Page 15 of My Pucking Family

I hear her small body approach me before she throws herself around me. “I'm here, Roman. I'm here because you found me. Because you saved me,” she says with her sweet voice as she lifts my eyes to hers. They're no longer ready for war.

“But you were taken because of me. You were in danger because of me.”

“Don't give yourself so much credit, Big Guy. The only people responsible for what happened to me are the people that took me and the snobby, rich dude that hired them,” she says with absolute certainty.

“And I understand you want to protect me, but it's the twenty-first century; you don't get to make all the plans for my life behind my back. If we're going to be partners, I want us to be equals. We do things and discuss things, especially the hard things, together.”

“Yes, ma'am,” I respond with snark in my tone, causing her to swat at my arm.

“Alright, seriously though, what were you guys talking about?” she asks, serious again.

“We were hoping to convince you to change your classes to online...”

Her eyebrows scrunch together.

“...move in with us where it's safe...”

Her head tilts to the left just slightly.

“...and go with us to all of our away games,” I finally finish.

She stands there for a minute just shaking her head before she says, “Roman, I understand you're worried, but I'm stillgoing to school; I'm not moving in with you yet, and I might go to away games.” The only thing she didn't do was stomp her foot.

Rolling my head around my neck on a sigh, I continue trying to convince her to no avail.

“Look, I'm done talking about this. I will be fine. It’s late. Do you want to spend some actual time together before I have to go to get ready for tomorrow, or do you just want to take me home?” she asks, leaving no room for further discussion.

I shouldn't have pushed so hard, but how the fuck am I going to be able to do anything other than fucking follow her around to make sure she's safe?

That's it! We have a home game tomorrow. I don't need to practice. I can follow her around all day, make sure she's safe, and then take her to the game with me.

“Okay, okay, you're right. I'm sorry. We can talk about this more later. Did you get enough to eat, or do you want to grab something else before I take you home?”

She looks at me suspiciously at my sudden relent but nods. “I'm still a little hungry.”

“I know just the spot. We can just lounge on the couch until you’re ready to go?” I offer.

Slate, do we have any tiny GPS trackers I can use?I ask through our mind link.

Yeah, let me go find one.

I'll be with her, but I will feel better if we have another level of safety for her.

We don't even turn on the TV when we plop onto the couch together. She's still texting Zoey a mile a minute. I pull her into my side, tracing circles on her thigh until she's ready to grab a quick bite and head back to her dorm.

13

Dinner was so good, oh my gosh! We went to this little family diner that only had like seven tables, and I had the best shredded Rueben sandwich I've ever tasted.

We're pulling up to the dorms now as my heart starts trying to pound its way out of my chest. I grip my legs so hard that my knuckles turn white. I'm begging the panic to spare me, but it's not. I can feel the wave of anxiety cresting through my body. I already know it's going to drown me.

I have been working so hard to stay strong and show everyone that I can handle this. I want to be strong, but it's so fucking hard. I want to prove to Roman that I am okay. I don't want them to worry about me because that just draws more attention. If I can pretend that I'm strong enough to get throughthis, no one will give that sad look that makes me feel pathetic. Like the looks I got when Mom and Dad died.

A small, broken sob bubbles out of my throat and before I can process what's happening, I'm being pulled from the car. I start beating my hands on anything I can reach.

Giant arms close around my body and lower me to the ground, and my initial reaction is to keep fighting, keep screaming, anything to get away. I can't let them take me again. I don't want to be drugged again. I'm about to scream when...my body recognizes him before my mind does.

Roman.

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