Page 44 of Bound by Vengeance
My father raises his brow, but does what I ask. I don’t want to look at any of them or see the pity and questions all over their faces. I don’t want any of it, yet they’ve given me no choice. Fuck.
The pictures on the wall stare at me. No one says anything, like I shouldn’t be looking at them or what have you. My entire focus goes to the pictures. “I went to Grayson because I needed somewhere away from here. Emery talked about Deke living up there, and after some research, I knew it was the spot.” I suck in a breath, it doing nothing to fortify my nerves. “I needed to have my pregnancy terminated, and there was a place there. That’s why I went to Deke, and that’s what he hasn’t told anyone.”
A chair scrapes along the floor, but I don’t turn around to look at who it was. It doesn’t matter.
The emptiness in my belly grows, reminding me of the choice I made. The one I have to live with for the rest of my life.
“Baby girl,” my father says from behind me, bringing his arms around me and pulling me to his hard body. “Why didn’t you talk to someone? Your mother? Me? Someone?”
“And say what? I’m knocked up and I’m not keeping it. Would you have driven me to the clinic?”
“Exactly,” my father says, kissing the top of my hair. “You never should’ve gone through that by yourself.”
I exhale loudly. “It’s over with now. It’s something I live with.”
“Can I ask you why you didn’t keep it?” This comes from Ryker.
I close my eyes, dreading his question. “No, you can’t. And Deke doesn’t know, so don’t bother asking him. Nor does he know who the father was, so don’t ask that question, either. You wanted to know my business, now you do.” There is no way in hell they are getting the other part. That isn’t happening. This is all they’re squeezing out of me. “And I’ll remind you, I didn’t share willingly. I’ve given you more than I intended.”
This is agony. The walls are closing in, falling on top of me one by one, smashing me into the ground.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I want to go home.”
“Let’s go,” Ryker says.
I pull away from my father and go over to Deke, who rises. I wrap my arms around his waist, and he reciprocates.
“I know you didn’t want to tell. Thank you for that. But it’s out now, so no more.”
“So sorry, Austyn,” he says, giving me a squeeze.
I look at Ryker. “Not a word. I don’t want to talk about it, so don’t bring it up.”
“Got it,” he concedes, surprising me.
After giving a few waves bye, we make our way back to my apartment. I feel raw and cut open, like I’m bleeding everywhere. Not only that … the dirt has come back full force. Not for having to make the choice I did, but for how I became pregnant. For what he did to me.
Life sure loves to play games.
When we enter the apartment, all is quiet. Emery must be out.
Not saying a word, I go to my room, lock the door, kick off my shoes, and crawl into a ball on my bed. Only then do the tears flow.
Moments later, the door unlocks and opens, which I should have known he would do. There’s rustling of clothes, and then Ryker is behind me, pulling me against his body.
There is no energy to fight or talk, only to cry and sleep, so that is what I do.
Sleep it all away.
C H A P T E R F I F T E E N
Fuck me.
Pregnant? She was pregnant, and I had no idea.
As much as I’ve watched her and kept tabs on her, I never saw it coming. It’s like a slap in the face, one that’s waking me up to so much more that is Austyn Cruz.
Deke’s a good man, keeping that shit tight to him, but we needed to know. The only thing is, I don’t have a fucking clue what to do from here. I didn’t know what was holding Austyn back, but this isn’t what I expected. Not one little bit.
