A High so Sweet (Thornes & Roses 2)

“I need you to say it,” he whispers. “You have to recognize what you’ve been through.” I don’t know why he’s doing this; it doesn’t matter if I say it or not; the truth is, I lost so much, and he has no reason to help me.

“I-I m-miscarried.” More tears fall, burning tracks down my cheeks as I recall the agony. The blood. The pain that I can never hide from. As much as he wanted to make me forget by getting me high every day, keeping me in a fog of whatever he would give me, I remember. Every minute of that drive to the hospital, when two of Paulo’s friends, who are doctors, took me into a private room. Where they administered medication, put me on pain killers that made me lose consciousness. I spent weeks with my head in the clouds.

“Kalyn.” Cassian’s voice breaks through the memories assaulting me, and I glance up to find his teal eyes shimmering as he regards me. “Nobody should go through that alone.” His voice, tender and warm, wraps itself around me, and for a long moment, I bask in his affection.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I whisper, “H-h-he didn’t care. He watched me b-b-bleed,” I choke out the words as pain lances my chest at the memory. “At first I wasn’t sure what was going on, my mind was fuzzy, but…”

“My sweet girl,” Cass coos as he watches me, waiting for the moment I’ve expelled every hurtful recollection. With what Paulo did to me, I could be here all day confessing.

“It was only days later that I remembered what happened, how I had come to lose…” I blink and tears tumble freely. “He and two of his friends, the doctors who treated me after, they…”

Silence hangs heavily as I try to find the words. I want to tell them, tell Cassian, but as my salty emotion burns tracks down my cheeks, I suddenly feel weak.

“Kalyn, you don’t have to—”

Cassian’s voice is tight with feral rage, so I interrupt and murmur the last part of my pain, “They gave me drugs that would bring about the loss. From what I remember, Paulo talking to them about not wanting children and… one of the doctors said he knew how to remove it with a mix of pills.”

A whispered fucking hell comes from Finn who’s voice is tinged with wrath. Cassian cups my cheek, but the anger causes his hands to tremble against me. His eyes burning with vengeance and heartbreak as his thumb swipes over the tears that collect on the pad. He mimics the motion on the other cheek and locks his gaze on mine.

But before he can say anything more, I whisper, “I felt nothing. I was numb for so long.” The plea in my tone is unmistakable. I want help. I want Cassian. But I’ll never be whole. At least, that’s one thing I’m certain of as he takes my hand and brings it to his lips.

“I’m going to make him pay, over and over again.” The promise is filled with conviction, and I don’t doubt him and then he pulls my face to his, our lips fusing with regret and pain.

The softness of his kiss cracks my heart further, and I wonder how he can still be sitting here after knowing everything about me. My life has been a series of mistakes that I can’t come back from.

“Come with me,” Cassian says before taking my hand as he rises from the chair. He pulls me up, and I have no choice but to follow. “I’ll see you in the morning; we’ll talk about the plan.” He glances over his shoulder at Finn, who’s watching us intently, and my cheeks heat at the way his lips curve into a grin.

“Oh, I’ll be waiting, brother,” Finn says. “Goodnight, Kalyn.” He offers a mock salute as we walk out of the kitchen and make our way through the house.

It’s enormous. And with every step on the expensive tiles, I wonder when my phone is going to ring. Paulo thinks I’m with Genevieve, but it won’t be long before he’s looking for me because I haven’t returned.

I need to tell Cassian, but he seems to be on a mission to get wherever we’re going. Down the long hallway on the ground floor, he leads me all the way to the back of the house until we get to the end, where two doors are waiting for us. Both are shut.

Cassian takes a key from his pocket and unlocks one before pushing it open and allowing me to step through first. Inside, I find a double bed that is covered in soft green bedding. The windows are shut, but there’s an icy chill in the air. The curtains are white, with small green flowers on them, offering a brightness to the room even though the overhead light is fairly dim.