Chase: A Devil & his Birdie: Havenwood University Book Two

Chapter 41

SHE FELL into a restless sleep and kept tossing and turning until I rolled her to her side. I curled around her like a weighted blanket and we stayed like that for a while.

When her little fingers started scratching her arms, I held her hands and could feel how tense she was. I massaged her palms and traced over the pads of her scarred fingers. I’ve noticed the bandaids in the past but never thought anything of it and now that I know, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let my songbird hurt her wings.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, her body relaxed and she fell into a deep sleep. I kissed a promise into the top of her head to keep her safe always. I’d protect her at all costs, even if meant from herself.

I played with her fingertips and pressed the pad of my thumb into her nails. They weren’t crazy sharp but they still left red marks on her skin. I meant it before, she could dig into me when she needs relief. I want her to take her pain out on me. I want every fucking ounce of it. I’ll take it all if it means she doesn’t have to hold on to any.

Her phone started ringing and didn’t fucking stop no matter how many times I sent, “Daddy’s Communication Director,” to voicemail. Whoever the fuck that was could wait. My sleeping beauty needed to rest.

Not ten minutes later, some asshole was pressing the door bell over and over again. It was fucking 7AM. Whoever that was had a goddamn death wish coming to our house when we didn’t have morning skate. I threw on sweats, checked to make sure she was still asleep, and then walked outta my room.

“Sunshine, your brother-in-law’s here,” Monroe shouts up to me while I’m walking down the stairs. He’s holding a water bottle in his hand and I can’t tell if he’s just getting up or just getting in. Honestly, either answer wouldn’t surprise me.

“Quiet man, Sloane’s sleeping,” I whisper shout back and he smiles like an idiot. His eyes dart over to Davis and I know he’s about to do something stupid.

“Oh I’m sure she is… sister fucker.” I glare at Monroe and think about all the ways I’m gonna murder him. I don’t have to look over at Davis to know he’s ready to crack a tooth. I can hear him gnashing his teeth together from here.

“Why are you like this?” I ask him and glance over to see Davis turning bright fucking red with how pissed he is. I wink and smile at him to see if I can get his skin to turn as red as his hair. And it absolutely can.

“Alright, alright, let’s play nice, boys,” Monroe says and gestures for me to take a seat on the living room couch. He yawns and stretches his long arms out. I think he might’ve just gotten in when Davis showed up at our door.

Which means he’s staying up for me. He probably figures it’s not a great idea to leave us alone. He’s not wrong. Especially since he’s the one who got him all fucking riled up in the first place.

“What’s up,” I offer and take a seat in my spot on the sectional. I chin point toward the empty recliner for him to sit. “Take a seat, water boy.” He doesn’t. Whatever. He can be difficult all he wants, there’s no fucking way he can be worse than A.

“Sloane here?” He asks with a scowl. “I need to talk to her.” He’s got the same whiskey colored eyes she does and right now they’re burning into me like heartburn after Fireball shots.

“How’d you know she was here?” I question him.

“We’ve got one another on location. Now I need to talk to my sister about last night.” He can demand all he likes, the answer’s no.

“There’s absolutely no fucking way I’m waking her up, so why don’t you tell me what it is you want to talk about.” We’re locked in a stare down and I’m not letting up. He rubs his hand over his mouth and shakes his head.

“How about we start with the fact that nearly every person I’ve met since coming here has sent me videos from last night. Ones where this crazy ass guy is screaming my sister’s name and then you’ve got him in a body hold, ready to pop his fucking head off.” He pulls up TikTok and I see video after video of last night and what went down with Will.

In some of the longer clips, it’s obvious that I’m trying to keep this fucking lunatic away from her. I was so focused, I didn’t realize anyone else was there. I don’t remember seeing other students or phones or fucking anything. I was so dialed into the situation and to her, that nothing else mattered. Not campus security or the cops being there, not Coach finding out, none of it. Just keeping her safe.

“He was fucking strung out and there was no way I was letting him anywhere near her,” I tell him and feel angry all over again. I tilt my head side to side and feel my own madness crack along with my neck. That asshole upset her so fucking much.

My devil’s fisted hands wring out air and he shouts from his perch that I shoulda squeezed his neck until his head popped off. Our angel quickly clutches her devilman’s hands and calms him down before looking over her shoulder to tell me to just knock him out next time. She’s insisting on no murdering. Fine.

