Twisted (Torn Series) Page 0,16

need to know that you two will protect her when her mother figures out what she has done. I’m hoping she will be with me by then, but I know the chances are unlikely.”

“I would think it would be kind of obvious that we’ll both protect her.” Jordan said.

“I know, but I needed to bring it to your attention. I don’t want her left alone,” I said as I looked at Danny.

“Of course not, I’ve known what kind of person my aunt is for a long time. We won’t let Chloe out of our sight while Andrea is around. You have my word on that. Besides, I don’t think my mom will need much convincing, she can barely stand to look at Andrea, she knows just what kind of person she is, no matter how hard she has tried to hide it.”

I nodded. “Good to know. We all know the shit is going to hit the fan before this is all over with.”

“I’ll take care of Chloe man, you don’t have to worry,” Jordan said as he looked at me, “It’s good to know you worry about her that much though.”

“You have no idea just how much I worry about her,” I said.

It felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest, knowing both of these guys would protect Chloe when I couldn’t. I knew I would worry constantly until she was back by my side, but this helped to ease it a bit.

I stood and walked to the door. “I need a smoke, if Chloe gets back before I do let her know where I am.”

I stepped outside and shut the door behind me as I pulled a cigarette from my pack and lit it. As I inhaled deeply, I felt my body start to relax. There was too much drama and not enough nicotine in the world if you asked me. Chloe was constantly on me to quit smoking and I had promised her I would. Which I would, when this whole screwed up situation was done and over with… maybe. I wasn’t sure if I could handle daily life without some nicotine in my system to keep me from ripping anyone’s head off.

I made my way across the grass and around the side of the house. I had never seen more than the front of the property and I was curious as to what they had hidden away in the back. As I stepped into the back yard, my mouth fell open. Calling this a back yard would be disrespectful, it was more like a massive sports arena.

Directly behind the house was a massive in ground pool that took up the entire length of the house. It was equipped with two dive boards and a small water slide. Next to it was a hot tub big enough to swim in, and beyond that a full tennis and basketball court stood. I walked to the edge of the pool and stared down into the crystal clear water as I finished my cigarette.

I decided going for a swim might help calm my mind, so I ran back around to the front of the house and grabbed my still damp swim trunks out of Danny’s car. There was a small changing stall next to the pool so I used it to quickly strip out of my clothes and pulled on my swim trunks. I threw my clothes on a chair by the pool as I walked to the taller of the two ladders and started to climb.

When I reached the top, I stepped onto the board and stood at the edge. Heights were never my thing, and I hesitated for a split second before taking the plunge. I felt the warm water already starting to relax my tense muscles as I kicked my way to the surface. I might not like heights, but swimming was something that I loved; something that I excelled at.

When I was six or seven, my dad bought me one of those generic four-foot deep pools you saw in almost every yard and had taught me how to swim. He had even built a deck around it so that my mom could lie in the chair and watch us as she read her book.

I smiled at the memory of her yelling at us when we would splash water at her and soak whatever book had her enthralled that day. I remembered laughing as my dad would get out of the pool and grab her, throwing