Second to the Right (The Neverland Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  “Well, your intuition is wrong this time. I actually think I’m starting to fall in love with him,” I admitted hesitantly, putting hopeful words into the infatuation I’d been feeling. I almost laughed at the look of shock on her face.

  “Okay, this conversation is getting way too deep and it’s your birthday so I’m not gonna argue with you about your lousy choice in men. We’ll table this one until tomorrow.”

  I smiled at her and brushed it off, she had never liked any of the men I dated. She was like the boy who cried wolf. This time I wasn’t about to listen to her warnings, especially not when my tall, dark and handsome crush had finally taken an interest in me. But she was right about one thing, I didn’t want to argue. It was my eighteenth birthday after all.

  The club was packed with half dressed people, the air thick and filled with the smell of musky sweat and stale beer. Michaela pulled me toward the VIP section at the back of the club where she had a quick exchange with the large bouncer standing guard. He pulled aside the velvet ropes and ushered us in. The swanky lounge area was filled with beautiful people on sleek white, modern couches, flirting and drinking around marble coffee tables. I spotted Jamie, staring down at his phone while he waited for me in an area marked as reserved.

  “Hey babe!” he called when he saw me walk up, quickly pocketing his phone. I smiled a stupid school girl smile at him and bit my lip.

  “Hey!” I said as I reached up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. I was planning on a quick peck, but he deepened it and thrust his tongue into my mouth, tasting me briefly before pulling back and leaving me dazed.

  “You are killing me in those pants. Turn around and let me see that ass.”

  “Nice Jamie, could’ve maybe started with Happy Birthday?” Michaela scoffed, her tone dripping with disapproval.

  “Nice to see you too, Mickey.” He responded tersely, not even bothering to look over at her, which was a good thing because she was staring daggers at him. She hated being called Mickey and he knew it. Her glare was interrupted by the sound of his phone chiming in his pocket with a new text.

  “You gonna get that?” Mic asked flippantly, still holding onto her grudge. He continued to ignore her and turned to me.

  “I’m putting my phone on silent so nothing can interrupt us tonight. Come on, let me buy you your first drink.”

  He placed his hand on the small of my back, ushering me toward the bar. Once I was in front of him, I heard a resounding crack, accompanied by a sharp sting on my ass as he spanked me, hard. I blushed uncontrollably. Michaela must have been mortified, but he made me feel sexy, even if it was a bit crude.

  “Plenty more spankings for my birthday girl tonight.” He whispered into my ear, his deep, husky voice full of innuendo.

  He easily pushed through to the bar, his six foot five frame towering over almost every one. He got quick service as the female bartender catered to him right away, her voice high and flirty, her eyes lingering over him too long for my liking. He gave her a charming smile as he turned back to me with our drinks. He handed me over a shot of Jäger.

  I hate Jäger.

  I felt a moment of aggravation that he hadn’t asked me what I wanted, but in typical girl fashion, I convince myself that it was sweet of him to get my drink.

  “Thank you!” I yell to him, the loud techno drowning out our voices.

  “Alright babe, down the hatch and let me get you on that dance floor.” He pounded the shot and looked at me expectantly.

  Like a child anticipating Gram’s cough syrup, I held my breath and managed to get the nasty liquid down in one gulp. I had to continue to hold my breath to keep the drink down as my stomach rebelled. Michaela was instantly beside me, pushing a Captain and Coke into my hands. I gave her a relieved look. I took a few quick sips and finally got the taste of the Jäger out of my mouth. Jamie downed a second shot and grabbed my hand, pulling me to the dance floor.

