It came out almost like a whisper, yet the gratitude within those two words struck my heart hard. She had been such a trooper, such a strong woman in the face of such carnage, and I wondered what all she had endured in her life to help her get to that point. I mean, she hadn’t once mentioned her parents. Were they even in the picture?
The idea that she was alone in life hurt. And it caused me to shuffle myself beneath the covers just so I could hold her. Just so I could be there. Just so I could show her that she wasn’t alone, not as long as she was with me.
And before I knew it, darkness took over my vision.
While I laid there next to Julia, who slept soundly tucked against my side.
12
JULIA
“Jay! Help me, please!”
I bolted upright as my sister’s screaming woke me from a dead sleep. “Tee?”
“Julia! Make them stop!”
I leapt to my feet. “Tee! Theresa! Where are you?”
A growling voice answered back. “Get over here, you little bitch.”
“No!” Theresa yelped. “Please! I’ll do anything!”
The growling voice chuckled. “You will, whether you like it or not.”
“No, please! Leave her alone! You can have me! You can have me instead!”
“You can have me. You can have me instead. Please, leave her alone. Tee. Tee. Just—please. No. Don’t!”
I shook myself awake and pushed myself upright in bed with my elbows. My entire body shook with fury as I darted my gaze around, trying to get my bearings. Trying to remind myself that my sister and I were no longer in that hellhole of a place. Sweat dripped down the nape of my neck, making me grimace, so I swung my legs over the edge of the bed to sit up completely.
But when I moved, something tightened around my waist before sliding down my body altogether.
And when I searched for the source of the touch, I found Fangs sleeping soundly next to me.
“You okay?” he grumbled.
He reached out his tired hand and rubbed my back, a sensation that helped root me back into reality as the desperate screams of my sister receded back into my memories.
Where I was sure they’d haunt me another time in the future.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m—I’m okay,” I said breathlessly.
Fangs groaned as he rolled over, settling his hand on my thigh. “You sure? There’s nothing I can do?”
I couldn’t shake the feeling, so I figured I’d ask. “I really need to see my sister. Is that okay? Can I see her?”
He scoffed. “She’s your sister. You tell me.”
I leapt out of the bed and turned to face him. “I need to see my sister. Can you tell me where she is?”
His gaze raked down my body. “You, uh, you gonna put on clothes?”
I looked down at my naked form before I ripped the comforter off the bed. It exposed Fangs’s nakedness, which I had a very hard time not staring at while I wrapped my body up in the comforter itself. And as he stood to his feet, his muscles flexing for me in all their natural glory, I found myself struggling to focus.
“Ha, ha, ha,” I said as I forced my stare up to his. “Now, where are my clothes?”
He tilted his head. “Hey, you didn’t have an issue with anyone’s nakedness a few hours ago.”
