AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat at the end of the couch, next to his bare feet, and curled my legs into my chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my chin on top of my knee. I didn't look at him, but could feel him staring at me.
"What are you watching?" I asked, as I kept my gaze trained on the ginormous television mounted to the wall. It was the largest TV I had ever seen in someone's home before. Boys were boys, after all, and they liked their toys. Well, except for Quinton it seemed. The only thing he really, really liked seemed to be being an asshole, books, and me. Though, not exactly in that order. I liked to think I came first.
Trenton cleared his throat before mumbling uncomfortably, "Gossip Girl."
I turned to gape at him in surprise before I burst out into laughter.
This scarred up male who had a vibe about him that said he'd kick your ass if you fucked with him, had dedicated his life to being a badass bodyguard, and knew how to wield a sword like he'd been born to it, was sitting here in the dark watchingGossip Girl.
When I finally got my laughter under control, I told him, "I think you and Julian have the potential to be great friends. By chance, do you like theTitanic?"
"The movie?" he asked quietly, and I nodded my head. "Never seen it before."
"Hmm..." I murmured noncommittally. In my head, though, I was already planning on having a conversation with Julian so I could set up a torture time for him to watch the movie with Trenton. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie for the most part, but there had been enough room for the both of them on that raft at the end. There was no reason, outside of Rose being a spoiled brat, for Jack to have turned into a popsicle at the end. I would watch horror movies with Damien all night long before I ever watched that movie with Julian. No, thank you.
If Trenton was a willing enough victim then I would happily throw him under that particular bus.
Someone cleared their throat from behind us. Trenton remained still, only his eyes going behind the couch. I, on the other hand, jumped. I flew to my feet as my hand went to my chest and I whirled around.
Rain stood on the other side of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest, and lips that kept twitching in one corner of his mouth.
"Something funny, Rain?" I inquired in an unfriendly voice. I had no idea how long he'd been standing there spying on us. It was a rude thing to do, but I knew I had no right to be upset about it when there were so many people staying in one house at the moment. Privacy was hard won when you lived with a house full of guys.
"Oh, hey," Simon said, as he strolled around Rain and moved to where his brother's head rested against the arm of the couch. "Gossip Girl,hell yes, bro. This is my favorite episode. Shove over so there's room for me. If you want to make popcorn too, you won't hear any complaints from me."
Simon tried to sit down, shoving his brother's head over with his hip, and I eyed them both like they were insane. They might as well have been as far as I was concerned.
The brothers argued playfully amongst themselves. I smiled softly at them before looking back to Rain.
"What are you doing down here, Rain?"
Rain gave me a sad smile, this one the furthest thing from amused I had ever seen.
"I was hoping to find you awake," he told me. "I heard someone moving around up here and hoped to find you. If not in here, I was going to go to your bedroom."
That hadn't really answered my question so I asked, "Why?"
He scratched the back of his neck nervously and suddenly he looked uncomfortable.
"Dad," I said in a quiet voice. "What's going on? Is something wrong with you?"
His face immediately softened and his eyes shined brightly. I watched him blink quickly and knew he was trying to get his emotions under control, taking back the control he always held on tightly to with an iron fist.
Rain cleared his throat as he looked away from me.
That soft look on his face was close to my undoing and I almost sat down on the couch, put my face in my hands, and bawled my eyes out like a baby.
My relationship with Rain was so fucked up, there was never going to be anything normal between us and I hoped we weren't always like this. I didn't care to be normal, I never had. How could I when I grew up with the toxic mess that was Vivian? And I had always been okay with that. I did not want the same for my relationship with Rain. He wasn't toxic like his sister had been, and all he really wanted to do was love me and take care of me. He couldn't help it that he'd gone through hell and back, and it had changed him in reprehensible ways. There was no coming back for Rain, but I was okay with that because we were moving forward, not backward, and we would have to learn how we fit, together, and that would take time.
"Nothing's wrong," he responded in a thick voice. "I was going to show you something I drew up for you and wanted to know if you'd like for me to ink it on you. We can add blood magic to it later to give it a purpose, but you need to have the actual tattoo first for it to be long lasting. Eventually, I’ll have to touch it up with magic after I add that component, but you will always carry the tattoo on your body."
I stared up at the man who was my father and my heart filled almost to bursting.
I had to clear my throat twice before I could get out words. "What… what did you draw up? Can I see it before you tattoo it on me?"
There was no question that I was going to let him ink me with what he'd drawn up for me, but that didn't mean I did not want to see it first.
Rain held up a sheet of paper and I moved around the couch as if it had a silent pull that I could not resist even if I tried. I didn't try to resist. My feet moved me over until I stood in front of Rain. I took the piece of paper from his hand and stared down at it.
