Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
They were all asleep and she was here . . . falling apart.
Tears dripped down her cheeks. She needed to feel somewhere safe and closed in. The only problem was that the walk-in wardrobe was freaking enormous.
Biting her lip, she got out of bed.
Spencer would have a heart attack if he could see her. She wasn’t supposed to get out of bed without one of them with her. Which was nuts. She’d been sneaking off to the toilet without ringing that darn bell he’d given her ever since she’d gotten home.
Nothing bad had happened.
They were being ridiculously overprotective.
Well, Spencer and Slade were. She’d barely seen the other two during the ten days she’d been here.
A stab of sadness went through her.
Obviously, they no longer wanted anything to do with her.
After using the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. The bruises were all fading, but they looked even worse than before, if that was possible.
Thankfully, she only had one bruise on her face where Billy had slapped her. As she walked out of the bathroom, she glanced over at the wardrobe.
She tried to resist.
She really did.
But in the end, she found herself in the large wardrobe, staring at her backpack which sat in a corner. Spencer had offered to unpack it for her and she’d nearly bitten his head off.
It was silly, but she didn’t want them to know that she’d kept mementos of them.
Opening it up, she searched through it, pulling things out. First was Rock’s jumper.
Maybe she could steal another one? One that still smelled like him. She put the jumper on. It fell around her like a dress.
Then she drew out the next items. The photo of her and Spencer. The hat from Slade which she put on. The algebra test she’d managed to pass with Quaid’s help. And his favorite book, Treasure Island.
But she still didn’t feel right and the memory of that nightmare had her shaking within seconds. She put her thumb in her mouth with a whimper.
What should she do?
All she wanted in that moment was for someone else to take charge. So that she didn’t have to think.
You could find one of the guys.
A strong longing filled her, stealing her breath.
But she couldn’t rely on them. This wasn’t going to last forever. Sure, she’d never felt more cared for than she had in these past ten days.
However, at some stage she was going to have to leave. The doctor told her it would be about a month until she started to feel a lot better.
She took her thumb out of her mouth and put her hand on her stomach. Shouldn’t she have felt the baby move already? More worry flooded her and she felt ill.
You are not going to throw up.
You need to find somewhere smaller.
With her mind made up, she grabbed the book and photo and slowly stood. That was harder than it should have been. But once she was on her feet, she headed out of the wardrobe and toward the bedroom door.
Only, there was something missing.
Her gargoyle. Turning back, she walked to the nightstand, pulling him out of the drawer and tucking him under her arm. There. That was better.
Opening the door, she would have screamed if she didn’t have her thumb in her mouth.
Because sitting on the floor opposite her door with his back resting against the wall was Rock.
He had a book in his hand, a blanket over his lap, and a pillow behind his head. He set the book to one side as she stared down at him.
Standing, he studied her with his head tilted to one side. “Okay?”
Was she okay?
Yeah, not at all.
She was aware that she was sucking her thumb once more, but she simply couldn’t find the energy to care.
“Need something?” he asked in a quiet voice.
As usual his voice was raspy and he spoke slowly.
Did she need something?
Should she tell him? Or she could show him?
Only problem was that she didn’t have a hand free. Somehow, Rock always seemed to know what she was thinking because he slowly took the book and photo from her, leaving her holding her gargoyle. She let out a small noise of protest but he held his free hand out to her.
Oh yes.
She clasped hold of his hand and walked out into the living room. Nope. This place wasn’t going to work. She needed a small cupboard.
With him following, she headed into the kitchen. Her stomach growled.
“Eat?” Rock asked.
She stared at him blankly.
He nodded as though he understood her. But how could he when she didn’t even know what she was saying?
When she was simply confused and didn’t know what she wanted.
Rock set down the book and photo on the bench before heading to the freezer. He returned with a large tub of ice cream.
Her stomach grumbled again. Especially when she saw it was mint chocolate chip.