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I pause when I get there and look back at the empty couch, trying to imagine how we looked together just now.
What would have happened if JD found us?
My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I conjure more than a few fantasies from that little scenario.
“Alana,” Reid snaps, dragging me out of my dirty thoughts.
With one more look at one of the men in question, I spin on my heels and walk toward the stairs.
At the top, I find JD exactly where he was when I left my room in search of different walls to stare at and some coffee.
Dropping to my haunches, I study his face.
Even in slumber, his brow is furrowed and his lips are pressed into a thin line. It’s a far cry from the relaxed man I watched sleep in my cell not so long ago.
It’s my fault. I know it is.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on him over a stupid bet when he’s so clearly struggling with something. Really, it’s at the very bottom of the list of awful things they’ve done to me during my stay, but for some reason, it cuts the deepest.
I can deal with the physical pain. I learned to compartmentalize that years ago. It’s the emotional game-playing that always trips me up.
You’d think my skin would be thick enough to deal with it by now. I thought it was. But it seems that JD and Reid somehow managed to slip under that armor and take a swipe at the vulnerable girl who still hides beneath.
Flopping onto Reid’s giant bed, I reach for the TV remote with an accomplished smile on my face.
I got to him downstairs. And now I’m rolling around in his bed.
I bet he’s downstairs wishing he followed me.
Just before I hit the power button, heavy footsteps pound up the stairs before a door slams somewhere down the hallway.
A laugh tumbles from my lips as I think about him losing his shit in the guest room.
I’m still giggling to myself when I finally turn the TV on.
The second it comes to life, I swear my entire world grinds to a halt at what I find.
7
JD
Something wakes me, and it takes a couple of seconds to recognize where I am. My back aches, and my hip is burning in pain despite the thickness of the carpet beneath me from my awkward angle. My head swims thanks to the whiskey I drank before curling up here like a pathetic cunt and passing out.
I’d hoped she might take pity on me when—if—she discovered me and let me back into bed with her. But it seems that hasn’t happened because I’m still here.
Another scream comes from inside Reid’s room and before I know what I’m doing, I’m on my feet and launching myself toward the door.
I assume she’s having a nightmare. They seem to be a nightly thing. But when I fly through the door, I don’t find her thrashing about in bed, being haunted by night terrors; instead, she’s running full speed toward me.
“Whoa.” I grunt, catching her upper arms before we collide.
“You fucking asshole,” she screams so loudly it makes me wince.
Clenching her fists, she slams them against my upper arms and chest as tears fall from her lashes, splashing onto her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” I ask in a rush. “What’s happened?”
“I fucking hate you. Both of you,” she wails, her tears falling faster as I finally manage to grab her flailing hands and spin her around, pinning them to her sides as I wrap my arms around her trembling body.
