Twisted Bliss

  * * * *

  Twisted Bliss

  Imperfect Perfection Series

  Book Two

  Copyright © 2014 by CA Williams

  Editing by Lea Burn

  Cover Design by Steph’s Cover Design

  Formatting by JT Formatting

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  For other titles by CA Williams, visit Amazon

  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 Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Special Sneak Preview of Midnight Ballerina

  “OH MY GOD, Nash. Please,” I groaned, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. I just needed it to stop. Immediately.

  He grunted loudly, and his arm brushed against my stomach when he finally moved. “Della,” he stated hoarsely in a calm tone. Of course he would be calm when I felt like punching someone in the face. That was just Nash. “Quit your bitching.”

  My eyes popped open and he grinned, balancing on his elbow as he hovered over me. I tightened my fist and pushed it roughly into his t-shirt covered chest, knocking him off of the couch where we had fallen asleep last night after a late-night movie marathon.

  “Ow! Thanks for knocking me onto this hard-ass floor of yours.”

  I opened one eye to peek down at him, making sure that he wasn’t actually in pain, and then closed it once again. “Let me guess. Mariah?”

  “Yup,” he answered, his voice fading away as he left the room, most likely to call her back. She had him on one short leash since they got back “together.” We all knew the only reason they mended their relationship was the fact that Mariah was pregnant. Nash, though, never once complained about the whole situation. I liked to believe he was somewhat happy with her, but I guess I would never really know.

  Things were a little awkward, to say the least, after Nash called things off between us at the end of the summer once he found out about Mariah. I was glad that I didn’t end things first. If I had, he would’ve known that it was because of Justin, and I probably would have lost his friendship.

  Nash and I had known each other since we were little. Some would think, “Oh, the boy-next-door type of thing,” and at one time, I even thought of that as a possibility. He was one of my best friends, and even though we lost contact over the years after my mom divorced my dad and whisked me off to Connecticut, as soon as I was back, we easily fell into our old friendship. Although, Nash wanted something more, and we tried, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I was glad our brief hook up hadn’t ruined things between us.

  Now, Nash was getting ready to be a dad, which was a little surreal for me, so I’m sure it was beyond words for him. He was still trying to be as much of a normal college guy as he could, though. Mariah was due in a few short months, so while she dropped out of school, Nash continued. They both moved in with his mom to save money, which was a pretty far drive from campus so a lot of the time he ended up crashing at the house I shared with Callie, Zoey and Mia. I highly doubted Mariah knew how much time he spent here and I’m sure he insinuated that he was staying with his old roommates, not me. I had no clue why he would willingly want to stay here, since most of the time I didn’t even want to come home if Mia was going to be here.

  Yes, I was tighter than ever with Callie and Zoey, but Mia was another story.

  My stepsister and I had never really been what you would consider close. Our parents married when we were both preteens, so getting a new sister wasn’t really that glamorous to either of us, plus Mia lived with her mother the majority of the time.

  I always saw Mia as perfection; her grades were always excellent, she respected her dad and my mom, and she participated in every possible activity and club during high school. So, when I went through my rebellious phase, and ultimately wound up pregnant, which ended in an abortion, I think I despised her even more.

  After I swallowed a handful of pills, I vaguely recall seeing Mia in my hospital room, peering over my bed to look down at me. I remember the pity in her eyes, with a hint of distaste, and it reminded me of the same expression my mother gave me. So, I simply didn’t bother trying with Mia.

  Then, when I was finally starting to pick up the pieces of my life and get it back to somewhat of a working order, Mia was the one suddenly falling apart. Gone was the mousy girl who followed all of the rules and always made me seem like the problem child. She had been replaced by someone even worse than my former self, if that were possible.

  My troubled relationship with my mom was in the midst of repair, and as I continued to change, she began to see me as the golden child. So, she felt that I could be the one to get the old Mia back since I had made such a drastic change in my own life, which is how Mia ended up living with my two best friends and me. Go figure that one out.

  “Hey, I have to get going.” Nash tucked his phone into the pocket of his shorts and bent down, flicking a lone sock in my face.

  “Ugh.” I hurled the offending item back at him, but he dodged it easily. “Mariah need something?” I tried to say it without any sarcasm in my voice whatsoever, but it was pretty freaking hard. Mariah brought out the worst in me. I had a feeling she trapped Nash on purpose, but for now, I was keeping my mouth shut. I didn’t want to lose Nash’s friendship by pissing him off. So, lips zipped.

  “Yeah.” He smirked as he pulled out his keys and twirled them on one finger. “Never thought I’d see the day, but she’s craving a burger. That girl hates anything greasy, but little junior is kinda demanding.”

