Page 41 of Hunted (Desert Island Duet #2)

Chapter twenty-six

Darla

“ A re you ready?” Bower asks, his hands covering my eyes.

“Yes! I wanna see!”

He chuckles and slowly drops his hands, revealing my new room.

"Sweet baby bedroom!" I gasp as I step inside, turning in a slow circle to take it all in. The walls are painted a soft, soothing gray, and the dark walnut hardwood floors gleam beneath my feet. At the center of the room sits the largest bed I’ve ever seen, its sturdy wooden frame matching the floors in color and tone.

The bedding is a dreamy mix of blush pink, crisp white, and subtle touches of forest green, creating the perfect balance of cozy and elegant.

The wall across from the bed, which the door we entered through is on, is covered in a beautiful green leafy wallpaper.

It balances out the rest of the room perfectly.

If they had used that wallpaper everywhere, it would have been too much, and if they hadn’t used it at all, the room would have felt like it was missing something.

There are matching pink curtains and around the room there are multiple green plants.

In the corner, there’s one so big it almost touches the ceiling, and several smaller ones are scattered throughout.

On the nightstand is the smallest plant and sitting beside it is my rock, Steve, and a framed photo.

I step closer to take a look and see it’s one of the ones Hazel took of us when I got my hair cut. There’s a matching pink armchair in one corner and a light gray bean bag chair across from it. On the other side of the room is a wooden desk and chair with a laptop and a variety of writing supplies.

“You like it?” Bower asks, practically bouncing on his toes in excitement.

“Like it? I love it! How did you do all this without me seeing?”

“We have our ways,” Reece says with a smirk.

“Check this out,” Bower says, moving to the nightstand and pointing to something that looks sort of like a white alarm clock, but with no time display. He presses a button on the top and the sounds of ocean waves fill the room.

I smile as the sound instantly starts to soothe me. He presses the button again and jungle sounds surround us. “There are about ten different sounds you can use, but I think you’ll like those two the best.”

“This is amazing. Thank you so much, all of you.” I give Bower a hug, then proceed to kiss my other three guys.

“We got your closet sorted out, too,” Kingsley says, waving me over to the walk-in closet. “It’s still pretty empty, but once you start to figure out what styles you like, we’ll order you more clothes.”

So far, I was living in leggings, miniskirts, and crop tops, or cute dresses. Although I did want to try some other styles, I felt that my wardrobe wasn’t my top priority right now.

Adjusting to life off the island is much harder than I expected it to be.

It’s hard to believe I will ever get used to traffic and loud noises enough to be able to drive.

That was on my to do list, but I’ve pushed it down to the bottom.

It’s difficult enough just being in a car right now, let alone driving one.

“Thank you, Kingsley,” I say, taking in the closet.

“Um, there was just one thing I wanted to ask you about.” He avoids looking at me as he rubs the back of his neck. Why does he look so uncomfortable?

“What is it?” I ask, grabbing his arm and pulling his hand down to thread my fingers through his, hoping it will calm his nerves.

“I noticed you still only wear the one bra, you know, besides the sports bras. I thought you might be uncomfortable asking for more?”

“Oh.” A giggle escapes as I realize how weird we’re being. We’re in a relationship and had sex yesterday, and yet, talking about undergarments was uncomfortable?

Deciding this was something I can be brave about, I tell him the truth. “I hate them. They’re uncomfortable.”

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Oh.”

I laugh again and shrug my shoulder. “The sports bras are more comfortable.”

“You know, there are hundreds of styles. What didn’t you like about them?” Reece asks, joining our conversation.

“The straps dig into my shoulders, and the wire was hard and poked into me.”

“Leave it with me, I’ll find some other styles for you. I’m sure there are wireless ones with better straps. I’ll get you some… unless you’d rather go without?” he asks with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t mind, when I’m home. But I’m not sure I want to wear a crop top in public and risk an accidental flashing. ”

“Absolutely not,” Weston says with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest. I roll my eyes at his possessiveness, while secretly loving it.

“Don’t worry, big guy, these are only for the people in this room.” In a moment of confidence, I lift up my crop top and flash my bare breasts at them. Only a second too late do I realize that Reece hasn’t actually seen me naked yet.

I yank my shirt down as my wide eyes meet his. “Uhhh…. Sorry?” My cheeks heat and I cover my face with my hands, feeling a little mortified that I just flashed him.

I just flashed Reece. My boyfriend.

A giggle erupts out of me at the ridiculousness of it. I shouldn’t feel embarrassed over something like that. I’m pretty sure I have nothing to be embarrassed about in the whole boob department; it’s more of the fact that I just flashed him like some sorority girl.

