by Ellie Messe
Oh, this is bad.
"Shit.” I draw slowly, trying to solve the mystery of how he figured out she was here.
"Parker, I made him keep it a secret.” Haley begs from deeper in the bedroom, “Please, please don't be mad at him." Parker steps away from her while staring me down, "It's not his fault.”
"You knew?" He drops the bass in his words letting me just how bad this is; this is bad-bad. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him this angry.
"Only for a couple of hours," I tell him honestly.
"Look at her fucking face!" Parker roars, pointing into the bedroom. "You didn't think to fucking tell me someone beat the shit out of her?!"
"I've been trying to get her to tell people she's here-"
"Look at her face, Drew!"
"She's a little roughed up, but I-"
"Roughed up?!"
"I made him, Parker!" Haley shouts, sounding just as angry. "He's been trying to get me to tell someone else I was here all night, I was the one that made him stay quiet."
"So what if she told you not to!" He yells at me not even sparing her a glance, "I'm your fucking brother! If anything happened to Emma, I would tell you! I wouldn't care what she threatened!"
Whoa there, why is she being dragged into this? We’ve known each other for like a month; tops.
"Parker!" Haley’s voice is cold and coated in fury.
He points an angry finger at her, rage spilling out of his pores, "Don't."
"Fuck that! Put your goddamn finger down. If you're going to yell at someone, yell at me! I'm the one who forced him not to say anything; I'm the one you're pissed at. Take that shit out on me, not him!"
"Stop." He growls in warning.
"Or what? You gonna put hands on me too?"
Gah, Haley! NO, Parker is super sensitive when it comes to men hitting women. Her saying that is sure to rip his last shred of control to shit. "What happened to no texting, no calling, no returning?"
"I got my ass kicked, what's your excuse?"
"Saw light through the window." His chest heaves as he looks around, picking something off the edge of the bed, he tosses it to a point I can’t see.
"I get why you came back,” He tells Haley before turning back to me. “What I don't get is how you kept it a secret."
"One of us would have told you. Probably not tonight, but tomorrow at some point."
"How long?"
Absolutely no sugar coating this situation so I go with absolute honesty, "She called me earlier today. Said she was flying in."
"Did you know she was hurt before that?"
"Fuck no. I didn't know until I saw her at the airport and she was just a little swollen around her eyes, didn't think to bring out the cavalry over that."
Parker steps back, looking at Haley with shocked horror, "A little swollen around her eyes? Are you out of your goddamn mind?"
What the fuck is he talking about? Stepping into the room, the air leaves my chest. "Jesus Christ!" What the fuck happened in the half an hour I was gone?! Yellow stains ring around dark purple bruises covering her eyes, hairline, and jaw. Her cheekbone is split open as is her lip.
"Yeah, Jesus Christ. And you thought it was fine?"
"She didn't look like that when I left- I swear."
Parker turns to Haley and scoffs.
"I had makeup on." She says to the floor, "A lot of makeup on. I was coming out to get it when I saw you."
"When?"
"Right now-"
"No," He interrupts her with a frustrated sigh, "When did it happen?"
"Oh. A couple of days ago."
"Don't fucking lie to me, Haley."
"I'm not lying!” She seethes, glaring at him. The bruising around her eyes more defined now that her face is in direct light, “You left, Kaylan left, I was alone and bam!" She claps her together, "It happened. Hoyt found me and patched me up. Stayed on the couch to make sure no one returned."
"What happened?"
"I got 'mugged'" She curls her fingers like quotation marks around the word ‘mugged.’ "My dad heard about it and bought me a plane ticket home. Said he was unhappy to hear the extent of my injuries and thought I'd heal better if I were surrounded by friends."
There’s that weird robot story again. Parker stares at her for what feels like forever. The silence is deafening, "How did he hear?"
"Same way he knew where to deliver the ticket." She shrugs, "Just did."
He nods as his jaw works, then looks at me, "I'm still pissed you didn't tell me she was here."
