Broken Survivor by Jennifer Labelle Read Free Book Online Page B

ripped it from the plug in the wall and threw away the shade. The base seemed solid enough to use as a weapon if need be. After wrapping the cord securely around the lamp, she slowly moved down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible.
    Okay, breathe, Hol. You can do it. Her hands shook, and her heart felt as though it was about to leap out of her chest. Not again, please not again. With one deep breath in and then out, she raised the wooden base above her head and tiptoed around the wall. The kitchen and bathroom seemed to be clear, which meant the person, whoever they were, was straight ahead. Here goes nothing…
    “What the hell do think you’re going to do with that?”
    Holly just about jumped out of her skin and screamed while he laughed. “Dad?” She dropped the lamp and clutched her chest. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    “Last I checked, this was my house.”
    “Yeah, but you’re never here.”
    “Still my place to come and go whenever I want though isn’t it?”
    She shrugged. “Whatever. Since you woke me up at this ungodly hour and scared the crap out of me, I could use some Tylenol and something to eat.” She ignored his dirty look and headed to the kitchen.
    “Make me a coffee while you’re in there, will you?”
    While in the kitchen, she put the coffee on and set about making herself some toast. A few minutes later, she brought it and some orange juice to the kitchen table. “My hands were full, so your coffee’s on the counter.”
    After grabbing his coffee, her dad sat across from her and began to roll a joint.
    “Rough night?” he asked.
    “You could say that.” She sighed. “Why the sudden curiosity? It’s not like you care.”
    “Because you look like shit.” Christian snorted. “What’s with the attitude?”
    “It’s not attitude, it’s curiosity, and maybe it’s because every time I see you, you say I look like crap. Just what every girl loves to hear.” She rolled her eyes. “Then there’s the fact that you scared the heck out of me a few minutes ago, and I’ve got a headache that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Happy now?”
    “Well, the best cure for a headache is one of these. Want some?” Christian held the unlit joint between his fingers and offered it to her.
    “You’re kidding, right?” She eyed it warily, because hell yeah she wanted it, but smoking up with your own father, aka sperm donor, seemed weird.
    “No, I’m not kidding.” He laughed and then shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She tried ignoring the scent while he lit it and began deliberately blowing the smoke in her face. A couple of tokes later, he passed it over again, and this time she took it.
    What the hell, he’s offering , she thought and sucked in a few hits of her own.
    “There you go,” he said. “Now give it back.”
    “No way!” She turned away from him, hogging it. “You want some, roll another one.”
    He was acting weird for some reason, nice even, and when it came to Christian, nice wasn’t a word you would ever associate with him. But hell, one joint wouldn’t do any harm, right?
    An hour and a second joint later, she finally had a full belly and a good buzz. “So how long are you staying?” she asked him.
    “I’m not sure. It depends on how long it takes Paige to get over her mood.” He shrugged. “I think it’s that time of the month.”
    Holly gave an unladylike snort. “Why is it every time a woman has a bad day, a guy thinks it’s because of her period?”
    “Because it usually is.” His blunt, idiotic answer would have normally started an argument between them, but she was too stoned to care enough.
    “What’s going on?”
    Holly turned in her seat to see her groggy sister approach. Wait, what? “Did you just say something?” Damn! If she could just make her head stop spinning enough, she might be able to pay attention.
    “I said, what’s going on?” Chrystal emphasized and waved a hand in front of her face. “What the