by Lisa Simmons
Reece.
My body struggled against Jack, my hands clawing at his forearms and fingers before I finally managed to fling him off me.
“Reece!”
He didn’t respond. Not a muscle moved in response to his name, my body held now by Jack after finally releasing my mouth. I was unable to go to him. Tears poured down my face as I struggled.
“Reece!” I called again.
“This is all your fault,” a familiar voice said from my left. My head jerked to the side to see a perfectly healthy and safe Reece stood. His gaze was focused on his own body on the ground in front of me, a deep frown on his face. After studying himself for a few seconds, he turned his gaze back to me.
“You let this happen; it’s all your fault.”
“No, Reece, never-“ I cut myself off as a gasp left my throat. There was no way this could happen- I’d never let it.
No, no, no, no...
“Reece, no-“
“Your fault...”
“No!” I shouted, my eyes clamped shut as my hands fought off the tight grip on my arms. My body thrashed around, desperately trying to free myself from whoever was holding on to me. Visions of Jack’s face flashed through my mind and I fought even harder, determined to throw him off me. “Abigail, stop!”
“No, get off me!” I yelled, my words muffled and strangled in my physical struggle.
“Abigail, baby, stop!”
Baby?
My eyes sprung open, the light of the room blinding me momentarily before they focused on Reece’s beautifully unmarred face floating above me.
“Reece?” I asked stupidly, blinking once before glancing quickly down his body to make sure he was unharmed.
“Yes, silly, who else?” he said, clearly relieved to have stopped my thrashing. He was hovering over me, his hips resting against my own as he held himself up with one hand. His other was running smoothly up and down my arm as he tried to calm me down. “You’re okay!” I said frantically, my eyes finding his again. I must have looked insane because I could feel how wide-open my eyes were and the panicked expression I wore on my face.
“Yes, I’m okay,” he said calmly as the realization of what must have happened set in.
I found myself unable to speak as I wrapped my arms around his neck quickly and pulled him down to me. He did his best to hold himself up before giving in and letting his weight sink into me. I clung to him desperately as if afraid of letting go. My face buried into his neck and I let the familiar scent of him sink into my pores. “You’re okay,” I repeated, my voice significantly calmer now and much quieter.
“Yes, Abby,” he whispered back. He let me cling to him for a few more seconds before propping himself up on his elbows. His face was inches from mine as he looked down at me and took in my expression.
“Did you have a nightmare?” he asked, guessing correctly. I nodded slowly, my eyes finally losing their ridiculous wide expression as my brows settled low on my face. I swallowed harshly.
“It was about me?” he asked, guessing correctly again. It wasn’t exactly hard to figure out, after all. I nodded once more. I was surprised to feel the tightness in my throat that always preceded tears. I took a deep breath to attempt to swallow them down before I spoke. “They were hurting you and they made me watch and...” I stopped, shuddering at the memory of the way he had looked at me. His eyes that usually looked at me so lovingly had been filled with nothing but blame and hurt. I knew I didn’t have to explain who ‘they’ were.
“And what, baby?” he prodded gently. I felt the soft touch of his hands stroking my hair back on either side of my head as he coaxed me into tell him the rest of the nightmare.
“You blamed me,” I whispered shakily. My eyes were locked on his as he frowned deeply, his brows pulling even tighter together. I could see he knew how significantly this would affect me and only help reaffirm my beliefs on stopping him from retaliating in any way. “Oh, Abby,” he sighed heavily, dropping his forehead against mine. My jaw shook slightly as I struggled to keep the tears at bay. It had seemed so real, and I couldn’t shake the images from my head. “That’ll never happen,” he said after a few seconds.
“What... what won’t?” I asked quietly, desperate for him to give me any kind of reassurance.
“Any of that. I won’t get hurt and I would never, ever blame you for anything like that if it did,” he said sincerely. His gaze never left mine despite being so close together.