"I know." Oh boy, how I know.
Parker rubs his hands through his hair looking from me to Hales, "I get that you had to come back. Doesn't mean shit’s good between us. I understand you're gonna be around to see the family and that's fine, but unless it's a family thing I don't want you coming around-"
"Whoa, Parker-" I try to cut in before he crosses a line he can’t come back from, but he ignores me, his tone growing in volume, his anger rolls off his tongue coating every word in disdain.
"I don't want you calling, texting, or coming over to my place. You wanted distance; you got it." With those departing words, he storms past me as the first sob comes out of Haley.
"Real nice, asshole!" I yell down the hall before wrapping my arms around her. Her chest bucks against me as pain slices her open.
The front door slams shut making Haley’s lungs open up to produce the most heartbreaking sound I’ve ever heard.
"I love him." She cries, her tears making her words almost unintelligible, "I'm in love with him."
"I know, sweetheart." I kiss her hair, “I know.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Drew
Hales cried herself to sleep in my arms. Who knew you could hurt so bad from someone else’s pain? Mad at the world; I slowly slip out of her bed and leave the apartment. My intentions were to go fuck out the anger but the second my eyes met Parker’s door across the courtyard all plans change. Taking the stairs two at a time, I reach the second floor and pound on his door. A second later the door opens and my right fist flies forward.
Catching Parker in the jaw, he goes to the side but rights himself with a look of disbelief. Parker and I haven’t thrown hands since we were kids, we’ve always been close enough to use our words and work our shit out, but he’s gone too far and all my fucks are back in Haley’s room.
“She doesn’t have enough fucking problems?!” I roar.
Regaining his footing, he shoots for my waist, knocking us into the wall, shit falls and crashes to the floor. Using my knee, I draw it into his ribs. He pulls away, throwing two lightning fast punches catching me in the lip and jaw.
“You fucking done yet?” He yells.
I smile without humor, am I done? “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously! You finished acting like a fucking child?”
“Fuck you, Parker! I’m the child?”
“What the fuck do you call that?” He waves at the door.
“I call that acting like you! Coming in and throwing punches and all! Your girl cried herself to sleep in my arms! The girl you supposedly love! She shows up and you tell her to fucking stay away? It’s like you want her to leave again!”
“I didn’t fucking throw punches! That was you, asshole!”
“You may not have put your hands on her, but you might as well have!”
“What the fuck are you talking about? This is what she wants!”
I step back, almost appalled. “You think she wants you to break her heart? She’s in love with you!”
“Not according to her.”
“She fucking told me!” I explode. “You fucking broke her and all she could do was repeat that she loved you! I could barely fucking understand her! And where were you? You were over her being a goddamn child, if you will, all cause she wanted to fucking surprise everyone for Christmas and didn’t keep you in the loop? Because she’s fucking terrified and wants to protect you? The entire time she’s been gone you’ve been
worried that she had no one to protect her and instead of fucking protecting her, you were the one she needed protection from!” I shake my head, my hands clenching further, I didn’t hit him nearly enough.
“You fucking hid the fact someone beat the shit out of her!”
“I did not!” The volume were using is going to get the police called but I can’t seem to fucking care, “She had a ton of makeup on and shit! She didn’t want anyone to know, I figured you, of all people, would understand that she’s a flight risk! What the fuck do you expect me to do?”
“I expect you to fucking tell me!”
“I would have!”
“When?! Before or after I found out she was back in town?”
“I would have told you she was here in the morning. She needed a night to feel safe again, I was giving her what she needed, unlike you.”
“Unlike me?” He takes an aggressive step forward. Oh fucking bring it, give me a reason to hit you, “I didn’t even know she was here!”
“You told her to stay away from you! Do you really think she came back for anyone other than you?”
“Obviously, she came back for you seeing as I never got the call!”
“Because she thought you hated her! She didn’t want you to tell her not to come!”
