Save Them (The Broken Souls Series Book 2) Page 3

  "Thank you." My heart constricts, the thoughtfulness almost too much for me to handle right now. “Not looking forward to getting these knots out of my hair.” I try to joke, but the rasp in my voice makes me come off shaky and tired instead.

  “If you need help, all you need to do is ask. I’d be happy to help you with your hair.” Rhys tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear then cups my cheek with his hand. Nuzzling into the warmth of his hand, I breathe deeply through the influx of emotions flooding me.

  There’s very few moments in my life where I have felt truly loved and safe, aside from the short time I had with my parents, and these guys are quickly doubling, even tripling, the amount. The circumstances that brought us together were far from ideal, the death of Declan a black cloud that still hangs over us all, but it brought us together all the same. The happy ending that I was racing towards blew up in a cloud of smoke, leaving me with a happy ending I didn’t even know I wanted.

  “Where did you go, pretty girl?” Rhys asks, his blue eyes searching mine for the answers in their depths. Laying my head weakly against his chest, he picks me up, carrying me to the bathroom and placing me on the counter while he gets a towel ready.

  “I was just thinking about how good all of you are to me and what brought us together,” I respond honestly, letting him into my thoughts as I watch him walk around the bathroom. “When I came to you all, I thought I would be getting that happy ending with Declan that we always talked about. I was terrified he had moved on and left me behind, found someone to be there for him all those years that I wasn’t. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had. Instead, it was so much worse.”

  Taking a minute, I let the silent tears fall down my face for the naive girl from not that long ago. Rhys pulls me into his arms, resting me against his chest gently as his fingers softly run up and down my arms. His silent support surrounds me, encouraging me to talk to him about everything.

  “Declan left all of us in the worst way possible. I thought that was it, that was my future disappearing before me. Yet it wasn’t,” I whisper, snuggling deeper into Rhys for this next part. “Instead of falling into an abyss of nothingness, I fell into all of you. You caught me and pulled me into your family. Without a single thought, I had the three of you so willing to embrace me and all of my crazy. It still doesn’t feel real sometimes, that in the face of tragedy, I found —”

  Stopping before the L word pops out, I let loose a breathy laugh instead. Rhys kisses my forehead before tipping my chin up, my eyes immediately finding his watery bright blue eyes.

  “You found love,” he whispers back, his voice shaking slightly. “We were pretty fucking lost before you, each of us in our own brand of misery. You walked in, both breaking and reviving our hearts all in one go. You were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and I knew instantly that everything Dec had ever said about you was true. He used to talk about you for hours, and we all thought he was crazy. There was no way anybody could be that fucking perfect, he had to be elaborating. He fucking wasn’t. You are so utterly perfect, it’s almost not fair.”

  The tears come harder this time, the thought of Declan sitting around with the guys talking about me years after we were together breaks me just a little bit. What I wouldn’t do to have all four of them with me. To see Dec with Rhys, Riggs, and Adam, joking around and being a family together. It’s what he always wanted, yet he fucking threw it all away. We almost had it, all of us. It was there, on the tips of our fingers.

  We almost had it, Declan… We almost had the family we wanted. Why did you leave us?

  The feeling of being lifted breaks through my internal screaming match with Declan. The thoughts and arguments I can never have with him because he left us. Every time I think I’m getting over it, something comes up that reminds me he acted selfishly. He killed himself for some twisted fucking honour that he tried to lay at my feet.

  The water turns on as Rhys balances me on his lap, the tub filling up with steamy water. Rhys adds vanilla bath salts to the water from the side of the tub before standing up and placing me on the counter. Lifting my head, I take in the bathroom more than I have all week. It’s smaller, the dark hardwood giving it a cozy sauna look to it. The bathtub and shower are one, the tub nice and deep despite that.

  “Do you need help getting changed or would you like me to let you be?” Rhys asks, his hands resting on the counter on either side of my legs.

