Page 13 of Weston’s Treasure

“Okay,” she readily agreed and for once he didn’t like her easy acceptance.

Especially knowing it was because she was traumatized. He hadn’t thought it possible but he actually missed her stubborn, know-it-all attitude. He would take her sass any day of the week and twice on Sunday over the wobble in her voice.

Weston started to move away but stopped when Silver whispered, “I’m scared.”

And it was then in that moment, with Silver pinning him in place—all pretense gone, all the walls down—he knew he would meet death before she met harm.

“I promise you, Silver, swear it, I’ll keep you safe.”

6

I’d known pain, the emotional kind that eats at you from the inside. The kind that nags and belittles you until you believed the lies others told you, the untruths your mind replayed. I knew what that felt like, I’d lived it, was still living it.

But this was worse than that kind of pain. The truth had smacked into me with a force I couldn’t deny.

I was in danger.

More danger than I’d thought I was already in.

I couldn’t pretend my way out of it. I couldn’t lie to everyone around me and front like I was someone who was invincible.

So while I’d known pain I’d never known this kind of fear and it scared the hell out of me. It terrified me even more to admit it. But standing in my apartment with everything I owned in shambles, with nothing left, I no longer had the luxury of hiding.

I needed help. I needed someone to protect me. Two things I didn’t want to need but did all the same.

“Let’s get you out of here,” Weston mumbled. But before he pulled away he bent forward and kissed my forehead.

I knew he did it to be nice—the peck was meant to be reassuring and comforting but it wasn’t. It sent my heart rate skyrocketing and reminded me of things I’d never have. Sure, Weston was being nice to me now, it seemed like deep-down he was a good person, being that he’d offered me gentleness after everything I’d lost. But I knew it wasn’t real, not like a man would brush his lips against the forehead of woman he cared for.

I wasn’t that to him and never would be. So his kiss was torture.

Weston led me out of my apartment, even unnecessarily locked the deadbolt after us and continued down to his Jeep. He didn’t let go of my hand until he asked me for his keys, and it was only then because I needed my hand to reach into my pocket. After that, he helped me in, buckled the seat belt for me, and jogged around the front and climbed in.

It wasn’t until we were well over the Chesapeake City Bridge and I noticed he was going the wrong way did I finally speak.

“Where are you going?”

“Middletown.”

“Delaware?”

“Unless you know another Middletown, then yes.”

He was being a smartass and I wasn’t sure how I felt about him being friendly. Actually, that was a lie, I did know—it freaked me out.

“Why are we going there?”

“You need clothes and there’s nowhere to shop in Kent County and I’m starved. As much as I love pizza and Procolino’s has the best I’ve ever had, I can’t eat another slice. So we’ll find a place to eat, too.”

I didn’t live in Kent County and even I knew, no one turned down Proc’s, which meant he had to be over pizza, as in over it, if he was swearing off the eatery.

I didn’t know what to say to him about his thoughtfulness so I went back to silence. The problem with that was, silence meant there was nothing else to do but think. And thinking was not what I needed to be doing right then. It had been a long time since I’d needed my dad, but right then, all I wanted was my dad to wrap me up in one of his bear hugs and tell me everything was going to be all right. That I’d get through this. That I could rebuild my life. That all the shit in my house that had been broken could be replaced.

“What are you thinking about?”

“That I miss my dad.”

Weston nodded like he understood and said, “You know all of that can be replaced. The important thing’s that you’re safe. I know it sucks, the prospect of starting over, but shit is just that, Silver—shit.”