Page 41 of Bought For Us

Taking a step back, I stand with shaky limbs. My heart is racing so much, I feel like I might pass out.

Tossing a few things into my backpack, I grab the two suitcases that are by the bed, still packed.

“That's it?” he asks, brows furrowing. Shame hits me and my cheeks heat.

“Yes.” I hate how small I feel. “I had to sell anything of value. I didn’t have much money to spend on anything that wasn’t necessary.”

He blows out a breath and runs a hand through his brown locks. “That changes today.”

I’m not sure what he means by that when he grabs both suitcases from me and goes for the door.

I don’t say a word as we walk down the creepy halls through the dingy motel and out to the parking lot. Gun shots sound in the distance and Zack shoots me a look that tells me even if I tried to argue, I wasn’t going to win.

Maybe it’s a good thing he’s taking me out of this dump. If what he says is true about this place, I want to be far away from here.

“I don’t want to live at your place for free,” I tell him after ten minutes of smothering silence.

“Cora, I’m not charging you rent, for fuck’s sakes,” he groans. “We own the place, you’re not putting us out in any way.”

“It’s not who I am, Zack. I can’t just live at your place and mooch off you,” I grumble.

He chuckles. “Mooch?” he shakes his head. “Can’t this be an old friend doing you a favor? If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this situation. And I sure as hell know you won’t let me give you the remaining money you owe.”

“You would be right about that.” I glare. “I’m not taking handouts. This is my problem to solve, not yours.”

“No.” he shoots me a pissed off look. “This isn’t your problem. You didn’t do shit. It was your bastard of a dad who fucked you over and left you to clean up the pieces. If it wasn’t for me, you would have been still living at my place. You would have had a parent who loved and cared for you. You wouldn’t have had to work yourself like a dog for a selfish sack of shit who only used you while he wasted away in a fucking chair every day. I was the one who didn’t push, who accepted what my mother told me and I fucking hate myself. I could have saved you.” His chest heaves, eyes locked on the road. “So let me save you now. You don’t want my money, fine. Just stay with us, we have the room. Use the money from your job to save up and get yourself out of debt faster.”

My lips part as I’m stunned into silence. I stare at the side of his face, his jaw tight, eyes wild.

“Why do you keep saying it was your fault?” I ask finally. “You were just a teenager, Zack. It wasn’t your job to protect me.”

“But it was,” he grinds out. “Remember what I promised that time you got into a fight with your dad?”

Blinking, I look away and think. It takes me a moment but then I remember. It was the first time I really saw what lurked beneath. I came home from school, it was report card day and he demanded to see it. I was so proud because I got really good grades in everything but math. I was never good at math and even with all the studying I did, it never helped.

He took one look at it, got pissed and rage took over. He got in my face and told me that no man is going to want to marry an idiot and that I’d better do better or else.

I wasn’t sure what the ‘or else’ meant but I knew I didn’t want to find out.

Zack ended up hearing the last part and when my dad left, he pulled me into his arms and let me cry.

And then he said something I forgot until now. “You said not to listen to him. That I was smart and any man would be lucky to be with me.”

“Yes. And what else.”

I think harder. “I-I don’t know.”

“I told you that you were perfect just the way you were and I’d spend every day reminding you just how amazing you were.”

“Okay?”

“And I told you not to worry about your dad. That I’d make sure he never talked to you like that again.”

He did? Shit. He did.

My eyes widen. “Yeah, exactly. And I didn’t keep that promise. I fucked up.”

“Zack. Like I said, you were just a teenager. There wasn’t much any of us could have done.”

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