Page 62 of Winter Ends
“Babe?”
“Don’t—don’t babe me right now. Who the hell were you talking to?” Heat rose up my back. My entire body vibrated, and I needed answers.
Shawn let out a heavy sigh, arms crossing over his defined chest. “Your mother.”
“My...” Oh God... he’d called my parents? Things spun around me. “You called my mom?”
When he tried to reach for me again, I pulled away entirely. “There was a reason they don’t know the whole story, Shawn. Did you ever stop to think about that?”
His arms uncrossed, and I hated that a look of pity and regret flashed across his face. “They care about you. You need to have some faith that they want to help—”
“Help? Shawn. For fuck’s sake. What part of them being victims in all of this didn’t click? They put on a good show while they were here, sure. I’ll give them that. They’re making an effort. It doesn’t change the fact that the best friend I begged them to let live with us was arrested for not only stealing from us, but from several other people in the area. That was my fault. I should have been aware of what was happening. I had to be a part of it. They didn’t trust me.”
My heart pounded against my ribs, and my eyes burned. How could he not understand what I’d been through? There was a reason I’d moved so far away.
“You said it yourself. What you went through was traumatic. Victims of trauma don’t always respond in the best of ways. You have to give them a chance to make it right.”
I scoffed. “Give them a chance? Like they gave me one? Shawn, they acted like they didn’t even know me.”
He didn’t give me a choice. Shawn’s arms swung around me as he pulled me into his chest. “I’m not saying that had to be easy. You were all in a bad place, but isn’t it time to heal? To get past that? Don’t you want a relationship with them again?”
Now my eyes were burning for a new reason, because fuck if he wasn’t wrong. Maybe it was time to give my parents a little more of a chance to make things right and not keep running away from them. There was still that sliver of fear that they’d hate to know the whole story, about the relationship that existed between the three of us. It was unconventional. While that type of relationship works for some people, for us, it had been toxic and used as a weapon.
A sob escaped my chest as I clutched to the skin of Shawn’s back. He was so warm and comforting as the tears from earlier in the evening made a reappearance. I was so tired of crying and being so damn emotional over this mess.
“Do you want me to say I’m sorry? I called because I want to help. It’s not something I can do on my own. You got so mad at me the second I offered to do it, and I thought that if I could get them to back me up or even offer to pay for things—”
I pulled back, my eyes wide. “Please. Never ask them for any kind of financial help. They do okay, but I can’t—can’t live with myself if they give me more than they have.”
He reached for me again. This was pathetic. Why the hell was I avoiding him so damn much?
Chapter 40
Shawn
Icouldn’t let this happen. Daniel marched from the room, but I was hot on his heels. We needed to talk about this. He needed help, and not just from me or from Chase. If he wouldn’t let his parents help him, this was a lost cause, but he needed to talk to someone. Trauma was a bitch. I didn’t know a ton about it, but I’d learned some things.
“Babe.”
He stopped again. Would he flip his shit at the pet name again? When Daniel didn’t turn around, I pushed my luck, and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my chin on his shoulder. “You have every right to be frustrated, but I’m not going to let you just walk away. I take care of what’s mine. Didn’t I tell you that?” He shivered in my hold.
“Shawn? I’m just—I’m just not used to it. You have to understand—”
“Idounderstand, and I really am sorry if I overstepped. I want you to get used to me. Let me be there for you, let me love on you, let me protect you.”
My throat tried to close around the words, but I was able to say them without giving away my true feelings; not completely, anyway. How long would he let me get away with that? It was all too fast, anyway.
“You just want into my pants.”
I snorted a laugh, placing a kiss against his neck. “I mean, sure, the sex is amazing, but you need to know that’s not what this is all about.”
Daniel turned in my hold. “Then what is it about, Shawn? We went from hating each other to fucking like bunnies. Excuse me if I doubt your intentions a little?”
I nodded. That was the truth. We’d spent a shit ton of time in bed, but we’d also told each other a lot of things we’d never told anyone else. He knew more about my situation with my parents than I’d ever let on. Most everyone assumed I was a spoiled brat who got away with everything, which was a fair assessment, but I also craved an actual connection with them. And with him, I knew the entire story of Art and Tilly.
“You trust me.”
“Questionable.”
