Distracted: An Everyday Heroes Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Read online

  He tosses his head back as he laughs. When he meets my eyes, he knows I’m serious. “Sabrina, you’re gorgeous. Every guy should be at your feet, asking you to the prom. But come on. Seriously, Elliott?”

  “What’s wrong with him? He’s charming, gorgeous, the most popular guy at school, and he asked me.”

  “He doesn’t just pitch fastballs. He pitches what girls want to hear so he can get their panties off.”

  “Jealous?”

  He drags his fingers through his hair, and I can see how this irritates him. “All I’m saying is don’t fall for his shit,” he says. “Elliott is all about home runs, and I don’t think he should be your first.”

  “My first?” I scoff. “What makes you think I’m still a virgin?”

  His laugh echoes through the garage. “I know all your secrets. The walls are thin, and I can hear everything you and Callie talk about. So, don’t kid yourself into thinking I don’t know everything about you.”

  “Maybe there are some secrets I’ve never told Callie.” Like how much I love you, Spencer Hayes.

  Maybe at prom, when I finally do it, Spencer Hayes will be out of my system. It’s the reason I agreed to be Elliott’s date. Sure, I could have gone to prom with Kenny Packet, the nice and polite boy from my Academic Decathlon team. But I wanted to make Spencer see I’m not the good girl and make him see a different side of me.

  “Just don’t,” he demands.

  “Don’t what? Have sex with him?” I wince again and hold my breath as Hudson presses the needle into my skin. “And why are we having this conversation? Who I have sex with is none of your business.”

  Who does he think he is? He’s never noticed me in the way I’ve always wanted him to, and now he thinks he can just tell me who I shouldn’t have sex with? How dare he?

  Spencer juts his chin at my hip. “Looks like our S’s are almost done.”

  Did he say our S’s?

  I close my eyes, wanting him to think I’m in pain from the needle pressing into my skin. Spencer has no idea once the sting is gone and my skin heals, I’ll still be licking my wounds like I have been all these years watching him with girl after girl.

  If we can’t be together in the way I have dreamed, at least I will always have this.

  The two letters laced together. At one end is the moon and the other the sun. It’s the perfect representation of us.

  He’s my sun. I’m the moon, and he lights up my world. We can never be together as a couple, and it’s something I will have to accept.

  “Our S’s,” I whisper to myself.

  Spencer

  Something changed after coming home for Spring Break. I mean, I’ve always thought Sabrina was cute, but this past week, she ignited something inside me. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her and that damn eyepatch she wore as a bikini this weekend. There is something about her that attracts me, and I want her more than I should.

  I need to stop thinking about her this way. She’s my baby sister’s best friend. But I can’t help it.

  Maybe that’s why I dared her one last time, hoping she’d kiss me just to get her out of my system and see if it’s my imagination. But instead, she gets a fucking tattoo? Maybe I misread the signals, and she doesn’t have a thing for me like I thought.

  Sabrina is cool to hang out with. She’s not like the other girls. It’s comfortable. We fit perfectly in our quirky kind of way. We have always had fun together. And of course, we’ve had our fair share of disagreements and arguments, and there will be days we don’t talk. But we seem to come back to be just us.

  As I sit and watch her permanently mark her skin with our first initials, I can’t help but compare her to Rebecca, who’s back in LA auditioning for an upcoming television series. Becca is smoking hot and an aspiring actress. Caramel skin, fit body, perfect tits, and looks good on my arm at frat parties.

  On the other hand, there’s Sabrina. I wasn’t lying when I told her how gorgeous she is. Her chocolate eyes sparkle every time I look into them. The sound of her laughter and a smile that lights up the room make suffering through my corny jokes worth it.

  She’s smart, kind, caring, has a heart of gold, and best of all, I’m myself when I’m around her. There’s no pretending or pretense. Sabs knows me so well, just as I do her. Like that nose twitch thing she does when she tells a lie. She doesn’t think I notice it, but I do, and it comes in handy when I want it to.

