Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
But my husband is pretty stupid.
A knock comes on the door, and I expect it to be the pizza, but when I open it, my sister is standing there dressed in her police uniform, smiling at me.
It’s amazing to me how she changed her life around, how she went from being reliant on drugs to now being fit and clean. It gives me hope that one day soon, I will leave this god-awful place and never look back.
“Gosh, you look good,” she says, reaching for me. Savannah looks so much like our mother. Her eyes are soft like Mom’s were, whereas mine are sharp. Her hips are perfectly proportioned, while I barely have any shape to mine. I let her wrap me in her arms and hug her back.
Fuck, it’s been so long since I’ve had physical contact with anyone. Cody doesn’t touch me, let alone hug me. I hardly have any friends, and the only other person I speak to more than Cody is Milo, and he usually just sits there and demands words from me.
Somehow, that man demands that I speak, and when he does, it feels like my voice is actually worth listening to.
We pull apart, and I shut the door behind her as she steps inside.
“Sorry, I came straight from work,” Savannah says. She moved a few towns away, and it takes her over two hours to visit, so she doesn’t come often. But I know she feels obliged to since Cody helped her out all those years ago.
“How are you?” she asks, looking around for Cody. “Happy?” Her voice is a little quieter on the last word.
“There you are, just in time. The pizza is almost here,” Cody says as he appears from the hallway.
Another knock comes on the door, and Cody walks past us, pulls out cash, and hands it to the delivery guy before he takes the pizzas. “I have to head out. Work stuff,” he says, placing the pizzas on the table. He comes up to me and leans in, his mouth dangerously close to mine. “Behave,” he whispers.
Savannah doesn’t know half of what goes on. Actually, I’m unsure if she knows anything.
Cody’s lips touch my cheek instead, and he pulls back, offering a wave to Savannah, before he nods and leaves.
“Sister time,” Savannah says. “This is…” she glances around, “… unusual.” The smell of the food hits my stomach, and it grumbles loudly. Savannah laughs and heads straight for the pizza. “You didn’t have to wait for me to eat.”
I didn’t, but she doesn’t need to know that. Sitting opposite her, I grab a slice and take a bite, not waiting for her to grab her own.
“So I was wondering, do you have a spare change of clothes around here I could wear?” I look at her, confused. She nods to her uniform. “I want to take you out, and Cody isn’t here to tell you no.”
“I’m tired,” I tell her around a mouthful of pizza. “I don’t want to go out.”
It’s a lie.
I want to run.
Far, far away.
Away from the torment of my unbearable life.
But I stay where I am.
Because my asshole husband has information on her. Information that could ruin her life. Just when she’s finally sorted it all out for the better.
He has videos of Savannah using drugs. He even recorded her taking the money to pay the debts back.
She is the only family I have left.
So I have to stay.
I have to protect her.
Cody wasn’t always an ass, but he has his ways of keeping me tied to him. And he knows it.
What if Savannah found out?
What if I walked in to find her the same way I found our mother?
I’m not sure my heart could take that again.
I was so lost the first time that I know the second time I’d be a wreck. And a complete slave to Cody, of that I am sure. More so than I am already. Is that possible?
“Lissie.” I peer up at her and smile. It’s forced, which I’m sure she knows. “Why do you stay?”
Words are on the tip of my tongue—the words I can’t tell her. “S-sorry, what?” I splutter instead. She has never asked me about my relationship. Not once. I know she knows I’m not happy here, but again, she has never asked me about it either.
“Cody, and you. Why do you stay?”
I wipe my mouth and place the rest of my slice of pizza down.
“I’m married,” I remind her.
“Yes, but you aren’t happy. So I ask again… why do you stay?”
“How do you know I’m not happy?” I challenge, raising a brow.
“Rumor has it that Milo has someone he pays to keep him company. I was asked if it was you.”
My mouth drops open in shock, but I quickly recover. “This isn’t even in your jurisdiction,” I reply, my face heating up.