Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
I started to pace, anxiety coursing through me as I pictured the scene. Dad acting like he was on top of the world, buying drinks for everyone, and then it all inevitably turning to shit.
“What will happen to him now?”
“I’ll keep my ear to the ground, but I can’t see him getting away with it, not with all his previous offences,” Padraig answered.
“And the CCTV?” I went on.
Padraig considered it, then blew out a breath. “I think you should still turn it in. It’ll strengthen the case against him.”
“Okay,” I said, my resolve firming. “Can you drive me there now?”
“Take a minute. We don’t have to do this right away.”
“No,” I said, determined. “I want to get this over with.” I wanted Dad out of my life once and for all.
“All right,” Padraig replied. “I have the footage in my office. Just let me grab it, and then we’ll go.”
He left me, and I remained standing at the front of the house, my thoughts racing. Padraig returned a few minutes later, and we drove to the station. It was an uncomfortable experience, but I talked to a detective, recounted the events of the attack, and before long, we returned home. I barely knew where I was going until my feet carried me in the direction of Charli’s bedroom.
I knocked on the door before I entered. She was sitting in bed reading a book on her e-reader, her thick hair piled high. The relief at just seeing her was overwhelming.
“Rhys, is everything okay?” she asked.
I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. “Can I just … hang out here with you for a while?”
“Of course,” she replied and patted the space next to her on the bed.
I slid off my shoes and lied down beside her, resting my head on her stomach as she continued reading, absentmindedly stroking my hair. I closed my eyes and let the soothing sensation of her touch surround me. I loved that about her, how she was content to just let me be, let me work through my thoughts in quiet without pushing me to talk. Her silent support meant everything, and my affection for her expanded exponentially. I was already in so deep for this girl, and I wasn’t sure there was a way to backtrack. Not when I’d become so attached. She was the first place I wanted to be, her calming presence helping me sort through everything that had happened in the space of twenty-four hours.
Dad had been arrested. With any luck, he’d do time, at least a couple years. In a few months, the divorce would be final. Everything was going to be all right.
I reminded myself of these things, like a reassuring mantra, as Charli’s quiet presence and closeness settled peacefully into my bones, but there was also a nagging fear at the back of my mind. Charli was around to soothe me now, but in a short space of time, she’d be gone, and just like my feelings for her, the panic of her departure grew larger by the day.
17.
Charli
Something had happened. I could sense it in the tension in Rhys’ shoulders, the way he seemed to need my touch more than ever before. I continued stroking his hair, seeing how it eased something in him. A few minutes later, I saw he’d fallen asleep, and my heart melted.
Maybe he was just exhausted from all the shifts he’d been doing at the hotel. Plus, I knew his parents were signing the divorce papers soon. He had a lot to deal with, and it didn’t help that I’d been seeking him out so much.
Sex was a revelation, and Rhys and I had been having a lot of it. I wasn’t on any kind of birth control, but we kept the local pharmacy in business with the amount of condoms we’d been buying. I’d confessed to Nuala that Rhys and I had lost our virginity to one another, swearing her to secrecy. She’d been giddy but also curious. She’d wanted to know what it felt like. I’d been honest and told her the first time hurt, but that it got better after that.
Man, had it gotten better.
Rhys and I were like students learning a new subject. There was a freedom in him being just as inexperienced as I was. We didn’t need to be embarrassed or shy about what we didn’t know. We could simply … explore. And we’d been doing some serious exploration, let me tell you. The look on his face the first time he’d stripped off my clothes and found I was wearing the sexy lingerie I’d bought was permanently etched into my mind. I didn’t ever want to forget that look.
Placing my e-reader aside, I clicked off the lamp and settled in next to him. No one aside from Nuala typically came into my bedroom unannounced, so it was safe for Rhys to stay over. Besides, he’d typically wake up early and sneak back to Derek’s room.