It felt fucking powerful to protect the woman I love. I just now have to make sure he fucking stays away. I need to think and plan and figure out what to do to make sure that happens except there”s no way I’m leaving to go for a run right now. I’m gonna need to find an old treadmill to put in my room. Because there’s no fucking way I’m leaving her to go run outside.

“Why didn’t you let us know about this?” Monroe leans over with his phone and plays a video he found and snaps me outta my thoughts. “You look like you’re about to commit fucking murder in this one.”

“I should’ve. This fucker will eventually get out.” My knee starts bouncing up and down and my toes curl in my socks while I replay what happened with the campus cops. Fuck, I hope they held him.

I’m gonna be her personal bodyguard, I don’t care about a restraining order and I guarantee that this fucker won’t either. I’m serious about her staying with me from now on, I don’t want her to be alone. Fuck that.

“Tell me who he is and everything ya fucking know,” Davis says and sits down. He’s looking at me like he’s trying to figure me out. Almost like he’s studying me or something. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Don’t leave anything out, skates.”

“All you need to know, is that if that preppy boy fuck comes around her again, I’ll break his fucking legs.”

“I don’t want ya getting yourself hurt over me, maybe this was enough to scare him off for good.” Her voice cuts through the static in my head and I turn to see her walking down the stairs.

She looks fucking beautiful and I’ve never been more thankful for B than I am now, as I watch her walk toward me wearing my sweats. Clean sweats. I would rip off my own skin if my nasty ass, dirty, sweaty, smelly, gross, clothing ever touched her delicate skin. I’m never letting them get that disgusting again.

“Were we being too loud?” I stand up and meet her at the bottom of the stairs before kissing her lips. “I’ll kick them out if you want to go back to sleep.”

“Hey, I live here!” Monroe protests. I’d still kick his ass outside if she wanted to go back to bed.

“Not at all, I turned over and you weren’t there,” she’s got traces of worry on her face and all I want to do is tuck us back in bed and have her wake up with me by her side.

“You alright, Sloaney? Saw what happened last night,” Davis asks and she steps to her brother to hug him. He pulls away and holds onto her shoulders while she stands tall. He’s got this tense look on his face. Like he’s looking for something that he’s expecting to be there.

“I’m better now… what am I looking at?” She’s giving him a look like he’s the only one in the world who can answer her. He pauses, looks me over, and then turns back to his sister.

“I think you’re lookin’ like a new you,” he says while giving her shoulders a tiny squeeze. “And I want ya to do somethin’ nice for yourself and ignore all their calls. This’ll pass, and I can guarantee the state of Georgia will be just fine.”

“I’ve got two dozen missed calls between the three of ‘em. I don’t know what to do, Davis.” She looks like a frightened younger version of herself.

“What ya don’t do, is let them snuff out the light in your eyes. It just came back… I’ll handle ‘em while it all blows over,” he promises.

Sure enough her damn phone rings out and she shows him her screen. Their mom is calling and she looks like a nervous wreck watching the call go to voicemail. I hate seeing her like this. I wrap my arm around her and her hand flexes over my chest. I feel her little fingers spread over my skin. I want her to dig in and give me all her worries.

It takes all of ten second before her phone is ringing again. Davis convinces her to silence the volume. And they go back and forth about her keeping her phone on. Her screen keeps lighting up with notifications and I’m sure these assholes are texting too. It’s like they”re harassing her. What the fuck?!

She looks stressed and I just about lose my mind when she buries her face over my heart. We haven’t spent a lot of time talking about her family, but she’s made it pretty fucking clear how toxic her parents are.

Seeing her face when her Mama calls again has her trembling. The calls are fucking back-to-back, and her phone is frozen in her hand. But she doesn’t send her mom to voicemail, she lets it ring and I can see the torment all over her tear streaked face. No more.

I take her phone from her ice cold fingers and kiss her forehead. I’m not gonna let anyone else upset you, Birdie.

I pick up on the first fucking ring when, “Daddy’s Communications Director,” calls for the twentieth fucking time. I tell him all he needs to know about last night before advising him to fuck all the way off. Then she throws her arms around my neck and kisses me like I’m her fucking knight in shining armor before calling me her hero. And it makes me feel like a fucking king.

It’s this moment that has me believing in fairy tales, happily ever afters, and that the love I have to give her may be worthy to fill the pages of our own love story.