Page 39 of Hunted (Desert Island Duet #2)

Chapter twenty-four

Darla

A loud crack of thunder splits the air, jolting me upright. My eyes fly open, searching the space around me as my brain scrambles to remember where I am.

Seeing the dark gray walls and black bedding, I know I'm in Reece’s room. It’s the first time I’ve slept beside him, and I wish I could remember coming in here. I remember going to their office, speaking to the press, someone trying to shoot at us, and then… I kissed Reece.

My mind halts on that memory, replaying it in my head until the window flashes from lightning, followed by a boom of thunder.

Crab sucker!

Fear coils in my belly as my mind tries to overwrite the good memory with another… one from a long time ago that still terrifies me to this day.

With shaking hands, I push the blanket down to my knees and run my hands over the bedding and my body.

“No blood,” I whisper when my hands come up clean. Another boom of thunder cracks in the air as the storm grows closer and I squeeze my eyes shut on instinct. Immediately, I’m assaulted with memories of my hands, covered in blood so I open my eyes again and scan my surroundings for a distraction.

The wall across from me is covered in photos from my childhood, and I try to recall some of those memories, but my eyes snag on an image of me at thirteen and I realize that was what I looked like when it all happened. That poor young girl had no idea what was going to happen to her.

A soft snore has me turning to see Reece fast asleep beside me. Have I really never slept beside him before? How did I even end up here? After we got home and had dinner, we watched a movie downstairs. I must have fallen asleep. I check my other side and find Kingsley sleeping there.

“You’re not alone,” I mumble to myself as the rain starts to hit the window, making me tremble with unease. “You’re safe. Nothing can get you here.”

The rain gets louder, and a loud bolt of thunder sounds above us, lasting so long I wonder if it will ever end. “I am not a child. I am not afraid of storms,” I whisper, pulling my knees up and rocking back and forth, hoping the movement will calm me.

Wait—Where’s Steve?

I glance over at the nightstand but don't see him. He’s probably in Bower’s room, where I left him last night. Should I go get him?

But the thought of getting out of this bed and walking through the dark house terrifies me right now.

Ugh, what is wrong with me?!

It’s not like I could wake one of them up and ask them to go get Steve. They all need their sleep, and I’m embarrassed enough by my reaction to a simple storm without them seeing me like this .

And I know I’m not scared of the storm itself. It’s that with every crack of thunder, or drop of rain, my mind tries to assault me with memories that I want to keep buried. But it’s as if my mind won’t let me hear the sounds without reminding me about the worst one I’ve ever lived through.

Thunder cracks again, louder than before.

At the same time the rain thrashes hard against the window, making me let out a small whimper that I quickly muffle with the blanket.

Tears threaten to fall as memories of red paint my vision.

I try to pry my eyes open, but I can’t. Even with them closed, I see my hands, covered in blood, while thunder cracks above me and rain pours down around me. The jungle floor is muddy and—

My eyes fly open as strong arms move around me, and I start to struggle against them.

“Shh, shh, Darla, it’s me, it’s Reece.” I instantly stop fighting and let him pull me into his lap. “That’s it, I’ve got you,” he whispers as I curl up as small as I can in his lap, resting my head against his firm chest.

He holds me tight, with one hand stroking down the back of my head as tears spill down my cheeks. I hate crying so much. Since I’ve met the guys, I feel like I cry more than I had in the past fifteen years.

But I know that’s not true. I used to cry myself to sleep every night when I was alone.

“It’s okay, darling. You’re safe.” The bed moves and I feel other hands touching me, running down my back, my leg, and my arm.

Are the others here, too?

I’m not sure if I should feel mortified or relieved. In the end, I just try to think about their soothing hands to keep me distracted.

“Is she always like this during storms?” Reece asks .

“Yeah, pretty much. She’s okay with some rain, but it’s the thunder that really freaks her out,” Kingsley explains from beside us.

“She said there wasn’t a storm that night, right?” Reece asks, but this time everyone is silent, and I wonder if they’re nodding at him.

“It’s something else,” Weston finally says, breaking the silence.

“She needs to tell us,” Bower says quietly and my whole body tenses, my fingers digging into my name over Reece’s heart.

I can’t tell them that. I can never tell anyone that. They’ll never look at me the same again.

“It’s okay, darling, you don’t have to tell us anything right now,” Reece whispers, feeling me tense up.

The room is silent, and I wonder what they’re all thinking. Do they hate that I’m keeping something from them? There are just some things that they don’t need to know.

The beginning notes to thunderstruck start to play from someone’s phone and I can practically hear Bower’s smirk. “What? We sang it with her on the island. It’s totally appropriate!”

A small giggle escapes me, and that just encourages him further.

“See! She likes it!” The sound increases, and although it doesn’t cover the thunder completely, the music, combined with the guy's soothing touches and the pounding of Reece’s heart below my ear, help me close my eyes without memories assaulting me and I soon drift off to sleep.