Eva wraps a bandage around my leg. Having her so close is painful when all I want to do is carry her off to my bed and lose myself in her. “Right, now that’s done, VP, let’s take this to The Windsor,” suggests Chains. I groan to myself. I want peace and rest, but I can’t let my brothers see the darkness coming for me, so I grin and knock back another shot. “Hell yeah,” I shout and slam the empty glass on the table.
“Aren’t we going to talk?” asks Eva gently, that pity staring right at me.
“Talk about what?” I snap and she recoils slightly. “We need to talk about what the fuck you were thinking willingly giving yourself to Callum like that, but we’ll save that for when I’m not so mad at you.” I stand and pull up my jeans. “Laters. Don’t wait up.”
Eva
I stare down at my glass of wine. It was cold an hour ago when Anna topped up my glass, but now even the condensation on the outside of the glass has drizzled away.
“Eva, I’m gonna head up to bed. Are you waiting up for the guys to come home?” asks Anna,
I shake my head sadly and get up off the couch. “What’s the point?”
Anna and Frankie have spent the last hour talking to me about these guys, how they handle their shit and what the best thing to do is. Frankie said to carry on as normal and Cree would eventually catch up with me and get on the same page. Anna said to pin his ass down and force him to talk. The thing is, I don’t know where to start. How do I ask if he’s okay? He was forced to have sex with a woman when he didn’t want to, and he’s not exactly the talkative type, but I know deep down it must have brought back some bad memories for him, not that he’ll ever admit it.
I climb into bed in my own room, not Cree’s. It feels strange doing such a normal thing after everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. I eventually drift off to sleep thinking about Callum and Michelle and wondering what Cree did with Emily after he dragged her out of that place. My mind is racing, so it’s no surprise when I wake a few hours later in a hot sweat, dreaming of the moment the bullet hit Callum in the head.
I make a dash to the bathroom at the end of the landing, throw open the door, and dive to the toilet, falling to my knees and bringing up the contents of my stomach. I sit back on my butt and lean against the wall with my head in my hands, sobbing.
I check my watch. It’s almost two in the morning and Cree didn’t come and get me. I get to my feet and splash my face with cool water, then rinse my mouth. I have to see if he’s home, if he’s okay.
I creep along the landing and stop outside Cree’s room. I gently push the door, and my heart thuds hard when I see him asleep with a woman next to him. I stare at the scene before me with my mouth open, not sure if I believe what I’m seeing. I’m thankful I’ve already vomited because otherwise, I would be running to the bathroom right now. He stirs and reaches out until his hand feels the sleeping body beside him, then he settles against her. I feel the anger build inside of me. How fuckin dare he after what we’ve been through? It’s like we take two steps forwards and twenty steps back, and I’m so over his bullshit. He’s been through a lot, but so have I.
I turn the light on and it’s bright enough to cause them both to cover their eyes and groan in protest. “What the fuck are you doing?” I yell, and Cree sits up, his face full of shock and confusion. “You said you loved me!”
He blinks a few times and then looks to the woman beside him. It’s now I notice she’s one of the club whores who hang around here hoping to become an ol’ lady. I glare at Cree, waiting for an explanation. He lifts the covers slightly and sighs. “We didn’t fuck. I have clothes on.”
“You passed out,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“Get the fuck out of his bed!” I yell, and she huffs before stomping out of the room. “All the fuss you made about lies and here you are in bed with a club whore. You cheating piece of shit!” I hiss. “This is too much. You’ve done too much!” I turn and rush back to my room. The tears roll down my cheeks and I refuse to let him see.
I expect him to come after me. It’s something Cree does—Bangs at my door and insists we talk, or fight, or whatever. But he doesn’t. I lay in bed alone, my heart breaking, and he doesn’t even try to make things right.
Cree
I pace my bedroom, my blood still full of alcohol and my head fuzzy. I don’t know why I grabbed that random girl by the hand as we were leaving the bar. It’s not like I’d spent the night grafting her. I just saw her, took her hand, and insisted she come back with me. I’m the VP, so she wasn’t gonna be asked twice. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Stupid fuck!
The morning comes and I watch the sunrise. Maybe it’s for the best. Eva saw me at my worst, and every time she looks at me, she’ll only ever see me as that weak ass, tied to a chair
