Keeley's POV
"So who's house are we getting ready at?" Aubrey squeals from beside me. A smile is spread across her freckled face as she tugs at the hem of her sweater.
It's now Friday, and must I say, it's actually been a pretty decent week. Luca and I have been getting closer the past couple of days and I haven't had any nightmares since Tuesday. Alex, Xavier, Aubrey, and I hung out on Wednesday and it was really nice to just relax and feel like a normal teen for once.
We're at our lunch table right now and Aubrey is super excited about the football game tonight.
"What do you mean by get ready?" I grimace while biting into my stale piece of pizza.
"Seriously? It's Halloween night, Keeley. That means we all dress up for the game and the party afterward."
"After party? I thought we were having a sleepover?" I look at her with confusion written all over my face.
"Please, Keels. Live a little. I already got you a costume," she tells me while sipping her water. My eyes go wide and I can hear both Xavier and Alex snickering from across the table.
"I'm not dressing up," I say as I stare at her.
"You aren't winning this one, TaterTot. If I have to dress up, so do you." Xavier's eyebrows are squished in discomfort as he looks down at his now-empty tray. I push my plate towards him and a smile immediately appears on his handsome face.
"You're making them wear costumes?" I ask in disbelief. A smug look crosses her face as she shrugs her shoulders.
"We're doing a group costume! It's going to be cute," she says with trouble laced throughout her voice.
"Oh, this ought to be good," Alex mumbles while pulling his jacket tighter around him.
I hesitantly turn to Aubrey, slightly afraid of what I'm about to ask. "What are we dressing as?"
***
"You've got to be kidding me," I mumble as I stare at the costumes on my bed. Aubrey's laugh drowns out my thoughts as I turn to her.
"What? I think it's cute and it totally suits you!" She gestures wildly to the sparkly green dress situated into a pile on my comforter. Tinkerbell. She wants me to dress as fucking Tinkerbell.
"Do I look like the fairy type to you?" I ask while motioning to my baggy jeans and t-shirt.
"Come on, it'll be fu-un." Her eyebrows do a weird wiggly thing as she picks up the dress and hands it to me. "Please, you've never celebrated Halloween and I just want you to experience it. And if you won't do it for yourself, do it for me?" she begs with puppy eyes.
I stare at her for just a minute before sighing and taking the dress. She squeals and jumps up and down as the both of us make our way into my bathroom to get ready.
***
"Keeley, I'm not gonna lie, you make Tinkerbell hella hot." Aubrey eyes me up and down in the mirror and I follow her gaze.
The sparkly green dress stops about mid-thigh and is held up by two thin straps. My hair is flowing down my back to cover the scars and tattoos while a dainty pair of wings cover the rest. My shoes have giant white puff balls on them and Aubs did my makeup in gold tones, somehow managing to cover my bruise. I would never tell her this, but I actually like how I look.
I turn to Aubrey and she's dressed up like a female Captain Hook with a cropped, white peasant blouse, a red ruffled skirt, fishnets, black boots, and a black and gold corset. Her fiery red hair is curled and a black pirate hat sits on top of her head.
"Okay," I admit, "We do look kind of cute."
She laughs and pulls out her phone to take a few pictures of us. "Okay, so we'll go to the game, make an appearance at the party, and then we can head back to my house for the night. Oh," she says while reading something on her phone. "The boys are here!"
I grab my overnight bag as I follow her out of my room. When we get to the bottom of the stairs though, I see my father heading towards the door.
"Wait! Don't-" I try to stop him, but he pulls the door open, and before him are my two friends, and my jaw drops at their costumes.
"Um-hi. We're here for- uh Keeley," Xavier mumbles while scratching his head. I can't hold it in any longer, I burst out in laughter that has me clutching my stomach.
Now in the entryway stands Peter Pan and Tik-Tock the crocodile. Alex is wearing green tights and matching spandex as a long green t-shirt covers his torso. A brown belt surrounds his waist and an ugly green cap with a red feather sits on his head.
Xavier's costume has me falling into another fit of laughter right alongside Aubrey. He has on this awful dark green plush suit that has a giant stiff tail hanging from his ass. His head peeks through the giant opening of a crocodile mouth, and right now, his face is priceless.
"You-you made them," I wheezed while looking at Aubrey who was also red in the face, "You made them wear that?"
Apparently, our laughter was louder than I originally thought because soon everyone but Sam and Donnie had appeared in the foyer with faces of bewilderment.
