When You Became Mine Read online

  “Shut up,” Lawson clipped as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes in the rearview on me. “What the hell is wrong with you, Piper? Jesus, you can’t even keep my brother out of trouble for one week? I have enough crap to deal with at school, without driving over to the middle school to bail your tails out all the time.”

  Hampton burst into laughter. “I’m not sure getting a shiner is considered bailing us out. But whatever you think.”

  I didn’t dare laugh. Not with Lawson’s hard brown eyes aimed at me in the rearview mirror.

  Hampton kicked his feet up on the dashboard and threw his hands behind his head. “How’s it feel to be a man, Lawson? Your first real fight. Did you even get a punch in?”

  Lawson’s eyes flicked back to the road but his hand flew out to the side and fisted in his brother’s shirt. “And you…you got a girl fighting for you now? You idiot. She could have been seriously hurt.”

  “Oh, please. I’m fine.” I crossed my arms over my chest and fought back a wince when my ribs objected. “Besides, Jude started it!”

  “Of course he did.” He rolled his eyes. “You are such a fucking pain in my ass.”

  My eyes narrowed at the back of his head. “Hampton and I were doing just fine without you.” Uncrossing my arms, I pointed a finger in his direction. “It’s not like you were going to help us.”

  His lips thinned just a second before he barked. “I drive you everywhere. I clean up your messes. I get punched in the damn face for you! But you’re right, I never do anything.”

  I scoffed. “You clean up my messes? Please. Hampton cleans up my messes, thank you very much.”

  I looked over to see Hampton grinning, his split lip still dripping blood. His left eye was beginning to swell, and I knew he was going to have one heck of a shiner in the morning. There would be no keeping this from our parents, and I sighed, knowing we were driving home to be grounded.

  Lawson craned his neck so he could look at me. “You are a damn troublemaker. I’m tired of being responsible for you all the time.” He turned his attention back to the road before he muttered, “I’m just tired of you.”

  Lawson was a buzzkill. He was boring, dorky, a tattletale. Rarely did we hang out together, and when we did, it wasn’t by choice.

  But, despite all of that, I still thought of him as my brother, the same as Hampton. So, his harsh words hit their intended target and I flinched.

  “Hey, you don’t gotta be such a jerk,” Georgia piped up. She adored Lawson, something I clearly didn’t understand. But for reasons unknown, they were close. Maybe it was because Georgia could see the good in people, even when there wasn’t much there. Or maybe it was because she was smart and liked to read the same dumb books as Lawson. But whatever the reason, she and her oldest brother were thick as thieves.

  But that didn’t mean she didn’t put him in his place when he deserved it.

  But apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to be put in place. “Shut it, Georgie. Piper doesn’t need another Reed on her side. Hampton’s more than enough for her.” He sneered.

  Hampton’s hand had been resting on the console, but quick as lightning, he balled up a fist and hit Lawson in the arm. “Knock it off, shithead,” he spat. “You sit on your high horse all the time, looking down at everyone else. You don’t have a clue.”

  Hampton glanced back at me, his warm green eyes soft. Lowering his voice, he told his brother. “Jude’s been giving Pip a hard time since school started. She’s had to eat lunch in the bathroom because every day in the lunchroom he does something to her. She didn’t even tell me about it till today, or you can believe that I would have put a stop to it a long time ago.”

  Lawson’s furious gaze once again landed on mine in the rearview mirror. But he didn’t say a word.

  Lawson knew better than anyone that people got teased. Most of the time, he pretended it didn’t bother him to always play second fiddle to his funny and athletic younger brother. Guilt washed over me as I studied him. I wasn’t always as nice to him as I could have been.

  He was still watching me in the mirror and his eyes widened when I mouthed, “I’m sorry.” He didn’t acknowledge my apology, just turned his attention back to the road and mumbled something I couldn’t hear.

