The scars of you (The scars series Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Playlist

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  About the Author

  Also by Rachael Tonks

  Scars Of You

  The Scars Series Book One

  Rachael Tonks

  Scars Of You.

  First Edition.

  Copyright © 2017 Rachael Tonks. All rights reserved.

  No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without written consent from the author. Except in the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a piece of fiction. Any names, characters, businesses, places or events are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, events or locations is purely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and have not purchased it for your use only, then you should return it to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Published: Rachael Tonks 2017

  Cover design by Tracie Douglas at Dark water designs

  Edits by Andie M long

  Proofread by Nicki Withey

  Formatting by Abigail Davies All the feels Formatting

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Playlist

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  About the Author

  Also by Rachael Tonks

  Acknowledgments

  MASSIVE THANKS TO MY AWESOME BETA READERS -

  Nicki Withey

  Anne Dawson

  Jamie Nibarger Ellis

  Emma Johnston

  Karen Kramer Hicks

  Playlist

  You belong with me - Taylor Swift

  There’s nothing holding me back - Shawn Mendes

  Slow hands - Niall Horan

  The Cure - Lady Gaga

  Castle on the hill - Ed Sheeran

  One last time - Ariana Grande

  Jut you and I - Tom Walker

  When we were young - Adele

  Chasing cars - Snow patrol

  No promises - Demi Lovato

  Scared to be lonely - Martin Garrix, Dua lipa

  Never forget you - Zara larsson, MNEK

  On my mind - Ellie Goulding

  Rock Bottom - Hailee Steinfield

  Into you - Ariana Grande

  Chainsaw - Nick Jonas

  Human - Christina Perri

  Power - Little Mix ft Stormzy

  “Come on, Trav,” I call over my shoulder, as my feet pound against the crisp grass under my sneakers.

  “I don’t think this is a very good idea,” he stutters through his labored breaths. Travis is my best friend, and had been since last summer when he moved in next door. He came at the right time. Just when I needed a friend the most. “My mom is going to wonder where we are. We shouldn’t have strayed from the yard.”

  “Quit your whining,” I yell at him as I stand in front of the huge oak tree. “It’s this one,” I point up to the biggest, most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen. I stare at the base, noticing some carvings on the side of the trunk. The initials ‘I G’ carved over and over.

  “I’m not doing it,” he replies sullenly, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Pussy,” I taunt with a lift of my brow.

  “Am not.”

  “You so are, Trav. I don’t care whether you are coming or not anyway, because once I get to the top of that tree I’m going to be able to see for miles. I bet I can even see the fair from here.”

  I lift my eyebrows in an attempt to draw him in, but he stares back at me, his arms still crossed firmly over his chest. “You know your mom isn’t going to take you to the fair. Ever. I’m not sure why you want to torture yourself by looking at the stupid thing.”

  “It’s not just the fair, it’s everything else. The view is going to be amazing from up here,” I say, reaching for one of the small branches, pulling up, until my foot is resting on it.

  “Oh, God. Oh, God. He’s doing it, he’s really doing it,” Travis mumbles to himself, pushing his hand through his light-brown hair dramatically. I shake my head, reaching up for the next branch, pulling myself up a little more.

  “Braxton,” he calls. “You have to get down,” he shouts, his voice wavering. I look over my shoulders and half of his face is covered with his hands. He peeks at me through the small gap in-between his fingers. I laugh, continuing to make my way up through the branches, aiming for that huge one near to the top.

  “What are you two doing?” I hear an unfamiliar voice calling, and although it’s loud, I’m pretty sure it’s the sweetest sounding voice I’ve ever heard. My belly flips and for a second I hold my breath, my whole body tensing at the sound of the unaccustomed voice.

  I look down sharply to see where that voice came from, releasing the breath I’d been holding. All I can see is a girl with blonde hair, standing next to Travis. She has the whitest-blonde hair I’ve ever seen. And she looks beautiful. Even from up here.

  “What the hell do you want?” I call back down to her, unable to stop myself.

  “I want you to get down from my tree,” she yells at me, stamping her foot against the ground.

  “It is not your tree. It belongs to nature, so it’s everyone’s tree.”

  “It’s my tree; It has my name on it.”

  I nod a little, remembering the initials etched into the tree trunk. “Just because you write your name on something, doesn’t mean it’s actually yours.” I push myself further onto the thick branch, allowing my legs to swing below me.

  “You know that’s not safe, right?” she asks, pointing up at me.

  “It’s perfectly safe.”

  “No, it’s not,” she tuts, “this is a really old tree. Those branches may look big, but they could break at any time.”

