Suddenly feeling a tad bit overwhelmed, I jerked my hand back, my cheeks burning hot. “Well,” I said, feeling beads of sweat form along my brow. “Pop bought me the entire series a couple months back, so I can call you every night, and we can take turns reading over the phone if you want.”
I felt like an idiot.
Take turns reading?
We weren’t ten for heaven’s sake!
Not that I would know what normal ten-year-olds did. At that age, my innocence had already been stolen, and my childhood—if I ever truly had one to begin with—was over.
Don’t think about it...
Just don’t.
One corner of Chase’s mouth tipped, pulling me from the darkness swirling in my head. “You’re going to call me every night?”
Skin on fire, I was burning up. “If you want me to?” The words came out as a question, not a statement, adding to the embarrassment I already felt.
Leaning forward, he ran a finger down the back of my hand. I froze in place, watching as he traced invisible lines over my wrist and around each of my knuckles. Ears filled with the sound of my pounding pulse, I barely heard the words he spoke next.
Thankfully, I did.
“Why don’t I just come over after I’m done with team workouts?” he asked, causing me to suck in a breath. “Football may be over for the season, but I’m still required to—”
“Sup, Jacobs,” a voice, one which I’d never heard before, interrupted. “Who’s the pretty girl?”
Pretty girl...
I didn’t like the sound of that.
There was nothing overly salacious about it, but it reminded me of something one of my former clients would have called me.
At the thought, panic seized me, snaking its way through my veins. Letting the terror that climbed the length of my spine drive me, I slipped my hand into my purse, which lay on the table next to me. Fingers finding my key chain, I gripped the Taser my dad had given me tight.
I was just about to pull it out when Chase’s hand landed on my free one. Eyes instantly finding his, I sucked in a much-needed breath. “Chase...” Close to bursting into tears, my voice was barely audible, the faint sound muffled. “I—”
“I have you, Sweetness.”
Sweetness...
It was the first time he’d ever called me that, and despite the alarm working its way through my system, I really liked how the simple endearment sounded rolling off his tongue.
“Nothing to worry about,” he continued. ‘Trust me, beautiful.”
“What the fuck man?” the guy asked, his tone dripping with annoyance. “You suddenly forget how to talk to anybody but hot chicks with perfect-sized tits?”
Chase held my gaze as he removed his hand from mine, stood to his full height, and then rounded the table. Stopping next to my chair, he turned, wedging himself between the guy and me, blocking my body from his view.
Crossing his muscular arms, he then widened his stance. With his broad shoulders and athletic frame, he reminded me of a wall, and for a moment—the briefest of seconds—I felt safe.
It was... unexpected.
“I didn’t forget anything,” Chase said, his voice deeper than I’d ever heard it. “But obviously you forgot your fucking manners, Ryder, so do me a favor and go find them.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
The guy, Ryder, chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. “Never seen you get territorial over fresh meat before,” he replied. “She must be something special.”
Fresh meat...
Two words.
That was all it took for me to snap.
Jumping up, I grabbed my backpack off the table, followed by my purse, and stumbled back, knocking over my chair in the process.
Chase spun around at the commotion. When his rage-filled eyes locked with my terrified ones, his jaw ticked. “Ashley,” he said, clenching a single fist. “Sweetness—”
I didn’t stick around to hear more.
After quickly sliding my backpack on, I slung my purse over my shoulder and headed for the exit. Upon reaching it, a distinct thump sound echoed through the room.
A pain-filled grunt followed, and even though I had a good idea of what had just happened, I didn’t stick around to confirm my suspicions.
Instead, I bolted.
* * *
Chase caught up to me in the parking lot.
“Ashley, wait!” he hollered, his approaching footsteps growing louder as he drew closer.
Knowing that I didn’t have a prayer of outrunning him, I slowed, then stopped.
Seconds later, he was standing in front of me, his chest rising and falling in time with each of his labored breaths. “Why’d you run?”
My lower lip trembled. “You don’t understand...”
“Then explain it to me.”
“That guy,” I said, pointing back toward the school. “What he said”—tears began to cascade down my cheeks—“it took me back to a place I never wanted to be again.” Unable to stop, I kept talking, letting every ounce of fear and anger clogging my throat free. “I am not a piece of meat to be shared, and I am not something for anyone to get territorial over.”
Not. Ever. Again.
“Despite what anyone else may think, I am not an object to be possessed,” I said, uncaring that the words I spoke likely made no sense to him. “Almost a year ago, I swore that from that day forward, the only person I’d ever belong to again”—lifting my hand, I pointed at my chest—“is myself.”
It was a promise I refused to break.
In full meltdown mode, I expected Chase to balk at my behavior, maybe even roll his eyes, before walking away and writing me off completely. After all, I sounded like a crazy person.
But that’s not what he did.
Instead, he smiled, surprising me.
Eyes crinkling at the corners, he crossed his arms over his chest, a move he did often. “Want to know something, Sweetness?”
There was that name again.
Even as upset as I was, it still made my belly feel all wonky. If I hadn’t known better, I could’ve sworn it was butterflies dancing, the same ones people in love often spoke of.
But that couldn’t have been what it was.
