Page 143 of Wicked Dares
Aunt Bess, on the other hand, would be staying here. And it wouldn’t be just her.
I spoke to her yesterday, and she was beside herself with worry. The last time she sounded like that was when I’d been rescued. It was understandable. I was missing for three weeks. People had given me up for dead.
Yesterday, she got so worked up Rob had to take the phone. And even speaking to him was too much for me. He’s like a father to me, and he’s always treated me no different fromhis own kids. The conversation was difficult for all of us, and nothing I said reassured them.
I can’t comfort my family when I can’t even stabilize my own mind.
“It’s okay. I’ll speak to her.”
“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.” I blow out a ragged breath.
He reaches forward and takes my hands. “What do you mean?”
“Me, Levi. We barely know each other. Barely been together for a month and this is happening. It’s reason enough to boot me out of your house and head for the hills.”
“No. I’m not some asshole who would do that to you.”
“I know, and that might be the problem. I?—”
“I told you I love you. There. That’s reason enough. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been together, I’m here and this is my problem, too. When you’re hurt, I’m hurt. When you’re not happy, it’s my job to fix that.”
I stare back at him, stunned. Sometimes I wonder if he’s going to look at me too closely and see I’m not worth it—all this hassle. I keep waiting, even before all this, for him to snap out of his fascination with me and see I’m not a butterfly. I’m just a plain old moth with tattered wings. But he keeps seeing the butterfly.
“I… I love you, too,” I whisper, loving him even more than I ever thought I could.
He touches my cheeks. “Hearing those words is worth more than everything I own. So, please, just allow me to love you back and take care of you.”
A tear runs down my cheek, and I nod.
“How about we just… sit together and I hold you?”
I sniffle. “I’d really like that.”
He sits on the window seat and pulls me into his arms. I curl into him and actually fall asleep.
* * *
The next two nights, I battle nightmares, the same old ones that used to haunt me every night.
But Friday morning comes, and when I get up and see my notebooks on the floor across the room, something changes in me.
It’s not strength. I don’t have that yet.
I feel… angry.
I can’t believe I own a beautiful office building, I’m about to start my own business, and I’ve confined myself to this room.
I have now a week and a few days before we head to England.
I really wanted to see my personal office being worked on and set up, even if it was something small.
But no. I’ve been here. As if Reece hasn’t taken enough from me.
I’ve always been such a high achiever, smart beyond my years. Fuck, I completed my MBA when things were at their worst with Reece. I took my last exam with a shiner I claimed I got from falling down the stairs.
How can I let him do this to me now when I made it this far?
That…thatthought gives me strength, and I go to the bathroom and shower, then I get dressed and ready to head out.
