Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
I flop forward onto the bed, exhausted despite the fact it has been a night of rest. Nathan flops beside me but props his head up on one arm. I hum happily when his fingers trace a gentle pattern on my lower back, where my top has lifted slightly, showing pink flesh above my jeans.
“My dad’s trial is in a few days,” he says and every fibre of me becomes rigid. Why is he bringing this up now of all days?
“That’s good. It’s been a long winded process.”
I roll onto my back so that I can see into his eyes. They seem detached, distant, as they always do when conversing about his family, which is very rare and only when necessary. The brown irises don’t hold the shine that they normally do. Even when they aren’t around, these people seem to suck the life from him.
Has seeing his mum had any pull on why he’s suddenly talking about the one thing I’ve been trying to get him to open up about since we almost died that day? My hand reaches up and my fingertips lightly press against the scar on his neck. He winces, not because it hurts but because of the painful memory.
“Thank you for saving me,” I whisper when his hand grips my wrist and he presses the inside to his lips.
“Thank you for loving me.” His voice is a breath. His eyes are closed but the depth of emotion behind his words almost brings tears to my eyes. I feel my bottom lip tremble so I grab his hair and yank his lips to mine.
We claim each other in a deep kiss, heated and sweet, soft and so bloody beautiful I never want to experience another for fear of losing the memory of this one.
Then it’s over and Nathan is rolling onto his back beside me. It’s my turn to prop myself up on one arm and trace his forearm with my fingertips. He loves it when I do this so when he pulls away, his eyes alight with nerves, I feel uneasy.
“I think I might go.”
“Go where?”
“To my dad’s trial.”
Holy fuck. “You’re not joking, are you?”
He shakes his head, brown, lifeless eyes scanning me for my reaction.
“We paid the barrister a fortune to make it so we didn’t have to go.”
“No.” He sits up and I follow suit. “We paid him a fortune so you didn’t have to go. It was you he almost killed.”
“And you.”
“But I raced into the house after the event. You were already in there and there’s an extremely good chance that he knew that.”
I don’t know what to say so I allow the silence to stretch.
He releases a heavy breath so I place my hand on his shoulder. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No.” He bites as if the thought of it is abhorrent. “God no.” I’m suddenly on his lap, tight to his chest as he holds me as though we’re back in that awful moment. “I guess I just need to hear the sentence for myself.”
I nod in understanding and try to pull free. When he doesn’t let me, I know that he just needs a moment to compose himself, so I let him have it.
“He’ll get ten years minimum.” His tone is so certain, so demanding. “He almost killed you.”
Chapter Six
Unfortunately, in real life, things don’t always take the path we most want them to. Despite the fact that Nathan and I are genuinely good people, despite the fact we lost a house, despite the fact we almost died, Nathan’s father has walked free.
“A good man.” Nathan throws a glass and I watch it shatter against the wall. “His first offence, they said.” I’ve never seen him so angry. He rips at his hair. “An accident. Our experience and the near fatal accident is clouding our judgement on a good man. The fire was unintentional.” He yells out a play by play of the court hearing, his tone mocking and disgusted. His eyes are wild with anger and in between each sentence, he bares his teeth and breathes as though ready to hyperventilate. “A fucking ACCIDENT.” I jolt back when he slams the cupboard door shut after reaching for a fresh glass.
“Nathan!” I yell to stop him from destroying another glass. My hand goes to my mouth, catching hot tears I didn’t realise were cascading down my cheeks.
“They said there was no motive and if there was a motive, they were never made aware.”
Oh god. I watch him pour two fingers of whiskey into the tumbler.
“Please,” I cry, holding my hand out to him. “Come to me, Nathan. Let me take care of you.”
“I…” He looks at me with bloodshot eyes. “I can’t do this right now.”
“What?”
He looks around the room, his eyes taking in the destruction that he inflicted.