  The bass from the club pulsed through me as we danced. I was slicked in sweat, with strands of my hair plastered to my chest. I let my body sway to the music, intermittently sipping at my drink. My hand was wet and sticky as it kept spilling, but I didn’t care. My glass hadn’t been empty all night. I think Michaela was set on getting me sloppy drunk tonight. I was thankful that my shift at the cafe tomorrow didn’t start until late in the afternoon. I had a feeling that my hangover would be brutal. I pushed the thought from my mind, I just wanted to act my age for once and not worry about my responsibilities for one night. I knew more alcohol would help with that. My inhibitions vanished with each passing drink and I began to shamelessly grind my ass against Jamie. He kept pace with me, grabbing my hips and pulling me closer.

  “You are so sexy,” he growled in my ear. “You have to come home with me tonight”

  I giggled, peeking over my shoulder at him, giving him my best attempt at a seductive smile. I had promised to spend the night with Michaela, but I was enjoying his attention so much that I couldn’t bring myself to turn him down just yet. Michaela appeared in front of me and grabbed my hand, attempting to pull me from Jamie. I was about to protest at her intrusion and being a total buzzkill to my libido when she leaned in to whisper in my ear, “I have something I need to give you. Can you please come with me?” She was insistent and continued her attempt to pull me from the dance floor. I turned back to Jamie with an apologetic look.

  “I’ll be right back, I promise. Mic just needs me for a minute.” He shook his head at me, looking irritated at the interruption.

  “Yeah, sure, whatever.” His tone conveyed his irritation.

  My older sister had always been overprotective when it came to boys. It was frustrating at times, but I couldn’t fault her for it. I knew it came from a place of love and any boy worth his weight would understand that. I just desperately hoped that Jamie would. She pulled me to the couch that she’d reserved for us in the VIP lounge and I sat down hard. My head was spinning from all the alcohol and my gracefulness had gone out the window.

  “Happy birthday baby sis,” she crooned sweetly as she handed me a small box wrapped in golden paper and topped with a red bow.

  I looked at her with that ‘you shouldn’t have’ look and pulled her in for a hug before I even opened the tiny box. I pulled off the wrapping paper and opened the gift to find a familiar piece of jewelry nestled inside. I lifted out the gilded acorn locket that had been my mother’s, and her mother’s before that, and on and on, for more than a hundred years.

  I popped the delicate clasp and looked for the inscription that I knew was inside, ‘To die will be an awfully big adventure.’ The quote had always seemed morbid to me and it gave me chills reading it now. I never understood why anyone would put such a quote on a prized piece of jewelry.

  The heirloom locket now also included a miniature photo of Michaela and I, smiling and happy during a time before my parent’s accident and her cancer had cast a gloom over everything. The words and the image affected me in my altered state so much that I felt the prick of tears come to my eyes. The drinks were making me overly sentimental.

  “The quote was meant for both of us, Gwen. It’s as much about living, as it is about death. Momento mori.” She stated, answering the question I hadn’t spoken allowed.

  I stared at her in shocked awe. Her use of the Latin phrase meaning “Remember that you must die” was so profound. For the first time, the rationale for the inscription made sense to me. It was a reminder to live your life in the moment, with the knowledge that you will eventually die.

  “I’m going to be okay. We both have big adventures awaiting us, just down different paths.”

  “I don’t understand, why are you giving this to me? Mom left it to you. You’re the oldest, that’s how it works,” I croaked out in a shaky voice, unable to say anything more or else I would break out in real tears. But I knew why she was giving it to me. I just refused to put that thought into words, but she did it for me instead.

  “Gwen.” She said my name gently. “This locke
t is meant to be handed down and I won’t be here long enough to make that happen. It has to go to you. Here, let me put it on for you.”

  “How can you say that? You just reached remission. It’s not coming back this time! I don’t want the locket, it’s yours.” My emotional mind rationalized that if I just didn’t accept it, then the tragic future she was painting wouldn’t come true.

  “Gwendolyn Mary Darling Carlisle, you know the odds are slim to none that the remission will last. This last treatment only bought us a little more time. So you will accept it because it is mine to give and I am giving it to you now. I want to give it of my own free will rather than you putting it in a box with the rest of my things when I’m gone.” Her stern voice left little room for me to argue.

