Pieces of Summer(47)

He holds me tighter, burying his face against my neck. Sometimes I almost think it’s a dream to feel this way… Not real.

“Mika,” he says against my ear.

“Yes?”

“Mika!” he yells louder.

“What?”

“Mika! Mika!”



I jolt awake, grabbing my chest as something loud bangs from the living room.

“Mika! Open up, damn it!”

My blood freezes in my veins. Hunter? That definitely sounded like Hunter.

“Mika!” Aidan roars, and something heavy slams into my door like it’s about to be broken down.

Shit!

My legs swing off my bed, and I run down the hallway, feeling my entire body shivering with nerves. How the hell did they find me?

Just as something bangs on the door again, I swing it open, and two strong arms immediately wrap around me, almost knocking me down as someone clings to me and buries their face in my neck. It takes a second to realize it’s Aidan.

“Fuck you,” he says around a choked, strained sound, and my heart breaks in my chest as I slowly wrap my arms around him, returning the embrace. I can’t remember the last time Aidan hugged me.

It’s not allowed.

Physical contact stirs emotions.

Emotions lead to irrationality.

Too much emotion is not allowed, and I’ve just gotten my emotions back in check.

That doesn’t stop me from hugging him as hard as I can as the tears I’ve restrained for weeks start to creep out. Hunter flips on the light as he steps inside. The exhaustion in his eyes hurts to see, and with the way Aidan is clinging to me…

“You fucked up,” Hunter says, shaking his head as he comes to wrap his arms around me too, making it one big group event. “And you were wrong,” he adds against my ear.

I don’t speak, because my brother is still clinging to me like he can’t let go, and Hunter is tearing up. If I try to say anything, I’m going to break down.

For several long, silent moments, we stand there in a group hug, until Hunter finally withdraws and clears his throat, wiping his eyes as he turns away. Aidan continues holding me, and a new sense of self-loathing seeps in.

I did this to him.

In my quest to make his life better, somehow I’ve made it worse.

Whit said he was bad, but I didn’t realize he was destroyed. There’s a huge difference.

Hunter just stares as Aidan’s grip slowly loosens, and I hear his breathing change seconds before his knees give out. A grunt leaves my lips when his body becomes dead weight, forcing me to strain to keep him upright, and Hunter hisses out a breath before he grabs Aidan and lifts him off me.

He bends and Aidan drops over his shoulder, completely passed-out, and my eyebrows go up in confusion as Hunter stands with Aidan dangling. He carries him over to the couch and drops him there, and I go to help adjust him so that he wakes up comfortable instead of awkward.

“Aidan doesn’t sleep this hard,” I say more to myself than Hunter.

“He barely sleeps at all, he’s drunk off his ass, and he finally found you. Who knows how long he’s about to crash.”

The bite of anger in his tone causes me to flinch.

“I didn’t expect this,” I whisper, brushing my brother’s hair away from his face as he snores loudly.

Hunter is glaring at me when I turn to face him, and I see the heavy exhaustion in his eyes as well.

“We’re family, Mika. All of us. And believe it or not, you’re the fucking glue. You think it’s such a hardship to love you and live by the rules that you need for stability? You’re wrong. Hell, look at him. Look at me. We’ve barely slept, all hell has broken loose at your home in Hayden, and alcohol has become our best friend. Mostly Aidan’s. So fuck your logic and your stupid decision.”

Blowing out a shaky breath, my eyes drop back down to my resting brother. He looks absolutely wrecked.

“It’s just been two months.”

“And you look fucking fine,” Hunter says bitterly.

Yeah, that hurts.

I turn back to face him and cross my arms over my chest.

“I’m not fine. At all. I’m miserable, if that makes you feel any better. Lonely. Scared most of the time, since I’m in the middle of nowhere. I’m also sick of eating pizza.”

He snorts, but the amusement dies quickly.

“Then come home. Any home at all. Back in New York. Back to Hayden… You name it, we’ll follow.”

“And do what? It’s an adjustment, but you two can’t keep sacrificing a normal life to deal with my fucked-up-ness.”

“Normal is overrated,” he deadpans.

