Page 100 of Tainted Hearts

Chapter 26

Zed

My mind is a whirlwindof emotions. I’m furious with myself for being so fucking stupid and keeping another thing from Abby. I didn’t want to, but my best friend pretty much begged me not to tell her. Her reasoning made sense at the time, but at the end of the day I fucked things up, yet again, because I can’t get it out of my head that I need to protect her. I should have said no. I should have told her.

Any thoughts of hurt or pain towards Abby in any way turns me into a fucking caveman. Normally, I don’t give a shit, as long as my baby is safe. Only now, she’s pissed off at me.

The look of betrayal on her face when she walked towards me at the garage was something I never wanted to see. I caused her to be hurt, I caused her pain.

I fucking hate myself. I want to go to her, to beg her to forgive me, to give her the whole fucking world if it means she never looks at me like that again. But I can’t, I’d only make things worse. Frankie has her; she will make her see that I only did it because I love her. I’d never hurt her, at least, not willingly.Have I loved her too hard that I suffocated her?I gave her space with Luke, Isaac, and Noah, even though I wanted to wring their necks for the first while. But they love her, I see that. So I stepped back.

It wasn’t enough. I should have tried harder to convince Frankie to at least tell Abby that they were mates, to not touch her just yet, that way they could have time.

As I walk to my house, I feel empty. Everything hurts, my heart taking the brunt of it. I’ve never felt so hopeless, so defeated in my life. I can’t lose her.

If anything happened to my mom, or my sister, it would hurt; it would nearly kill me, but I’d get myself together eventually because I’d have Abby to stay strong for.

But if I lose Abby, that would break me and not even my family could get me through that. Like I told Frankie, I’d rather be dead, than be without Abby. Simple as that.

The heel of my hand rubs at my shattered heart as I walk down the path leading to my door.

A heavy thud makes me spin around, hoping that Abby flew back to tell me she forgives me.

Only when I turn around, it’s not Abby. “What do you want?” I snarl, not in the mood to deal with this crap today. “I thought I told you if you ever came back, I’d show everyone on this fucking Island what you're really like,” I snarl, taking a step towards Michael.

He gives me a cruel laugh, shaking his head. He doesn’t look good. His hair is a mess, and his eyes look manic. They’re the eyes of a man who has nothing left to lose.

“You're a fool! You think I’d just sit back and let some fucking bastard of a son control me? You're going to give me every copy of that recording.”

“Or what?” a booming voice comes from behind me. Right, I forgot my mom texted me, telling me that she and Lucifer were here for a visit to check in on Libby.

“Lucifer,” Michael spits. “I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here, I guess this is where all the useless wastes of space gravitate to. First, that bitch of a mate of mine, then this mistake we made.” He tosses his hand toward me. “And now you. How fitting.”

His words about me mean nothing. They don’t hurt. But I won’t stand by and let him talk about my mother like that.

Leo

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