9. Zela #3
He’s enjoying this way more than he should be.
Without breaking eye contact, he reaches up to rub his thumb over his still-bleeding lip before quickly reaching out to wipe it over mine. I sputter and spit before quickly wiping my arm along my lips and spitting some more.
“Aww, don’t be like that. We’re family now after all.”
I don’t like the way he says “family,” as if it’s something dirty, but I’m too busy trying to make sure I didn’t just ingest his blood to comment.
It’s probably for the best; my mouth tends to get me in more trouble.
The whole time, he hasn’t stopped moving forward, and because of that, I’m still moving back, that is, until my back hits the wall of mirrors behind me.
Fuckkkkk.
Jace is so much bigger than I am; even with his slimmer build, he’s about a foot taller than me. He leans into my space, bracing his hands on the wall on either side of my head, and I can’t breathe.
I don’t like tight places, not in terms of the room's size, but the ability to move freely. His being so close with my back against the wall takes me right back to that day, in the closet, at his mercy.
No!
I shove his chest, not giving myself a moment to enjoy the fact that he stumbles back a step.
I take off out of the gym and into the hall.
I need to get to my room before I break down into a full-blown panic attack, but my brain is so scrambled I don’t even know where that is.
Right now, I’ll settle for simply getting away from Jace.
I force myself to breathe despite the pain it causes me as my lungs burn and my muscles scream. Running after such an intense workout probably isn’t a great idea, but there’s nothing to be done about it now.
As if the universe can hear my thoughts, my leg cramps, and I stumble. My knee hits the ground, but I quickly get my hands out in front of me, half bear-crawling as I stumble and push myself forward.
I make it to the top of the stairs, turning the corner too hard. I slam my shoulder into the wall and let out a whimper of pain before I bite down on my lip.
The last thing I need is to wake up Dad or Diane.
One second, I’m frantically running, my bedroom door in sight. Next, I’m on the floor, the air leaving my lungs in a rush as I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood.
I’m so disoriented that it takes me a second to realize how I ended up on the ground.
“Fast little thing.” Jace chuckles in my ear, a hand pressed to the side of my head as he sits straddling my ass, keeping me in place.
I hate him. I fucking hate him.
But even with all the strength I train for, I’m not enough to throw him off as I flail and shove up off the ground.
His laughter grates on my nerves, no doubt the way he intended.
“Oh, is this bratty little mouth for me?” He rubs a finger over my lips, but I clamp them shut.
I’m not doing this with him.
I watch in disgusted horror as he moves his hand to his mouth and pops a finger in like he’s licking off the remnants of his favorite snack.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
“Jace.” Both of our heads snap up to look at Kolson, who stands with Isaac at the top of the stairs. I’d say he’s looking at us in disgust, but that might just be the same way he always looks at me.
Neither of us moves, not that I could if I wanted to. I’ve tried, and at this point, I’d just be embarrassing myself in front of them as well.
No thanks.
Kolson stalks down the hall, his nostrils flaring. Isaac trails behind him, looking like this is the last thing he wants to do but being a good lackey like always.
Before he can reach us, Jace huffs a heavy sigh and pushes off the ground, standing right beside me but no longer touching me.
As soon as his weight is gone, I’m moving. Scrambling up and toward my room without looking back.
I feel their eyes track me, but I don’t care. Slamming the door behind me, I quickly flip the lock before I reach for my phone.
I need another lock; this flimsy thing on the door handle won’t be enough to keep them out if they decide they want in.
Honestly, I’m not sure there is a guaranteed way to keep them out, but I’m sure as hell going to try.
It takes me all of two seconds to remember I left my phone on the ground near the bag I’d been using down in the gym.
I sag against the door, my forehead hitting the cool wood as I hear them moving around—their harsh whispers not enough to make out, but enough to tell me I won’t be going back out there tonight.
No, I’ll grab a shower and go to sleep. I can grab my phone in the morning; it’s not as if there’s anything worth having on there.
And finding a lock tonight or tomorrow really isn’t much different either; it’s not like I can get it now and install it before I go to bed, no matter how much I wish I could.
Everything else is a tomorrow problem. For now, all I want is to wash the feel of Jace off of me and pray I don’t dream about the way he felt on top of me.
I need to set up a study session with Josh soon too. Clearly, being in a house with these boys is scrambling my brain in the worst way.