Page 101 of Shattered Skull

“What if I didn’t want you to hurt him? Would you promise not to?”

What the hell was she talking about?

Why wouldn’t she want the fucker who tried to rape her to pay for what he did?

“Why do you care what happens to him?” I asked.

She looked out the window and watched the world fly past us, and then she shocked me when she spoke again.

“Because my mother’s in love with him.”

I hadn’t expected that.

“Explain,” I said, feeling my rage build inside my gut.

“He’s my mother’s boyfriend, and the reason she kicked me out. He kept coming on to me, and one night I woke up to find him jerking off next to my bed.”

What the fuck?

I blinked away the explosion of fury and tried to keep it hidden so she would keep talking.

“When I told her about it the next day, she didn’t believe me, and she kicked me out.”

Her mother had chosen some sick fuck over her kid.

“Your mother chose him over you?”

I wanted to say I couldn’t believe a mother would do such a thing, but my parents had chosen drugs over my brother and me. I knew it happened, and I remembered the feeling of being shoved to the side for something else. My heart ached for her.

She swiped at a tear and looked away, so I didn’t see crying.“No one ever chooses me,”she whispered to the window.

She thought I didn’t hear her, but I did.

Little did she know, I would choose her.

Hell, I had already chosen her. The second I left everything behind to haul ass across the country, I made my choice. I only hoped that when we got home, I would be able to continue to put her first.

34 Everly

WE WERE BOTH QUIETfor the last thirty minutes of our trip. After over a week together on the road, living in a bubble away from Atlanta, and all it entailed, we knew things were going to change once we were back to real life.

My heart was lodged in my throat when we turned into the neighborhood and began passing familiar houses. I didn’t want to lose him, and I had a feeling the second we pulled into Zada’s driveway that was going to happen.

No one ever chooses me.

My words roamed through my mind, reminding me of everyone who had pushed me to the side. Every person I ever loved—every person who loved me—they had all pushed me away as if I was nothing. Aiken was going to do the same, and I knew it was going to kill me.

There were no cars in the driveaway at Zada’s, as usual. Once we parked, we both paused and looked at each other over the console. Not for the first time, I wished I could hear his thoughts.

“Thank you for going with me,” I said. “I wouldn’t have made it without you by my side.”

He nodded, his eyes roaming my face as if it were the last time he would ever see me.

I couldn’t sit there any longer, knowing as soon as we opened the doors to the car, reality would smack us in the face. I wanted to rip the metaphorical Bandaid off and get it over with.

Opening the door, I got out of the car. He followed, and our eyes met above the Mustang before I dipped down and pulled my bag out of the backseat.

“Well, I guess this is it,” I said, closing the door and going around the car to his side.

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