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TWELVE
Bailey’s hand was clasped in mine as I led her to the diner we’d eaten at before when Brayden had sort of crashed in on our time together. My brother was already in a back booth away from everyone else, his eyes on his phone. He looked up when we neared, and he aimed a smile in Bailey’s direction as he stood up.
“Bailey, right?” he asked, holding his hand out to her. Shyly, she placed her hand in his, nodding her head. I pressed my hand to her lower back, a silent reminder that I was still there. “I’m Steven, Seth’s oldest brother.”
“Hi,” she whispered, taking a seat in the seat across from him. I sat next to her and put my arm around her shoulders, letting my fingers trail up and down the sleeve of her hoodie.
When she looked down at her menu, Steven shot me a look that clearly said how hot he thought she was, inclining his head towards Bailey. I just smirked.
I had a hot as hell girlfriend. Sue me.
Bailey looked up at me, instantly taking my attention. “You know what you want?” I asked her.
She frowned. “I’m not hungry.”
I brushed my fingers over her neck, ducking my head a little so my eyes were a bit more level with hers. “I need you to eat, baby.”
She sighed, looking back at the menu. “Soup,” she finally said.
I pressed the tips of my fingers to her jaw, turning her head to face me so I could press a kiss to her lips. “Thank you,” I murmured, my lips rubbing hers.
She smiled a little. If she was happy pleasing me, then fuck it, I’d have to use that to my advantage. Seeing her happy and flourishing would fucking please me for sure.
“Ready to graduate soon?” Steven asked her, giving her his undivided attention. This was what I liked about Steven. He didn’t allow people to hide within themselves, and he was a damn good people reader. Bailey wouldn’t be able to remain invisible with him around. I knew he had been able to see her from the moment he looked up and saw us walking toward him.
She looked up at him, seeming surprised that he was actually asking her a question instead of rambling a bunch of nonsense about himself as Brayden had done. I smirked. “Told you he’s different than Brayden, babe.”
Steven snorted, a disgusted look passing over his face. “Don’t compare me to him.”
My girl giggled, and the sound warmed my heart. Steven flashed her a smile. She relaxed. “So, are you?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Been ready,” she confessed. “High school is hell.”
Guilt swirled in my stomach because before I’d gotten her knocked up and abandoned her, she’d actually been enjoying herself. It was because of me that everyone had fucking turned against her.
Steven shrugged. “High school was the absolute worst,” he agreed. She looked up at him in surprise. “Got bullied a lot.”
“You . . . were?” she asked, sounding surprised.
Steven nodded at her. “I was a nerdy kid. Kept my head down. Scrawny as fuck. I was an easy target.” He shrugged at the end as if it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I remembered how much anger he’d held inside of him because of the kids at school. It was one of the reasons he’d left right after high school to join the military.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “What changed?” she blurted before she could stop herself. Steven and I both laughed softly as her cheeks burned in mortification. It had been so long since I’d seen her like this. I was loving it.
“Military changed me,” he explained. “Basic training gave me confidence. I pushed through the ranks, kept driving myself to do more.”
“Are you going back in?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “Got discharged.” She frowned. “Received a gunshot wound overseas,” he informed her. She sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. “It killed my career.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, sounding honest. I gently squeezed her shoulder. She was the sweetest soul I’d ever known.
He shrugged. “I’ll move past it. Just trying to figure out the next phase of my life,” he told her. He gave her a pointed look. I’d told him enough about her that he knew what she’d been going through and how much she was suffering. “Because that’s all you can do, Bailey. You pick up the pieces of you, and you keep moving forward. You put all of those pieces back together as you go, and you leave behind the ones that will harm you instead of helping you.”
She swallowed thickly. Her hand clenched tightly around the menu, bending it. “Why do I suddenly feel like we’re talking about me?” she whispered. She looked up at me, accusation in her eyes. “Did you tell him?”
I nodded, not one to lie to her. Her eyes clouded over with tears. I cupped her face in my hands, forcing her eyes to look back up at me when she looked away. “Bailey, I told him because I didn’t know what to do,” I confessed. “I don’t have anyone but you to turn to. He’s the only person that ever listens to me. The fear of losing you cripples me,” a tear ran down her cheek, breaking my heart, “and I have to have somewhere to unload that fear.”
She swiped her hand over her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
