Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Caleb can’t stop eating my pie, raving about each slice he stuffs into his mouth. He eats the same way he consumes my cock.
Loud and unabashed.
It makes me blush.
When he’s done, he leans back and pats his stomach, looking completely satisfied with himself.
“I can’t move. You’ll have to roll me outside.”
“I have a wheelchair somewhere,” Sem says. “Found it at the scrapyard.”
“Cool, dude. Bring it to me.”
I eye him and then stand, taking his plate to the kitchen. I think he’s being honest when he says he’s unable to move. I’ve never seen anyone eat so much food in one sitting.
I was never allowed to eat like that.
If I was allowed to eat at all.
“So dramatic,” Aunt Del says with a large smile when I return to the dining room. “I bet I’ll see you sneaking more food in half an hour.”
“That sounds like Caleb. He’s always insatiable. Never can wait too long before asking for more.”
When Caleb eyes me, I give him a small smirk.
“Because I was deprived as a child,” Caleb replies.
His uncle smacks him on the back of the head, and Caleb rubs at it, looking slightly ashamed.
“What was that for? You know how it was.”
His uncle just grumbles. “You had it good, son. Your mom did the best she could. We all did.”
His mood changes then, swallowing roughly. “Yeah. I know she did.”
I feel the tension in the room before Aunt Del changes the subject.
“Whit, come sit a minute. No cleaning up yet. Have we told you the stories of all the trouble Caleb got into growing up?”
“I’ve heard it mentioned, but nothing specific.”
I lower myself into the chair next to Caleb and shake my head. My hand slips into his, and Caleb brings it to his mouth, kissing my fingers softly.
His uncle shakes his head and lets out a small laugh. “Those boys were always in trouble. Still are. You should know what you’re getting into before walking down the aisle to this guy.”
“Don’t pretend like you weren’t in on it too, old man,” Caleb retorts.
“A few times,” he admits and then leans forward to whisper, “Don’t tell your aunt. She’ll kill me.”
“Oh, I already know,” Aunt Del says, then adds, “It was very irresponsible, Daniel.”
His uncle laughs loudly at that, and I eye Caleb, now realizing where he got it from. Seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Sem, Luke, Liam, and Anne amble in, and they take seats at the table as they reminisce about all the stupid shit they did growing up.
I can’t help but be horrified by what they got up to.
“It’s amazing you made it out alive,” I murmur as I walk into the kitchen to finish the dishes.
“I know,” Caleb chuckles, and my mouth turns down into a frown.
“You could have blown yourself up. Putting batteries into a fire. Jesus, Caleb.”
He rubs at the back of his neck and looks a little sheepish. “We were curious what would happen.”
“You lit the backyard on fire with gasoline.”
“Yeah, that was Sem. Not me.”
“You were a part of it,” I say, and then reach out and clutch at his shirt. What will happen when I’m no longer around and he continues to do these things? Who will protect him? Punish him for being bad?
“No more of that stupid, reckless stuff when you’re with me. Okay?”
He leans forward and rubs his face against my cheek. “Yeah, babe. I’ll tone it down.”
“All the way down, Caleb. I heard Luke and Sem saying something about a homemade potato gun. I don’t want you to be part of whatever they’re planning.”
He grins at me. “And if I’m a good boy and stay out of trouble…”
I shove him away gently. “I need to do the dishes.”
“Nah, let’s go out on the ATVs instead,” he says. “Dishes are boring.”
“We need to clean up,” I protest, but he’s pulling me outside.
“Do the damn dishes later. Let’s go have fun. We only have one more day here.”
I throw him a look. “What did I just say about not being reckless? You shouldn’t go out on the ATV. You just got your cast off. Do you want to break your hand again?”
He wiggles his fingers at me. “I’m fine. Feels like brand new.”
“No, you’re not to set foot on that thing. Especially since you always let your cousins convince you to do idiotic things. As history suggests, you don’t make the smartest decisions when coupled with them.”
He pulls me in for a filthy kiss. “All that fancy language makes me hot and bothered. You worried about me, babe?”
My eyes narrow. “I just know how irresponsible you are out there with them.”
“Why don’t you join me then? Keep me in check.”
I watch him a moment, considering it. I don’t want to go, but it might be the only way to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid. And I’d rather not end this wonderful day at the hospital again.
“There’s no stopping you, is there?”
“Nah.”
I sigh loudly. “Fine, but I’m driving. Let me at least check in with Anne and make sure she’s okay cleaning up by herself.”
Anne, of course, waves me off, saying she’ll finish the dishes, and then I follow him outside. He hands me the keys and watches as I warily mount the ATV.
