Don't Let Go (16 page)

“So, I kept trying to get out, while he kept coming at me. At one point, my dress got ripped from him grabbing it and me pulling away. I don’t know what his true intentions were or if he would have gone ahead with it. Just as I thought I had nowhere else to go, I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Craig pounded on the door, but I pulled my phone out and called the one person I trusted with my life, Theo. He didn’t answer the first time but after a text and another call, he picked up, panicked, thinking the worst. Little did he know, he was right.”

T - “Where are you Sadie?” he asked, frantic.

Me - “Room 458,” I revealed, thankful I noticed it when we walked in.

T - “Just stay locked in the bathroom. You hear me, Sadie?” he asked sternly.

Me - “Yes, please, Theo…hurry.” Craig pounded again on the door.

“The door started to bow a little and I worried Craig would get in before Theo could get there. I don’t remember how long it was before I heard fighting and yelling, and I knew that Theo had arrived. From what I could hear, there were more guys than just him. I unlocked the door to see Theo hit Craig in the jaw. Craig had Theo in weight but Theo was comparable in height. The two went at it, while some other fraternity brothers tried to get in the middle. It was a combination of Craig’s friends and Theo’s friends, but they were all fraternity brothers so many of them seemed confused on who to help. The two of them kept going at each other. Theo kept saying to stay the hell away from his sister and Craig kept yelling back that he should stay out of it. I just wanted to curl up and cry. Then Craig said, ‘I just wanted to see what screwing a fat chick was like.’ And Theo came unglued. He wouldn’t stop hitting him. It was a rage I had never seen in him before. He threw himself on top of Craig, throwing punch after punch, until a couple of the guys pulled him off. He eventually shrugged it off, watching Craig for any movement before coming to me.” Brady’s body is now a ball of knots.

“Theo wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to my feet and took me out of the room. He put me in the backseat of his car and drove me and his date home. He tucked me into my bed and whispered ‘Never listen to them, Sadie. You are beautiful and one day you will find the perfect guy, I promise.’ I look up at Brady, seeing now that Theo was right. He smiles down at me and wipes a tear from my eye with his thumb.

“The next week, Theo was jumped by Craig and a couple of his friends. They beat him so badly, they put him in a coma. My parents had to sign the papers to turn off the life support machine. The doctors said there was so much damage to his brain, he would most likely never wake up and if he did, the damage was so severe…” I trail off, not able to give all the horrific details.

“Oh Sadie, I’m sorry baby,” Brady says, kissing the top of my head.

“That was a year and a half ago.” I continue, not wanting to accept his apologies for something that was my fault. “After he died, I stayed home that summer. I tried to release my anger, guilt, and sadness by working out at the gym. That and rarely eating, I ended up losing weight. My parents forced me to go back to Drayton that fall. I wish I would have had a spine and told them it was too painful, but they are firm believers that you jump back on that horse. Craig and two of his friends had gotten arrested and sentenced for manslaughter, but I was still a part of the sorority and it was across the street from the fraternity. Eventually, all I did was get drunk to help me forget. Then guys started showing interest in me since I lost the weight. More wanted to sleep with me, so I let them. Sleeping with them made me feel comforted and safe like I did with Theo. It is hard to understand, but losing him was like half of me disappeared and I was desperately searching to fill the void with every guy who showed interest. Theo and I shared everything. We co-existed through life together, each living the same thing at the same time. He was my brother, my twin, and my best friend.” I finish, suddenly feeling sleepy.

Brady must have noticed because he scoots us down on the bed and spoons me from behind. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Sadie. I honestly don’t know what to say, other than that,” he whispers in my ear.

“I know,” I yawn.

“Just sleep, beautiful, you are protected now…and always.”

I pull his arms closer to me, knotting our fingers before I succumb to sleep.

Chapter 16

The next morning, I wake up to the bright sun of Niagara Falls filtering
i
nto the room. I guess we forgot to shut the blinds before falling asleep. I get up to use the bathroom when strong arms tug me back.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Brady sleepily says, resting his arms around my shoulders.