Broken girls like me didn’t have butterflies.
Did we?
Nodding, I fidgeted in place. “Tell me.”
Closing the space that existed between us, he slipped a finger under my chin, tilting my head back. Heart climbing into my throat, my lips parted. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
My mind blanked. “What?” I squeaked, half-convinced I hadn’t heard him correctly. “What do you mean you’re proud of me?”
“You think I didn’t see you reach for that Taser?” He quirked a brow. “You’ve been through some horrible shit, Ashley Moretti, and even though I don’t know all the details, I know you’ve been hurt. Badly.” Reminders of things I didn’t want to think of, his words stung. “Yet, you haven’t allowed it to break you.”
He was wrong.
So wrong.
Couldn’t he see how fractured I was?
“Chase—”
“What you just said to me,” he interrupted. “I felt that.” Wrapping his fingers around my wrist, he lifted my hand and placed it on his chest. “In here.”
Oh God...
“And for the record,” he continued, his eyes never leaving mine. “I don’t want to possess you.”
Raking my tongue across my suddenly dry lower lip, I fisted the front of his shirt, holding it tight. “Then what do you want?”
“Right now,” he said, dropping his gaze to my lips. “All I want is to kiss you.”
In one quick whoosh, all the air left my lungs, leaving me fighting to suck in one breath after another. “Chase, I’m not—”
“—ready,” he finished for me, saving me the pain that completing that statement would bring. “That’s okay. I’ll wait.” Cupping my face, he caressed my cheeks with his thum
bs. “For however long you need me to.”
After brushing a stray lock of hair from my face, he dropped his hands. I immediately missed the feel of his skin on mine. “What are you doing to me?” I asked, completely breathless.
Rubbing his palm across his clean-shaven jaw, he smiled. “I could ask you the same thing.”
I blinked, replaying the last few minutes in my head. “Did you punch that guy?”
His eyes hardened before mine. “Ryder?”
I nodded.
“No, I didn’t punch him.”
My brows furrowed. “Then what was that sound? I swear I heard—”
“I hit him with the goddamn book,” he said, interrupting me once more. “Fucker had it coming.”
“Why?”
“Because nobody talks to you like that,” he said, his anger evident. “Ashley, you may not belong to me, but I will never stand by and watch somebody talk to you like a dog. You’re too good of a person to be treated like shit.”
His words were like a one-two punch to the face. They rocked me. “You really hit him with the book?”
“I did. Damn thing knocked him slap out. Just like I told you it would.”
Countless emotions whirled inside me, making it hard to decipher one feeling from the next. Still, the most prominent of them came through loud and clear. “Chase, I...” Eyes sliding closed, I clenched my jaw tight. “Oh, screw it.”
Without giving myself time to think about what I was doing, I opened my eyes and placed my hands on his shoulders, cupping the muscles that laid beneath. Standing on my tiptoes, I leaned forward and pressed my soft chest to his solid one.
Then, I softly touched my lips to his.
Our connection was soft and sweet, but it was defining. Call me crazy all you want, but with just one stolen kiss, Chase’s beautiful soul breathed life back into my suffocating one, and though I knew the feeling wouldn’t last, for a moment, I felt whole.
Twining his strong arms around my back, he pulled me close, warming my small body with his big one. Chest heaving, he dusted his lips over mine, drinking my essence in tiny sips. “Ashley,” he whispered, his mouth still ghosting over mine. “Baby, I need you to—”
I froze, my body as still as petrified wood when the roar of a car’s engine sounded from behind me, followed by the sound of squealing tires seconds later.
“Son of a bitch,” Chase cursed, his fingers digging into my back. “Talk about the worst damn timing.” I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I know who had come to a sliding stop behind us.
Curious, I glanced over my shoulder.
What—or rather who—I saw jumping out of the SUV that idled less than fifteen feet away nearly made my heart stop. “Oh God,” I whimpered. “He’s going to kill us both.”
Well, he wouldn’t kill me.
Chase though? Uh...
Extracting myself from Chase’s hold, I spun around, shielding his body with mine as my father—who looked nothing less than irate, I might add—approached us both. “Principessa,” he said, his hard eyes locked on Chase. “Get in the car.”
“Wait,” I said, stomach sinking. “It’s not—”
“Two weeks,” Anthony barked. “That’s all it took for you to convince her to skip class and do something she has no business doing.”
If I thought Chase’s words from before rocked me, then the ones my father spoke bit into my skin, each syllable lashing me like a whip.
Anger, raw and all-consuming, stole my breath as I gazed up at the man who I’d come to love with my whole heart. “He didn’t convince me to do anything!” I hollered, tears filling my eyes. “I did it all on my own.”
A whole lot of hurt, I stumbled to the side, cold seeping into my bones. “I know I’ve made some bad decisions in the past,” I said, looking him in the face. “But I’m not entirely stupid. And this”—I pointed from Chase to me—“was what I wanted.”
Heartbroken, I made my way to the waiting SUV and climbed in the back, slamming the door shut behind me. Outside the car, I could hear Anthony and Chase arguing, but I had no idea what either of them was saying.
