Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
I started to struggle when the familiar voice hissed into my ear.
“Relax,” Brayden ordered. “It’s me.”
I yanked my arm away and took a step back, glaring at his profile in the gloomy light of the hospital parking lot. A hatred I had never known bubbled up inside of me, and there was only one place for it to go.
I shoved him back against the wall. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Brayden just blinked at me like I was acting crazy. It made me crazier. I shoved him again and slapped at his face.
“You tried to kill him!”
“Jesus, Brighton,” he spat. “Keep your voice down and stop hitting me. I’m bleeding all over the place as it is.”
On closer inspection, I realized he was right. Ryland hadn’t gone down without a fight. Brayden’s nose was crooked and both his eyes were black. But the blood stains all over his shirt had me shaking as I tried to calm down.
I reached towards him and then snatched my hand away. I couldn’t comfort him. I couldn’t justify what he’d done. Ever.
“Have you even bothered to see a doctor?”
“I’ll be fine,” he grunted.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Because I want nothing to do with you anymore.”
I didn’t even recognize my own voice. But I recognized the anger in Brayden’s eyes.
“So that’s it, huh? You’re going to choose him over your family?”
“I don’t want to choose anyone!” I cried out. “You're both making me choose. And right now, I have to choose him, Brayden. He has no one else. Because of what you and Frankie did to his family. And if that wasn’t enough, you went after him again! I can’t even wrap my head around that. I don’t understand what’s happened to you.”
“He’s killing our mother!” he argued. “Is that not justification enough? And do you really think it’s going to stop there? Who will be next? Me? And then what? You know he isn’t capable of love. He doesn’t care about you. He’s going to hurt you too.”
“He wouldn’t.” I shook my head vehemently. “You don’t know him like I do. He’s in pain, and he just needs someone to help him.”
“He’s a sinking ship,” Brayden spat. “And it disgusts me that you can even look at him knowing what he’s done to Norma.”
“What?” I scoffed. “Gave her money? It was her choice to buy the drugs, not Ryland’s.”
I didn’t know why I defended him on this. Deep down, I knew Ryland had malicious intent behind giving her that money. But I had tried to justify it was her actions that would cause her own demise, not his.
“She’s an addict,” Brayden snorted. “He knew exactly what she would do with that money. He wants her dead. He wants me dead too. And what’s going to happen to you, Brighton? Is he saving you for last?”
“I can’t have this conversation right now,” I snapped. “I don’t know what to do anymore. All I know is that I love him. And I want you to stay away from him.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he sneered. “I’ll be staying away from both of you.”
***
When I got back to Nicole’s apartment, I was surprised to find that my key didn’t work in the door anymore.
I stood in the hallway with warring feelings. I didn’t want to wake her up, but I didn’t want to go back to Ryland’s either. To see his blood everywhere. I couldn’t handle it.
Nicole solved my dilemma for me when she opened the door.
“He worried Brayden might come here,” she explained in a hollow voice.
She was still wearing a blood stained shirt, and her eyes were ringed with darkness. She also looked like she’d lost weight since I’d left. I thought I was too exhausted to deal with anyone else’s feelings, but Nicole was the exception.
I grabbed her by the hand and ushered her to the couch. I didn’t have the words to comfort her, but I wanted to try. Having Norma-Jean for a mother meant I lacked the nurturing instincts she should have instilled in me. I didn’t know how to nurture. I barely knew how to take care of myself.
“I can’t go through this again.” Nicole’s voice wobbled as she looked at me with bleary eyes. “I can’t do it, Brighton. I’m not strong enough.”
“You are strong enough,” I told her. “And this is not the same thing. Ryland’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” she argued. “You don’t know.”
“I do know,” I said vehemently. “I won’t let anything else happen to him. He’s okay now, Nicole. I just saw him.”
“He won’t stop.” She shook her head, the tears falling freely now. “He’s not going to stop until Brayden’s dead, you know that right?”
The truth of her words shook me to my core. And as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t argue with that statement. It was probably the reason Ryland hadn’t told the truth about what happened to the police. Because he wanted his chance at Brayden. My boyfriend and my brother both wanted each other dead.