Bare Yourself (Consumed: Book Two)

by Alex Grayson

  I grab Willow’s hand and drag her from her chair out to the dance floor, ready to do what I wanted to do a few minutes ago.

  Later that night, I step out of the shower, dry off, and wrap the towel around my hips. Willow was supposed to join me, but after being in the shower for ten minutes and no sign of her, I figured something kept her away.

  The bedroom is empty when I leave the bathroom, so I walk down the hallway to the living room. Willow’s heated whispers can be heard through the cracked-open sliding glass door. It’s hard to make out what she’s saying, but the closer I get, the better I can hear. She has her back turned toward me, so she doesn’t see me approach, and she’s so distracted by her conversation she doesn’t hear the door sliding open.

  I’m just about to clear my throat to let her know of my presence when her growled words stop me.

  “Fuck you, Bryan. You need to go home and leave me and Minnie and her family alone.”

  My blood runs hot at the anger in her voice, then turns to lava when I remember Bryan is the guy she spoke about the other day. The guy that’s into drugs and isn’t such a nice guy anymore. She didn’t say much about him, but I got the sense he’s in some pretty heavy shit, and it sounds like he’s trying to drag her into it. She also made it sound like he wasn’t in her life anymore.

  I ball my hands into fists, and a growl leaves my throat before I can stop it. She turns. Her eyes go wide and she swallows when she spots me standing there. Her shocked gaze lands on my closed fists, then they fly to my face, where I’m sure she can see the anger in my eyes. The shock fades and is replaced by dread, then resignation.

  This is the second time I’ve caught her on the phone talking to someone she obviously doesn’t want to talk to. The last time her voice sounded scared; this time she’s pissed. I let her get away with not sharing with me what the conversation was about the first time because it wasn’t my place to demand an answer, as we barely knew each other. This time is different. We’re both emotionally invested now, and I refuse to let her blow it off like she did before.

  She keeps her eyes on mine when she says into the phone, her voice still angry, but also carrying a note of sadness, “I’m hanging up now. If you come to Minnie’s house again, we’re calling the cops. Please, Bryan, just go home.”

  She doesn’t give him time to reply before she hangs up. Her head drops, and I don’t like that she’s keeping her eyes from me now. I walk toward her slowly, giving her time to compose herself.

  Once I’m standing in front of her, I lift her head by her chin.

  “He’s the reason you left Texas, right?” I guess, reining in the anger of that asshole making her life difficult.

  “Yes,” she answers in a small voice.

  “Tell me what’s going on.” The demand comes out harsher than I intended, so I relax my facial features slightly and slide my arms around her waist.

  I can see in her eyes she’s going to try to play it off again before she even opens her mouth, so when she says, “Tegan—” I cut her off.

  “No.” I give her waist a squeeze. “I let it go the last time, because it wasn’t my business, but now it is. Tell me what that asshole wants.”

  She flinches and looks to my chest. It’s several seconds before she lifts her gaze again, and the wind gets knocked out of me at the utter sadness there, along with tears that are threatening to fall. I catch one with my thumb just as it slips from her eye.

  “Bryan’s my brother,” she says softly. My arms around her jerk. “My twin brother actually.”

  Her forehead drops to my sternum and her shoulders sag like the weight of the world rests on them. I bend and scoop her up into my arms, walk back into the house, and gently deposit her on the sofa. I walk to the kitchen, grab the bottle of whiskey and a glass from the cabinet, and take them back to the living room. She gulps down the first glass I give her in two swallows, her eyes watering and she coughs from the harsh whiskey. She holds out the glass, so I make her another. Taking another small sip, she sets it down on the coffee table.

  I want to pull her in my arms, but when she draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, I give her some space. For now at least.

  She stares across the room and starts talking.