  “Don’t leave me,” I beg, laying my hands on top of his to keep him from leaving. “Would you be okay staying and helping me? I don’t really feel like being alone right now.”

  “Of course,” he answers quickly, flipping over his hands so they grasp my own and squeezes them. “I’ll finish getting the bath ready while you undress.”

  Turning his back to me, he fiddles with the tap, adding some extra hot water for me. It takes me a minute to remember what I’m supposed to be doing, his movements mesmerizing. The way his black t-shirt stretches over his back muscles is enough to make anyone stop and stare.

  Rhys turns to look at me, one eyebrow raised in question. “Do I need to step out so you can get undressed?”

  “No, it’s okay. You’re going to see me naked in the bath anyways.” I shrug with a small smile. “No funny business, though.” I fake scold him, knowing he wouldn’t touch me without my express consent, and even though he is nice to look at, my libido is nowhere to be found right now.

  “You can trust me,” he declares, his face open and sincere.

  “I know.”

  Chapter Four

  Rhys

  This woman is going to be the end of me, mark my words. Alayna Morgan is everything I’ve ever wanted and thought I could never have. She’s the perfect blend of strong and vulnerable. The strength I see in her every time she pulls herself out of a breakdown barely scratches the surface of the well of unbelievable strength inside of her. The sun rises and sets with her for me. For all of us, I suspect. Riggs and Adam have spent just as long taking care of her this week as I have. I don’t think Riggs has slept more than a couple hours a night since we left the hospital.

  Alayna’s black hair is a mess from spending the week basically hibernating in her pain. Still, it does nothing to hide her beauty. She could be all dressed up like she was for her date or completely unkempt like right now, she’s absolutely breathtaking in every way and I can’t take my eyes off of her.

  Turning my back to her, I give her some semblance of privacy while she undresses. Hearing her say she trusts me has my heart swelling so much it hurts. For someone like her, who’s been through unimaginable pain in her life, putting her trust in me is huge. It’s something I’ll hold close to me and make sure I never fucking take for granted or lose.

  “Can you help me in?” Lay asks, placing a delicate hand on my shoulder. Her body is shaking slightly, the lack of sustenance this past week taking its toll on her.

  “Of course,” I murmur, turning to look into her grey eyes, not allowing my eyes to travel anywhere else. Now is not the time to be looking at her body, it’s the time to make her comfortable and take care of her.

  Navigating in this small bathroom is a bit of a struggle, but we make do. Standing to help her into the tub, I hold her hand and place my other hand on her hip to steady her. She sits down, the water splashing up the sides of the tub as it displaces. Averting my eyes to the ceiling, I sit on the ground, leaning against the wall beside the bathtub.

  Listening to Lay get comfortable in the bathtub beside me, the water sloshing around as she slips underneath. The song Broken by Lifehouse has been stuck in my head for days now, since it came on one of my playlists earlier in the week. Humming out the tune while I relax beside Lay, I hear her sigh in contentment. Turning my head, my eyes catch hers, a fondness in them that brings a smile to my face.

  “I like that song,” she whispers softly, her eyes drooping slightly.

  “Me too,” I answer before going back to humming, wanting to see more of that beautiful face
light up with the song. She sings softly when I start humming the chorus, her voice wrapping around me, drawing me into her with every word.

  I am falling so fucking hard for this woman.

  “What are you thinking?” Her voice breaks me out of my trance, my eyes blinking to clear the haze of love in my head.

  “Want me to wash your hair for you?” I ask, deflecting her question with one of my own. She’s not ready to hear my confession, and it’s not going to happen right now when she’s been through so much recently.

  It was a week ago that she found a dead body in her bed and found out the stalking was so much worse than we originally thought. The dark circles under her eyes and the rasp in her voice remind me of the devastating nightmares that have been plaguing her since that fateful night. Lay needs time before she’s bombarded with my thoughts and feelings.

