35. Hallie

The smell of the bed sheets beneath me are fresh but unfamiliar. Archer changed them when I arrived, before making himself a bed on the floor and lending me one of his jerseys to sleep in. When Daemon led me here last night instead of home I was confused at first, but when we reached the door, he explained that Maddie was inside. My best friend knew as soon as she saw my face that something was wrong, and when I broke down in her arms she let me stay there and cry for over an hour.

All the guys in the house avoided us thankfully, until it was almost 2am and Nova and Archer came down and insisted we get some sleep. Maddie left me reluctantly, but Archer promised he would look after me, and he did. Yes he still made a joke about me being the only girl to ever sleep in his room without fucking him, but even his attempt at humor couldn’t save me. I was already at the bottom of the abyss of Josh Peters, and just like I knew at nine years old, there was no way out.

Archer’s room is almost identical to Josh’s, yet looking around it I feel nothing. I always thought the worst pain you could feel was physical, like getting hit by a car, or losing a leg, but nothing can compare to your heart being ripped out of your chest.

I’m curled up in the center of his bed, and haven’t moved since I laid down here in the early hours of this morning. Not even whatever commotion is going on outside could get me to move, nothing could. So when the bedroom door opens and in comes my best friend, I don’t even flinch.

Maddie lays down on the bed beside me and brings her face up to mine. “What’s happening outside?” I ask to distract my mind from the constant pain, before she can ask me any questions.

“My dad has been arrested, I guess whatever Josh orchestrated has finally happened, my mom is calling us non-stop.”

Lincoln must really be good at his job for how fast it has happened, and I can’t say I feel sorry for Hugo, he deserves every single thing coming to him. I just wish her words brought me some comfort, after all, the only reason I even went through with this marriage was to get to this outcome. That was the plan all along, marry Josh, save Maddie, and take his father down. So why do I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything?

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, because I’m not really sure any other words would suffice. Hugo Peters may be an asshole, but he is still her father.

“Don’t be sorry, Hals, you saved me, you and Josh. If it weren’t for you guys I’d be engaged to Bradley Thorne right now, or maybe even someone worse,” she scoffs in disgust, and knowing what she has with Nova, I can’t say I blame her.

“Is there anyone worse than Sad Brad?” I question, and she smirks.

“Jockstrap Jerkoff?” she tosses back, but the reminder of Joey only causes the pain in my heart to hurt even more.

“Is that all that happened? I thought I heard arguing?” I ask, changing the subject again, and she cringes a little.

“Oh, well, Archer punched Levi in the face,” she replies casually.

“What the hell, why?” I snap, and she smirks, knowing she has got me hook, line and sinker.

“Levi started talking shit to Josh, and then when Daemon tried to cut in to defend him, he turned his wrath on him, so naturally Archer punched him.” So many words, yet one of them feels as if she physically punched me in the gut.

“Josh is here?” I ask in a whisper, and she nods, smiling at me like I am an idiot.

“Hals, he’s been sitting on the porch for hours, says he isn’t leaving until he talks to his wife.” She exaggerates the word wife with a smile, and if my heart wasn’t hurting so much then maybe I would smile back. “The guys have been guarding the door and not letting him in, but I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

Fuck. I’m going to have to go and face him.

I lift myself up off the bed as Maddie follows, and I cringe slightly when I pass the mirror on Archer’s wall and see how shitty I look, but I might as well get this over with. Walking down the stairs feels like walking to my death, and when I reach the door, I hear the guys arguing just outside on the porch.

“Sorry man, it’s not my fault your wife wanted to sleep in my bed,” Archer purrs, like the cocky asshole I know and love him to be.

“Gray, I swear to god, if you don’t stop saying shit about her, I am going to fucking kill you, and trust me I won’t be sorry,” Josh replies darkly, and his voice scrapes along my bones like a phantom touch.

“Damn, after I just defended your honor and everything,” Archer tosses back, as I step onto the porch. Josh has his back to me, so he doesn’t see me right away. Nova and Alexander are just to the left of the door, and Archer is on the stairs closer to Daemon, but looking up at Josh.

