“Brandon, no one from another table could see these small marks.”
“But Garrett and that girl can.”
“That girl has a name, Brandon.” James splayed his hand on my chest. I was almost sure he knew that my heart was pounding. “Try to remember that she was there too.”
“You don’t understand,” I barked. I shook my head and started to move away from him toward the edge of the bed. James’ hand curled around my hip and dragged me back to the center of the bed. His hand went back to my chest.
“I do, pup. I understand you’re afraid that seeing her today will bring back memories of the prison you were both trapped in.”
I glared at him and swallowed hard.
“Then why are you making me do this?”
“We’re going to have lunch with a friend of mine and his girlfriend. As I’ve explained to you, Salem isn’t doing very well, Brandon. I’m not asking you to sit and talk to her about your grim pasts. I’m asking you to join me for lunch.”
Why were there fucking tears in my eyes?
“Brandon, I’m never going to let anyone hurt you or take you,” he whispered and kissed my forehead.
James bringing that up and kissing my head made the tears fall. What the fuck was it with these goddamn tears? Everything started pouring out of me, and I unraveled so fast.
“I once trusted someone else too!” I yelled.
James sat up and pulled me into his arms.
“Listen to me, Brandon. I’m not taking you somewhere and selling you. My chest hurts that you fear this, but I understand where it comes from. Your trust was betrayed, and you were forced into an imaginable hell. I’m not going to do anything that will betray the trust you’ve given to me. Do you understand?”
I did. I didn’t know why I lashed out. There was something about seeing this girl that scared me. I didn’t want to hear her say anything about Sebastian’s. I nodded against James.
“Where is your heart and your trust, pup?” he asked.
“In your hands,” I replied. “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous and scared. I don’t want more nightmares. I have enough already.”
“Brandon, it’s just lunch. Garrett isn’t going to go down memory lane of how he found you. Salem might come out of her shell more and open up more to him in private, once she sees how someone from her dark past is recovering. And, Brandon, you are recovering.”
“Okay. Thank you for understanding and not getting mad at me.”
Despite my accusation of him not understanding, I knew that he did. I was very fortunate that he did.
“You don’t have to thank me for having compassion and patience.” James kissed the top of my head again. I felt his body take a deep breath, and then he squeezed me. “I hope in time you will trust me enough to tell me who took you to that party and thought they had some right to sell you.”
Eli.
My chest clenched, and my stomach dropped. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust James. That wasn’t it at all. I wanted to move past it. Now I worried that he thought I was hiding something. Which, I guessed I was. But it had no bearing on us or moving forward. Maybe he was going to get rid of me if I didn’t open up and tell him soon. I felt bad again.
“I do trust you, James.”
“Good, pup.” James squeezed me and then kissed my head. “I love you, Brandon, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I believed him, but I was still nervous about seeing that Salem girl. I’d never talked to her. I didn’t know anything about her. Today would be awkward.
All morning I kept my eye on the clock and wasn’t really able to concentrate on much. We sat outside on the deck and killed some time. James read some news on his tablet while I stared at a section of the deck railing that had chipped paint that was peeling. Every now and then I would look out at the ocean, but my eyes quickly went back to the security of focusing on the wooden rail.
“Alright, Brandon. Are you about ready to go?” James asked as he set his tablet down on the table between our chairs.
“Yeah, I think so. I’m not really hungry, though,” I replied.
“Your nerves are getting in the way. You’ll relax when we get there.”
