Scarred

by K. Webster

  “But I fucking love her! I need to see her!” I argued.

  “Tomorrow. End of story. Now go on before I have to ask you to leave the premises,” he ordered.

  Defeated, I slammed the door one last time with my palm and stalked back into my room, leaving Jackson to feel guilty about the shitstorm he’d started.

  Gutted. I felt like someone had climbed into my soul, dug their claws in, and shredded my joy on the way back out. That someone is Bray. I spent the entire night crying my eyes out. Distraught didn’t even begin to cover how I felt after what he’d done.

  Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. There was no way I wanted to face today. I just wanted to forget about it all. Especially him. The four of us girls had slept in a tangled mess of limbs in Opal’s king-sized bed. Last night, after I’d heard Bray and Jackson begging for us to let them in, I’d completely lost it until I had cried myself to sleep.

  Pepper had gone into mama-bear mode and fiercely protected me the best way she knew how—by not letting them in. Once I’d told her that I was also pregnant with Bray’s baby, she’d been furious but she’d directed it at him—even offering for her and Jordan to help me out if things got rough. Pepper had also apologized for kicking me out and said that the apartment was there if I needed it. She was back to being the best friend I knew and loved.

  Andi offered me empathy. She of all people knew exactly what I was feeling in that moment. Her sympathetic smiles had sent me into fitful hysterics every time. How could I have been so stupid? Pepper had warned me right out of the gate with Bray, yet I’d still chosen to blindly fall for him. Hadn’t the stories of Andi’s own horrific journey with Bray been enough? Why had I had to test it out to see if he’d actually changed—for me?

  I could tell that Opal wanted me to hear Bray out. Every time Pepper would go on a rant about him, she would roll her eyes. I knew my sister well enough to see when she was covering up her feelings. And her stance was that I needed to talk to him. I just didn’t know if I could do that without breaking completely in half.

  Sandwiched between Pepper and Andi, I quietly tried to ease myself out of bed without waking them. It had to only be like five or six in the morning, which meant that hopefully I wouldn’t wake anyone. My stomach roiled, and I knew I had a sleeve of crackers in my bag next door. There was no way I wanted to see him, but I needed those crackers before I made myself sick. By sneaking over there this early in the morning, I would be able to also grab my bag since Bray would be passed out. He clearly had been wasted last night—not that it was an excuse for him to cheat on me.

  The girls were still asleep so I was able to easily slip out of the room undetected. Very quietly, I put the keycard in and unlocked the door to the room next door with a beep that had me cringing. Ever so softly, I eased the door open and slipped inside. The room was dark, as the blackout curtains were drawn. Stealthily, I inched my way into the room and fumbled along to the area where I remembered leaving my bag. Kneeling down, I unzipped the zipper and felt inside to make sure the crackers were still inside. Once I’d made certain they were there, I slung the back over my shoulder and stood to leave. Instantly, I felt dizzy and lightheaded, so I knelt back down in an effort to not faint. Defeated, I quietly opened my bag once more to pull out the crackers. Getting them open without making noise was a feat in itself. Finally though, I was able to sneak one out and began nibbling on it.

  After a few minutes of regaining my bearings by eating half the sleeve of crackers, I felt well enough to make my escape. Soundlessly, I stuffed the crackers back into my bag and stood. I was just making my way back toward the door when I ran smack into Bray’s familiar hard chest.

  “Oh!” I squeaked out in surprise.

  His unique scent sent chills that I fought viciously to ignore right down to my core. This man, who was supposed to love me, had cheated on me. Tears sprang in my eyes and angrily ran down my cheeks.

  “Olive,” he croaked out and wrapped his arms around me. My body disregarded the screams of my mind and my heart as it relaxed into him, so much so that my bag slid from my shoulder and hit the floor. Thud! Suddenly, I was snapped back into reality again.

  “Don’t touch me!” I hissed quietly at him. If the girls heard us shouting from next door, we’d have a big dramatic scene on our hands.

