Scared of Forever (Scared #2) by Jacqueline Abrahams Read Free Book Online

old patterns here.”
    “Let’s go,” I say
softly, turning to Emily. I want to get the hell out of here before
Tyler has the opportunity to stir up another one of the shit storms
that he’s so famous for in our family. Sanctimonious
bastard.
    Emily closes the door
to our apartment after we walk in, and goes directly to the bedroom
without saying a word to me. We’ve never had a fight. The closest
we’ve ever been to an argument is over which international cuisine
to order in for dinner on any given night.
    I grab an individually
packaged frozen steak from the freezer, wrap it in a kitchen towel,
and hold it against my abused knuckles, before walking into the
bedroom after her.
    “Em,” I say softly.
“I’m sorry. I trust you. I just… when I saw you walking out of
Tyler’s apartment, something in me just snapped.”
    She ignores me and
walks into the bathroom. Fuck. I
follow her, desperate to fix things. “Em, can we talk?” I ask
again.
    She turns on her heel,
eyes blazing. I’ve never seen Emily angry. She’s normally so even
tempered. So put together. The fire in her eyes is exciting.
Dangerous, even. “You had no right to accuse me of anything. And
certainly no right to go around attempting to knock people out. What
the fuck were you thinking? Not to mention the fact that you were the
one who was working late tonight .”
    “So now after one
conversation with my brother, you don’t believe me anymore?” I
say with disbelief. “And by the way, it does look slightly less
than innocent to see you creeping out of his apartment carrying your
shoes. What the hell were you doing there?” The final sentence
leaves my mouth much more menacingly than I had intended, and much
louder than I wanted it to be.
    “Tyler didn’t have
a bad word to say about you, until you showed up and nearly knocked
him out. As far as family goes, he seems like the only normal person
in yours. Not to mention that between your mother and that little
display of testosterone outside, I’m left wondering how many things
you are keeping from me,” she practically yells. “And I was not
creeping anywhere! How dare you accuse me of that?”
    “Why does my past
even matter now? Look, I’m sorry for getting angry. It’s just, I
love you, and I’m a little jealous.” I say sincerely. Because
right now, right at this very second, it’s true . That,
and I don’t trust my brother. At
all.
    My words cause her to
relax her defensive stance slightly. Seizing the opportunity, I walk
over and cup her face in my good hand. “I love you,” I whisper.
“Let me show you.”
    “I’m going to take
a shower,” she replies simply, moving my hand gently away. For the
first time since I deflowered Emily on my bed, she actually refused
me. My ego doesn’t really know how to process such a hit, so I make
my way over to my study, to write out the monthly checks. The
realtor, the suppliers, both for Aria’s tattoo shop. I send an
email to my mother, asking her to deposit more money into my personal
account. I hate relying on Eliza, but without her cash injection,
Emily will question where eighty percent of my income went. And since
I don’t have any of my trust to fall back on, my mother is my only
savior. I have to keep her happy. I
have to keep them all happy . I drop my head into my hands
in frustration.
    Down the hallway, I see
the bedroom lamp dim, and hear the bathroom door click shut, followed
by the ruffle of the bed linens. I wait a few minutes, and then walk
down the hallway to duck my head in. Emily looks angelic. She always
sleeps on her stomach. I watch as her back rises slowly and falls
with every slumbered breath. You’re
mine.
    When I’m confident
that she’s asleep, I walk out the apartment door and knock on
Tyler’s. I don’t want to talk to this guy again, not now, not
ever. But I have to smooth out the rough edges. Make my position, and
his, very clear. I knock a few more times before Tyler finally opens
the door.
    He