Page 27 of Embers in the Dark

“Not a fucking word about that damn book to anyone, you understand?” he says in a gruff voice.

I give him one of my sly smiles. “Oh Tucker, you know me better than that.”

“Fucking hell. You’re going to tell everyone, aren’t you?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I fire back.

And just like that, I realize that maybe, by surrounding myself with Tucker, I’ll start to get the pieces of myself back that Myles robbed from me.

CHAPTER 10

Tucker

Four fuckingdays I’ve had Baylee under the same roof as me and it hasn’t gotten any easier. I can hear her moving around out there and I’m still sitting on my bed trying to kill time so I can possibly avoid having to interact with her. Yes, I agreed to have her here. But it’s fucking awkward with her in my space. Because every time she’s around me, I long to run my hands through her hair, or fucking touch her in ways that I shouldn’t.

It was never like this between us, but now it’s just painful to be around her. Granted, since the attack, I want to throw something across the room because that asshole hurt her and every so often, she’ll move a certain way and I’ll catch her wincing. That guts me to my core. Fuck, how I want to rip that piece of shit to shreds.

We still haven’t gotten word that he’s been arrested. Apparently, he’s got people in high places because he’s still walking free, as if he didn’t punch a woman in the gut and leave her behind without a care in the world. Fucking piece of trash. But, we know that mandatory arrest will occur in this case, thanks to Connecticut law requirements.

Thankfully, he isn’t a threat to Baylee right now and we’ve made sure she doesn’t leave the house alone.

I ball my hands in front of me, my head hanging, my right leg bouncing uncontrollably as my mind wanders to that night. I’ve never been an anxious person. But thinking about the way Baylee looked that night, the fear in her eyes as she looked up at me, simply pulls something out of me. I can’t help but wonder how things turned out this way and it keeps me awake at night. I should’ve done more, I knew something was wrong. I let my friendship with Rios guide me into ignoring the signs. I didn’t listen to my gut, and I let life lead her in the direction of some creep instead.

“Argh,” I grunt and stand. I’m fucking frustrated at myself and at life. It’s unfair. I’m watching my mom go through treatment and now I’m watching Baylee go through something she shouldn’t have to deal with.

I pace the space of my room, feeling like the walls are caving in and this feeling is so unfamiliar. How the fuck did this all happen in such a short amount of time? She was supposed to go off and figure things out with someone better than me. Life was supposed to be better to her. That’s why I let things go between us. Instead, I let her walk into the hands of a monster.

“Tucker, are you okay?” Baylee knocks softly on the door, worry etched in her tone.

“Yeah, sorry, I can’t find my favorite pair of socks.” I roll my eyes at the stupidity of my comment.

What the fuck? Socks?

“Um, okay? Well, I made some coffee if you want some. I’m headed out. I have orientation today,” she says. She sounds a bit hesitant.

“Do you need a ride? I’m headed to my mom’s so I can drop you off on the way,” I tell her. I forgot to ask her if she had someone taking her to campus today. We hadn’t quitecoordinated how things would work out once her classes started.

“Oh, uh, sure,” she says. I really hate how hesitant she is all the time now. This isn’t the Baylee I know. She was always so independent, even though she was the youngest of the Rios kids. Now there’s a reluctance to her tone when she talks to me. Like she’s treading carefully. How long has she been dealing with demeaning retorts from the person by her side?

I take a deep breath and walk to my door. When I swing the door open, Baylee stands there, her eyes going wide.

“You find your socks?” She looks down at my shoes.

“Yep.” I’ve been dressed for an hour.

“Great.” She clearly sees right through my lie.

I walk straight for the coffee maker, knowing I’ll be aching for caffeine on a day like this after my sleepless night.

I fill up my to-go mug, and we grab our things and head to my truck. Once inside, Baylee starts messing with the music. She connects the Bluetooth to her phone and the minute the music starts, she sits back and I can feel her eyes on me.

“Just spit it out, Bay.” I grab my aviators then look over my shoulder and pull out into traffic.

“I just want to make sure I’m not interfering on your time in case you need to get some smut reading in,” she says very seriously, before she fully lets out a laugh.

“Motherfucker,” I say under my breath. “How long have you been holding that in?”

“Let’s see”—she starts counting out on her fingers—“four days.”

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