Page 78 of Never To Suffer

“Yeah, him. Dark and broody with this whole professor thing going on. Made me wish I had a skirt and a yardstick.” She winks at me when I adjust my position after picturing her bent over and waiting for a spanking.

“Bring him home next time. He’s hot. Also, I wanna watch that happen.”

“Skylar! But yeah, that’s fair. Alright, he also left three messages. Let’s see how weird it gets!”

“Dani?”Our eyes lock at the sound of Xander’s voice and the fear it’s laced with.“I, uhm, tried to call you. Look, shit… shit got weird and I’m in, I think I’m in trouble.”

“Skylar, oh my god!” She holds her phone up and shows me the timestamp on the message. It’s from yesterday morning. Almost twenty-four hours ago. All the missed calls show as yesterday.

“I’m not sure where I am,”his voice continues, growing shaky the more he says.“I uhm, I love you. I think it was Oliver. I think he did something. I don’t know… I don’t?—”

The call cuts off. Followed by three minutes of near silence that we all listen to more than once. Chase gets on his phone texting someone to see if they can figure out how to get the number. Dani presses the last voicemail and holds her breath. I hold mine, too.

“Dani, I hope this is your number, because it’s the only one I can find.”It’s a woman’s voice.“We found Xander, and he’s going to be okay. He said he tried to call you, so I’m sure you’re frantic right now if he managed to reach you. Here’s my number. Call me back as soon as you get this.”

She holds the phone to her chest, waving both Coop and I off as she takes off down the hall.

“I wonder what she means when she says theyfoundXander. I don’t think that can be good.” Coop’s dog, a big white and brown pit, joins us, nudging Coop’s leg and going into a sit position. “Crap, thanks, Buddy. Almost forgot.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, not you. The dog. You should bring Pongo up to Dr. Clay next week. Maybe a psychiatric service dog could help you out.Like, he just told my dumb ass to go take my meds. Chase gives the dog a couple of scratches before he gets up and goes back into the kitchen.

He’s doing his best to distract me, which I appreciate, but my eyes haven’t left the doorway. It’s ten minutes before Dani comes back, tear streaks running down her face. She comes straight to me, climbs into my lap, and hugs me close. “I’ve got you, Beetle. Take your time.”

“I called his aunt. Some guy drugged him and tried to blackmail his dad. Stole his computer, phone, passport, everything.”

“Holy shit!” Chase shouts.

“They checked him out of the hospital a few hours ago, she’s going to have him call when he wakes up again.”

“Alright, love,” I rub her back for a minute before standing up, taking her with me. “Let’s get you fed and get to the apartment so we can get everything ready for you to go. I’ll come with you, if you want.” She nods into my shoulder, and I hold her tight until she stops shaking.

CHAPTER 33

STITCHES

ORGY

The heavy rainfalling when I land fits the mood as I grab the few things have and leave the plane. I’m numb, to the point that I don’t remember any of the flight, but I didn't sleep. I didn’t get sick, either. Melody agreed to handle everything, but it took her a week to convince the police I should go home. I’ve done nothing but wallow in the toxic pool of loathing ever since she found me, and the only bright spots have been the texts from Dani, Theo, and Skylar as they tried to keep me from drowning.

Headlights flick on across the private parking lot, telling me where to go. Someone gets out of the car with an umbrella, but I don’t bother to wait, putting my head down and leaving the shelter of the hangar to walk through the rain. I tried to think of it as a baptism, a cleansing of all my filth by the LA sky as it greeted me. As we get closer and I recognize him, my heart perks up, drumming a little harder until it’s lodged in my throat. Will he yell at me, be disappointed, and tell me how stupid I was? I guess if he planned to do that, he wouldn’t have bothered to come here in the first place.

“Hey, baby.” He wraps his free arm around my shoulders, hugging me to his warm, dry body. I’ve dreamed of this, of thecomfort of his thick arms and the safety he’s promised me over and over.

Just get home, Baby. We’ll take care of you from there.

I’ve walked through the last few weeks in a trance I can’t escape. Even now, I’m not sure if I’m here with Theo, or in a dream my mind created to protect me. “Come on, let's get you out of the rain. Are you hungry?”

I shake my head. I should eat since it’s been over twelve hours since I had anything, and that wasn’t much more than rice. Dani begged to come get me, but I wouldn’t let her cancel her shows. I’m not even sure why I asked Theo to pick me up when I had so many other options, but they would have judged me. But I deserve that.

You. Deserve. Better.

His hand slips down my arm and finds mine, threading our fingers together and pulling my eyes from the ground where my shoes have adhered to the asphalt. He’s staring at me, but I can’t read his expression—I don’t trust myself to read it. The rain beats down around us as we stand there, neither of us making the move toward the car.

The umbrella clatters to the ground, and, in an instant, he’s cupping my face in his large hands. “You didn’t deserve anything that happened to you, Xander. Do you understand me?” He reads my mind. “None of that was your fault.”

I squint against the rain and nod, but it’s obvious I don’t believe him. He doesn’t argue with me, not with his voice, anyhow. Instead, he lowers his head to mine, pressing our lips together. I don’t fight him, but I don’t move to embrace him or even drop my bag as the rain falls harder. When he finally releases me, he kisses my forehead with more tenderness than I’ve felt since I left his arms the last time.

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