Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,63
into my living room couch.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Um, are you all right?” He hasn’t moved. Only the steady rise and fall of his back lets me know he’s breathing.
“I just need a sec, blossom.”
Then it dawns on me. He is hard. “Oh!”
Alex’s responding grunt makes me laugh. He lifts his head, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “Thank you, beautiful.”
My laugh dies an early death at the raw open expression on his face. “You’re welcome.”
He peels himself off me in a push-up motion and sits back against the cushions, but not before snagging me around the waist and dragging me with him. I snuggle up into the warmth of his broad chest and loop my arm lightly around his stomach.
“Are we all settled now with this appointment?”
The mention has my stomach flipping again, but we’ve argued about it enough. I know he has my best interests at heart, and above all, I trust him.
“As long as you promise to go with me.”
“Done. It’s in two days.”
I tilt my chin toward him. “That’s soon.”
His eyes flit to mine. “The sooner, the better.” His tone is dark, but he says no more. He doesn’t have to.
I shift so that my knee falls over his lap. “What am I going to do about paying for this? I don’t have insurance. I don’t even have a legal name.”
“You aren’t going to pay for anything.” He brushes his thumb over my knee. “I’ll pay what needs to be paid, and this doctor knows of your situation. Let’s just say it’s off the books. As far as your name, we can go to the courthouse and start the process at any time.”
“I want to go as soon as possible. Can we go today?” The thought of having my new name in the legal sense fills me with hope.
Alex glances at his watch. “Grab your coat. We have plenty of time.”
Without thought, I lean over and peck him on the cheek. “Be right back,” I tell him and dash into his room.
Through all the changes I’ve been through, this feels like the best one. The freshest start. A new, legal name. I knew after I first woke up that I didn’t want to go back to who I used to be. I wasn’t that girl anymore, even though I couldn’t remember who she was. After the fog lifted, the memories returned. I had a mother and her best friend, Bea, who I called my aunt. Eventually, I’m going to have to let them know I’m okay. I’m alive. Even if I’m not the girl they used to know and they might not accept me.
But that’s starting to feel okay.
Because I’ve found a new family. A man who put me above his priorities and treated me like a friend.
And a man I’m beginning to love.
Chapter Fifteen
Sin
I glance over at the woman beside me resting her head against the window. Long lashes brush the tops of her cheeks from her closed eyelids. The only way I know she’s awake is everyone so often she bobs her head to this Billie Eilish song on the radio. I catalog the information to bring up later. We haven’t dabbled much in music, currently listening to an Indie mix station on satellite, but I catch her swaying around the bar when she’s working with me, and the jukebox is on.
The tired circles beneath her eyes concern me as I steal another glance between focusing on the highway in front of me. We worked a shift last night all the way until close. I called Elias to come see if she wanted to leave around eleven, but she refused. I’m thrilled she’s grown accustomed to being in public a bit more, but she’s wearing herself thin. Between the change in her circumstances and the pain she’s been hiding, plus the bad dreams that still visit regularly, she isn’t sleeping well. Throw in the doctor visit we’re currently driving to, and I know she’s running on fumes.
We’ve been in the car for over an hour now, nearly silent except the radio station. I’d give my left arm to know where her head’s at, but my gut tells me it’s only a matter of time until I find out—roughly fifteen more minutes. If I know anything about Shelby, it’s that she’s worrying herself sick about what’s to come. And I can’t do a fuckin’ thing about it.
Reaching across the console, I grip her left hand in my right one and thread our fingers. She startles, peering at me briefly