AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A chill drips into my stomach when I see Abraham standing under the street light across the road. He’s staring right at me, his pointy features sharper and more haunting than ever as his lips raise into a wicked smile.
I’m frozen to the spot, and when I feel my legs start to give in and the room around me begins to spin, thankfully, the weight of my body gets caught. Skid’s strong arms hold me, his scent surrounds me, and I cling to him while I tremble.
“Addy… what is it?” He searches my face, looking worried.
“Abraham.” I force his name past my lips and look back outside, there's no sign of him there now. He’s vanished.
Skid holds me tight to him as he follows my eyes and looks outside.
“Ads, there's no one there,” he tells me, but I know what I saw. I shake my head and stare out at the empty space where he was standing.
“Ads, listen to me.” Skid grabs my face and forces me to look at him.
“I got you. He can’t hurt you.” I nod my head back, feeling numb inside.
The thumping in my head has drowned the upbeat music out now. I sure as hell don’t feel that carefree hum through my body the way I did a few seconds ago.
“He was right there,” I whisper, still staring at the beam coming from the street light.
“Come on, let’s get ya home.” Skid takes me under his arm, holding his hand up to the barkeeper before he guides me out the door toward his bike.
The chill in the air feels much nippier knowing that Abraham is somewhere out here, and I cling to Skid’s waist and rest my cheek on his back as he rides us back toward the compound. My tears drip onto his leather cut when the reality that I’ll never be free of Abraham settles.
The rage inside me feels ready to unleash as I pour Addison and myself something strong. I take both glasses over to the couch so I can join her, and she looks so different to how she did when we left here earlier. She’s not smiling, there’s mascara streaked under her eyes from where she’s been crying, and as I pass her the glass, her hand trembles as she takes it.
“I texted Nyx, Charlie’s fine. He’s asleep in Dylan’s room. Nyx says he can stay there if you're happy about that.”
“I want him here with me.” She looks up at me with scared, skittish eyes that makes me want to find the man who did this and tear his guts through his asshole.
“Whatever you want.” I sit down beside her and take her hand to stop it from shaking.
“He’s always gonna be there, isn’t he? Lurking around every corner waiting for his moment to strike.”
“He won’t ever get the chance,” I promise her, but she doesn’t seem to take in what I’m saying. She’s too distracted by her fear and has cut off from me now. I fuckin’ hate it.
“You can’t let him get in your head, Addy. Tripp leaves tomorrow morning, he’s gonna find us a way into that village. Storm and Hayden are out doing a sweep of the streets and checking out some of the local hotels. If he’s still around, we’ll find him.”
“White wine and soda, was that what Carly used to drink?” Addison’s eyes are dead when she raises them up to me.
“What?” I stare back at her, confused.
“Your wife, was that her drink?” she repeats.
“What? No. Addison, what are you talkin’ about?”
“I’m talking about this… what we’re trying to do here.” She looks at the space around us.
“We have way too much in our past for this to work. I’m never gonna be her.”
“I don’t want you to be her, where the hell is all this comin’ from?” I try to tamp down my frustration. Now ain’t the time for me to be mad at her, despite that what she’s sayin’ is hurting.
“But you did when we first met. You wanted me to be her then, you put me in the house that was supposed to be hers, you treated me the way you would have treated her while she was pregnant. And then when you realized I wasn’t her, you left us.” Her words cut like a knife, a blunt rusty one that drags through my flesh.
“I don’t know where all this is comin’ from, but—”
“But what, Skid? Tell me I’m wrong. I’ll never be her, and as much as I want to believe that you can protect me from them, we both have to be realistic.” Addison stands up and starts making her way to the bedroom, but I ain’t done. I grab her waist and spin her back around, forcing her up against the wall between our bedroom door.
“I don’t want you to be her. Because I’m in love withyou.”
