Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I shrugged, placing my hands in the pockets of my slacks. “I guess I stopped pretending a long time ago.”
“You don’t love me, Jackson.”
“You know what I don’t love, Harley? When you put your own narrative on how I feel about you.”
“I’m a trophy to you. It’s all I’ve ever been.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“I don’t know anythin’ anymore. All I do know is when you maul me in front of everyone, it only reminds me of all the times you did it when we were kids. You think I belong to you, not ’cuz you love me. It’s ’cuz you think you own me.”
“You’re my wife. I do own you.”
“Ugh! I’m your fake wife!”
I got right in her face. “Keep your voice down. Gremlin...” I warned in the tone that both pissed her off and turned her on.
“Just give me what I want.”
“If I did that then I’d be on my knees right now with your pussy in my mouth, making you scream my fuckin’ name. Except, I wouldn’t fuck you under the pier, I’d do it right on top for everyone to see what I’ve always known. You. Belong. To. Me.”
“How romantic.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “We haven’t had sex in years, and the first place you want to take me is out in public?”
“Maybe you think we haven’t had sex in years, but I fuck my fist to you every night in my mind.”
She jerked back, never expecting me to admit that.
“I’m not leaving you. We are in this together. It’s our job to show Bailey the kind of love she deserves, just like our parents did with us.”
“Now that’s bullshit. You have this vision in your head of what we are, and it’s not reality. When will you see that?”
“Oh, trust me, sweetheart, I know where you stand. You make that perfectly fuckin’ clear at every turn, but I also know what we have between us. What we’ve had since we were kids. The only person standing in our is you.”
“That’s not true.”
I stepped back away from her and spoke with conviction, “You keep talking about the ghosts of our pasts, but it’s you who needs to bury them.”
With that, I turned and left, leaving my bleeding heart in her hands. Even though, she was the one gripping the life out of it.
Out of me.
Chapter 11
<>Harley<>
Then: Seventeen-years-old
My father roared, “Mia, she ain’t goin’!” Blockin’ the front door all Creed Jameson-like.
“But, Daddy!” I stomped my foot with Teddy layin’ right beside me. “Momma already said I could go!”
“Mia! Where the hell are you?!”
“That’s right, Pops, you show ’em who’s boss,” Luke chimed in, standin’ next to him with his arms crossed over his chest. Mirrorin’ my father’s stance and demeanor to a T.
“Shut up, baby brother! Ain’t no one talkin’ to you!”
Teddy barked, up on all fours, agreein’ with me. I swear he was the world’s largest Wheaten Terrier. Weighin’ in at a whoppin’ seventy pounds when his breed was only supposed to be the max, forty-five pounds.
Not to mention, he hated men. In fact, he couldn’t stand them, much to my daddy’s approval. Except of course for Jackson, Teddy loved him. Since the first time he ever laid eyes on him, he decided they were best friends.
It was actually really annoyin’.
“Don’t matter, big sis,” Luke broke out, pullin’ me away from my thoughts. “You ain’t goin’.”
I glared at him. “Momma! Can you please come talk some sense into your husband and son, before I beat Luke’s face in!”
“Oh my goodness, what is all the commotion about?”
Snappin’ around, I faced her. “Daddy won’t let me leave, and Shiloh is already on her way to come get me.”
Her gaze shifted over to her husband. “Creed ... we talked about this.”
“Pippin, we didn’t talk ’bout shit, ’cuz there was nothin’ to talk about. I told you both no.”
“Daddy! That ain’t fair! All my friends are goin’ up to the Smoky Mountains for spring break! We already got our cabin! Besides, I’ll have Teddy with me. You know he won’t let anyone near me. Especially guys.”
Teddy barked again. I swear my dog was a genius.
“Except for the one he should be keepin’ away from you,” Luke mumbled under his breath.
“This is so unfair! I’ll be eighteen in less than half a year!”
“I don’t give a shit if you were turnin’ forty in less than half a year. You ain’t goin’.”
“Daddy, what have I ever done for you not to trust me?”
“Baby girl, I trust you. It’s those cocksuckers you call friends I don’t trust.”
“Cash ain’t even goin’. He’s got a gig.”
“Cash is the least of my worries, Harley.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Creed...” Momma intervened in her tone that meant business. “Harley gets almost straight A’s, she’s in all honor classes, she’s a good girl. I trust her to make the right decisions for a few days on her own.”