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The corners of his mouth curled up into a smirk as he pulled me into him, his mouth covering mine, not in the same erratic desperate kiss as before but in a have-sweet-dreams-about-me-and-all-the-naughty-things-I-could-do-to-you kind of kiss.
"Text me when you get to Chloe's," he said. I nodded and loaded into Chloe's truck.
Chloe revved the engine, and the boys watched us drive away.
"You crashing with me?" Chloe asked once we were out of the parking lot and on the road.
"I can't. I'm out of clothes. I need to go home."
Chloe hated taking me home as much as I hated going there. She'd never said anything, but I knew she did. There had been many nights she'd helped me clean the blood off my face or body. She also knew foster care would have been my only other option. Unfortunately, with foster care, it was the luck of the draw. You could end up with a decent family who treated you like one of their own, but more often than not, and in my case, you could end up with a family who treated you worse than your own. I'd rather take my chances with Noah. At least I knew what I was getting with him.
None of that mattered now, though, I was eighteen, and foster care wouldn't help me. I was on my own.
She dropped me off and watched me reach my door before pulling out. Too bad the boogie man was inside my house.
I could smell the inside before I opened the door.
"Well, well, look what the cat drug in." Noah sneered when I stepped into the dark, empty house. Noah sat alone in the darkness of the trailer at the kitchen table with a beer in one hand and a lit joint in the other. "I wondered when the little whore would show back up." He tapped his boot on the floor, not bothering to take his cruel eyes off me. "Sit down." He reeked of alcohol.
"I'm tired, Noah," I mumbled.
"I said," he barked as he rose from his seat, slamming his fist into the table. I yelped, flinching. "Sit. The fuck. Down."
Swallowing my fear, I pulled out a chair, reluctantly sliding in.
"So, you've been hanging out with those Valley Boys?" I started to deny it, but he cut me off. "The neighbors saw them bring you home in that new Escalade the other night. Said you looked to be passed out."
"Wait, what?" I asked. Christian had brought me home. I squeezed my eyes closed. My stomach churned at the thought of him bringing me here.
"You brought those fucking Valley Boys into my home, you fucking bitch?" My eyes flashed open.
"No, Noah! I didn't know, I swear."
"You're going to go back to your little boyfriend's house, and you're going to steal that Escalade he had the nerve to pull into my fucking driveway."
"Noah, please," I begged. I didn't want to steal from Christian or anyone.
He reached around the table, jerking my hand before I could move it. Slamming it on the table, I cried out as pain surged through my arm. He pulled out his pocket knife and pressed the blade against my wrist. My breathing hitched as fear wrapped tightly around my lungs, squeezing every ounce of air out of them.
"You can steal it, or I'll cut your fucking hand off." His smile curled into an evil grin. "You'd be a worthless whore without your hand." I had no doubt Noah would saw my hand off right there at the kitchen table with a smile on his face.
"Okay," I cried out. "Okay." I didn't want to do this, but I also didn't want him to cut off my hand.
"Tonight," he hissed, throwing my hand away from him as he stood from the table. "I want it before morning." He jerked his beer off the table, taking a swig of it before slamming it so hard on the table the glass bottle shattered. "Get the fuck out."
Holding my breath, I stumbled out of the chair and bolted toward the front door. I blew out a heavy breath. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to steal from anyone, especially Christian and his family. I couldn't explain my feelings for Christian. I was confused. Did I like him, or did I hate him? Regardless, I didn't want to do this, but I also didn't know what other option I had.
Chapter 17
Christian
"Christian," Aiden said, shaking me firmly, rousing me from sleep. "Christian!"
"What?" I groaned, rolling over to look at the clock. It was two in the morning. "Aiden, what the fuck?" I shoved him away, falling back onto my bed.
"Christian," he said again. "It's Harper."
"Harper?" I repeated, sitting up. "Is she ok?" I was already climbing out of bed.
