Page 17 of Room for Three

“I saw him standing over my bed one night.”

“Cole?”

A bark of laughter escapes her. “What? No. Owen. Addison’s dad.”

Icy anger prickles through my veins. “And he didn’t touch you?”

“No,” she says with a groan. “But it was weird. I pretended to be asleep.”

“What did he do?”

“After the first time—”

“Wait,” I bark out, interrupting her. “He did this more than once?”

She stiffens and doesn’t answer. I go back to toying with her hair, hoping she’ll find the nerve to tell me.

“After the first time,” she repeats, shuddering, “he cornered me the next morning. Apparently, he suffers from a sleep disorder where he sleepwalks. He asked if I understood. I didn’t but I nodded anyway. Then he asked me to keep it to myself because Leah worries and will send him back for testing. Since she’s always worried about everything, he didn’t think it would be good for her.”

What the fuck?

My teeth grind together as I hold back a barrage of thoughts, all of which are safer inside my head. She’s confiding in me. The last thing she needs is another overbearing Cole situation. I need her trust.

“He said sometimes he does strange things like cook meals or water the yard or talk to his kids while they sleep. Most times, either someone else will tell him what he did, or he’ll wake up in the middle of whatever he was doing.” She shudders violently. “I don’t think you understand how frightening it is to wake up to someone standing over your bed in nothing but their underwear, swaying as if in some kind of trance. It’s enough to make your skin crawl.”

“Why didn’t you lock him out?” I ask, trying desperately to keep the fury at that man out of my voice.

“Leah didn’t allow locked doors in her home. They’d all been replaced with knobs that didn’t have locks on them. Ever since Rhett was caught having sex with a girl in his room, Addison said her mom basically made it a law around there.”

The thought of Owen standing over her bed every night while she slept is distressing. I’m grateful she turned eighteen so she could be with us where she’s safe.

Is she safe, though?

You and your roommate can’t seem to keep your dicks in check around her.

“There was only one time that really scared me,” she whispers. “I’d gone to the bathroom in the middle of the night. When I returned, he was in my bed. Naked.”

Okay, now I’m going to kill this motherfucker.

I don’t give a damn if he has a sleep disorder. This shit is messed up.

“I shook him awake. In the moonlight, through the window, he seemed confused and then horrified.” She trembles at the memory. “When he stood up, his…you know…was hard and just sticking out at me.”

My teeth grind together audibly. I want to scream or punch something. Neither of those things come to pass. She needs to get her story out and I’m going to let her.

“He grabbed me like this.” Her hand slides off the pillow and up my chest. When it encircles my throat, I see red. “I think he was worried I’d tell on him or something. It wasn’t painful, but it was a firm grip that made me gasp for air. He said that it was an accident but if anyone found out, it would ruin his life and tear apart his family.” She sniffles. “He was so close it was rubbing against my leg. While he whispered how much it would harm him for others to know, I was worried he’d do something worse. But then, as quickly as it began, he released my neck, kissed my forehead, and then left the bedroom.”

Relief floods through me. It could have been a lot worse, though what she experienced must’ve been awful for her.

“I’m sorry,” I rasp out. “I’m so fucking sorry. We tried so hard to gain custody of you.”

Her palm rests on my upper chest. Warmth radiates there. I should remove it, but I don’t want to.

“And then you had to deal with us.” I bite back a curse. “We’re no better than what you dealt with there.”

She sits up, frowning at me. “What? No. This is different.”

“We eyeballed you like a piece of meat, Savvy. Fuck.”

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