  “If I accept it, it’s not because I think you are going anywhere, and you have to agree to take it back when you have a daughter of your own to give it to.”

  She looked at me with pity in her eyes, pity of all things. I should be pitying her, she was the one casually talking about her early death as if it was no big deal.

  “Okay, Gwen.” She conceded, obviously not wanting to upset me any further. “Now turn around and let me put it on you.”

  I swept my sweat soaked hair to one side. Cold air ominously rushed down my exposed neck, chilling me instantly. I turned my back to her quickly, hoping she wouldn’t see the fear in my eyes. The fear of what she was trying to tell me, by giving me this locket. She clasped the pendant in place and it settled beautifully between my breasts. I grasped it and the weight of it felt oddly warm and comforting in my hand.

  “It looks beautiful on you, just like it did on mom.” She said appraisingly. A proud smile lit up her face as she looked me over. Even her eyes seemed glassy for a brief moment before she was on her feet again and pulling me back to the bar.

  “Time for another drink!” She exclaimed and weaseled her way to the front of the bar and ordered us another round.

  “A toast!” She yelled as she handed me a shot of Johnnie Walker. Oh she knew me so well. “To my baby sister! Cheers to good health and a man who is sexy as fuck and will fulfill your wildest dreams!”

  “Cheers!” We both yelled in unison, clinking our shot glasses together and throwing them back. I turned back to the dance floor and attempted to pull Mic with me but she pulled back.

  “Go on without me, I’m gonna sit at the bar and people watch. Go find Jamie and enjoy yourself.” She gave me a one-sided smile as if she could only be partially happy for me when it came to Jamie. I smiled back at her and headed off on my own to find him.

  I danced my way through the packed floor, not seeing him anywhere. I’d started getting nervous, worried he was avoiding me. I desperately hoped he wouldn’t be too pissed at me over Mic’s mother hen routine. I was about to head to the restrooms to see if I could find him there, when a white dress caught my attention. I could make out the back of a curvy blonde in a shadowed corner of the night club. The black lights caused her dress to glow purple in the darkness. Her hair was cascading down the back of her skin tight dress and I could see that she wasn’t alone.

  A man's hand was cupping her ass. When she turned her head to the side, I was instantly frozen in place when I saw that the man groping her was Jamie! He pulled her hips into his like he’d just done to me on the dance floor, all the while he kissed up her neck and took her mouth. I stared in shock, completely stunned, my heart dropping at the sight of them together. I watched as the two of them made out in front of me, allowing it to go on much longer than I should. Before I knew what I was doing, I marched over to them, feeling utterly enraged, and yanked at the hand that he was still cupping her ass with.

  “Jamie Fucking Holder!” I knew I was feeling more bold than usual. Normally, I would have just turned around and ran from the entire situation.

  At my intrusion, the blonde turned toward me and recognition hit me. I was stuck in a moment of complete disbelief. Of course it was Bella! The girl Jamie had been dating before me. The girl he’d sworn that he no longer had any feelings for.

  “Gwen, it’s not… it’s not what you think. Bella and I were just... talking.” He stumbled over his words as he stepped toward me, his inebriated mind trying to play catch up to the situation.

  “I think I know what I saw!” I shouted back at him, I could feel the disbelief dissolve and give way to anger again. I struggled to keep my temper as Bella gave me a malicious smile from her position behind him. He tried to grab my hand but I yanked it back quickly, the idea of him touching me now turning my stomach.

  “Can we talk ‘bout this later? You're drunk… I’m drunk… you’re not thinking clearly.” He tried to make me question myself and the irrational girl who was still holding onto hope was tempted to believe him. But, Bella destroyed all of my contemplating.

  She stepped from behind him, pressed her chest against him and said, “I’ll let you handle this with your little friend, Jamie. Text me once you’ve cleared things up.” She planted a slow and sultry kiss on his cheek, leaving her mark of red lipstick behind. He did nothing to stop her or push her away. She sauntered off into the crowd, completely indifferent, as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on my relationship.