“Why the hell would she think that?”
“Oh, I don’t know? Probably because instead of being there for your girl, you more or less told her to get lost?”
“So, what? You got a thing for Haley now?”
“The fuck?” I pull back, staring at him.
“You seem to be awfully defensive.”
“Of course I’m defensive! I just watched my best friend fucking fall apart and my brother walk out on her! I get that y’all had words but we both know that’s all they were! She didn’t mean it or she wouldn’t be here!”
“So how come you’re over here playing hero? Why isn’t it her over here?”
“Are you fucking kidding?” I step closer, we’re toe to toe and both about to go nuclear, “Cause the one and only motherfucker she trusted, told her to stay away from him!”
“That’s what she wants!”
My hands fly into his shoulders, shoving him a good three feet back. “No, it’s not and you damn well know it!”
Parker stands before charging forward, I pop him in the jaw so hard it hurts my elbow as he lands on his ass. “If you drive her away, I swear to God, I’ll never talk to you again.”
He stares at me, unblinking before pointing to the door. “Then get the fuck out of my house.”
I scoff and shake my head, with one final look, I turn around and leave his apartment.
Walking through the house, I listen for any signs Emma’s awake before stripping off my t-shirt. Using the corner of the fabric I swipe at my lip collecting the blood that sticks to my skin. Fucking prick.
Entering my room, I push through the bathroom door so hard it crashes into the wall as I throw my shirt into the hamper.
I’m raging and having a hell of a time calming myself down. Turning the faucet on, I splash cold water on my face, scrubbing at the remaining blood on my lip. Which, is apparently the wrong decision because fresh blood leaks from my skin, poisoning the drops of water sliding down my chin. Movement catches my eye in the mirror, looking up I see Emma approaching the bathroom door.
She’s in those short shorts and a tank top, leaning against the frame our eyes meet in the mirror, “You okay?”
“Sorry I woke you up.” Peeling my eyes away from hers, I turn off the faucet, drying my face with the hand towel.
“Drew,” She steps forward, twisting my head to the side to look at my bleeding lip. “What happened?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Pulling away, I press the towel against my swollen lip.
“Let me see it,” She says stepping forward.
“I don’t want to be a dick, Emma.”
“You’re not.” She smirks, stepping into my space to pull the towel lower as she inspects the inside of my lip. “You should put ice on it to help with swelling.”
“I’m fine.”
“Looks like you got punched in the face.”
She hasn’t done anything wrong, it’s stupid to be angry at her but there is so much testosterone coursing through my veins I can’t help it.
“Do what you’re told and go back to bed.” I snap.
“Fuck off with that, I can handle you being cranky.”
“I’m not cranky, I’m fucking livid. Just do what you’re told before I end up unintentionally making you my verbal punching bag.”
“Do it.” She shrugs.
“What?” I pull back to get a better look at her.
“Yell at me. If it’ll make you feel better; go for it. I know it’s not me you’re mad at so if you need to shout and throw things, be my guest.”
This girl is out of her mind, “I’m not going to yell at you.”
“Fine, then I’ll go get some ice.”
This woman is fucking enraging. Grabbing her wrist, I spin her around, pushing her into the wall with enough force I hear the air jolt out of her chest, “Why can’t you just listen?”
“Not in my nature, Tiger.”
“I’m on another level right now and if you stick around I’m either going to fuck you or yell at you and I don’t want to hurt you with either, so please, just go back to bed.”
“I don’t think you’ll hurt me.” She whispers.
“Then why do you sound scared?”
“I’m not scared.”
“Then what are you?”
Grabbing my waist she pulls gently leaning herself towards my lips, “Hungry.”
Oh, goddamn. Our mouths clash together violently, the split in my lip throbbing in protest. I don’t even care, the beast is clawing his way out and I need to silence him. I need to lose myself; if she’s offering, I’m taking all I can get.
