10. Chapter 10
Chapter ten
Brad
A round three a.m., I slip into the house. I keep my keys from jingling. I keep the door from banging, then shut it with a soft click that wouldn’t even alert a dog. I soften every footstep as I head in. My hands are coated in dried blood, but the anger hasn’t faded.
But I saw every text Katie sent, could feel her desperation.
Katie: Where did you go?
Katie: Seriously, nothing happened. I told him no.
Katie: Are you coming home?
Katie: I hope you’re safe. I’d like to see you tomorrow so I know we’re okay.
Add that to my brother’s texts and his voice mail… and a call from my dad too. I knew I needed to come home, but I didn’t want to bring my problems home with me. That’s not fair to any of them. Lesser of two evils. That’s how it works.
I slip into Katie’s room, half expecting my dad to be there, but it’s so late that I’m not surprised he isn’t. I am surprised that she’s wearing full pajamas. She’s half kicked the blanket off so I see she has on pajama pants and a T-shirt. A soft ‘no’.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, I watch her sleep. She squirms and gropes the bed until I cover her up with her sheet. A part of me wants to crawl into bed with her, to hold her, remind us both that she’s mine and she belongs right here, bundled up in my arms for me to enjoy.
She’s my slut which means that I’m the one who gets to have her. Carter and my dad get her because it works, but no strangers. No one outside our circle, and as much as I logically know it’s not her fault that the dickwad wants her, I hate his thinking for even a second that he can have her.
“You’re not available, Katie,” I growl in a low voice. “We own you and that means you tell others you’re taken. You’re not available for lunch. You’re not available for flirting.”
But her face is so soft, so innocent. As innocent as she isn’t .
There’s no illusion that she was upset tonight. There’s no way for me to avoid the reality that she will keep talking to other men because she has to, but there’s a way to do it and she apparently needs to learn that.
So as much as I want to climb into bed, hold her, let her wake up to me and know that I didn’t hurt anyone, that I’m not just going to disappear on her, I’m not ready for the conversation we need to have.
It’ll become a fight because she just won’t understand. I wish she didn’t have to, but this isn’t a problem that’s going to disappear.
Which is why I’m not going to let her know I’m here. I’ll leave a note for Carter and that will be good enough. At least for now, while I set up my next step for Dan the Dick and my disobeying slut.