Home (Finding My Home Book 1)

by Nikita Parmenter

  Or about to happen.

  “Get the fuck out!” Jensen growls.

  Everyone scatters immediately, the kitchen door slamming shut behind them. The guys take a step away from us and gather on the other side of the kitchen giving us a bit of privacy although none of them are willing to leave the room.

  As soon as he hears the kitchen door slam shut, Trick pulls his face back from my neck and locks eyes with me.

  “Only you Ever, do you understand me?” he growls, and I just stare at him in confusion. “She cornered me, again, as I was coming to find you. I pushed her off immediately and told her exactly where she could fucking go. Then I went to the bathroom to rinse my mouth out at least ten times with mouth wash before coming to find you” he says studying me intently.

  I know my eyes flash with pain before I can hide it as he mentions what happens with Selena.

  He growls harshly, moving us backwards until he can perch me on the kitchen counter. His hands land either side of my hips as his head dips down and takes my mouth in a savage and brutal kiss. He pours every ounce of feeling into that kiss and I meet him stroke for stroke, my hands gripping his shirt to get him as close as possible as one of his hands grips my hip tightly and the other one weaves into my hair pulling firmly making me moan with need as he uses the grip he has on my hair to angle my head so he can kiss me deeper.

  Eventually the kiss starts to soften, and he gives me one last light brush of his lips against mine before he pulls back, resting his forehead against my own. Our breaths mingling as we both breathe heavily.

  “Only you Ever” he repeats with conviction, “do you get it now?” he growls out.

  I grin up at him wickedly and nod as my heart pounds and happiness warms my insides, butterflies taking flight. I feel like I’m on cloud fucking nine right now.

  His eyes run over me appreciatively before landing on my still exposed arm, I forgot to get my jacket again in my haste to escape the stalker fucker, I’ll have to go back out and get it or get Rylie a new one.

  “What. The. Fuck. Is. That?” Trick growls his voice deadly.

  At his change in tone the other guys come over and several of them curse when they see the already visible bruise, shaped like fingers, on the top of my arm.

  “Who the fuck grabbed you?” Jensen demands, his normally warm voice ice cold and deadly.

  “I went outside to get some fresh air and wandered a bit too far. It was my own fault. I was lost in my thoughts and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, I was just walking. My stalker attacked me. I fought him off as best I could, but he nearly had me. If Cash hadn’t come when he did, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. He called me Ever Rose but his voice was distorted so I have no idea what he really sounds like and my back was to him the entire time so I don’t know what he really looks like either” I sum up quickly still sat on the counter as the guys all vibrate with tension and anger, “Cash said we should go to the cops tomorrow anyway and give them the notes and tell them about this. It’s not like we can go now we’ve all been drinking.”

  “I haven’t, designated driver” Trick bites out his voice harsh with anger, “tomorrow is probably best though.”

  I watch him closely as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath trying to calm himself.

  Rafe suddenly appears in front of me blocking my view of Trick and wraps me in a tight hug.

  “Just had to reassure myself” he whispers roughly.

  “I’m ok Big Guy” I reply soothingly.

  Riot and Jensen’s arms suddenly wrap around us both and I end up giggling my ass off as they squish us tighter together. Although I am appreciative of their efforts to lighten the mood, when I pull back, I notice the fear in their eyes. So, I pull them both as close as possible with Rafe still stood between my legs and hug them back fiercely.

  They all step back from me a bit and Luc takes the opportunity to push through them and reach for me, like the others his eyes are troubled.

  “Come on Ever, let’s go home?” Luc questions, plucking me off the counter and placing me on the floor he grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly.

  “Yes please” I say gratefully, “I just need to find Rylie and tell her I’m going.”

  The guys all agree and end up following me as I search each room. We get a lot of looks, people obviously wondering what happened in the kitchen. Their looks even more curious than before, especially since it was Trick who had his arms around me in the kitchen and now I’m holding hands with Luc. I really don’t give a flying fuck what they think though.

