Page 15 of Simply You & Me

"I-what?! No! I didn't fucking hurt her, Zach. I swear! You know I would never do that. I'm not into that kind of stuff." Gripping his wet hair, Julian paces. With each frantic stride he takes, Tate stiffens further.

"T, come on. Let's get some fresh air." Without waiting for a response, I grab his hand and pull him out of the room with me. Just as we reach the patio door, his body begins to tremble. I rush to the small gazebo and take a seat in one of the cushioned chairs. Without missing a beat, I tug Tate onto my lap, so he straddles my thighs. "Breathe, T. I'm here. It's just you and me."

Tate's frantic gaze focuses on my lips and nostrils, diligently following my breathing patterns. He's still shaking like a leaf, but his lungs are finally getting some damn air. "There's my boy. Tell me four things you can see," I guide.

Blowing out another breath, he gulps. "I-I see the swirls of the vine on your neck." I nod, encouraging Tate to continue with his grounding exercise. "Your eyes. They’re so dark, they m-might as well be black. Your jaw keeps clenching, and now you're smirking because you love the attention."

The bark of laughter that explodes from my mouth is unexpected. I nip at the finger he's using to trail along my lips. "You know I love your eyes on me, T." His eyes flare. "You okay now?"

At my serious question, he deflates against my bare chest. "Yeah, I just?—"

"I know. I know," I soothe. Tate came back home four years ago with quite a few triggers. The trauma of killing a man and seeing his sister bleeding and being carted away from him left lasting wounds that need to be handled with care. Blood is one of them.

Resting his head on my shoulder, his dirty blond hair tickles my neck. "You don't think he hurt her, do you?"

I hum, gathering my thoughts before I allow them to sway Tate's feelings on the matter. "I don't think he hurt her on purpose, no. There's also the possibility that she was a virgin."

Tate frowns. “She’s a mom.”

“There are many ways to become a mom. Maybe her kid is adopted or something.” I shrug, not willing to ignore the possibility.

Tate groans long and loud. "Oh my god. I don't know what's worse. Julian accidentally hurting her or him taking her virginity and passing out. I mean, Christ Wyatt, I'm almost positive he didn't help her afterward. You saw her jeans."

Yeah, I did. And it was unsettling.

"Fuck. Rylee was so mad last night. You think she’ll talk to me?"

Tate's anxiety over his sister being angry with him hurts my soul. He spent so long without Rylee, never knowing if he would ever see her again. The insecurity over losing his sister again is ruling his emotions right now, and there's nothing I can do.

"She shouldn't be mad at you, T. You did nothing wrong. We can call her together if you'd like?"

Eyeing me, he checks for sincerity and immediately calms, knowing I'll be with him the whole time. "Yes, please," he breathes.

I don't hesitate. I press my lips to his in a loving kiss. We may not be an overly loving household, but I love Tate and the others. We are a family. I will do anything for my family.

Chapter Eleven

Adelyn

Noooo. Fuck. I hate myself. My head throbs in agreement. My retinas burn, and I haven't even opened my damn eyes. My throat feels like it's crawling with stirrings of vomit, and my jaw tingles with nausea.

The throbbing rage between my temples threatens everything I have to do today. Meanwhile, my bladder is screaming at me to get on with it. Everything from my shoulders up is demanding retribution for my horrible choices.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"AHH! Fuck!" Wiggling away from the body lying in my bed, I finally pry my eyes open to find Gabby staring at me in amusement. Obviously, my brain revolts at the movement and noises, but what the actual fuck? "What the hell, Gabby!?"

She snorts and tucks her hand beneath her head. "I feel like shit too, babe." The pink hair around her head is a tangled mess, but my focus narrows on her batting eyelashes. "So… how was it?"

"How was what?" I ask absentmindedly while I figure my shit out. Apparently, I slept in my jeans and lace body suit. How did we get home?

"Seriously? You and Julian. Tell me, is he as sweet in the bedroom as he is outside of it? He's not my type, but even I can see the appeal of the cute ginger."

Gabby continues to talk, but I'm thrown into the swirling abyss of last night’s drunk sexapades. "Oh my god! I fucked Julian!" My squeak of shock is accompanied by the sore ache in my pussy that was blissfully absent until now.

Gabs snorts. "Yeah, babe! It was pretty obvious when we saw you crashed on the couch with your fly open and sex hair everywhere. I'm bordering on really damn proud of you for letting loose and being pissed that Julian was passed out in bed."

The scream building in my chest lets loose in my sweaty palms. With that release, I keep my hands over my face and mumble, "He immediately fell asleep. I didn't want to wake him, so I made my way downstairs."

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