Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
I roll my eyes. It doesn’t matter that I’m a grown woman who’s been living on her own for three years. Elliott still sees me as this little kid he has to look out for. “Everything is fine. I had a stalker and Brody helped me out with it.”
I have to work hard to make my tone sound like normal. I want to start crying just thinking about it. Maybe the past three months of trying to deal with this are finally getting to me.
“A stalker? Why wasn’t I your first damn call, Char? I’m your brother for fuck’s sake, and you didn’t even pick up your phone when I called you today.”
“I ditched my phone,” I explain. Then I realize this is going to be a long conversation. I peek into the bedroom and see that Brody is still sleeping soundly. Closing the bathroom door, I take a seat on the edge of his tub. Then I tell my brother everything about Kyle.
“Do they have the shit stain in custody?” Elliott asks and I can practically feel him planning to track down Kyle and put him in as much bodily pain as possible.
“Yeah, everything is fine now,” I repeat. I feel like I’ve said that line a million times since this call started. I dig my toes into the plush bath rug on the floor as the ceiling fan overhead hums. “I’m at Brody’s place.”
“Go home. Get back to your routine. It’s the best thing to do when you’re dealing with shit like this.”
This is probably not a conversation we should be having over the phone, but I need him to understand that something amazing is happening between us. “I like him, Elliott. I really like him.”
My brother is quiet on the other end of the phone for so long that I think the call dropped. Eventually he says, “You don’t like him, Char. This is a trauma reaction.”
“I’ve liked him for three years.” I know how I feel about Brody, how I’ve always felt about him. Why is it that the two men I care most about in the world can’t trust that I’m old enough to know what I want and how I feel?
“Yeah, you’ve had a damn crush and it’s natural that the trauma of being fuckin’ stalked would—”
“I love him.” I can’t sit here and listen to my brother telling me that I don’t know what I’m feeling for another minute. I’m in love with Brody Carson. I have been since I was eight years old.
He sighs into the line, and I can hear the background noise of machinery. I used to listen to his phone calls and guess where he was based on the sounds. Then one day his unit was attacked, and I stopped playing that game. I don’t want to know anymore. I just want him to be safe. “Have you told Brody?”
“Not yet.” Admitting how I feel about him to Elliott is one thing. Telling Brody makes me feel like I’m in one of those glass elevators. Even though I know I’m safe, it still feels dangerous.
“Good. Don’t you put this shit on him.”
A slap in the face would hurt less. My heart stings and my head pounds. “You think he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Brody is a stupid bastard who has a soft spot for those in danger. Hell, I’ve seen it more times than I can fuckin’ count. Anything you build with him right now won’t be real, and I don’t want to kick my best friend’s ass when he breaks your heart. And he will break you, Char.”
I try to swallow but the lump in my throat makes it too damn difficult. “Thanks for the talk. Look, I gotta go. I’ll email you when I have a new phone number.”
Then I end the call so I can cry my eyes out. Because my brother is absolutely right on this one. Brody is protective. He told me he liked me, but he didn’t say he loved me. He didn’t say he wants me around. He’s just being nice to me, and I’m the idiot who thought we had something together.
11
BRODY
The sound of the coffee pot brewing wakes me. As the events of the last few days come back, I reach for Charlie’s side of the bed. It amazes me how quickly I’ve come to think of it as her side.
Leaving the bed, I pad into the kitchen where she is. I take a moment to admire the way she looks as she flits around my kitchen. She’s wearing a pair of blue jeans that hug her thick thighs and make her cute ass even more rounded.
Her damp hair is pulled into a low ponytail and today she’s wearing lip gloss. She hasn’t worn makeup since she arrived. I hope this means she’s feeling safe and settling in here.