  Apparently, it wasn’t very nice, because Hampton’s face twisted in disgust. “So just to be clear, in the great and powerful world of Lawson Reed, I shouldn’t give a shit that Jude tried to put his hand down Piper’s pants then?” His teeth were clenched as he nearly shouted. “I should have just walked away and let him have her?”

  I gazed at my best friend, the boy who had pulled me out of the pool four years ago, saving my life and becoming the person I depended on more than anyone else, and my stomach fluttered.

  We’d grown closer than any two kids should be, nearly inseparable. We told each other nearly everything, but I hadn’t told him about the relentless teasing I’d endured from Jude.

  Hampton had spent the first three months of school defending my honor, taking care of the boys who tried to grope my too large for my small frame breasts. He’d found ways to keep the girls from teasing me, and even though I’d told him I could handle myself, he’d refused to let me be the subject of cruel kids’ taunts.

  He’d already been suspended for fighting twice, and if it wasn’t for the fact his parents were the largest benefactors to the private school we all attended, he would have probably been kicked out. I couldn’t let him get in any more trouble. Not to mention, every time he came home with a black eye or busted knuckles, guilt would consume me, knowing that if it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

  But that didn’t change the fact my heart swelled as I studied his soft brown hair, tousled from the fight, but looking as though it had been purposely styled that way. I pressed my lips together as I studied his, full and perfect, even with the cut Jude had given him.

  Hampton was every girl’s fantasy. He was bigger than all the other eighth graders. Broad shoulders, already sporting a six pack, captain of the high school’s junior varsity football team.

  Maybe jealousy was why they teased me for my curvy figure, for my stick straight blond hair, for my blue eyes that were so light they were almost clear.

  But they shouldn’t have bothered wasting time hating me for having something they wanted. Despite what everyone assumed, and what I wanted more than anything, Hampton Reed was not mine. At least, not in the one way everyone thought.

  A noise caught my attention and I shook my head quickly, trying to clear it of the longing thoughts that seemed to plague my mind. I glanced at the source and got an eyeful of Lawson’s murderous face. His eyes were aimed straight ahead, but his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. There was another emotion mixed in with the fury, but it was one I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

  I continued to study his profile, his jaw ticking as he clenched his teeth, the muscle in his cheek twitching. He didn’t say another word, and no one else dared break the silence with small talk.

  When we finally pulled into the driveway, Lawson had barely slowed down before barking, “Get out.”

  The four of us scrambled out of the car, Hampton slamming the door just before Lawson peeled out, leaving tire marks on the cement.

  “Geesh, you’d think it was him who was gonna be in trouble,” Jack quipped as we stood motionless together, watching the taillights grow smaller.

  Hampton lifted a shoulder in a shrug and then threw his large arm around my shoulders. “Screw him.” He angled his head down. “May as well get this over with, Pippie.”

  I groaned but nodded, and together, we turned and trudged into the house.

  3

  Piper

  Six years later

  “He’s had too much to drink. He can’t drive,” Lawson rumbled.

  I rolled my eyes and shoved past him, my shoulder driving into his ribs. “He’s fine, Law! Loosen up a bit.” I waved my arms behind us at the house that
was lit up like a Christmas tree, music pumping from the open windows. “Why’d you even come tonight if you were just going to sulk in a corner?”

  Jude Brown had announced at school at the beginning of the week that he was going to throw the most epic party of the year this weekend and he had not disappointed.

  The day after Hampton had kicked his ass six years ago, Jude had found me in the bathroom at lunch time and apologized. A long, rambling, somewhat unintelligible at times apology, that ended with his swearing he’d never bother me again. He’d also promised to make sure the other guys left me alone. He’d kept his word and I had happily resumed eating in the cafeteria, the threat of dropping my sandwich in a toilet just a memory.

  “Someone’s gotta make sure you guys don’t do something dumb. Like, oh, I dunno, drive drunk,” Lawson retorted, his normally dry voice dripping with disdain.

  “Dude. Quit being so lame. What have you been doing in college?” Hampton chimed in, giving Lawson a brotherly punch on the shoulder.

