Page 32 of Mutual Obsession (Rivals of Blackthorn #2)
- SEVEN YEARS AGO -
A fter our first night together, our relationship progressed quickly, and we were practically inseparable. I still couldn’t bring myself to introduce her to Courtney though. While we continued to keep things from each other, I didn’t want Court involved.
There were a few times when I considered asking Dee about it. If our relationship kept progressing the way it was, surely it would make sense to be totally honest with each other.
I was falling for her, hard and fast, so the least I could do was trust her with my secrets. I just wasn’t sure if she felt the same. I think the longer we kept things from each other, the easier it became to ignore them.
About two weeks after our first time, Dee was over at my house again and we had spent all night experimenting. Once the nerves of that first time were gone, and Dee knew she could trust me, she became insatiable, and I fucking loved it.
Her confidence grew, and she wanted to experiment more, to learn about her sexual preferences. We started small, trying out different positions, until she found ones she liked, and then we branched out.
My heart soared when we discovered that she’s a natural submissive, and loves to be told what to do. She looks so fucking good on her knees, following my instructions, and the fact she trusts me enough to do it is fucking everything.
A phone buzzing distracts us from each other, and I groan when Dee pulls her lips from mine. We’re all sexed out for the night, but that doesn’t mean I want her to leave the comfort of my arms, where I can kiss her anytime I want.
“Ignore it,” I tell her, as I pull her back down, so her cheek is resting against my chest, her body pressed against mine.
She rolls her eyes. “I’m just going to read the text,” she says, twisting around to reach her phone.
I keep my gaze on her, watching her the way I always do, and my heart sinks when her expression pales. She turns white as a sheet as she reads whatever is on her phone, her body becoming tense.
She’s frozen while she reads the message, but when she turns back to me, it’s like those few minutes never happened. She gives me a bright smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
She nods, but it all feels a little too forced. “Yes, I just have to go into work early. So I better get going,” she says, kissing me when I try to protest.
She jumps out of bed and begins gathering her things as she gets dressed. She’s really trying to make it look like there’s nothing the matter, but I can tell there is. “You sure you’re okay?”
She nods again with a fake smile. “I’m sure.”
Once she’s ready to leave, I reluctantly climb out of bed and pull on a pair of sweatpants. “You could stay, if you wanted,” I tell her, hoping I don’t sound desperate.
Her eyes flash with an emotion I don’t recognise, but it’s gone before I can dwell on it. Maybe I’m reading too much into this?
“I’d love to stay, but I can’t. I’m sorry.” She sounds almost sad.
“That’s okay,” I tell her as I pull her in for a hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We have forever.”
She lets out a stuttered breath, before staring up at me. This time when she gives me a blinding smile, I know it’s genuine. She’s looking at me like I’m the only person in the world that matters, and it makes my heart ache.
“I…” Dee pauses, and for just a moment, I think she’s going to say the three words I’ve been dying to hear from her since we met, but then she sighs. “I’ll miss you.”
Before I can respond, she grabs the back of my neck and pulls me down into a searing kiss. It’s full of passion and love, and it makes me never want to let her go.
I almost tell her I love her, but I don’t want to say the words as she’s leaving. I want her to be with me to celebrate after she hears them. Instead, I say, “I’ll miss you too, Gorgeous Girl.”
And I do. She’s only been gone an hour and my bed feels too cold and too empty without her there. I know we’re moving fast, but I can’t stop how I feel.
I’m woken up a few hours later by a frantic call from a nurse at the local hospital. Mum has overdosed, leaving her in a coma, and I’m still down as her next of kin.
Despite everything that’s happened between us, I rush to the hospital to be by her side. She’s still my mum, at the end of the day, and I want her to be alright.
I rush into her hospital room, only to find Bruce lounging in one of the armchairs, looking more relaxed than the situation calls for. My instinct is to lash out at him, to argue with him, but this is neither the time nor the place, so I push my own feelings to one side to be civil for Mum’s sake.
“What happened?” I ask him, hoping he’ll have more information than the nurse on the phone gave me.
He shrugs his shoulders as he yawns, like the situation is boring him. “The bitch took more than she should have. When she wakes up, she’ll have to pay for it.”
