Chapter Ten
Anastacia
It seems all the houses in Pinehaven are huge with a similar farmhouse style. Grizz’s is no exception.
I step into a spacious foyer with a staircase to the left, a large archway against the wall in front of them that shows off kitchen appliances. Straight ahead is a hallway, and to the right is another archway that leads into a cozy living room.
“I asked Tommy and Kels to go out for a while, so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed,” Grizz says as he steps in behind me.
“You didn’t have to do that. This is your house. Their house, too.”
He puts my stuff down beside the stairs. A couple duffel bags, a backpack, some grocery bags, and even a trash bag. It’s the most stuff I’ve had in my entire life. I hadn’t realized how much I’d accumulated until I had to pack it all.
“I want you to be comfortable here, Anastacia. It’s important. For you and the baby.”
I sigh, giving him a smile. I try not to feel bad about what he’s doing for me. He’s offering, and obviously it’s what he wants. I can’t argue with him about that.
“Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour.”
He holds his arm out, and I hook mine with his, giggling as we start to walk.
He takes me through the house, showing me the kitchen—and pointing out where everything is—the dining room, bathroom, laundry room.
We go upstairs, and he proudly tells me that he repainted his brother’s room for them before they got here.
It’s a beautiful shade of yellow. There are other empty rooms up here, along with two more bathrooms, and I expect him to tell me one of them is mine, but we head back downstairs before he does that.
That’s when he leads me down the hall.
“You’re going to stay in my room, and I’ll stay in the guest room down here.”
“No, Grizz—”
He looks at me over his shoulder. “My bed is much more comfortable. I don’t need your back hurting from the lumpy mattress in this room.” He points to the doorway on the right, and I peek in to see a bare room with a full-sized bed.
“That bed doesn’t even look big enough for you,” I argue.
“It’ll be fine. Bathroom is here.” He points to the door beside the guest room, then he tugs on my arm gently, and I go with him into his room—well, my room, I guess.
The scent hits me before I even step through the door. It smells like him, but times ten. I instantly feel relaxed.
He flicks the light on, but it’s still dim. The walls are dark blue, the bedsheets—which are a mess—match, while the floor is a dark wood. The curtains are drawn, keeping out most of the sun.
“It’s not dirty, I swear. I just don’t see the point in making my bed when I get up, if I’m going back to bed soon after.”
I huff a laugh. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“Make yourself at home. In here, and the rest of the house.” He turns to face me. “I mean it. You aren’t a burden here. In fact, Kelsey is really excited. You should have seen her face when I told her.”
“Are you sure she’s okay with the baby?” I ask.
“You’re amazing for asking. But I promise you she’s fine. We already talked about it.”
“Are you sure?” I ask again, my voice coming out soft and raspy. “I’d hate to—”
“Hey,” he says gently. “I promise you, I would never put you in a situation that would make you uncomfortable. Everyone who lives here wants you here. We’re happy about this.”
I take a slow, deep breath. “Thank you.”
His giant arms come around me, and he pulls me in for a hug. It’s awkward because of my belly, but we manage. And I’m so glad we do, because it feels good.
“How about we order pizza?” he suggests.
I moan, my head falling back. His arms stay around me, not letting me go.
“That sounds so good.”
“And we can eat it in the living room, while we watch something on the big screen. This house is nothing like Snapper’s.”
“God, that sounds perfect.”
“Oh, I have something for you.”
“Grizz—”
“It’s nothing serious, calm down.”
He lets go of me, and I miss his embrace immediately. He goes to his closet and pulls something from the top shelf. It’s a blanket, neatly folded. Tan. And it looks so soft.
When he hands it to me, it feels like a cloud.
“Oh my—”
“I’ve had that thing forever. Thought you’d like it because it’s soft.”
I rub it against my face. “It’s perfect.”
“Go on, then. Get comfortable on the couch. I’ll bring your things in and order pizza.”
I head out of the room but stop as soon as I step into the hallway. I turn to face Grizz and find him watching me.
“Thank you, Grizz. I’m happy to be here.”
He smiles. “I’m happy you’re here.”
I make my way to the living room, carrying the soft blanket, and get comfortable on the couch. The remote is on the side table, so I pick it up and figure out how to get the TV on.
