Page 65 of Before Eve
No.
I shake my head.
No!
I’ll do anything it takes for that not to happen.
CHAPTER 33
I haven’t movedfrom where Grayson left me. I remain in the fetal position, curled tight. I don’t have to look to know I’m bleeding.
My room darkens as the clouds shift to cover the moon.
I focus on Mom. I’m so angry she left me. She had to know Grayson would turn his ferocity to me. He’s right, she was weak. She took the coward’s way out. What true and loving mother would leave their daughter in this fallout? Not one I care to hold fond memories for.
The air in my room shifts as Grayson steps in. He stands in the dark doorway, staring at me. If he’s back for more, have at it. I don’t care.
With a long and weary sigh, he approaches me. He reaches down, and I flinch away.
“There, there,” he gently says, reaching for me again.
Carefully, he helps me to my feet. I stare him straight on, letting him see the cavernous void in my soul. Because that was his goal. Well, goal attained.
Another soft sigh escapes his lips as he cautiously wraps his arms around me in a comforting hug.
“I’m sorry,” he lightly says. “I was mad about something else and unfairly took it out on you.”
Despite the deep-rooted pain clawing over my back, I still melt into his embrace. It feels so good and kind. He keeps one arm around me as he leads me to my bed. He helps me take off my cotton dress, leaving me in just my bra and underwear. It’s the first time I’ve been this naked in front of him. I should probably be embarrassed, but I’m not.
“Lie down on your stomach,” he softly says. “I’ll be back.”
I do as he says and, breathing slowly, I relish the air that soothes my raw back.
He returns. “This might sting a bit.”
Lightly, he pats the first welt with a peroxide-soaked cotton ball. I hiss and flinch.
“There, there,” he tenderly says, continuing.
I don’t hiss or flinch after that. I simply stay very still, loving how kind and affectionate he’s being.
“Don’t worry. We’ll tell everyone you fell through a glass door.”
Pacing the room is doing me no good. I’ve lost interest in my guitar. It now sits in its case, waiting to be picked up again. The Dallas scene outside my hotel window is the same repetitive thing—just people coming and going.
I’ve spent the last couple of days warring with myself over things back home with Brynn being followed.Hey, it’s okay. I promise. All that matters is we got you to safety.Brynn’s words come back to me and provide some level of comfort. She’s got great parents. They’d never let anything happen to her.
Anne walks into our room. “Okay, you’re coming with me. I amsosick of you moping around.”
“Coming where?”
She gives me a tolerant look. “Are you kidding me?”
I shrug. Honestly, I don’t know what she’s talking about.
“The holiday party. Didn’t you get the invite from Ms. Kelly?”
I search through my brain and come up empty, but who the heck knows with how distracted I’ve been? “I guess.”
