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What was going on between Creed and me, something my dad couldn’t possibly know about, wasn’t whoring myself out. It was… it was more than that. It wasn’t just a hot morning of sex or a series of passionate kisses. It was so much more.
Creed was in my soul. He’d taken hold of me the moment I’d seen him in that bar. He’d taken root so deeply inside of me, I’d never be free of him again—and I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want to go another day without him, didn’t want to turn my back to him and spend the next ten years daydreaming about him again.
No. It was so much more than my dad could ever know.
But he wouldn’t know. My dad could never know that Creed and I were together like that. He was a spiteful, vindictive man—coming to the college, cornering me after one of my classes proved it. Who knew the lengths he’d go in order to make my life, and Creed’s by extension, miserable?
He was my dad. My only family, really. The only one I had left, other than Creed. A part of me did feel some obligation toward him—that’s what had kept me in his house. That was what had stopped me from moving on, even when his anger became too much.
But… but so what? So what if he was my only family? Blood wasn’t everything.
Blood wasn’t everything.That’s something I never really understood, not until now. Just because you shared blood with someone didn’t make everything they did to you okay. It didn’t excuse their mistakes or their sins. You didn’t have to sit there and take it, to shut up and accept whatever abuse they threw your way. You could walk away.
Not everyone had the chance to walk away, though. Sometimes things escalated quickly, like that night with my dad. One minute he was mad at me, and the next, his hands were around my neck, and he was choking the life out of me. I felt sorry for anyone who didn’t have the opportunity to walk away.
I made it back before the doctor arrived. Creed was sitting near the island, drinking something as he looked at his phone, but when I walked in, he set it down, turning his dark-haired head to look at me.
One look. One look was all it took for him to know something was wrong.
He got to his feet, gliding over to me as his dark eyebrows furrowed. “What happened?”
I didn’t say anything right away; I walked past him, heading to my room, where I dropped my bag and let out a sigh. Leaning my back against the wall, I turned my head up to the ceiling as I listened to Creed follow me.
“Taylor,” he spoke my name with urgency, “what happened?”
My eyes closed, and I was slow in lowering my head. When I opened my eyes, I stared right at Creed; he’d moved to stand before me, a stern expression on his face. And yet, as intense as he looked right now, I knew he’d never hurt me.
Might be a dick every once in a while, but he’d never hurt me, never lay a hand on me like my dad had.
I didn’t want to tell him, but he wouldn’t let it go, so it was pointless to try to hide it. “My dad found me after class. He was waiting for me, right outside the building.”
Hell, I didn’t even know how he’d found me. Had he called someone and gotten my schedule? I didn’t think he was the kind of guy who was smart enough to know how to track a phone, but maybe I didn’t give him enough credit.
Creed’s expression darkened when I mentioned my dad. “Are you all right? Did he try to hurt you again? I’ll—”
“I’m fine,” I quickly said. Creed didn’t have to finish that sentence; I knew what he was going to say, because he’d threatened to kill any random boy I brought back here. The thing was… if he said he’d kill my dad, he’d mean it, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that information.
“What did he want?” Creed asked, folding his arms over his chest, prickly. It was as if he hated that he wasn’t there with me, to defend me. A showdown between him and my dad would be something to see, but one would definitely wind up in the hospital—or a body bag—and it wouldn’t be Creed.
“He wanted me to come home with him,” I said. “Pretty much demanded it.” As I spoke, Creed’s expression darkened even more, but I finished by saying, “I told him off.”
He nodded once. “Good.”
“I… might’ve told him I was living with you.” I lifted a hand and rubbed the back of my neck, letting my gaze shift to the floor. “He wasn’t very thrilled about that.” A bitter smile managed to grace my face. “I don’t think I’ve ever told him off like that. It felt good to tell him I wasn’t going home with him.”
Creed inched closer to me, his voice a mere whisper, “If he tries to come for you again, call me. No matter what I’m doing, I’ll drop everything and come. That asshole will never get his hands on you again, I promise you, Taylor.”
If anyone else would’ve made that promise, I would’ve laughed. But it was Creed, and if there was one thing Creed was, it was serious. Totally, utterly serious. I believed him, and having someone who’d do anything they could to defend me, to protect me, filled me with a sense of peace nothing else ever had in my life.
“Thank you,” I whispered, wanting to push off the wall and bury my face against his chest, but I stayed back—mainly because of how Creed had kept distance between us all weekend. Didn’t want him losing control right now, not when the doctor visit was so near.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’ll always do everything I can for you. I have ten years to make up for.”
I couldn’t help but grin at that. “You don’t have to make up for the last ten years.”
“Oh, but I do. I left you, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.” He looked as though he wanted to reach out and touch me, draw a hand along the side of my face and hold me against him, but in the end, he simply sighed and pulled himself away from me.
I watched him go, a tightness rising in my belly. A want, a strong, unyielding desire that refused to be forgotten or pushed away. These feelings I had for Creed were only growing, and I couldn’t lie; I was scared about what would come next.
