Page 44 of Filthy Secret

Adam and Grover sit together, eating pancakes and fruit. I frown, but only for a moment. Selfishly, I wonder why Grover didn’t tell me there was breakfast. Then my heart begins to beat rapidly when he lifts his head, his eyes find mine, and I can feel the anger pouring off him.

That anger is directed solely at me.

I know I have earned the anger. I’m just not sure why exactly.

Thankfully, Grover doesn’t make me wait to find out what he’s upset about. I don’t have to worry about walking toward him another step. He stands and moves in my direction, his feet carrying him quickly.

When he is within arm’s reach of me, he extends his arm, his palm pressing against my belly as he pushes me backward. As he shifts slightly, so do I, my feet scrambling beneath me as I am forced down the hallway and back into the bedroom.

The door slams behind him, and at the same time, my back crashes into a wall. He doesn’t stop moving closer to me, though. Only when his chest is touching mine and his nose is just centimeters away from my own does he speak, and when he does, it’s on a low hiss that is full of so much rage that I can practically taste it.

“Ellen was here,” he states.

It’s not a question. It is, without a doubt, a statement.

“She was,” I whisper.

His growl is low and feral. He sounds like an animal, but I don’t tell him that. Instead, I keep my lips pressed closed tightly as my eyes shift and attempt to focus on his, but his face is too close. I can’t really focus on anything.

My heart is slamming against my chest, and I wonder what he’s going to do next. When he lifts his hand, slamming it on the wall next to my face, I flinch. Then his nostrils flare, and he leans forward, his lips touching mine as he speaks.

“Do you think I would fucking hit you?” he asks.

I don’t tell him that he’s scaring the shit out of me and that I think anyone is capable of anything, no matter who they are, considering my own sister has essentially sold me out to her pimp to pay for her drug habit, and said pimp beat the shit out of me in an effort to scare me into submission. I pretty much think anyone can and will do anything if they’re desperate enough.

But I don’t say any of that.

Instead, I whimper a soft no and hold my breath, waiting for what is coming. I have no idea why he’s so angry, but I could guess a few things. Instead of actually guessing, I just wait. He shifts backward slightly, his eyes searching mine for a silent moment, then he clears his throat.

“The fuck did Ellen want? And why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

My first reaction is to be a smart-ass, a complete and total smart-ass. I want to tell him to fuck himself, that he would probably have known Ellen was here if he had someone watching the house, but he didn’t.

He ran off all night long and didn’t even go to the store like he said he would. He just ran around doing whatever the fuck he was doing, then came home, fucked me, and fell asleep.

Although I don’t want to complain about the fucking part. I liked that. It hurt, it felt amazing, it was almost too much, but then it was sweet, and I really don’t want to stain that or fight about it because I liked it.

I want to push him away. He’s too close for this, but I don’t dare attempt it. “Ellen came here and wanted me to open the door. She wanted to talk to me.”

“And?” Grover grinds out.

“And I refused to open the door. Eventually, she left.”

“That’s it?” he asks.

“That’s it.”

He doesn’t say anything more as he watches me. I don’t know if he’s looking for a lie, but I’m telling the truth. He leans forward again, his nose touching mine, but he doesn’t kiss me. Instead, his warm breath washes over my face.

I inhale him.

“Grover,” I exhale.

“I want to believe you, but you enable her.”

I close my eyes. I want to tell him that he can trust me, but I can’t say that. Because he can’t trust me. I’m not trustworthy. I’m standing in front of him with a secret. One that I’m not ready to confess just yet.

“I do,” I agree. “But what I don’t do is put my son in danger. And there is no way I was going to open the door to her, not knowing if Golden Joker was hiding around the corner to snatch me or not.”

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