Taming Eastyn (Stampton College Boys Series Book 1)

by Dawn Doyle

  Eastyn

  “This is harder than I thought,” I said to Shay as we stood at the end of the path, staring at the white front door of my parents’ house. “Whenever I came home…” I trailed off because Shay had heard this many times.

  Short breaks were spent on campus, summer breaks were spent here, but I’d be holed up in my room through the night, only to take off in my car through the day. I couldn’t face my family after what I’d done and how I’d treated them when I was inside, even if it wasn’t my fault.

  Shay’s fingers threaded through mine, her warmth calming me instantly like always. “They understand, baby,” she said, curling into my side. “They told you over the phone that they want you to come home.”

  “I know, but coming back here… I was arrested in this house,” I said, looking up to my old bedroom window where the police barged in and read me my rights while I was wrapped in only a towel after washing Gary’s blood off my hands and face. My stained clothes were lying in a heap on the bathroom floor, the evidence left out that would be held up in court.

  Four weeks here, and the thought of spending that amount of time there was already causing the familiar panic to flare. My pulse raced and I could already feel my hands becoming clammy, but Shay didn’t seem to notice. Although she still unnecessarily cleaned her hands multiple times throughout the day, she never avoided touching me. Even when I woke up covered in sweat, she would hold me tight, not caring if I was soaking her too.

  God, I loved her so fucking much. Just being there with me, standing there, staring at the door with the patience of a damn saint until I was ready to move, made me appreciate her more than ever.

  “Take your time,” Shay said, squeezing my hand with support. Her lips pressed against my knuckles, then held them against her cheek.

  The door slowly moved inward, and my stomach flipped.

  “Eastyn?” a female voice asked, and a small face appeared. The girl it belonged to narrowed her eyes, the same as mine, until they rounded like saucers at the same time her face lit up with an enormous smile. “Eastyn!”

  “Hey, Mia,” I said as she race toward me, her dark ponytail flying behind her. She barged into me, pressing the side of her face into my chest while she hugged me tight. When I saw her last, the top of her head barely reached my chest, now she was grazing my clavicle.

  “I missed you,” she said. “You’ve been gone for so long.”

  “I missed you too,” I replied, and waited for her to pull back. When she did, her eyes slid to Shay. “Mia, this is Shay, my girlfriend. Shay, this is Mia—my little sister.”

  Mia grinned, her eyes sparkling when she looked from me to Shay. “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard all about Shay,” she joked.

  Shay laughed nervously. “Good, I hope?”

  Mia grabbed my other hand and began tugging me toward the house. “Good? God, he doesn’t shut up. One minute he doesn’t say anything, the next all I hear is Shay’s great, Shay’s beautiful, you’ll love Shay. Shay, Shay, Shay.” She grinned, then rolled her eyes. “Just a warning, my mom already worships the ground you walk on, so if she’s overbearing, I apologize in advance.”

  When we got to the door, Mia let go and went in ahead. I stopped and turned to Shay. “We won’t get much privacy for a while, so…” I cupped her face and tilted her head, kissing her deeply, sliding my tongue over hers as I held her close. After a minute I pulled back, satisfied when I saw her unfocused gaze and her flushed cheeks.

  An hour. Less. We could stay for ten minutes, find a hotel, and be right back here for breakfast in the morning.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” she whispered, licking her kiss-swollen lips. “And it’ll be worth the wait.” She winked, and her mouth dropped open when a figure appeared next to me.

  I flinched, then relaxed when I saw who it was.

  “My baby.” My mom’s chin wobbled, and her eyes flooded with tears as she fought to hold them back.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said, and Shay let go of my hand when my mom gripped my shirt and threw herself into my arms. She cried, and every sob hit like a fucking knife deep inside of me, each cut worse than the next.

  She pulled back, then without warning, pulled Shay into a hug. “Thank you, honey,” she whispered. “For bringing my baby home.” When my mom finally let her go, she took my hand and led me inside, through the white hallway, and into the yellow-painted kitchen. The same white border ran around the top.

  My dad stood from the table and took off his glasses. “Son.” He rushed around the circular table and pulled me into him, gently clapping me on the back. “Welcome home.” When he stood back, he blinked quickly, then took my free hand, shaking it. “Nice to meet you, Shay,” he said before I could introduce them. “It’s great to meet you, sweetheart.”

