Page 18 of Protect

I can’t stop the words from spilling. “I’m sorry.” I’ve said them too many times, but they never made a difference.

The line goes dead and my head drops.

Today. I didn’t even realize what day it was until now. It’s a day that’s never been celebrated or talked about, even after I left home, so why would I bother to remember it? All it’s ever meant is my dad doesn’t want to be my dad, doesn’t want to see me.

Today has always been a day for mourning, not for celebration. A day to stay out of the house, to avoid everyone and everything. It hasn’t changed.

My birthday.

Her death day.

“Dimitri?” Jaxon asks and I shake my head.

“He won’t,” I mumble with a tremble in my hands. “He won’t give me anything.”

I’m waiting in my dad’s office at the police station since I got expelled today. Got in some fight with someone I don’t even know the name of, but I had to fight. I had to get my hands dirty.

I perk in my seat as I watch Hope stroll inside the police station. She’s wearing a short-sleeve shirt and her skin is covered in bruises. She rubs over her arm and her lips move as she speaks to my dad. I edge closer, trying to hear. But the window between us keeps us at a distance.

Did she fall? Did someone hurt her?

Tears roll down her cheeks, her bottom lip trembles, and an unusual sensation trickles down my spine.

I always enjoyed hurting others but this… this is different.

To see her so broken, so small. It makes this itch rise, this need to be the one who hurts her. But not in a bad way, or maybe a little. A little pain in the right way makes things better and I know how to dole that out. She’d like it. It might be bad, but not terrible.

She shifts on her feet, her thighs rubbing together, and my cock twitches in my pants. A smile tugs on my lips as I wonderif she would welcome my touch or push me away. And I’m eager to find out.

I shake my head and shame rushes through me next. It wasn’t only my dad’s fault for not helping her—it was mine too.

I saw her and did nothing but add oil the fire she was fighting.

All because I saw something I wanted for the first time.

All because I chose myself over her.

And now all I see is her, nervous, glancing around with a look I now know was her pleading for help. No one would help her. No one would see it. Because of us. We’d sided with Coach and decisions have consequences. We muffled her voice, made it so no one would believe her.

“Dimitri!” Jax yells. His breath fans over my face and snaps me from my thoughts. “What do you mean he won’t give you anything? You didn’t even try! That wasn’t even a minute-long phone call!”

“He won’t help,” I say again. There’s no point in explaining why. Jaxon wouldn’t understand. “It doesn’t matter if it’s thirty minutes, he won’t do a damn thing for us.”

He shakes his head with a scoff. “You don’t know that, you barely tried. Call him again, now.”

“No,” I reply sharply. “You don’t know him. Calling more isn’t going to—”

“You’re going to let her spend more time with him when we could have help! Do you want her dad to fuck her? Do you want it online where anyone can access it and use it against her? Has losing her fucked you up that much?!”

“Don’t get in my face, Jaxon,” I warn darkly, nearly cracking my phone as my hands curl into fists. “Not today, not about this.”

“It’s your fucking father! Tell him this shit is serious! He’s a cop! He should care that Hope’s missing and you didn’t even—”

“She went to him for help and he didn’t do a fucking thing and now you think that he’s going to spring into action to help her? He trusts her dad! That hasn’t changed!”

“So you’re going to give up. You’re not going to get the police involved when it could help her because you have some daddy issues and you’re sure that he’s going to—”

“Don’t you start with me,” I warn in a dangerous hiss.

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