Forbidden Read online

  Forbidden

  Liliana Rhodes

  Contents

  About Forbidden

  I. The Devil You Know

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  II. The Boy Next Door—Literally

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  III. The Heart Never Forgets

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Excerpt —Tease

  About Tease

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Also by Liliana Rhodes

  About the Author

  Sign Up For FREE Books

  About Forbidden

  "He was everything I wanted, but the one I couldn't have."

  Shane Ventana was hot, popular, and the ultimate bad boy back in high school. I was crazy about him, but he didn’t even know I was alive. Then one day the impossible happened and he moved into my house. Sounds perfect, right?

  Wrong. He blamed everything on me, but I fell in love with him anyway. I know, you’re wondering how I fell for such a jerk, but really, I couldn’t help myself. And just my luck, when things were finally perfect between us, he left.

  It took me years to get over him. I didn’t think I could ever love anyone again. Then one day I heard the words that made my heart start beating all over again--“Shane is coming.”

  Forbidden

  Copyright © 2019 by Liliana Rhodes

  Jaded Speck Publishing LLC

  Cover Design by CT Cover Creations

  Editing by The Passionate Proofreader

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  I

  The Devil You Know

  Chapter One

  Rosalie

  “Rosalie! Hey, Rosalie DeLeo!”

  I looked around the open door of my locker and down the wide hall as I heard my name. Noelle, my best friend, held her books tightly to her chest as she quickly walked over with a huge grin on her face, her eyes wide with excitement. Noelle had thick red curls, freckles, and smelled like the bubble gum she constantly chewed.

  “Did you see him today?” she asked.

  “Him?” I turned to look back at my locker, playing coy.

  “You know—him,” she said.

  I knew who she meant, but sometimes I liked to pretend I didn’t. The last thing I wanted to do was admit that he was always on my mind.

  Noelle leaned against the lockers while I grabbed my books for the next class. I didn’t need to look at her to know she knew I was playing dumb. I’m not sure why I even tried hiding it from her.

  “Yeah, I saw him after homeroom this morning. Why?”

  “Because he looks so freaking hot today,” Noelle said as she fanned herself. “I think I saw a new tattoo too.”

  He was Shane Ventana. He started at our high school last year and everyone thought he was hot. Shane had shaggy dark blond hair that fell onto his forehead and piercing green eyes. He was tattooed, mysterious, an honor roll student, and captain of the basketball team. Shane was everything rolled into one and there was no one else like him. And, like most everyone else in school, Shane had no idea I was alive.

  “He’s been working on that sleeve for a while,” I said. “My parents would kill me if I got a tattoo. I mean he’s not eighteen yet, doesn’t he need permission?”

  “Really? That’s what you’re thinking about? No wonder you’re still a virgin. His tattoos make me wonder if he has any we can’t see,” she said, snapping her gum and raising her brow at the same time. “You know what I mean?”

  “Everyone knows what you mean,” I said. “And I am not a virgin. You know that.”

  “I know you dated Ben Miller for a while, I know you had sex with him, but I also know he didn’t make you cum. That, in my book, makes you a virgin.”

  “Shut up,” I said, laughing.

  Looking past her, I spotted Shane coming down the hall. I cleared my throat and widened my eyes as I looked back at Noelle, and then flicked them in his direction, letting Noelle know he was heading our way.

  Noelle stayed calm, still leaning against the lockers as I tried to not stare at him. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a chain that hung from his belt loop and a dark blue, short-sleeved t-shirt that clung to his chest. As he walked past a group of guys, he lifted his muscular arm and high-fived them.

  Stop staring, Rosalie. Look away now. He’s not blind, he’s going to see you staring. Wait...is he looking at me? What do I do?!

  I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was close enough that I could see the stubble on his chin that dipped into a dimple. His green eyes were right on me, but more than just on me, they saw into me.

  My heart pounded so loudly that I was sure everyone could hear. But he didn’t turn, he didn’t look away. No one had ever looked at me that way. Heat spread over my skin and up into my cheeks. The way he was looking at me was like he knew what I looked like naked.

  Relax, Rosalie, you’re not naked. Crap, what am I wearing? Why did I have to wear this stupid shirt? Naked might’ve been better.

  “Sup,” he said with the slightest nod as he walked past.

  Faints.

  Surprised to find myself still standing, I quickly glanced at my locker mirror. Eyeliner not smudged, light brown hair not too limp, and then my eyes dropped to my ugly yellow and black shirt I only wore when I didn’t get to do laundry.

  Just my luck that the one time he notices me, I look like an idiot, I thought.

  “Holy shit,” Noelle said. “He talked to you! You gotta talk to him.”