  Comparing them makes me a douchebag, just like Elliott. But I can’t help what I feel when she’s lying in front of me with her cut-off denim shorts and panties partially off her hip.

  There was a hesitation in our stare down. And, fuck, I wanted to plant my mouth on her plump pink lips. All damn weekend I was talking about my girlfriend like some lovesick puppy so I wouldn’t think of Sabrina as anything more than my kid sister’s best friend.

  I wonder what life will be like when Sabrina leaves Sunnyville. She’s been talking about leaving for so long. And it sounds as if she never wants to come back. What’s so bad about this town that she wants out? This is our home. The place with so many good memories and every corner reminds me of her. Reminds me of us.

  Sabrina is heading to Italy for the summer, then off to college in New York. I’m really going to miss her. Hell, I miss her already. That’s why I had to come home for Spring Break. I needed to be with her one last time before she’s gone and I’m back in LA with my busy schedule. Baseball, finals, and Rebecca.

  When I left for college, we talked every day, and each time I came back to Sunnyville, she’s always been here. But the next time I come back home, she won’t be. Sabrina is like the sun to me, untouchable, and she brightens my worst day. She’s the one I call when I need girl advice, not my sister Callie, who tells me to stop being a man-whore.

  Jealousy stirs in my chest imagining her with douche-pants-Elliott. His hands will touch her, his arm around her hourglass body while they dance at the prom, whispering sweet nothings to accomplish his end game. The walls are thin in my house, and Sabrina plans on giving up her virginity with the donkey-jock, and it irritates the fuck out of me.

  “Spence, you okay?” Sabrina asks.

  “Yeah. Fine,” I answer quickly. “So, are you and Elliott a thing?”

  She twists her lips as if contemplating how to answer my question. “I don’t know.” She shrugs slightly.

  “You don’t know?”

  “He asked me to prom, right? We’ll see what happens afterward.”

  Fucking hell! He doesn’t deserve to have Sabrina, and she deserves better—someone she’ll have fun with and give her a night she’ll remember, especially if it’ll be her first time.

  Someone like me.

  Elliott has only one goal in mind—bang every pretty girl in high school. Thank god he didn’t try anything with my sister since she’s been with Tommy for the last couple of years. Plus, I’d kick Elliott’s ass.

  So, why is Sabrina any different? Why am I not standing in between them? Kicking his ass.

  Shake it off, Hayes. Sabrina is a big girl. She can be with and do whoever she wants.

  I remember how sexy she looked in that white bikini as she laid on the lounge chair, soaking up the sun’s rays. My eyes glance at her perfect profile, move down her smooth neck to the perfect globes on her chest, golden tanned torso, and sexy as hell legs I want to nestle between. I run my hand down my face to stop my train of thought.

  What is wrong with me? Stop thinking of her like that!

  Just think of us as kids. Her missing two front teeth. Pop-Tarts picnics. Dr. Pepper. The old oak tree, our homework spot.

  Sabrina’s phone jingles, and it’s the douche-pants. Elliott’s name lights up on the screen. She taps the green icon with her thumb. “Hi, Elliott.” She giggles as she listens for a few beats. “I can’t wait either . . . you rented a limo?”

  Knowing Elliott and his playboy rep, that’s not all he rented. I’d stake my college savings that he also rented a hotel room. I shake my head and
reach for the handlebar braced in the doorway. I pull myself up and make a grunting noise, not only to get her attention but to drown out their conversation.

  Agony overwhelms me as I watch her suck in her bottom lip, and her cheeks flush. I pull myself up again and I glance at Hudson, who just smirks at me. Asshole.

  “Tonight? No, I don’t have plans,” she says, giving me the side-eye.

  I let go of the handlebar then look at her, pretending I haven’t been dissecting her entire conversation. What? We have plans.

  Sabrina is supposed to hang with me. We were going to grab some pizza and then head to our spot to watch for falling stars. It’s our last night together before I return to LA tomorrow, and she’s bailing on me for that prick?

  “The movies . . .? Sure, I’d love to . . . Okay, Elliott. See you later.”

