CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Reid
Leaning against the house whilst the others search the house and grounds, I watch as the woman who has captured my attention lowers herself to the ground near the old, rustic fence that needed replacing decades ago. The sun casts a glow behind her, outlining her silhouette.
No one, not even her cousins, is around her.
It bothers me more than I care to admit.
She should have someone holding her, telling her it’s going to be okay.
I’ve only been around the Addison sisters a few times, each interaction short and sweet.
One thing I learned, however, is that these girls have been through shit and walked out the other side different.
Not broken, but not whole either. They each have strength only a person who has fought for their life can attain.
Summer has a different kind of strength inside of her.
It comes with her ability to be a great friend, a fantastic relative and person.
She holds so much light inside of her. Her namesake fits her.
This life... the danger, the chaos, it isn’t something she is used to.
It’s clear as day on her face. This isn’t shock—not like it was back at the house—even though some still lingers.
It’s a mixture of things. Fear. Worry. Concern.
Acceptance. And loneliness. She needed protecting.
A woman like that has never appealed to me before.
I’ve always wanted a woman to be fierce, strong, and someone who can handle her own shit.
I needed someone who could take sarcastic comments or handle violence, since they may witness me getting into a lot of fights.
I know she can handle herself, keep herself upright—she proved that today—but I also know it comes at a cost. It chips away at your soul, hardens you in some aspects.
I don’t want that to happen to her. I barely know the girl, and I just want to buy her a plane ticket out of here.
Because surprising me, no other woman has appealed to me more than the girl in front of me. Vulnerabilities and all.
Her hands tremble as she grips the phone in front of her, and seeing that has me pushing off from the house, making my way over.
I can’t stand her being alone a minute longer.
Neither me or my brothers hold each other and promise everything will be okay when things go to shit.
We don’t need to do that shit. We just know we have each other’s backs.
But we would be close or in reach. We wouldn’t let this much space go between us.
The reaction the Addison sisters exhibited today showed they are just as tight with each other as me and my brothers are.
It kind of pisses me off it doesn’t extend to Summer.
I may have witnessed their love for their cousin, but they don’t show the same level of reverence for Summer as they do each other.
I drop down next to her and she glances up, trying to mask her feelings by coming across annoyed and bored. I see the relief, and I won’t ignore it. “I’m not in the mood to argue with you, Reid.”
“We’ve already determined I’m not arguing with you,” I tease, brushing my shoulder against hers. “I just thought you needed someone.”
“I have Berty.”
My eyebrows scrunch together. Maybe getting her checked over again won’t be such a bad idea. “Berty?”
She twists her head to the side and jerks her chin at the post level with her head behind her. A snail sits on the top, and for some reason, my brain immediately goes to the movie Mum made us watch as kids.
“Did he ask you to meet the missus yet?” I whisper.
It takes her a moment but she clicks on, laughing. “Sadly they separated last year.”
“Damn. I was hoping they had a single daughter.”
Her smile is forced this time. “Reid...”
She doesn’t say the words, but I know that tone. It’s the ‘leave me alone’ tone.
“I’ll stop with the joking,” I assure her. “But I’m not going anywhere. You need someone.”
Her expression drops again, her gaze going to her phone. “I have to order food,” she whispers.
She seems so lost, but I don’t think it’s because she’s traumatised to the point she can’t come back from it.
She’s most likely compartmentalising everything she has witnessed and gone through.
I’ve seen others do the same. We, the Hayes and the Carters, just do it differently because it’s all we know.
I slowly reach out to take her phone, not wanting to disturb her thoughts. She glances at me, her thick lips puckering as a look of puzzlement crosses her face. “What are you doing?”
“Ordering food,” I reply, heading to the app. “There are too many of us to order from one place, so I’ll order from a bunch of places.”
I’m not sure how much time passes, but on the last restaurant, Jaxon yells out the house is clear.
“Pay for that order from my account,” Summer demands softly, more relaxed now.
I glance at her, wondering if she saw the price. “Are you sure? That’s a lot of money.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t see you adding other bank accounts onto it,” she mutters. “It’s only fair.”
