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Shaking his hand out to ease the pain, Wyatt turns to Brody. “I need you to hit me. ”
“What?” Brody asks, stunned.
“Hit me… and make it good. ”
“No way,” Brody says, the adrenaline spike he was hazing under a moment ago completely dissipated.
“Come on, dude. Pretend I’m Chad, hit me good enough to leave a mark so I can put in my report he hit me first. ”
Gabby giggles behind me, and Hunter takes a step toward Wyatt. “I’ll do it. ”
Wyatt turns to him and bends at the knees a bit. He moves his neck side to side to loosen up, shakes his shoulders, and then says, “Okay… I’m ready. ”
Hunter doesn’t hesitate. He cocks back and hits Wyatt on the left cheekbone, which causes him to stagger but he doesn’t go down. “Fuck that hurt,” he grumbles, flexing his jaw back and forth. “But, good one. ”
“Thanks,” Hunter says with a grin.
Wyatt walks up to Chad and nudges him with this foot. Chad doesn’t even move. “Let’s get the story straight. I’m the only one that touched him tonight,” he tells us. “That’s what I’ll put in the report. He’ll say otherwise, but no one will believe that dickhead, not when all of us witnessed otherwise. Are we clear?”
Brody nods and I wrap my arms around his waist, resting my throbbing head against his chest. “I want you to take me home. ”
“Baby, you need to go to a hospital. I think you need stitches. ”
“And I’ll have to take your statement,” Wyatt says.
“Okay,” I agree, because I don’t have any fight left in me. “Then I want to go home and just have you hold me. ”
“Forever and ever,” Brody says.
***
It seems like we’re at the hospital forever. Wyatt had called police backup to take Chad in, as well as an ambulance. They checked me out and I have a small cut to my head, which apparently bled like a stuck pig and needed a few stitches. They highly recommended a ride to the hospital because I suffered a blow to the head, and after I fought with Brody for five minutes, I finally agreed. He rode with me in the ambulance, and Wyatt gave Hunter and Gabby a ride.
Casey and Brody’s parents showed up within minutes of our arrival, and everyone sat in the waiting room while Brody stayed with me. He asked me if I wanted him to call my mother, but I just shook my head and closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them back up, Brody looked at me with sympathy.
I reached out and touched his hand, telling him, “You’re the only one I need. ”
I had to undergo a CT scan of my head, and then I was stitched up. We killed two birds with one stone and another detective interviewed me while I was in the ER, since Wyatt was still at the police station booking Chad with kidnapping, attempted rape, and attempted murder. He wouldn’t be seeing the outside of a jail cell for quite a while, although his parents had a high-priced lawyer already show up and invoke his right to remain silent.
No matter… the detective that interviewed me said they had enough evidence with my testimony to lock the charges in tight against him. His guess was that he’d take a plea deal, but he was still looking at several years behind bars.
We finally were able to leave around midnight. Everyone hugged me tight as we stood outside of the hospital entrance. Gabby and Casey both silently double teamed me with a crushing embrace. Then Brody’s mom fussed and fretted over me, trying to get me to come to her house so she could baby me. I politely declined, because I wanted to sleep in my own bed. After Hunter gave me a light kiss on my forehead, Brody took me home.
He gently removes me from the car, carries me up the stairs, and right into the bathroom. I watch as he starts filling the tub, adding some bubble bath I have sitting on the edge.
When it’s ready, he gently takes off my clothes. He doesn’t say a word, and I’m too tired to talk. He smiles at me softly, but I still see residual fear in his eyes. When I’m naked, Brody takes his clothes off as well, holding my hand while I step into the tub. I scoot forward, because I want him to sit behind me… so I can lean back and let him just hold me.
That’s exactly what he does, and the back of my head goes to his chest. I stare at the opposite wall for a moment, then close my eyes and relax. I feel safe and secure. Even though I’ve had the worst day ever, it’s ending on the highest of notes.
When the water starts to cool, Brody washes me gently, sometimes placing a kiss on my shoulder or my neck. Softly and chastely, just to show he cares.
He pulls me out of the tub… dries me off. I hold onto his shoulders, while he kneels before me to dry my legs, my feet. He kisses the side of my knee once, and my heart almost explodes from the deep feelings I have for this man.
We haven’t said a word to each other this entire time, and yet that’s okay. Brody leads me to my bed, pulls the covers back, and I get in. He crawls in behind me, wrapping my body up in his arms and, within minutes, I’m sound asleep.
I don’t think I’m out long, but I wake up and see Brody sitting on my bedroom floor, his back against the wall underneath my open window. The curtains are fluttering from the ocean breeze, and I could hear the waves pounding on the shoreline. He’s staring at me, and I wonder what he’s thinking about.
The fact that he was going to beat Chad to death with no fear of returning to prison… for me… that has me feeling all kinds of strange.
I don’t know what it means. Is he just territorial? Can he not control his own rage? Or perhaps he has feelings so strong for me that he would suffer any consequence?
I get the feeling he’s afraid I might break or something, but I don’t push the issue. I feel like I should be worried… that Brody is sitting on the floor, in the dark, staring at me. He acts a lot like he did when he got out of prison those months ago, removed and alone.
