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“Stop this! I won’t be part of any of this cruelty. I hurt you; we hurt you. My father hurt you. And I won’t ever be able to apologize or grovel enough to show you just how much I regret my choices. But Easton, I can spend the rest my life showing you how much I love you and want you in my life.” Layla, my mother, then turned and slapped Andy in the chest and pushed him away, inching closer to me, her steps slow and calculated.
“You’ll never be able to erase it,” I whispered, seeing the understanding and pain flickering in her eyes. She endured his abuse, too. She knew everything.
“Nobody will,” she whispered, closing the space and wrapping me in her small arms, her strength surrounding me with the simple gesture. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t understand it, Easton. I know what a monster he was, and I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from him, but I will help you heal. Your father and I will help you. You just have to let us in.”
“I was framed.” I choked on my truth, fighting to reign in my trembling emotions. “I was going to leave him, and instead, he turned on me.”
“I know, baby; I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. My poor boy, you’ve had the world on your shoulders. You aren’t alone anymore. You’ll never be alone again.” She held me to her small frame, and despite my best efforts, I broke, my walls collapsing with her touch and voice.
Chapter Nineteen
HARLEY
Easton’s sharp blue eyes cut through me like glass. Disappointment swam in their icy depths, and I shriveled up under his hard glare.
“Don’t worry about me,” I whispered, standing to slam the door in his face, but he stopped me. Sticking out his hand, the force of his strength sent me to the ground in shock.
“Don’t hide from me, Harley. We don’t keep secrets,” he reminded me, our argument from last weekend coming to the front of my mind. I couldn’t believe we were having another one so soon.
If we had stuck to writing letters, we wouldn’t be in this mess. He wouldn’t know my biggest secret.
“We don’t keep secrets? Then why the fuck were you arrested, East?” The words tasted like acid on my tongue, and the hurt that rippled across his face was far worse than any of the thoughts that plagued my mind.
“You want to take out your anger on me? You think I’m clipping your wings by making you face the fucking truth? I want you to fly, Harley. Don’t you ever forget that. I’ll trap you inside of a cage until I make you see your worth, little bird. And when you realize how powerful and beautiful you are, I’ll show you how to fly again. And only then will you truly soar, my little bird.”
I teared up at his words, at the tone of his voice, at the love shining in his eyes, and hated myself a little more for the person I had become.
“Tell me, East. Why must I share all my secrets when you’ve hidden the biggest one? We’ve been beating around the bush for a year now, and you still won’t tell me. What are you so afraid of?” I screamed, standing up to face him.
The fucker had the audacity to grin, the most devastatingly handsome smile, that made my knees knock together with my love for him.
“Losing you.” He swallowed and I took a step back.
“You can’t mean that,” I whispered, some of the anger deflating with his vulnerability. I didn’t know I meant so much to him. He’d never voiced his feelings like that, gone that raw, and I sure as hell couldn’t read his mind.
“You are the only person I care about, Harley. I don’t need anyone or anything else as long as I have you by my side.” Shaking my head, I pushed past him, and my hands sank through the material of his crisp white button-up, the curve of his hard abs just beneath my fingertips nearly drew a moan from my lips.
“Where the hell are you going?” Easton followed me through his apartment. I grabbed my bag from the kitchen counter and shoved my feet into my heels from earlier. My feet ached as I slipped the thin strap around my ankle.
My fingers grasped the bronze handle of his front door. Throwing the door open, I stepped into the carpeted hallway.
I had to get out.
I had to get away from him.
I needed air.
“Harley, don’t run away from me!” His calloused fingers wrapped around my bicep, tugging me back into the apartment.
“Let me go. You have to let me go. I can’t do this. I can’t.” The walls were closing in, and I sucked in a sharp breath, my lungs burning with the lack of oxygen, black dots swimming in my vision.
“I’m never letting you go, little bird. Don’t make me do the impossible.” I fell to my knees, and he was there, holding me, his touch setting my skin ablaze. His lips ghosted over my cheek, soft, warm, and soothing.
“You weren’t supposed to find out!” I cried, curling into a ball, holding my shaky legs together with my weak arms. He wrapped himself around me, holding me together as I fell apart.
“I don’t care. I just want you, my perfect little bird.”
Chocking on a sob, I shook my head. Perfect. I was so far from it.