“You’re turning me on big time, sitting there,” he groans, flipping his hat backward and climbing on behind me.
“Keep it together, Caleb,” I chastise as he helps me start the machine and instructs me on how to drive it. I listen intently, then rev the engine, and we move forward.
Slowly.
“Snails are moving faster than us,” he teases as I carefully maneuver us over a small hill. Luke, Sem, and Liam are so far in the distance that I can’t see them anymore. Can hear them hollering, though.
“I’m keeping you safe since you won’t do it yourself.”
“Aw,” he says with a small laugh, pressing a kiss to my neck as his hands roam my torso. “You care about me. Admit it.”
“Of course I care,” I say, purposefully avoiding a bump and steering us onto a bit of flat land.
His hands slide under my shirt, and he sighs into me.
“You’re distracting me,” I say as he plays with my nipples. “It’s not safe.”
“You’re driving so slow, I think if something happened, we’d be able to avoid getting hurt.”
He tugs on my nipples roughly, and I stop the ATV abruptly. I turn to look at him, my voice stern. “Do you mind?”
“I can’t help myself,” he says, moving his hands to the waistband of my pants and playing with the button of my jeans.
“We could find a tree, and I could blow you so good,” he says with a waggle of his eyebrows, and I huff, starting the ATV again and turning it around, heading back to the house.
“You are not blowing me behind a tree,” I mutter as I continue driving.
Suddenly, Sem and Luke fly past us, dust pluming up into the air as they whoop and whistle loudly at us.
“This is embarrassing,” he says with a soft laugh. “We look like total losers.”
“We’re being safe,” I hiss, and Caleb spends the rest of the slow ride home sucking on the skin of my neck.
“I can’t believe you did this to me,” I say grumpily as I drive us home. My hand is rubbing at the hickey he gave me. Everyone saw it. Admired it.
It was so embarrassing.
“You let me do it. Secretly, you love it,” he replies as he fiddles with the radio on the dashboard.
“Your aunt saw it. She stared at it until your uncle told her to stop. It’s enormous.”
“It was a lot of work. A work of art, really. It’s not my fault you taste so good,” he replies, and I can’t help but huff a little.
He leans over and nibbles on my ear. “Plus, hickeys aren’t a big deal. Pretty sure everyone heard us fucking this weekend.”
He leans a little closer and pulls me in for a quick, filthy kiss.
“That’s because you can’t keep it down,” I reply when he’s back in his seat.
“How can I when you fuck me so good?” he replies as he palms his dick. “Don’t be mad, baby. Love your cock.”
My cheeks flush, and I bite down on my bottom lip.
But the rush of affection and need buzzing through me dissipates when my phone dings. I pull it from the cupholder and stare down at it. Dread fills me like a disease, all-consuming and deadly. Eating away at the heart of me.
Fuck. Fuck!
I knew it would happen eventually, but I played with fate, played for far too long.
jigodie de tat?:
I know about your roommate.
His message glares at me like a warning, a threat.
My throat closes, and my vision blurs. Everything that felt so sure moments ago dissipates.
With a knee on the wheel, I text back with trembling fingers.
He can’t know. He can’t.
But he does. Of course he does. He’s always kept me under his thumb, careful that I do nothing to disgrace him or the family.
And the fact that I like men is the worst offense.
“Everything okay?” Caleb asks as I set the phone back in its place.
“Yes,” I reply, my fingers tapping a nervous beat on the steering wheel.
My phone dings again, and I know I have to answer. If I don’t, it will only make it worse.
jigodie de tat?:
If you don’t end it, I will send movers to pack you up and bring you home. And your boyfriend will be without a place to live.
“Want me to text back for you?” Caleb asks as I shove the phone under my thigh, my eyes stinging, my chest too tight. My entire body feels warm, my heart beating awkwardly in my chest.
“I’ve got it.”
“Is it your parents?”
“No,” I snap. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Tell him the truth? Let him go? End it?
Oh god, I have to end it. He’s going to come after us if I don’t. He’s going to take away everything I worked for. Everything I suffered for.
Oh fuck.
The phone rings, and I know I can’t ignore it. He’s mad, my unwillingness to bend the last few months making him volatile.
I hold it up to my ear, speaking in Romanian, so Caleb can’t understand what I’m about to do.
So I can hold on to him a few moments longer.
“You will go through with this,” he says, his voice low and threatening.
I swallow. “I will.”
“If you don’t, the money is gone. Everything is gone. I will make sure of it. No lawyer will be able to help you fight for it. I made sure of it.”
“I know. I’m going through with it. Just leave him alone.”
He’s silent, not promising anything, and I feel rage burn up inside of me.
“Leave him alone.”