Chapter 61
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
HEATHER
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I glanced into the guest room. Dad slept on top of all the blankets, his mouth half open and snoring as loud as I remembered from when I had lived with him and Mom. But somehow, it was nostalgic.
After I had searched everywhere for Dad s keys and couldn t find them, we d brought him back to Hector s penthouse and patiently waited for Evelyn to come pick him up. She was about an hour outside of the city with her family for Christmas. But she was worried about him.
So, here we were, waiting up at nearly two in the morning for her.
Hector gently placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. You okay?
My lips quivered. Once I shut the door so I wouldn’t wake Dad, I turned around and wrapped my arms around Hector’s waist, burying my head into the center of his chest and sniffling softly. “I’m okay, I think.”
To be honest, it had been such a long night that I didn t know if I would be okay in the morning. All I knew was that I was so fucking thankful that I had Hector with me. And not only that, but he had given me a collar tonight.
Which had made my Christmas so, so good.
“How are you feeling?” Hector asked, grabbing my hand and leading me to the bedroom.
“I don’t know.”
Eyes heavy, I sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned back on my hands. I wanted to pass out, but I wanted to be here when Evelyn arrived to make sure that she was awake enough to drive him back home.
“You need to sleep,” Hector said, pulling down the blankets. “You’ve had a long day.”
“But—”
“Get to bed, Heather.”
“Hector, I need to be here when Evelyn?—”
“What you need is sleep,” Hector said. “Now, get in bed.”
I sighed through my nose and crawled up the mattress and underneath the blankets to please him. But I didn t have any plans to actually fall asleep until she got here. Dad and I really needed to talk, and I couldn t if he got into a car accident and died.
Especially after Sierra’s Christmas tragedy a few years ago, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Hector drew his hand over my hair, petting my head softly. “You did great today.”
My eyes widened slightly, a warm feeling rushing through my body. I did?
It wasn’t often a brat like me received praise, but I might’ve … sorta liked it.
“So amazing,” Hector continued, his soft touch making me relax on the pillows. “I’m so proud of you for the way you reacted when you saw your father. I thought you were going to start bawling, and I would have to toss him onto the sidewalk and bring you home.”
A giggle left my lips, and I closed my eyes. You would not.
“Ah, you say that now, but I was ready to hit him if he said anything to you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, a small smile crossing my lips as sleep began to take me. “Thank you for everything, for today, for tonight, for the collar you gave me. I never thought I could mean so much to someone.”
He placed a soft kiss on my forehead. You mean everything to me, Heather. I love you.