Restless, p.1
Restless, page 1
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
RESTLESS
First edition. September 8, 2023.
Copyright © 2023 Zepphora.
ISBN: 979-8223764083
Written by Zepphora.
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Prologue
Her
"I hate men!" Willow exclaims as she plops in her chair across from me beside Nyla and Sorcha.
"Issues with Tiernan?" I ask.
Sorcha's eyes almost bulge from her head. "Tiernan?" she presses.
"Yeah. He and Willow have been fuck buddies since the beginning of the year party," Nyla divulges, barely holding in a laugh at Willow's antics.
Sorcha’s mouth drops open before she says, "Oh, wow!"
"And he's being a major asshole. You can't be a possessive jerk then refuse to man up and publicly stake your claim. Even just a simple, I really like you and don't want you to be with anyone else would suffice. But noooooo, not Tiernan. He’d rather get into a fistfight with Christian over me." Willow rocks her head back and forth in irritation and disbelief.
I almost gasp with surprise. "A fight?"
Tiernan is highly non-confrontational. He doesn't fight unless he has a major reason, like backing up one of his friends.
"Yeah, T and Christian were both suspended. Plus, Christian got benched for the next three games. If I had some type of sway over T, I'd be throwing a bitch fit at him right now. But since he and I aren’t exclusive like you and Finn, I don’t feel like I have the right," Willow says, exasperated. Then, she leans in so the other students in the cafeteria can’t hear. "This is my advice to you, Franny. If your man starts acting up, withhold sex," she advises.
I almost choke on the chip I’m eating. “What...” I try to clear my throat. “What did I do?”
I glance up as Finn claims the seat next to me, and my friends start laughing, clutching their stomachs.
"What did you do?" he asks, eyeing me and the others suspiciously.
"Willow is throwing a pity party and trying to drag me into it. She's trying to give...” I hesitate, looking for a word that won’t scare Finn—like boyfriend. “Relationship advice."
He chuckles lightheartedly. "How so?"
"I told her that if you start being an ass, to withhold sex." Willow snorts as her laughter subsides.
Finn dramatically clutches his chest. "That hurts, Willow. Besides, I'm always an ass. I'd never get laid if she listened to you," he says, his voice tinged with humor.
Nyla perks up. "Correction, Casanova. You're always an ass, but you're not always an ass to her. That's what counts."
He is an ass to me, but only in the ways I like, so it doesn’t count.
"Don’t let Francine fool you. That form of punishment would probably affect her more than me.” Finn gives me a wink as an exaggerated, collective gasp rises from the table, followed by more laughter.
Nyla's eyes shoot behind us as Finn throws his arm around my shoulder. "Um, does anyone know why two cops are headed over here?" she asks.
A shock of fear and panic zips through my heart before it seizes. "What?"
Why would the cops be here?
Finn looks over our shoulder and groans dramatically. "Just fucking great. It's Officer Dumb and Sergeant Dumber," he mutters under his breath.
I know Finn has his issues with the cops. With the things he's been involved in, how could he not? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he recognizes two police officers amongst the dozens on the force.
The two uniformed men stand tall at the end of the long table, both seeming to enjoy looking down on us, especially on Finn. "Mr. O'Reilly," the salt and pepper haired, large-bellied man begins. "We need you to come with us."
"What's going on?" I ask, but the cops pay me little mind and keep their focus on Finn.
"Don't you have anything better to do than harass me and my guys?" Finn sneers with irritation. "Like giving out parking tickets and eating your weight in donuts?"
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Finn," the less dickish, younger officer says in a soft voice.
"What is this about?" I ask again as Finn stands. I was seconds away from becoming unhinged.
"Babe, it'll be fine," he whispers, but it does little to prevent me from jumping out of my skin.
I can’t take this sitting down. Quickly, I get to my feet, ready to fight whatever the hell this is. "Finnick—"
He turns to face me and cups my face in his massive hands, gingerly running his thumbs along my cheek. "It's okay," he murmurs. This is a command he makes obvious in his tone. "Be my good girl and go to class. I'll be back before school is out. Don't worry about me, okay?" He doesn’t give me a chance to answer because his lips meet mine with the urgency of a man who will never kiss his woman again. I'm so petrified I can’t say anything when the cops lead him away. Beyond him, I see three other officers leading Rian, Colin, and Eoghan out the front door. Those three were handcuffed, whereas Finn wasn’t.
The glint of the sun off the front door as it closes behind them has me blinking myself awake. "Sorcha, come on!" I urge as I clutch her arm and proceed to drag her out of her seat toward the cafeteria exit.
Sorcha reluctantly tries to keep up with my frenzied steps. "Francine, calm down. This happens all the time. The cops are just fishing,” she says, attempting to rationalize with me, but it's not working.
"Does fishing usually include handcuffs?" I snap, not able to police my emotions.
