All Chapters of Barely Legal: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

“Arianna, you’re fine,” Pierce cooed as he sat on the bed with her still attached to him. “Patrick will stay here and watch you while I go and get Legs and your stuff.”“Y-y-you can’t go over there. He’s gonna kill you,” Arianna wailed.“I’m not going to go over there by myself. I’m going to take Jesse with me.”“I don’t want Jesse involved in this!” Arianna snapped. “What we’re going to do is call the police and report a missing person. They’ll come over, and I’ll be distraught about my missing parents. I’ll gather my stuff while I’m there, and then we’ll leave.”“That’s a pretty decent plan.”“What’s in the box?” Arianna sniffed.“Weed. I was going to roll you a joint to calm you down.”“I’ve never smoked weed before,” Arianna confessed.“There’s a first time for everything, Ari. Your nerves are bad, and you need to calm down. Let’s get you in the tub.”Arianna obediently followed Pierce to the bathroom and was submerged in the bubbly, hot water a few minutes later. She watched Pier

Arianna was silent the entire ride home, and Pierce could hardly blame her. He desperately wanted to know what was running through her mind, but Arianna had completely shut down after their unfortunate discovery. Pierce packed as much as he could for her as quickly as possible. After speaking with property management and providing Arianna’s information from her renter’s insurance, they left. Pierce was adamant that Arianna was not to return to her apartment under any circumstances for the time being. Arianna was so shaken up that she eagerly agreed.“Are you hungry?” Pierce asked, pulling into the garage.“No,” Arianna said, barely above a whisper.Arianna had jumped out of the car before Pierce turned it off and was rushing into the house. With a tired sigh, Pierce carted her belongings into the house.“How did it go?” Patrick asked.“Fucking horrible. Her bed was completely torched, and Harry decided to leave a dead cat matching the likeness of Legs in her underwear drawer.”“That’s

Arianna could feel herself shaking from Harry’s presence. It was a mixture of a touch of fear but mostly anger, and knowing she couldn’t escape him for a few more hours made her even more upset.Arianna’s gaze flicked towards Pierce’s direction. The scowl he wore on his face was menacing, and she found him standing to his feet, looking like he was ready to handle business. Arianna had to do something before things turned left.“If all of our guests would take their seats, then we can get started,” Arianna said into the microphone.Pierce didn’t give a damn what Arianna said. He needed to have a word with Harry and let him know that he would not tolerate him intimidating his woman.“Mr. White, please sit down. We’re all eager to begin,” Arianna warned with a little bit of attitude in her tone, letting Pierce know that she wasn’t playing. The last thing she wanted was a scene to start and people to get hurt. There wasn’t much that Harry could do to her right now but gawk at her and try

“I-I think I love you, Arianna,” Pierce confessed.Arianna was caught entirely off guard by Pierce’s confession and was rendered speechless. Her mouth hung in disbelief. While she appreciated Pierce’s sentiment, Arianna felt it was too soon to exchange I love yous.“From the look on your face, I can tell that’s not what you wanted to hear,” Pierce sighed, standing to his feet. “I don’t expect you to say it back. I just wanted to tell you how I felt.”“I see...are you sure?”“Am I sure about what?”“That you love me.”“Are you seriously going to ask me that?”“I’m not the one that said, “think.” I’m just trying to get some clarification. When someone says, “I think,” generally, that means they are unsure.”“Okay. It’s clear that you don’t feel the same way, Arianna, and that’s fine. I didn’t expect you to in the first place.”“Pierce, it’s evident you don’t know how you’re feeling.”“I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. Shit, I take it back. Are you happy now?” Pierce angrily

Pierce woke around 10:00 AM but didn’t make a move to get out of bed. He stared at the ceiling and replayed how things went down last night after he confessed to Arianna. Pierce would be a lying son of a bitch if he said he wasn’t expecting a different reaction from Arianna. Honestly, he thought she might have said it back. Instead, she looked at Pierce as if he had six heads. Pierce knew that Arianna probably thought he was coming on too strong and too fast, but he couldn’t help how the young woman wormed her way into his heart. Shit, she better recognize because he wouldn’t be doing everything he does for her if he didn’t love her. Hell, a psycho enforcer was looking to end his life because of Arianna, over $500,000 that he was willing to pay without hesitation. Pierce ultimately felt embarrassed and lashed out at her, which wasn’t right.Pierce got ready for the day before leaving his bedroom.“Ari?” Pierce called out. He didn’t hear anything and made his way to her room, only to f