Scarred: A New Adult Romance (The Anderson Brothers Series Book 1) (19 page)

I
manage to smile.
Her guardian angel.
I like the sound of that. “How? Well, I, uh, kind of shamelessly stalked you. I
hated William the first time I met the bastard. Even Kevin agreed that you two
didn’t look right together.”

She
wipes away her tears. “I really should’ve insisted Trinity talk to me when I
sensed something was bothering her.”

“I
think you might’ve been drugged. I’m not sure.”

She
averts her gaze. “Yeah, Cindy said I had GHB in my system. I don’t understand
how. I mean, I didn’t put my drink down or anything. Do you think William
really drugged me?”

“Well,
the other day at work, I overheard William talking on the phone to someone
named Nick about buying some G’s. Nick was one of the guys manning the bar, so
it could’ve been him that put something in your drink.”

“Nick.
God, I know him. He’s such an ass. He had a thing for me, but I wouldn’t give
him the time of day. I can’t believe he would do that to me.”

My
blood boils. “I’ll find him and give him a piece of my mind. And my fist.”

“No,
he’s not worth it.”

I
sigh. “Well, I at least reported the incident to the cops. You may have to go
down there and give your report, too.”

“All
right.” She frowns and lowers her gaze. “How could I have ever loved him?”

I
kneel at her bedside and tilt her chin over so that she looks at me. “Hey. It’s
not your fault. You deserve a better guy than William. And when you find that
guy, he better treat you right, or else I’ll kick his ass, too.”

She
looks amused. “I think I’ve already met a guy who’s a million times better than
William.”

I
blink. “Have you?”

Her
eyelids flutter downward again, and she leans her face closer to mine, her lips
parting. “Yes.”

My
lips slowly part as well, but I don’t advance.
Holy shit. This is real. Is this what she wants?
I stare at her
full lips.
I don’t want her to feel
obligated to me, but …
I lean in to her, our lips meeting halfway. Her
soft lips touch mine, and I taste her. Beneath the remnants of salty tears, she
tastes better than any candy in the world. So sweet. So innocent.

No. This is wrong. I have to
stop.

But
I can’t bring myself to pull away—I don’t, and neither does she.

Chapter 19

It’s almost three o’clock in the afternoon by the time
we finally leave the hospital. Denise is in scrubs, as her old clothes were
confiscated by the hospital staff to be sent to the police. We head to where
Kevin’s car is parked. Denise walks close to me, never letting go of my hand.

Kevin’s
laid back in the driver’s seat, fast asleep. Poor guy. I reluctantly rap on the
window, and Kevin jerks awake. He rubs his eyes, fixes his ball cap, and opens
the door for us.

“About
damn time,” he says groggily.

“Sorry,
we had to wait on the doc to finish all the paperwork. Need me to drive?”

“Naw,
I’m good.”

I
climb into the backseat with Denise.

Kevin’s
keys jingle as he takes them out of his pocket. “So, Denise, you gonna be okay
if we take you back to your place?”

Denise
looks ahead toward my brother and bites her bottom lip. “Um … ”

I
give her hand a small, reassuring squeeze. I know she’s probably still feeling
scared. Scared that William might come back. Scared of the dreams—
nightmares
—she’ll have playing over and
over of that horrifying moment. “I understand if you don’t want to go back
right now. Being alone there, and such,” I say.

“Well,”
she says. “Lauren will be there, though she might start asking questions. I
really don’t want to talk about that with her right now. Especially with how
uptight she can get sometimes.” She looks at me hesitantly. “Would it be okay
to stay with you tonight?”

I
blink. The question comes as a great surprise. But she needs me to be strong
for her. She needs me to be her guardian angel.

* * *

Before heading to my place, we stop by the police
station so Denise can give her report. She’s hesitant about it at first, but
decides it is probably best to get it over with. I’m there with her for almost
an hour while she gives her statement and fills out paperwork.

By
five thirty, we pull up to my duplex, and I notice Adrienne’s car parked out
front.
Fuck.
I don’t feel like dealing
with her drama. I only hope that she and Chris are too busy with each other to
notice Denise and I come in.

We
get out of Kevin’s car, and I tap on the driver-side window. Rolling it down,
Kevin gives me one of those “concerned big brother” looks.

