32: Protection

I stood there, holding my cheek with my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached.

My skin stung, but not as much as the rage boiling inside me.

I didn’t even blink. I was two seconds away from snapping back with something she’d never recover from but then she did something I didn’t expect.

She stumbled back, knocked over a side table and the glass vase shattered and then she screamed.

“Alan!” she screeched, voice echoing through the halls like she was being murdered. “Help me! Your demonic wife tried to hurt me!”

I blinked once, still stunned.

“What the fuck...” I muttered, just as thunderous footsteps came crashing down the stairs.

Chet and Alan appeared at the landing in seconds, both wide-eyed.

“She attacked me!” she wailed, pointing at me with shaky hands. “She snapped! I was trying to calm her down and she just lost it!”

Chet turned to me fast. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“You’re joking, right?” I said, laughing once in disbelief. “She hit me. I didn’t even touch her.”

His stepmom’s head whipped around. “Alan-”

“You hit her,” he repeated, louder. “And now you’re lying to make her look bad? You really think I don’t see through that?”

Chet stepped forward. “She’s crying on the damn floor and you’re defending her?”

“She’s lying,” he said, cutting everyone off. “Hazel doesn’t need to fake anything. You think I haven’t watched her walk through fire without ever raising a hand? If she wanted to hit someone, she wouldn’t miss.”

I stared at him.

He wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were locked on his stepmom, who was still sitting on the floor, fake tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’ve known liars my whole life,” Alan said slowly, stepping toward her. “And you’re one of the worst.”

“Alan, baby....”

“Don’t ‘baby’ me,” he snapped, “you don’t get to play victim after assaulting her and breaking your own damn vase.”

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

He finally turned to me, walked over, and gently brushed his thumb against the side of my cheek.

“Does it hurt?” he asked quietly.

I nodded and his jaw tensed again.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “She won’t touch you again.”

He took my hand without saying a word and led me upstairs. I expected him to yell, maybe even ask what the hell happened but when we got to the room and he closed the door behind us, he didn’t say anything.

He just turned to me, eyes scanning my face.

“Let me see,” he said quietly, brushing my hair back.

I tilted my head slightly. His fingers moved to my cheek, slow and careful, like I’d break if he touched too hard.

“She hit you hard,” he muttered, voice tight. “I shouldn't have left you alone with her,” he groaned.

“It's okay,” I shrugged, “how is your father?” I asked instead, my eyebrows pulling together in worry.

“He is going to be fine,” he moved closer to me, “it was just stress.”

“Thank God,” I sighed in relief.

“Yeah,” his voice dropped to a whisper and he breached the gap between us.

I turned to him, still pressed against his chest, and caught the way he was staring at me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, voice low.

His eyes dropped to my lips, then lower. His hand tightened slightly on my waist.

“Because I want to fuck you so bad,” he said, breath catching.

I blinked, my mouth parting. “Oh… damn.”

“I’m sorry if that’s disrespectful,” he added quickly, voice rough, like he couldn’t believe he just said that out loud.

I didn’t answer.

I just reached down, slow, my ingers wrapping around his bulge through his pants.

He groaned, deep and surprised, his head dropping for a second like the contact knocked the air out of him.

“Right here?” I whispered, brushing my hand again. “In your family’s house?”

He didn’t say anything.

He grabbed me and lifted me up, both arms locked around me tight. My legs wrapped around his waist on instinct, and he carried me to the bed like his body was moving before his brain could catch up.

The second my back hit the mattress, his mouth crashed into mine. The kiss was hot and wild, tongue deep, lips desperate.

His hands slid under my shirt, then dragged it up fast like he couldn’t stand one more second with fabric between us.

I pulled his shirt off too, fingers trailing down his chest.

He leaned in again, kissing me harder, hand gripping my thigh and pulling it higher around his waist.

I gasped into his mouth when he pressed into me.

“You drive me insane,” he muttered against my skin. “Everything about you.”

I tugged at his pants, and he helped shove them off without breaking the kiss. His mouth moved from mine to my neck, biting softly, kissing down my collarbone while his hand slid between my legs.

I moaned, my hips shifting under him.

He kissed me again, slower now, but just as deep.

“I’m not going to be able to stop myself,” he breathed, forehead pressed to mine, eyes half-lidded.

I looked straight at him, heart racing.

“I don’t want you to stop either.”

His lips brushed mine again, and he whispered, “I’ve got protection.”