"This is who you choose to spend your time with?" my father asks while staring at me, his eyes swimming in obvious confusion.
"Unfortunately so, Mr. Harris," Aubrey laughs. We walk down the remaining stairs and I'm met with my brothers and the Moretti's.
"You're going out? Like that?" Nick looks me up and down as disapproval is written all over his face.
"Yep, and I'm staying the night at Aubrey's house, so I won't be home tonight," I tell them. This seems to snap Luca out of a trance as his beautiful dark, ocean blue's meet me.
"You're not coming home?" His eyes are tender as they stare into mine.
"Domani sarò a casa, Gnocco," I tell him softly. "Allora possiamo uscire."
(I'll be home tomorrow, Gnocco. We can go out then.)
"Keeley's friends," my father turns to them. "Would you mind waiting outside for just a moment?" His face is stern and his tone is low when he speaks to them. Alex is the first one out the door and Xavier shuffles out awkwardly, somehow managing to hit the mouth of his costume on the door frame.
"We'll be in the car, Keels." Aubrey gives me a reassuring smile before closing the door behind her. I turn back to my family and their faces don't even try to hide their discomfort and opposition to what's going on.
"So let me get this straight," my father says while clapping his hands together, "You are dressed that inappropriately and you just decide that you are going to go out on a Friday night without telling me beforehand?" my father seethes as he walks closer to me. His voice is deadly, but his body somehow remains calm.
"I'm going to a school football game and then to hang out with my friends, and based on what they're wearing," I say referencing their childish costumes, "I don't think you have to worry about us getting into trouble."
"You're being immature about this, Keeley," my father tells me. "We are in the mafia. You don't just get to go out and goof off. People target us, and I can guarantee the last thing on your mind if you go out will be to watch your back."
The words that are coming out of his mouth make sense, but he also told me he wanted me to have a normal life, and I thought that's what I'm doing.
"I'll text one of you then, but I deserve to have some fun with my friends. Hell, I've never even celebrated Halloween. I'll come home tomorrow and do mafia things. Just let me have tonight," I beg with pleading eyes. I really want just want to experience one normal teenage thing with my friends.
His cold eyes stare at me for a moment before he begins to speak. "Fine. You text one of us every hour until you get to Captain Hook's house. If you don't, I'll come and drag your ass home myself, go it?"
I sigh and suppress a small smile. "Got it, I promise."
I wave goodbye and as I'm about to walk out the door, I hear Stefano yell: "And no drinking, Tigrotta. I know how you are when it comes to whiskey."
I turn around slowly and glare at him in disbelief as he just spills my problems out. When we worked together, I felt like complete shit, so even as young as I was, I drank whatever I could steal. Most of the time, it was whiskey, and I would turn sappy and mean, and maybe a bit violent. I haven't drunk in a while, but I can still feel the pounding headache and bile that comes afterward.
"The fuck are you talking about?" Nick yells. Stefano shoots me a wink as I slip out the door while all the men start shouting at each other. Asshole.
I run to the car with my phone and bag in hand and jump into the back of Xavier's truck.
"What happened?" Alex asked me while turning to face the back seat. A look of amusement was ever evident in his eyes.
"Just drive before I get dragged back into the house, yeah?"
***
"You ready for the par-tay?" Aubrey squeals from beside me. The game ended about half an hour ago, which we won, and Xavier was driving us to the party. If I'm being honest, I'd never been to a party before and I'm more nervous than I thought I'd be.
"I guess," I mumble to myself. I tug at the hem of my dress, and I think Xavier can tell I'm on edge because when he parks down the street from the house, he turns and gives me a reassuring smile before we get out of the truck.
As I step out, I can feel the beat of whatever music is playing through my feet. I walk around the truck and link arms with Aubrey before crossing the street.
"It's a little loud, don't you think?" I ask Aubrey, but I'm pretty sure she can't hear me as she basically drags my ass towards the monstrous-looking house. It's a dark two-story with arched windows and black accents. The house is easily the largest one on the block, but it looks a bit trashy with the cups littering the lawn and people making out left and right.
"I hate parties," Alex shouts while adjusting his spandex. I snort at his comment as we walk up the stairs and through the front door.
The first thing I see when we walk in are the strobe lights that are past the stairs and to the left. Sweaty bodies are pushed up against each other as they do... whatever it is they're supposed to do with their limbs on the dance floor. Beer pong tables are set up along the far right wall and rowdy football players are pushing each other around. Not one person, that I can see anyway, isn't dressed up in some sort of costume or another.
