8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Skyla

R ough fingers pinch my skin, that wet, slimy tongue running across my body.

No. No. NO!

“NOOOO!” I wake up screaming, a pair of hands shaking me gently.

“Skyla, wake up! Little one, come on. Wake up!” Wesley says hurriedly.

My eyes blink open to see the room dark and Wesley’s panic-stricken face before me. It takes me a moment for my heart to stop racing and my breathing to normalize before I shake my head.

“Bad dream,” I mutter.

Wesley opens his mouth to speak when the door is thrown open, Vincent, Asher, and Ronan spilling into the room, followed by Liam’s cursing from down the hall.

“Stupid goddamn stairs! Can’t wait to fucking get this walking boot off.”

“What’s wrong?” Ronan asks.

“What did he do?” Asher accuses.

“I’ll fucking kill you,” Vincent snaps at Wesley.

Wesley throws his hands up, taking a step away from me.

“She was having a nightmare. I heard her screaming and found her thrashing in bed.

Narrowed eyes watch him as Liam comes through the door, frustrated and out of breath.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Bad dream. I’m sorry I scared you guys.”

“It’s fine, baby. Do you need anything?”

I shake my head, and he nods.

“We will leave you be,” he says as he pushes the others out.

Wesley begins to head out with them when I call out to him.

“Wait. Wesley, can we talk?”

Venomous looks are shot at him from all directions, but he doesn’t even acknowledge them, nodding his head as he takes a step toward me.

Ronan watches us for several seconds before speaking.

“Alright, we will be just outside the door.”

“Right outside the door,” Asher tacks on, narrowing his eyes at Wesley.

I nod at them before turning my focus to Wesley as the door shuts. For a moment, we sit in silence, just staring at each other until he speaks.

“I’m so sorry, little one. I…I can’t believe I fucked up this bad. I just…can’t believe it,” he says with a shake of his head.

I reach my hand out to cover his as I attempt to meet his eyes.

“Hey, I mean it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but Corwin’s. You did everything you could to protect me.”

Wesley shakes his head. “That’s not true, and we both know it. I just…I don’t get how I missed it. I didn’t hear a thing upstairs. He didn’t wake you at all, and I can’t figure out how.”

I look down at our joined hands as I speak.

“I know how.”

Pausing for a moment, my eyes slowly lift to his.

“He did something to the apple cider packets. He knew I was bound to have one soon, and then when I was out—”

“He grabbed you,” he finishes with a head shake and a hollow laugh. “Still going to try to convince me that this isn’t my fault? I’m the one who made you the goddamn cider!”

Wesley begins pacing the room, his fingers digging into that blond hair as he shakes his head.

“You have to know I’d never let anyone hurt you. Not if I could help it. I…I don’t know. My guard was down. I was so fucking over the moon that you had given me a chance, me! I mean…men like me don’t get women like you.”

“What does that mean?”

His eyes swing to me. “It means I’m not a good man, not by a long shot. I’ve killed people, I break the law more times than I follow it, and I have a past that is not all sunshine and rainbows.”

I nod. “How does that make you different from any of my other boyfriends?”

He doesn’t say anything as I continue.

“You are not a bad man, Wesley, not by a long shot. I don’t care what has happened in your past or what you’ve done. You’re good, more than, and you aren’t the lucky one in this relationship, I am.”

He licks his lips, staying silent for several seconds before he looks at me.

“We’re in a relationship?”

“Oh, well. Uh, I guess I shouldn’t have assumed. Just because we messed around doesn’t mean you want to actually be with me, I guess. And the whole me already having four boyfriends probably makes this—”

Wesley’s finger comes to my lips, silencing me immediately as he speaks softly.

“I already told you. I want you, little one. I just didn’t know if you wanted me too after…everything.”

At this point, it feels futile to argue any further. He’s going to take the blame that isn’t his to take, and I suppose that is something he will have to deal with on his own.

“I want you, Wesley. You…fit, you know? Right here,” I say, resting a hand over my chest.

Corny as that might be, it’s true. He feels like a missing piece to a puzzle. Like a piece I didn’t realize was missing until it was shown to me in the right light, and now I’m wondering what I’ve done without it all this time.

His hand moves to cover my own, curling his fingers around mine as he looks at me seriously.

“I’ll be right here, as long as you want me, little one.”

I smile softly as I lean into him, lifting my head as he places his lips on mine. Just like before, it’s like fireworks and coming home all at the same time. His other hand lifts to cradle my face so gently, as if I were a porcelain doll about to shatter apart in his hands.

When we pull away, he gives me one of his breathtaking smiles and looks ready to say something when a loud voice shakes the house.

“No! Get the FUCK away from me! Where is Skyla? What happened!?” a familiar voice screams.

I frown at that, and Wesley tenses.

“Steph?” I question as I throw the blankets off me and attempt to stand up.

“You need to rest,” Wesley says as he attempts to keep me in bed.

I shake my head and attempt to stand when Wesley scoops me into his arms and walks towards the door. When he opens it, Liam is there, watching us with a small smile. He doesn’t say anything before he gestures for Wesley to walk first.

As he moves down the stairs, the foyer comes into sight and a furious looking Steph is standing by the door, talking to Ronan, Vincent, and Asher. Her eyes snap to me before the rest of the guys follow suit.

I watch as her gaze hones in on where Wesley is holding me before her mouth drops open.

“Sky, another one?!”

I look up at Wesley, who is wearing an impassive mask, before looking back to her.

“What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing?” Steph guffaws. “I get a concerning voicemail from my niece about my dead sister, and then she doesn’t answer my calls for over fourteen hours. What do you think I’m doing here?”

