UnHinge Me (Savage Beast MC #6) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,27

bed sits in the middle of the room, no sheets, just the frame, headboard, and footboard with a new mattress still in the plastic.

There is an old dresser against the wall, the furniture guys not wanting to move it since it was full of shit. Walking over to it first, I pull the top drawer open. It’s full of socks and underwear, most likely belonging to either my father or brother, I can’t be sure.

Holding out my hand, Leighton slips a white plastic trash bag in my grip. Opening it, I start to shove everything inside. I stop when I get to the bottom of the drawer. There’s a picture there. It’s not what I expect.

It’s an image of my mom and dad when they were young, really fucking young. Taking it out, I look at them. My dad is leaning against a sweet square body Blazer, my mother pressed close against his side.

He’s looking at the camera, a smirk firmly in place, my mother is looking up at him. I never saw her look at him this way, not once in my childhood. Flipping the picture over, I snort. This picture was taken five years before I was born, no wonder.

“Your parents?” Leighton asks, standing close to my side.

Glancing down at her, I grunt. “Yeah, once upon a time.”

She reaches for the picture and I watch her study it for a moment. Then she flicks her gaze up to meet mine. “They’re really young, they look happy. I’ve never even seen a picture of my mother,” she adds softly.

“What?”

She shakes her head, licking her lips as she continues to study the old photograph. “I’ve never seen her. Don’t even know her name,” she admits.

“What about your birth certificate?”

Leighton lets out a snort, finally lifting her gaze to meet mine. “That’s funny. Birth certificate? I’ve never seen one before. Couldn’t even tell you if I was his.”

“You are,” I grunt.

She arches a brow, her eyes searching mine. “Got his eyes, babe.”

Her face pales and she takes a step back. I don’t let her go far. Reaching for her, I wrap my hand around her wrist and tug her forward, keeping her from running away from me.

“I’d hoped that I wasn’t,” she breathes.

Searching her gaze, I wonder if my own son will ever feel what she’s feeling. That he hopes he’s not mine. Granted, I’m not raising him, never will. But I don’t want him to ever look the way Leighton looks right now. Like she’d rather be dead than be his kid.

“Sorry, babe.”

She shakes her head, flicking her gaze down to her feet. I wait for her to look back up at me, but she doesn’t. Instead, she continues to look at the ground. There’s a long moment of silence, I wait for her to say something, but she never does.

Tugging her closer to me, I touch my mouth to the top of her head, slipping my arms around her. I don’t know why I do this, why I stand in my parents’ bedroom, in my brother’s old bedroom and comfort her, but I do. Fuck, maybe I needed a little comfort too.

Chapter Eight

LEIGHTON

Something shifts between us. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it as I help Mountain clean out the master bedroom. Once all of the clothes and most of the personal effects are cleared out, I look around and scrunch my nose up at the dingy carpet.

“That looks like shit, yeah?” he mutters, his gaze focused on the carpeting as well.

I didn’t want to say anything, but it really does look like shit. The carpet is not only old and tattered, it’s stained and I don’t think any of it can be cleaned with a shampooer. Biting the corner of my lips, I shrug my shoulder and look up at him.

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Guess I’ll be redoing the floors.”

I want to tell him that the kitchen needs a massive upgrade as well, but I decide to keep my mouth shut. This isn’t my house, not really. I’m just an extended guest here. I help him move the bed into position, then scoot the new dresser and nightstands into place as well.

“It’s really pretty,” I say softly as I look around.

“Need sheets and shit, too.”

Looking over to him, I wonder how we’re going to get that, considering the nearest Walmart is an hour away, I doubt there are going to be any bedding places anywhere nearby. I press my lips together, tilting my