  Lawson’s face morphed into a scowl and he rubbed his shoulder. “Asshole. That hurt. And, unlike you, I’ve been taking my college education seriously and studying. Something you should try.”

  Hampton laughed, his deep voice booming, and held up both arms, flexing his biceps. “Do you see these puppies? Who needs school when these arms are going to earn me the largest salary for a D-end in the NFL?”

  Lawson shook his head, but despite the dark sky, I was able to catch a glimpse of his lips curling into a smile. He gave us all a hard time, Hampton especially, but I knew that deep down, he was proud of his brother. And Hampton wasn’t exaggerating. As a sophomore in college, he had already broken the school’s record for single sacks in a season…two years in a row. He was a beast on the field, and NFL teams were already scouting him.

  Lifting the cup of warm beer to my lips, I took a sip and watched Hampton over the rim.

  He was beautiful. There was no other way to describe him. Standing well over six feet tall, he was pure muscle, as if God had created him just to tackle quarterbacks. His lips were full, his jaw sharp and currently covered with the perfect amount of scruff. But it was his eyes that girls would stumble into and immediately drown in. They were deep set, his lashes dark, the perfect contrast to his emerald-green irises. And just like the gems, they sparkled constantly. There was never a moment I could remember that Hampton wasn’t smiling, happy-go-lucky, his eyes shining. And when he pointed those green beauties at me, they would soften, causing my stomach to somersault.

  I’d often thought as I got older that I would grow out of my infatuation with him. But instead, it had grown, changed, and morphed into something more. I’d kept my feelings to myself, not even telling Georgia. Hampton loved me, I knew. But not in the same way I loved him. It sucked to watch him go out with other girls, to drive them in the back of his truck out to the end of Willow Lane, the place guys took easy girls. But I had no one to blame but myself. I’d never worked up the nerve to tell him how I felt. To tell anyone. It was cliché, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Our lives were so interwoven, there would be no going back from that. And I couldn’t spend my days embarrassed that I’d confessed to falling in love with my best friend when I was eight only to be rejected.

  So now, here I was, a senior in high school, and I’d never had a boyfriend. There wasn’t a single boy at my school that could compare to Hampton. Plus, most of them were too afraid of the guys in my life to ask me out.

  “Let’s go, bitches!” Jack shouted, dangling car keys in the air.

  Lawson dove for them, but even half drunk, Jack was fast and swung out of the way.

  Jack took off toward our car, Hampton hot on his heels, catching him easily and throwing an arm around his shoulders. I giggled and then swallowed the last bit of my beer before dropping the cup on the ground and following the guys.

  “Piper! What are you doing?” Lawson shouted after me.

  I paused, craning my neck to look at him. “Going home.”

  He took two steps, his long legs quickly closing the distance between us, and grabbed my arm. “Pippie, your brother’s drunk, he shouldn’t be driving. You can’t get in that car with him.”

  I shook his hand from my arm and took a step back. He followed, stepping into my space once more. It was unsettling, and something niggled at the back of my neck. Tilting my head back, I studied him closely. He was tall like Hampton, but that’s where the similarities ended.

  Where Ham was thick and muscular, Lawson was long and lean. He sported a constant frown to the point he had lines on the sides of his mouth. I knew from experience, during the rare times that he smiled, they turned into dimples, but that was so few and far in between it was easy to forget. His brown eyes were always guarded and cautious, and his dark lashes gave him a certain mystery as if with every blink he was locking away yet another secret. I supposed Lawson could have been handsome in the right lighting. But then again, maybe that was the three red Solo cups of beer talking.

  I waved a hand at him. “Jack’s fine. He’s only had a few drinks.” I glanced back over my shoulder, noticing the boys were getting into the car. Walking backward, I finished. “But, uh, thanks for your concern?” It came out as a question because his behavior didn’t make any damn sense. He’d never cared about what I did before. He had been weirder than usual this last year. His trips home from college less frequent and shorter than they once were. He’d started avoiding me as well, but I chalked that up to the fact he was just an ass.