Sorcha stops dead in her tracks, jerking me to a stop. She stares at me, her face turning more pale than normal. "Handcuffs?"
"Rian, Colin, and Eoghan were just escorted out by different cops in handcuffs. What do you think they're going to do once your brother is outside? They're not questioning them. They're arresting them, Sorcha. All. Of. Them," I press, wanting her to fully understand the magnitude of what's happening.
Her eyes turn as large as saucers. "Let's go."
We sprint from the cafeteria and straight out the front door, where there are five cop cars lined up, lights whirling on the roof.
"Wait!" I yell as the younger cop guides Colin into the back of a cop car.
"Go back to class, ladies," he says as the other four cars pull away and out of the parking lot.
"Why the hell are you arresting them?" I demand, having to make a conscious decision not to cross my arms and stomp my feet like a petulant child.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss the details—"
"Bullshit!" I curse.
His brown eyes narrow with warning. "Careful, miss. This does not concern you."
Sorcha steps in front of me as if to block me from bullets. "Don’t you know who she is? She's Francine Gray," Sorcha boldly announces despite her underlying anxiousness.
"And you just arrested my boyfriend. I need answers, and I need them now. Don't make me call my mom and get your boss involved because I will." The threat spills from my lips with no restrictions.
"Boyfriend?" he cackles, his eyes sparkling with disbelief. "Yeah, right. A Bastard and a Gray? That's the beginning of a bad dad joke."
The condescension in his stare makes me seethe with hostility. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
He takes in my serious tone and threatening expression as I stand off against him. There’s no hiding the obvious bob of his Adam's apple.
“You seriously don’t know?” he hedges his question into the ether.
What the fuck is he talking about? “I seriously don’t know what? What are you talking about?”
"Oh, um, sorry. Your parents should be telling you this, but Martin Gray was reported missing."
I blink. Then I blink again. Then, my heart begins to try and claw its way out of my chest at the mention of my dead uncle. The man I murdered. This is my worst fear coming to life.
Finn and his friends were arrested in connection with my uncle's disappearance—the murder I committed.
I push all that shit down and swallow hard. The guys need me. I pull up my big girl, A.K.A. Harley Quinn, panties and stand with all the confidence I can muster. "Who gives a fuck? Martin is a waste of space and a predator, or has the police department forgotten that he got away with trying to rape me when I was just a little kid?"
What could be interpreted as compassion flits across his face. "I understand your frustration, but I shouldn’t have even said that. I'm sorry, miss."
Without another word or glance, he folds himself into his cruiser and drives away, his siren wailing.
"I have to do something," I say before turning to Sorcha. "Can you give me a ride home? I need to see my mom right now. She'll know what to do."
“Your mom?” She raises an eyebrow. "Why bring her into this? I’ll just call my dad. He's been through this before, and he'll—"
"No!” I was obstinate in my refusal. “This is my mess to clean up. This is only happening because of me," I confess, guilt swarming my chest.
Sorcha studies me with confusion before leading me to her car. We jump in, and she speeds out of the school parking lot.
I’m grateful for the silence Sorcha grants me as she speedily makes her way to my home—committing a few traffic violations along the way.
"I'm still going to get ahold of my dad. If all else fails, he'll be able to get the guys out of there," Sorcha warns.
I nod. "Okay, thanks." Knowing that does give me a little bit of reassurance.
Sorcha’s car barely stops before I climb out of it and race into the house. Her car is already out of my driveway when I turn to close the door.
"Francine? What the hell are you doing out of school?" My mom groans with frustration as she stands from the couch. When her scowl reaches my face, her whole attitude changes to that of concern. "Honey, what's wrong?"
I hesitate for a moment. Although I rushed home to see her, I’m not used to having my mother here, so I was a little surprised when I saw her in the living room. Then I allow myself to feel like a small child needing her mommy and run straight into her arms. When she wraps them around me, the floodgates open, and my tears release like a river down my face.
"Mom, I messed up so bad," I sob as she tightens her band around me.
She holds me for a solid few seconds before she says, "Come here, honey." Pulling me gently, she leads me to the couch where we sit.
Panic increases the speed of my pounding heart because I know exactly what I have to do in order to protect Finn. I have no choice but to confess my sins to my mother.
"It's all my fault. I fucked up so bad, and I don't know what to do," I cry in despair as I lift my head from her shoulder.
She holds my hand tight in hers as worry flashes in her eyes. "You're scaring me, Francine. What are you talking about? What’s going on? No matter what it is, I love you, and I'm here."
Those are the words of encouragement I need to push through.
"Did you hear about Uncle Martin?" I ask, my voice low.
Her eyelashes flutter momentarily as she digests my words, then her eyes widen with realization. "Franny..." her soft voice trails off with concern and anxiety.
"It's my fault. I just completely lost it when I saw him," I admit.
The puzzle pieces fit together in her eyes as her lip trembles.