  Shay took his outstretched hand. “Likewise.”

  “Caitlin!” Mia yelled, and the second I heard footsteps pounding the stairs, I braced myself for facing my sister.

  “You’ll be fine,” Shay assured me.

  She rounded the corner slowly, until she was standing in the doorway, my high school sweater hanging off of her slight frame, and her dark hair pulled up into a mess on her head.

  We stared at each other for a while, and I took in the scars marring her face. Gary’s gold ring had left cuts across her left cheek, slash marks as though she’d been attacked by an animal, and in a way, she had. When he’d thrown her to the ground, she’d hit her head, the still-visible zig-zag cutting a line into her eyebrow and disappearing in to her hairline. She hadn’t bothered covering them with makeup like she used to, choosing to leave the evidence of her beating for all to see, unlike me.

  “You’re home,” she said finally, her voice tight.

  “For break,” I replied, gripping Shay’s hand. “Two weeks here, then we’re visiting her brother and his family before we go back for senior year.” Shay was excited to get to see her new nephew again. Watching her with the baby had me feeling all kinds of strange things, and ones I shouldn’t be thinking about for a few years.

  Caitlin nodded, her attention darting between Shay and me. “You staying here?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, we are,” I replied, and she shoved her hands inside the sleeves, making one long one at the front.

  She nodded again and visibly swallowed hard. “But you’ll be leaving every day?”

  I looked at Shay, my chest bursting when I saw not only love in her eyes, but pride—for me. It had taken so fucking long to get here, but here I was, standing in this house, with my family, and not once did I feel like I couldn’t breathe. Every other time I’d had to get out, clawing at my neck as though I was being strangled from within. All I could think about was the night I was taken away in cuffs, and everything that came after. Seeing Caitlin’s scars tipped me over the edge, the scars that I couldn’t prevent.

  “No. We’re not going anywhere until we have to,” I said, the usual bite in my chest not appearing at the thought of staying here. “ Caitlin, this is Shay. Shay, my older sister, Caitlin,” I said, introducing them, wondering what the hell was happening when the room was deathly silent.

  “It’s lovely to meet you,” Shay said, but Caitlin just stared.

  She swallowed again, and took a step toward me. Her awkward movements made her look younger than her twenty-five years. When she finally reached me, she turned to Shay. “I-I” she stuttered. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her lips tightened. “Eastyn.”

  “You don’t have to say it, Cait,” I said. We’d been through this, and every time she tried to say it, I shot her down.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Eastyn, I’m sorry.” Her last word shook as her dam broke, her arms shooting out and wrapping around me. She cried long and hard while speaking unintelligibly. I let her cry against me, and as I held my sister, Shay stayed right by my side, just like she said she would—like she’d promised she would always be.

  I would always be by her side too because she was my light in the darkness, she
was the strength that dragged me out of the shadows, and she was the woman that I loved with everything that I had.

  Fighting against my demons was sheer torture, but Shay made it all worth it. And if I got to see her smiling face every fucking day of my life, then I wouldn’t stop until they were buried—for me, for her, for us.

  And as my sister sobbed in my arms with Shay by my side, I knew I couldn’t have done any of this without her.

  Two damaged souls were putting each other back together, making one whole piece.

  I think I read that in her story somewhere, cos I sure as shit wouldn’t think of that myself.

  Fuck, I loved that woman. I guess Casey was right, Shay had tamed me. Only for her, this beast had been turned into a pussy cat, and I couldn’t be happier.

  The End.

  Acknowledgments

  I don’t know where to start.

  Seriously, I don’t.

  I would just like to thank all of my dedicated friends and readers for continuing to support me.

  There have been times when I wanted to give up—not just on this book, but for good.

  I’ve had times where I want to quit the writing world all together, and I still do.

  But, something keeps me going, and that is YOU.

  Every person who picks up a copy of one of my books and reads it gives me more motivation to keep going.

  If you are one of those people, then thank you from the bottom of my heart, with everything I have.

  Dawn.

  P.S. Please consider leaving a review after reading. You might think that it’s not worth it, but to an author, it means so much, even just a few words.

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