AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I was just doing my job—”
“No!Dannywas doing his job.Iwas doing my job. You were seeking a way...out. Since...that day, you act like nothing else matters, like we don’t matter.” She flinched at his words. “You have a whole group of people who are dreading the day we’re going to lose you. You keep running from one dangerous situation to the other as if all has ended. What about your family?” He motioned around the room. “What about us?” Then he whispered in pain, “What about me? We’re still here.”
She lost her fight and plopped down on one of the chairs. She opened and closed her mouth to talk a couple of times, clearly defeated. “I’m so tired,” she admitted softly. She squeezed her eyes shut and rested her forehead on the palms of her hands as tears began to run down her face. “I’m tired of the nightmares. I’m tired of this guilt consuming me. I’m tired of thinking if I’d done something different, we could all have my brother here.”
Ben and Aaron balanced themselves on their feet in discomfort, but Mia was oblivious to it and just went on. “I’m tired of hearing Haley sobbing at night when she thinks Gabe and I are asleep. I’m tired of hearing Gabe be so sure thatZachyis coming back. I’m tired of being responsible for this. I’m tired of missing Mom and Dad because I can’t meet them, I can’t face them. I can’t be the reminder that I lost their son. I’m tired of feeling shame for what I did.”
She cleaned her eyes and peered up at Ben. “It’s not that you lost me. I lost myself. And I don’t know how to find me back. I don’t know if I can, or if I want to.”
Ben seemed ready to throw up at her confession. He leaned his torso down with his hands on his knee, then he paced the room with red eyesand nose, thrusting his hands into his hair. When he opened his mouth to say something, Aaron cleaned his throat and glared at Ben. Even sickly pale, Aaron Scott had an undeniable authority about him. What he silently warned Ben, I didn’t know, but it was effective since he didn’t say a word.
Being done with their private conversations, I marched to a distraught Mia, who was still looking down, rubbing trembling hands over her arms. I sat beside her and pulled her body to me, embracing her small frame. I was embarrassed to realize she needed more than our worry. She needed our comfort.
For the second time in months after that fateful day, I held her as she cried, hoping that would be enough for her to be cleansed. I wasn’t naive enough to believe that would drive her grief away. But maybe, just maybe, it could be a new beginning.
For all of us.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The sun wasn’t up already, but the night wasn’t so dark anymore. It was that mesmerizing transition from dark blue to golden orange from nature’s color palette. The only thing that could make it more beautiful was if Danny was there.
After our day of fun, beauty treatments, and unhealthy snacks, April went home, so it was only me and Sofia. She was so tired, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, leaving me awake with my thoughts and dreams.
The house sounded hollow without Danny. Which was weird, since I was normally alone during the day with Fee whenever he was working. Yet it felt emptier that time.
As if his absence wasn’t in the house, but in me.
With every tick of the clock echoing, I felt my dread increase. I worried about his safety. I worried his feelings would fizzle out, and that I was just a rebound. I worried about our different positions in life getting in the way of us building something together. I worried he might still have feelings for the crazy witch.
I worried I was getting ahead of myself and my feelings, deliberately putting myself in a situation where I’d be rejected and hurt in the future. Not that he’d do that intentionally. I’d never met a man as respectful and considerate as him.
That was another reason why I wanted our—relationship?—to work, as hard as I tried to ignore that craving.
I heard a noise coming from the kitchen, and my heart skipped a beat, hoping he was back. I stood up from the mattress beside Sofia’s bed and traipsed downstairs to look for him, not even caring about putting on my slippers or a robe.
I stopped in my tracks when I reached the kitchen, and my heart constricted for him for a multitude of reasons.
His head was held down, his eyes closed, and his hands were pressed against the counter. He looked to be carrying the weight of the world. The light was off, so the only shine came through the closed curtains. Instead of making things bright, it shadowed him, highlighting how potent he was.
Beyond the loving father, wonderful kisser, and caring gentleman, he was the edgy warrior, holding back his power.
He peered up when I stepped inside the kitchen, and I gasped. He had a black left eye, some little cuts on his arms and cheeks, and a vicious bruise around his neck.
“What happened?” I touched his neck tentatively, mindful not to hurt him more but unable to keep my hands to myself.
“A little bit of everything.” His voice was hoarse, and I didn’t know if it was from his injury or the lust I saw brewing in his eyes.
When I touched his face, he sighed, closed his eyes, and grabbed my hips, pulling me closer. His hands were heavier than usual, and his breath was ragged as if he was trying to control himself. More than ever, I wanted him to lose his control.
“What can I do?”
“You’re already doing it.” Our voices were barely over a whisper, both of us reveling in that intimacy.
I was ready to get things to the next level when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. I didn’t want to read it, I did so on instinct, and my insides froze when I read Andrea demanding to talk to him about an “urgent matter.”
He sighed heavily after reading it and rested his face in the crook of my neck. I could only understand that as him seeking comfort, so I hugged his big torso and prayed he wasn’t affected or missing his ex.
“I wonder if we’ll ever catch a break. All of us. We should be celebrating tonight.”