Here we were, back to exactly where we had started. He firmly believed they would do nothing to hurt him while I believed the exact opposite. He wanted to handle this himself and seek them out to stop them once and for all from talking to me, and I was terrified of what would happen if he did. The nightmare had only reinforced my fears, backing up my terror with actual visual images that would haunt me forever. There was no way in hell now I would let him do anything at all if it meant stopping the things I had been tortured with all night from happening. I tightened my arms around his neck again, pulling him down the remaining few inches to press my lips against his own. He held the kiss, the weight of his body comforting as his lips molded slowly against mine. If I could, I would live in this moment with him forever; I’d keep him locked in the safety of his room where no one would ever find us. Reece’s stomach rumbling interrupted our moment and I felt his lips pull into a guilty smile against my own.
“Abigail,” he whispered, his lips mumbling against my own.
“Hmm?”
“Can we go eat and try to forget about this?”
“Reece-“
“Look, I know we have to talk about that more but you can’t control your dreams. They aren’t reality and that’s not what’s going to happen so you’re worrying over nothing, okay?”
He watched me closely, an oddly happy expression on his face as he waited for my response. When I gave none, he dropped his lips to mine once more in a quick kiss.
“Come on, Abby, smile for me,” he said playfully as his lips moved along my jaw. “You’re too stressed out.”
“No, I’m not,” I said despite knowing he was right. I was, in fact, extremely stressed out.
“You are,” he whispered. His teeth tugged on my ear before his lips moved down my throat, the light kisses he peppered across my skin making me feel warm. He blew lightly between his lips, the warm, soft air raising goose bumps on my skin and cracking a smile across my face. He pressed one more kiss at the base of my throat before raising himself to look at me again. A smug grin tugged at his lips when he saw my cautious smile.
“There she is,” he said quietly before his stomach rumbled loudly again. “Now let’s go eat before I decided I’d rather do something else with you.”
His eyelid dropped in a wink as he pressed his hips lightly against mine. I giggled quietly. Even now, haunted by these terrifying images and the stress of the looming threat we were faced with, he could turn my mood around almost instantly. “Alright, alright, you win this time,” I said, conceding to him. His grin widened even more as he ducked his head to nip playfully at my collarbone before drawing himself out of bed. My body felt instantly cold without his weight. He reached out his hands for me, tugging me out of bed after him the second I placed my palms against his own. He yanked me forward and I giggled once more as my chest collided with his.
I looked up at him, his cheesy grin warming me from head to toe once more as he tangled his fingers in mine and let our hands fall by our sides.
“I always win,” he said quietly, winking once more. I rolled my eyes playfully as I raised myself to my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Not always. I won your heart, remember?”
He nodded slowly, his contented eyes connected with mine.
“You did, Abby. You did.”
"I won't run, I won't fly, I will never make it by without you."
Chapter 58
Reece's POV
I chuckled quietly, attempting to keep
my laughter to a minimum so as not to give me away as I watched Abigail in amusement. My sweatshirt she was wearing was far too big for her, the bottom of it skimming her thighs and the sleeves refusing to stay pushed above her elbows where she repeatedly shoved them. She blew out a huff of air that blew the few blonde wisps that had fallen out of her ponytail off her forehead.
She was, adorably, attempting to cook something edible for us to eat and was on her third attempt at making scrambled eggs. Any help I had offered had been immediately refused in her determination to redeem herself from the last disaster we had endured with cooking. My chuckle caught her attention despite my attempts to hide it and she turned to shoot me a disapproving look over her shoulder.
"Something funny?" she said grumpily. She looked far too enticing for me to resist- wearing my sweatshirt and shorts that she was practically swimming in but still managed to look sexy. Her hair was a mess and thrown up into a ponytail high on her head and she had basically no make up on, but I thought she had never looked more beautiful.
"Nope, not at all," I said innocently, grinning at her as she cocked an eyebrow before turning around again.