Xavier and Alex are swept away by a group of guys and Aubrey drags me to the kitchen where a full-on bar is set up.
"You want a drink?" Aubrey shouts into my ear while gesturing to the table of liquor. I shake my head no and opt for a bottle of water instead. Aubrey fills a red cup up with beer from the keg before dragging me towards that awful music.
"C'mon! Dance with me Tink!" She does an odd lasso move with her arms until I push my way to her. She takes my hand and starts moving in a way that I'm positive I can't. I awkwardly shuffle from side to side and she gives me a pointed look.
"Just let loose. Nobody's judging you," she laughs. I slowly start moving to the music, and soon enough, I feel myself let loose. I throw my head back in laughter as I try to mirror what Aubrey is doing, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. And if I'm being honest, I don't care because right now I'm dancing my ass off with my best friend in the middle of a bunch of hormonal teenagers who don't give a shit. I feel great.
"I Got a Feeling" starts to play and I can feel the energy in the room heighten in excitement from the song from our youth. I start jumping up and down and I feel a large hand brush against my back. I turn my head and low and behold, there stands Ryder dressed as a Greaser.
"Nice costume, Blondie," he smirks and the dimple in his cheek makes a rare appearance.
"I would tell you the same but you look like the same brooding bad boy I know from art," I shoot back. His head falls backward as a deep laugh erupts from his chest.
He takes my hand and starts spinning me around. I giggle as he continues to move his body with mine. I'm not going to lie, this boy can move. That combined with his dazzling smile has my stomach doing weird twists.
His hands rest on my hips as we move in sync to the beat of the music. My heart was thumping and I could feel his chest pressed tightly against my back. I placed my hands on top of his and for who knows how long we danced till I could feel the sweat on the back of my neck. My water was long gone and if I didn't text somebody soon, my father would burst down the door and drag me out of here.
"I'm thirsty. Want to get a drink?" I yell over the music. He nods his head and gently pushes on my lower back till we finally get to the kitchen. I grab a bottle of water and he follows suit. I smile at him over the top of my bottle as he smirks at me.
"Not gonna lie, Keeley, you can dance." He sends me a quick wink before doing some funky dance move with his hips. I scoff at his words before responding.
"Please, you're the one who dances. I've never danced like that before in my life." I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Nick saying I'm not dead nor have I had a sip of alcohol.
"Ryder, I know you aren't making the moves on my sister!" I look to my left and see Sam, who just happens to be dressed as Willy Wonka, and Donnie, dressed like a scarecrow, walking towards us.
Ryder throws an arm around my shoulder and tugs me into his side and I'm instantly drowned in his spicy scent. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Does Dad know you're here?" Donnie asks me while eyeing my dress that has slowly ridden up.
"Yeah, we already talked about it," I sigh while unconsciously leaning into Ryder.
"Where are your fri-" Sam is cut off by Aubrey's shouts. She's dragging the boys behind her and Xavier keeps stumbling over his giant tail.
"There you are! I got dragged away by these two goons in the middle of our dan- oh hello," she says while giving Ryder a once over.
"Hi," he mumbles, his smile vanishing.
"Can we step outside?" I ask them. "It's way too hot in here."
"I was just checking if you were okay before I use the bathroom. Come with me?" she asks Alex. He nods his head and follows her out while my brothers sweep Xavier away, leaving just Ryder and me.
"I'll go with you," he says into my ear before nudging me towards the sliding glass doors. The moment we step outside, I inhale a breath of the cool, autumn air. I walk to the edge of the deck and stare up at the dark sky, but I can't see the stars as they are drowned by the city lights.
"You really do look great tonight, Keeley." I turn to Ryder as he leans his muscled forearms on the railing. His leather jacket strains against his biceps, and one of his legs crosses in front of the other. His hair is styled in a perfect pompadour and I can't help but stare at the ink that marks his skin.
"Thank you, and you don't look too bad yourself." He sends me one of his signature grins and I feel that familiar feeling rake through my body. I feel a bit guilty, though. I can't stop thinking about Luca and how it feels like I am playing him. I know we aren't together, so I'm not doing anything wrong, but feeling this way about Ryder too has me all confused.
"It's quiet out here," I say to no one in particular. I can still hear the bass from the speakers, but after the volume inside, it might as well be an entirely different place.
"It is. I love how you can hear-"
"Well if it isn't little Harris." Ryder and I both turn to see Tommy and his brothers walking towards us. None of them are dressed up, and each of them looks pissed off.
