Page 11 of Depraved Desires

I was trying my hardest not to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it was nearly impossible. While my two-bedroom apartment wasn’t exactly small, the walls were thin, and sound echoed. When Aspen said she wanted to make them pay, unease coiled around my gut like a vise. If she intended on following through with that, things would only get worse for her. They already almost killed her; how much more of a wake-up call did this girl need? I sighed as the cheese melted within the pot and the steak and chicken sizzled in the pan. She was stubborn and it was going to be her downfall.

After the food was ready, I set the table and positioned a plate in front of every chair that we would be using along with some sweet tea. Poking my head into the living room, I called for them and returned to the table.

It was weird having Rocky Barlow in my home. The kid was a fucking menace. But I couldn’t exactly turn him away when he’d been the only one to risk his neck for her. I never expected him to help anyone other than himself, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Aspen ended up seated between me and Barlow. Usually, Caroline would be here to dine with us, but today, she conveniently had plans. Truthfully, I don’t think she wanted to be around Aspen anymore than necessary. Mywifewas stereotypical in that way. She viewed the kids at Redwood Academy as troublemakers; she thought poorly of them and thought they were a waste of money. Maybe that was the case for some of them, but a lot of kids at the academy had potential.

“Wow,” Aspen murmured, pulling me from my thoughts. “This looks amazing.”

“Just wait until you try it.” I smirked, scooping up a soggy chip and plopping it in my mouth. The tender meat bounced against my tastebuds, and it took everything in me not to groan from how good it tasted paired with the melted cheese and chip.

She reached for her first chip and repeated my action. Her eyes blew wide in surprise as she chewed, and she reached for the tea to wash it down. “That’s probably the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” Hearing her say that inflated my ego. Cooking was something I took seriously, and I was glad she appreciated it. Caroline wouldn’t eat gluten or carbs, so when it came to cooking, there were restrictions.

My gaze bounced over to Rocky, who had been silent since we all started eating. His face was stuffed full, his eyes fixated on the plate before him. A breath of laughter slipped past my defenses, and I hurriedly covered it up with a fake cough. I did have a reputation to uphold after all.

Dinner was silent for the most part, which I was thankful for. Afterwards, I cleaned up and we all sat in the living room with a glass of whiskey. Aspen ended up seated between the two of us since the armchair was full of throw-blankets and other miscellaneous shit Caroline had stored there.

“You seem to be doing well,” Rocky pointed out, his gaze focused on the purple-haired vixen between us.

She rolled her eyes and brought the drink to her lips, not even wincing as it ran down her throat. “I told you I was fine.” She shrugged. Even though the words left her mouth, and she looked fine on the outside, I wasn’t buying it. There’s no way she could have gone through something as traumatic as that and be okay.

My hand tightened around my glass at the blatant lie. Why wouldn’t she just tell the truth? We weren’t stupid. Hell, we were the only ones she had right now. Lying to us was like a slap in the face.

“I heard what you said,” he replied, clearly on the same page as me about this.

“Then drop it. I’m alive. Isn’t that good enough?”

No.It wasn’t enough. Breathing and being dead on the inside wasn’t really living. I was afraid that all she was doing was postponing the inevitable. Bottling it up would make it that much worse when it all came crashing down. I didn’t want to be here when she finally exploded.

Instead of saying any of that, I just nodded. “She just woke up today; she’s right. Give her time.”

Rocky sighed and sank back into the cushions of the couch. He seemed to really care for her, which was odd to me. The only time I’ve seen them exchange words was in the gym and at the party. Then again, I wasn’t always around. Maybe he'd be good for her. The dude literally risked his life in order to save her. He had my vote.

The front door creaked open, snagging our attention. Caroline stumbled in looking a mess. Embarrassment clawed at me as I took in her disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes, and rosy cheeks. She was completely trashed. When her eyes zeroed in on us, they widened in surprise and a giggle slipped past her injected, glossed lips.

Fucking Christ. Aspen didn’t need this shit. Not today of all days.

Standing, I crossed the living room in long strides and gripped her by the arm in an attempt to help steady her. She didn’t get drunk like this often, but when she did, it was never good.

Caroline turned to look at me, lust coiling around her pupils. We hadn’t had sex frequently, and when we did, it was basic. Despite her looking at me like she wanted to tear my clothes off, it didn’t do much for me. Maybe it was the stress of today.

“Were you at your sister’s?” I questioned, leaning forward, and kicking the door closed behind her.

“No. We went clubbing.” The words came out jumbled due to the thickness of her tongue and I was barely able to decipher them.

Sighing, I glanced over at Rocky and Aspen—both of them holding similar expressions of amusement. This was humiliating in more ways than one. Not only did Aspen have to live with us for the time being, she was already getting the raw end of the deal here when it came to my wife. Usually, Caroline was able to keep herself collected for the most part.

“Why don’t you go lay down?” I suggested, attempting to pull her in the direction of the bedroom.

Without any warning, she jerked free of my hold and glared at me. “I don’t want to go to bed,” she slurred angrily. “It’s too early for that.”

Annoyance burrowed through me at her stubbornness. This wasn’t how I wanted tonight to go. In order to avoid a Caroline-sized earthquake, I needed to let her do what she wanted, or we’d all pay. That’s how it was when she got like this.

Pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, a small gust of air escaped me. “Fine,” I saidbegrudgingly. “Go sit next to Aspen while I fix you a glass of water.”

This seemed to appease her, but I didn’t miss the look of distaste that crossed her features at the mention of the young girl’s name. Hopefully Aspen didn’t notice it because that would be a pain in the ass to explain. Caroline carefully made her way over to the couch, and plopped down between the two of them, nearly falling into Rocky’s lap in the process.

Rolling my eyes, I headed for the kitchen and retrieved a glass, filling it to the brim with water before returning and offering it to her. She accepted the cup and took a small sip before placing it on the table in front of her. Folding my arms across my chest, I decided to stand since there weren’t any seats available, and squeezing in next to Aspen would put us hip to hip. Even though she was living here now, I wanted to avoid any kind of physical touching considering the circumstances.

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