Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
When I came back, she was no longer on her computer, but sitting on the bench with her head in her hands, the computer at her side in the grass.
I set the box of food down and decided… fuck it.
I would go get her.
Maybe I wouldn’t die.
But then again, I had really good insurance with the city.
Another ER visit would be okay.
Plus, I was fairly sure I’d met my deductible with the stabbing.
Determination in my step, I walked toward her, ignoring the way my heart pounded when I heard the bees getting louder and louder.
When I was next to her, I bent down and closed the laptop before setting it in her lap.
She gasped and jerked her head up, her instant denial already spewing out of her mouth. “Gable Buchanan Carter, what the hell are you doing?”
I ignored her and my full name, swooping her up into my arms and heading to the back porch where the pizza was waiting.
My breath was coming out in pants by the time we made it to the back porch.
“I can’t believe you just did that.” She shook her head, eyes wide. “Are you freakin’ crazy?”
“I’m crazy in love with you, and I guess that makes me do dangerous things,” I grumbled.
She narrowed her eyes, then widened them as she lunged toward me. “Oh, God.”
I watched her swipe something off my shoulder, and then she was in my arms crying her eyes out.
I pulled her close into my chest and buried my face into her neck.
“You’re so stupid.” She sniffled after her crying went from full on sobs to quiet tears.
I didn’t bother denying it.
That might’ve been a little bit stupid.
Not to mention my stomach was now hurting where I’d gotten stitches earlier.
Hopefully I hadn’t popped any stitches.
That would be awful.
She shifted in my lap, her hands on either side of my face, and said, “Don’t ever do that again.”
I nodded. “I’ll try.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You will obey me in this.”
I snorted. “If you promise never to shut me out by sitting by the bees again, I’ll promise to never to purposefully put myself in danger like that again.”
She sighed, letting her hands drop from my face.
“This is stupid,” she grumbled.
My hands moved up the back of her tank, fingers grazing the very bare back that confirmed she wasn’t wearing a bra.
She melted further into my arms, her face now turned to press against my neck.
“I’m sorry for how I acted.” I sighed. “I can’t say I handled any of that well. When I turned the corner, on my way to come get you, and saw you there with Madman in front of you… I lost my mind. I wanted to kill that motherfucker. I would have, had I not been so worried about you being hurt.”
Speaking of being hurt…
“What happened to your hand?”
She looked down at the bright pink cast I’d been dying to find out about and scrunched up her nose. “Promise me you’ll never tell Maven what happened?”
“I guess,” I hedged.
She looked back toward me, her beautiful eyes focused solely on me, and said, “Maven broke it when she was in labor.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
“I thought that was a myth,” I admitted. “That it was only something people made up because they were trying to fib about how awful childbirth is.”
“Definitely not a myth,” she held up her casted hand. “You’ll make sure you won’t tell Maven or Auden that this happened, right?”
I tugged lightly on her ponytail, tilting her lips up to mine. “Yeah, I’ll lie. But I reserve the right to tell her if they get suspicious. If they let it go easily, and don’t ask many questions, then I’ll stay quiet.”
“Deal,” she said, then scrambled off my lap. “Your side?”
I grimaced.
I might or might not have felt something wet and hot leeching into the waistband of my jeans.
“I might’ve popped a stitch,” I admitted.
She dropped down onto her knees and yanked up my shirt.
I had to dodge my chin out of the way to avoid her nailing me with her fist.
Her eyes studied my side, “I don’t think you popped any. But you are bleeding a little bit. Let’s get you inside and…”
I smoothed my hand down her hair, then cupped her face. “Let’s eat first. Then we can shower.”
“Do you have a change of clothes?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“Let’s eat, then go back to your place. That way you can get changed,” she suggested.
“Deal.”
DM me if you want to be my cousin. I’m starting my own family from scratch.
—Athena’s secret thoughts
ATHENA
Despite the day I’d had, the night was rather perfect.
When we were finished eating, we headed into my room, and I packed a bag while Gable watched on with curiosity.
His eyes studied every stitch of clothing I packed.
It was when I was down to only needing to pack underwear that he got up and started going through my dresser. He came out with twice the amount of clothes that I planned on taking and I started cracking up.