Page 68 of Accidentally Forever
I didn’t stagger back, didn’t feel as if he would hit me. Because I did not know the person in front of me. I didn’t know what drugs and alcohol had done to him. And even if I stuffed him in my trunk and forced him into rehab, he wouldn’t do anything. He would still hate me.
Just like he always had.
“Okay. If we can’t help you, then you need to go. Staying here isn’t going to work out for you, Travis. You’re just going to end up behind bars because you’re going to hurt someone. And I don’t want that for you.”
“I hate you,” he snarled.
I ignored the barb because this wasn’t my Travis. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see that Travis again. It broke something inside, but I’d be here if that man I’d once known came back. “That’s fine. Because I don’t hate you. I don’t know who you are right now, but I don’t hate you.”
Travis opened his mouth to say something, but instead he just took a few steps back before turning and running the other direction.
Crew moved slightly, as if to follow him, but I reached out and touched his arm. He immediately stopped moving forward.
“Stay. He’ll find a way to hurt you and I…I just want the people I love safe. I don’t know how to help him right now.”
“I don’t think you can,” Ford said softly. “Kingston is on the other side of the property, and he and Daisy can head Travis off. Maybe get him some coffee. Or have him talk to someone. See what they can do. The cops are going to need to be called since I’m sure this is against the agreement he made. But his parents seem to get him out of everything. I don’t trust him around you, Aria.”
I nodded tightly, my chest squeezing. Crew was there then, pulling me into his arms. “Did he hurt you?” I asked.
“No. I was afraid I was leaving bruises on his arms though. He has like no weight left to him.”
I closed my eyes, hating what had become of the boy I had once known. “Hopefully the others can do more for him. I don’t like him out here on the streets.”
“Nobody does. We will try what we can, okay?” Ford whispered.
I nodded, and my family did what they did best, and tried to help those around them. And I stood in Crew’s arms, feeling helpless. “I’m sorry that he tried to hurt you.”
“He didn’t even get close. But damn it, if hewould’ve touched you, I would’ve ended him.” I saw the rage in his gaze then and reached out to his cheek.
“Then let’s not let that happen. Let’s drop off what we need to and head back to the house.”
He moved to kiss my palm, nodding tightly. “Fine. But I don’t like leaving you alone.”
“You’re leaving me at my house under a full security system. And the only time I will be leaving my house is going into my attached garage to get into my car and drive toward you. I’ll be fine.”
“I’d rather take you with me.”
“And I need to shower and do a few work things for the business, while you do your lawyerly things. You said we had to start living our lives? Let’s try to do so. I want to be normal. Just for once, I want normal.”
“You need to stop throwing my words back in my face.”
“I love you. I can’t help it.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips to mine, but I still couldn’t relax. Because Travis was out there, and he was in pain, and nothing I could do could help. But maybe someone else could.
Crew dropped me off at my place, made sure I was behind my security system, and went to deal with his paperwork. I put on music, showered, and spent the rest of my time at my computer with a hair mask and undereye patches doing their work. I was going to go on a date with my boyfriend tonight, and while I couldn’t pretend that everything was perfect, I could at least try to move on.
My phone rang then, and I smiled at my father’s face on the screen.
“Hey there.”
“Hello, daughter of mine. I heard you had a run-in today.”
I winced, grateful he hadn’t video called. “Who told you?”
“Three of your cousins. And then Sebastian called because he heard it from another cousin and wanted to know if you had told me.”
“I’m sorry. Crew dropped me off at home, and we talked it out. I should have told you but…I just needed a moment.”