I stand up a little taller and Ryder moves to stand beside me. "Travis, what a shitty surprise. Didn't know bitches like you hung out at high school parties," I snap back.
I smirk as his shoulders tense up and a scowl appears on his face. "You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that. As of right now, you're out-numbered and about one snarky comment away from getting hurt, Keeley."
I become instantly aware of the fact I have neither my gun nor my knife on me and am indeed defenseless to the guns I know are tucked in their waistbands.
"Back off, Tommy. You shouldn't be here," Ryder growls from beside me. His broad shoulders are tense and if looks could kill, they would all be six feet under.
"Stay out of this. We just want to talk to the girl, that's all." His eyes scan my body from head to toe and linger just a bit longer on my legs and chest. I try not to move and show him how much his face disgusts me.
"You're starting to piss me off, Teddy, and tonight has been a good night for once in my life. I would really hate to ruin that," I tell him with anger laced in my voice.
Just then, the sliding door opens, and Sam, Donnie, and my friends appear. "You need something?" Donnie grunts. He may be dressed as a scarecrow, but I've never seen him look more deadly.
Trent's hands raise in surrender and he starts to walk backward. "Nope. Just talking to our favorite Harris sibling is all. Take care, love."
Him and his goons back away and we watch them till they are out of sight. "You okay, Keels?" Aubrey asks while searching my face. I take a deep breath before putting on a brave face and turning towards them.
"Yeah, I'm good, but would you mind if we got going? I'm pretty tired," I tell them. The boys and Aubrey nod their heads and tell me they'll go get the car. My brothers kiss my cheek and say goodnight before returning to the party. That only leaves me and Ryder.
He gestures to the stairs on the deck, and we walk down to the yard and start walking around the enormous house.
"Thank you for tonight, Ryder. I actually had a ton of fun," I whisper. He smiles at me and stops walking.
"You okay?" I ask him while stepping closer. He brings his hand up to my face and gently tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. His eyes focus in on mine, and for a moment all we see is each other. The crickets are chirping and the wind is howling all around us as I hear the sound of Xavier's truck rolling up the street.
"Yeah, I'm great." He smiles down at me and slowly leans down to kiss the crown of my head. My eyes flutter shut as his lips linger just a bit longer than I thought they would. When he finally pulls away, there's an emotion dancing in his eyes that I can't quite read.
"Goodnight, Blondie."
***
"So what happened between you and Ryder?" Aubrey asks while suggestively shaking her shoulders.
I shake my head softly as a lazy smile crosses my face. I snuggle into the blankets of Aubrey's bed as I turn to face her.
Her bedroom walls are a soft, pale grey with carpeted floors and a Persian rug. Her double bed sits along the wall with a vanity beside it and cute pictures hang on the wall.
"Nothing, really. It was just nice to spend time with him when he isn't being so... I don't know-Ryder," I tell her while she flips over to face me.
"Do you like him?" I can tell she's not trying to be pushy, but her eyebrows do that weird wiggle thing again and she's trying not to smile.
I gently shake my head before responding. "I don't know."
"Well, what about that beautiful Italian man, Luca?"
I sigh quietly and think for a moment. "I know I definitely like him, but not the way I like Ryder. It's- it's hard to explain. Ryder makes me so angry yet I feel like I'm living on the edge, you know? Like every moment with him could either go south real fast or it could be one of the best moments of my life. Like tonight when we were dancing, I can't even describe how good it felt. But with Luca, it's different. Every single time we are together, I find myself laughing and totally consumed by him. I can just be free and be laid back with him without worrying about anything. Being with him comes easy to me."
Aubrey looks at me with her eyebrows raised, giving me a knowing look. "Damn, you have it worse than I thought."
I groan as I rub my hands over my eyes because, in all honesty, I really do have it bad. I'm just utterly confused because Ryder is so hot and cold with me that I never know for more than 24 hours where we stand. I can't deny the attraction I feel towards him, but it's vastly different than the way I feel towards Luca. Luca and I just click, and maybe it's because we just get each other like no one else does. I just don't know.
***
"Hello?" I shout as I walk into my house Saturday morning. Aubrey dropped me off after breakfast and I'm exhausted. I'm dressed in sweats and an oversized sweatshirt with moccasins on my feet. My hair is piled on top of my head in a tangly knot, and with no makeup on my face, the dark circles and purple bruise make my skin even paler than it already is.
"In here!" someone yells from what sounds like the dining room. I drop my bag on the stairs before shuffling down the hall. The November sun is shining down into the house and it makes the wood tones that much warmer.
