Page 21 of Tore Up

“I must have fallen asleep,” I replied.

I’d done this last night twice, then given up and stayed awake. Today, I had been exhausted. Waking up to him breaking intothe cabin hadn’t been helpful.

“Why did you barge in like that?”

He glared at me. “Because you were screaming like someone was in here, murdering you. I had to break the damn lock.”

I looked back down at the covers. I’d been having the same nightmare, but I hadn’t realized I had been screaming. I was always running. It was dark. Then, there was Nicco, lying there, dead. His eyes staring off at nothing. But his face morphed into Crosby’s, and I ran to him, screaming. Then, my eyes would open, and my heart would be racing while I tried to catch my breath.

I lifted my eyes back to Bane. “Bad dream,” I told him, wanting to wipe that from my brain.

He looked completely annoyed with me. “Please tell me you don’t do that shit a lot.”

I started to shake my head because for as long as I could remember, I’d never woken up like this until I saw death. And I’d been the cause of death. It was happening every time I went to sleep now.

“I don’t know.”

His angry gaze dropped to my chest, and then his jaw tightened before he snapped it back up to me. “Get up. Put on a fucking bra and come on. I’ll load your stuff in the truck,” he said before turning to stalk out of the room.

What? I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest, then walked to the door.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked him, thinking I might need to call Linc.

“To my house,” he clipped out, like the words pissed him off.

Oh, heck no. I was fine right here. I’d wait on Linc, thank you very much.

“I don’t want to go to your house.”

He turned and leveled his annoyed gaze on me. “You don’t havea house to live in. You don’t have any family that likes you. So, you’re going to my goddamn house.”

I winced at the harsh truth to his words. “You hate me. Excuse me if I don’t think going to your house is the best idea. I think I’d be better off in a homeless shelter.”

He picked up one of the boxes that Linc had brought here yesterday evening. “I’m not gonna kill you,” he said. “The baby is Crosby’s.”

The results were in.

“What, you’re not surprised to find out the daddy?” he asked sardonically.

I didn’t turn from his hateful stare. I took it because I knew I deserved it. “I always knew who it was.”

He turned and headed for the door with my things.

I went back to the bedroom and found my bra, then stepped behind the curtain to put it on. Grabbing my toiletries, I put them back in my duffel bag and headed back out to take it to his truck. He had already loaded everything, but one of the black trash bags I had used to pack my clothes in.

“Is that it?” he asked me, taking the bag from me.

“I can carry it.”

He jerked it from me. “You’re pregnant.”

Right. Well, the bag wasn’t that heavy, but I didn’t argue with him. The sound of my voice seemed to annoy him, like my father. I’d lived with a man who didn’t like me before. I was good at being invisible. I could do that. It wasn’t like I was staying forever. He wouldn’t want me there long. It had to be some temporary thing. The cops still hadn’t shown up, and I was starting to wonder if they would. There was a good chance the deaths would be considered gang-related with the needles in the apartment and drugs I was sure they’d found.

That left me with this family. Was I just supposed to wait until they decided what to do with me?

I glanced back at the cabin. It wasn’t like I’d enjoyed staying there. I had been alone with my thoughts, and that wasn’t good. But at least I’d had the things I needed, thanks to Linc.

“Oh, wait. The food that Linc brought,” I said, remembering I’d left it inside.

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