  “When our dad died while we were in college, Bryan took it harder than any of us. He and my dad were really close. Even after we moved away and went off to college together, they had a bond stronger than even the hardest metal. When Dad died, Bryan started drinking and hanging out with the bad crowd I told you about. The drugs soon followed. He always denied it, but Minnie and I knew. Eventually, it got so bad that there was no way he could hide it. He lost his job because he stopped showing up, the school kicked him out for the same reason. When he cheated on Minnie, she rightfully broke up with him. The breakup made him worse. Minnie blames herself for part of his destruction, no matter how many times I say it’s not her fault.”

  She stops and picks up her glass, downing the rest of it. Wordlessly, she holds it up for me to refill. I almost sit on my hands to keep from reaching for her. It’s hard sitting here and not holding her, but I sense if I touch her, it’ll break whatever spell is holding her together at this point.

  Her voice is hoarse when she continues.

  “Minnie and I tried so hard to be there for him, to help him, but he pushed us both away. He turned mean and bitter, saying hurtful things to us. He only came around when he needed money, I assume to buy drugs. At first I gave in, because I was in denial and thought he just needed it because he didn’t have a job, but then I realized what he was doing with the money.” She sniffs and wipes her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “I was out shopping one day downtown when I heard someone screaming. I went to go see what was going on, when I turned the corner and saw my brother and a couple of his friends beating the shit out of some guy.” She looks over at me and the devastation in her eyes destroys me. “He was just lying there, Tegan, helpless. He was curled up in a fetal position with his arms around his head. I heard him begging them to stop, but they wouldn’t. His friends laughed while they and Bryan kept kicking him.”

  When her voice cracks, I can’t fucking take it anymore. I slide over, pick her up, and set her sideways on my lap. Her head falls against my shoulder as her cries become worse.

  “Shh,” I whisper in her ear, attempting to comfort her, but I know nothing I say will make the visions in her head go away.

  Once her crying settles down to soft whimpers, she sits up to grab her drink. I hold her in place and get it for her.

  “There were a couple times he broke into our mom’s house and ransacked the place, and after she died, he did the same to mine. He’d come to me begging for money. I always gave in, because he was my brother, and I loved him.

  “One day, a few months ago, he left me a voice mail, begging me to forgive him for everything he’d done. He said he wanted to get better and asked me to come get him. I was in class when he called, so I didn’t get the message until a couple hours later. The whole drive over there, I was so hopeful. I wanted my brother back so bad. But when I got there, I found him with a needle stuck in his arm, passed out. I thought he was dead at first, and a part of me died as well. When I felt for a pulse it was strong, and so was his breathing. I was just about ready to call an ambulance when one of his friends walked out of a room. He leered at me and it freaked me out. When I went to leave, he caught me and pinned me to the wall. I scream and screamed, hoping it would wake Bryan up, but he was so out of it, he didn’t even move.”

  My vision clouds and I see red. My jaw aches from clenching my teeth so hard, and I have to restrain myself from squeezing Willow when my muscles tighten.

  I close my eyes, and force the words out between gritted teeth. “Please tell me that motherfucker didn’t rape you.”

  Her hands settle on either side of my face. I try so fucking hard to wipe away the pure rage from my eyes when I open them, but I doubt I manage it.

  She shake
s her head slowly. “No. I managed to get away. He got my skirt up and touched me over my panties. He was so fucked-up on drugs that he was sluggish, and I managed to knee him in the balls.”

  I grunt, and relief fills me, but I still have to fight to stay in control. The bastard still scared her. And her fucker of a brother left her there practically alone, knowing the type of friends he has.

  “Good girl.”

  She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Her voice is stronger when she starts again.

  “Anyway, after that, I stopped taking his calls. I’d never answer the door when he came by and eventually he stopped trying. I never told him what happened, because I’m not sure if it would faze him or not. I think that hurt worse than actually having the guy’s hands on me. Once Mom died, I had no one left of importance in Austin, except for a few casual friends.