  She hangs up and rests the phone against her chest. She’s smiling, and her cute dimples make an appearance. That’s my smile, the one I put on her face.

  “Sounds like you’ve got a date tonight.” I press my lips together, trying to hide my temper. By the look in her eyes going wide, she knows I’m upset.

  “Spence. I totally forgot. I’m so sorry,” she says, and her nose twitches. “I-I don’t know what came over me.”

  I know what came over her. Elliott said some sweet bullshit, probably taking her to watch 27 Dresses, the chick flick she’s been wanting to see since it came out.

  “No sweat.” I wave my hands in the air as if I have no cares in the world.

  “Maybe we can meet at the diner later,” she suggests.

  “Yeah, sure. Whatever,” I grimace, trying not to imagine Elliott making his moves on her while they watch a movie or kiss her goodnight when he drops her off at her house.

  “Have you kissed him yet?” I ask off the cuff, dreading the answer. I’m trying my best to be happy for her, but I know his kind. Hell, I was his kind in high school.

  “That’s none of your business. And what’s it to you, anyway?”

  Because Elliott is not good enough for you. No one will ever be good enough for Sabrina.

  I take a deep breath to get my growing emotions in check.

  Rebecca.

  Rebecca Ramirez.

  Rebecca-fucking-Ramirez.

  I chant to myself, thinking about the blowjob and the fantastic sex I’ll get when I get back to LA.

  But I’m not feeling anything for Becca as my eyes lock on Sabrina’s hypnotizing chocolate-colored eyes.

  Gone is the flat-chested girl with scuffed knees and the dirt bikes we rode up the hill to the old oak tree. Now she lies on that bed, curves in all the right places as Hudson touches her skin. And later another man will have his arm around her tonight.

  This is fucking torture. God, I’m so stupid.

  I should just tell her that my feelings have grown since she broke her leg taking the dare I made. Every day she wore that cast, I brought her a yellow rose from the bush near our oak tree, asking for her forgiveness. And each time, she kissed me.

  It may have been a quick kiss on the cheek, but those kisses changed something in me. For years I kept pushing it down in the abyss of my dirty mind and wished she kissed me on my mouth so that I could slip my tongue between her lips. What can I say? I was a fifteen-year-old boy with raging hormones. And my hormones still rage for her.

  “All done,” Hudson says as he raises his latex covered hands and cracks his neck.

  I step closer after Hudson smooths ointment on, then places clear wrap over her inked skin. My finger grazes over our initials, and then my eyes meet hers.

  I catalog this moment. Two S’s knotted together. When I asked why she added the sun and moon, she said it represents our friendship. Whatever that means.

  “I hope you won’t regret getting this, Buttercup.”

  Sabrina lazily smiles and my chest tightens. “I like it. What do you think?”

  “It’s perfect. Just like you.”

  “You think I’m perfect?”

  “I always have,” I say as a smile tugs at the corner of my mouth.

  “Thanks, Spencer. I think you’re pretty perfect too.” She sits up and carefully pulls up her denim shorts. “I’m going to miss this.”

  “Miss the dares?” I chuckle.

  “Believe it or not, yes. Yes, I will.”

  Sabrina

  Present Day

  “Sabrina? Are you still there?” Callie’s voice is soft and full of empathy as it sounds through the phone.

  “Yes . . . I-I’m here.” I clench my shirt and hold my breath as I make my way to Lily’s room for some privacy and sit on her purple bed. Tears stream down my cheeks as I blankly stare at her unicorn slippers.

  “No one at the hospital knew how to get a hold of you. So Grayson stopped by the studio,” she says.

  “Grayson Malone?” That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. We graduated in the same class when I lived in Sunnyville, many moons ago.

  She lets out a breath. “He was the rescue pilot that airlifted her to Sunnyville General.”

  “Oh my god!” I gasp.

  “According to Grayson, the car tumbled down the hillside. I am so sorry, Sabrina.”

  Sorrow overwhelms me as my imagination and logic collide against my need to know the details. My job is to investigate the cause of death, but this is not an investigation. This is my grandmother. The woman who held Gabby and me together six years ago when our parents died in a car accident driving back to Sunnyville after visiting us in San Francisco.