  His brow furrowed, he pleaded, “Come on. Just let me drive you home.”

  With a sigh, I relented. “Fine.” I made a show of patting my pockets. “I left my phone inside. Let me go get it and I’ll meet you at your car.”

  He nodded and when he turned away, I whispered, “Sorry, Lawson” before bolting to my car.

  “Piper!” I could hear his shout as I climbed into the back seat.

  “What the hell took you so long?” Jack slurred.

  A shot of something strange sliced through my belly as I looked over my shoulder at Lawson’s hunched figure in the distance. “Lawson was being weird,” I told him, shaking the feeling away and checking the clock on the dash. “Now hurry up before we miss curfew.”

  I put my seat belt on. “Buckle up, you assholes.”

  Hampton immediately obeyed, but Jack laughed and shook his head.

  “Why? There aren’t any cops on these roads tonight.”

  I reached over the seats, slapping his shoulder. “Just buckle up!”

  Headlights illuminated behind me and I turned, squinting my eyes. “Is that Lawson behind us? Jeez, he’s like an old man.”

  Hampton and Jack both turned and looked out the back window.

  “Yep. That’s him all right. Following us to make sure we get home okay,” Jack drawled.

  “Dude, who’s gonna take care of us when he moves to Vegas next month?” Hampton asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.

  My ears perked up. “Lawson’s moving? To Vegas? What the hell is he going to do there?” I laughed, crinkling my nose when I imagined him sitting in the back row of a Vegas Showgirl performance with his nose stuck in a book.

  Hampton shifted in his seat, resting his forearm on the back of my brother’s seat. His hand fell on Jack’s shoulder as he answered me. “He got a huge job offer out there. IT shit for the biggest security firm in the damn country. I guess they are opening a new office there or something. He’s fuckin stoked about it.” Hampton’s eyes drooped. “I hate to say it, but I think I’m gonna miss that cranky bastard.”

  I’d long ago given up trying to figure out their relationship. It was as fluid as they were. Most days they acted like they couldn’t stand each other, although that was mostly Law being annoyed with his younger brother. But then, things would happen, and Lawson would be the one sticking up for Hampton when everyone else was giving him a hard time. Although, the bigger and older Hampton got, the less people messed with him.


  Hampton cleared his throat. “Anyway, he’s going as soon as he graduates. Says he’s not even gonna let the ink dry on his diploma before he hops on a plane and heads to Sin City.”

  Jack looked away from the road, catching Hampton’s attention. “Dude. Lawson won’t be out there forever. And besides, think about all the shit we are gonna get into without him here riding our asses.”

  I laughed, imagining just that, but the sound died in my throat when a set of headlights once again illuminated the car. This time, though, the vehicle they belonged to wasn’t behind us, but instead, heading straight for us. And fast.

  “Jack!” I screamed.

  His attention snapped back to the road. “Fuck!” he shouted before wrenching the steering wheel to the left. The other car whizzed past us, narrowly missing our backend.

  Jack tried to straighten the wheel, but overcorrected. I screamed again, but the sound was drowned out by the yells of Hampton and my twin brother as we nosedived into the ditch.

  The world went silent as my head slammed into the window, the screams of both twisting metal and the guys instantly disappearing as though someone had simply flipped a switch.

  Warm.

  It was warm, and I snuggled down even more into my bed. Taking a deep inhale through my nose, the scent of cologne registered.

  Lawson?

  Why is Lawson in my bed?

  I worked to force my eyelids open, but they refused to obey my command. I was still trying to wrap my mind around how Lawson had ended up at home with me after the party when it all came rushing back to me.

  My lids sprang open and the sight before me stole my breath.

  Flashing lights, red and blue, lit up the dark sky. Spotlights were aimed at a mangled mess I vaguely recognized as my car. It was resting on its roof, one of the tires still spinning and there were swarms of people rushing around.

  “Jack!” His name escaped my lips frantically and I struggled to get out of the hold I was in.