Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 145942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 730(@200wpm)___ 584(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 730(@200wpm)___ 584(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
A soft smile pulls up the corners of Carver’s lips. “Don’t get me wrong, going to Karleigh’s place was a good idea. You were safe there. You got fed, were given clean clothes, a shower, and somewhere to sleep that wasn’t full of fucking ants biting your goddamn ass, but if the aim was to go somewhere I couldn’t find you, then yeah … your plan sucked. Before coming to Ravenwood Heights, Santa DeClara was the one town where you were happy. Checking Karleigh’s place was my first thought and it paid off.”
I let out a defeated sigh, only now just realizing how well the boys know me. Fuck, I think they know me better than I know myself.
My gaze drops back to my plate and I start pushing my fries through my ketchup. “I think once I get back to Ravenwood Heights and all this bullshit blows over, I’d like to do something for Karleigh. She’s got it rough and I have all these resources at my fingertips that could help her out. She did so much for me, and I was just an ungrateful kid who didn’t know better, but now … I don’t know. I want to thank her for giving me a home when I had nothing.”
Carver’s hand falls over my shoulder and he pulls me in before pressing a soft kiss to my temple. “I think that’s a great idea,” he tells me, but I quickly pull out of his hold, not ready to fall back into the same old patterns. What the boys did to me was unforgivable, and while I now understand why they did it, it’s going to take a minute to be able to move past it, and as usual, Carver doesn’t miss a goddamn thing.
His gaze drops and the tiny sliver of hope quickly burns out. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, turning to face me better while doing everything he can to avoid my hard stare, though I’m not surprised, apologies aren’t exactly Carver’s strong point. They’re like two ends of a magnet always pulling away from each other. “I fucking hate that we did that to you, and believe me, the guys are feeling it too, especially Cruz. Betraying your trust like that … it’s not something we’re taking lightly. We know we fucked up and we’ll do everything we can to make up for it, but I won’t apologize for doing what I had to do to try and save my sisters.”
“I know,” I whisper. “I’m not looking for an apology. I understand why you did what you did, all of you. But it doesn’t take away the hurt of watching the SUV drive away from me. The cabin was up in flames and I was waiting for you guys to realize and turn back for me, but you never did. That was the worst part, realizing that you guys had tried to kill me, that I put my trust in the wrong people.”
“But you didn’t,” he urges, grabbing both of my hands and staring deep into my eyes, his desperation to win me over knowing no bounds. “We didn’t try to kill you. We knew you were safe, we watched you come running out of the cabin before we blew it, and I stayed behind to watch over you. We knew you were going to be okay. You have to know that.”
“I get that,” I snap back at him, stealing my hands back. “But it doesn’t hurt any less.”
I stand and let out a frustrated sigh and my hands start pumping at my side, our conversation quickly working me up. I start pacing once again, moving back and forth behind Carver as he watches me with caution, each step I take being monitored as though I’m about to break, but honestly, I kinda feel like I am.
The more I think about it, the harder it gets and my control quickly starts to slip.
They betrayed me. They blew up the cabin even though I was standing right in front of it. They took off as though nothing happened. They let Carver stalk me through the woods with no explanation in the hopes of keeping me scared and away. But what hurts the most is that they kept me out of it. We were supposed to be a family. They were the loves of my life and they so easily kept this from me. Their little brothers and sisters are in danger and instead of coming to me to explain the situation, they made shitty decisions that are going to stay with me the rest of my life.
They didn’t trust me to be able to help them get their family back and that one tiny piece of knowledge tears me apart from the inside out.
My pacing gets faster as my strides get longer and soon enough, I’m practically storming up and down the length of the diner. I’m on my eighth lap before I notice my huffing is so loud that the dude cooking the amazing burgers in the kitchen can hear me. My hands ball into fists again, pissed off with myself for not being able to control my emotions.