  “Olive, please hear me out. You have no idea how wrong you have it,” he pleaded with me. He’d unheeded my demand not to touch me because now his large hands were stroking my back as he pulled me into him.

  I tried to push away, but I was enraptured in all that was Bray. My body was a traitor to me, and all I could do was inhale him as he hugged me. It wasn’t until I heard him whispering soft assurances to me that I realized I was sobbing.

  “Baby, please hear me out.”

  Ignoring his pleas but still a victim of my duplicitous hands, I slid my arms around his waist, needing to feel closer to him. I buried my face into his chest and attempted to block out everything.

  One of his hands came around between us and splayed out over my stomach. Again, I felt gutted at the realization that this man, the father of my child, had been unfaithful to me. A mournful sob escaped me. His strong hands gripped my hair and pulled, tilting my head up to his. It was dark, so I couldn’t see his face. I didn’t need to see him though.

  Everything about him was seared into my memory.

  Into my mind.

  Into my heart.

  Softly, he pressed kisses all over my face as if he could kiss away my pain. His lips finally found my own, and I whimpered when he softly sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. My mind spun as I felt him slowly guide us to the bed. What was I doing? Why wasn’t I screaming at him?

  When the backs of my legs hit the bed, he broke his kisses to pull off his shirt. My hand immediately moved up to his chest, where I greedily caressed him. Why was I so desperate to touch him? I had a feeling it would be the last time, and my heart was shattering at that notion. Tears fell silently as I stroked the grooves of his muscled abdomen.

  “It isn’t what you think,” he murmured into my ear as he grabbed hold of the hem of my dress. Very efficiently, he pulled it off my body in one swift motion. I felt his hands work the clasp of my bra, and seconds later, he tossed it to the floor. The chill of the air immediately hardened my nipples.

  Finding my voice, I asked the question I desperately needed the answer to. “Why? How could you hurt me like that, Bray?”

  Large hands skittered over my body, making me shudder with need. One found my breast while the other made its way up to my cheek, where it stroked me lovingly. The tenderness was almost too much to bear.

  “Baby, I would never hurt you. Please just listen to me. Let me hold you and we can talk,” he begged.

  A huge part of me wanted to refuse him, but the part of me that still cared deeply for him thought that was a great idea. His fingers were still threaded in my hair when I nodded. He exhaled loudly in relief before pecking my lips. Both of his hands found the tops of my panties and pushed them down my legs. He stepped back a bit to undo his pants, and within seconds, he was pressing his naked flesh against mine.

  “Come on. Climb into bed. I need to hold you.” His words were more of a command than a plea, but I complied nonetheless.

  Finding the top of the covers, I drew them back and slid underneath them. His soft footsteps padded around the bed and he climbed in beside me. My body shivered as he pulled me over to him.

  “We were drunk,” he began softly. My heart seized sadly as I prepared myself for his tale. “I passed out and awoke to that fucker laughing his ass off,” he growled at the memory. “He had called over some girls to pose like they were giving me a good time and snapped a picture. What was supposed to only go to his brother went out to his entire address book.”

  Thump.

  My heart thudded to life as I tried to process his words.

  Thump, thump.

  “Last night I tried to tell you, but Pepper wouldn’t let us in.”r />
  Thump, thump, thump.

  His fingers once again found my belly, and my heart soared.

  Thump, thump, thump, thump.

  “Olive, I would never hurt you. You have to believe me. I love you, babe. I love our little A.B. too.”

  Now my heart was thumping happily with life. This was all just one unhappy misunderstanding.

  “Why should I believe this?” I ask sadly.

  “You just have to trust me, Olive. I’ve never given you any reason not to.”

  “Bray,” I whispered tearfully.

  His lips were on my face, rapidly kissing every inch of me. When he positioned himself over me to gain better access, I spread my legs and wrapped them around his hips. He must have needed me as much as I needed him because seconds later he had entered me with one quick thrust. We both groaned in relief and pleasure. Now that we were joined, he kissed me deeply, almost lazily.

