Page 39 of Unexpected

He sauntered past the living room and into the kitchen. I immediately missed the warmth of his hand, and I tried not to stare at his perfectly rounded ass that was also put on further display from the tight scrubs.

“I’ll bring it to you,” Luke said as he motioned to the couch where Josh was trying to watch us out of the corner of his eyes. His gaze followed me as I rounded the couch and sat next to Sadie, folding my legs underneath me.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Josh asked.

“Not exactly.”

He released a breath. “Well, are you okay at least?”

I thought for a moment, unsure what the answer was. The physical bruises on my skin, the ones everyone could see, didn’t hurt as bad nor penetrate as deep as the internal ones that no one knew were there.

“I’m working on it,” I said just as Luke lowered a cup of coffee in front of my face. I cupped the warm mug with both hands and took a generous sip.

“Thanks,” I said before taking another sip.

“Did Sadie sleep with you last night?” Luke asked as he leaned against the wall next to the TV.

“Yeah, she didn’t leave my side all night.” I laughed and patted her head. She was already fast asleep next to me. Apparently, the walk from the bedroom to the living room tired her out.

“Hmm…” was Luke’s only response. I watched as he cut his eyes quickly at Josh and then back to me, sipping his coffee intently. Watching him carefully, through narrowed eyes, I could have sworn I saw a glint of something in his eyes. His facial expressions were usually composed—as opposed to my own, wherein anyone could read my thoughts by looking at my face—but his eyes were the gateway into his head.

“What?” I needed to know if he’d explain the glint I saw.

“Sadie has never not slept with me, no matter who stays over. She won’t even sleep with Josh and trust me, he’s tried.”

The fact that Sadie liked me warmed my heart. Having her warmth curled against me all night long was like a weighted blanket for my anxiety.

“Stole your dog’s attention while you cleaned me up and gave me a place to crash when my life is falling apart—didn’t think being nice to me was going to get you all this, am I right?” I laughed, but it sounded hollow and forced. Thankfully, Luke gave me a pity laugh while Josh grunted on the other end of the sectional.

“Mmm. Do you know where my phone is?” I asked, quickly changing the subject. By the time I got into bed last night, curled into the soft sheets and hoping that sleep would come easily, the last thing I wanted to do was search Luke’s house for it.

“Yeah. You left it in the kitchen last night. It’s sitting on the counter by the coffee maker,” he said as I stood, taking my coffee with me.

I topped off my cup, which I had already slurped down, probably too quickly to be deemed normal and took a deep breath before I unlocked my phone. I hadn’t known what to expect from Michael—there were times when he was apologetic and remorseful and other times, he was angry and rested the blame solely on my shoulders. At that moment, I didn’t know what I wanted to see. I couldn’t let my wishful thinking get the better of me, but I hoped he wouldn’t have sent anything at all.

When he apologized, he did it so well, making me feel like he really meant it with tears in his eyes, hands shaking. And when he was angry, there was usually an eerie calmness about him that was followed by accusations and yelling. So much yelling.

Neither was easy to handle and there usually wasn’t much between them. I couldn’t handle either in my already fragile state.

There was a text from him, though.

I’m coming by the house to pack for a trip. I don’t want to see you when I get there. I’ll be there in an hour.

My reaction surprised me as relief had my shoulders falling and my fists unclenching. I tipped my head to the side and rolled it along my shoulders from one side to the other.

He was leaving. Which meant I didn’t have to go anywhere right then.

“You okay?” Once again, Luke appeared behind me. For such a large man, he had an uncanny ability to sneak up on me, especially since I’d become very adept at not allowing men an opening to approach me when I was unaware.

He didn’t touch me, but he was standing so close behind me that I could feel a whisper of his earlier touch. If I didn’t know any better, I might have begun hoping he would touch me again.

“Umm, yeah. Michael’s leaving town, so he let me know he’ll be getting stuff from the house. Make sure I’m not there…” The text said it was sent thirty minutes ago, so in another thirty minutes we’d only be a house apart. Air burned when it entered my lungs, and my breath shook a little at the tightening in my chest.

“We should call the police, Hazel. This isn’t okay. What he did…” he ground out the words in a low voice. “What he did is absolutely not okay.”

My head began shaking before I realized I was doing it.

“I can’t.” Yet again, my voice sounded small and unlike the person I once was.

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