"Everything happened so fast, and before I could really comprehend it, he was dead. I... I killed him," I haltingly sputter my confession.
Part of me expects her to pull away and run, as she had six years ago, although that absence had been unintended. Instead, she pulls me into her chest, rubbing her hands up and down my back.
"He can't hurt you anymore," she whispers, and I find the long, sought-after solace I’d been missing for half my life.
I peel myself from her comforting embrace. "But—but the cops don’t know he’s dead; they think he’s just missing, and they think Finn is responsible." I’m sure the panic is prevalent on my face. "The cops came into the school and arrested Finn and his friends. I don't know what to do. Finn didn't do this. All he did was try to protect me afterward—"
Her back straightens. "Finn was arrested?" Her voice is laced with anger as she stares into my soul.
Should I have led with that?
"Yeah," I confirm, blubbering and vigorously nodding my head up and down.
She sighs loudly. “Well, then.” Composed, my mom stands, straightens her shoulders, and extends her hand to me, palm up. "Come on." Um... apparently, she’s okay with me killing her ex-brother-in-law?
"Where are we going?" I ask as she locks the front door behind us and leads us to my car.
"The police station.” She gives me a sly smirk before she puts the key in the ignition. “The police chief is about to get an earful from me."
Chapter One
Her
Mom’s eyes are focused on the road, her hands turning white from the force she is gripping the steering wheel. "That deal I told you I made to keep Nigel out of prison?" she asks while passing a silver compact car. "The deal wasn't just for Nigel, but for all the Bastards. Past, present, and future. By arresting Finn, they violated that agreement." I don’t know how fast my mom drove, but we pulled into the police station parking lot in no time.
"I don't understand. How could Grandpa make a deal like that? How could it be upheld now that he is dead?" I press for more information.
She pushes the shifter into park and exhales so loudly I’m wondering if she breathed at all during the drive. She leans toward me, capturing my gaze with hers. "I think you've forgotten the kind of sway the Gray family name holds in this town. When a Gray declares something is, then it is. It seems as if a few people in this town have forgotten the power of the Gray family, and it's time for us to show them the power a Gray has and that they need to leave the Bastards alone. If not, we’ll release all kinds of hell," she promises as we simultaneously open our doors and fold out of the car.
My mother and I are a united force as we charge into the building, two women on a mission.
An overweight, balding cop glances up from behind the front desk as we slam the glass doors open. "Can we help you?" the desk clerk asks, staring at us in confusion as my mom and I bypass him and his question. "Hey! You can't go back there!"
My mom throws her response over her shoulder without slowing as we head for the long line of offices toward the back of the building. "Like hell, we can't! You tell the Chief of Police to lube up because Bethany Mercer and Francine Gray are about to shove his badge up his ass." We continue down the gray, barren hallway, passing random office doors, until we end up at the final one with a plaque on the door stating Chief of Police, Mark Vasquez.
Knocking must be beneath our family because, without pause, my mom pushes the door open, slamming the knob against the wall. We file inside to discover a man with dark hair, about the same age as my mom, standing behind a desk.
"Bethany, it's been a long time. Care for some coffee?" he offers, like this is a casual business meeting between old friends.
I swear my mom snorts before she begins, "Cut the crap, Mark. I'm not here for your shitty coffee and half-hearted pleasantries. Finn O'Reilly and his friends were arrested at Grove Hill High. That is in direct violation of the agreement I have with this police department." Venom drips off her words.
Wow. My mom is severely ticked off. And I like it.
"That agreement was made between your father-in-law and my father. You and I,” he waggles a finger between him and Mom, “have no such agreement with me. The Bastards of Grove Hill are a criminal element and, if you haven't noticed, this is a police station. Arresting criminals is kind of what we do here," he stonewalls, putting his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest like he just did something.
Mom takes a threatening step toward the man, her voice low with menace. "Do you really want to do this, Mark? Start a war with not just the Bastards but also the Gray family? You know I could easily dismantle your entire police department with the flick of my wrist. Do you know what happens when a police department loses its funding? It disappears, which would leave you jobless and with a shit ton of enemies waiting to make your life a living hell. Are you ready to play hardball? Because I'm game if you are."
My mom is a badass. She just threatened the chief of police in his office where she could be easily arrested, but she's not even flinching.
I am proud to call this woman my mother.
The man stands there in silence, an intense staring contest ensuing between him and my mom. My mom wins when he caves.
"Have it your way, Mrs. Gray.” He throws himself back into his high-back leather chair. “What should I tell the arresting officers is the reason for exonerating our prisoners?" he asks, massaging his temple. I can see he is seething at being bested by a strong woman like my mom.
"They have an alibi, i.e., me and my daughter. We're getting them out of here now. If we have an issue like this again, we won't be so nice about it."
He purses his lips while he mulls over his options, which aren’t many. When it’s clear he’s accepted defeat, he waves a hand to his door. “After you.”
