“Wh-where a-are we…goin’?” It takes more effort than it should to force out the words, and even when I do, I’m not sure how intelligible they are. What’s wrong with me? My body feels weird, disconnected, and it takes all of my energy just to put one foot in front of the other. Where are we going again?
I trip and stumble against a tree. Someone huffs out a frustrated breath beside me, pulling on my arm until I’m standing upright once again. “Just keep going, we’re nearly there.”
Nearly where? And why does Michael sound so angry?
“Don’t…feel…good.” My eyes droop, and my head falls against my chest. I lose all track of time, and the next thing I know, pain rattles my bones as my body collides with the compacted dirt of the hard forest floor.
“No problems, I assume?”
I recognize that voice, but everything around me is a blur as I squint up at the two dark blobs standing over me.
“None. Eh, what are you planning on doing with her?”
One of the blobs laughs humorlessly. “It’s too late to grow a conscience now, boy. Just take the money and get out of here.”
There’s silence for a second before one of the blobs shifts out of my view, and I hear footsteps getting quieter and quieter as whoever it is walks away. The other blob crouches down in front of me, and I have to blink several times before his face comes into focus. I wish I could say I was hallucinating the face of the devil hovering in front of me, but I’m all too familiar with the grotesque features smiling cruelly at me.
“No,” I croak out the word, making his grin widen.
“Oh, yes, Dove. You’re all mine now.”
I gasp, feeling lightheaded as I blink back to reality, finding all my guys crowded around me with various looks of concern on their faces.
“Did you remember something?” Beck asks, and I lift my gaze until I’m staring into his moss green eyes, finding none of my usual comfort in them.
My mouth is dry, but I manage to croak out, “Michael.”
Hawk snarls, “I fucking knew it was that asshole! I’m going to fucking kill him.” His lip curls back, and there’s a determined set to his jaw. Murderous intent glows in his eyes, making him look more terrifying than I’ve ever seen him before—which is saying something.
Beck reaches out for my hand, placing it between his warm palms. “You’re shaking, you need to rest.” I hadn’t noticed the tremor in my hands until he mentioned it, but now that I’m aware of it, my whole body is vibrating. He glances around at the others. “We can discuss this back at the dorm.”
Everyone quickly agrees, and Beck practically carries me back to the dorm.
“My room,” I protest as we bypass the girls' dorm, heading for the guys.
“Fuck that shit,” Hawk snaps, but I know his anger isn’t aimed at me. “You’re staying with us. I’ve cleared out a room for you.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. “When did you do that?”
He shrugs. “Last night.”
“You mean, when you were meant to be getting some rest.”
The asshole acts like I never spoke, ignoring me as we climb the stairwell to their apartment. I get a weird sense of coming home as I walk in, a small smile growing at finding the place the same as how it was the last time I was here.
“Come on, I’ll show you the room and you can sleep for a while.” He must see me about to argue as his eyes narrow in warning and he continues on, “Everything else can wait. We’ll discuss it all when you get up.”
My lips thin, but I can see that arguing with him would be futile, and I am pretty tired after today. “Yeah, okay,” I agree on a sigh.
He shows me to a spare room at the back of the apartment, and I’m speechless as I walk in, finding the walls painted a dark blue, with cream covers on a large California king bed. My scarce belongings have been moved from my room in the girls’ dorm, and a few potted plants have been placed around the room, making it feel more lived in. I spot the boxing gloves Mason got me sitting on the dresser, along with my textbooks on a desk.
“You can, uh, decorate it however you want,” Hawk mumbles. His eyes dart around the room, as if he’s trying to see it through my eyes.
“You did all this for me?” I gasp, turning in a circle and taking it all in.
When he doesn’t reply, I tear my gaze away from the room to look at him, and he shrugs a shoulder. Closing the distance between us, I wrap my arms around him as a tear leaks out of the corner of my eye. “Thank you,” I murmur. “It’s beautiful.”
He pats my back, and I can feel the awkwardness in his movements. He coughs, clearing the emotion from his throat. “Um, yeah. It was no big deal.”
I smile into his shirt before letting him go, and spin around to take in the room again.
“Get some rest, I’ll check on you in a bit.”
Once he’s gone, I take my time walking around the room, opening drawers and rifling through my tatty duffle bag before stripping down and sliding between the clean sheets. Oh yeah, this is by far the comfiest bed I have ever slept in. Despite the horrors of the last few weeks, and today's revelation, I feel safe and content as I fall asleep.
I’m pretty sure I’ve got the best grumpy brother in the world.
Chapter 8
A noise startles me awake, and I jump upright in the bed, alert and on edge.
“It’s okay,” Cam rushes out in a whisper. “It’s just me.”
Even though the tension drops out of my shoulders, my heart continues to slam against my ribs, and my breaths come in rapid pants.
“Hey, shhh,” Cam soothes, sliding into the bed beside me and pulling me into his arms. He strokes his hand over my hair and just holds me until the adrenaline rush passes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snuck in like that, I-I didn’t think.”
Lying back, I pull him down so his head is resting on the pillow beside mine, the two of us facing one another.
“I couldn’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I worry I’m going to wake up and this will all have been a dream.” I can see the genuine fear in his eyes. “I thought, maybe if I just came in and saw with my own eyes that you were really here, I’d be able to sleep.”
“I’m here.” I lift my hand and run it through his short blond strands, and he closes his eyes, leaning into my touch.
We lie there in silence for a while, until the burning need for answers and reassurance becomes too much.
“Your dad…”
“Don’t worry about him,” Cam murmurs, slowly opening his eyes.
How can I not worry, though? “Cam, I killed him.”
He reaches out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I know, and he deserved every painful second of what you did to him.”