  “One day, several days after the funeral, which he didn’t bother to attend, there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, there stood Bryan, eyes red and glassy, high as a fucking kite. He barged his way in and went into our parents’ room and started destroying it. I knew exactly what he was looking for. My dad collected watches and some were quite valuable. One in particular was our grandfather’s and it was worth five grand on a bad day. On a good day, and if the right person wanted it, the value was upward of ten grand. Dad promised Bryan his collection when he died—after he died, none of us really thought about the watches, as we were so bereft with grief. That’s why Bryan didn’t have them yet. What he didn’t know was that Dad put the watches in a safety deposit box. He freaked when he couldn’t find them and demanded I tell him where they were. When I refused, he pinned me to the wall with his hand around my neck.”

  She stops just long enough to finish off her whiskey, her hands shaky as she holds it to her lips.

  “I was so scared. I’ve never seen such hatred in his eyes. I really thought he might choke me to death, but I couldn’t let him have them, because I knew he would just pawn them. Dad would have been devastated and so disappointed. I struggled against him, but his hand grew tighter. Just before I passed out, he punched the wall, leaving a huge hole, and let me go. I was left on the floor gasping for breath. I gave a week’s notice at work and called Minnie to tell her I was moving here. I couldn’t stay there anymore. I couldn’t take watching my brother slowly kill himself. And I was scared he would come back for the watches and finish what he started.”

  Once she’s done, she sags against my chest. I run a tense hand up and down her back, attempting to soothe her, even as my own body radiates blinding rage. Her own fucking brother almost let her be raped and damn near strangled her to death. I want to meet this fucker and rip out his fucking heart, just as easily as he’s ripped out Willow’s.

  “He’s here, isn’t he? He’s in Atlanta?” I ask.

  “Yes,” she answers, her lips trembling. “He went to Minnie and Logan’s the other day while I was at work. Thank goodness Minnie and Luna were gone and it was only Logan there. I can’t…” She shakes her head. “I can’t let anything happen to them.”

  I tilt her head and kiss the top. “Where are the watches now?”

  “In my suitcase at Minnie’s.”

  “You need to call Nathan and tell him you’re taking tomorrow off. We’re going over there and getting your shit. You’re staying here.”

  She pulls back and looks at me in surprise. “I can’t stay here,” she protests.

  “Like hell you can’t,” I growl in response to her ridiculous statement.

  “Tegan, we barely know each other. Even if it is temporary, that’s a big move.”

  I cup her face and bring it closer to mine, so she has no doubt how serious I am. “I may not know everything about you, but I know enough to want you here so I can protect you. I care about you, Willow. More than you probably know. You say you don’t want anything to happen to Minnie and her family. Well, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Besides, having you here will draw the danger away from them.”

  Her brows pull down as she thinks over what I’ve said. I give her the time she needs to analyze everything, but it doesn’t matter what her conclusion is, because I’m not going to give her a choice. It’ll just be easier if she agrees.

  After a minute, she sighs and nods. “Okay. I’ll stay here until all this is over. But,” she says pointedly, “only until this is over.”

  I smile and let her think what she needs to so that she is okay with this. Once she’s moved in, I’m not letting her leave. She was right. This is moving too fast, but it’s going to feel so fucking perfect having her here.

  I bend down and kiss her lips, glad she accepted so readily. It’ll be easier for me to watch over her because I work from home. I plan to let Nathan know what’s going on, so he’ll be able to keep an eye out while she’s at work. And if the situation warrants it, I’ll hire him and have a tail put on her. I’ll keep that information for later if it’s needed, because I don’t think she’ll be so accepting of it. She just needs to understand that her importance in my life is quickly overshadowing everything else. I’m not willing to risk something happening to her. There’s no fucking way her brother will ever hurt her again.

  I scoop her up and take her to the bedroom. When I set her on the bed, I kiss her soft lips, then stand and point a finger at her. “Call Nathan.”

  I’m glad to see the smile back on her face, when she two-finger salutes me. “On it.”

  I chuckle as I walk away from her to run her a hot bath to loosen her tight muscles. When I return a few minutes later, I come to stop right inside the doorway.

  “Where in the hell did that come from?” I ask and narrow my eyes at the fucking cat lying on Willow’s stomach. The little bitch hides from me for weeks, and then comes out and cuddles with Willow?

