Page 52 of Damaged Prince
But I didn’t even think we were going to be anything more than just friends. That’s what we planned on. At least I did. Even if Owen was so set on us being something more, I wasn’t until just recently.
This is all so fucked up and confusing.
“I’m going to take him home. I don’t want him travelling alone. Dad got us some last-minute tickets. Our flight leaves in two hours.”
“You’re leaving?” my voice breaks, new fears surfacing.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. When you get back, you and I will do something special, okay?” A car horn honks, and Logan curses. “Fuck. I gotta go, baby, I love you so fucking much, Laney. I’ll figure this out and call you when we get back, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper, feeling myself deflate. Any fight in me is gone. Because what else was I supposed to say?
Logan kisses me once more before heading to the cab.
It takes a second to pass before I’m getting out of the car with my wet boots on and storming over to the cab.
Throwing it open, I glare down at Owen. He blinks his blurry eyes up at me, still out of it. My heart shatters, and all I want to do is break down crying. I hate seeing him like this. All I want to do is help take care of him. But by the look of the state he’s in, I’ll only make things worse.
Grabbing his shirt, I yank him forward. “You listen to me, Owen Cross,” my voice breaks, but I push on. “I like you. So, so much. I care about you more than you know. I’m here for you. I’m yours if you want me. I’m not giving up on you. And I’m not going to let you push me away. Whatever this is, please know you can trust me. Talk to me. You don’t have to do this alone.” Tears spill down my face as I shiver from both the cold and emotions.
Owen’s face falls, his eyes brimming with tears, but he doesn’t say anything. Leaning forward, I kiss his forehead before bringing my lips to his ear.
“You were willing to wait for me to be ready. Now it’s my turn to wait for you. I’m here when you're ready, Owen. Ready for you to trust me and count on me. I’m not going anywhere. Whatever this is, you're going to get through it.”
“I wish that was true,” he whispers.
“We gotta go,” the cab driver says. “I want to beat the snow.”
Licking my lips, I lean forward and kiss Owen on the cheek before stepping back.
“Take care of him,” I tell Logan.
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I croak before closing the door.
Elijah, who’s been silent this whole time about what's going on with his brother, wraps his arms around me. I turn in his hold, burying my face into his chest as I break down again.
“Shhhh,” he soothes, rubbing a hand up and down my back. “He’s just hurting.”
“Hurting?” I sniff. “How?”
Eli looks towards the receding car. “I don’t know,” he whispers. “But I can spot a broken man when I see one.”
On the outside, the Cross brothers look normal. Like good doting sons, great men to society. And they are. But the more I get to know them, the deeper I look, the more I see that these boys are a lot more broken than I thought.
The thought has me wanting to wrap my arms around them and never let go. To find whoever hurt them and make them pay. To take any pain away and make it all better.
But I can’t do that if I don’t know what's going on. I don’t like being in the dark.
To be able to be the best partner I can be, I need to know Elijah’s past. And I need to know what's going on with Owen.
Whatever it is, I’m not going anywhere. I just want to help. I just want to be by their side.
Chapter 10
Delaney
The next few days at the cabin aren’t the same. The mood is sullen, the excitement no longer there.
