Page 7 of Say You'll Stay

This isn’t how she imagined she’d be a new mother. Terrified in a strange place and alone except for someone who may or may not be trustworthy.

“What do you think about Cole? A little gruff, huh? But he’s been kind to us so far, so maybe he’s a good man. Think we can trust him?I hope we can trust him.But if we can’t, it’s okay because it’s me and you now against the world and we can do this.”

Cole’s the only light in her storm and she wants so badly to believe he won’t abandon them. He’s out there rummaging through empty apartments right now to find her supplies and that has to be a good sign…assuming he comes back.

He didn’t have to let them come along, but he did. She tells herself that as the minutes tick by and her anxiety begins to spiral. The longer she’s alone, the more she begins to accept she always will be and was a fool to think otherwise. Better start making a plan for the next steps, but then the front door swings open and Cole breezes in with a bag full of supplies.

She’s never been so fucking happy to see someone she just met.

“Couldn’t get everything, but I grabbed what I found. Dunno if these shoes will fit you, but you can’t go around barefoot and it’s cold as shit outside so I snagged you a coat. The diapers look bigger than her, but giant diapers are better than pissing on the floor. We can cut them in half or something? I dunno…what? Something happen?”

“You came back,” she whispers.

He frowns. “Said I would.”

“Yeah, but you’re the first person I’ve known in a long time who said something important and meant it.”

He softens a bit, nodding like he understands, and maybe he does. She hasn’t cornered the market on receiving empty promises.

She’d almost forgotten she lost her sandals while running for her life. Now she’s got a pair of black boots and a pile of clothing that’s bound to fit well enough once she picks through it. She has the option of switching from the dirty dress to something clean.

He left no stone unturned when it came to feminine products. It won’t last as long as she needs, but it’s enough to go a few days if she’s lucky and right now she feels pretty lucky. At least until he disappears down the hall and she is reminded, for a moment, that she promised him she could be useful.

Olivia can’t wait too long to prove her worth, so she settles the baby on the sofa, swaddled tight, and follows him.

“I can do this,” she whispers to herself.

She finds him in the bathroom, both hands braced on the sink, his head hung. He looks stressed, worried, upset…a lot like someone who’s having second thoughts about keeping them around. That only strengthens her resolve to do what she came in here for.

He startles at her presence, standing up straight and crossing his arms. “What’s wrong? Need something?”

“No, I’m fine,” she lies, ignoring the way her body protests the slightest movement.

She told him she could be useful and while she has few practical skills to offer, there is one thing she can do for him and can’t waste any time in making it clear. He is strong enough, capable enough from what she’s seen so far, to protect them. There isn’t a chance in hell she’ll allow this opportunity to slip through her fingers. Her daughter’s life depends on it.

He raises a brow. “What is it then?”

“I wanted to thank you again for helping us.”

He sighs. “It’s fine. I’m tired, can we—”

His words come to a halt when she takes a step forward and reaches for his belt. She may not be helpful in ways that can keep them alive, but she is infinitely skilled at keeping a man satisfied. Has given plenty of blow jobs to keep her husband from tossing her in front of a herd to save himself since the world started crashing and burning. This is her only currency now, and it doesn’t matter that she feels like she got hit by a truck. She will use what she can to keep herself and her baby safe and protected.

What’s one more blow job anyway? What’s a hundred more? None of it matters. She will make Cole come again and again until he can’t bear the thought of being without her mouth wrapped around his cock. Her only goal is to give him a clear reason to keep her around.

It doesn’t go exactly how she planned, though. He doesn’t smile and drop his pants for her, doesn’t grab her head andshove it into his crotch. He grabs her wrists instead in a hard grip and rips her hands off his belt, his gaze wild.

“What the hell are you doing?” he yells, releasing her to step back, only to bump into the bathtub and stumble, having to snatch at the shower curtain to stay upright and regain his balance. “Can’t go around grabbing people like that!”

Now she’s confused. Her face reddens and her words come out jumbled. “I was trying to…I didn’t mean…I’m sorry. It’s just a blow job, I don’t mind. I want to. I want you to know how thankful I am for what you’ve done for us.”

His face transforms into the most horrified expression she’s seen since the reporters on the news got eaten on live TV. “You want to thank me? By sucking my dick? That’s what you think I expect?There’s a baby on the other side of the wall.I don’t even know you.”

She hadn’t considered that being strangers would matter. He is a man, and she is offering him the one thing she can, but now she only feels stupid. Of course, he isn’t interested. She looks more than a mess and he is keenly aware of the fact that she squeezed a human out of her body less than twenty-four hours ago. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she can’t even do this right.

She backs away. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I thought you would want—”

“Well, I don’t,” he snaps. “Do that again and I’ll leave you both in the middle of nowhere and let the dead sort you out.”

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