  “I’ll never let you go, Olive. Last night was pure hell thinking I’d lost you. When you came into my room this morning, I knew it was my only shot to make things right. I love you so fucking much.”

  Threading my fingers through his hair, I brought his face back to mine and chastely kissed his lips.

  “I love you too, Bray. Now make love to me.”

  Not needing to be told twice, he began thrusting into me, and since our emotions were running high, it only took a couple of those before we both unraveled with our orgasms.

  Olive was here. Safely curled in my arms. Fate had given me a chance this time and I’d taken it. She’d already fallen back asleep, so I took the moment to appreciate all that was her. My hand made its way to her barely swollen belly. It was beginning to grow, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face. My baby was inside. Our baby.

  When my fingers came in contact with one of her scars, my euphoria dissipated as anger crashed into me. That fucker Drake was still out there. He’d not only hurt my gorgeous girl, but he’d hurt her sister too. I would find a way to get him put away. Surely these weren’t the only two women he’d done this to. I was going to start investigating him once we got back from Vegas. There would be no way I would feel safe with him always out there looking for Olive. At least I knew where he lived now so that I could properly stalk him.

  Sliding my hand up to one of her breasts, I gently fondled it. Her normally smaller, perkier tits had already started to grow larger with her pregnancy. My lips found her neck and I kissed her softly. She was perfect, and I’d die before I ever let anything happen to her.

  “Morning,” she said sweetly.

  I kissed her down her neck and all the way to her breast, tenderly sucking it into my mouth.

  “Oh,” she gasped. Her hands immediately found my hair and I smiled against her flesh.

  Leisurely, my free hand crept down to her smooth pussy. She exhaled loudly when my finger found her clit. Once I began a rhythm she loved, her hips met my movements. Within minutes, she was ripping the hair from my head as she screamed out my name in pleasure.

  “I’m hungry,” I teased, trying to hide the grin from my voice.

  Still gasping for air, she agreed, “Me too.”

  In one fluid motion, I had her legs spread with my face between them.

  “Bray!” she moaned when my tongue dragged along her slit.

  Using my thumbs, I spread her open for me and feasted on the woman I loved. I sucked and licked her aggressively, wanting to draw out another orgasm from her. When I slid two fingers inside her very wet body, she gasped loudly. A few thrusts in her while I devoured her and she unraveled beneath me.

  Pulling my fingers from her, I kissed one of her thighs all the way down to her knee. I skimmed my hands along the outside of her legs, making their way to her hips, where they gripped her fiercely.

  “Make love to me, baby,” she breathed.

  “Your wish is my command,” I teased, grinning when it awarded me a giggle from her.

  Grabbing my cock, I pushed myself easily into her. All laughter subsided as she dug her heels into my back, urging me to continue. Leaning forward, I captured her mouth with mine and our tongues greedily tasted each other as I continued my plunging deep inside her.

  Deep in my belly, I could feel the tightening of my climax as it made its way to my balls. Her own release was made known as her body trembled beneath me, which, in turn, sent me over the edge. Hot come filled her up as I rode out the last of my blissful shudders.

  “Fuck, Olive. You always feel so good,” I praised, still panting. Kissing her gently on the lips, I pulled out of her and climbed off the bed. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get showered. My baby needs breakfast. Daddy messed up and had dessert first,” I laughed.

  She giggled and followed after me.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Someone was pounding on the door, and I had a niggling feeling that Bitch Pepper would be waiting for me on the other side. Olive hurried and threw on a clean dress. I didn’t even bother putting on a shirt and just answered the door in my jeans, still dripping with water.

  Andi was on the other side, quickly diverting her eyes as to not look at my half-naked form. Jackson of course was beside her and tossed me a nasty look. Flipping him off, I motioned for them to come in while I located a shirt.

  “Olive, um, I brought Jackson over so he could explain what happened. It was just a misunderstanding. But from the looks of it, I guess you two already figured that out?” she asked, still unsure.

  “Yes. Thank you though, sweetie,” Olive acknowledged. They squeezed each other in a quick embrace and sat down on the bed.