  “So?” I say with a shrug of my shoulders. “What do you care?” I continue to swing my legs. One after the other. With every movement, the old tree creaks.

  “I care a lot, actually,” she says, kicking her hip out in some kind of sassy girl move. “This tree is where I hang out most days. See that house there?” She turns to her right, pointing to a house a little way in the distance. “Well, I live there, and this tree kinda belongs to us.”

  “Why would you say that? That’s a stupid thing to say,” I laugh a little louder than intended.

  “The only thing that is stupid is you climbing that damn tree.”

  I swing my leg one last time as my fingers pick away at the few leaves on the adjoining branch. I pluck them one by one, dropping them to the ground.


  “Don’t do that,” she yells. “Stop ruining the tree.”

  “Make me,” I say, reaching for that one leaf just a little too far away. I stretch, but can’t reach it. I lean a little onto my side, desperately trying to grab the damn leaf, but the creaking becomes a cracking sound, and before I can try to understand what is happening, I’m falling.

  Thud.

  My leg hits the ground before my body does. The sound of cracking fills my senses and despite my best attempts, I can’t move.

  I can hear voices and see the faces of the girl and Travis, but the buzzing in my ears stops me from focusing on the words that are tumbling from their mouths. I let out a groan, my whole body aching and confusion buzzes through my mind. But the pain in my leg is the worst. I let out a yelp as I drop my head back, closing my eyes. “Braxton, oh my God, are you okay?” He leans over, pulling on my shirt. I open my eyes, focusing on his face. It’s contorted, his nose scrunched up as his face hovers over mine.

  “My leg, Trav,” I cry out, not daring to move at all. “I think I’ve broken my leg.”

  “What should I do? I don’t know what to do.” The panic is evident in his voice.

  “Don’t freak out,” the girl soothes Travis, resting her hand on his shoulder. “I will stay here with, uh, him…”

  “My name is Braxton. Got it?” I grate out, a little nastier than I’d intended.

  “Okay, okay,” she replies as she walks around kneeling beside me. “I will stay here, you go tell his parents.”

  “Oh, yeah, sure,” he fumbles, before jumping to his feet and running across the field, making his way home. My eyes follow him as he runs faster than I’ve ever seen him run before.

  “Look at me,” she places her warm hand against the cool skin of my cheek, turning my head until I’m facing her. “I got you. Okay?”

  “How bad is it?” I ask, not daring to look at the mess my leg must be in.

  “Broken,” she mutters, shooting me a sad smile. “It’s best not to look.”

  “I don’t feel too good,” I say, resting my forearm over my eyes.

  “You’re okay, it’s just the shock. Keep talking to me. Tell me about yourself,” she asks, her hand now working in a circular motion against my chest.

  “I like to climb trees,” I say sarcastically.

  “And you don’t listen, that much I do know about you. I mean, you broke my beautiful tree.”

  “Your beautiful tree broke my leg,” I retort. “I have no idea who you are, or what your name is,” I say with a grimace. The pain increasing with every second.

  “My name is Isabelle, but most people call me Belle, or Bella,” she looks directly at me with her huge blue eyes, her long blonde hair cascading down the side of her face. She has a smile on her face, the kind that makes my belly flip over and over.

  “I like Izzy,” I say a little breathlessly, my breathing becoming more erratic as the pain grows.

  “Uh oh. No you don’t. I hate that. It’s Belle or Bella. Take your pick.”

  “Sure, Izzy, no problem.” I let out a stifled laugh. She playfully slaps the top of my arm.

  “Ouch,” I say with a pout. “Talk about kicking me while I’m down.”

  “I did warn you. Are you always this stubborn?”

  “Always,” I say, sticking out my tongue at her. This girl is bossy, annoying and I already know I’m going to hate her. Jeez, who am I kidding? She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. The kind that stands out in a crowd. Yeah, that’s right. I’m going to love to hate this girl.

  And that’s exactly what I did for the next eight years.

  For eight years we were best friends. Completely and utterly inseparable. There wasn’t a day that passed by where I didn’t see her. Where we weren’t hanging out.

  We were like the three amigos, only better.

  Until she disappeared.

  Gone.

  And no one would give me any answers.

  That was the moment my life changed forever.

  The moment when I felt like I lost my reason for living. Losing her was the catalyst for the rest of the shit that happened to me. And that shit made me the person I am today.

  A person with secrets I hide away from the world. The burden of those secrets that have cut so deep they are like scars deep inside my soul. Scars that will never heal.