The moment I step into the dining room, all eyes are on me.
"You look like shit," Sam says not even trying to be nice. Giovanni slaps him upside the head for me and I send him a small smile.
"Thanks. I'm exhausted," I mumble while lowering myself into the chair beside Luca. He smiles at me before pushing a glass of juice in my direction.
"Well you better find some energy because today we will be doing, as you put it, mafia stuff," my father tells me while stabbing his scrambled eggs. His grey hair is a bit messier than usual but other than that, he still looks deadly.
"What are we doing?" I yawn while sipping on my juice.
"Training. None of us have seen you fight yet and I'm interested to see what you've got, Tigrotta." Stefano smirks at me and it was then when I finally realized everyone was in workout gear.
I groan as I lean my head on the table in front of me. My body hurts from the early morning training sessions I've been doing every day this week, and add that with the party last night and Aubrey and I gossiping till the sun came up, I could pass out right now.
I feel Luca's warm and gentle hand run up and down my back as snickering fills the room.
"Go get ready, and when you're done, meet us downstairs." I give Nick a reluctant nod as I raise myself up from the table and away from the dining room. I make my way upstairs and to my room before stripping from my clothes and changing into black shorts and a sports bra. I redo my hair and brush my teeth before washing my face. I take my gun from my bedside drawer and stick it in my pants. I sigh to myself as I dread the pain I know my father is about to put me through.
This should be fun.
***
Luca's POV
"So is she good?" Matteo asks from beside me. After Keeley had dragged herself away, us guys filed downstairs and into the gym. We were going to do a quick workout and then spar with each other.
"I'd hate to be on the other end of her fury," Finn says with slight discomfort. He rubs his hand across his chest like he's remembering something she had done.
"Let's just hope she can keep her emotions in check. We don't need another incident where she goes batshit crazy and hurts all of us," Nick tells no one in particular.
My father gives them a quizzical look. "What do you mean by that?"
Dominic sighs as he shrugs off his suit jacket. "Keeley's got anger problems, always has. The first time she trained with my men, the guy she was going against broke the rules and scraped her side with a knife. It wasn't deep or bad, but she went ballistic when she saw blood. Him and twenty-five other men were beaten to a bloody pulp by just her, no weapons used. Her eyes turn this funny color and the only one who could stop her was Callan because he caught her off guard and wouldn't let her go."
I think I audibly gulp at the end of his spiel because when I see my beautiful Tesoro, I don't see that at all.
"Wow, what a nice introduction," Keeley scoffs as she walks closer to us. Her small yet muscular frame screams confidence as she eyes each of us. She's dressed in short black shorts and a matching sports bra. Her tattoos stand out as I realize a good portion of her is covered with them. My gaze falters though when I realize she's wearing no shoes. "Let's get to it yeah?"
***
"Alright, Keeley, I want to see you fight the best assassin in my mafia," my father speaks up while patting me on my back. Each of us are covered in sweat, except for the Capos who have been busting our asses, and are breathing pretty heavy from the cardio we had to do.
Keeley nods her head before she slips through the ropes of the ring and looks at me with her wildly golden eyes. She's standing slanted so I can see parts of the scars that cover her body. I have so many questions, but I hate to push.
The guys start a chorus of "ooo's" as I shake my head and enter the ring. I face Keeley, and even though she was tired earlier, you would never be able to tell by the way she's standing. I can see a slight sheen of sweat across her forehead and her eyes are coursing with adrenaline. Her body is bouncing ever so slightly and a crazy grin is on her face.
"Okay: no weapons, no killing, no extreme bodily harm. And Keeley, for the love of God and all things good, no crazy eyes, okay?" her father says to us. She nods her head and looks at me.
"Ready, Gnocco?"
"Bring it on."
She moves so quickly that I don't even see it coming. She runs at me and slides between my legs. One of her legs kicks up and hits me in the back of the knee, and I go down.
I stand back up quickly as I can and see her bouncing up and down across the ring. "C'mon, Luca! Be better than that!" I hear my father yell. I shake my head and look back to the blonde who is now charging at me full speed.
She jumps off the ground and hits my chest to where we both tumble to the floor. We wrestle for the upper hand, and I manage to land a hard right hook to the center of her chest. She falls backward as she gasps for air. I go to hit her again, but Keeley manages to summersault out of reach and land back on her feet.
