Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ren
Iwatch Lucy’s chest rise and fall as she sleeps in her bed, warm breath leaving her lips with every exhale.
When she passed out in Cole’s arms, we brought her back to our place to clean her up and let her get some rest. With a wet washcloth and a couple of butterfly stitches on her arm, she was almost good as new.
I changed her into some clothes that were not covered in blood before laying her down.
The scratches and bruising on her legs from last night shouldn’t take long to heal.
Looking at her now as she sleeps, I see the bags under her eyes and the weight she’s lost since she left.
The thought of her not taking care of herself makes me feel sick.
I stand up from sitting on her dresser and walk over to the bed. Tenderly, I brush away the hair covering her eyes. I never thought I would see her here again, let alone in this bed. My mind wanders to what she’s been doing since she left. Did she miss us? Did she miss me?
I’ve been miserable since she left; we all have.
I work and come home. Nash has been working more than not, and Cole, well, he’s been brought home from the bar by Lawson more times than I can count at this point.
It hasn’t been easy for us to go back to how things were before Lucy came into our lives and our home.
The constant feeling that something’s missing is debilitating most days.
Fuck, I’ve missed her.
I gently lay next to her in the bed, and she rolls into my arms. We stay like this for a bit before she lets out a groan when her arm shifts.
I’m sure it will be sore for a couple of days.
She nuzzles into me before her eyes flutter open and she looks up at me from beneath her lashes. I give her a soft smile.
“Hi, Love.” My voice is barely audible, but she returns my sad smile.
“Hi, Ren.”
Lucy’s eyes shine with unshed tears, and I pull her closer. Her shoulders shake next to me as she cries. I keep her close and rub her back for a few minutes until she pulls back and looks at me again.
“Why are you here?” Lucy whispers.
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s my house too,” I answer, a smile playing on my lips.
“No, why are you here? With me?”
I look at her for a moment, trying to decide exactly what she’s asking. When I don’t answer, she continues her questioning.
“Don’t you hate me?” she asks before biting her lower lip.
I furrow my brows and cock my head. “Hate you? Why would I—” I shake my head as I realize what's happening.
“You should hate me. I’ve been a horrible person to you. And Nash and Cole.” She sits up and shakes her head, not making eye contact with me. “You should all hate me for what I’ve done.”
I reach out and place her hand in mine. With my other, I lift her chin so her eyes are looking into mine.
“I don’t hate you, Love. Am I hurt? Yes. But I love you, Lucy.”
I move my hand to the side of her face and brush my thumb across her cheek as she leans into my touch. A tear falls silently down her face, and I wipe it away.
“I don’t deserve you. Any of you.” Her voice cracks.
Before I can answer, there’s a knock on the door before it opens and Cole stands there.
“Lawson’s here.” He clears his throat, looking right at me. I take note of the way he avoids looking at Lucy.
“Alright, I’ll be out in a minute,” I answer, moving to the edge of the bed.
“Cole?” Lucy’s voice stops him as he turns to leave. He stands there sideways and looks down the hall but says nothing. I see his jaw tick.
“Can we talk?” Lucy’s voice is full of nerves, and she slides her hands down her legs.
“I’ll give you guys some privacy,” I state, standing up from the bed. I push past Cole in the doorway and give him a little shove. He walks in before closing the door.
Cole
I lean back against the door and cross my arms. I’m fucking pissed at Lucy, and the last thing I want to do is talk to her. If Ren wouldn’t have shoved me on his way out, I would have walked away. Lucy’s mouth opens and closes a few times before she finally speaks.
“Cole, I want to apologize—”
“Don’t. Don’t give me some shitty ass apology and expect me to forgive you, Rich Girl.” My tone is angry and harsh, causing her eyes to widen in surprise before narrowing at me.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me, asshole. I wanted to—”
“Wanted to what?” I ask, interrupting her again. “Hmm?”
“If you would stop interrupting me—” Lucy tries to talk again before I cut her off.
“The only thing you did was break Ren’s heart and the promise you made to me.” I lean forward and take a few steps until I’m a couple feet from the bed with my finger pointed at her. “You don’t get to apologize.”
Lucy moves quickly, and in a flash she’s standing toe to toe with me, our faces inches apart.
“I was trying to keep you all safe! Everything that’s been happening is because of me!”
“Yeah? And how fucking well did that work out for you? You could have died.”
“But I didn’t, Colson.” Her breath is warm against my face as we glare at each other. “I never asked you to save me. I didn’t text you,” she says, pushing her finger into my chest.
“I would have ignored your message anyway.”
We stand there, unmoving. I know I don’t mean what I just said, but she doesn’t. The energy in the room becomes electric, and I’m not sure if she is going to punch me or kiss me by the way she’s looking at me.
The next moment is a flurry of arms wrapping around each other as our mouths connect in a heated power struggle for control.
I pull her pants down as she unbuttons mine.
I toss her back on the bed and pull her towards the edge.
I push my boxers down and line myself up, burying myself in her in one swift motion.
“You promised,” I say while thrusting roughly into her. She feels like heaven wrapped around my cock. I tilt my head back and groan. “You promised you wouldn’t leave, and you did.”
Lucy lets out a moan in response. I reach up her shirt and pinch her nipple.
“You. Left. Us.” I say each word as I slam into her. “You. Left. Me.” The last word comes out as a growl.
“I was trying to, ohhhh, protect your dumb ass. I didn’t want to.” Lucy grabs my arms and rakes her nails down them, leaving marks.
“But you did. And when I found you, you were covered in blood. Again.” The words come out through gritted teeth as I feel her walls start to flutter around my cock. “Don’t. Do. It. Again.”
Lucy’s expression softens before she lets out a moan when I place my thumb on her clit and move it around in slow circles.
I feel her reaching her peak at the same time as me, so I remove my thumb from her clit and pull out, stroking myself twice before coming between her legs.
Sweat shines on Lucy’s body as she glares, causing me to smirk.
“Bad girls don’t get to come, Rich Girl. Now clean up and meet us in the living room. Lawson is waiting.” I tuck myself back into my briefs and pull my pants up as Lucy watches.
“Fuck you, Colson,” she spits out.
I let out a chuckle and close the door behind me, leaving Lucy in the room filled with anger and disappointment while I feel better than I have since she left. Walking into the living room, I find Lawson, Nash, and Ren already sitting and bullshitting with each other.
I notice Lawson smiling at his phone when I call him out. “Hey Chief. There a reason you’re smiling like a fool right now?”
Lawson quickly locks his phone and glares at me as he sets it down. “No, ass face. No reason.” His face turns to a grumpy expression, and I can tell he’s lying when I catch him glancing at it continuously, waiting for a message to come through.
“Where’s Lucy?” Ren asks.
I shrug my shoulders. “She should be right out.”
We all chat about random shit until Lucy makes her way into the room a few minutes later. She sits by Ren on the couch, and he pulls her in. I roll my eyes as Lawson clears his throat.
“How are you feeling, Lucy?” Lawson asks.
“Sore but alright. I’ll be fine in no time,” she answers. When silence creeps between us, Lucy speaks again. “So what are we doing here? What is this meeting about?”
“We’re going to end this, Darlin’. Once and for all,” Nash answers, leaning forward in his chair.
Lucy looks around at all of us for a few moments. When she looks at Ren, he nods his head and she nods hers back before returning her attention to the group.
“Okay. How are we doing this?”