  Nonna was the glue that kept us together. She was our rock.

  My mind races as I pull out a suitcase from the closet, grab clothes from Lily’s drawers, her favorite stuffed animal on her bed, and a few of her bedtime books, and then stuff them in the bag.

  Images of my grandmother coming home from her Thursday night bridge games flash in my mind. It was one of those things she looked forward to, hanging with her girlfriends, taking turns of who will be the host for the next gathering. Those women were Nonna’s support system after Mom and Dad died.

  “Sabbie, what would you like me to do for you? I can call your sister. If you want, I can call Gray back and see if I can get more information for you. Please tell me, and I’ll do whatever you need.”

  “Callie,” I yell, gripping the phone tighter. “Please stop. I-I don’t know. I don’t know what to think right now.”

  Callie is only trying to help, and I just yelled at my best friend. Silence fills the line while guilt consumes me, then I say, “Cal, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a bitch to you. It’s just that . . .”

  “Hey, you don’t need to apologize. I understand, and I’m here for you, your forever shoulder to lean on.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not my punching bag,” I correct.

  “It’s okay. I’ve survived a few of your bitch slaps.”

  “Callie.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what? Being your best friend?”

  “You’re more than just my best friend, and you know it,” I say.

  Callie is like a sister to me. She’s beautiful inside and out, and she’s got this infectious energy about her. Maybe that’s why she’s good at being a ballet instructor. She loves me and has forgiven me more times than I can count for being such a brat to her. She’s been an amazing friend, and I will need her to be my rock when I head back home.

  “I’ll always be here for you,” she says.

  “I’ll leave here shortly,” I say, zipping the sparkly suitcase.

  “Just get here safely.”

  “I will. See you soon.”

  “Bye, Sabbie.”

  “Bye, Callie.” I press the end button on my cell and glance at the time on the screen—just past nine. Laughter rings down the hall. My little girl should be in bed, but we were having such a good time, I let her stay up past her bedtime.

  The bedroom’s silence consumes me as I look up at the rainbow stencil on the wall over Li
ly’s bed. I take in a deep breath as the shock starts hitting me all at once. More tears trickle down my cheeks, and I take a seat on my daughter’s twin bed. The last thing I need is for my daughter to see tears wetting my cheeks. Maybe I can tell her they’re happy tears, but I’d be lying. She’s only five years old, but she’s so smart, and she’ll see right through me.

  Although Lily only had a little time with Nonna, she adored her and told me countless times she was the coolest great-grandmother ever. I just wish Lily had a chance to meet my mom and dad. She would have thought they were pretty cool too.

  I make a mental note of the things we will need for the next few weeks. I’m not sure how long we’ll be there since I’ll need to figure out what to do with the house, her belongings, funeral arrangements.

  My palms cover my face. Another funeral. My heart feels hollow and heavy. What the hell was Nonna doing driving? She’s too old to drive. Her sight was going bad, her hearing was terrible, and her reflexes were not as quick as she thought. But that was Nonna, stubborn.

  Maybe that’s where I get my stubbornness from. She gave me the best advice to raise Lily and told me countless times to talk to Lily’s father and let him know he has a daughter. But I can’t. And now that she’s five, how would he take it knowing I kept his daughter from him after all these years?

  I stare at my phone for a beat. One more phone call I need to make.

  “Hey, Sabrina.” Booker’s deep voice fills the line. Not only is he my boss, but he’s also a good friend.

  I’m the lead forensic specialist at KSIG—Knox Security Intelligence Group. It’s an elite security company with a team of former military, law enforcement, and government agents. When the city’s crime lab is backed up, they call for our services, and that’s where I come in.

  “Hey . . . Booker,” I say. Julian Cruz is his real name, but I’ve grown accustomed to using his callsign. He’s a former Navy SEAL, and when his father, Knox, retired, he was handed the entire operation.

  “Kent?” It doesn’t surprise me that he can hear the quiver in my voice. “You okay?”