  Grabbing the shampoo we bought for her, I massage a good amount into her dark locks, the smell of apricots and lilies surrounding us. It takes a lot of control to contain my rage at the situation we’re in. My hands shake with anger at the thought of Kevin fucking Jennings. The fucker stalking and hurting my girl will pay in one way or another when I finally get my hands on him.

  “Rinse,” I say after a moment, dipping my hands beside her to rinse off the suds. My eyes move away as she dips under again, my gentleman side staying strong for her.

  “You haven’t asked yet.” Lay sits up after rinsing her hair out, grabbing the conditioner and handing it to me.

  “Asked?” My brows draw together in confusion, the conditioner bottle held by both of us. “Asked about what?”

  “The scars.” She motions down towards her body, drawing my eyes down. The air in the room heats up as I take in everything I’ve tried so hard not to notice until right now.

  It takes my brain far too long to notice the scars she’s talking about, her naked body more than enough to keep my mind occupied for a very long time. The scars are everywhere once you notice them. They criss-cross all over her torso, some flush with her skin while others are raised and jagged. They tell a story of a girl who survived.

  “To be honest, I didn’t notice until you pointed it out. I’ve been making sure to not make you feel uncomfortable and keep from looking below your face,” I confess gently, my hand brushing a stray drop of water from just beside her nose. “But I don’t need to ask about them. They’re your story to tell, when and if you feel ready to. You don’t owe anyone an explanation about your body.”

  “Goddamn it, Rhys,” she chokes out followed by a laugh. “You guys are far too good to me. I’m not used to it.”

  “Well, get used to it,” I tease, kissing her forehead. “Now turn back so I can condition and brush out your hair.”

  “Yes, sir,” she teases back. The light lilt to her voice makes me so happy, my cheeks hurt from smiling so big. If Lay is teasing me back then I think she’s truly back with us. It was terrifying not knowing if she was going to come out of it anytime soon.

  The rest of the bath passes quickly, her hair thankfully coming out of its knotted state much easier than anticipated. After finishing her hair, I left her to wash up on her own so I could make her some better food to eat. The turkey sandwich I’m putting together has lots of much needed nutrition for my girl. The need to feed her and make her comfortable is riding me hard, every thought I have revolves around those two things.

  This is what I do when I feel so fucking helpless like I do with her stalker situation, I take care of people. Growing up in the dysfunctional family that I did, I was only ever worth what I could do for other people. If I wasn’t taking care of everyone in the house, I was worthless to everyone. I wasn’t the golden child, the one who could breathe and get a fucking award for it. They treated me no better than a personal servant, and I fucking went with it for any scrap of attention they would give me.

  My grandmother helped me a lot in that regard, taking care of me when no one else wanted to bother. She left me so much when she passed because she knew my parents and brother wouldn’t give me anything. Every day I miss her, she was the only family I cared to have.

  “Is Lay still in bed?” Riggs walks in the kitchen, his hair still wet from his after work shower.

  “Nope. She should be out soon,” I update him, enjoying the look of surprise on his face. “She was just finishing getting cleaned up and then we were going to see what food her stomach can handle.”

  “Thank fucking god,” he quietly declares, his shoulders slumping with the weight of the stress leaving. “Is she acting more like herself?”

  “She is. A little weak and tired still, but she was even joking and teasing a bit.” I place her sandwich on a plate with a glass of orange juice beside it. “You want a sandwich, too?”

  “Please,” he groans, rubbing his stomach like he hasn’t eaten in ages. “I’m so happy she’s coming back to us.”

  “We do need to tell her though,” I remind him with a wince, not wanting to have the stalker conversation with Lay. “She needs to know what’s been going on.”

  “I know.” Riggs sighs, dragging his hands down his face. All three of us have been anxiously waiting for Lay to come out of her depression bubble while simultaneously not wanting the moment to come where we have to let her in on what’s been happening with this fucked up situation. “Where’s Adam?”

  “He’s at the community centre. He had some meetings that couldn’t be moved,” I answer, finishing up Riggs’ sandwich and starting on my own.

