Page 79 of The Final Beat

“And he put you through that every single fucking day?” Joey scrubbed a hand down his face. “I-I I just can’t believe…” Molten brown eyes looked up at me. “Fuck, Daisy, I want to kill him.”

His response was a lot better than it had been when we were on tour. At least he wasn’t yelling and slamming his hand against the window.

“Well, that’s a problem,” I said with an empty laugh. “Because he’s already dead.”

“Painful too, I heard.”

I nodded. “Apparently. So, there’s the silver lining in this story.”

He pushed off the counter and walked towards me, taking both my hands in his as he crouched in front of me. “I hate that he did that to you.”

“It’s over now and has been for a long time.”

“Is it, though?” he asked softly. “I feel like he’s still getting those punches in, every day, Dais’. Like he’s still hurting you.”

He was right. Vinny might be dead, but I felt the pain of what he’d done to me every single second. Every time I saw a couple excited about their future. Each time I saw a pregnant woman. With every baby born. Every man who treated his woman like a precious jewel. All those things were like a fist to the ribs, a slap to the face, a boot to my stomach, a hand twisting my arm the wrong way.

“I don’t want it to hurt anymore, Joey,” I whispered. “I’m tired of feeling the pain and missing out on life because of it.”

He dropped his head to our joined hands and drew in a breath. “I can’t imagine what you went through, what you’re still going through. I just wish I could have done something to help you.”

I giggled. “Joey, you were fifteen years old, what do you think you could have done?”

His brow furrowed. “I could have knocked him out, easily. I was pretty hard when I was a teenager. Handy with my fists.”

God bless him for even thinking it, but Vinny would have persuaded him it was all me, ‘Just Dest being a drama queen again.’.

“Sweetheart,” I said after dropping a kiss to his forehead, “it happened and thankfully I survived. I might have some battle scars but I’m here. Admittedly I’m ravaged emotionally, but I’m here and I’m okay.”

“Are you, though?” he asked, squeezing my hands. “I realise that your mistrust of people and your barriers are there because of what happened, but will you ever feel free and happy?”

“I’m getting there.” I gave a little shrug. “Your chicken and leek pie will help.”

He rolled his eyes. “So, you only want me for my pie?”

“Of course, I fucking do, you dickhead. What else would there be?”

With a scoff, he stood up, turned back to his pie, and gave me a little arse cheek dance, because of course he was naked under his apron. Why else would I have been so interested in watching him cook?

Joey rubbed my feet which were on his lap, his thumb digging in deep in the arch. We were watching a film about a guy whotravelled across the world just on the kindness of others. I’d got cramp in my foot, so Joey had put his strong hands to good use. The cramp had gone but his foot rub was too good to give up.

“Doesn’t this make you feel inadequate?” Joey asked, moving to rub my toes. “The way he’s done all of this without one penny.”

“It’s a film, Joey. It’s not real.” I laughed and he tickled the bottom of my foot in response. “Don’t tickle me. Otherwise. I might have to kick your python.”

His eyes widened and he clapped his hand around my foot. “Don’t you dare threaten the python. He’s very sensitive.”

“Really, a sensitive python? First I’ve ever heard of that.”

He leaned closer to me, capturing my chin and pulling my face to his. He puckered his lips.

“I think I deserve a kiss, seeing as you’ve not only threatened the python, but you also scoffed at his sensitivity.”

“You do know he’s not a real python, don’t you?”

He reared back and blinked slowly. “Wow, violence, dissing, and now denial. Python is very upset, Miss Cooper.”

I started to laugh. Not necessarily at his shitty joke but the fact that he’d said it. That I’d found it amusing and hadn’t called him a prick or worse.

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