Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I looked up at Axel, terrified of him seeing them. Christian sat up, gently pulling me with him. I followed Axel with my eyes as he took a seat next to me on the couch. “I’m here, Sis. This is a judgment-free zone.”
Christian nuzzled my neck and pressed a tender kiss below my ear. “Trust me, baby,” he soothed. “I’m going to roll your sleeves up. I’m here. Be my moon. I’m in your darkness with you, holding your hand, but I want to see, beautiful.”
I swallowed thickly and nodded. As I closed my eyes, Christian unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt that I was wearing before he gently rolled them up. “I cleaned them up after her shower,” Christian informed the other two men in the room. I felt Axel’s hand wrap around my right arm, gently running his fingers over the scars, not touching the fresh cuts. I flinched but didn’t open my eyes. “They weren’t too deep. She wasn’t trying to kill herself—probably just trying to relieve some of the pain she was feeling.”
I jerked my eyes open, staring at the handsome, perfect man next to me—the man that would always be too good for me and my shit. “How…”
A soft, understanding smile tilted his lips before he held his arms out to me. There were faint, white lines all over his arms. I hadn’t ever noticed them before. “You cut?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “When I was younger, yeah. I did to relieve the pain in my head—not to kill myself.”
Tears poured down my face. “You understand,” I choked out. Oh, God, he actually understood how I felt. That was why he never looked at me with disgust. That was why he was so understanding.
He gently cupped my jaw and brushed my tears off my cheeks. “I do,” he murmured. “I’m not talking out of my ass, baby. I know how you’re feeling.”
I sobbed as I wound my arms around his neck. He gently lifted me onto his lap, and I linked my legs around his torso, clinging to him as I cried.
“I’m going to change her dosing,” Dr. Gresham quietly told Axel. I heard the familiar ripping of a prescription paper from his prescription pad. “It’s the same medication, but I want her to take it twice a day rather than just once a day. I don’t want her to take too much at one time—it’ll be too much for her since she’s still not completely used to the medication.”
“Thank you, Dr. Gresham.”
“Ally is my miracle patient, Axel,” he told my brother. Christian ran his hands over my back, never stopping their movement as he continued to quietly sooth me. “I want her to continue to live and thrive. Anytime she has an emergency like this, give me a call, and you might want to give her boyfriend my number as well.”
I blushed. Christian released a husky laugh. “Boyfriend.” He tasted the word on his lips. “I fucking love the sound of that.” He gently tipped my chin up so I was looking at his handsome face. “You okay with being mine, my moon?”
My blush darkened. I shyly nodded my head, still not used to how forward he was—wasn’t sure if I ever would be. He leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips with mine before he let me rest my head back on his shoulder.
Axel came back into the living room a moment later. “Dr. Gresham is suggesting that we pull you for the semester, Ally,” Axel told me. I shook my head at him.
“It’s probably a good idea, Ally,” Christian told me, agreeing with Dr. Gresham. “Until we get this under control, it’ll be best if you don’t have the added stress of classes.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Axel told me, his tone firm but gentle. “I’m making the decision for you on this one, Little Sis. I’ll go do the necessary paperwork tomorrow to get you pulled from classes. They have to medically excuse you. Dr. Gresham will be sending me a formal letter tomorrow that I can take to your school.”
School was my normalcy. If they took that away from me, I was going to be one hundred percent lost.
I slowly lifted my head from Christian’s shoulder to look over at my brother. He reached forward and brushed a tear off my cheek. “It’s going to get better, Ally,” he assured me. “I know it’s dark right now, but just shine like Christian wants you to, yeah? Don’t be afraid to lean on him. He’s good for you. Honestly, I don’t think he’s capable of breaking your heart.”
My bottom lip trembled at the mere thought of losing Christian, even though I barely knew him. Axel gave me a small smile. “He’s not your ex, Sis. Let him take care of you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I need to get back home to Meghan. I’ll talk to Julian. If he calls you, don’t be scared. Answer him.” He looked at Christian. “I’ll give you a week off with pay—let you stay here with her.”