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.If that motherfucker laid another hand on her…Yeah.Fine.I'm just awake and wondered if you could…talk to me for a couple minutes?The words “Bad idea.Bad idea.Bad idea.” blared in my head like an ambulance siren.But it didn’t stop me from replying, Sure.Call me.I left the light off but crabbed backward until I could sit up against the headboard.Lying in bed in the dark with only a pair of boxers on while talking to a hot girl was a recipe for trouble.Already, I could feel my dick getting hard.While my mouth was saying, “How’s things going?” my brain would be asking, “What are you wearing?” Not on purpose.It was hardwired into my DNA.The phone rang a second later and I answered it."Hey."She launched right in."I know you probably think I'm some kind of psycho, but I'm really not.This is the first time I've ever totally slept alone.” Silence.“Wait, that came out wrong.I mean, I've always lived with my parents, and then came straight to a dorm with roommates, and even once I got my single, you could always hear people out and about.Now that no one’s around, it's…creepy.And really quiet," she murmured with an embarrassed laugh."That sounds so lame, I bet."Not to me, it didn’t.When my mother first left, they couldn't find a family to take all three of us, so Reid and Matty were in one foster home and I was in another.I'd gone from a cramped apartment full of yellers who had a lot to yell about, to a little house in the burbs with a nice, quiet Christian family.I don’t think I slept more than ten minutes at a time, I was so terrified.I was ten then, and eleven years later, you still couldn't pay me enough to live in the burbs.Olivia was right.All that quiet was creepy as fuck."I think a lot of people feel that way,” I said, omitting the details, loath to tell this girl I shouldn’t even be talking to about my fucked-up family or my kiddie fears.“I guess,” she said softly.“It’s weird, I never thought of myself as a scaredy-cat, but the past few weeks have been an eye-opener.Maybe I’m not as tough as I thought.”“Or maybe you’ve just had some scary things happen lately.” I shifted and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting to see what she’d say to that.I still wasn’t convinced she grasped the depth of shit she was in with this Andy guy.He wasn’t having a bad day, or too drunk to realize what he was doing, although that would’ve been bad enough.This guy was mean to the bone.I’d seen it before in the ring.Not so much in my own fights; I usually tried to block out the mojo coming off my opponents.A lot of fighters won before the bell even rang through attitude and intimidation, so being able to let that shit roll off me like a duck in water was a big advantage.But when I went to watch Matty fight MMA, I’d seen it a few times.Those guys you just knew weren’t in it for the sport or for the money.They were in it to bring the pain.They got off on making people feel weaker and smaller.Those were the same ones who hung on one brutal second too long after their opponent tapped and found legal ways to break bones when they could.Straight up vicious.And that was the same look I’d seen in good old Andy’s eyes when his hands were wrapped around Olivia’s throat.Hot rage poured through me and I kicked the blanket off the bed.I should have punched him harder.“You’re right.That was scary.” Her voice was almost a whisper, which only pissed me off more.She still sounded afraid.“I have some other stuff going on too.It’s been a rough week.I don’t mean to complain.I know it’s been a bad couple days for you too.Because of me.”“It wasn’t because of you,” I said firmly.“It was because of me.I made the decision to follow you and get involved.That’s not on you.”“But if I hadn’t been there, you’d still have your job.”“True.But if you hadn’t been there, you’d have been somewhere else, and who knows what he could’ve done to you? I’ll take getting sacked.”The silence between us was unbroken until she let out low sniffle.“That’s…that’s really sweet of you.” Her voice sounded choked and I realized she was crying.“Listen, I have to go, but can I give you a call tomorrow? I’d really love to talk more about getting some lessons.Maybe they’ll help me sleep better.”My gut knew the right answer.No.Fuck no.“Sure.Give me a call.” She sounded so lost.So sad.I was stuck.Stuck in her, stuck in this position, stuck until I knew for sure she was okay.We disconnected and I stared into the darkness, dread and elation coursing through me in equal measure."Who were you talking to?" Matty called through my door before toeing it open and peering through the crack."Nobody,” I snapped, not in the frame of mind to deal with him."Okay, well, tell nobody I said hi next time you talk to her."That wasn't going to happen.I rolled to my side and ignored him."Bash?""Yeah?" I stared into the darkness, willing him to go away."You do what you gotta do to get this girl out of your system, but remember, you have a fight in a few months.Keep your eye on the prize, bro."That had been the McDaniels boys’ mantra ever since we'd been on our own and had one another to count on and no one else.And tonight was the first time I questioned for even a second what the prize was.Chapter FiveOliviaThe next morning came way too early, but considering I’d slept for maybe two hours, that was no surprise.Not that I had to get out of bed.There was literally nothing for me to do except think.Not ideal, since that’s what had kept me up until the sun had starting peeking through my window.I lay in bed for another hour before giving up.There was no more sleep to be had for me whether I stayed in bed or not.I was too on edge.I didn’t have to face Andy for another five days, which was a relief, but my brain was still in overdrive.Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I let out a long yawn.My phone rang before I’d even had the chance to rub the sleep from my eyes, and my stomach did a loop-the-loop.Bash?“Hello?” I sounded out of breath, but it couldn’t be helped.“Hey, kitten.”My pulse leveled off as I recognized my mom’s voice.Okay.So not Bash.No biggie [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]