When my lips twitch, I get irritated. “Don’t make me smile right now. I’m trying to be angry and strong.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “I don’t give a damn what you’re trying to be, but I know I’m stubborn. Hope you have a guest room. I’m not sleeping on the floor, and after what you’ve put us through, I’ll take your bed if there’s not another one available. I won’t even feel guilty about it.”

He smirks as he walks down my hallway, digging out a wedgie as he goes, and I blow out a long breath while dropping my head back to stare at the ceiling. Going back to Hayden is not an option. I hate this cabin-in-the-woods setup, but it’s best to stay detached from people. Hunter and my brother can’t follow me around to take care of me, damn it.

Why won’t people let me be selfless? I’m trying to do the right thing for them.





Chapter 49



MIKA



After a few minutes of just standing beside the couch like a motionless idiot, I walk outside, needing fresh air. Hugging myself, I step onto the porch, staring up at the full moon.

As my eyes drop down, I glance over at a truck… What the hell?

Confusion hits first, then my stomach tilts. Why did they drive Chase’s truck?

As the question marks start to form, I feel someone step in behind me, and my entire body tenses all over. His scent washes over me, and everything on me twists and grows tight, making it hard to breathe or move.

“I bet the moon would look better from the roof. Too bad you picked a house with a deep-slope roof instead of a flat surface. Makes it a little more dangerous to hang out up there.” His voice is calm, as though this is a casual day.

There’s just a tiny chill in the air, but my entire body feels like I’m sitting in a tub of ice. I actually expect to blow out a puff of fog when I finally release the breath I’ve been holding.

No fog. Just surprise gets blown out.

“Not talking to me?” he muses, sounding just as confident and cool as he always does, while I try not to let my teeth chatter.

My eyes are wide and unblinking as I stare at absolutely nothing, finding myself picturing him in my mind. I bet he’s smirking.

“Not a problem,” he goes on. “I came here to talk to you, anyway. Glad you’re more in a listening mood.”

My breath gets lost once again when he steps in front of me, but his face is just a shadow with the moonlight at his back, and he looks like a silhouette of bad decisions and trapped pain.

“Once upon a time, some skinny girl showed up in my town, and my life finally had something good in it,” he says, a smile in his voice.

“That was ages ago,” I say hoarsely, wincing at how pathetic my voice is. “That girl is gone.”

I hug myself when I feel unwanted tingles running up and down my body, every nerve-ending being ignited from his close proximity.

“That girl is different, but not gone,” he says on a sigh.

He moves toward me, and I stumble backwards in my haste to keep him from touching me. He stops, freezing in place, and I feel him studying me.

Damn it. I’m out here in just a t-shirt and panties.

“Remember that first summer that I was eleven and had bruises all over me, along with a few scrapes and cuts?” he asks randomly.

I swallow hard at the painful memory.

“Your father had gotten drunk and you stepped in between him and your mother when things got physical,” I say quietly.

He nods. “I limped all the way to your house, and you hugged me. It was your first reaction. You didn’t ask questions. You didn’t press me to spill everything. You didn’t do anything but soothe me with your presence. Then… Then you got angry when you learned what happened.”

“Once upon a time, I didn’t think it was possible for a parent to be so cruel to a child. I thought Clyde had a demon in him,” I mumble, then sigh. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“You demanded Milton go do something, and he did. He sent the cops over there like any normal citizen would. Cops were on my mother’s list of freebies, so as long as she didn’t press the issue, they let it go. Despite all her drug use and alcohol abuse, she was beautiful and had power over any man who walked in. Nothing got done about it,” he goes on.

My heart aches in my chest.

“I’m aware. Again, why are we discussing this?”

My body jerks when his hand is suddenly on my cheek, surprising me. I try to turn away, but he invades my space, sliding his hand down to cup my chin and tilt my face up.

With the way we’ve turned now, the angle allows the moonlight to touch his face, revealing the soft eyes and hope there. No pity.

“It was the first time anyone ever tried to stand up for me,” he goes on. “It was the first time anyone had ever cared about me to the point they were furious on my behalf. I was sure then that I’d be with you one day. I knew I’d never be the same after that day. I felt like I was worth something for once. You tended to every cut and checked every bruise like you knew what you were doing. We were kids, and you were fierce.”