Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Where the fuck is he?
I jerk my phone from my pocket and text him.
Where are you?
My feet refuse to keep still, pacing my room as I watch my phone for his reply. One minute, three, five, eight minutes pass, but there’s no answer.
Did he leave? Was he so fucking pissed that I didn’t talk to him enough today or that I let a couple of losers flirt with me to get what I wanted that he bailed?
Fuck that.
Fuck him.
Why did he go?
I don’t need one more thing causing stress in my life, but I told him I wanted him here. Can’t I have a bad fucking day without him taking off?
My feet eat up the floor as I make it to my bedroom door in three quick strides. If Dean wants to play games, fine, we’ll play games. If he wants me to bring him back, I will.
The second I’m in the hallway, I notice the lights on under Aislin’s door. She didn’t come down to the party tonight. She told me she’d be staying in her room. Maybe Dean is in there with her?
I knock gently in case he’s not there, but no one answers. Hand on the knob, I slowly push the door open, gaze immediately landing on them—Dean and my sister, asleep in her bed. She’s curled up close to him the way she does me when she doesn’t want to be alone. A burning sensation crawls up my stomach and into my throat. It’s not jealousy. It’s shame. Because she needed me, and I wasn’t there. Because she sat alone during this party, and I didn’t understand why, and when she needed someone, again, it was Dean who was there to take care of her.
Dean, who is protecting what’s mine.
That does something to me, makes it feel like everything is getting all tangled up, all entwined inside me, in a way I don’t understand and have never experienced.
Without any direction from me, my feet lead me to the edge of the bed. His knuckles are bruised from hitting that dumb fuck earlier. My stomach clenches seeing marks on him from anyone other than me. It’s one thing when he’s bruised from my mouth, from pleasure, but seeing him hurt feels like someone stuck a burning-hot fire poker through my chest—even if it is his fault.
Ash has her hand on his stomach, fist tightened in his shirt like she’s afraid he’ll leave. I would never pull him out of this bed, though I never want him anywhere except in mine.
His facial features are softened in sleep, the anger he carries so visibly all but gone when he lets himself rest. My fingers twitch to reach out and touch him, caress his cheek.
Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with me?
I walk to the door, turn the lock, and flip the light switch, bathing the room in darkness. There’s an armchair in the corner of the room, so I settle in it, destined to watch over them.
*
“Tiernan, wake up.” I flinch at the sound of Aislin’s voice and the soft hand on my thigh. “Why did you sleep in my chair, silly? You could have woken Dean up to go to bed with you. I didn’t mean to—”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I clear my throat, my voice rough from lack of good rest. “I shouldn’t have thrown that fucking party, and you should have told me if you were having a hard time.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m fine. I don’t know why I was acting like that. I didn’t expect it. Nothing even happened to me. I just…”
Aislin tries to walk away, but I take her by the wrist gently. “Hey. Something fuckin’ could’ve. It’s okay if it fucks you up.”
“That’s what Dean said too.”
Of course he did. It’s like he lives in my brain sometimes. “We’ll take care of it. He won’t…” I let my words trail off, my gaze shooting to the bed, where Dean is sitting up, watching us. I can’t say out loud that Jensen won’t hurt anyone ever again, but she knows what I mean.
Dean looks down, turns his head, not holding eye contact with me.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” I say. I kiss Aislin’s forehead, then stand and tell Dean, “You should go back to your dorm for today.”
“What?” Dean’s gaze snaps to mine.
“Go back to your dorm for today. Cillian is taking you out tonight, and you’re going.”
“Fuck you.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m so fucking tired of you saying those words to me.” I head out of the bedroom, Dean right behind me.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. I’ll go back to my dorm—I don’t belong here anyway—but I’m not going out with Cillian.”
“Yes. You are.” I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with this today. I need my head in the game, and that won’t happen with Dean here, with me trying to hide what’s happening while making plans.