"Well you know, if you hadn't been so intent on distracting me, this would have gone a lot better," she said sarcastically. Despite her disapproving frown, I knew she wasn't actually mad. I grinned sheepishly, my guilty expression aimed at her back. I had successfully ruined her first two attempts at cooking by trying to pin her against the counter.
She had fought me off relatively quickly the first time, shutting me up with a few kisses and a rake of her fingers through my hair but not quickly enough to save the eggs she was cooking. The second time, I had managed to lift her onto the counter top and shift my hips between her thighs before the burning smell of eggs resurfaced and caused her to shove me away from her.
Curses had flown from her perfect, now slightly swollen lips as she darted to the stove and tried to save our breakfast to no avail. She had actually stomped her foot while muttering something that sounded like, 'dammit, Reece,' at me before banishing me to the other side of the counter where I now sat.
"Hmm, I think it was worth the wait," I said, shrugging. It had been more than worth it to watch her become adorably flustered. No matter how hard she tried to act like I'd forced the distraction upon her, she'd melted in to me the second I'd touched her both times. She loved it and she knew it.
I watched her shoulders shift beneath the bulky sweatshirt as she stirred the eggs with laser-like focus, determined to succeed this time. She seemed satisfied because she moved the pan off the hot skillet before pulling two plates and forks from the cupboard next to her. A moment later, she had two heaping piles of eggs distributed to each of the plates. She carried them to me, setting one down in front of me and shooting me a reproachful look before leaning against the counter across from me.
I watched as she took a forkful of eggs and brought it to her lips. They pursed gently as she blew on the steaming food and I found myself momentarily mesmerized by the way they pouted out in such an innocent gesture. I shook my head, clearly away the thoughts that had been extremely prevalent all morning. It was just so damn hard not to think about it when every little thing she did made me want to haul her back to bed.
"It's good, thank you," I said after a few bites. Her eyes darted up to mine and she smiled softly.
"Better be after three attempts," she said lightly, her mood shifting significantly now that she'd successfully fed us. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," I said, grinning even wider. I could spend every morning for the rest of my life like this.
We ate the rest of our eggs in comfortable silence, stealing glances and pulling faces at each other while we ate. I was even hungrier than I had realized because my plate was cleared in a matter of minutes. Abigail swatted my hand away playfully as I extended my fork toward her plate to steal some of hers.
"Get out of here," she joked lightly, leaning over her plate to protect it. "I would say I'd make you more but I used all the eggs..."
She pulled her lips wide over her teeth in a playful and completely unregretful grimace. I shook my head slowly, lips pursed together in mock seriousness.
"So wasteful, Abigail."
"Oh shut it," she said, grinning. "So, um..."
She paused as she gathered up our plates and rinsed them off in the sink, dropping her gaze from me. I didn't like the sound of this.
"So, what?" I urged. The silence was going on too long.
"I really don't wanna talk about this anymore but..." she trailed off. I sighed heavily; I knew exactly what she was going to say.
"Abby-"
"Look, hear me out. All I'm asking is that you don't go looking to start something," she said, turning around to face me and leaning against the sink. Her eyes looked cautious as she observed me.
I studied her closely, beyond tired of this subject. It was so difficult for me to sit by and let these things keep happening; if I waited too long to act, something even worse would happen. If something else happened to her, I'd never be able to live with myself.
"Please," she begged, interrupting my thoughts. I pushed my hand across my face; this conversation felt like it'd been going on forever and it was exhausting me.
"Okay, we'll make a deal," I said slowly. She perked up, excited that I hadn't flat out shut her down like I had every other time.
"What deal?"
"I won't start anything, but if anything- I mean anything- else happens, I will. I mean it, Abby. If they even look at you, something has to happen," I said sternly. It killed me to still do nothing in retaliation after all they'd done, but I knew how much it would hurt Abigail if I did. She was so absolutely terrified I was going to hurt that it was actually giving her nightmares and I didn't want to contribute to that fear anymore than I already had.
