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Willa
The house is quiet when I slip out of bed beside Lexa and make my way downstairs. I’m not sure why, but I feel all kinds of off today. I’ve had nightmare after nightmare all night long. Each time I woke up I was covered in sweat, my heart racing. Every time I drifted back off I ended up right where I had left off in the dream.
Pulling my long dark hair into a ponytail, I reach into the fridge for the milk and pulled down a box of Lexa’s favorite cereal. Lucky Charms are the one food she and I actually agree on. After putting everything away, I sit down to attempt to enjoy my breakfast.
If I’m honest I know what my problem is. Just as I know that my dream—nightmare—has everything to do with it too. Spiders all over me, pulling me apart are only a metaphor for my anxiety over seeing Spider again. I wish I had the guts to just go over to his place and get it out of the way, put myself out of my misery.
But I don’t have the guts. I’m a scared little girl still quivering at the thought of the man that broke my heart.
Grimacing when the cold cereal hits my stomach and only increases my unease, I push the bowl away. The thought of coffee only makes me want to gag, and I search the pantry until I find a box of tea. This is ridiculous. I should not be this sick over a man. Especially that man.
Gracie is in the kitchen when I open the pantry door again and step out. I liked Gracie on sight, not something that I normally do when it comes to females. My sister had turned me off the whole “Let’s be BFFs and tell each other all our secrets.” Tasha was a sadist. Thankfully that bitch died and Bash can keep his daughter from turning into her.
“Morning, Willa,” Gracie greets me with a sleepy smile. She’s dressed for her morning classes in a pair of jeans and a simple tank top, showcasing her femaleness with just a
little curve. She’s small with deep red-brown hair and big soulful eyes the color of well-aged bourbon. My first impression of her was that she was innocent, which surprised the hell out of me, especially since she’s sharing a bed with Hawk Hannigan.
Talk about confusing. I can’t keep up with the drama surrounding these people. Apparently, even though those two sleep in the same bed, there’s nothing else going on. They’re friends. Nothing more. Or so they’ve both told me on countless occasions. Of course I’ve started to believe them. That doesn’t mean that those longing looks that Hawk gives Gracie when she’s not looking doesn’t go unnoticed. Or the almost hungry way Gracie follows Hawk with her eyes when she assumes she’s not being watched doesn’t escape my attention either.
The drama doesn’t stop with those two. Watching Felicity is like watching a Lifetime movie. She’s broken inside, hurting for something I will never understand. Maybe because I’ve never carried life inside of me and then lost it. Felicity is in misery, but she’s really good at hiding it. Or maybe it’s because half the Hannigan household doesn’t pay that close attention to her. Looking at Felicity makes me ache.
Then there’s Bash and his woman. I have never met Raven Hannigan, but the few pictures I’ve seen around the house of her are really hot. Yeah, I can honestly say that I find a chick hot. My sister would have been so scandalized—not. Bitch had been into all kinds of kink, and I’m sure that floating both ways had been one of the more mild things she experimented with.
Raven looks nothing like her namesake. When I first listened to Bash talk about her, I pictured her in my mind. Long raven black hair, curves in all directions, maybe a few tattoos and piercings. The female in the pictures has golden hair halfway down her back, eyes that are as olive-jade as her brothers, and while she’s curvy, she’s also slender, almost willowy. There are no tattoos in any of the photos I’ve seen, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any. Any piercings she may have are covered up as well.
I haven’t seen Raven smiling in any of the pictures. Not a real smile anyway, the kind that goes all the way to her eyes. Her smile makes her look lonely, craved something that she’d been denied for so long she gave up hoping for it. Affection? Love? I’m not sure.
“Morning, Gracie.” I put the kettle on the stove to heat the water for my tea. “How many classes do you have today?”
“I only have one on Fridays.” She grimaces as she turned on the coffee pot. “But it’s also my least favorite class. I hate chemistry.”
“I don’t know anything about it.” Chemistry wasn’t part of the online homeschool program I’d taken a few years back. My mom was been paranoid about protecting me, and I only saw my dad and sister every few weeks with the exception of the few weeks she relented and let me stay with my dad at the Red Dragons’ warehouse. After that disaster, she didn’t even let me see my dad unless he came to the house.
“It’s ugly. So ugly.” Gracie gives a mock shudder, making me laugh.
“What’s ugly?” Hawk asks as he walks into the kitchen in nothing more than a pair of sweat pants. He scratches a hand across his wide chest making both mine and Gracie’s eyes follow the motions.
Whoa! HOT! Muscles in every direction. Hard, well defined abs. Beside of me, I see Gracie’s cheeks fill with a pretty pink color before she turns her head and busies herself making both Hawk and herself a mug of hot coffee. “I was telling Willa about my Chemistry class.”
“I wish you wouldn’t go today,” Hawk mutters as he takes a swallow of the coffee she hands him. “I don’t like that that guy is in your class.”
Gracie sighs. “I only have a few more weeks until break, Hawk. I’m not going to drop a class I have fought so hard to keep an A in just because of that scumbag.”
“If he even looks at you wrong, you tell me,” he growls before storming out of the kitchen.
Oh fuck! The back was just as awe-inspiring as the front had been. Forcing my eyes away from that sculpted back, I turn to pour the hot water into a mug before the tea kettle whistles. “He’s a little intense at times, huh?”
Gracie shrugs. “Seems like it.”
“Some guy giving you a hard time?”
“I didn’t realize it, but one of the guys that tried to …” She breaks off, her eyes growing haunted. “It wasn’t until yesterday that I figured I’d have to face him.”
“Maybe Hawk should teach you to defend yourself. I heard that Raven is a badass no one wants to mess with, maybe she will teach you if he won’t.” I take the tea bag out of the mug after it’d been in it for a little over a minute, then blow over the top of the weakened tea.
“That isn’t a bad idea.” She takes two more sips of her coffee before pouring the rest down the sink and rinsing out her mug. “I better go. Felicity is giving me a ride today and her class starts an hour before mine.”
“Good luck,” I call after her as she opens the back door.