  Willow looks up, hand lazily petting the now plump feline, thanks to the food I’ve been feeding it, and smiles.

  “Your cat’s so pretty and sweet.”

  “It’s not my cat,” I tell her, and take slow steps toward the bed.

  The cat stays on Willow’s stomach, but watches me as I get closer.

  Willow’s brows dip down. “What do you mean it’s not your cat?”

  “It’s a stray that showed up one day on my porch. It ran into the house weeks ago when I opened the door, and I’ve been looking for it since. The little bitch keeps hiding from me.”

  “Aww… you poor baby,” she coos at the cat. “The big bad man calling you nasty names.”

  “Hey,” I protest. “I’m not mean. I’ve been feeding it, haven’t I?”

  I sit on the side of the bed, keeping my eyes on the cat. It hisses at me and takes off when I reach a hand out to pet it.

  “Bitch,” I mutter.

  Willow laughs. “Can we keep it?”

  I bring my eyes to Willow. I love that she included us both in her question, like she’s already planning her future here with me. If seeing the joy on her face again means keeping the pain-in-the-ass cat, then I’ll gladly say yes.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  Her smile grows. “It is.”

  Remembering the seriousness of our situation, anger slams back into me. I scoop her in my arms and carry her to the bathroom. I strip her of her clothes, kissing my way down her body, until she’s totally naked. My hands are gentle when I sit on the edge of the tub and wash her hair and run the rag all over her body. My lovemaking afterward is soft and tender.

  But once she’s asleep, and I don’t have to hide anymore, I let the anger consume me.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Willow

  I nervously chew my lip and twist the bottom of my shirt, stretching the material. My gaze skitters over to Tegan to find his hand casually thrown over the steering wheel, sunglasses covering his eyes, like he has no care in the world. My eyes go back to the window. I’m a nervous fucking wreck, and I don’t know how to stop the shaking in my body.

  “Hey.” I feel the warmth of Tegan’s to
uch as he pries my fingers from the cotton material. “Stop or you’ll ruin your shirt.” He laces my fingers with his, and I know he feels the trembles.

  “I don’t care about the damn shirt,” I grumble.

  His chuckles, and normally I would relish in the sound, but right now it just pisses me off. I shoot him a glare, which he catches out the corner of his eye, and it only makes his chuckle turn into a laugh.

  “Why are you so nervous?”

  I look at him incredulously. “Seriously? We’re meeting your dad, Tegan. I think that’s a valid reason for being nervous.”

  He smiles at me, and I try to let the look diminish some of my anxiety, but it doesn’t work.

  “Willow, my dad is going to love you. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

  “I bet you’d be worried if you were meeting my parents,” I tell him, in an attempt to make him understand. The first meeting with the parents always goes this way.

  “Umm… no I wouldn’t, because I know they would love me. There’s no way they would be able to resist my charm.” He sends me a wink.

  I laugh, because that’s exactly what Tegan would say, I should have expected it. But he’s right, my parents would have loved him. And so would have Bryan in a past life. An ache forms in my chest when I think about Tegan never meeting any of my family.

  “They would have loved you. I wish you could have met them. I wish you could have met Bryan when he was different.”

  His jaw hardens when I mention Bryan’s name, but he says softly, “I wish I could have met them, too.”

  We sit in silence for several minutes. The trembling is still there, but not as pronounced.

  “Tell me about your dad,” I beg, so I’m not so blindsided when I meet him.

  His thumb starts rubbing circles on my hand while he looks out the windshield with a thoughtful expression.

  “He’s fiercely loyal. He’s been that way as far back as I can remember, but he’s also kindhearted. He always made time to do stuff with me. He was my best friend growing up.” He laughs, shaking his head. “Every year he got us season tickets for the Atlanta Braves, so we went to every home game. One year they made it to the World Series, but my dad was supposed to be out of town for work for all the home games. I was so disappointed. On the last home game, he surprised me by coming home early.”