Page 49 of Ink

Ink looks just as shocked as I feel at his admission.

My eyes move to the ceiling.

What is happening? Where is my asshole boss who couldn’t stand the sight of me? I don’t have enough experience to deal with this type of whiplash. If there’s one thing I knew with Zach, it was always where I stood.

Completely beneath him.

“I came from a… situation of sorts,” I say softly, finally giving him what I know has been eating him alive since the moment he met me.

“I gathered that.” Ink’s hand moves to play with my hair, twirling and twisting the ends around his finger.

“I’m from a small town. Growing up, my parents were strict and what my dad said went. No one dared to speak out against him, not even my mom. It was very much a speak when spoken to upbringing. And along with that came with holding a certain image.” I trail off. Every time I think back on everything, I relive how toxic it all was. A toxicity that’s unfortunately so easy to get swept up, if that’s all you ever knew. “Everyone knows everything about everyone. You couldn’t go to the grocery store without someone knowing about it. Which means they would definitely notice if you slip up. With my dad being the preacher at the church in town, I needed to keep up the perfect image.”

Ink doesn’t say anything as he continues to play with my hair. I always hated when Zach touched me, but Ink’s touch makes me feel at ease. Like I could give him the world, and he would protect it the best he could. Which is crazy because a huge part of me still hates his guts for how he treated me, but the ease is overpowering that emotion, too strong to ignore.

“Anyway, the perfect daughter obviously needed the perfect husband to keep up with the perfect reputation my dad had spent most of his life creating, so insert Zach,” I say sarcastically, flicking my wrist out in a duh motion. “He had just graduated law school and moved back home to work at his dad’s law firm in town. Dad thought it was the perfect addition to the family. It didn’t matter how he treated me or how miserable I was. None of it mattered.” I pause again, an internal war is going on in my head. How has my life come to this?

“You know you matter, right?” Ink says after a few moments of silence.

My mouth opens and closes as I try to find words to say.

Do I?

I think at one time I thought I mattered, but as the years passed, each one bringing new wounds before the old ones had a chance to heal proved that I didn’t.

“Bunny.” Ink’s rough voice rakes over my skin, sending a chill down my spine. The heartbreak can be heard clear as day and I know it’s breaking for me.

Deciding I’m not ready to give Ink this vulnerability by answering just yet, I continue on. “Anyway, none of that really matters now. Zach is my ex. I left him before coming to Ravenna Heights. He didn’t agree to the ending of our relationship and was upset, obviously. He came to tell me to come home.”

“And to do that, he beat the shit out of you and took your money, which would probably be the only way you would be able to get home if you even wanted to go back? Forgive me if I’m oversteppin’ here, bunny, but please, for the love of god, tell me that you’re not thinkin’ of goin’ back?”

A big ball of emotions that I’ve never experienced before gets stuck in my throat, making it hard to breathe.

No one has ever told me not to go back before.

“I’m not going back,” I whisper.

It feels good to finally admit that out loud.

“Good,” Ink rumbles.

“Will you take me back to the motel in the morning? I want to change rooms.” It probably won’t do much considering he already knows where I’m staying, but I also can’t afford the other hotels in the area. I know because I checked when I first got into the city and was shocked.

“You’re not goin’ back to that shit hole.”

“And where do you think I’m going to go? It can’t be lost on you that I don’t have friends or family waiting for me with open arms.”

Why is he so concerned about where I go, anyway? I get walking into what he did would rattle him because it would freak me out too, but there’s no strings here. Nothing keeping him in this position. My last boss could have cared less if I ended up in a ditch somewhere.

“We’ll figure it out, but for the time being, you can stay here,” Ink says like it’s the most obvious answer in the world.

Stay here? Has he lost his mind?

Looking around, I take in the dimly lit room. Besides the off-white walls, everything is decorated in dark blues. It’s not lost on me that my newly dyed hair matches his vibe.

“Do you have a guest room?”

I should punch myself for even entertaining this option, but it’s not like I have other people in my life holding out their hand waiting for me to take it. Plus, there’s also the minor issue with Zach taking off with every last dime to my name.