  “Lucky fucker.” Riggs takes a huge bite of his sandwich, his face set in a pissed off frown.

  “Who? Adam?” Lay walks into the kitchen, her damp hair laying over one shoulder. She’s wearing one of my t-shirts with a pair of red and black plaid pyjama pants we picked up for her.

  “Lay!” Riggs jumps up, practically running to her. He swoops her up into his arms, holding her so tightly I wince a little bit. She just squeezes him back, rubbing a hand up and down his spine. “I’m so glad you’re up.”

  “Hey there, Big Guy. Don’t crush me.” Lay laughs, the sound making me smile and shake my head. “I need to be able to breathe.”

  Riggs grunts his lighthearted disapproval before setting her on a chair at the small kitchen table. Grabbing both of our sandwiches, I place hers in front of her and take a seat at her right side. Riggs quickly follows with his own food, all of us sitting down to eat quietly. The silence is nice for once, not the stifling silence that normally surrounds me. With my chosen family here, the ever present loneliness fades almost completely.

  “The only thing that would make this better is Adam being here with us,” Lay speaks after a bit, her eyes bouncing between the two of us, not wanting to leave either of us out of the conversation. “Speaking of, why is he a lucky bastard?”

  Riggs and I look at each other, a heavy silence between us. None of us have wanted to breach this topic with her, but it very much concerns her. Our fear is that when she finds out just how bad things are, she’s going to disappear on us again.

  “Is he out with someone?” Lay asks, biting her lip anxiously, her eyes staying focused on the table. “I’m sorry if you guys want to also be out with people, but you feel obligated to be here with me. I’ve taken care of myself for a long time, you don’t have to stay here with me. None of us have set any expectations or anything yet, so you don’t need to stick with me.”

  “Holy fuck, no,” I respond quickly, my voice coming out far louder than I wanted it to. “No, nothing like that Lay. Adam’s at the community centre working, not on a date or anything.”

  “Oh, right. Duh.” Lay rubs a hand over her forehead, sighing exasperatedly. “He told me that earlier. Apparently my memory screws are a little loose.”

  “You’ve had a rough go of it, give yourself a break.” Riggs smiles which quickly turns to a grimace with his next words. “He’s a lucky bastard because we have to talk to you about something, and it’s not going to be easy,” Riggs fills in, his hand holding Lay’s
like he’s afraid she might try to run from us.

  “Oh? What’s going on?” Lay sits up straight, her face going serious when she hears the tone of our voices. “Is it about Kevin Jennings?”

  The venom in Lay’s voice when she says his name makes me so happy I could weep. The last time she heard his name she was shaking in fear, the very thought of him enough to knock her down. This time, she’s taking the reins, not letting his name have that power. Fucking hell, how is one woman this incredible?

  “It is.” Riggs simply states, looking at me to continue on. Rolling my eyes, I undo my hair and tie it back up so it’s completely out of my way. The movements calm me enough to start.

  “Your phone is on the counter, and it’s been blowing up because of that piece of shit stalking you. After the police grabbed what info they needed from your phone back at our place, we brought it back here with us so you would still have it. While it was quiet for about a day, it hasn’t stopped going off since then. Calls, texts, you name it.” I pause, taking in Lay’s furious expression, making sure she can handle me continuing. “They’re fucked up, Lay. It makes all of us sick to our stomachs watching the shit come in. He’s pissed that he can’t find you right now. The worst part is that the police can’t find a single trace of him, he’s basically disappeared from society other than the shit sent to your phone.”

  “I want to know how the fuck he’s still alive,” Lay jumps in, her anger palpable in the air. “I was given confirmation that Kevin Jennings died in prison like the asshole he was. How is this happening?”

  “From what I can gather, the person stalking you isn’t the same man that fostered you,” I say slowly, letting her take it all in because I don’t know how this next part is going to go over for her. “It’s his son, also named Kevin Jennings.”

  “What? Ho—” Lay stops, shaking her head back and forth. “I don’t understand.”