Page 35 of Framed

Instead, I was following a father I barely knew into completely uncharted territory. My twelve-year-old brain was completely overwhelmed.

And yet, I never forget the first person I saw in my new town. The image of Scarlett striding down the street, so carefree in a “Sarcastic? Me? No” tee shirt and jean shorts, had been seared into my brain. I saw her again that day. She was lying upside down on the rocking swing that used to be on her porch.

Later, I came to find out Naomi was right next to her. I hadn’t even realized that back then. I didn’t know I had a sister yet. Dad hadn’t told me—or Naomi—anything about each other. All my attention was on the girl with the long sandy blonde curls in a heaping mess on top of her head. It was like she sensed me that day—her eyes automatically found mine through the car window and I knew.

I learned early on that my fate would soon catch up to me. Those hazel eyes seared straight into my heart the moment I saw her. Right then, I knew she would be end game for me.

Scarlett Rose has always been my fate. I was born to keep her safe.

Even if that meant from me.

The fucked-up sense of duty wrapped in darkness nestled inside of me. It started to grow that day and I knew it would ultimately be my downfall. I knew that.

It was, after all, how I ended up in this agreement with Aaron Briggs.

For years, I had Scarlett. I had her secrets. I had her laughs. I had her small little giggles she would only give me whenever I was trying to cheer her up after a long day with her step-sister and stepmom. And even if neither of us said it aloud, I had her love and she had mine.

Sometimes we didn’t even need to speak to understand each other. Words couldn’t begin to capture what we had. That’s just how in tune we were. We both knew we had something special.

Until we didn’t.

Losing Scarlett tested my control, and made me almost say to hell with that sense of duty. To hell with my nature. Over the years, I got the urge to reach out, plan a prison break, and run far away to wherever it was that the two of us could be safe and together. But that was selfish.

And for whatever reason, I couldn’t be selfish with Scarlett. I couldn’t risk her safety. Which led me to take to more creative outlets. Cue Aaron. He saw my nature and recognized the darkness inside of me. He understood what I needed better than myself. I couldn’t say where I’d be now without him.

Probably in hell or jail. I was a stupid teen who just lost his sister and the only girl he ever loved.

I lacked control and I almost let the grief overtake me.

Control wasn’t an afterthought or a minuscule blimp in life. It was a necessity. However, one’s control was only as strong as oneself. I didn’t usually lack control and I sure as hell didn’t disregard my sense of duty for anyone or anything.

But I was a man and even I had my limits.

Scarlett tested all the limits and walls I built over the years. She remained the only person outside of my slain sister or Tucker on occasion who could bring any emotion out of me.

She looked different. Her sandy blonde hair I fell in love with was black now, and she had brown contacts concealing those hazel eyes—eyes that could bring any man to his knees. She actually resembled her mother now. The famous late figure skater. But even with her disguise, she was still fucking gorgeous.

She was still Scarlett.

She was always an innocent beauty, never needing any makeup or cosmetic surgery. And she was all woman. Her body filled her clothes in all the right ways and her full, dark pink lips were just as enticing as they had been before. The urge to see if were as soft as they looked was painful—more than I cared to admit. The urge to wrap my hand around…

No…I couldn’t allow my mind to go there.

If I knew that taking this job for Aaron Briggs would’ve eventually led me back to the very thing that threatened my control, I would’ve turned him down all of those years ago when he stepped in after I was arrested. I got in a bit of trouble when I overheard her shitty cousin Shawn Stewart declare he was seeking vengeance on behalf of Naomi if Scarlett ever got out of the Detention Center.

It was an empty promise and I knew he didn’t have the balls to do shit because, behind all that money, he was just an entitled brat who didn’t know the meaning of no. Similar to many of the students that went here.

I knew but I still found myself waiting for him at his Mercedes Benz C-Class 300 after school.

I knew but I still found myself pounding my fist into his face until he was bloody.

It wasn’t for her though; it was for me. I was tired of him thinking he could go around saying and doing whatever the fuck he wanted because of his money, like the rest of the crooked bastards in that town.

I slammed my fist into the punching bag harder, my vision turning red as I thought back to the look on her face when she told me to get out. I saw that same look on her face the last day I saw her.

I’d never forget the way she looked at me back then—contorted with raw pain and hurt. I received a note warning me that if I didn’t do what it said, she would be next.

I couldn’t lose her too.

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