His angry eyes latch onto mine and I try not to
flinch.
I nod quickly.
“You make me happy, of course. I just thought I could say happy
birthday,” I reply quietly. Why, why did I do that? Why did I have
to bring them up again? So stupid, Anna!
His face
softens as he sighs and pushes me down on the sun lounger, climbing
on top of me. “Tell me you love me again,” he purrs, dipping his
head and kissing my neck.
“ I love
you,” I lie quickly, not missing a beat.
One of his
hands pushes down inside my bikini bottoms, and I bite the inside
of my cheek. “You’re so hot, Princess,” he moans appreciatively. I
close my eyes and turn my face away from his, not wanting to see
him enjoy himself. “Tell me you’ve only ever loved me,” he
instructs, tracing his tongue across the bruise on my shoulder.
My heart sinks
as my blood seems to turn into ice in my veins. He is testing me
again. “No,” I whisper. I won’t do that; I can’t do that to
Jack.
His head snaps
up, his eyes fill with rage. He looks so angry that I flinch. “Tell
me you never loved him, Princess,” he growls through his teeth.
I shake my
head sadly. “I can’t say that, Carter. I won’t,” I respond, knowing
that he will beat me for it; he always does when I fail the test,
but I can’t betray Jack like that. I hold my breath as he pulls his
arm back and punches me full in the face.
I bolted
upright, screaming. My breath was coming out in pants as I quickly
put my head between my knees. Oh God, it was a dream! Just a
dream. It’s over, I repeated over in my head.
My door slammed
open and Ashton ran in with his gun and knife in his hands again,
looking around my room. “You dreaming?” he asked, pointing his gun
around my room. I nodded, and he visibly relaxed. “Shit! You need
to stop doing this to yourself, I won’t let anyone hurt you, you
have nothing to worry about,” he said fiercely.
He knelt down
by the side of my bed, looking at me intently, taking my hand and
rubbing his thumb across the back of it soothingly while I
struggled to catch my breath.
When I calmed
down, I looked at him apologetically. He looked so worried and
concerned that I started to feel awful. “I’m sorry. I think you
should change rooms,” I suggested weakly.
He stood up and
walked quickly to the door. “I’ll be right back, okay?” he said as
he walked out.
He came back
less than a minute later with my book in his hand, wearing a pair
of faded jeans and a white T-shirt. I frowned, silently wondering
where he was going. Wordlessly, he gripped the back of my dresser
chair and dragged it to the side of the bed, plopping himself down
in it.
My eyes widened
as I realised what he was doing. “No! No way, not again! Go to bed,
Ashton, you’re not sitting in the chair all night again!” I
protested, shaking my head adamantly. It was incredibly sweet of
him, but he’d end up with a bad back if he sat up again all
night.
He shrugged
casually. “It’s fine, I’ll just sleep in the morning. We could make
this work; I could go to sleep when we get in from school and then
be up while you go to sleep in the night. It’ll work out fine,” he
assured me, smiling.
I almost choked
on air. He was offering to change his sleeping pattern because he
thought it would help me? Clearly I’d underestimated what a nice
guy he was. “No, just go to bed. This is my problem, not yours,” I
retorted, angry at myself for disrupting his sleep.
He chuckled and
shook his head. “It’s not up for debate. Now can you shush? I want
to see if James kills Bella,” he scolded, glaring at me jokingly. I
couldn’t help but laugh. He smiled. “Go to sleep, we’ll talk about
it in the morning, okay?”
I sighed and
flopped back into the bed, untangling myself from the sheets that
had wrapped around me while I’d had my nightmare. I was disgusted
with myself for being so screwed up that I was keeping someone else
awake all night. I glanced over at him; he was
flinch.
I nod quickly.
“You make me happy, of course. I just thought I could say happy
birthday,” I reply quietly. Why, why did I do that? Why did I have
to bring them up again? So stupid, Anna!
His face
softens as he sighs and pushes me down on the sun lounger, climbing
on top of me. “Tell me you love me again,” he purrs, dipping his
head and kissing my neck.
“ I love
you,” I lie quickly, not missing a beat.
One of his
hands pushes down inside my bikini bottoms, and I bite the inside
of my cheek. “You’re so hot, Princess,” he moans appreciatively. I
close my eyes and turn my face away from his, not wanting to see
him enjoy himself. “Tell me you’ve only ever loved me,” he
instructs, tracing his tongue across the bruise on my shoulder.
My heart sinks
as my blood seems to turn into ice in my veins. He is testing me
again. “No,” I whisper. I won’t do that; I can’t do that to
Jack.
His head snaps
up, his eyes fill with rage. He looks so angry that I flinch. “Tell
me you never loved him, Princess,” he growls through his teeth.
I shake my
head sadly. “I can’t say that, Carter. I won’t,” I respond, knowing
that he will beat me for it; he always does when I fail the test,
but I can’t betray Jack like that. I hold my breath as he pulls his
arm back and punches me full in the face.
I bolted
upright, screaming. My breath was coming out in pants as I quickly
put my head between my knees. Oh God, it was a dream! Just a
dream. It’s over, I repeated over in my head.
My door slammed
open and Ashton ran in with his gun and knife in his hands again,
looking around my room. “You dreaming?” he asked, pointing his gun
around my room. I nodded, and he visibly relaxed. “Shit! You need
to stop doing this to yourself, I won’t let anyone hurt you, you
have nothing to worry about,” he said fiercely.
He knelt down
by the side of my bed, looking at me intently, taking my hand and
rubbing his thumb across the back of it soothingly while I
struggled to catch my breath.
When I calmed
down, I looked at him apologetically. He looked so worried and
concerned that I started to feel awful. “I’m sorry. I think you
should change rooms,” I suggested weakly.
He stood up and
walked quickly to the door. “I’ll be right back, okay?” he said as
he walked out.
He came back
less than a minute later with my book in his hand, wearing a pair
of faded jeans and a white T-shirt. I frowned, silently wondering
where he was going. Wordlessly, he gripped the back of my dresser
chair and dragged it to the side of the bed, plopping himself down
in it.
My eyes widened
as I realised what he was doing. “No! No way, not again! Go to bed,
Ashton, you’re not sitting in the chair all night again!” I
protested, shaking my head adamantly. It was incredibly sweet of
him, but he’d end up with a bad back if he sat up again all
night.
He shrugged
casually. “It’s fine, I’ll just sleep in the morning. We could make
this work; I could go to sleep when we get in from school and then
be up while you go to sleep in the night. It’ll work out fine,” he
assured me, smiling.
I almost choked
on air. He was offering to change his sleeping pattern because he
thought it would help me? Clearly I’d underestimated what a nice
guy he was. “No, just go to bed. This is my problem, not yours,” I
retorted, angry at myself for disrupting his sleep.
He chuckled and
shook his head. “It’s not up for debate. Now can you shush? I want
to see if James kills Bella,” he scolded, glaring at me jokingly. I
couldn’t help but laugh. He smiled. “Go to sleep, we’ll talk about
it in the morning, okay?”
I sighed and
flopped back into the bed, untangling myself from the sheets that
had wrapped around me while I’d had my nightmare. I was disgusted
with myself for being so screwed up that I was keeping someone else
awake all night. I glanced over at him; he was
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