Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
I laughed it off. “So we’re both fucked up, then?”
“No.” She stood, walking toward me. I watched her take each step. Once she stood in front of me, she revealed, “I’m far from fucked up, Kraven. I’m nothing like them, and I never will be. I’ve made it this far, and I only have a little over a year left until I’m an adult and can put this all behind me. None of what I’ve gone through defines who I am, and although I have no idea what you’ve experienced, I know it doesn’t define you either. We’re better than all of them put together.”
I tugged on the end of her hair, letting my fingers linger. In this lighting, the red reminded me of autumn, my favorite season.
In a smart-ass reply, I teased, “Is that your bedtime story for me?”
Standing this close to her while touching the silkiness of her hair, I was hit with the weight of the truth I’d never shared with anyone, realizing all too quickly that the first person I’d ever open up to…
Just happened to be my brother’s girl.
Isla
My body shook, creating goose bumps all over my flesh.
I was blown away that he confessed all that to me.
Needing to even the score, I professed, “The day I ran, I didn’t do anything to provoke anyone. I never did, but that didn’t stop the abuse. I learned that if I kept to myself, didn’t talk, blended in, and pretended I didn’t exist, I was safe for the most part. After days turned into months and months into years, I got used to not talking.”
“How long has it been?”
“A while.”
The back of his fingers shifted to the side of my face. “So I’m your first?”
I nodded.
“No,” he remarked, eyeing me in a curious regard. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Yes,” I muttered under my breath.
My mind spun.
I wanted to scream.
To run.
To hide from the truth when it was right there, all around us.
Without any warning, the front door opened, revealing Julius.
His eyes went from Kraven to his hand that was still on the side of my face, to me. I instantly stepped back and, at a moment’s notice, I rushed into Julius’s arms.
I wanted to tell him that I missed him.
That I talked…
To Kraven.
Julius didn’t hear me speak first… it was his brother.
Except I didn’t do anything of the sort. Instead, I hugged him tight against my body, never wanting to let him go.
All the while staring into…
* * *
Kraven’s eyes.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Julius
“The fuck?” I mouthed, glaring at Kraven.
My core sank.
My chest heaved.
My face suddenly went pale.
In the blink of an eye, I grasped that this would be the moment when I could no longer hold back. I worked through the night to get back sooner, and I was exhausted. Except now I was walking into the house with a backpack full of money. I was going to have to bury it in the backyard when everyone was passed out.
To have to interrupt whatever was happening between them wasn’t something I expected to witness. I was unsure how quickly time had passed as we stood there with Isla in my arms…
Not saying a word.
Not moving a muscle.
Frozen in the places we were all standing.
I fought with the compelling need to take my anger out on something.
Or more like someone.
Kraven proved it with his intense stare. It answered all my silent questions without either of them having to say a word.
I held on to Isla until I couldn’t stop myself from blurting, “What the hell is going on?”
Kraven rubbed the back of his neck, eyeing me carefully. “We’re just hanging out, like you asked us, remember?”
Isla pulled away, and it was written clearly across her face.
Guilt.
Her eyes glazed over. It was quick, but I saw it. She licked her lips, sucking in her bottom one like she always did when she was deep in thought.
“Now that you’re back,” Kraven announced, “I’m going to leave you two lovebirds alone.”
He went to leave, but on his way up the stairs, I grabbed his arm.
“What, Julius?” he snapped, taking one look at my grip. His expression tightened. “What are you going to do? Don’t do this. It’s not what you think.”
“Really?” I countered, hanging by a thread. “It looks like the guilt is eating her alive. I leave you alone for one night,” I reminded, holding my finger up. “What kind of mess could you have possibly gotten yourself into now?”
“What?” He tore his arm away, looking insulted. “You always think the worst of me.”
“What do you expect?” My patience was wearing thin. “All I do is clean up your bullshit!”
He stepped back with his arms at his sides. “And who asked you to do that, huh? Because I sure as shit didn’t!”
“Everything I do is for you, you ungrateful shit!”
He laughed me off. “And you never let me forget it.” He pointed at Isla. “Let me remind you that the only reason I’m even around her is because you asked me to watch her!”