a wrapped gift next to it.

She took it all in before she found Rhett standing on the other side of the room with a short glass of something in his hand.

His face was solemn, but he walked towards her and pulled her into him, stealing a kiss that was as demanding as everything else about him.

He tasted like copper and mint, something bitter, too, and when she pulled back, Lara could see the cut to his lip.

It wasn’t old. It was fresh, and she looked between the two of them.

West’s smirk came to his lips, and he shrugged as if to brush off her concern that they’d been fighting.

As if it was nothing. He did that. He turned everything into a game or a laugh.

He was the light compared to Rhett’s dark, but then Lara could understand why now.

It was just another of the differences between them.

Had Rhett told West about him and Lara? Had they fought over her? It had happened before. Years ago, before either had acted on what was clearly growing between them. That time, it had been West to take the first steps, pushing their relationship further.

Until Rhett had taken her virginity.

“Happy Birthday,” Rhett pulled her attention back.

“Thank you.” It made sense that whatever they had planned would happen here. So much of their time was spent in the music room, but she did hope they’d go swimming later on.

“Would you like your present now or later?” West asked.

“Um, what are we doing later?” West just grinned again, like he knew the plan and was purposefully withholding the information.

Rhett took her bag from her shoulder without a word and tossed it on the chair, before taking a seat.

“Now, I guess? Thank you,” Lara replied, as she took a seat on the new couch. She nearly vanished with the number of cushions it had piled on it.

West brought the wrapped gift over to her. “It’s from us both.”

It felt heavy and substantial, was about the size of a small shoe box, and was beautifully wrapped with ribbon around the middle tied into a swirly bow. She was careful as she peeled off the paper, savouring every second, as her eyes darted between both boys and the gift.

A black box lay inside, and she lifted the lid, now eager to see what was inside.

Nestled under black tissue paper was a beautiful wooden box. Her fingers curled around the edge and pulled it out. Rich, dark wood gleamed at her, cut with a floral pattern of colours, outlined with gold inlay to the edges. On one side, a small golden handle jutted out of the smooth wood.

“Open it,” West prompted. So she did.

Gold metal cogs and pieces stared back at her on one half of the box, and a black, velvet compartment rested on the other.

Her fingers reached for the little handle and turned it.

The cogs began to move, turning a cylindrical piece in the mechanism, and tiny keys flicked over the miniature golden keys.

Music began to play, a familiar tune that they themselves had learned and played in this very room.

It was beautiful, and emotion clogged in Lara’s throat at such a personal gift.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

Rhett stepped into her line of sight. “You can put anything special you want on the other side.”

She cleared her throat and looked up at him. His face was still solemn, and she could feel the anger he was keeping locked away, even on a day that his father was away and couldn’t hurt him.

“I love it.” She turned back to West and wrapped her arms around his neck, happy that he pulled her back against him. She then stood to hug Rhett in thanks, too. He was rigid in response, and she couldn’t work out what was wrong with him. He certainly felt tense about something.

“Do you trust us?” West asked.

She turned to him, answering instinctively. “Of course.” Because she did.

“Good. Do you want your next present?”

Her stomach sank a little in that nervous, skittish way that sent her pulse thrumming, too. And she nodded, her eyes skipping back and forth.