Page 66 of Up in Flames

“No, Makaylie, you didn’t think!” He growls, getting up from the bed hastily, the mattress bouncing so much that I fall back hard. I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me, not literally, metaphorically. Swallowing hard, I sit back up in the same position and furrow my brows.

“Cain, I simply want to get to know you better. I just… I’m sorry.” I feel the anxiety pooling in my stomach as I look down at my hands.

It’s like he has a switch, and bam! His mood has flicked into darkness.

Cain paces the room as I watch him cautiously. His heavy feet pound the floor, sounding like lead weights on the carpet. My heart is pounding violently like the weight of his boots. He exhales as he runs his fingers through his hair and finally turns to look at me with his lips turned down. Cain appears as if he’s in pain. His jaw is clenched, and his brows furrow. I think I even notice him breathing slightly heavier, but it’s hard to tell with how quickly he’s moving.

What the hell is this all about?

A sudden wave of anger ripples through me in annoyance at his demeanor.

No. I’m not sorry for asking a simple question.

He’s the one getting his back up.

Well, fuck him!

I’m not going to back down and defend myself in this.

No way.

The anxiety levels in the room are making the air buzz and crackle with an electrifying energy, but not in a good way. I always feel electrically charged around Cain, but right now, the static in the air could light us in flames rather than ignite us in desire.

My chest heaves, and I grit my teeth as I let it rip. “Actually, you know what? No, I’m not sorry.Fuck that.I’mnotgoing to apologize for wanting to know more about you. Fuck pussyfooting about here, Cain. I’m not going to cower down and let you treat me like shit because you don’t want to talk about it. I have done enough of that already. If we’re going to be together, then you need to be able to trust me, goddammit!” Letting out a heavy breath, I watch him in silence as he continues his heavy footsteps, pacing the room.

The surge fizzles slightly and is doused when he stops and stares at me, his furrowed brow easing slightly as his body relaxes. Cain exhales as I look away dramatically, and he walks over to where I’m sitting and slowly sits on the edge of the bed next to me. He rests his elbows on his knees, placing his head in his hands.

“I understand you want to know everything about me, just like I want to know everything about you. But my life hasnotbeen filled with love and happiness. My life story is nothing to be happy about. My family… my parents… they mean everything to me, but it’s difficult to talk about. No one knows, Makaylie. No one except for my sister and me, and I don’t wantyouto think any less of me. If you knew what you need to know, I don’t know how you’ll take it,” he admits, confusing and intriguing me at the same time.

I figure I’d better take this slowly. Right now, I think he might open up to me if I don’t push him too hard. “Cain, I wouldneverthink any less of you foranything. I don’t care about your past. I just care about you…here and now. Nothing you say will change the fact that…I’m falling for you,” I admit honestly, and he reaches out and takes my hands.

He nods like he’s preparing himself to tell me something. “I wasn’t always like this… tough and ruthless, I mean. I’m good at my job, but I didn’t plan on my current career path. I went to college and studied for a degree in business economics. My father was so proud of me for following in his footsteps, and I was happy to be doing so.”

Cain’s eyebrows knot together. “You see, I haven’t always had that back tattoo and the controlling behavior. It all started after I graduated. Mom, Dad, and my sister, Amelia… we called her Millie back then… were coming home from my graduation party. I was driving, but I’d had too many bourbons before I got in the driver’s seat.”

He tenses, his jaw clenches as he cracks his neck to the side. “I knew I was over the limit, but it wasn’t far to drive home, and I was supposed to be the responsible one. So no one even noticed the alcohol on my breath.”

He gulps and looks down at our entwined fingers as a cold sweat invades my body.

I am sure I know where this story is going, and my heart is breaking for Cain.

“It was raining… pouring actually, and it made it hard to see. The fact I was drunk didn’t help. I was never a control freak, but in saying that, I had no control over the situation that was about to take place. All the factors were there and were my fault. If I didn’t drink and drive, it would have never happened.”

Sadness clouds his features as he continues, “Millie was in the back behind me. Mom and Dad were in the passenger side, Mom in the back, Dad in the front next to me. I should have seen him coming. I mean, a logging truck isn’t hard to miss, but the rain was heavy, and I ran a yellow light just as it turned red over a giant intersection…” He pauses, taking in a long, deep breath to steady himself.

My chest constricts, and I chew on my bottom lip, watching his face contort in sheer pain as he relives the memory in his mind.

“Mom and Dad took the full brunt of the collision. The car was a wreck, and Millie and I walked away with some minor injuries, considering. She had a broken collarbone on impact, and I got away with hardly anything in comparison, but our parents were both trapped in the car. I got Millie out as the police turned up. Then someone shouted out about the gas line being ruptured.”

He shakes his head as he swallows hard. “I started to panic… Millie was screaming.” He winces, scrunching his eyes tight, his muscles going rigid like he’s in extreme pain. I watch it ripple through him when his breathing quickens. “I still hear her screams sometimes in my sleep,” he whispers.

My breath catches in my throat at the imagery it’s casting in my mind.

“A policewoman was holding Millie back while I was wrenching on the car door to get my parents out. A passerby had stopped to help me, but for the life of us…” he pauses, “… we could not get the fucking doors open. Mom was passed out, but Dad was awake and moaning in agony. I will never…ever… forget the sounds of that night.”

I cling to him, my chest squeezing in sadness, as he continues, “It was still raining, and everyone was soaking wet when the fire started on the logging truck.” He shakes his head. “Obviously, there was plenty of fuel for the fire with all the wood, and the blaze took over instantly. A policeman yelled to evacuate the scene, but I stayed, wrenching the car door, just trying to get it open. I wasnotgoing to let my parents burn...” Cain wipes his hand over his head. “Dad was slowly fading in and out of consciousness, and I remember yelling at him to wake the fuck up.”

Cain shakes his head like he’s angry at the memory as he continues, “He mumbled something about taking care of Millie, and that’s when the policeman dragged me away kicking and screaming…” He swallows a large lump down his throat as he swipes his hand through his hair. “I couldn’t do anything as the fire made its way to my car with my parents inside. Millie was screaming and crying in the arms of a medic while I watched on being held by a policeman as the flames engulfed my car. I dropped to my knees, and then I heard it… the torturous screams of my parents both burning to death.” He shakes his head. “Their agony haunts me to this day.”

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