“Thanks,
man, for all this,” I say.

“You
sure you two will be okay?” Kevin asks.

I
nod. “Yeah, man.” I glance over my shoulder at her, and she smiles.

“All
right.” He stares ahead, out the windshield. “I got a call while I was waiting
at the hospital for you guys. Got this huge gig at a radio station down in
Portland next Wednesday, so I’ll be gone. But I’ll be back by Friday.”

“Wow,
Kev, that’s great! I’m happy for you, man.”

“Thanks.”
He looks back at me. “Take it easy, li’l bro, okay?”

I
nod again, slowly. While I’m happy that he’s got more work, it sucks that he’ll
be gone again. “You, too.”

We
do our secret handshake, and I watch him drive off.

“Kevin
seems really nice,” Denise says, resting her head on my shoulder.

I
wrap my arm around her waist. “Yeah, he’s cool.”

I
lead Denise around the side to the backdoor leading into the kitchen.

Denise
pulls out from under my arm and sighs. “All I want to do is take a nice long
shower and lay down.”

“I
hear ya. Well, the bathroom with the shower is this way.” I lead her out of the
kitchen and down the hall, stopping before the bathroom door across from
Chris’s room. His door is closed.

I
turn the bathroom light on for Denise. She scrutinizes the small space and then
nods.

“It’s
not much,” I say, “but it’s got a shower.”

“This
is fine, thank you.”

I
look her over thoughtfully. “I’ll try and find some spare clothes you can wear.
There’s a clean towel and washcloth under the sink you can use.”

She
smiles graciously. “Thank you, Dominick.”

I
leave her to do her thing and rush upstairs to my room. I set the flowers and
teddy bear on the night table, and then turn my closet upside down looking
through the smallest shirts I own. I find a pair of basketball shorts and an
old football jersey that actually used to be Chris’s. When he decided he didn’t
like the player any more, he gave it to me. Go figure.

Bounding
down the stairs, I hear the shower going. I go to the kitchen and fill up a small baggie with ice from the freezer. Holding the makeshift ice pack to my sore arm, I head to the living room and flip on the TV. I sprawl out on the couch, kicking off my shoes and propping my feet on
one of the armrests, and stare idly at a home gym infomercial that’s showing.
My mind continuously goes over last night’s events. The more I think about what
might’ve been, the angrier I get. Now with William out of the picture, things
are definitely going to be different. And what am I going to tell the guys at
work when William doesn’t show up?

Chris’s
door creaks open, and I snap out of my thoughts. I peek over the couch toward
the hall, and Chris trudges in looking worn, his long hair unkempt. “Dom?”

“’Sup.”
I turn back to the TV.

Chris
moves my feet aside and sits on the armrest. “Dude. We need to talk.
Seriously.”

I
sigh and look at him. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

“Why
the hell did you leave so early? The party was just getting started.”

“I
had things to do,” I say simply.

Chris
scowls. “That’s bullshit. You told me you were at the damn hospital. And then
you go and leave me hangin’ and not even say
which
hospital! Seriously, dude. I thought we were like
this
.” He crosses his middle finger over
his index.

“I
know, man. I’m sorry. So much shit went down tonight, and I’m still rattled
from it.”

“So
enlighten me.” He glances toward the bathroom. “Who’s in the shower?”

“Denise.”

Chris’s
eyes widen. “Seriously? Wait. Doesn’t she have a boyfriend?”

“She
did. Long story.”

“And
you brought her here?”

“Yeah,
and I’d appreciate it if you and Adri left her alone right now. And tell Adri
to leave
me
alone, too.”

“Adrienne’s
so over you. She was drunk that night at Chauncey’s and was feeling in a feisty
mood—at least that’s what she told me.”

“Right.”

“So,
yeah, back to Denise.”

I
mute the TV.

“What
the fuck’s going on, dude?” He looks at me with a serious expression. It’s rare
that he ever gets like this with me. So yeah, it’s definitely for real.

I
exhale through my nose. “What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room, got
it? I mean, seriously, Chris. This is personal shit. Promise me.”

“I
swear. My lips are sealed.” Chris nods curtly. “What happened?”

As
I gather my thoughts, I stare at the TV. Some toned woman in spandex
demonstrates a freestyle exercise machine. “Denise’s boyfriend, William,
assaulted and tried to rape her.”

