Page 15 of Forbidden

“Well, you never said any of that!” I barked at him. I shoved my hand through my hair and shook my head, drawing in a deep breath to calm myself a little. “You told me to tell my parents or we were over,” I hissed, forcing my voice to lower. “And then you fuckingleft.” Tears blurred my vision and spilled down my cheeks. His anger immediately evaporated, and he reached for me. I quickly jerked away from him, a sob bubbling in my throat. “So, I left too, Jenson. But you fucking left first. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Doll—”

“Don’t,” I croaked, shaking now. “Please, fuck, do not call me that. I can’t—” I sobbed, squeezing my eyes shut.

His arms enveloped me, and I trembled so badly my entire body quaked, clinging to him even though I shouldn’t. He crushed me to him, his face buried in my hair. “You left, Jenson,” I sobbed, my hands limp at my sides. I couldn’t handle hugging him.

“I don’t like hiding you, Holly. I fucking hate it,” he rasped. “You’re mine. My entire goddamn world. Iworshipyou, baby doll.” I sobbed again, his words somehow hurting me even more and healing me all at the same time. “But God—fuck. I cannot go through this again. I can’t live without you, Holly.”

He released me but then clasped my face in his hands, pressing his mouth to mine. I was crying too hard to properly kiss him back, but he didn’t care. “Please let me fix this,” he begged when we parted, his eyes roving over my features. “We’ve got a lot to figure out, Holly. So much. But I’d rather have half of you than nothing at all.”

I sniffled and nodded, giving in—probably too easily. But I didn’t care. He still wanted me, andGod, I fucking needed him. He crushed me to him again before lifting me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and let him carry me to his house. I burrowed my face in the crook of his neck, my tears soaking into his skin.

“Promise we’ll figure this out?” I croaked.

He nodded, his fingertips digging into my skin as he tightened his hold on me. “I swear, doll. I’m not losing you again. Never fucking again.”

10

Holly

Jenson and I didn’t say much when we got inside his house. He just carried me over to the couch, where we proceeded to silently cuddle, soaking up the warmth the other had to offer. The parts of me that had shattered when I chose my future over Jenson were slowly mending back together. The pain was still there, only now it was a dull throb compared to the blazing agony it had been.

We had to have laid there for hours without me realizing it. Because eventually, he murmured, “I think I hear your parents pulling into their drive.”

I tensed. The subject of my parents was a sore one when it came to him. Jenson just brushed his hands down my body. “Not making you choose. Never fucking again, Holly. You were smart to choose your future over me. I’llneverfault you for that,” he swore. “I was a stupid son of a bitch for ever giving you that ultimatum in the first place.”

I snuggled deeper into him, closing my eyes, not saying a word for fear of breaking the peace we’d somehow found. Jenson buried his face in my blonde hair and breathed in deeply, like he was trying to inhale the essence of me. Tingles rushed through my body in response.

Suddenly, my phone blared on the coffee table, breaking the peacefulness we’d submerged ourselves in. Groaning, I reached forward and grabbed the device, my dad’s number on the screen. Sighing, I swiped my thumb across the screen to answer it and then lifted my phone to my ear. “Hey?—”

“Get the fuck home. Rightnow,” he growled before abruptly hanging up.

I swallowed thickly and sat up, dread curling in my stomach, twisting it inside out. My hands began to shake. Somehow, Iknewthis had to do with Jenson.Someonehad seen us and told my parents—specifically my dad.

Oh, God, I was pretty sure I was going to be sick. Nausea swirled through my gut, rising up my esophagus.

“Hey, look at me,” Jenson rumbled, grabbing my face in his hands. He was crouching in front of me, his big, calloused hands warm on my face. I hadn’t even realized he’d moved. “You need to breathe, you hear me?”

“I think they found out,” I managed to say, my entire body shaking. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I swallowed back a sob. My eyes desperately searched his face for answers I knew he wouldn’t have. “Jenson, what am I going to do?” I cried.

He brushed my tears away, his eyes steady on mine. “Do you want me to go over there with you?” I sobbed, fear clouding my brain, preventing me from answering him. He gently shook me. “Holly, do you want me to go over there with you? Because I will. I won’t make you face this alone, you hear me? I knew what I was getting into when I decided I wanted you as mine.”

“What if they kick me out?” I cried. Everything was falling apart around me again. I didn’t know what to do. My family was my rock. Without them, what did I have?

Nothing.

Jenson brushed his lips over mine so tenderly that my heart squeezed in my chest. But it calmed me a little, which I desperately needed, considering I could barely fucking think. “Then I will take care of you. You’re my priority, doll. That’s never going to change.” Before I could make sense of his words, he stood to his feet and gently pulled me to mine, clasping my hand in his and pocketing my phone. “Let’s go face the music. I am right here with you. Always.”

Sniffling, I nodded my head, trusting him despite the fear of the unknown choking me. We walked out of the house, and Jenson sighed when he saw my dad waiting for me on the concrete driveway. My mother was standing on the porch, and she refused to meet my eyes. Swallowing thickly, I faked courage I didn’t have and focused my gaze on my dad.

Pure disgust resided in his eyes as he looked at where mine and Jenson’s hands were clasped. If he’d needed any confirmation of what he’d been told, I’d just proven it.

Fear threatened to swallow me whole. I couldn’t lose my family. “Dad?—”

“I want your keys, your phone, and anything else that I bought and paid for,” he commanded. “If you think it’s okay to have sex with men almost twice your age, then you don’t need my fucking help anymore.” I flinched. Jenson tightened his hold around my fingers. Dad held his hand out. “Hand it all over.”

Tears slid down my cheeks all over again. Shakily, I pulled my keys out of my pocket, and Jenson silently handed me my phone. I handed them over to my dad, hating the way my hand shook as I did so. He snatched them from me with a look of pure disgust.

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