Page 61 of Chasing Shelter

Bradley

Where the hell are you? It’s after midnight there. Why aren’t you answering?

Bradley

Are you fucking someone right now?

Bradley

Whoring yourself out now that you’re penniless

Bradley

I’m sorry..youilk just makegjj me so mad89o. Butkl it’s cause I lovehui

The messages went on in an increasingly hard-to-read fashion. Cycling from berating to begging for forgiveness and back again. Something about seeing that cycle in written form had something clicking into place. It made me realize that it hadalwaysbeen this way. A pattern of Bradley being an ass and then trying to soothe it away with presents, trips, and flowers.

It had never gotten this bad before. Not until the night I’d ended things. But the pattern was there all the same. Waiting for the right trigger to take it further.

I didn’t need to look at my phone app to know the calls and voicemails were from him, too. The majority of them were probably him rambling in a drunken haze. As I stared at the device, it started ringing. It made no sound, still in my sleep setting where only Linc’s and Arden’s calls went through, but Bradley’s call still lit up the screen.

I hit decline. It instantly began ringing again. I rejected that call, too. But it only started the process over again. My heart hammered against my ribs as I once more hit decline. He calledagain.

A sick feeling swept through me as I switched my phone toDo Not Disturb, stoppinganycalls from coming through. I quickly maneuvered to my chain with Bradley and hit theinfobutton. My finger hovered over theBlockicon for a second. Something I hadn’t managed to do up until this point. As if it were safer to know where his head was at. But I couldn’t live like this anymore. Taking a deep breath, I tapped it.

I hoped relief would sweep through me as I turned offDo Not Disturb,and no calls started again, but that relief didn’t come. Something was seriously wrong, and I didn’t have the first clue how to deal with it. I could call his mother to see if she could get him some help. I knew from all the time I’d spent with their family over the years that Helen truly loved and cared about him. But reaching out to her would only entrench me back in that world, and I wasn’t sure she would even listen to me.

My doorbell rang, startling a strangled yelp out of me, which only sent Gremlin into a barking fit.

“Ellie? Are you okay?” Trace’s voice boomed through the door.

I tried to call back and say that I was fine, but my voice felt rusty, and I couldn’t get the words out.

“I’m coming in,” he yelled.

A second later, the door flew open, and Trace strode in. Gremlin took it as a call to attack, yapping like crazy and running for Trace’s ankles.

“Ow! Jesus, that hurt,” Trace clipped as Gremlin nipped at his jeans-clad legs.

“Gremlin, stop,” I ordered. “He’s a friend.” That was the commandthat always worked with Arden’s dog, Brutus. But Gremlin gave no fucks about my command and kept biting away.

“Puppy!” a new voice yelled.

Gremlin’s head snapped up at the new intruder. The second he saw Keely, he took off running.

Trace and I yelled, “No”at the same time, but it was too late. Gremlin launched himself at her.

17

TRACE

I watchedin sheer terror as the tiny, mutant dog launched itself at my daughter. Keely caught him with a giggle, and Gremlin instantly started licking her face.

“That tickles, puppy,” Keely shrieked, laughing harder as she cuddled him to her. The dog just burrowed into her like he’d found a long-lost friend.

Ellie caught up to me, stopping just short of Keely, doubling over as she panted. “Oh, thank God.” As she straightened, her lips twitched. “Apparently, Gremlin just hates you.”

I scowled at her. “Seriously?”

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