  It’s absolutely packed out here now, even worse than it was when we first arrived. I have almost no hope of actually finding Rylie with the crowd in here so, I lead the guys out the front door and further away from the party. Once it’s quiet enough for me to hear again. I pull my phone out and video call her, I could just send her a text, but anyone could send me a message back and I’m paranoid as fuck. This way I know for certain that she’s ok.

  She answers on the second ring and I tell her I’m going home and to call me tomorrow after work. I don’t really want to get into the whole stalker thing, my adrenalin is evaporating rapidly and I’m pretty damn sure I’m going to crash hard soon.

  “Come on Everleigh lets go home” Jensen says as he throws an arm around my shoulder and leads me towards their giant truck.

  Which is of course parked close to the house and not blocked in by any other cars. The amount of sway they hold over the kids at school is still pretty damn fascinating to me.

  I can feel the evening catch up to me as the last of the adrenalin leaves my system and I end up leaning heavily against Jensen. I’m absolutely exhausted.

  He practically lifts me into the truck and buckles me in before gently shutting the door as the others climb in. I’m out before we even pull away from the house.

  When I awake the next morning, I have no recollection of how I actually got home last night. If I was in this situation under any other circumstances, I would be worried that I can’t remember but I know I was with my guy’s; I know they’d keep me safe no matter what. Besides, I wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep in the first place, if I didn’t know for certain I was safe with them. As I glance around the empty room, it’s obvious that we stayed at Cash’s last night. Most likely because he has the most space. The guys makeshift beds are still scattered around the floor and the pillows are still dented on the bed either side of me. They must’ve let me sleep in, a quick glance at Cash’s bedside clock tells me it’s only ten in the morning.

  I have a feeling I’m going to hate sleeping alone when I next have to. I’ve gotten too used to sharing a bed now. I’m also pretty damn sure that the memory nightmares are going to come back full force.

  Yeah, I’m so not looking forward to that.

  I’m still dressed in the clothes I wore last night, although one of the guys removed my shoes, which I’m incredibly grateful for.

  I feel absolutely gross.

  The clothes still smell of beer and god knows what else. I slowly get out of the bed, testing my head and then become immediately grateful for my lack of hangover. I really didn’t drink enough to have one in the first place, I think in the end I only drank four beers.

  As I’m reaching for my bag a bone deep ache makes its presence known in my arm.

  “Ow fuck!” I can’t help but curse out loud, shit that hurts.

  I glance down to inspect the dark purple and black finger shaped bruises on the top of my arm. They span nearly the whole space from my elbow to my shoulder and wrap almost all the way around. Lovely, I can’t help but think sarcastically before I grab my bag with my other arm and rush into the bathroom for a much-needed shower.

  I take my time in the bathroom, taking full advantage of the many shower heads in Cash’s luxurious shower and scrubbing off last night and the panda eyes I’ve gained since I didn’t wash my make up off before I fell asleep. I was too damn exhausted from the adrenalin crash to even wake
up.

  Once I’m done and feeling so much better, I grab the jeans I was wearing yesterday before the party and pair them with a plain black tank top. Anything tight on my arm right now is going to really hurt, so I’m going to avoid that as much as possible. I’m not wearing makeup today, my eyes feel raw from sleeping with it on and I don’t want to torture them more by putting more on. I chuck my hair up into a messy bun and that’s about as far as my effort is going to extend today.

  As I walk out the bathroom and dump my bag by the couch, I can’t help the shiver that shakes my form, fuck it’s cold today. The hoody I packed to come here has tight sleeves and I’ve already decided I’m going to avoid those for a while. With that in mind I glance around the room, one of the guys must’ve left a hoody lying around somewhere. Finally, my eyes land on a hunter green zip up one over the other end of the couch.

  Perfect.

  Sorry to whoever it belongs to but it’s mine now. I laugh evilly in my head before deciding that I need coffee ASAP because I’m starting to lose it. I start to walk out of the door to find the guys, when I remember that I never went back for Rylie’s jacket, leaving it where it fell when the stalker grabbed me. I send her a quick text asking if she is ok and explaining what happened to the jacket and promising to replace it. I also let her know that the guys are taking me to the police station to report the stalker attack this morning, so I’ll ring her later.

