Page 87 of Broken Doll

“Okay, Mrs. Masters,’ Hope replies as she lifts the sleeve on her right arm.

“I’m so excited for you both, you promise to make sure that Hope eats and sleeps well.”

“I promise Mom.” I kiss her on the head and grin. I love seeing my mom so full of joy.

“Hope, can you relax a little.”

I glance over at my girl. She’s thinking about something, she always has that faraway look in her eye when she does. I go to kneel next to her. “Hey sweetheart, you want to look at me for a moment?” I move the hair out of her face. “Just so you know, Jackson said he’s going shopping later.” I give her a light kiss.

“Done,” Doctor Adams announces. I’ll see you tomorrow and please read the information that I gave you.” She smiles at my mom. “But I think you are in good hands and if you can’t get in touch with me, I think you have four people that are more than happy to help.” She starts laughing with my mom.

“Doctor Adams, I’ll walk you out.” My mom helps her with the bags.

“You know that my mother will be phoning me or you every day now.” I help Hope to sit up and take the seat next to her. Hope places her head on my shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Lies. Hope, you really need to start talking to me a lot more now.”

“Iamfine. I’m just scared that’s all.”

I stop myself from laughing. “Well, that makes both of us.”

Never been so scared of anything in my whole life. I’m about to be looking after a little person. A little person that will look up to me. I’ll be the hero in their eyes. That’s a lot to take on board.

CHAPTER33

HOPE

I stareat the fireplace in Leo's room. We didn't get back until late. The meeting about the charity went on for a lot longer than I think anyone wanted it to. They finally have permission to get things sorted for the building, and all that will start next week. They said they're hoping for it to open at the end of spring, so the company is working on a marketing plan to get the word out. Leo is trying to get his dad to be the face of it, so he won't have to be in the newspapers, or do any public events for it, but his dad said no. I didn't really listen to the conversation too much, as Leo's mom was talking to me.

She mentioned a few things for me, one thing was making sure that I get some sleep and that I stay comfortable. I'm not sure if Leo told her that I sleep on the floor, but she kept telling me to look after myself. I thought about sleeping in a bed, and my heart started to beat even faster than I thought it would.

"You promise to stay with Jackson the whole time?" I look over my shoulder at Leo watching me from the bathroom.

Leo and Jackson spent a long time talking about tomorrow, they said they wanted to talk about work, but the way Jackson looked at me told me they weren’t. In the end, they both agreed to the plan and said I have to stay with Jackson and not leave his side.

"I promise." Leo sits behind me, legs on either side of me as he pulls me into him. His hands rest on my stomach, and I can't help but smile. "Your parents are very excited about this."

“They are. Dad is going to open a savings account.” I feel the vibration of Leo laughing through my back. “And Mom said that she might start knitting.”

I take a sip of my drink, as the flames flicker. No matter how much I try to push the thoughts out of my head, the rules, they'll always be there. No matter what. My body still shivers with the thoughts, and Leo's picked up on when those moments are.

“What are you thinking about?”

“The bed.”

I’ve thought about it for a while now, the moment Leo said the next time we have sex will be in his bed. Every night I’ve been thinking about every time I was put on a bed, everything they did to me on there. I’ve not been able to sleep as the flashbacks wake me up.

“I’ve told you when you’re ready.”

“I know.”

This is one thing that I respect most about Leo, he respects me.

Leaning forward so that I can turn around to face him, I run my hand through my hair. I’ve thought about this for most of the day. Tomorrow anything could happen. Uncle Jack could get me, he could kill Leo. The list is different every time I think about it. But there is one thing that I keep telling myself, one thing I’ll regret.

Not letting Leo show me how amazing having sex in bed can be.

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