  “Well, now that we got that fucking shit sorted out. What’s on the agenda today?” Jackson asked, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets.

  “I don’t care what we do, but I’m not leaving her side,” I confirmed, glancing over in Olive’s direction.

  “I should probably go next door and tell Opal the game plan, whatever we decide. Where are Pepper and Jordan?” Olive asked Andi.

  Andi frowned before replying, “I’m not sure what was going on. Pepper said she wasn’t feeling well and set off to find Jordan this morning. She was acting strange and hasn’t responded to my texts.”

  “Don’t worry, baby. I’m sure Pepper will be back to her usual bitchy self by the time we meet up again. She never disappoints,” Jackson teased.

  When I couldn’t hold back my laughter, Olive threw a pillow at me.

  “What? It’s true!” I chuckled, and Jackson joined in.

  Another knock on the door.

  Jackson sidestepped over and opened the door to the rest of our group. Opal hurried in and hugged Olive. The three girls were a flurry of voices as Olive explained the misunderstanding. Pepper stormed into the room and first punched Jackson hard in the gut.

  “What the fuck, Pepper?” he gasped as he doubled over, trying to catch his breath. I was already laughing my ass off when I too got a punch to the gut. Just as I was about to tell her to go to hell, she burst into tears.

  “Pepper! It’s okay! It was all a misunderstanding!” Olive cried and rushed over to her, pulling her in for an embrace.

  Jordan stalked over to her and stroked her hair while the girls hugged. His face was pensive. Breaking the drama that was our group since the moment we’d arrived in Vegas, Andi stood and cleared her throat.

  “Okay, the spectacle ends now. We’re all in fucking Vegas and we’ve spent all our time arguing and crying. From here on out, we’re going to gamble, eat, and shop!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands. Andi always knew how to turn around an awkward situation. I threw her an encouraging look and grabbed my wallet from the dresser.

  Stuffing it in my jeans, I grinned at her. “Lead the way, Blondie.”

  We spent the entire day sightseeing and gambling. The city was so big, and we’d barely scratched the surface. My feet were starting to swell, and I found myself looking for a place to sit at each casino we visited. Everyone was laughing and joking over at the bar, so Pepper and I fou
nd a bench and sat down. She’d kept me company each time I had to sit.

  “Are you feeling okay, Olive? Do you need something to drink? Do we need to get you back?” she asked in a nervous flurry.

  After I answered all of her questions, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in her mind. She seemed lost in thought.

  “Everything okay, Pepper?” I asked softly. Her eyes met mine and filled with tears. My heart pounded rapidly because something was definitely going on with her. She glanced nervously over at Jordan at the bar before looking back at me.

  “How did you know you were pregnant?” she questioned in a whisper, once again peeking over at him. Things quickly clicked into place.

  “Well, besides Bray suggesting I was, it was morning sickness. Right out of the gate. Pepper, do you think you might be pregnant?” I asked hopefully.

  Her eyes met mine once again, and tears filled them. When her chin quivered, I quickly pulled her in for a hug.

  “Pepper, what’s going on? You know you can tell me anything,” I urged.

  She broke away and sniffled, nodding her head. “Olive, I think I may be pregnant but I don’t understand how. I take my birth control every day. But recently, I feel ill all the time, my boobs hurt like a motherfucker”—she paused and we both giggled—“and my emotions are all over the place. I’m a mega bitch, more than usual, and I fucking cry at the drop of a hat!”

  “Come on. Let’s go,” I said excitedly as I stood up, pulling her to her feet.

  “Why? Where are we going?” she questioned.

  “Hey, guys. We’ll be right back!” I called to the group. Bray nodded and smiled at me as I half-dragged Pepper out of the casino.

  “Shit, Olive! Where are you taking me?” she demanded once we were outside.

  When she saw where we were headed, she put on the brakes, stopping me.

  “No. No! Olive, I’m not ready. What if I am pregnant? What will Jordan do? We never talked about this!” Her voice was shrill, and she was close to having a panic attack right there on the sidewalk with people bustling by.