Page 11 of The Saviors: Part One
She throws a pillow at me with a growl. “I really don’t like you sometimes.”
“You love me.”
“I do. Even though you piss me off sometimes.”
“You knew I wasn’t normal when you started to get to know me.”
“I still don’t really know you. Do I?”
Sometimes, I don’t give her enough credit. She might like to have fun, but the girl is brilliant. She grew up with a very religious family on the Bible Belt, and they made her take advanced classes in everything. She ran the moment she turned eighteen, put herself through nursing school, and ended up here.
“You know the important things.”
“Do you think if you ever told me everything, you might feel better?”
“I have. I want to, Amber. But some things you don’t need to know.”
She heaves a long, suffering sigh. “One of these days, you will trust me enough to tell me.”
“It’s not about trust. I do trust you. It’s for your own safety.”
“See. What does that even mean? You’re a graphic designer.” I contain the wince. Iama graphic designer, technically. She doesn’t need to know I forged my own degree to become one.
I look away from her and start watching our show, hoping she will let the topic drop. We go through this at least once a month, and every time she gets a little pushier wanting to know what I’m hiding.
“One of these days, Chelsea Dawn, I’ll know the real you.” I can hear the hurt in her voice and shut my eyes, making a decision.
I reach over and pause the show, then turn to face her on the couch. I can give a little piece of the truth, but not enough that will put her in danger.
“My ex, Brady, used to beat the hell out of me. Daily. He used to degrade me in private, in front of his friends and family. That’s not even the worst of it. That’s why I hate my body, why I used to jump at every sound, and why my townhouse is locked down tighter than Fort Knox.” I feel tears spring into my eyes, and to my surprise, I don’t see pity in Amber’s eyes. I see anger.
“Is he fucking dead? Because he should be,” she declares. She takes a look at my face and grabs my hands. “Chelsea. You’re literally perfect. Everything about you. You saved me that night from being raped, and you didn’t even know me, but you still put your ass on the line. You didn’t deserve anything he ever did to you. I’m sorry that I brought it up.”
She engulfs me in one of her Amber hugs, the ones that slightly cut off my air supply, but I don’t care. This is why she’s my best friend. For all her sass and flippant attitude, this girl loves with her whole heart.
She pulls back, crying just as hard as me, making us both laugh. “I love you, Chelsea. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. If you ever want to talk about this again, please come to me. I feel like it’ll do some good.”
I nod my head in agreement.
Even though I know I probably never will.
Chapter5
Axel
Iknew coming back to Forest Grove would fuck with my head, but it was the only way to draw out my father.
It’s been six long goddamn years since all this bullshit started, and it’s time to end it for good.
“Hey, man,” Cole greets, walking onto the back patio and taking the seat beside me. “You need to ease up on Sean.”
“I need his head on straight, and it’s not if he’s daydreaming about a piece of pussy.”
“I don’t think this is just some piece of pussy. I’ve never seen him like that.”
“And that’s the problem. He can do whatever the fuck he wants after we kill Charlie.” Even as that name leaves my mouth, I can feel my blood boil. We can find anyone, anywhere in the world but can’t find this asshole. Charlie, my father, started the Saviors, but he treated everyone he trained like shit, including me. The only good thing that came from Charlie was finding out about my brother, Gray.
“You can’t tie us down like that,” Cole says quietly. “Believe me, I know how fucking important this is, and I know how much it’s messing with you to be here because it’s messing with me too.”
