I clamped my mouth shut before the words could escape. I wanted to tell him everything, and I didn’t understand why. I hadn’t told anyone the complete details of the incident. All my parents knew was what PopPop had told them, and even he didn’t know the full extent of it. Just that he’d found some guy kissing me and knocked him on his ass.
They didn’t know I felt ashamed that I had let some guy even touch me, let alone kiss me. I hated that I couldn’t stop him myself, that I was so weak and trapped I couldn’t even cry for help. I felt violated and used, and I didn’t understand why when a kiss was all he’d taken from me.
And not understanding something just wasn’t acceptable to me.
“Mia and Barrick made up, so if you’re still up for it, you can move in with us when you come to school out here next semester,” he informed me, changing the subject when I remained silent.
That definitely caught my attention. “I’ll be living with you?”
Oh shit. How was I going to handle living under the same roof with him when all I wanted was to give him every single one of my other firsts? And despite Dax stealing my first kiss, I still had plenty of other firsts to give away to whomever I wanted.
“Yeah, we were just talking about it at dinner. Mia’s parents are on board with it and said they would discuss it with your mom and dad.”
“And I’m sure you’re thrilled about that,” I said with a roll of my eyes, realizing the true reason he was calling. “Look, I’ll talk to them and figure something out. You won’t even have to see me once I start school.”
“What? No,” he grumbled. “It was my idea for you to live with us, Kitten. Ask Mia if you don’t believe me.”
“Maybe I’m the one who should be asking ‘are you okay?’” A laugh escaped me, and for a moment, it sounded foreign to my ears because I hadn’t laughed in over a week. “You seemed like you couldn’t even stand to be around me the other day, Braxton. Why would you want me living under the same roof with you for months at a time?”
“I don’t understand it myself, if I’m being honest. But I would feel better about you and Mia living with us than in some apartment with poor security, or in the dorms where who knows what could happen.”
“So, this is more about protecting Mia,” I said, disappointment hitting me squarely in the chest. “This has nothing to do with me.”
“It’s not like that,” he tried to tell me, frustration thick in his voice. “I want to protect you too.”
“It’s okay. I get it. You don’t have to defend yourself to me.” I lay back, picking up the teddy bear I’d slept with most of my life and squeezed him to my chest. “I’m going to get off here. I have some work to do,” I lied.
“Nevaeh…” Something in his voice stopped me from hanging up. “If you ever need to talk, you can call me. No matter what time or what it’s about, I’ll always answer. Okay?”
“I don’t have your number,” I reminded him.
“I’ll text it to you from Mia’s phone. I mean it, Kitten. Call me anytime.”
“Yeah, okay,” I told him, knowing I would never tell him about Dax, but the idea of talking to him whenever I wanted had my lips lifting in the beginning of a smile.
“Call me later.” It sounded more like a command than a question, but I still found myself agreeing. “Bye, Kitten.”
“Bye, Braxton,” I whispered, clenching my arms around the teddy bear.
Chapter 1
Nevaeh
Daddy put the last of my boxes down in the middle of the bedroom that was going to be mine for the foreseeable future, his blue-gray eyes glancing around the average-sized room in the three-bedroom house.
The queen-sized bed was already made up with my favorite comforter and pillows. My laptop sat open on the desk by the window, all the books I needed for the semester course load stacked neatly on the edge. Mom was already putting away my toiletries in the connecting bathroom.
Both of my parents had come with me, making sure I was settled in and didn’t need anything. But it was mostly to reassure themselves their sixteen-year-old daughter would be safe and happy three thousand miles away from them. They didn’t need to worry, though. Not only was I a reasonably responsible teenager, leaps and bounds away from how immature my younger sister Arella was, but I had Barrick and Braxton to watch over me.
If Uncle Nik could relax and let them take care of Mia, then I knew my parents could handle me being away with those two close by.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” Daddy asked as his gaze landed on me. “You have everything for all those classes you’re taking?”
“I’m set, Daddy,” I said with a grin. Not only had he gone with me to buy all my books, but he’d handed me one of his many limitless credit cards, telling me if I needed—or wanted—anything, not to hesitate to use it. It didn’t matter that I had two other cards in my purse. He needed me to take it, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to make him happy.
“If you decide you don’t like it here, or if things get to be too much for you, I don’t care how far into the semester it is, you come home.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, cradling me against him like I was still a little girl. I closed my eyes, soaking it all in. I was going to miss him and Mom, but I needed this time away from them and my siblings.
“Okay,” I agreed, because he needed me to.
“Don’t do anything reckless. No parties. No boys. No drinking and no drugs,” he warned.
“Of course, Daddy.”
Mom walked out of the bathroom, dusting off her hands like she’d just spent an hour cleaning in there rather than just ten minutes organizing toiletries. Everything in the house was spotless, and I didn’t think for a second it was Mia’s doing. I loved her like crazy, but she didn’t do a lot of cleaning. No, it was the cousins who seemed a little OCD about keeping everything neat and tidy, but that could just as easily be their military background at work.
“Looks like you’re all set,” she said with a smile. “What do you say we grab some dinner, and then Daddy and I will get out of your hair?”
I lifted my brows at them. “First, you’re not in my hair. I love you both and miss you already. Second, you’re just looking for an excuse not to leave me. After dinner, you’ll talk me into going for ice cream or cheesecake or something equally delicious and fattening. And before you know it, your flight time will be canceled and you will have to wait until morning for a new time for PopPop’s jet to get in the air.”
Mom looked up at Daddy with sad eyes. “I really don’t like that she knows us so well, babe. She’s too damn smart for her own good.”
“And that is why we’re dropping her off at college when she’s only just turned sixteen,” he grumbled unhappily. “But she’s right. We need to go, or I won’t want to leave her at all. And we have four other babies at home.”
“They’re at Shane and Harper’s,” Mom argued. “They’ll be fine a few extra days without us. Our firstborn needs us more, Dray.”