Foster home after foster home.
Gabe.
Pete.
“Are you okay?” he finally asked, his voice softer than I’d ever heard before.
I almost wished he was mean to me. I wished he had his cold, brooding expression on his face. It would have made things so much easier if I could have been mad, if I could have covered up my fear and pain with anger.
My voice cracked, and my lips felt dry as the word rushed out. “No.”
Christian shut his somber, gray eyes tightly. His mouth set in a firm line. He blew out a heavy breath as one single tear rolled down my cheek.
My hand shot out to brush it away before he saw me crying, but he stopped me at the last second. His warm palm enclosed my wrist, and he shook his head lightly. Instead, he took his other hand and swiped the tear away with his thumb. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I was too afraid that I would completely lose the hold I had over my emotions. If I moved or spoke even a syllable, I would break in half.
Christian opened his mouth to say something, but our attention was pulled away to Ollie and Piper flying into the bedroom.
Ollie was carrying several bags, and Piper was, too. I almost laughed at the sight of them. When did this happen? When did I become this person who had people who cared about her? For the last several years, I’d been on my own. If I got a scrape, I was the one who put a Band-Aid on it. If my heart got broken by a stupid boy, I was the one who picked up the pieces. If my mom spent all of our grocery money on drugs, I was the one going through the trailer dumpsters for leftovers. I depended on me and only me.
But now, looking at Piper’s worried face and Ollie buried by bags of medical supplies, paired with Christian’s tender hand, I somehow morphed into a girl who wasn’t as alone as she thought she was.
Piper rushed to my side as Christian’s hand left my wrist. I slowly pulled myself up, trying to hide my wince. “How are you? Are you okay? If you ever scare me like that again, I’ll kill you! Who did this?” I huffed out a small laugh. Ollie was unboxing things, Band-Aids falling at his feet and landing on the soft carpet. Christian got up and went to get another towel. Water was running in the background.
Piper brushed some of my hair out of my face, her emerald eyes getting serious. “Was it Gabe?”
“Who the hell is Gabe?”
I didn’t get to answer Christian before Ollie blurted out to him, “Let’s go. Get your keys. It’s time someone teaches that piece of shit a lesson.”
“Where is he?” The soft voice Christian had earlier was long gone.
I began to shake my head as Piper snatched the towel from Christian and began wiping my face and then my stomach.
Christian interjected. “Don’t fucking shake your head at me, Hayley. Do you see yourself right now?” He was pacing back and forth. His broad shoul
ders were drawn upright. He stopped right in front of the bed, peering down at me. “I know you like to keep your secrets, Hayley. You like the taste of lies on your lips, but this has gone too fucking far. I get it. I was a fucking dick to you. I told you I hated you, but so help me God, if you don’t tell me who did this, I’ll beat the face of every single Gabe in the world until I know he has paid for this.”
Piper’s hand clenched mine. “You should tell him.”
“I’m not so sure it was him,” I whispered. Gulping, I thought back to the exchange. It might have been someone Gabe asked to rough me up, but that didn’t make sense. The guys said they were going to take me; they were waiting for confirmation that I was who they needed. Chills broke out along my arms, and it felt like acid was boiling in my stomach.
Christian began ripping open antiseptic and Band-Aids left and right, taking out his anger on the medical supplies.
“Then who was it?” Piper asked, her face drawn in a frown.
“You’re gonna tell us who this Gabe guy is and why he would do something like this, even if it wasn’t him.” Ollie was standing in the doorway with his arms over his chest. He was wearing a frown, too, which was unusual for him. His blond hair was tousled, his hard jaw an exact replica of his brother’s.
“You need to tell them. Let us be here for you, Hay.” I bit my lip as Piper squeezed my hand again.
To be honest, I was scared to trust them as much as my heart wanted me to. There was nothing like the pain of losing someone you trusted indefinitely. But I was tired. I was so tired of keeping everything under lock and key. For once, I wanted to spill the secrets I had underneath my hard exterior.
I was ready. Tonight scared me enough to let some of my walls fall down.
Christian handed off the antiseptic spray to Piper, still staring down at me as my voice cracked. “Gabe was my old foster brother, but before I tell you,”—I shot an unbending glare Christian’s way—“you have to swear that you won’t lose your temper and try to be my knight in shining armor again and get me justice.”
He clenched his teeth. His lip curled. “I can’t promise that.”
A groan escaped me. “You will promise me that because this is my life and things are different for me.” I shook my head, sighing. “I’m property of the state, Christian. I have a record. Things go on that record. If something happens to Gabe, even if I didn’t technically do anything, it could be traced back to me, and I’d end up back in juvie. There is no proof that Gabe did this. In fact, I don’t think he had anything to do with it. So, promise that you’ll listen to me and do as I say. This isn’t some little high school game. This is the real world.”