Chris’s
jaw drops. “Holy fucking shit.
What
?”

I
nod in agreement. “I went to the party alone to keep an eye on the two of
them.”

“Well,
damn! Glad you did. That’s some serious shit.”

“Yeah
… ”

“How’s
Denise?”

I
look in the general direction of the bathroom. I still hear the shower going.
“She’s better, I think. But still shaken. She’s going to spend the night here.”

Chris
nods and shifts his weight on the armrest. “I’m glad you’re okay. And Denise,
too, even if I still haven’t formally met her yet.”

“Don’t
worry, you will. But for now, don’t ask about her. Hell, don’t even tell Adri
about her. I don’t want her getting all up in Denise’s business.”

“Noted.
So what happened to William?”

I
scowl. “I fucked him up good, so he’s gonna remember me for a very long time.”

“Oh, so is that why you’re icing your arm?” He points.

My fingers tingle, and parts of my arm starts to grow numb, so I remove the ice pack. “Something like that.”

“Heh,
I would’ve loved to see—”

“That’s
the longest-ass piss you’re taking, Chris!” Adrienne yells from his room.

I
freeze. Chris slides off the armrest. “Don’t worry, man. I got this. Adri and I
are going to the club tonight, so you can relax.” He heads back to his room.
“Sorry, babe. Got hungry. Now where were we?” Chris’s door slams shut.

I
leave the TV muted and stare at the announcers silently showing off another
overpriced exercise machine.

The
shower stops, and I bolt up from the couch. Clothes in hand, I hurry to the
bathroom door and knock softly.

“Denise?”

She
opens the door, and a cloud of steam escapes. She has a towel wrapped and
secured around her still-wet body. She smells fresh and clean, like my soap. My
eyes can’t help but trace down her towel-covered body.
Damn it. I shouldn’t do that. I won’t.
Swallowing, I force myself
to look into her eyes.

She
smiles sweetly at me. “Thanks for letting me use the shower.”

My
eyes absently drift to her neck, down to the subtle swell of her breasts
accentuated by the way the towel presses against them. She shifts a little, and
my eyes instantly snap back to her face. “You’re welcome. Here, you can sleep
in these.” I hand her the clothes.

“Thanks.”
She holds up the jersey, checking it out. “Oh wow, my dad loves this team.”

“You
can keep it if you want. Throw your scrubs in the laundry. I’ll wash them
tomorrow, okay?”

She
looks slightly surprised. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll do the laundry
tomorrow. They’re just scrubs, anyway.”

I
don’t argue with her, but I plan to get up early enough tomorrow to do them
before she can. Even if they are just scrubs. “Okay. Well, I’ll let you get
dressed, and I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

“Okay.”

She
shuts the door, and I stare at it. The image of her in that towel remains
etched in my mind.
Why does she have to
be so damn beautiful?

Returning
to the couch, I sit, fidgeting with my hands. The images on the TV are a blur.

The
bathroom door opens, and I hop up from the couch again. Denise holds her scrubs
in a bundle. The jersey she wears is a bit oversized on her small, lithe frame,
and the hem of the shorts falls just below her knees.
God, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.

“So
where should I sleep?” she asks, and I snap my gaze to her face.

I
blink a few times, trying to regain my composure. “Oh yeah, you can sleep
upstairs, and I’ll sleep down here.” I tilt my head, gesturing for her to
follow. I don’t really consider myself a messy person, though I’m not sure what
she thinks when I show her to my room, which has a few clothes scattered around
as a result of my earlier search for clothes for her. Damn, I should’ve cleaned
all that up before I brought her up here. I clear my throat and hastily gather
the stray clothing. “Yeah, so … uh, you can sleep in here if you like.
There’s a half-bath across the hall that you can use, too.” I toss the clothes
haphazardly in the closet.

She
looks around my room, apparently intrigued. A few posters of some of my
favorite hip-hop artists hang by thumbtacks on the drab walls. A framed picture
of Kevin and me taken at my high school graduation hangs on the wall by the
door.

Denise
sits on the edge of the unmade bed, which bounces and creaks under her. I need
to remember to fix that later. “Hey, Dominick,” she says.