Anger fizzles through my veins, heating me up as rage threatens to pour out of me. I clamp my hands into fists and focus on staying calm. “I think you should leave. It’s clear you don’t care enough to be here.”
Bruce lets out a short, humourless laugh, flashing the most disgusting set of neglected teeth I’ve seen in a while. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Focusing on my breathing, I turn and walk out into the hallway, pulling my phone out as I go. I dial the only person who I know can help me. Maximus answers after a couple of rings, despite it being almost six in the morning.
“I need your permission to kill Bruce,” I say, not bothering with any pleasantries.
Maximus lets out a huff. “Explain.”
I tell him everything that’s happened so far, going into great detail about how he’s behaving here at the hospital.
Maximus sighs, sounding as exacerbated as I feel. “As much as I’d love to give you permission, I can’t. He’s aligned with the Santoros, so it’s not my place. I had a feeling it might come to this, so I did preemptively discuss this with Caleb, but he wouldn’t give his consent.”
The rage I’ve been struggling to keep at bay bubbles over. “What the fuck? I’ll talk to Caleb fucking Santoro myself if?—”
Maximus cuts me off mid-rant, telling me to calm down. “Listen to me. Are you calm and listening?” he asks firmly.
Even though he can’t see me, I nod. “Yes, I’m listening.”
“Good. Now listen carefully to what I’m saying. Nobody will look too hard if a junkie ODs, particularly after it’s just happened to your mother. As long as there’s no evidence of foul play, it wouldn’t be looked into. Do you get what I’m saying?”
Although he’s being cryptic, I know exactly what he’s saying. People already think Mum got hold of a dodgy batch, and that’s how she ended up taking too much. So if her partner, who she shares her drugs with, were to suffer the same fate, people wouldn’t think twice.
“I understand.” It’s a fucking great idea.
“This isn’t something that can be rushed, Miles. I’m guessing there are a lot of people, particularly hospital employees, who know you’re unhappy with him right now. You’ll need to be patient, until there’s nobody looking at you,” he explains, sounding much more rational than me.
I know what he’s saying makes sense, and of course, I’m going to follow his instructions, but the urge to walk into my mother’s hospital room and beat that arsehole to death is overwhelming me.
“I can do that,” I tell him.
Without saying anything more, Maximus hangs up.
On my way out of the hospital, I get an update from the nurse looking after Mum. I give her a brief description of our family dynamic, and she lets me know that even though Mum’s in a relationship with Bruce, I’m still down as her next of kin. So, legally I have more right to be here than he does.
As appreciative as I am about that, knowing what I have planned, I don’t want to draw any more attention to us than is necessary. I ask her to let me know when he leaves, so I can bring my sister to visit.
It makes me look good that I’m willing to share the time, and not just kick him out—something I may need when the police eventually get involved.
Around three hours later, the nurse calls to let me know Bruce has gone home. I haven’t told Courtney about Mum yet, as I knew she’d want to go to the hospital straight away, and I didn’t want her anywhere near that arsehole.
Tears stream down her face when I tell her, and they don’t stop for the duration of the car ride to the hospital. She runs to the hospital room, but when faced with our comatosed mother, she stands over by the wall, not wanting to get too close.
“I know she’s done a lot of bad things, and she’s not the greatest parent, but she’s still our mum. It hurts to see her like this,” Courtney says, edging closer to the bed.
“I know, Court. You’re allowed to care about her,” I tell her, stroking her hair reassuringly as I walk her closer.
She reaches down and takes hold of Mum’s hand, a fresh round of tears slipping over her cheeks as she sobs. “She’s so cold. Can she hear me?”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, my heart sinking when I realise I don’t know how to protect her from this. “I hope she can. You should talk to her. I’m going to make a phone call.”
I move into the hallway, giving Court some time alone with Mum, though I never take my eyes off her. She drops into the seat beside the bed, crying as she talks to the woman who stopped being her mum a couple of years ago.
I don’t think; I scroll through my phone until I find Dee’s name and hit dial. It goes straight to voicemail, which surprises me at first, but then I remember she had to go into work early. She normally has her phone on, but maybe she forgot to charge it.
I leave her a brief message, letting her know I’m at the hospital with Mum, asking her to call me back, and then I hang up. I forget all about the call when a doctor approaches me, asking if I’m Mum’s next of kin.