But I’m not worried. He’s working through something, I can tell. He may be brooding and reflective, but he’s got determination in his eyes, and I’m going to follow along until he’s ready to reveal his thoughts to me.
I am so tired, so I close my eyes and fall back asleep.
Chapter 27
Brody
Last night, I watched Alyssa while she slept… lying on her stomach, her face turned toward me. She was breathing deeply, and she looked peaceful.
My stomach cramped violently when I thought of how close she came to getting seriously hurt. When I saw her run down the ramp of that hut, I almost wept in relief. Then I saw that f**k come after her, pushing her down into the sand, and I went nuts.
I’ve spent the last several months out of jail bemoaning my fate and swearing to the heavens that I would never sacrifice anything for another human again. I’d never give of myself if it meant losing some of myself.
All of that flew out the door when I saw Chad put his hands on her. When I thought of what he might have already done to her… suddenly, nothing mattered anymore. All I cared about was hurting him… ending him.
I know, without a doubt, that had it just been Chad and me, I would have killed him. I would have beaten the vile life right out of him, and I wouldn’t have a moment’s regret.
I am so thankful Wyatt stopped me, because after sound reasoning returned, I clearly would have one regret. I would lose Alyssa if I went back to jail, and that is something I just can’t do without.
But there is something else that needs to be done before I can have her. I mean, really have her. Before I can devote my entire soul to making her happy. After I watched her sleep for a while, I went into her living room to make some phone calls. I made a simple request to each person I talked to, and they all said ‘yes’.
Then I had no trouble falling asleep once I got in bed and pulled her back into my arms.
Now I stare at her again… propped up on my elbow. Reaching out, I stroke her forehead, careful not to get too near her stitches. Her eyelids flutter, and then she slowly opens them with a sleepy smile. <
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“Why are you staring at me?” she asks.
“I find I’m doing that a lot since last night. ”
She rolls onto her side, tucking her arm under her head. “I’m fine. You know that, right?”
I follow suit, lying back down on my pillow to face her. “I know. Still doesn’t mean that I wasn’t scared shitless last night. ”
“I was scared too,” she admits in a small voice, which causes fury to rise within me. She can sense it, so she reaches out and strokes her hand on my chest, trying to soothe my raging monster.
“But you came for me,” she consoles me. “You found me and saved me, and I’m alright. ”
With my soul drowning in turmoil, I ask her, “Will you go somewhere with me this morning?”
I had arranged for Savannah to handle The Haven today so Alyssa could rest, but there is one thing I need her to do with me first. One thing that absolutely has to be done today… for my sanity.
“Of course,” she whispers.
So we get showered and dressed. I feed her breakfast, but we don’t say much. I think we’re both lost in a sea of thoughts and emotions.
When we get in the car, she finally asks where we’re going and I tell her, “My parents’ house. ”
Then I turn the music up, and she takes that as my cue that I don’t want to talk anymore. And she’s right. I don’t. My mind is too occupied with the things that I’ll be saying soon enough.
The ride doesn’t take long, and it’s a beautiful day on the east coast. The sun is a brilliant Carolina blue with fluffy white clouds occasionally blotting out the blazing sun, throwing monstrous shadows on the blue-green ocean. The beaches are packed as we head south to Avon and part of me longs to pull over, take Alyssa out on the sand, and let the heat of the sun bake our worries away.
Maybe we’ll do that when we get back home.
Home.
I use that word as a place synonymous with where Alyssa and I live together. I’m thinking we should officially make this permanent and get rid of my tiny apartment. I hope she’ll be on board with that, but first thing’s first.
We pull up to my parents’ house, and the driveway is filled with other cars. Hunter and Gabby… Casey’s car is here. Jimbo and Wyatt’s car. Alyssa turns to look at me in question but I don’t return it, instead getting out of the car and closing the door. She does the same, following me up the stairs and into my parents’ beach cottage.
When we walk in, everyone is standing in the living room. Alyssa looks around in confusion, especially when her gaze lands on Jimbo standing beside Wyatt. He gives her a warm smile and she returns it, albeit with some bewilderment. Everyone’s faces are somber but clueless, and I know I can’t let them suffer that a minute more.
When I close the door behind us, I look around at everyone and take a deep breath. “Thanks for coming on such short notice. I wanted to talk to you… my family and closest friends, and this was just the easiest way to do it. ”
Glancing around the room, faces range from avidly curious (that would be Jimbo), to outright worried, (that would be my mom). I step away from Alyssa and walk up to my mom and dad.
They look at me with love and, of course, my mom with some worry, but they are already accepting of whatever I’m getting ready to say. It’s just the way they are.
I take my mom’s hand, completely aware of the slight shake to it. “Mom… Dad… I’ve been holding something back from you… from everyone in this room, and I need to come clean about it. ”
I hear a gasp from behind me, and I know it’s Alyssa. From the corner of my eye, I see Casey’s head turn sharply her way and when I look at her, she’s got her eyes narrowed. My body is so filled with tension… I’m wound so tight that I feel like I might explode. It aches to have this inside of me. It burns that I’m getting ready to hurt everyone.