Page 82 of Like Fathers, Like Son
“He was killing me, not just cutting, but slicing pieces of me off, and tossing them aside. I could feel every cut, every part of me being removed, but I just couldn’t die. I couldn’t escape it, and in the dream you never came. I just had to suffer.”
“I’ll always fucking come for you,” I asserted, moving close enough to wrap my arm over her stomach, my lips a breath away from hers. “Always, babe. You’ll be safe from everything bad in this world, because you have me.”
“That means you’re the only thing that can hurt me, Blaze. Please don’t take advantage of that, because I’m trusting you. Trusting you with my safety, and with our baby. This can work, but only if you stop treating me like something to abuse. I’m a person, and I need you to respect me as one.”
Jesus. I had no idea how to respond to that. Ultimately, she wanted me to say yes, of course, but I knew myself well enough to know that I’d forget myself at times, and she’d see it as a betrayal.
“Uh…”
“Please just promise me you’ll try, Blaze. I can’t live in fear of you, or I can’t stay. You get that, right? This has to be a two way thing.”
I nodded, my lips twitching into a little grin.
“How about if I let you abuse me too? I don’t mind a little pain now and then.” She rolled her eyes and slapped my chest, and fuck yeah… that felt so good.
“Exactly, babe, do that some more and I’m definitely gonna be horny as hell.”
“Ugh! Everything with you is about sex, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Why were we having this deep fucking conversation at god knows what early fucked up hour?
“Why don’t we just shut the fuck up and sleep a bit more, yeah? We can talk about this tomorrow. Or not. Not works too. We could just get the fuck on with things, and see how it goes.”
Anneka
WHEN I NEXT WOKE up, I was alone in bed, so I took my time getting up, freshening up as best I could without disrupting the bandages, and dressed in clothes of mine that had appeared since yesterday.
My bag from the hotel had been placed by my side of the bed for me, so clearly Blaze’s dads had gone back for it, since he hadn’t left me alone since we got back.
When I made my way downstairs, I was surprised to find Blaze’s mother sitting in the kitchen with a coffee. I couldn’t see or hear anyone else in the house.
“Where’s Blaze?”
She turned to smile at me as I entered the room, and headed for the coffee but as my hand settled on the handle of the coffeepot, I suddenly paused. Can I drink coffee while pregnant? I drank some last night, and I truly had no idea if it was wise, but hell, his mother would know right? She’d popped out a few over the years.
“Can I drink coffee?”
She frowned delicately, setting her own mug down.
“Do you normally need permission?”
Okay, that was embarrassing.
“No, I mean, can pregnant women drink coffee? I have no idea, and I haven’t read up much yet, so I-”
She’d frozen in place, her eyes wide and her mouth open. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she didn’t even know about the baby.
“Mrs uh… Wilma?”
“You’re pregnant? You’re having my boy’s baby! Oh my god, does he know?!” She was suddenly hugging me and practically bouncing with excitement, but then she paused.
“Shit, that makes me a grandmother in my early forties!”
Yeah, because that’s the important part here.
“Blaze didn’t tell you?”
Wilma guided me to a stool to sit down and filled the kettle, prepping a tea cup presumably for me, which was a pretty clear answer about coffee, right?
