Page 62 of Just You & Me

It’s my turn to huff and spear him with a glare that rivals Leo.I'm going to get Jude back one day for starting that fucking shit.

I may be broody, but I like my coffee sweet as sugar. I may be the oldest, but I am no daddy.

"Don't lie, Marcus!" Jude hollers from the staircase.

"I wasn't lying!" Before I know it, Marc's teeth hold the slice of bacon, and he dips to meet my lips.

I don't hesitate; I open and take the bite he's offering. He munches on the other half while staring into my eyes with heat. Swallowing, I lick my lips, grab his shirt, and pull him back to me.

There's no gentle way to say this. We fuck each other's mouths with our tongues. Growling, I grip his throat and almost cum in my pants when he whimpers and gives me control.

I absolutely devour this man.Myman.

ChapterThirty-One

RYLEE

"You have got to be shitting me!" Glass shatters. "Are you capable of anything? How do you expect to be a mother, Rylee?!" Spit hits my cheek.

Holding my belly, I shift away from Mason. "I'm sorry," I whisper, trying not to aggravate him even more. "I was just thinking of Tate... I—"

He sneers. "You cry all the damn time! What? Am I not good enough for you? Is our baby not good enough for you?" I cower when he steps into my space, moving my round stomach out of his rageful path. "Are you keeping my daughter away from me, you selfish bitch!?"

I brace myself for the strike I know will hit my cheek. Air wooshes across my face, and suddenly, I'm being spun around by the force of the breeze. My hunched position makes me unbalanced, forcing me to my knees.

My cheek doesn't sting, nor is Mason hovering over me.

My father is.

"Father?"

His eyes are black, and his body is trembling. No emotion crosses his face. He just stands there, terrifying me. "You are a disgrace."

Suddenly I'm a little girl again. No baby growing in my stomach or boyfriend to beat me into being perfect. A hole opens inside of me. A place where a daughter should have her parents.

Droplets hit my hands sprawled out beneath me. "Daddy," I sob. "I don't feel so good." I reach for him, only to find the tears that hit my skin are bright red. My stomach twists, making me gasp.

Yet, my father stands there with no reaction.

My chest spasms, feeling like there's a gaping wound trying to rip me apart. "Daddy, please!" Between bloody tears, Mother materializes at his side. "Mommy! Help me!"

"Pathetic," she murmurs. Her eyes are black, just like Dad's.

I don't know what part of my body seizes, but my sternum and stomach squeeze in agony, forcing my body to contract. Landing hard on my jaw and shoulder, I cry out, my arms gripping at my torso like I can pluck the emptiness out.

"Why—" I choke, blood splattering on the white marble beneath me. "Why don't you love me?!"

My eyes catch sight of the blood pooling around me. I look down, only to see holes in my body. Beneath the blood is nothing. These holes that should have been filled... they never were.

"Why would we love you?" Father's voice comes from above me, yet they do not crouch.

I sob, hoping to anything listening that they might fill the holes inside of me. "I love you, though!" My throat starts to close and stutter. "I did... nothing... wrong."

Before my vision blacks out, I see them glance at the pieces of me they never nurtured with indifference. "Youare what's wrong."

Mother’s clicking of her heels walking away is the perfect representation of my hope. The childish hope that no matter how harsh my parents treated me, they never loved me anyway. And so, with my mom and dad, my hope walks away with them. My hope bleeds out of the wounds they never healed.

"Don't lie, Marcus!"

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