I drop my hands, even though I can feel my face is still red. “Flashing someone wasn’t actually on my bucket list, but let’s just pretend it was, okay?”

Reece’s heated eyes meet mine, and he gives me a wink.

Bower starts laughing as he drops down on my bed. “Sure thing, Tink. Remind me, what else is on that list? We should make sure we are crossing something off each day.”

“One thing I added was taking more photos, of all of us.”

“That’s an easy one, come here.” He motions me over and pulls me into his lap. Pulling out his phone, he takes a selfie of us.

“Here,” Kingsley takes the phone and steps back, letting Bower wrap both arms around me and rest his head against mine as we smile up at the camera .

They indulge me, taking turns posing for photos with me all around the room.

I get individual shots with each of them before we start mixing it up, two at a time with me squished between.

It quickly turns into a game to see who can come up with the best or silliest pose.

One of my favorites is the shot where Kingsley and Bower kiss my cheeks at the same time while I’m blushing like a tomato.

When we use the self-timer to take a photo of all of us at the end of the bed with me in the middle, and all of them touching me somewhere, I know that one is going to be my favorite.

I blink my eyes open but realize it’s still dark out. What woke me? I lay still for a moment, listening, but all I hear are the sounds of my guys, sleeping around me.

The best part of my new bedroom is definitely the bed.

It’s big enough for all of us to sleep in without feeling cramped.

I don’t know if they had it custom made, but it is amazing.

Knowing they were all in here with me when I went to bed made sleeping so much easier.

Not to mention the glow from the stars scattered across my ceiling.

They really had thought of everything to help me adjust.

I feel a small pinch in my stomach and place my hand over it. Am I hungry? I lift my head and glance at the clock. Four a.m. No, I don’t think that’s it. It feels more painful than simple hunger .

My stomach cramps again, a bit longer this time, and I moan, trying to be as quiet as I can. What the hell? The soft sounds of the ocean plays throughout the room, but right now it’s not helping me stay calm.

I slowly lift Weston and Reece’s arms off me so I can sit up. My stomach cramps again and my hands start to shake.

Don’t freak out, don’t freak out.

For all I know, it’s just a stomach bug, or food poisoning. Those weren't so bad… right?

Sitting up fully, I feel something wet between my legs, and a whimper starts to break free. I try to stifle it quickly, not wanting anyone else to be a witness to my freakout.

This isn’t happening again. I’m safe. I’m with the guys. I’m not back there… alone and broken.

A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead, and I realize my whole body is trembling right now as I grip the blanket in both hands, preparing myself for what I’ll find.

I take a deep breath, then yank the blanket down. My eyes widen in shock at the sight in front of me.

“No, no no. This can’t be happening again…” I mumble as I reach down between my legs and swipe my hand through the mess.

I lift it up to my face to get a better look.

Blood.

My body freezes as I stare at my hand. How is this even possible? Wasn’t I being safe? I can’t—This can’t happen again.

My hand shakes wildly in front of my face. No, I’m having a nightmare. This isn’t real. I feel between my legs with my other hand, and it comes up bloody, too .

“No, no, no!” I scream, using both hands to try to wipe the blood away from me, pushing it down the blanket which only results in smearing it everywhere.

Someone grabs my arms as a piercing noise reaches my ears. The light flickers on and it only helps to intensify the bloody mess between my legs. I try to scream, but realize that piercing noise is me, I’m already screaming.

“Baby, baby, calm down!” Weston tries to yell over me as he tries to keep my arms from thrashing everywhere.

“What the fuck? Why’s she bleeding?” someone yells.

I shake my head as if by denying it, it won’t make it true. “No! Make it stop! I can’t—I can’t do this again!” I yell as Weston turns me into his chest and hugs me to him. I know I must be covering him in my blood, but I grip his shirt tightly and let him hold me as I break down completely.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” he whispers into my ear as he rocks me back and forth.

“No! N-nothing is o-okay!” I stammer against his chest as it gets harder to take in a full breath of air. Other hands touch my legs, and I scream, snapping my legs shut and pulling my knees up close to my chest.

“Darla, it’s okay, it’s just us. Let us clean you up.”

I shake my head and grip Weston even tighter as my body shakes uncontrollably. My head starts to pound and when I open my eyes, dark spots dance in my vision.

“No, I can’t—I can’t survive this again!”

“Can’t survive what again?” Weston asks, as he holds me to him.

“I can’t survive another miscarriage!”