Page 173 of Accidental Theirs
“So, you’re not doing this to spoil me and one-up Dominic and Sebastian?”
“Maybe a little. I’ll send it to your place next week.”
“I don’t get to pick it out?”
“Nope. Trust me, you’ll love it.”
She looks at me like I’m crazy, but she’s smiling ear to ear.
I make a mental note to look at the safest sedans available.
Maybe a minivan, because of the baby.
We finally arrive at what appears to be a large, abandoned warehouse.
I blink at her as we get out of the car.
“What is this?”
She opens her trunk and inside are goggles, baseball bats, crowbars...
“Are you planning a heist? What is this?”
“It’s a rage room!” She bounces up and down. “My father owns this property, and he’s never done anything with it. I thought we could just go through and break anything we can.”
I stare at her for a moment, and she looks suddenly nervous.
“If you don’t want to...”
I put a hand over her mouth and kiss her forehead before backing away. “It’s a great idea, Olivia. I would have never thought of it. You’re so smart.”
“I’m a genius.” She giggles as she brings out a wooden bat. “Wooden or aluminum?”
“Wooden.” I take it from her, liking the heft of it in my hands.
We walk inside, and she starts going crazy on an old crate while I chuckle.
“You have to break stuff too.” Her chest heaves.
I look around and see some old computers, dusty and clearly broken, in the corner. I head over and heave the bat, just humoring Olivia at first.
But then it all starts flashing through my head.
My father, his hand raised high while me and my brothers and sisters huddled together for safety. The social worker who left us there for years, when she knew we only ate every other day and were being abused. Cherry.
Everything seems to come out of me at once, and I roar, slamming the bat into the computers, letting it all out, grunting as the glass shatters.
By the time I’m finished, it’s just a mess of plastic, metal and glass shards, and my arms and shoulders are aching.
A hand lights on my shoulder, gently, and I drop the bat, chest heaving, turning to face Olivia.
I don’t realize there are tears streaming down my cheeks until she starts to wipe them away, kissing my cheekbones.
“It’s okay. Let it all out.”
I grab onto her like a lifeline, sweeping her up in my arms and kissing her deeply.
It’s not hungry or lustful, just passionate, and she goes limp.
