Page 27 of Tainted Kitten

“Shaun knows I’m here, doesn’t he?”

“Yep. He’s on his way.” Derek’s words induce my eyes to start leaking.

“He’s too good to me,” I whisper as a sob escapes.

“I’m pretty sure he’s in love with you.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him, too. That’s what makes this so hard.” I admit.

“What’s so hard?” Derek asks.

“Making the decision whether to stay or go.” I sob again.

“Stay Kitten. Always.” Shaun’s words cut through the silence of the night, and another sob escapes as the stars blur before my eyes.

“Cass,” I whisper, and the next moment a warm body lays next to me, an arm slips under my back, and I’m drawn tight against Shaun’s bare chest.

An emotional storm erupts from me as my pained sobs float up into the night sky. Another warm body moves behind me, and more arms wrap around me, even as someone starts stroking my flyaways off my forehead and someone else starts rubbing my feet. The dam wall is broken, the river is flowing, and with it, my pain. It's raw, unkempt and devastating.

I’m nothing more than a damaged soul fighting to find a path back to a place of happiness and contentment. It’s overwhelming and feels like an impossible feat as memories swarm in of a little girl named Patrice who just wanted someone to love her, care for her, and want her. She just wanted to belong. To feel normal, but instead, she got the opposite. No love. No care. No want unless there was an exchange or transaction. There were conditions to all aspects of her life, and she would never be or feel normal. She would never belong.

New memories flood in then, batting away the sick and twisted past of a little girl that didn’t know any better, and in their place is something she didn’t realise she had until this very moment.

Love.

Cynthia and Will love me. It’s unconditional. It has to be. Otherwise, why would they keep me around all this time after the shit I’ve put them through? Charlotte loves me in her aggravated way. I know the twins, Connor and Archie, adore me. Theyaremy family. We have a nice home together. It’s always warm. There’s always food on the table. My clothes are always clean. Hell, my mum even lets me have my promiscuous freedom, which is unheard of for most seventeen-year-olds.

I belong tothem. Withthem. No matter what… right?

Then there are these guys, here with me now, offering me support, even after I’ve kept them in the dark about so many things. They feel like home to me, which I know is strange because it’s not normal to care about more than one guy. But I’ll never be normal in the typical way. I can be Rhys George normal, though. And Rhys George is a fighter. She’s a carefree, fun-loving, live each moment like it’s your last kind of person.

She’s just a little off-kilter at the moment. That’s all.

She can get through this.

Ican get through this.

“Kitten. You’ve gone quiet.” Shaun’s voice is low. “It’s unnerving.”

A grin tugs at my lips as I try to blink away the remnants of my tears.

“Don’t interrupt my thought process while I’m the filling in a man sandwich.”

A round of chuckles meets my ears, and my grin broadens. My guys are here with me.

“My bad. Please continue.” Shaun’s tone tells me he’s smirking, and I wish it weren’t so dark out here. I love seeing him smile.

“Who’s here?” I ask, not wanting to move and interrupt the connection I’m wrapped in.

“Well, obviously, I am.” Shaun chuckles.

“I’m here too.” Garrett’s voice comes from above my head, and I feel his fingers stroke over my forehead.

“I’m here, Cherry.” Simon declares down by my feet, using the name he’s been calling me after our cherry pie sexcapades.

“And I’m here, Rhee,” Marcus whispers in my ear from behind me.

Another sob escapes when I realise he is the one holding me tight from behind. I’ve fucking missed being in his arms.

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