  My mother always told me I’d amount to nothing. I guess she was right. I take a drag on my cigarette as I stand outside the house of the most notorious criminal in the city. He just happens to be my best friend, my business partner. The guy who took me under his wing when I had nothing else to fucking live for. Some might say he’s the worst kind of criminal, but me, I’d say different.

  This was never what I set out to do with my life, but it’s the path I was fucking forced on to. A path I don’t think I can ever get off. I’m in too fucking deep. It’s become a way of life. It’s become my life.

  See, that morning I knocked on Izzy’s door, was the morning I no longer had a reason to stay on the right side of the path. She’d gone. She left to go live with her father. No goodbye, no explanations. No forwarding address.

  She just left me.

  Something she always promised she wouldn’t.

  And when she did, she took my fucking heart with her.

  “Hey, man, you coming in, or just gonna sit out here all fucking day?” The gruff voice asks me. I slowly lift my head, my hard, narrowed eyes meeting his.

  “I’ll be in when I’m good and ready,” I say with a growl. I step off my bike, taking one last drag of my cigarette before flicking it towards the asshole standing in front of me. Hitting his jacket, it bounces off and lands just in front of him.

  “Watch the jacket,” he grumbles, brushing down the front where the cigarette made contact. “You really are a fucking prick, Braxton. You have a damn attitude problem.”

  I feel the thudding of my heart as it picks up pace. I slowly step closer to him, my face only inches from his. “Fucking attitude,” I roar. My teeth are clenched together so tightly, but my hand wanders to the inside of my jeans. I locate the handle of my gun, slowly pulling it from the wedged position inside my jeans. “You’re a pathetic, motherfucking rat,” I say with an exaggerated sniff.

  “Fuck you, man, I ain’t no rat.” He pushes lightly against my hard chest, but it makes no impact. This guy is only half my size. I reach out, grabbing his jacket and pulling him in closer. I whip out the gun, pressing it against the side of his head.

  “I guess you would say that though, wouldn’t you?”

  “What the… what the fuck are you doing, man?”

  “What? You’re surprised I’m holding a gun to your head? Huh? It’s about time you showed me some fucking respect.”

  “Fuck you,” he spits back, “you haven’t got the fucking balls to pull the trigger.”

  “You don’t know me very well, do you?” I say with a laugh. Releasing the hold I have on his jacket, I thrust my arm out, causing him to stumble back. I hold out the gun, pointing it directly at him before pulling the trigger. He lets out an almighty yelp before falling to the floor with a thud. I feel the warm spray of blood against my face.

  “Fuck,” I sigh, wiping the shit stain’s blood from my face. I take a few steps forward until I’m standing over his lifeless body.

  I swing my leg out, pushing his body out of the way and head to make my way inside. I stride down the hall and into the one room where I know he’ll be. His office. Rapping my bloodstained knuckles against the door before, I reach for the lever and push it open. I know he’s expecting me. I just hope he doesn’t have some chick jaw-locked around his cock this time.

  “Yes,” he calls over to me as I slowly step through the door. His eyes widen at the sight of me, a small flash of a smile creeps across his face. “Braxton,” he sings as he steps up out of his seat, making his way over to me. He stops just in front of me, his eyes widening when he sees the blood splatter.

  “What the fuck? Ar
e you okay, man? What happened?” His voice is laced with concern.

  “I’m fine,” I sigh, dismissing him with a wave. “That motherfucking rat, Torledo, pushed his luck one time too many with me. You might want to get someone to clean up the mess outside.” I take off my jacket and stride through to the adjoining bathroom, turning the tap and holding my bloodied hands under the stream. The water runs red as I frantically rub them together under the tap. I look up at my reflection, dots of blood cover my face. I splash the water upward, scrubbing my face until I can no longer see any evidence of what just happened. I grab the towel, drying myself before returning to the office.

  “Get it moved and fast,” Carter orders to the three men at the door. They quickly make a move, closing the door behind them.

  “I got it covered,” he says with a nod as I hold out my arms and embrace this man. Carter Mellano is a lot of things. A drug lord, a murderer and all round low life criminal. But he’s also the one that saved me. The guy who cared when no other fucker did. When she abandoned me with not so much as a goodbye.

  “It’s good to see you, Brax. How have you been?”

  “Good. I’ve been good,” I repeat, patting his back before stepping away from his embrace and sliding into the leather seat at the side of his desk.

  “You look fucking good, bro.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” I say with a shrug. “So, let’s talk business. What’s the latest, man?” I lift my feet, resting them on the corner of the dark wooden table. Despite his reputation, despite all the things he’s done, I feel at home with him. He’s the only person who knows what happened to me that night she went missing, and he’s the one person who has held me up ever since. He’s like the older brother I always wanted.