Page 188 of Redeemed

I move closer. “It’s like I said, doll. Cheating is a difficult issue for him. His dad was abusive, and Lucas took the worst of it so his sister wouldn’t have to. When we were twelve, he cheated on their mom and left. It put Cassandra, Lucas, and Aurora in a really bad spot financially. Sandra was heartbroken, and to be honest, she’s still recovering from the emotional abuse.”

“Oh,” Haven says quietly. “That’s awful.”

“It is, yeah.” I slide onto the couch next to her. “But he knows you’re nothing like his dad. His emotions just overwhelmed his logical side for a second, that’s all.”

“And you’re not fucking with me?” she asks.

“God, no.” I kiss the top of her head. “I would never do that after the day you’ve had.”

And, with the way this girl is wrapping me around her finger just like before, I don’t think Ieverwant to fuck with her head again.

Lucas

WhenIstepinsidethe house, the first thing I notice is the smell of hot chocolate lingering in the air. My immediate assumption is that Xander made some for Haven, and when I find her curled up on the couch with an empty mug on the table next to her, my suspicions are confirmed.

It looks like Haven has been crying, which makes me wonder why the hell Xander and Colton decided to leave her alone down here. Isaiah almost killed her today, for fuck’s sake.

I should’ve killed him.

My fists clench as I think about the things Isaiah said to Haven, and at the way the life drained out of her eyes. At the very least, I should’ve kicked him a few more times. I heard some of his ribs crack, and it felt satisfying at the time, but now it doesn’t feel like it was nearly enough.

Haven looks up as I approach her, and her eyes widen with fear. I stop immediately before schooling my expression.

Goddammit.I haven’t even said anything, and I’m already fucking things up.

“Your arm,” Haven says.

I don’t realize what she’s talking about until she’s standing right in front of me. Her fingers brush over the dried blood on the sleeve of my hoodie. It looks like the cut has stopped bleeding, but how the hell did I forget about it?

“You need to get this cleaned and bandaged up.”

“I’ll handle it.”

Hesitantly, Haven rests a hand on my chest. “Let me?”

It takes me a second to answer. I’m too caught up in wondering if she can feel the way my heart rate picked up when she touched me. “You don’t have to.”

“Maybe… maybe I want to.”

“You don’t sound very sure of yourself.”

She peeks up at me through her lashes. “Are you still upset?”

“With you? No.”

Haven bites her lip before saying, “You looked so angry when you walked into the house.”

“I was.”

“Why?”

“Because sometimes, I want to kill you. But today…” I run my hand through her hair. “Today, I wanted to kill to keep you safe. I’m not used to feeling that way about you. Not anymore. I don’t think I can stop it, though. I don’t know how to not be protective of you.”

“Oh,” she says softly.

I sigh. “I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with you, Haven. You didn’t do anything wrong, and it was stupid of me to accuse you of cheating.”

“Luc—”

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