Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
She and I just had a bit of a different dynamic considering I saved her from slicing open the wrong vein a little over four years ago.
“Dr. Gresham okay with that?” I asked Axel.
Meghan quietly grunted in displeasure. “I’m not okay with it,” she mumbled.
“Shh,” I soothed, tightening my arms around her. “You’re the only one for me, baby girl. Never forget that.”
Axel nodded at me, his eyes not leaving his phone. “He made her open up about why she wanted you to visit,” he informed me. My eyes widened in shock. “She told him—shockingly.”
“Fuck. You’re not pissed, are you?”
Axel shook his head and looked up at me. “You saved her life that day, Julian. I could never hate you for that. You were right. It wasn’t your story to tell. But thank you for staying loyal to her.”
I nodded once. Meghan pouted as she looked down into her peanut butter jar. “I’m out,” she whined.
I laughed and took the jar from her. Axel stood up and disappeared into our kitchen. We were staying at our regular home while we were visiting my family.
And Axel had made sure we had an endless supply for our peanut butter monster while we were here.
He came back into the living room holding a brand-new jar of peanut butter for her. Her eyes brightened. She was so fucking beautiful when she was excited that it literally stole my breath away. Axel handed it to her before he cupped her face and kissed her soft and slow, making her moan in my arms as she ground her ass down on my dick.
“Fuck, baby.” I gripped her hips. “You do that again, and I’m going to bend you over this couch and fuck you,” I warned her.
She blushed. Axel shot her a wicked grin. “Naughty, naughty Meghan,” he whispered in her ear, nipping lightly at her earlobe before he sat back on the floor in front of the computer.
I laughed softly and settled our woman more comfortably on my lap. “Eat your peanut butter, baby girl,” I told her. “Axel has a professor to hate on.”
Axel only grunted. Meghan giggled. “I love you, Axel,” she randomly told him. I fucking loved seeing her express her emotions so freely.
He grinned up at her. “I love you, too, sweet girl. Now eat your peanut butter and watch your movie.”
* * *
✶ ✶ ✶
* * *
Dr. Gresham stood from his seat and shook my hand when I reached the table he and Alli were sitting at. “Julian, good to see you,” he greeted. I nodded once. “Take a seat.”
I sat down in the seat across from Alli. She hadn’t looked up at me yet. I’m sure she was nervous. I wasn’t Axel—wasn’t gentle and soothing like he could be. I had always been the hard one in Alli’s life, the bluntly honest one.
In fact, I didn’t even know if I had it in me to be sweet and soothing to anyone but Meghan.
“Alli, Julian is here to see you as you requested. I hope he didn’t waste his time by coming to see you.”
She slowly looked up at me. Her brown eyes were dull, and there was a lot of internal pain residing in them. I’d never had the opportunity to see Meghan when she was inside, so I didn’t really know what to expect during this visitation.
She stayed silent, and when she began to aim her attention back on the table again, I sighed and leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the table. “Alli,” I called, drawing her eyes back to mine. “You know as well as I do that I don’t do the silent, withdrawn shit,” I told her. She swallowed thickly. “Start talking, darlin’.”
“I thought you would be mad at me.”
I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest as I steadily regarded her. I shrugged. “For what you did to Meghan? Kind of am,” I told her. “Axel told me you’re doing better, explained to me why you did what you did, but I’m not as forgiving of a person as Axel is,” I reminded her. “But you know that already.”
She nodded, clenching the sleeves of her hoodie in her hands. “I’m sorry—for what it’s worth,” she quietly apologized.
I sighed. “You want me to forgive you?” I asked her. She nodded. “Don’t let your time here be wasted, Alli. Let this be the time that you heal and learn to cope with your mental health. You’ve always let it define you, and you’ve honestly leaned on it more than you’ve ever tried to cope with it. It’s time to heal, Alli. You’re not a little girl anymore. You’re a young woman, and it’s time to act like it.”
“I don’t have anyone like Meghan does. It’s not as easy for me.”
I scoffed. “Meghan secluded herself, Alli. Don’t you dare compare yourself to her. Meghan found strength within herself. I never visited Meghan the entire time she was in here.” Alli’s shocked eyes flew to mine. “Your brother visited her, and he visited her as nothing more than a friend. Everything that grew between them came after she was released. Stop using everything and everyone else as a crutch,” I scolded, because that was exactly what she was doing. “You’re stronger than this shit, Alli.”