  “What? Nooo,” I said, slamming my locker door closed. “He probably thought I was someone else.”

  “We have to go to the game tonight,” Noelle said, the wheels in her mind spinning. “Maybe he’ll talk to you again.”

  “Tonight? I can’t. I told my dad I’d go to dinner with him and Joanna.”

  “Your stepmom?”

  “Yes, well no, they’re not married. I don't think my dad will ever get married again,” I said. “They’ve just been together forever.”

  The warning bell rang and Noelle and I headed in different directions. Once she was out of sight, I ran down the steps to peek out the glass doors towards the smoking porch where I knew Shane would be.

  I was running out of time before class started, but I didn’t care. I had to see him again. He spoke to me! I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t care that it was barely a word, it was something. For at least one brief moment, he knew I existed.

  Shane was sitting on one of the cement ledges that surrounded the brick patio, an unlit cigarette balanced between his lips. He cupped his hands around his lighter to keep the wind from blowing it out as he lit the cigarette.

  If Noelle knew I was there, she would have pushed me to talk to him. But I couldn’t. I just wanted one last glimpse of him before my last class and the weekend started. As he blew
the smoke out of his lungs, a few cheerleaders gathered around him. He leaned towards a tall redhead next to him and kissed her. Shane didn’t have one girlfriend, he had many. And I hated every one of them. Okay, maybe hate was the wrong word. I envied them.

  There was no way he meant to say hi to me. I was invisible in school. I was the girl without the designer clothes and with the double-digit size. I wasn’t the girl that Shane Ventana noticed. I wasn’t the girl anyone noticed.

  But I am the girl who stalks him, I thought, glad no one saw me.

  As I headed back up the steps to the classrooms, I promised myself I would stop obsessing about him. But even as I swore it, I knew it was impossible.

  Chapter Two

  Rosalie

  As soon as my dad honked the horn, I ran out of my bedroom and down the steps to the front door. I never liked being at home and it seemed the older I got, the more my mother and stepfather did things to make me uncomfortable. Especially my stepfather.

  My parents divorced when I was five. My father was heartbroken and would give me poems and music to give to my mother, but she wanted nothing to do with him. She had already found someone else. That someone else moved in soon after the divorce was final, and later became my stepfather Jim. All of it left me confused and feeling like I was in the middle.

  I loved my dad and remembered doing so many things with him when I was little. But after they divorced, I hardly saw him. He wasn’t allowed to call and my mother said so many bad things about him, I didn’t know what to believe. It wasn’t until the past year that my dad and I started spending a little more time together, but it still wasn’t much. I didn’t feel like I really knew him.

  “Where are you going?” Jim barked as I reached for the door.

  “Dinner with my dad.”

  “You don’t go anywhere without my permission.”

  “I told Mom,” I said as I opened the door and waved to my dad as he sat in the car.

  “She should have said something to me,” Jim said.

  Then take it up with her, I thought. I wished I could say something like that, but I didn’t dare. I looked at my dad smiling at me from his car, then back to Jim with his scowl. I was frozen at the doorway, unsure of what to do. What was I afraid of? I had plans with my father, there was nothing wrong with that.

  “I’ll see you later,” I said as I stepped out the door.

  “Where’s my kiss?” Jim said.

  My stomach twisted and dropped, making me feel sick. I hate this, I thought.

  I stepped back into the house, where Jim was now standing by the door. He stooped down to my height, and I quickly kissed him, but kept my lips from touching his rough cheek.

  “That didn’t count,” he said. “Do it again.”

  I looked down at the floor to hide my frustration. I knew any reaction of mine would only make things worse. Swallowing hard, I pursed my lips again and kissed his cheek quickly, making sure my lips touched his skin even if it was only for a second. I held my breath as I waited for his verdict.

  “Better,” he said. “Since you’re just going out for dinner, I’ll expect you home in two hours.”

  “But I’m going out with my dad,” I said, forcing myself to keep any emotion in check.

  “Two hours is enough time for dinner no matter who you’re with.”

  I closed the door behind me and sucked in some of the cold night air. My body was in knots like it always was after talking to Jim. As I got into my dad’s car, he nodded his head towards the house.

  “Everything okay?” Dad asked.

  Looking towards the house, I saw Jim standing in the doorway. The porch light reflected against his bald head and I imagined smashing a two-by-four into it. As I smiled at the thought, I turned back to my dad.

  “Everything’s fine,” I said as I waved in Jim’s direction.

  The farther Dad drove down the street, the more I relaxed. The knots in my body loosened up and I breathed easier.

