Page 34 of A Hurt So Good

I’m in Dad’s home gym beating the shit out of the bag, trying to keep my rage under control. After we got Arya in bed, I had to clear my head, and this is where I’ve been for days. She’s clouding my goddamn judgment, and I don’t like it. She’s making me rethink things in my life, and that pisses me off.

I’m mad.

At her.

For nothing!

I should be mad at myself for getting too close to her. I should have taken a step back and let the other two have her, but I couldn’t. There’s something about Arya that calls to me like a goddamn drug, and I need my fix. The things I want to do to her though? The way I already marked her flesh. It might be too much for her.

I keep swinging until sweat drips down my temples, and my arms feel weak. Then I stop and let my head drop forward while grabbing the bag with my gloved hands.

“Something you want to talk about?” I lift my head and look over at my Dad as he comes into the room.

“No.”

“You seem pissed,” he adds.

“I am pissed.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to involve you in this,” I tell him. He nods his head before sliding his hands into his pockets and coming toward me.

“This about Arya?” He knows. He always knows, and maybe that’s what a Dad is supposed to do. Know shit.

“Maybe.”

“You’re sharing her, would be my guess.” Now I jerk my eyes to his, and he can see the truth. He nods his head. “I won’t say I didn’t see it coming; I did. Arya is a different breed.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning nothing. I honestly don’t know if she’s good for you boys,” he says, pissing me off a little further. How the fuck would he know what’s good for me?

“Why do you say that shit? Like you didn’t fuck her!” I snap at him. He smiles at me and shakes his head.

“Don’t get me wrong, War. I think she’s a good girl in general, but I think there’s something else going on with her. Her mom said she’s been acting strangely lately. And yes, I did fuck her, but that means nothing. Nevertheless, something is going on with her.”

“How so?”

“She doesn’t really want to leave the house for one. Almost as if she’s afraid of something.”

“And you think that something might get us in trouble?” He smiles now and nods his head.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about. I can’t tell you how to feel, and I don’t know how you feel about her, but I want you tokeep your eyes open for any sign of trouble.” I nod my head as I pull away from the bag.

“We’ll be careful,” I tell him.

“War, I know you have different tastes as far as what you like to do. Are you sure she’s going to be okay with that?” I shrug my shoulders. I don’t know if she will be or not. I honestly don’t care either way because we already claimed her as ours.

“I’ll be careful.” He nods and turns, walking toward the door as Denz is coming in. Dad slaps him on the shoulder on his way past.

“Too much tension?” Denz asks, nodding toward the bag.

“I need to kill someone. Make someone bleed,” I admit to him. Denz nods his head.

“I get it. It was ecstasy.”

“What?”

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