But she was batshit crazy if she thought I was going to sit by again if anything else happened. This had been the last time- one more and I'd lose it.
She chewed on her lip, considering my offer. I was surprised she hadn't agreed the moment I stopped talking.
"Okay," she said slowly. "You don't do anything unless they do something else, that's the deal?"
"That's the deal. Take it or leave it."
It seemed like only a matter of time before they did, so I knew I would get to act eventually. I just hoped it wasn't another incident that caused Abigail to get hurt because if that were the case, I didn't know what I'd do.
"You promise?" she said quietly. She looked oddly vulnerable as she hugged her arms over her chest, her gaze aimed up at me through her eyelashes and her deeply pulled brows. I sucked my lips into my mouth and stood from my chair to move to stand in front of her. My hands gently unwound her arms from over her chest so I could press my palms against hers near our shoulders.
"I promise."
She smiled gently at me once more, pleased that she had finally gotten me to agree. Our hands were pressed together by our sides, our elbows bent to hold them up as she pulled herself closer to me.
"Thank you, Reece," she said quietly, edging up to her tiptoes to press a light kiss to my lips. I remained quiet as she pulled back, still not sure I had made the right decision but happy she would at least have some peace of mind.
"Yeah, yeah," I said gently, pulling on her hands to pull her into me again. My lips found hers once more in a gentle kiss. She sighed happily when we separated, the anxious expression on her face moments ago gone.
"I love you," she said lightly, her head tilted back as she held my gaze.
"Love you," I mumbled. My mind was still warring with itself, torn between instant regret at promising her anything and satisfaction that she was pleased with the decision. She frowned up at me and wove her fingers through mine, folding our hands into fists.
"Say it like you mean it," she said, narrowing her eyes disapprovingly at me. A quiet laugh pushed through my lips as I grinned. I pulled my hands from hers and plac
ed them on either side of her face, my fingers brushing back the wisps of hair that had settled there. I felt her palms rest on either side of my hips like they often did.
"I, Reece Evans, love you, Abigail Campbell, with everything I have," I said, making my voice sound overly formal and posh. She giggled, her grin widening between my palms as she pinched my sides.
"That's more like it," she laughed, leaning up to press yet another quick kiss to my lips before darting suddenly out of my grasp. My lips stayed parted in a grin as I shook my head at her endearing behavior. She moved to the living room, about to throw herself onto the couch when she paused suddenly.
The grin was wiped from my face as I remembered everything that had happened and realized what she had seen. The glass from the shattered window remained where we had left it on the floor, the sharp shards glittering dangerously on the wood.
"Careful," I said instantly, moving to follow her. When I reached her, my hand closed gently around her arm and pulled her back a few steps, noting her vulnerably bare feet. She tore her gaze from the sparkling glass to look up at me. I could feel her watching me and attempting to assess my reaction.
"Do you have a broom?" she asked. I blinked once before also tearing my gaze away from the glass to look at her.
"Yeah, hall closet," I told her. "But I'm cleaning it up- I don't want you getting hurt again."
"Oh, Reece..." she mumbled as she moved to get the broom. I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at me. She returned seconds later and attempted to start sweeping before I snatched the broom from her.
"Not uh, sit," I said, pointing sternly at the seat farthest away from the mess. She sighed but didn't try to argue with me as she followed my instructions and situated herself in the chair. She watched me in silence as I swept up the mess. Luckily, the hole in the window wasn't much better than the brick itself so there wasn't as much glass as there potentially could have been, but it was still dangerous.
I had most of the big pieces swept up into the dustpan when I heard Abigail set the garbage can down behind me before resuming her position. After a few minutes of careful inspection, I decided I had nearly all of the glass cleaned up. I took the entire trashcan outside to dump it in the bigger one before returning. I could feel Abigail watching me as I rummaged around the kitchen, searching for something to fix the window with temporarily.