I chuckle under my breath. She isn’t wrong.
I used my account, my brother’s and Liam’s.
It didn’t seem fair to put all the costs onto one person.
I’ve also made a few more orders but asked to pay in cash, which I’ll be putting on Max and his side.
“This one?” I ask, pointing to the bank details.
There are four on there, but that one is the default account so I’m assuming it’s hers.
“Yes,” she rasps, folding her arms over her knees before placing her chin down on the crook of her arm. “Why are you being so nice?”
I hand her back the phone. “Does there need to be a reason?”
I could give her some sarcastic remark, some backhanded comment, but for some reason, I don’t want to lie to her. “Your family are all hovered around each other, but not you—the person this actually happened to.”
A small smile tugs at her lips, giving me a flash of a dimple. “They are giving me space; something you don’t understand,” she explains and turns her head until her cheek is resting on her arm so she can see me, her eyes sparkling. “Why do you sound so annoyed by it?”
“Because they should be with you,” I state. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
She arches her eyebrow. “Careful, you sound like you care,” she teases. “And I’m not alone. They are right there. If I need them, I just need to call out to them.”
“Fair enough,” I mutter, and lean back against the fence post, crossing my legs at my ankles. “I’m sorry you had to witness all that today.”
She joins me by resting back against her post. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t cause this. I am hoping today is the first and last time I’m ever near a house exploding though.”
I laugh at her attempt to lighten the mood, but my next words come out kind of bitter. “Then I wouldn’t stick around. It’s bound to get worse.” I glance away when concern flashes over her face. She needs to hear the truth. “It always does.”
“Reid, you can’t let them win. Houses, jobs, cars, they are all replaceable.
Lives aren’t. And from what I’ve witnessed, you guys have each other’s backs.
I can’t comment on Black, but I guess he’s not much different to Katherine.
And people like her, they have no one, Reid.
In all the time I’ve worked there, I’ve never seen a friend meet her for lunch.
I suspect she has friends, but they are most likely acquaintances from her age group.
Not someone she can unload to, go out for drinks with or spend the night getting spa treatments.
She thinks possessions, money, and status make her important.
They don’t. All those things are what make her weak.
“You guys aren’t giving up. Look at all the things they have done to you.
Whilst it’s not been fun for you to live through, you have lived through it.
So it might get worse, but you can’t give up.
None of you can. Giving up gives her power.
It might not feel like it right now with everything that has happened, but there is a reason they keep doing these things.
There’s a reason they keep going bigger with the next attack.
” She doesn’t say anything for a moment, so I meet her gaze, seeing her eyes water.
“You aren’t on the defence, Reid. All this time you’ve been on the offence.
You’ve just been more clever about it, which is why they keep fighting harder. ”
I take in her words, feeling my chest tighten.
I have never really thought about it like that.
All this time, I’ve been angry that we haven’t just finished it, finished them.
Instead, we’ve had to take everything they’ve thrown at us, and at times, it’s felt like we’ve stood there whilst they give the beating.
Nothing we ever did felt like it measured to what they put us through.
“You’re right,” I whisper. “Sorry, it’s been a long day. I hate that more people are getting hurt because of them.”
She places her hand on my arm, and everything within me tenses. I feel her touch everywhere. There’s not an inch of me that doesn’t feel it. “It will be okay in the end.”
I smirk, wide. “You know what would make today okay?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.
Her comforting smile drops and she rolls her eyes. “You’re a pig.” I shrug, uncaring, which has her letting out a heavy sigh. “And don’t think I don’t know the crude remark is because you just realised you let your guard down.”
She got me. Instead of admitting that, I just smirk, eyeing her mouth. And on cue, she squirms, uncomfortable.
“Give it back,” Max roars, pulling my attention away from Summer.
“It’s my brownie,” Malia screams. “Get your own.”
“That was me getting my own,” he snaps, trying to reach for the brownie she’s holding hostage. “Don’t make me get my wife. Give me my brownie.”