“Really, you wanna go there, or should we talk about why you really punched him?” Josh snaps back, and I see Archer’s entire face freeze in a panic. There is a secret there, one he is probably not done chasing the truth for yet, so I decide to put him out of his misery.

“Hi,” I all but whisper, but a bomb may as well have detonated for how fast Josh reacts to my voice.

His head snaps around and his entire face softens as he takes me in. “Hals,” he breathes in pure relief, like just seeing me is the cure to everything, and when I look him over I note he looks just as bad as I do.

“Can you guys give us a minute?” I ask no one in particular, my voice a little louder this time, and the remaining guys scramble like their asses are on fire to give us some privacy. “You shouldn’t be here,” I tell him as soon as they are gone, making his face fall. “Maddie told me what happened with your dad.”

My words already have him shaking his head. “Hallie, do you really think I give a fuck about my father, he can rot in hell for all I care.”

I can’t help but smile softly at his outburst, because some things never change. “I meant you should go be there for your mom and grandma, they’re your family.” I move to stand beside him on the porch, and he looks at me like I have lost my damn mind.

“The only member of my family I care about right now is standing right here with me,” he snaps, looking so desperate and sad that it kills me to see it.

“Josh,” I start, but he cuts me off. “No, Hallie, just let me say this, please,” he pleads with a sigh, and I close my mouth and nod. “You’re right I shouldn’t have lied, and I’m sorry I did, but honestly if I didn’t, I never would have realized how much you truly mean to me. You’re my best friend, but you’re also so much more than that.” My heart starts to beat wildly in my chest at his every word, and I have to swallow thickly to keep myself from crying. “I was so fucking blind, Hals I mean, I banned anyone from dating you, I broke that prick’s arm, I lied to make sure you married me, that isn’t something a friend does.” His hand reaches up and presses hard into his chest like he is in pain as he gasps, “You’re so much more than a friend to me, Hals, you make me feel…” he trails off like he can’t quite find the right word.

“What? What do I make you feel?” I plead, both desperate to know the answer, and not sure I can survive it.

When his eyes collide with mine again, they are so intense that I feel like his stare strips me bare. “Weak, baby, you make me feel weak.” He takes a step towards me, closing the distance between us, and when he touches me, I don’t shy away from it. “I look at you and I know I don’t have to be strong all the time, like the power I have learnt to demand and crave just to get by under my father’s bullshit is irrelevant, because with you by my side, I feel invincible.”

The tears are falling freely down my cheeks now, and he cups my face with his hand and swipes them away. “You know I still remember the first time I saw you, you stormed into the middle of my game with a big smile and a whole lot of attitude. Your hair was in pigtails, and you had on that ridiculous, yellow fluffy coat that you insisted on wearing every day that winter, and you looked just like sunshine,” he smiles, and now my heart aches for a whole different reason.

“You remember that?” I ask in disbelief, and he nods, pressing his forehead down to meet mine.

“When it comes to you, I remember everything, and it took you walking away from me last night to realize why.” I can feel his breath on my lips, the warmth of him so alluring after just hours apart.

“Why?” I breathe, the one word almost a struggle to get out, as my heart feels ready to explode.

“Because you’re my everything, baby. You always have been, and I want to be yours.”

Fuck. His words are ripping me apart from the inside out, and I can’t help but shake my head in his hands. “But you told me you weren’t capable of falling in love,” I whisper, and the smile on his face is my utter downfall.

“Then I guess I need to apologize for breaking all of your rules, Tink, because I am so unbelievably in love with you,” he laughs, as if his admission didn’t just set my entire body alight. “Are you in love with me?” he asks with a smile, as if he already knows the answer, and I can’t help but smile back.

“Since I was nine years old,” I admit to him freely for the first time, and it’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest.

“Then kiss me, baby, because I can’t take another second of your lips not being on mine.” His mouth slams to mine before I can even respond, the kiss robbing me of my answer, and my breath.

He tastes of whiskey and coffee, but for the first time ever he also tastes like mine, and all I can do is kiss him back.

When he pulls back he looks at me with nothing but passion as he says, “I love you, Hallie Bear.” Five words and my heart ceases to exist completely.

“I love you too, Joshua,” I smile back, the words still feeling weird to say out loud.