“Good morning, handsome,” I mimic back. Oh, how different it feels to have someone there for you in the morning.

“I was going to go get us some coffee and breakfast, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone.” He stayed in bed this whole time for me. I know at this moment that Brady isn’t still carving his way into my heart, he holds the whole thing in his hands.

“Thank you,” I say genuinely.

“No need, baby, I’m your boyfriend. Your needs come first,” he tells me. I thought my feelings couldn’t get any stronger for this ‘knight with an edge’ as Brady refers to himself. “Now, let’s take a shower,” he winks. “Then we will go sightseeing. I’m taking you on that boat ride under the falls, maybe play at the casino…” He lists what he has already planned out for our day.

“Sounds great…let’s just start with the shower.” I’m more than ready to take it easy today and just enjoy being with Brady, especially now that we have made it past this hurdle.

“I’ll go warm the water,” he says and pushes the sheet off himself. A wide smile crosses my face as I watch his mighty fine naked ass walk into the bathroom.

I throw the sheet off me and check my phone for any messages. I don’t know who they would be from, maybe Jessa, I say to make myself feel better. As I walk across the room, I pick up our clothes from last night. I put them on the chair when Brady’s cell phone falls out of his pants onto the floor. I contemplate in my mind for all of two seconds if I should go through it, but shake my head no. I know I can trust Brady. I will not diminish what we have by snooping. Just as I set it on the table, a text message comes across from someone named Maura.

M - Hey B, please call me…urgent!

I freeze, not knowing what I should do but decide to place the phone on the table. I walk into the bathroom and Brady is happily humming some song I have never heard while he brushes his teeth. As I walk by the mirror, I catch a glimpse of my naked body. I hurriedly go over to grab the robe from last night and secure it around me tightly. Him seeing me at night by the moonlight is one thing, during the day in florescent lighting is completely another.

Brady frowns. “Hey, why so shy?” he laughs and pulls on the belt around my waist. He undoes the knot and the robe falls open. He lets the toothbrush rest in his mouth, while he places his hands on either side of my stomach to draw me near. Keeping one hand around my waist, he turns around and spits out the toothpaste in order to get rid of the toothbrush.

“I’m going to shower,” I say. “You had a text message come through,” I admit and his face goes blank.

“Oh,” he says and I can tell by his voice that he is wondering if I read it. “Let’s get you washed.” He spins me around, taking the robe off my shoulders. He opens the shower door and leads me in. I’m taken aback when he follows.

“Brady…I can wash myself,” I tell him.

“Remember my promise, Sadie?” he questions and I nod. “We would shower together in the morning and spend the whole day together,” he says, reminding me of his promise from that morning after Halloween.

“Okay, well then, I have been dying to get my hands through that hair. Bend down a little,” I instruct him.

I place a dollop of shampoo in my palm, rubbing back and forth to get a lather. I scrub it through his dark wavy hair and then rinse it.

“Now my turn,” he says and I happily allow him access. “Man, you have a lot of hair,” he comments.

“I know, I can do it,” I admit, moving my hands up to my scalp.

“Um…no,” he places my hands down to rest on his thighs and I try not to move. His excitement is evident from behind me.

After my hair is finally rinsed through, I turn to Brady. I soap his body, appreciating every inch. He in turn washes mine, concentrating on some parts more than others. Just as we are about to finish, I drop the soap and it falls to the shower floor.

“Uh oh…you dropped the soap,” Brady jokes and I start to laugh, bending over to pick it up. When I get up, Brady’s hands are on my hips and I feel his erection pressed up behind me. “Sadie, you are so beautiful, remember that always. Don’t ever think you are anything less than exceptional because in my eyes, you are everything,” he whispers in my ear and I can do nothing else but fall back into his arms.

“Now I know why you are such a talented musician; you know how to write lyrics,” I giggle.

“You’re my inspiration,” he admits, his hands grazing my breasts and tweaking each nipple while his mouth descends on my neck. “I love your neck,” he says, nibbling it.

I can’t control myself any longer so I turn around to him and crash into his lips as he pulls me up against the shower wall. I wrap my arms around his neck and he enters me in one swoop, making me gasp for air.