He wasn’t lying when he called it the big TV. This thing is huge. Maybe as tall as me, if it were on the floor. I’ve never seen a TV so big and didn’t realize you were able to get this in your home. It’s a good thing the room is so big, or else it would make me dizzy.
The home screen pops up, showing the available platforms to watch. I’ve learned most of them from being at Snapper’s house, but prior to that, they meant nothing to me.
I’ve missed out on a lot of this world. Not only from being held by the Iron Runners, but from being poor and having nothing before that. The electricity didn’t work more than it did. Not that I had a TV to watch anything on if the electricity was working, anyway.
Grizz carries my stuff into his room all in one go. I hear him on the phone ordering pizza. A moment later, he comes into the living room to sit beside me on the couch.
“Did you decide on something to watch?”
“No, but I was thinking we could watch a TV show.”
“Oh, that’s serious.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He smiles. “I’m just joking.”
I smile back. “But I don’t understand the joke. Can you explain it to me?”
“Well, if we start a show now, neither of us will be able to watch it unless we’re together. It’s a common, uh… couple thing.”
“Oh,” I say, my cheeks heating. “Well, if you don’t want to—”
“I do want to,” he says adamantly. “I’ll watch anything with you, Angel.”
Angel…
Something about the nickname has my heart soaring.
I smile as I look through the shows, trying to decide what to watch. I don’t want anything scary or too action-packed. Something light and funny could be good.
“Have you watched this one?” I ask, clicking on it to see the description. It looks light.
“Friends? I think everyone—” He pauses abruptly. “Sorry. Yes, I’ve seen it.”
“Don’t be sorry, Grizz. I’m not offended. You were going to say everyone has seen it?”
“Yeah…”
“I get the expression. I won’t take it literally. Don’t walk around on eggshells with me.” I put my hand on his thigh. “I promise, I’m okay. And if you say something that bothers me, I’ll tell you. So just assume everything is good, unless I say otherwise, okay?”
His hand comes on top of mine. “Okay.”
I leave the program to look for something else.
“Why aren’t you putting it on?” he asks.
“You said you’ve seen it.”
“Well, I have but I don’t really remember it. It’s a show from the 90’s. And I think you’ll like it.”
“Yeah?” I ask.
“Yes,” he says, lifting my hand to kiss the back of it. “Now share this soft blanket with me.”
I giggle as he tugs on it playfully. I shift to allow him some of it, and thankfully it’s big enough to share. Though, maybe if it were a little smaller he’d have to move closer…
Not that he needs an excuse. Neither do I. We both gravitate towards the other with no reason, and the other doesn’t seem to mind.
Maybe we should talk about this, but it doesn’t seem like we need to explain ourselves either. This is all just happening, and we’re both on board, not ready to slow it down.
When the pizza arrives, Grizz gets up to get it, leaving it on the coffee table while he goes to the kitchen to get plates, napkins, and drinks.
He comes back with two cans of ginger-ale and everything else we need.
“You’ll have to tell me what kind of stuff you like. Kelsey does the grocery shopping, and I think she’s going tomorrow or the day after.”
Grizz sits beside me, putting down the plates and sodas. He gives me a slice and takes three for himself. He’ll be finished eating them by the time I’m done with my one. Then I’ll eat a second. He’ll eat two more, this way I can have the last one.
I never do. And after I convince him of it, he’ll finally eat it.
My eyes are much bigger than my stomach lately. Okay, maybe not quite because my belly is pretty big. I think there’s not enough room in my stomach for all the food I want to eat. This baby is big and has only been getting bigger since I’ve been with the HMMC, safe and eating the way I should.
Not that I’m giving the Iron Runners any credit, but once they found out I was pregnant, they fed me better, also.
Of course, that didn’t stop them from raping me.
More joined in at that point, happy I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant again.
Apparently, not all of them want a child to deal with.
I so stupidly thought once I was pregnant, it would stop… but it only got worse.
When I think of everything they did to me, it’s like a horrible book I read. It doesn’t feel real. I’ve distanced myself from it so far that I feel nothing. I’m not sure if that will come back to bite me in the ass or if it will forever protect me from those horrors.
Either way, I know my battle with them isn’t done. They want this baby, and I know without a doubt, they will be back to take it.
Only… they don’t know who they’re messing with.