Page 18 of Twisted Legacy

“This isn’t funny, Deacon.”

He shrugs and asks, “When did you find out?”

“Before… before that night.”

“Were you that upset that you went looking for a fight? Were you trying to prove something?”

I can see where this line of questioning is going. “God, no. I didn’t break your stupid fighting rule. After I found out, I wanted to be alone. I went for a walk, stopped to get something to drink, and…”

“And what?”

“And after I made it a third of the way through a bottle of vodka, I went to see Finn. He was back on his bullshit. I don’t know how he found out the truth about me, but he did and acted like I betrayed him.”

“What happened?”

It’s my turn to shrug. Fuck that dude. “He let me know he was such a cliche. I was his chance to walk on the wild side to up his bad boy street cred. Then he kicked me out and slammed the door in my face.”

“He kicked you out?”

“That’s right. Now that I supposedly come from money, my time and pussy were no longer of interest to him.”

His jaw clenches, and the vein in his temple throbs. He’s probably about to call me out on drinking. I definitely consumed more alcohol than I should have, but your life imploding warrants drinks, and lots of them.

“LJ mentioned you’ve been having problems with The Trium. Do you think Finn and his buddies could have been behind what happened to you?”

“On Mayhem Night? I don’t know. It’s all fuzzy in my head.”

I’ve been going over that night, and it doesn’t matter how many times he, LJ or the doctor asks, I don’t have any new information to give him. Did I mention I hate shrinks? Because I do. I’m being forced to see one now, just like I was all those years ago. This time it’s worse. He expects me to just spill my guts after knowing him for five minutes. It took my old shrink years to get me to talk, and we kept it simple. I told her how close I came to stabbing someone that week, and she told me why she thought I felt stabby. But this guy doesn’t seem to want to get on board with the way therapy with me works. He keeps telling me I’ll feel better if I open up about everything that has ever happened to me in my life. I tell him I like feeling crappy and bottling things up until I explode like the firecracker I am.

My sarcasm is wasted on him. After our first session, I told him not to come back. He didn’t listen. The second session, I left him sitting in the living room for fifty minutes. He’s coming back today even though I have nothing to say to him. Which brings me to this little hallway meeting with Wolfe. He caught me trying to sneak out of the house.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish holding this wall up with my good hand.”

He pulls me away from the wall and lifts my shirt to check my bruises. Then he slides the collar of my shirt down to look at my scar. I avert my gaze. I’ve been avoiding looking at myself. I’ve gotten okay enough to let him check it for me, and as long as it’s not infected, it’s good enough for me.

My breath catches in my chest. There’s nothing sexy about him looking at my ugly ass scar, but I’m acutely aware of how close he’s standing and the way his lashes sweep against his cheeks when he blinks. The thing I’m most aware of is the weight of his hand on my shoulder, and the way his fingers press against my skin. I don’t want to talk about my feelings with the shrink, but getting my pussy devoured would probably do wonders for my mood.

“Why are you looking at me like that, LaReaux?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re imagining me naked.”

“Because I am. Wanna show me if the fantasy matches reality?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Selling yourself short, Wolfe?”

“Mmm.” He pulls away, finished with inspecting my scar. “It’s healing nicely.”

“You’re avoiding the subject.” The intensity of his gaze lights me up inside. I press for an answer. “Well?”

“Trying to bait me into fucking you won’t work.”

“Who’s baiting? Tell me you haven’t thought about that night. You can be honest. It’s just us here. No school, no rules. Just you and me giving in.”

LJ appears at the top of the stairs. Her gaze shifts between the two of us. “Uh, is everything okay?”

---