“Fuck, Sadie…I don’t think I will ever have enough of you.” His breathing is rapid as he drives into me harder and harder.

“You feel so good, Brady.” I grip his neck, trying to meet his every thrust.

“Don’t come baby, wait for me, okay,” he says. Knowing this is his second time making this request, it must be important to him.

“Yes,” I scream and dig my nails into his back.

“Shit babe, I’m going to lose it soon. Show me how bad you want me,” he pants.

I pull my body closer to him, wrapping my arms fully around his neck so my breasts are practically in his face and he starts picking me up and down off of him, each time going deeper inside of me.

“I can’t….hold…it, please,” I plead to Brady.

“Let go, baby…let go,” Brady says softly and comes inside of me. He rests my body against the shower wall, trying to catch his breath.

I slowly release my legs and Brady steps back and gets a towel from the rack, holding it open for me. “Thanks.” I’m desperate to get covered up. I briefly wonder if I will ever be comfortable being naked in front of him.

I stay in the bathroom to do my hair and make-up while Brady goes to get dressed. The text message comes back to my mind but I quickly disregard it. If this is ever going to work, I need to trust him. He has given me no reason not to. There are secrets in his past, but I will have to give him time like he gave me.

By the time we get to the Maid of the Mist ride, my feet are killing me. Brady has had us traipse all around town to see every nook and cranny of Niagara Falls. It’s a beautiful city though and I’m happy to experience it with him. We go up to buy our tickets and Brady looks at me, disappointed.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re not wearing white,” he deadpans.

“I’m sorry.” I look around at the other patrons and see that everyone is in an array of colors. “Am I missing something?” I ask.

“I was just hoping for a little tease,” he laughs and stares down at my breasts before meeting my eyes again.

“Brady,” I say, playfully slapping him on the shoulder. “I believe you just had your hands on them not six hours ago.”

“You should be happy…you have marvelous tits,” he whispers in my ear, pulling me into him and kissing my cheek.

“I’m happy, deliriously happy, Brady Carsen,” I admit. This is the first time in my whole life that everything seems right. Except for Theo not being here, but for some reason, I can still feel him with me.

“Me too.” He winks and walks up to buy our tickets.

That night, I’m able to convince Brady to pick up some sandwiches and junk food and stay in. We sit at the small table and eat the dinner that somehow I still was unable to purchase. I thought I had it; my money was concealed in my hand. Since I ordered before him, I was first to the cash register. Just as I was ready to pass it to the cashier, Brady came up and held his card out. The girl cashier was so enamored with him, she took his card while staring at him the whole time, never even realizing I was there.

“Nice try, baby,” he whispered to me.

“One of these days, Brady, I will buy you a meal,” I joked and the girl finally looked my way. Now she notices me.

The Falls look amazing all lit up at night. Brady rests back in his chair, looking totally relaxed. His phone hasn’t gone off all day and I suddenly wonder if he ever answered that text message.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks me.

“Nothing,” I lie. He raises an eyebrow but lets it go.

“Do you want to play strip poker?” he casually questions and tilts back on the two legs of the chair, gulping down his water.

“Um…no,” I respond.

“Why not?” he asks.

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Who has the twenty questions now?”

“Payback,” he teases and holds his arms out for me. He places me on his lap so that my legs hang over his. “You have an amazing body, Sadie. Please don’t hide it from me,” he tells me.

“Brady…it’s hard. I’m not one of those girls,” I stare into my lap, unable to look into his eyes.

He places his finger and thumb around my chin and brings my face up to him. “I’m not sure I understand what you are talking about, but to me, Sadie, you’re perfection,” he says and a tear slips down my face. “Why are you crying?”

“Because…I love you.” I gasp and cover my mouth, shocked I let it slip.

“Finally,” Brady starts to laugh. “I’ve wanted to say it for weeks, but I didn’t want to scare you.” He places his hands on either side of my face and stares into my emerald eyes. “I.love.you.Sadie.Miller,” he says, pausing after every word and then kisses me deeply.