Fuck. The voicemail. I forgot about that. Was that really only fourteen hours ago? How is that possible when so much has happened since I made that call?

“Where is my phone?” I ask the guys, who all just shake their heads and shrug their shoulders.

“Probably in the woods somewhere. No way he would have brought it to Vermont,” Vincent says.

“Vermont? What’s in Vermont? Who is he?” Steph intervenes.

I swallow roughly, exchanging a look with all the guys. We have to talk about everything, and as much as I would have liked to hold off on this conversation, it looks like I don’t have a say in the matter.

“We need to talk,” I say to the room.

We all moved to the living room and are scattered between the couch, Liam’s bed, and the floor of the living room. I’m sitting up as much as I can handle on Liam’s bed with Asher and Liam on either side of me.

“Why are you wincing? What’s wrong?” Steph asks.

“I have a few cracked ribs,” I say.

Her brows pinch before an outraged look flies to the guys. I sigh and roll my eyes at her.

“Seriously? Of course, it wasn’t one of them.”

“Well, what am I supposed to think?” she asks, tossing her hands out by her side.

Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I decide to just dive right in.

“I’ve had a stalker.”

“A stalker?” Steph echoes. “Since when?”

“Since…the first day of school.”

Her mouth drops open, and I quickly continue.

“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you! At first, I thought it was just Asher being an ass,” I say as I glance to see him shrug. “Then I thought maybe Vincent. He was always lurking around every corner.”

Vincent nods in agreement but stays silent as my eyes come back to my aunt.

“Then things became clear that it was someone else, someone obsessed with mom.”

Steph frowns at that. “Why do you say that?”

“Because he was leaving her letters addressed to Giselle,” Ronan supplies.

“What did they say?” she asks.

“They started out nice, loving. And then they turned…violent, enraged. He knew about the guys, and he was talking about how he’d take care of them. How disgusted he was to see me with them,” I explain.

“I’m guessing it reminded him of when he saw Giselle with my father and Henry,” Asher says.

Steph goes as still as a statue at that. She swallows roughly before turning to face me fully.

“What do you know about that?”

“I think the question we should be asking is what do you know about that?”

She hesitates for a moment before she speaks.

“Finish the story, then I’ll share what I know.”

Uneasy looks are cast around the room before I blow out a breath.

“I was kidnapped.”

“WHAT!” she shrieks.

“Last night,” I continue. “He drugged me and drove me to a warehouse in Vermont that he had renovated to look like a house. He wanted us to live there, to start over.”

“Who?” Steph asks.

“Nicholas Corwin,” Wesley says from the corner of the room.

Steph’s nose wrinkles at that.

“That little dweeb? Are you sure it was really him? He was always afraid of his own shadow. I can’t picture him being an aggressive stalker.”

“Trust me, it was him. He told me how him and mom used to date before she got engaged to my—”

“Yeah, fucking right,” Steph mocks. “He wishes. He used to follow your mom around like a sad puppy. He’d always leave her love notes, roses. It drove her crazy.”

We all share curious looks with one another as Steph continues.

“Did he hurt you?”

“He was trying to touch me, and I fought back. Obviously, he didn’t like that. He kicked me in the stomach and ribs and slapped me. If the guys would have gotten there five minutes later, I wouldn’t be able to say that’s all he did,” I say as my eyes come to Vincent, remembering the wave of relief and safety that washed over me when he stormed into the room.

“Where is the son of a bitch now?” Steph asks, facing the guys.

“Burnt to a crisp in that creepy as fuck warehouse,” Liam says, a cold tone to his voice.

Her jaw tightens as she nods her head. “Good.”

I nod, something else that I haven’t brought up chewing away at me.

“He said something else. He said that my dad was the one who killed my mom. Or Asher’s dad. He said that’s what everyone says happened…but mom’s death was an accident, right?” I ask.

Steph goes pale and her body freezes as she looks at me. I blink at her before bowing my head slightly.

“Right?” My eyes move to the guys, noticing how all of them refuse to meet my eyes. “Did you all know?”

“Babygirl, it’s just a rumor. There was never any proof. Just shit that dumb people made up.” Liam shrugs.

“Steph?” I ask. She doesn’t say anything, just continues staring at me.

I smack my hand down on the bed.

“Answer me!” I shout.

She startles before shaking her head.

“I think so. Like he said, there was never any proof, but I know without a doubt if anyone killed my sister, it was Henry.”

Hurt stabs inside me as I shake my head.

“How? How could you not tell me? How could you let me come here, not knowing a thing?”

“I didn’t have a choice, Sky! If he is a psycho murderer or not, if he wants his daughter with him, then you have to be by his side. Don’t you understand by now? What the elders want, they get! This is literally life or death. I’ve only put your well-being first. I just…I’ve tried so hard to keep you as safe as I could. My…my baby,” she cries, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

I feel a few tears of my own escape as I attempt to sniff them away and reach a hand out for her. She stands up, closing the distance between us as she leans over Liam to hold me. Her arms wrap me up like a hug as she cries into my neck.

“I’m so sorry, Sky. So sorry. I should have told you. I should have warned you. This place…it’s why I never came back. It’s hell on earth, and women…they don’t last long. I can’t believe you were gone…and I didn’t even know. We almost lost you,” she says as she pulls away, her eyes wet as she looks at me.

“Will you stay? For a little? I…I need you,” I say brokenly.

I see the hesitancy on her face, but it only lasts a minute or two before she nods.

“Of course I will.”