  I rolled my eyes at the nickname Nash had decided on for his unborn baby, even though I could totally picture a mini-Nash and he would be the cutest thing ever. Still didn’t mean I needed to like the egg donor. “Well, make sure to tell Mariah I said hi.” I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster so early in the morning, and collapsed back onto the throw pillow that I slept on last night. I heard him snort lou
dly, knowing that any sweetness on my part toward Mariah was total bullshit, before opening and closing the front door.

  Nash knew Mariah and I weren’t exactly besties, even though he wanted us to get along. I think he glazed over any type of relationship we’d had, which was fine with me. I knew he wasn’t ashamed of me, or anything; it just made his life easier. Things had been a little tense between the two of them, but eventually, Mariah got over it…at least that’s what Nash said. He ended up dragging me to lunch with her one day, and she surprised me by acting friendly. Maybe pregnancy was a good thing for Mariah.

  I heard the front door open up seconds later, and I popped my eyes open, expecting it to be Nash. Callie and Zoey had taken a road trip to Ohio for the weekend and of course invited me along, but I started back up at Shorty’s a little over a month ago. Brian was a relatively easygoing boss, but I really didn’t want to take advantage of him.

  I groaned when Mia skipped in, slamming the door hard enough behind herself that it made the picture frames lining the top of the entertainment stand rattle. “Oops.” Mia giggled, placing a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Late night with Nash again?” Her brows pushed into her forehead as she gave me a pointed look.

  Mia didn’t get that Nash and I were just friends. I explained to her over and over again that yes, girls really could be just friends with guys, but clearly, she wasn’t convinced. I guess I didn’t help my own case much since Nash and I went from being friends, to being a couple for an insanely short amount of time, back to being just friends again.

  Whatever.

  I shrugged one shoulder, sitting up to tuck my legs underneath me. “And where were you all night?” I asked, twirling a piece of my hair between my fingers. I needed to try to concentrate on that so I didn’t go into full on bitch-mode with Mia.

  “Oh, you know.” She grinned slyly as she kicked off the stripper shoes she seemed to wear everywhere and collapsed onto the other end of the couch. Luckily, she had enough common sense to pull down the hooker dress she was wearing, so I didn’t have the courtesy of seeing her hoo-ha. I’m sure it had been on full display enough recently anyway.

  Ugh, quit being a hypocrite, Della.

  I did my share of whoring around after that whole mess that went down when I had the abortion. I still hated even thinking about that word, much less saying it out loud, but every day seemed to heal me just a little bit more. It wasn’t something that would just go away over time; it would stay with me for the rest of my life.

  Sex seemed like something to fill the void, however messed up that sounded, until—well, I guess it all started when my mom decided to ship me off to North Carolina. She couldn’t handle me any longer, which now that I think about it, I can see why. I could barely handle myself. In all reality, sending me away to be with my grandparents, to a fresh, new start, was the best thing for me. Meeting new friends, my roommates, Zoey and Callie, and even Justin, all changed me for the better.

  Justin had been a huge factor, and I still think about him every day. About those smoky gray eyes that could say so much about his mood without him speaking a word, and his tight, fit body covered in tattoos that gave him that bad boy appearance, though he currently worked as a police officer. I think they call that a conundrum.

  And that dark, messy hair of his. I could never decide if I loved it more when he pulled a beanie on down low, or had it uncovered so I could tug my fingers through it. How much I still thought about him was bordering on obsessive. Even the scent of a cigarette, which I hated at the time when we first started dating but he eventually quit, reminded me of him, and I had even snuck a few, just lighting them to get that first smell of the burn.

  I really needed to stop thinking about him.

  I thought that he would try to win me back after that day I saw him at Shorty’s, and if he had shown up on my doorstep the day after, a month after, even today, I would’ve forgiven him. I was sick and tired of hearing that I overreacted about him hooking up with some random girl before things between us became serious. When I heard what he did, it was the worst kind of hurt I had ever felt before. But, in hindsight, I could see that I overreacted. I didn’t want him out of my life forever.

  However, Justin never showed up. I wasn’t going to lie and say that it didn’t hurt. It gnawed away at me every day. Maybe what we had really wasn’t so different for him. Maybe I was just another notch on his bedpost. Maybe he’d forgotten about me completely.

  I shook my head, trying to clear those depressing thoughts, and tuned back in to what Mia was saying. She had been rambling on about her killer night out, and after hearing the same story almost every morning for the past two months, it had turned into a little of a bore.

  “So, there’s this guy.” My ears perked up right away at that, and I cleared my throat as I turned my head to pay attention to her. There was never one guy for Mia, there were always a hookup, or a ‘fuck buddy’ as she liked to call them. She had plenty of those.