  “Where’s Joanna?” I asked. “I thought the three of us were going out to dinner.”

  “It’s going to be four of us. She had to drive to her ex’s to pick up his son. They’ll be meeting us at the restaurant.”

  “Son? I had no idea she had kids. How old is he?”

  “Well he’s not her son, but she feels responsible for him even though they never got married.” He paused for a moment, and I could tell he was thinking. “His age? Hmm, I don’t know. I think he’s around your age. She doesn’t talk about him much. He lives with his father, and she takes him out every so often.”

  “That’s a little weird,” I said.

  “It was a weird situation. You probably don’t remember my friend Ryan from when you were little, do you?” he asked. “This was after your mother and I...”

  Got divorced. He could never say the words. He looked away, but I didn’t have to see his eyes to know there was still pain there.

  I thought for a while, trying to remember any of my father’s friends, but no one came to mind. My memories were a crapshoot. Some things were as clear as if they happened yesterday while other memories just weren’t there.

  “No, I don’t remember him,” I said.

  “Ryan and I taught at the middle school together. We were really good friends, but then something happened to him. He would vanish for days and his girlfriend, Joanna, would call me crying on the phone asking if I had heard from him. Ends up he was doing drugs, and had some other women on the side. Eventually he chose his addiction over her, his job, and everything. They had been together for years. They never got married, but they lived together, and did everything as if they were married. As you can imagine, she was really upset about it. So I guess that gave Joanna and I something else in common.”

  “But how did Ryan get custody if he was an addict?”

  “The kid isn’t her son.” He shrugged. “I think he was around two when Ryan and Joanna got together. If I remember right, Ryan sent him away to some school when they were together so Joanna never got really close to him, but she tries to do what she can for him. She feels bad for him.”

  I felt bad for him too, and I didn’t even know him.

  “Where’s his mother?” I asked.

  “I have no idea. Ryan never talked about her and you know I never ask about that kind of stuff, it’s none of my business.”

  When we got to the restaurant, they seated us right away. I sat across from my dad, assuming Joanna would want to sit next to him. My father kept checking his watch, and after fifteen minutes, he started to look worried. As he stretched his neck to look towards the hostess stand, a smile spread across his face, and he stood up and waved to Joanna.

  I carefully folded my napkin and looked towards the doorway. Shane entered the room and slowly walked in our direction followed by Joanna. My heart leapt in my chest like a cartoon character's.

  Shane??

  “I’m so sorry we’re late, Dennis,” Joanna said to my dad as her hand lingered on his hand.

  Joanna kissed my father’s cheek and smiled sweetly at me. She looked perfect, like she always did. Her thick dark hair was pinned into an updo, bringing more attention to her high cheekbones and tanned skin. As she sat down, her perfectly manicured hands hung her expensive bag on the back of her seat.

  Shane yanked the chair next to me out from the table and angrily sat down. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at the table. Other than his chair being near, he might as well have been somewhere else.

  “I’m glad you could join us, Rosalie. It’s always nice to see you,” Joanna said.

  “It’s good seeing you too,” I said.

  I meant that. I liked Joanna. She never had a bad thing to say, and she seemed to make my father happy.

  “Rosalie, I’d like to introduce you to Shane,” she said, then paused as she waited for him to reply. A brief look of embarrassment crossed her features. “Shane! Don’t do this to me,” she snapped.

  I jumped at Joanna’s tone, but it seeme
d I was the only one at the table not used to hearing it. Despite knowing Joanna for years, I suddenly felt like I didn’t know anything about her at all.

  Shane stretched his legs out and leaned back. He rubbed his scruffy cheek as he scanned the restaurant. I had been waiting for him to turn towards me so that I could say hi, but it was clear he couldn’t care less about being friendly.

  Joanna closed her eyes for a second and let out a long breath. When she opened them, a calm smile appeared on her face.

  “Rosalie, I hope your father didn’t spoil the surprise. The reason we asked for you both to be here is because we wanted you to be the first to know we got married.”

  “We had been talking about it for a while, but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it since we’ve both been in serious relationships before,” Dad said as he squeezed Joanna’s hand. “You know how I feel about weddings, and Joanna thinks the same way. So we just went down to City Hall and made it official.”

  I had been taking a sip of water as they spoke, and I choked. As I coughed uncontrollably, Shane whacked me on the back, and I spit water from my mouth. This was not the kind of attention I wanted from him. Not at all. I must have done something really bad in another life to deserve this kind of embarrassment.

  “You couldn’t tell me that over the phone?” Shane sneered at Joanna. “You made me miss the game tonight.” He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the time with a sneer. “I’ve got better places to be.”