Ripping my mouth away from hers, I withdraw my hand that I hadn’t realized found its way up her shirt, “I want you naked and on all fours, go.” I nod to the bedroom, watching her lift her shirt over head, as she obeys, walking towards the bed.
Pulling out the drawer beneath the counter, I grab a condom, rip it open and discard the wrapper into the sink.
Stepping into the bedroom I see Emma’s shorts drop to the floor. Pushing the hair out of her face, she slowly bends over the bed, crawling on her hands and knees, her eyes never leaving mine. Fuck me, this woman is such a tease; her arms slide gently across the comforter until her chest and head lay flat on the bed, keeping her ass in the air.
Approaching her, my fingers touch her shoulder, gliding against her smooth skin, finding her spine. I let them travel the length of her as I step between her legs. She pushes back, grinding at me; I can’t get this condom on fast enough.
Grabbing her hips, I slam into her body. She pulls forward and I know it's out of pain, my chest constricts as I hold perfectly still, “You okay?”
She nods, adjusting her angle. This is more of a Danica fuck but I know that’s not who I want, I want Emma, I just have to remember she’s not the person I’m angry at, as hard as it is, I need to reign myself in. The fact she’s wiggling around on my dick is making this whole self control thing almost unbearable.
Very slowly, I withdraw and ease back into her until her body gets used to me.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” I admit, noticing my thumbs fit perfectly in the dimples of her lower back. Fuck her body was made for me, I swear to God himself. I’ve never had a woman mold so perfectly with me before, like a puzzle piece, or Cinderella’s fucking shoe; she just fits.
“I trust you,”
“You shouldn’t.”
The second her body relaxes under my hands, all bets are off. I pull out just to force her hips back into mine, she grunts, her hands twisting and clawing into the blanket beneath her. She’s a fucking sight to behold, the delicate muscles of her back tensing, her moans, the way she’s pushing back even though the mome
ntum of my body would throw her off the bed if it wasn’t for my bruising hold on her hips, dear God above; she’s perfect.
My palm connects with her ass turning her porcelain skin red, my handprint perfectly outlined on her heated skin. She groans, burying her face in the covers while her fingers continue to dig deeper into the mattress. Feeling my lower back tense while a warm pulse begins at the base of my dick, I know I’m getting close, closer than I want to be.
Pulling out to chase the sensation away, I use one hand to flip her over onto her back. Her face is flushed, her chest rising and falling rapidly. I climb up the center of her body. Her arms tangle around my neck, pulling me towards her, demanding my mouth while I hike her knee under my arm, grabbing a handful of her ass while pushing back inside her.
Swallowing her cries is about the hottest thing I’ve ever done. I feel the pads of her fingers pressing in my shoulder blades as I literally fuck the anger out.
I’m not usually a nail guy but the bite of pain as her nails sink into my flesh is a helpful distraction, a necessary release to reign in my temper. With me being so pressed into her body I’m able to feel every muscle in her body tense seconds before she rips her mouth away from mine, her chin aimed at the ceiling while her pussy seizes my dick like a vice, her body begins to vibrate while a strangled cry passes through her bruised lips. That warm pulse returns, pulling me closer and closer the longer she pulses around me. God, I love sex, even if she is shredding my back to pieces.
Forcing myself as deep I can possibly go, I let go, pressing my teeth into her shoulder. I feel like a caged animal finally finding it’s escape, the thrill of the kill, the freedom, the release. If this feeling was sold in a bottle, I’d spend every last penny I have feeding this addiction. Though, in the back of my mind there’s a thought I try to ignore telling me that my addiction isn’t in general, it’s with the blonde siren beneath me.
Lifting myself off her, I notice the ache in my hand, the stiffness of my fingers; I won’t be surprised if she’s bruised in the morning.
I’m still pissed, but at least I don’t feel like I’m going to lose my mind anymore. Throwing the knotted condom in the wastebasket, I quickly redress, grabbing an extra pair of clothes out of the dresser for tomorrow.