For just a second, I see her eyes darken. She shakes her head slightly before stalking towards me. We circle each other for a few seconds before she shoots out and lands a solid punch straight to my gut. I double over from the pain and don't even recognize her knee that shoots up and hits my nose.
I immediately feel a warm gush flowing out of my nose and look down to see a few drops of blood on the floor. And if I wasn't angry, I definitely was now.
I attacked Keeley with all my force throwing punch after punch, but I couldn't seem to find the upper hand. For every punch I threw, she delivered it right back with some combo I didn't have time to register.
I wasn't sure how long we had been going at it, it had to be at least ten minutes of continuous hits, but by the time our father's yelled "quit," I could barely breathe.
"Holy shit," I heard Giovanni murmur, and holy shit was right.
I looked to my right and saw that Keeley was on all fours, crouched down as her chest continued to quickly rise and fall. Her hair was no longer in its bun considering I had used it to yank her to the floor on more than one occasion. I saw a few splatters of blood under her, but I couldn't tell where they were coming from. A few bruises were forming on her back from where I had kicked her, but other than that she looked okay.
I myself didn't feel much better. My nose wasn't broken, but I was pretty damn sure it was bruised and swollen. A cut above my eyebrow steadily leaked a small trail of blood down my face and I was having a hard time breathing. She had delivered more punches to my torso than I could count and I knew my gut would be hurting for the next couple of days. Keeley had also on more than one occasion kicked my left knee to make me fall, and it hurts like hell backed over me with a truck.
"I need...some water," Keeley strained out from beside me. She was sitting on her butt now, and I could see that the bleeding was from her mouth. Crimson covered her chin and teeth, and transferred to her arm that she used to wipe it off.
Callan immediately rushed into the ring with a damp cloth and water bottle to help her, and Giovanni did the same thing for me. I looked around to see everybody's jaw slightly agape at what just happened.
"That was, um-," Finn stumbles at a loss of words.
"Brutal?"
"Scary?"
"Painful to watch?"
Everybody had their own word to describe it, but the only word I could think of was enthralling. Nobody in my life has ever put up as much of a fight as Keeley did. If anything, this just made me fall even more for her. The way she can hold her own and kick some ass had to be one of the most attractive things I'd ever seen in a woman.
I looked over to her and saw that her eyes were already on me. I gave her a smile and she returned it with one of her own.
"You good?" I ask while holding the towel to my eyebrow.
Her eyes swirl with amusement as she spits some blood out of her mouth. "Never been better."
***
I groan as I lay down in my bed. After I had finally managed to get on my feet, Giovanni helped me up the stairs and to my room. I showered till there was no trace of blood left on my body and brushed my teeth. I changed into boxers and my sweatpants before applying some paper stitches to my eyebrow. My gut had an array of different colored bruises on it as they appeared to be drawn by a Kindergartener. And my poor nose: it is most definitely swollen.
I turn on my TV, and as I'm scrolling through the different channels, a soft knock comes from my door.
"Come in!" I shout. The door slowly opens and Keeley's head peeks through.
"Mind if I join you?" She's wearing shorts and a long t-shirt, so I can't exactly see the damage done to her torso, but her pale legs are scattered with bruises and a decent size cut extends from the bottom of her nose down through her lip. I luckily didn't hit her where her previous bruise was, so that doesn't look any worse.
I shake my head and pat the bed beside me. Keeley shuts the door before walking over and laying down beside me. I tentatively pull her closer into my side, careful not to hurt either of us, and one of her legs goes over my own. I feel her head lay on my bare chest and one of her soft hands move up to rest on my aching shoulders. Just the mere touch of her skin makes my body relax and come alive all at once.
"How do you feel?" I ask her while deciding on that bridal show she loves so much.
She lets out a small laugh before responding. "Like shit. You?"
I move my hand to rest under her shirt and on her stomach. I can see from how her shirt has risen up that she too is about as beat up as I am. I pull her closer to me till I'm engulfed in her warm cinnamon vanilla scent.
"Pft, I feel fine," I scoff and feel her chest vibrate with soft laughter.
We lay there for a while, slowly moving till I was spooning her tiny frame into my larger one. I bent down and kissed the side of her neck, not even able to stop myself.
A soft sigh escapes her lips, and the only thing that I can think of is how right it feels for this girl to be right here in my arms to where no one can hurt her.
I'm not sure how long we lay there like that, but she's the last thing I see before I fall asleep.
________________________________________________________________________________
I know I just updated, but I couldn't help uploading one more.
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See you in the next chapter and Happy Reading!
Final Word Count: 6112