Red-faced, Anthony turned and headed back to the vehicle, leaving a pissed-off looking Chase behind. He looked so angry, and part of me was afraid to face him, even though I knew I had no reason to be scared.
He won’t hurt me...
He’s not el diablo.
“Issy...” Turning my head, I looked over at Lucca, who was sitting in his car seat, his big brown eyes full of confusion. “Issy sad?” he asked, causing the remaining hold I had on my emotions to break. “You sad?”
“I’m okay,” I whispered as sob after sob jerked my body. “Promise I’m o-okay.”
It was a lie.
I wasn’t okay.
My little brother knew it too.
Wanting to make me feel better, he lifted his hand to his mouth. “Here, Issy,” he said. “Catch!” The kiss he blew me was the second sweetest I’d ever had.
Pretending to catch it mid-air, I pressed it to my lips.
“Better?”
I nodded, tears still falling. “I’m better.”
The smile that crossed his face warmed me the slightest bit. “You okay,” he said, smiling. “My Issy always okay.”
He was right.
Despite the hurt that boiled in my gut, and the demons that stirred in my chest, I knew that as long as I had him, I would always be okay.
And that was the truth.
Chapter Fourteen
Ashley
I was laying on my side, my knees pulled into my belly when Shelby stormed into my room, a livid expression plastered on her beautiful face.
Coming to a standstill next to my bed, she crossed her tanned arms and dug her slender fingers into her biceps. "I'm going to ask you a couple of questions, sugar, and I expect nothing less than the god-honest truth to spill from those pretty lips of yours."
Head pounding, I sat up. "I've never lied to you," I replied. "And I don't plan on starting now."
My words were only halfway truthful.
Though I'd never outright fibbed to her before, I had a mile-long laundry list of secrets I'd kept to myself. It was awful, and maybe so was I, but even though I wanted to spill every dark truth to her and Anthony both, doing so right then was impossible.
One day I would confess my sins.
But today wasn't that day.
"Alright," she said, jerking me from the crippling guilt that encapsulated me like a velvet cloak. "Question number one—did Chase Jacobs ask you to leave school with him?"
"No," I replied immediately. "I left the library and walked out on my own accord."
Brow arched, she cocked her hip to the side. "We'll get to why you walked out in just a minute, but first, I need to ask you a second question." She paused, her blue eyes growing stormy before mine. "Once you were outside, did Chase do anything inappropriate?"
It took a minute for the meaning of her words to sink in. But when they did, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. "No," I squeaked, my throat tightening. "He never even—"
"You sure, sugar?" she asked, interrupting me. "Cause if he did anything, anything at all, then you just let me—"
"He didn't do a single thing!" I snapped, slinging a heaping dose of attitude her way.
It was a first, considering most of the time I was quieter than a church mouse. But hearing her ask me such a question, even when I knew her intentions were coming from a place of good, pissed me right off.
"No disrespect intended, Shelby, but regardless of what you or anyone else thinks, Chase would never behave in the way you're inferring." My chest heaved, the anger brewing inside me increasing like a category-5 hurricane about to make landfall. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but he is nothing like Dominic."
My words surprised me.
For a terrified girl who claimed not to trust a certain boy, I sure was defending him a whole lot.
Unsettled by Shelby's questions, a
long with my reaction to them, I climbed off my bed and crossed the room. Standing next to the window, I looked across the street to Grandmama's house, spotting the Crazy Old Biddy right away.
Sitting on the front porch like she didn't have a care in the world, she held a glass of sweet tea in one hand and a magazine in the other.
At the sight, my heart clenched.
Why couldn't I be strong like her?
Sure she was crazy, but from what I'd been told, Grandmama had endured her fair share of pain, yet she didn't walk around a twisted up and crying mess.
Unlike me.
Why did I have to be so weak?
Shelby's footsteps padded across the carpet behind me as she moved in my direction. "Ashley Jo Moretti," she said, her voice more stern than I'd ever heard it. "Did you just get pissy with me?"
Leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I ignored the tears that slid down my cheeks. "Chase is a good guy," I whispered, all my fight vanishing. "And I'd appreciate it if you and the Dadinator didn't act like he is a teenage Jeffery Dahmer."
"Turn around."
My chin wobbled as I followed the order she'd given and slowly spun, coming face to face with her.
Though irrational, part of me expected her to slap me right across the face. After all, it's what my birth vessel, Wanda, would've done.
But this was Shelby.
She'd never strike me.
Yell at me? Absolutely.
But hit me? Nope.
Still, I held my breath, fully expecting her to morph into a monster I didn't recognize, just as most others had done before her.
Thankfully, I was able to release that same breath a heartbeat later when she smiled and then said, "I am so dang proud of you, sugar."
My face fell. "Uh, why?"
Cupping my shoulders, she gave them a slight squeeze. "' Cause that's the first time I've ever seen you stand up for someone. And even if that someone is a boy—one who I don't approve of, I might add—I'm still proud of you all the same."
Her words didn't make me feel any better.
Sure, I was glad that she was proud of me for finally growing something that resembled a backbone—yeah right—but I didn't like hearing that she didn't approve of Chase. "Why don't you like Chase?"
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