Chapter Thirty - Thalia
CHAPTER THIRTY
Thalia
I CAN TELL that Blake is shaken up based on the way her leg is bouncing restlessly. My hand is throbbing and I think it’s a sign I need to stop punching people. One of these days maybe they’ll stop giving me a reason to hit them.
The Uber took forever to get to the bar after Bash and Owen were taken out with the other two assholes, and I was going out of my mind trying to figure out why they were arrested as well. They didn’t do anything wrong.
Except I guess when the bartender called the cops, he didn’t know who started it, so the cops took all four of them.
All I’ve been able to think about is how many people had their phones out to record Sebastian and Owen being arrested, and what this could mean for them. When I swung at the guy, I didn’t think about the consequences if Sebastian were to get involved, and I should have. It would have been so much easier if they had left us alone.
Blake called the agent they share, explaining the situation to give him the opportunity to get ahead of it. The photos are already circulating online, though .
“Are you okay?” I ask carefully, and she nods distractedly, her hands fidgeting in her lap. “Blake?”
She turns to look at me this time, her eyes rimmed red. “No, Lia, I’m not okay. My husband is sitting in jail for a bar brawl, and I just…” Blake exhales tiredly, quickly wiping away the lone tear slipping down her cheek. “Why didn’t they take no for an answer?”
“Because some people don’t know how to.” I wish I had a different answer for her, but I don’t. “He didn’t touch you, did he?”
Blake shakes her head quickly, her auburn hair flying around her. “No, but that guy grabbed you. Are you okay?”
Fake it until you make it. “I think I got him in the nose pretty good. I’m fine; you don’t need to worry about me.” It doesn’t feel like a total lie because I am fine. However, it did bring back glimmers of everything with Louis, my awful ex-boyfriend that tried to assault me during my year abroad in France, but I can deal with those feelings later.
I’m grateful Blake stopped me from hitting the guy tonight a second time, but he deserved it for calling me a bitch, and assuming I belonged to someone. I’m not a piece of property, but that’s the problem with some men. They see you as something to own, instead of someone to be with. Bash has never acted like I owe him anything—not now, and not before.
I am confused about Owen’s attitude tonight. I thought he was completely in favor of us being together again until he snapped at Sebastian tonight. I don’t know what to think about it now.
He’s my brother, and I want him to support me. I know it’s complicated, but it’s not as if I’m going in blind .
“I don’t understand why Owen and Sebastian were arrested. I don’t understand any of it,” Blake admits, exhaling shakily.
I nod in agreement, glancing at the faint red marks marring my trembling hand.
I threw the first punch.
“They probably won’t be charged with anything. It was self-defense,” I reassure her, praying I’m right.
When we pull up to the station they were taken to, there’s already a crowd of press waiting outside the doors.
This is suffocating.
Blake and I keep our heads down as we push through the group of people to get to the doors, and once inside, we’re quickly informed that they aren’t being charged with anything. I can see the flood of relief on B’s face.
I assumed that would be the outcome, but it’s nice to hear it officially after the events of the night. I won’t be able to relax until Sebastian is standing in front of me, and I can see for myself that he’s fine.
I only have to wait a few minutes, and I throw myself at Sebastian, hugging him tightly. He presses his face into my neck, inhaling deeply. “Are you okay?” he asks, pulling his head back to look at me, and I take the opportunity to look him over myself. I hate that there’s a bruise already forming on the slope of his jaw; a bruise only there because Bash was defending us.
Sebastian looks exhausted, and I can’t blame him. They played a game this afternoon, and then ended the day being arrested. Talk about a long day.
“I’m fine, you’re the one who was in jail. How are you doing? ”
He runs a thumb over my cheek, his touch gentle. “I’m okay.”
I look over at Owen holding Blake tightly. He looks drained too. My brother slowly releases her, walking over to us, and Bash releases me so I can hug him. “I’m sorry,” I say and he chuckles, somehow finding humor in this situation.
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, Lia.”
I feel my lower lip tremble as everything from tonight starts to catch up with me, the adrenaline finally leaving my system.“You got arrested, though. If I—”
“ Thalia ,” he warns, releasing me to wrap an arm around Blake’s back protectively. “No, don’t even start with that. You didn’t invite them over, and from what Bash said, the guy grabbed you. That’s not okay, and I’m proud I got to fight them. So what if we ended up in jail? It’s not like we’re going to prison.”
Blake hits his chest rather hard, and Owen feigns a wince. “You guys are idiots, but I guess that’s one of the reasons I love you.” She smiles appreciatively at Sebastian. “Thank you.”
Bash offers her a smile in return. “Of course. You’re family.” Owen nods upward at him, and Sebastian nods back. I don’t understand the exchange, but I’m too tired to even try at this point. “Let’s get out of here, I feel dirty.”
I force a short laugh, and Sebastian wraps an arm over my shoulders, pulling me back into him. It’s almost scary how much I love the feeling of it. I don’t belong to him—I belong with him. There’s a difference.
~
I jolt out of my dream, the arms wrapped around me tightly still there. “Let me go!” I cry out, trying to elbow them as my heart races in panic. I’m immediately released, and I quickly crawl to the edge of the bed as I take in my surroundings.
“Thalia, it was a dream. Breathe, love,” Sebastian’s calming voice says into the darkness, and I press a hand to my chest to calm the fast pace. Sebastian isn’t Louis. That was a long time ago. “You’re okay. Breathe.”
