Fighting to Be Free (Fighting to Be Free 1)

She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to me, her finger tracing one of my scars on my chest.

“Love you too.”

As usual my hands had a mind of their own around her, and were wandering across her body slowly, my hand grazing over her skin softly making my mouth water. When my fingertips came into contact with the cotton material of the shorts she was wearing, I smiled. I’d forgotten to ask her if they were mine, they sure as hell looked like the boxers that I usually sported. After we’d snuck into the house earlier, we hadn’t spoken at all. We’d just cuddled in the bed, kissing until we both fell asleep. I knew there would be a lot for us to talk about today but that could wait for later.

“Are you wearing my boxer shorts?” I asked, raising one eyebrow, trying to pull off the annoyed expression but I’m pretty sure I failed miserably. I actually loved her wearing my clothes - I think that was a guy thing.

She giggled and looked away from me uncomfortably as she nodded in confirmation. “Sorry. I like wearing your stuff. I borrowed them last time I was at yours and then kind of forgot to give them back,” she admitted.

“Should I be worried that you’re rifling through my stuff and stealing my underwear?” I teased.

She shook her head quickly. “No, you should only be worried when I start collecting your used Kleenex and keeping the loose hair from your brush,” she replied, letting out a theatrical evil laugh.

I grinned and pulled the covers up over our heads, starting a tickling war that didn’t finish until she had tears in her eyes and was begging for mercy.

“Maybe we should go and get that parent bit out of the way now?” she suggested a little while later, wincing as she spoke.

I groaned and nodded, reluctantly releasing her from my embrace. She kissed my lips softly before pushing herself out of the bed and picking up my hoodie that she’d thrown on the chair when we came to bed last night. I smiled as she put it on, zipping it up. I climbed out of the bed too, stretching before pulling on my jeans and t-shirt.

“Err…. Jamie?”

I turned, concerned by the tight tone of her voice. I realised what had caused that tone as soon as I looked in her direction. In her hands was my envelope from the boost last night, it wasn’t sealed so you could easily see the bundled cash that was inside it. She was staring at it with wide eyes.

“Err, yeah,” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

She gulped loudly. “That’s not real money, right? I mean, it looks like real money but….” she trailed off, shaking her head and looking up at me with the cutest little bewildered expression on her face that I’d ever seen.

“It’s real,” I confirmed. “Doing what I did last night pays really well.” She drew in a ragged breath and nodded absentmindedly as she held the envelope out to me. I sighed deeply. She was clearly uncomfortably about it now. Maybe it was only just sinking in, maybe now that there was something physical in her hands that proved me to be a criminal, she’d have second thoughts.

“Don’t freak out,” I pleaded.

She smiled weakly. “I’m not. It’s just….. that’s a lot of money. I’ve never seen so much cash,” she replied quietly.

“You can have it if you want. Buy yourself something with it? A new car maybe so that I can stop spending my weekends fixing up your crappy old one?” I suggested, laughing. I didn’t need the money at all; I already had almost forty thousand dollars sitting in the bank from the last few weeks.

“I owe you anyway, for the alibi,” I added as an afterthought. She deserved that anyway for helping me out last night.

Her forehead creased with a frown as she closed the distance between us and slapped the envelope against my chest. “You think I want paying for that?” she asked, glaring at me angrily. “I don’t want your money, Jamie. I just want you safe and not in trouble. Money’s not important, you are!” she stated, her eyes flashing with passion as she spoke, showing me the truth of her words. If it was possible, I somehow fell even more in love with her when she said that. Most girls would have jumped at the chance of an envelope full of cash, no strings attached.

I didn’t have an answer for that so I just wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to me roughly, making her squeal. I smiled and bent, kissing her passionately. I had no words to describe how that little speech had made me feel inside. She was just too incredible for me, but I hoped she never realised it.

She pulled away from me and grinned, taking my hand and tugging me towards her bedroom door, obviously eager for the birthday breakfast she said was always her dad’s famous deep stacked pancakes. As we stepped out, I shoved the envelope into my jeans pocket, following her absentmindedly. She stopped almost immediately, making me walk into her back where I wasn’t paying attention.

Looking up to see what the problem was, I spotted it immediately. The ‘problem’ was just walking out of the family bathroom across the hallway. Her mom seemed to be frozen, half out of the door, her eyes wide as she looked at the pair of us exiting Ellie’s bedroom. Suddenly her posture changed, her shoulders pulled back as she seemed to stiffen all over. Her face turned hard and I would imagine that she was actually trying to murder me with her gaze based on the look she was shooting me right now.

“What on earth is this?” she asked. Her voice was tight and accusing as her death glare turned on Ellie.

Ellie’s grip tightened on my hand, almost crushing the bones in my fingers. “Umm…. I asked Jamie to stay over last night so that I could wake up with him on my birthday,” she lied.