Page 10 of Was I Ever Here

This can’t be fucking happening. This can’t be…her. The one whose possible existence has been haunting me for the past five fucking years.

I can hear Gary’s feet drag against the carpeted floor as Bastian pushes him out the door, but I still can’t move.

I can’t fuckingmove.

“Brother, the fuck are you doing just standing there?” Connor asks.

I look back at him, back at her, then back at Connor again. He must see the shock slapped across my face because he cocks his eyebrow with a questioning look. But says nothing, jerking his head towards the door instead.

I desperately try to swallow the words back down, but the question tumbles out of me before I can stop it. “What about the girl?”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Connor’s cruel smile slithers into place. “The girl?” he drawls, a low cackle leaving his lips that would make my skin crawl if I wasn’t so used to hearing it.

“Oh, she’s going to keep her pretty little mouth shut if she knows what’s good for her,” he says mockingly.

She flinches when he steps towards the bar. Something buried deep inside me cracks as I watch the fear seep out of her pores. Connor stops and cocks his head.

“Isn’t that right,Sunny?”

Sunny? How does he know her name?

Her eyes are wide as she stares at him, her body now trembling uncontrollably. But she doesn’t answer.

“It’s Sunny, isn’t it? That's what our dear friend Gary called you when he walked in,” he says.

Oh. Right.

I can tell his patience is dwindling so I clear my throat. Sunny jerks, the sound knocking her out of her stunned daze. Her eyes lock with mine for a split second before shifting quickly back to Connor.

My heart lurches out of my chest. Thefuckis happening to me? I will myself not to step towards her while I ignore the tethered string wrapped around my ribcage pulling me to her. I ball my hands into tight fists, fighting the urge to protect her. Even if the current threat is my oldest friend. All I want is to touch her.

Just once.

Just to confirm I’m not hallucinating her standing there after all this time.

She clears her throat and finally speaks with a soft quivering voice,“Y—yes, my name is Sunny.” Her tongue darts out and quickly licks her lips, before clamping her mouth shut again.

Amused, Connor starts back towards her, with every step he takes, her breath grows more and more frantic. It’s taking everything in me not to stop him.

But who am I to her but the man who just threatened to torture and kill her boss? Anger slices through my chest. This is so fucked. If itisher then why did she have to be witness to this?

I watch in horror as Connor now looms over her. His fucking smile still sprawled across his face. It doesn’t take an expert to tell she’s absolutely terrified.

“So,” he starts, taking a strand of her hair that’s fallen out of her bun and gently tucks it behind her ear before grazing her cheek with the back of his fingers. He then grabs her face and jerks it up towards him, his fingers hollowing out her pale cheeks.

I’m aching to do something.Anything.But I try my best to ignore it and gulp down the anger, crossing my arms over my chest just so I have something to do other than pounce on Connor. He needs to get his fucking hands off her before I do something I regret.

Because this is batshit crazy, right? Sunny doesn’t even know who I am. And am I absolutely certain I even know who she is to me? Deep down I know though. I just fucking know. How can I forget those eyes when I’ve been searching for them for the past five years? How can I forget when I’ve stared back at those same eyes for lifetimes now?

This is insane.I’mfuckinginsane.

I try to snap out of it as I hear Connor prattle on.

“Like I said before,Sunny, you’re going to keep your sweet little mouth shut, and not tell a fucking soul about what you saw here.” He squeezes her cheeks harder as if to drive in his point. She lets out a small whimper, her eyes glued to his in terror.

“Do I make myself clear?” Her head strains to nod. “Good girl,” he says, leaning in and giving her a quick teasing kiss on her forehead. “Because if you do say something, it will take me half a fucking second to learn who you are and where you live. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

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