  “Is that who you were texting earlier?” I was fuming as I remembered him on his phone when we first arrived. I grabbed at his pocket in a flash and pulled his phone out before he had a chance to react, the alcohol making him slow.

  “Gwen don’t touch my… you’re acting like a fucking child!” He tried to belittle me, but I needed to know the truth. The screen sprung to life, illuminating my face in the dark club, and there were the unread texts from Bella.

  Hurry up and ditch her.

  Take me home already! I’m not going to wait 4ever for you 2 end things with her.

  Realization hit me that I had been his side piece. That he had been sleeping with me while still carrying on a relationship with her. Our relationship was a foregone conclusion and he was simply waiting for the opportune time to dump me. Clearly my birthday was it. I thought I was going to be sick right there on the dance floor.

  My fight or flight response began to kick in at this point and I chose the latter. I couldn’t stand to look at him. I turned to leave, but Jamie grabbed my wrist and held me in place.

  “Don’t walk away from me,” his words slightly slurred. I tried to pull away from him but he only tightened his grip, pain shooting up my arm.

  “Stop it Jamie! You’re hurting me! Let me go!” I screamed at him as I continued to struggle against his iron grip.

  “Nope… not letting you go.” He chuckled in my face, the smell of alcohol hot on his breath. “You’re coming home with me and we’re gonna… we’re gonna work this out. You’ve been shaking your ass at me all night. I know that’s what you really want. Don’t be a tease and let’s get out of here.”

  I stared at him in disgust. Was it the drinks talking, or had he always been a total dick? Had I been blind to it all this time? I began to feel panicked now, his tight grip was unrelenting and the pain only intensified the more I struggled. I needed to get away, now, but he was so much bigger than me. My mind was sluggish and there was only one thing I could think to do.

  I stepped toward him as if I was giving in. He smirked at me, but the moment I got close, I kneed him in the crotch with as much force as I could muster. He grunted and doubled over in pain, releasing my wrist. I took advantage and fled through the crowd. I could hear him calling out my name behind me. My smaller frame allowed me to make my way through the throng of people and I lost him quickly as I made my way to the exit. I held it together until I burst through the doors and then the tears began to flow.

  I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just kept seeing the two of them together on repeat in my brain. Michaela had been right not to trust him all along. I needed to find Michaela, and we needed to leave before Jamie could find me. Mic would know what to say to calm me down, even if I knew she would be silently thinking told you so the who
le time. I knew she wouldn’t throw it in my face, at least not for a while anyway. I just wanted to go home, put on some frumpy pajamas and hibernate under my blankets until I couldn’t cry anymore. I pulled my phone out of my purse and texted Mic.

  I need you now, meet me outside.

  Within moments, Michaela busted through the doors of the club looking wide eyed and frantic.

  “What happened?” Her voice was full of empathy as she took me in her arms. I’d been constantly wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand. I must have looked like an absolute mess with black mascara smeared across my face.

  “You were right, and I don’t want to talk about it. Can you please take me home?” The statement started off strong but quickly fizzled out into a sob.

  “Oh Sweetie, I’m so sorry.” She pulled me in for a hug, but I didn’t feel like hugging, I just felt heavy. She hugged me anyway, patting the back of my hair as if I was a child. She pulled away and looked me over, landing on my wrist and gently holding it up to inspect the bruises that had already started to form there.

  “Did he do this to you?” She asked, her voice coming out cold and harsh, in a way I’d never heard before.

  “It’s nothing. Let’s just go before he finds us,” I deflected.

  “I’m going to kick his fucking ass!” I gave an involuntary chuckle at the preposterous idea, but she was dead serious. The open wound of the betrayal was still so fresh, that the laugh seemed inappropriate and it was gone in an instant.

  “Please Mic, I just want to go home.”