I inhale to the count of three, exhaling as the pounding in my head slows. I’m safe with Bash , I remind myself. He slowly slides up into a sitting position against the headboard, and I crawl to him, climbing the length of his body to rest my head in the crook of his neck.
Everything from tonight is slowly coming back to me: the guys at the bar, Sebastian and Owen getting arrested.
There’s a knock at my door, my body involuntarily jumping as it calms from its heightened anxiety. “Is everything okay?” Penelope’s voice sounds through the door, and Bash strokes my hair.
“I’ve got her. Just a bad dream,” Sebastian responds as I close my eyes tightly to avoid picturing Louis. It’s been seven years, and I still haven’t forgotten it. I’ve worked through it, and I’m not sure it’s possible to forget what he tried to do to me, but tonight was another reminder that there are more men like him in the world.
“Do you want me to let Zeus in? He’s lying in front of the door.”
Since living with me, he takes his guard job very seriously, moving back and forth between sleeping in my room or Penelope’s throughout the night. Bash was frustrated when he found out because I guess he would let Zeus on every piece of furniture except the bed, which has now gone out the window completely .
“No, it’s okay. Thanks, Penelope,” Bash says, his chest rumbling as he speaks.
Sebastian continues running his fingers through my hair as I cling to him, doing my best to breathe as I focus on the familiar smell of him. It’s twinged with the scent of my lavender bodywash since we came to my house after leaving the police station.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, flustered that tonight’s hiccup has led to me waking in the middle of the night with a nightmare from seven years ago.
“Don’t apologize,” he says calmly, finally resting a hand on my back. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I have no qualms about talking about Louis with him, but I’m embarrassed that it can still cause me to wake up in a fit.
“It was about Louis.”
I hate even saying his name, but Sebastian only presses a kiss to the side of my head. He doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t have to. Just being here, holding me silently is the best thing Bash could do right now. To this day, he’s one of three people who know: Penelope, Sebastian, and Louis. I never cared to tell anyone else—I didn’t see a reason to when it was in the past.
“Thank you,” I whisper hoarsely, my breathing steadying.
“Was it the same one…?” He trails off hesitantly, and I manage a short nod.
“Yeah.”
When we were together last time, I’d have the nightmare a few times a year. It was always the same; reliving it as if it were happening for the first time again. If it happened while Bash was gone with the team, I’d call no matter what time it was. That was one of the many things I had to learn to deal with on my own after we broke up.
He presses another soft kiss to my hairline, my heart melting. “I’m sorry, Lia.”
I cling to him, craving the kindness and love that Sebastian is offering me. “I’ve told you before that I don’t want you to apologize for him. He didn’t touch me, but it’s knowing what would have happened if I had taken the drink.”
“I know you don’t want me to apologize for Louis. I’m sorry about tonight. I shouldn’t have left you and Blake alone to go talk to Owen. I wasn’t thinking.”
His confession hits me because out of everything tonight, I hadn’t once blamed Sebastian for those guys coming up to us, or what happened after. “It wasn’t your fault, though. You shouldn’t have to think about it, but tonight wasn’t the first time as we both know, and it certainly won’t be the last.”
Sebastian’s body tenses underneath me, but it’s the reality we live in unfortunately. “Don’t say that.”
I lift my head up, despite not being able to see him in the darkness. “Based on those men’s reactions to you coming back to the table, they didn’t care you were there. You needed to talk to Owen. They probably would have come over while one of you went to the bathroom or some other excuse. It could have been anything.”
“They were wrong. God, Lia, I’m so sorry that tonight happened. I should have realized it’d bring up these memories for you.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t think about it either.” I exhale shakily, holding his cheek in my hand. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Louis can’t control me if I don’t let him. ”
“No one can control you. I don’t think it’s possible, and I certainly don’t want to ever try.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” I lean forward, pressing my lips gingerly against his. My hand remains on his face as the other one rests on his chest, feeling Sebastian’s heart beating rapidly beneath my touch.
We lie there, enjoying the comfort of existing in this moment together. My heart rate is much calmer in my chest, but it drops when Sebastian speaks again, the lack of confidence causing my nerves to spike. “Lia, I need to tell you something.”
My heart drops into my stomach. Fuck. Nothing can ever be simple. “And what if I don’t want to know?”
“It’s nothing bad. I’ve just been trying to work up the courage to tell you I saw Kiera.”
I take a moment to let his words sink in. He saw his ex. Okay, no big deal. “That’s it?”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad at you for that? I’m not your keeper.”
He lets out an immediate sigh of relief, pressing his lips against my neck. “I met with her to ask her if she would consider saying something about how the baby isn’t mine. I got a text from her the other day saying the story will be released any day now.”
“No more pretending to be the bad guy?” I ask hesitantly, and he kisses my neck again.
“Yes.”
I want to roll my eyes, but I’m too exhausted from the last twelve hours. “Yes, you have to continue pretending to be the bad guy or yes, you don’t have to be the bad guy anymore? ”
“The second. I’m not going to be taking any more falls for anyone moving forward.”
“Good, you deserve better,” I respond, yawning as I curl tighter against him as if it’ll be enough to remind myself I’m with a good man. I love him, even when I hated him. It’s never been a choice for me.