Page 32 of High Rise Secrets
I ask him more about himself, even though I know almost everything there is to know. Every date I arranged for him, I would scour the internet to find more information on her. I hang on to every word as he tells me about growing up with two older sisters and the hell they would put him through. His smile as he recounts the stories relaxes me.
I’m an addict and he’s my drug.
* * *
The heatfrom the fire singed my flesh as ashen smoke filled my lungs. I couldn’t see anything, not even my own hands. I had to find them, though. They had to be here somewhere. I tried calling out and inhaled the thick black smoke that threatened to pull me further into the darkness surrounding me.
“Mom? Dad?” I managed to choke out before coughing.
I wheezed, trying to take a breath. Tears streamed down my soot-covered cheeks as I dropped to my knees. It was hopeless. I laid my head on the once pristine tile floor of the kitchen and waited for my chance to join them. I closed my eyes. My lids were so heavy, I felt as though I could sleep forever.
This was it.
I started to slip from consciousness when a pair of strong arms lifted me from the ground and cradled me against a hard chest. Something plastic was placed over my nose and mouth, and I could finally take a deep breath of pure air. I knew a man was talking to me, but I couldn’t understand him. I felt the exact moment we were safe outside, as my skin erupted in goosebumps from the extreme temperature change.
“What the hell were you thinking, running in there?” the fireman chastised.
“They’re gone.”
I jerk awake only to be pinned down where I am, Ethan’s arms wrapped around my body deep in sleep. I feel like I can’t breathe, and I buck against him, trying to gain space. He’s strong, his grasp on me like a vise.No. No. No.I dig at his arm, and he jerks awake, pulling back as I climb off the bed and tuck my knees to my chest on the floor. I rock gently, soothing my tense body and trying to let the memories slide from my consciousness.
It’s been months since I’ve had that dream.Months.Things had been going so well.
“Addy, what’s wrong?”
Tears sting my eyes and I close them, trying to get them to stop. I feel his warmth next to me, and my body jerks as his hands slide up and down my arms in comfort. I touch my scar, trying to ground myself.
It’s just a dream.
You’re safe.
He doesn’t move. He waits patiently for me to talk first, and my heart feels as if it wants to explode. I fall in love with him a little more. I didn’t want him to know about this, but I can’t keep this to myself now, especially with the fear blanketing him. When I look into his eyes, what I see reflected back shakes me to the core. It’s like he can see my demons, like heknows.
He holds his hand out when I look at him, and I take it as he helps me stand. I take a deep breath, hoping I’m making the right decision, hoping he won’t cast me aside like so many others. He leaves the room, murmuring to stay put as I sit on the bed, returning moments later with some water bottles.
“I go home every August to visit my family.”
He nods. “Right, you said that earlier.”
I take a deep breath, willing my heartbeat to slow. Trying to push the words out feels like a knife in my chest. I rub the spot over my heart, willing the building pressure to dissipate. Only the girls and my aunt and uncle know about what happened to my family. I’ve never shared this part of my life with anyone, because no one has been worthy of it—of my pain, of my heartache.
“My family perished in a fire eleven years ago.”
Chapter 20
Ethan
Of all the things she could have told me, that was the last thing I expected to hear.Jesus, I don’t even know what to say to that. Sorry?I’d sound like a fucking idiot. I reach my hand toward her in a comforting fashion as she takes a deep breath and snuggles her face into my palm.
“I woke from a nightmare I was having about that night. It’s not common for me to have it, but when I do, it’s usually around the anniversary of their death.” She rubs at the scar on her arm absentmindedly, stuck in the caverns of her memories. She’s silent again, but the hurt and anguish that cross her features are still present as she blinks. Her focus slowly returns.
I wrap my hand around her wrist, stilling her movements, making her look at me. This is the last thing I expected when I invited her to my place tonight. I figured we would have dinner, fuck, and then when we woke up, we could have more sex. Even though this isn’t what I planned, it’s exactly what she needs, and I want to be there to comfort her. “Tell me your tragic backstory.”
She looks up at me through her dark lashes and cocks her head to the side in confusion.
“You told me every stripper has a tragic backstory. I want to hear yours.”
She shakes her head, and I see the gears turning, the war she’s fighting against herself. She wants to tell me, but she’s stopping herself.Okay, let’s try something else to get her to trust me.