Page 46 of Lost in Life

Hollis is gone.

West is lost in his own shit.

I don’t have anyone else.

My mind flashes briefly to Zayn, but I brush it off, wanting nothing to do with the psychopath.

One other person pops up and, against my better judgment, I fumble with my phone, dialing the number and pressing it to my ear. It rings three times before answering.

“Hello?”

Sucking in a deep breath, I release it as I brokenly whisper, “Hey Mamma.”

Chapter 23

West

The sound of the door slamming makes me jump.

Peeking out of the bathroom, I watch a very pissed Zayn stomp toward the counter and snatch up his cell phone.

Punching his finger against the screen, he presses the phone to his face, pacing the room. “Not now, boy.” He growls into the line. My heart skips at the deep rumble.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he blows out a long breath. “Look, if I didn’t need to, I wouldn’t call. You know this, Tavish.”

Tavish? That’s…unique.

He says something else, but I don’t catch what it is as my eyes land on the body dumped on the floor.

So much fear, and for what? He can’t hurt me anymore. He doesn’t have power over me.

My eyes widen and I find myself taking the first real breath in years.

I’m free.

My eyes shift back to the intimidating man all but shouting demands into the phone.

And it’s because of him.

Chapter 24

Nova

I take a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel so tight my fingers start to cramp.

This is a bad idea.

I can’t shake the feeling that I’m making a huge mistake. Pushing it aside, I force my fingers to release their death grip and slowly climb out of the car.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.

Memories flood me as I walk up the small pathway to the front door. A lifetime of experiences flashing before my eyes.

My chest aches as my already overwhelming grief somehow worsens. Before I can make it to the house, my knees collapse, making me crumble to the ground. Dropping my head in my hands, I sob. Tears stream down my face, a physical release of the whirlpool of agony inside of me.

It’s not fair. It’s not fucking fair.

My hands slide up, fingers spearing into my hair. I tighten my grip, yanking on my scalp as a scream erupts from my chest. Years of pain and misery echoing inside my head and sounding though the agonized cry.

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