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We break apart, and he helps me finish cleaning the kitchen before getting me another glass of wine and him a beer. When he walks out, I grab my phone and send a quick text to Cruz.
Me: Didn’t kill him with my cooking and now a movie… maybe you should stay with Alex ? J/K come home anytime.
Five seconds later, a text comes back.
Cruz: Don’t you dare watch Nicholas without me! See you tomorrow.
Grabbing one of the chocolate flowers from the arrangement Robbie brought in earlier, I walk onto the living room to watch a movie.
Chapter 7
Scum of the Earth
Robbie
It’s comical when she joins me on the sofa and sits a few feet away. I immediately hug her and pull her close, lying us partly down as we scan through the new release choices. She finally relaxes and I feel her heart racing in her chest.
The only problem is the sweater she’s wearing is scruffy against my jaw. “Ember, babe, you think you can change tops?”
“Why? What wrong with this?” She leans up and looks down at herself.
Without saying anything, I bring the thick collar to her cheek and rub it against her porcelain skin. She frowns instantly. “Ugh, this is not very soft, huh?”
I shake my head, and she surprises me by sitting up completely and tearing it over her head, throwing it to the end of the couch. Underneath, she’s wearing a deep red camisole that hugs every inch of her. It’s form fitting from her tits to her waist. She lies back down, and I know she feels the hardness under my jeans poking into her hip. Her chuckle sends me back to ninth grade and trying to go past first base with…. What was the girl’s name? All I can think about is Ember Walker.
When we finally settle on a movie, our bodies are molded together. We’ve spread out completely. She’s partly on top of me and my hand is running gently down her back. I begin to believe she’s fallen asleep, then a drop of moisture leaks through my shirt. Without her asking, I hit pause and wait.
“I don’t talk about myself very much because my past life caused a lot of pain. Only my close family knows the whole story.”
“We don’t have to—”
“No, I want to share. You make me feel safe, Robbie. I’m not sure why, but every time you pull me close or hold me, a sense of peace settles over me.”
Hearing her words sends a thrill down my spine. I want her to feel protected in my arms. In this short period of time, the thought of her hurting or scared makes me crazy.
“You can talk to me, Ember.”
“My dad’s in prison. When I was sixteen, my sister, Natalie, confronted me at school and we had a fight. She ended up pun
ching me in the face, putting a deep cut in my temple. I tried for an hour to stop the bleeding, but a teacher finally took me to the office. I lied and said I tripped and fell, but they didn’t believe me and threatened to call my mom. I panicked. My mom hates me, so we called my dad instead.”
Her sister punched her? Her mother hates her? Anger builds in my head.
“When he showed up, he was furious. One look and he knew I was lying. We went to the emergency room to get stitches and then back home. The whole way to our house, he promised me that we were leaving. He knew my mom and sister had finally crossed a line. He promised me they’d never hurt me again.
“There were cars in the driveway, and he was furious. Once we walked in, things got ugly. My mom was on the sofa with another man, having sex, completely naked, and drunk out of her mind. Liquor bottles were lined up on the coffee table and so were lines of cocaine. Dad yanked the guy off and threw him on the floor, screaming the whole time. The guy didn’t even put up a fight, but was out cold after Dad’s second punch. We all heard a crash from upstairs, followed by laughing. Dad flew up the stairs with me on his tail.
“Natalie was naked, having sex on my bed. When I saw, my scream turned every eye in the room. Dad went into a fit of rage, tearing the guy off her and beating him until he fell onto the ground. He was one week away from turning eighteen, and my dad really messed him up. For a while, he was unconscious in the hospital- traumatic head injury. Charges were pressed. With two men bloody and unconscious, one of them being underage, Dad was charged with several things. One was assault on a minor. My mom didn’t help things, either. It took a while for the whole process, but he took a deal and went to prison.”
My mind spins with a way to tamper down my anger. A sense of possessiveness I’ve never felt bleeds to the surface. I tighten my arms around her before speaking. “Ember, what happened to you?”
“Besides living in a house with two women that hated me and tortured me every day in their own sick ways? Nothing. My mom and sister continued to drink, do drugs, and have sex with random guys. Every once in a while, my mom would threaten to throw me out so I’d have to go to foster care. I spent as much time away from my house as possible. A few days after I turned eighteen, I moved here. I lived in an area of abyss until Aunt Chloe and Cruz saved me.”
“Babe, what the fuck?” My anger turns to rage.
“No, don’t say anything. I just wanted you to know I have a dad, a really awesome one. You deserve to know what you’re getting into. My life is far from picture perfect. There are a lot of terrible things.”
I stare at her with absolute awe. Questions fly through my mind, but mostly I think back to Cruz’s statement about her being a shining light in darkness. She looks at me with sadness, which tears at my heart.