Then he surprises me by dropping to one knee and pulling out my rings. “Again, I don’t have a ring pop on hand, but I’m hoping these will do.” He reaches for my left hand and holds it up in his. “Hallie Rose Peters, will you please stay married to me, no rules, no deals, no fucking lists. Just you, me, and Percy.”

I’m openly crying now, too emotional to hold back my tears as I nod. “Yes, I’ll stay married to you.” My hands shake as he slides the rings back into place on my left finger, not caring how crazy this whole thing is, and I hear hollers and cheers coming from inside the house, and when I turn towards the window I find Nova, Maddie, Archer, and Alexander all pressed up against the glass with huge smiles on their faces.

Josh laughs, giving them the finger as he rises back to his feet and kisses me again, only when he pulls back this time and flicks his eyes over me, they turn dark. “Now can you please do me a favor?” he asks, fisting his hands at my waist.

“Anything, you know that,” I tell him truthfully.

“Take off Archer Gray’s fucking jersey so I can light it the fuck on fire,” he grits, pulling on the fabric around me.

I bark a laugh at his request, forgetting entirely that the jersey I’m wearing has the number thirty-one on it, and not twenty-two. Especially when I know my next words are gonna send him even crazier. “I can’t take it off, I’m not wearing a bra underneath.”

His eyes darken even more with both anger and lust, and he doesn’t even pause before dipping down and tossing me over his shoulder. “You’re gonna pay for that, wife,” he snaps, slapping my ass and making me yelp, as he marches us across the road to his house. When he kicks open the door, Daemon and Landon snap their heads towards us, but Levi is nowhere to be seen, not that Josh seems to care. “I suggest headphones, or going on a long walk,” he snaps, as he moves towards the stairs. “Because I’m about to remind my wife exactly who she belongs to.”

When we reach his room, he doesn’t stop until we are in the bathroom, only then does he drop me back to the floor. He discards his jacket, before leaning into the shower and turning it on full. I move to take off the jersey, not wanting it on for a second longer, but Josh bats my hands away, then reaches into a drawer beneath his sink and pulls out a pair of scissors.

“Joshua!” I say in surprise, but it doesn’t deter him. In fact, his name falling from my lips only seems to spur him on, as he brings the scissors to the collar of the fabric by my neck and forces them through until it splits.

Then he sets the scissors down, takes his hands and rips it completely down the middle until my tits are bare to him, pushing it off my shoulder like it offends him. “This is your one and only warning, Tink, if I ever see you in another jersey that isn’t fucking mine, you will be sorry.”

His threat thrills me, and I can’t help but feel the need to taunt him in return. “I thought I looked pretty good in it, maybe I should take a page out of one of my books and build myself a hockey harem,” I purr, slipping out of the leggings that Maddie let me borrow until I am completely naked before him.

“It’s like you want me to march over there and break another arm in your honor,” he grits, his eyes trailing over every inch of skin I have on display. “We’ve already covered that you’re mine, but it looks like one night in another man”s bed has left you confused, but don’t worry, I know just the solution.”

I watch in awe as he takes off his shirt and unbuckles his pants, undressing until he is also completely naked and my mouth is watering. Only then does he dip down and pick me back up, this time wrapping my legs around his waist, before walking us into the shower. The heat of the spray is nothing compared to the warmth of him, and as the water washes down around us, I never want to be away from him again.

“You really love me?” I ask, still in shock from his confession, and his smirk is both sinful and filled with love.

“Hallie, I think I’ve loved you since I was eleven years old,” he admits softly, pressing me into the wall of the shower. “But now I’m going to fuck you so hard that Archer fucking Gray will hear it from across the road.”

And true to his word, we don’t get out of the shower until I feel like I can barely walk, and he has made me come around his dick three times.

Then he deposits me in bed, while he helps Daemon cook us some food and returns phone calls to his mom and grandma. Hugo was arrested on multiple charges, and none of the law officials in his pocket have come to his aid. Josh’s mom is distraught, but I think she will come around after some time away from her husband, and his grandma has already asked to speak with both Maddie and Josh about their trusts.

Which means the only thing left to do is curl up with my very real husband, and Percy, while we watch some Criminal Minds.

Fuck, it feels good to be Mrs. Joshua Peters. For real.