  That done, I pull open the bedroom door and wander in the direction of the kitchen. Even if the guys aren’t in there, my crazy ass needs coffee before my crazy thoughts become spoken words. Nobody wants that.

  When I get there the guys are all sat around the large table stuffing their faces with bacon and pancakes.

  “Oooo, yum” I absently say aloud, “but first coffee” I sing.

  I have no idea what’s gotten into me this morning but I’m in weird mood so I’m just going to go with it. I actually don’t think I could stop myself if I tried. Maybe it’s a combination of the relief from surviving last night, being surrounded by my guys and that therefore meaning I'm safe. I’m giddy with safety, that’s a thing, right?

  I pointedly ignore the guys as they laugh at me. Practically running towards the coffee pot and pouring myself a large mug. I turn to go and sit down with the guys and join them in stuffing my face, but then I remember that I can have cream and sugar in my coffee now, that I don’t have to scrimp and save every penny. Doing a little happy dance, which sets off the hyenas behind me again, I add cream and two sugars taking a sip and sighing happily.

  “Can we talk now, Dragonfly?” Trick says amused.

  “Huh?” I ask eloquently, I obviously haven’t had enough coffee to deal with conversation yet.

  “Well we’ve been trying to start a conversation with you since you walked in” Cash explains as I sit down at the table next to Jensen and Riot.

  “But you had a single-minded focus on the coffee pot” Jensen smirks at me.

  “What?” I shrug, “coffee” I say simply digging into the pile of food on my plate.

  “Well ok then. Me and Trick are going to nip you over to the police station after breakfast if that’s still ok with you?” Cash asks.

  I nod, my mouth too full of food to actually answer, he chuckles before continuing.

  “Then we can meet the guys at the diner in town for lunch?”

  “Sounds good to me” I say. “Where are we sleeping tonight?” I ask curiously, “I really need to do some washing.”

  It does occur to me that it just seems normal for me to assume that we are all going to be sleeping in the same place.

  “Back at ours tonight, Dragonfly” Trick smiles at me from across the table, “the guys parents want them all to check in and spend at least one night at home, so it’ll just be us.”

  “Oh ok” I reply, trying to smile.

  I’m going to really miss the other guys, we’ve spent so much time together since I arrived last Tuesday. Holy shit, it really hasn’t been that long since I’ve been back at all, has it?

  It’s going to be odd to be without them all at Trick’s tonight. I smile softly at Trick trying not to let my disappointment show. I can tell he doesn’t buy it though. I finish the rest of my breakfast quickly and jump up, taking my plate into the kitchen before returning to the table.

  “Come on then, let’s get this over with” I say impatiently, “by the way whose jumper am I wearing?”

  “Mine” Riot chuckles.

  “Congratulations, Riot, you have lost a jumper” I chuckle along with the others. “Well you might get it back eventually but I wouldn’t get your hopes up” I add as I go around the table giving them each a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  It’s become a habit already and I barely made the conscious decision to do it. I’ve only been here for six days, not even a week and it’s slightly crazy to think about how much has happened in that time.

  My life has done a complete one eighty. I’m now surrounded by people who care for me, including adults which is an entirely new and strange concept for me. I have more money than I ever thought I would have realistically, and I’m safer than I have been in years. Even with the stalker situation I still feel a hell of a lot safer than I ever did with my dad.

  Not to mention how comfortable I am with guys.

  “Bye guys” I say over my shoulder as I walk towards the front door.

  Cash and Trick follow behind me, stopping to grab their coats from the closet by the front door. I glance out of the windows that are either side of the large door, shivering in anticipation of the cold as I wait for Trick and Cash to put their coats on.

  “I’m just going to go and grab my bag since we’re going back to Trick’s tonight I may as well.” I say as I run up the stairs to grab it.