  “Really? Tell me about him.” Maybe this would finally be the turning point for Mia. Justin had been a big part of changing my life for the better, and even though when things ended I went into a little bit of a downward spiral, I stopped myself from plummeting all the way to the bottom.

  “Oh well, he’s pretty awesome. Sexy as hell, smart, great job, all of that good shit.” She smiled coyly before jumping to her feet. “Well, have to cut the chitchat short, so go check in with Mommy-dearest. Tell her I’m still misbehaving. I’m off to bed.” She wiggled her fingers over her shoulder at me before heading down the darkened hallway toward her bedroom. Hers was the only bedroom on the first floor, and the only one with an attached bathroom. She called dibs on it the day we moved in, and really, we just let her have it.

  “I don’t tattle on you,” I yelled after her, but the slamming of her door told me she didn’t hear me, didn’t care to hear me. Whatever, I wasn’t going to lie. Whenever my mom called and asked me about Mia, I told her the truth.

  She didn’t have a job, hadn’t signed up for any classes, and basically didn’t have any responsibilities. She was out all night, and slept all day—on the days she bothered coming home. I tried having a few talks with her when she first moved in, but they seemed pointless. Plus, I wasn’t exactly the motherly type, the type that looked after people. That just wasn’t me.

  I didn’t go into details with my mother, though. Somehow, Mia was making a name for herself around campus, and she wasn’t even a student. Apparently, she was a favorite over at the Beta Gamma Phi fraternity house. And when I say favorite, I mean a favorite for all of them. That was a story I never wanted to hear ever again.

  Ever.

  I’d never even gotten crazy enough to be with more than one guy at a time…ugh, just the thought of Mia doing that made me sick to my stomach. I think she told me those stories on purpose. She really was out of control. But Gerald, my stepfather, footed the bill for our rental house and as long as she didn’t bring any of that home with her, then I guess I was fine with it.

  I didn’t have the time to worry about other people. I finally had some control over my life and where it was going, and I needed to focus on that. Adelaide McGregor had her shit together, and that’s how it was going to stay.

  Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Della. It will totally work.

  I NEVER THOUGHT I would actually enjoy going to classes, but this semester I really was. All of my general education courses were far behind me, something that I saw as a huge accomplishment because when I first started college I could not have cared less. Now, I was taking classes that made me realize getting my degree was just that much closer.

  When I chose early childhood education as my major, I didn’t even think twice about having to work with younger kids. Why? Because I was having a blonde moment or something. I was literally scared of kids. Babies, mainly, but the kids I would be teaching were still young.

  If I were actually given the choice of whether I wanted an abortion or not, I really can’
t say what I would have done. But my mom had made that choice for me, and I would be the one to live with it for the rest of my life. We were still working on our relationship, and I’m not sure it would ever really be normal again, but we were at least cordial to each other. It’s not like we ever had the type of bond where I told her everything, or we went shopping together.

  Anyway, after I finally realized that I was going to be teaching actual kids, I experienced a bit of a panic attack. I went to my school counselor and debated on switching my major, but I just kept going back to the same one. I was glad I did. I loved all of my classes so far, and I was slowly getting over my fear of kids; the internship I did during last semester definitely helped. They really weren’t that scary…most of the time.

  I was rushing across campus so I wouldn’t be late to my next class when I heard my phone ring in my purse, and I somehow dug it out without slowing down.

  Marley: Which one?

  The text, followed by pictures of two different outfit choices for the day, made me smile. I always got the same kind of message from Marley. We were each other’s stylists even though we lived hundreds of miles apart.

  Marley had been one of my best friends, along with Madison, at the swanky private school I attended back in Connecticut. God, I had been so different back then, I was almost a totally different person now.

  When I moved to North Carolina, I pretty much cut off all contact with everyone from the pretentious town where I’d lived with my mother and stepfather. No one ever knew about the pregnancy, the abortion, or my attempt at suicide. Well, at least, that’s what I thought.

  After I ignored Marley and Madison’s few attempts to contact me, somehow that information was leaked all over every social media outlet possible. And Madison had been the culprit. It really wasn’t that surprising when I finally answered the phone to a crying Marley who tattled on her supposed best friend. Apparently, Madison made richer, snobbier, best friends when they went away to college together, and decided to ditch Marley once and for all.

  I was a little cautious about talking to Marley at first. I could totally see the two of them scheming together to get some more information out of me with the whole best-friend-breakup story. She always seemed to want everything of mine, boys included, but I guess I couldn’t blame her. Not everything had been handed to her on a silver spoon like it had been to me.