  When I come back down a thought occurs to me, “If we don’t take too long at the police station, would it be alright if we stopped somewhere quickly so I can get a coat?” I ask, “I don’t think I’m going to last until I go shopping with Rylie after school tomorrow, it’s so fucking cold” I grimace.

  “Yeah of course, Ever. I know the perfect place.” Trick says and then frowns at me, “are you going to be ok only in Riot’s hoody for now?”

  “Yeah I’ll be fine, we’ll mostly be in the car or the station so I should stay fairly warm.”

  “Ok if you’re sure?” Cash checks and I nod so he continues, “did you get the notes?” Cash asks.

  “No, they’re on the bed at Trick’s house, we’ll have to go there quickly first.”

  “Come on then, Sweetheart” Trick says as he holds his hand out for me.

  I take it, a happy sigh bubbling up. Good god this is getting ridiculous.

  We pile into Cash’s mustang and leave the truck for the guys.

  “I love your car,” I compliment as I slide in, placing my bag on the floor by my feet.

  Cash just smirks, reaching forward to stroke the dash of the car lovingly before he starts the engine and we make the short trip back to Trick’s.

  “You guys wait here, and I’ll just quickly run in and grab the notes.” I tell them as we pull up to the house.

  “No problem Ever” Cash says.

  “Here take my key. We can get you one made at the mall tomorrow” Trick says handing me his key.

  “Thanks” I reply gratefully before taking them and hopping out of the car.

  I sprint up the steps in an effort to get out of the cold quicker and unlock the door. Rob and Jenny aren’t home, Trick said something earlier about them having a date day today, which is beyond cute actually. I hope I end up with someone who still wants to do date days with me after we’ve been together for twenty years.

  Why does that thought conjure an image of me and the guys?

  You know perfectly well why, inner me sasses.

  I did not have enough coffee.

  Shaking myself free from the weird direction my thoughts have once again taken me, I take my bag up to my room with me and decide
to stick a quick wash on whilst I have the chance. Otherwise I won’t have any clean clothes to wear to school tomorrow. Working as quick as I can I rummage through the pile of school stuff on my bed until I find the three notes from the stalker dick, I put them in my jean pocket and then nip around the room quickly picking up my dirty clothes and stuffing them in my bag so they’re easier to carry down.

  Rushing back down the stairs, I practically run through the kitchen and into the utility room. Fortunately, Jenny is super organised so I just stuff all of my clothes into the washer, add the capsule thingy she uses and turn it on. That done I leave my bag by the washing machine, figuring it’ll be easier to haul my clothes back upstairs later and not wanting to waste time running it back upstairs to my bedroom now anyway. I rush back out of the front door, locking up behind me and jump back in the car as we start off into town.

  “What took you so long?” Trick asks, as I hand him back his keys.

  “I really needed to put a wash on, or I wasn’t going to have anything clean to wear to school tomorrow” I grin, looking at the clock on the dash. “What time are we supposed to be meeting the guys at the diner?” I ask, it’s already half past twelve, the drive and my need to do washing have taken up quite a bit of time.

  “Don’t worry Ever, I’ll just text them when we leave the station and they can meet us there.” Cash says as we pull up in front of a squat brick building. “We’re here.”

  I hop out of the car and wait for the guys, pulling out the notes from the back pocket of my jeans. I look around as we walk into the precinct, it’s your usual set up except it’s got more of a small-town vibe to it and feels more welcoming then any station I’ve been in before. When we step up to the reception desk it surprises me that the officer behind the desk smiles warmly at us, the kind greeting has not been my experience in the past.

  I once tried to tell the cops back where I came from, about weapons being sold in the school but got sneered at and told to stop making up stories for attention. To be honest I think that one guy was just having a really bad day, but I never bothered to try to report anything again. That was one of the reasons why I was so hesitant to go to the cops with information on my father. It was a big risk to take to tell anyone in law enforcement about what he was up to, especially since I was starting to get the impression that my father had friends in high places towards the end. I wasn’t willing to risk it if I was just going to be told I was attention seeking again.