Chapter twenty-three

I ended up falling asleep at around one in the morning, but when I woke up again I felt Winter's body pressed against mine. I smiled, knowing he was back, and cuddled at his side, ignoring the pain of the bruises all over my body Aiden had inflicted the day before.

When we got up to get breakfast, I was itching to know if Winter knew what Aiden did yesterday. The moment Winter put his arm around my shoulder I winced, and that must have alerted him something had happened. "Are you okay?" He asked me.

I nodded, but when he gave me a look I rolled my sleeves up so he could see the bruises on my body. His mouth fell open. "Oh my god, Jacey! What happened? If Aiden did this I swear to god! Do you have any more?"

I pulled him into the bedroom without a word and took my shirt off. He ran his hands over my body, pulling away every time I let out a gasp as his hands connected with the bruises. "I'm so sorry..." He whispered.

"Sorry for what?" I snapped. "Sorry for the fact Aiden hit me? Or are you sorry that you left? Or maybe you're sorry because you can't read?" I covered my mouth. Crap, I hadn't meant to say that last part! Winter stepped back, hurt. "Who told you that?" He asked quietly.

"Uh... Aiden said you were dumb, and when I said you weren't, he told me you couldn't read or write." I mumbled. He grinded his teeth. "Well, he's just being a hypocrite, because he can't read or write either." With that, he turned and stomped away.

I thought he would have left for the rest of the day, but he returned only a moment later to ask me if I was okay and if I needed anything. When I said no, he sat down at his desk with his head in his hands. "I can't believe he told you that. I really didn't need that on top of everything else..."

"What happened?" I asked him, putting my shirt back on.

"My Mum..."

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind."

I didn't push for answers. It was something about his Mother, and that seemed to be a sensitive subject, even though I didn't know why. I had never seen her, nor heard much about her. Maybe her and Winter's Dad kicked him out when he came out about being bisexual. Or maybe he moved out on his own. That was probably where he went every month. To visit them. I didn't believe they would kick Winter out of the house. I had seen a few pictures of them, and they seemed far too nice to hurt Winter in that way. Plus, if he had been kicked out, then where was he getting all his money from? He must have moved out by himself.

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"Jacey, get up!" My face started to get beaten with pillows as Winter tried to get me out of bed. "What the hell do you want, Winter?" I groaned. Clearly, he was feeling better than the day before. I wasn't. My body hurt from the bruises, plus I was tired and in a bad mood.

"I need to show you something. Get dressed."

I heaved a sigh and rolled out of bed. Winter bounced excitedly by the door as I pulled on yesterday's clothes and tied my shoelaces up. As soon as I was done, he grabbed my hand and pulled me downstairs.

Victor jumped out of our way when we passed. Winter threw open the front doors and didn't even bother closing them behind us. Sun shone in my face, making me squint. I let go of Winter's hand to reach up and rub my eyes. "Jesus, its bright."

"Come on Jace!" He said, clearly frustrated as he grabbed my sleeve and started to pull me again. I followed him, grumbling to myself.

After a few moments, I began to realize we were taking a specific trail. Towards the dog pen. I stopped once again, shaking my head. "No. You are not taking me to the dogs."

"Jacey..." He pouted. I crossed my arms, turning away from him. "No."

"Yes." He grabbed my hand. "I need to show you something?"

"Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because I can't, okay? Its special, and I want you to see it."

I sighed and let him lead me to the dog pen. My eyes widened as I looked around at all the dogs. Two of them were ripping apart a dog bed. One was lapping at a water bowl. Another was bounding towards us, its tongue hanging out of its mouth happily. Winter opened the door and stepped inside, pulling me with him. The other dogs looked up, trotting towards us as well. I squeaked and hid behind Winter.

"Hello, sweetie." Winter bent down and gave one a scratch behind the ear. "Good girl. Who's a good girl?"

I pressed my back against the fence, my face white. The dogs sniffed at me curiously, wondering who I was. One of them looked up and snarled. I covered my face with my arms, breathing heavily. "Get it away from me!"

"Aw, she recognizes you." Winter smiled. "Do you remember? She was the dog that cornered you that one time, when you kicked a tantrum."

I peeked out at the dog, who was still staring at me but now receiving pats from Winter as well. I began to shake like a leaf. "Winter, please. Get them away."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes and threw a rubber ball. The dogs ran after it, finally leaving me alone. I let my arms fall to my side. "Is this what you wanted to show me? A bunch of mutts?"

"Don't be rude, Jace. And no." He began to lead me towards a shed in the corner. He closed the door behind us. "This."

I listened for a few moments. Whines and whimpers were coming from a corner. Eww, rats. "Wow. A dark shed with rats in it. I'm so impressed."

He turned the light on, and I realized in shock that the whimpers hadn't been rats, but in fact a mother dog was licking her puppies. They squirmed, trying to get more milk. "Puppies?"

"Yeah. Honey gave birth yesterday, but I didn't find out until this morning." He knelt beside the mother dog, Honey, and rubbed her ear. "I think the Dad is Kenny."

"Why did you want to show me this?" I asked him, staring at the dogs.

"Well..." He bit his lip. "I know that you're scared of dogs, so... I... I thought you could have one."

I was silent for a moment. The puppies squeaked again. There were five in total, three of them brown and white and two of them just brown. "No." I snapped.

"Hear me out, okay? If we get you one from a young age, then maybe your fear would go away-"

"No! I hate dogs! They're smelly and loud and noisy. They need constant attention and dumb toys. Every day they need a walk, and they pee on the floor, and eat your food and bark all the damn time. Plus, you need to give them baths, and I refuse to give an animal a bath."

He was staring at me now. I crossed my arms, sulking. "I don't want one of the dumb puppies. I'm a cat person."

Winter looked offended. "Cats leave fur everywhere and scratch up carpets and couches."

"Dogs eat shoes." I replied, scowling. He narrowed his eyes. "Cats are fussy."

"Dogs snatch your food."

"Cats act like they own the place."

"Oh, like you don't." I shot back. He chuckled. "You're such a sarcastic kid, my sweet."

"See, this is what I mean. You act like you own me." I grumbled. He kept patting Honey, smiling to himself like he knew something I didn't. "I think a dog would be good for you. Can you do it for me, please? You can name him or her."

"Naming it isn't going to make me feel less scared. I hate dogs. I'm not keeping one." With that, I turned away, my arms crossed. Winter wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my shoulder. "Please?" He asked me quietly. "You'll love the puppy. I promise."

Giving in, I looked back at him. "Fine. But if it so much as bites me, I'm never talking to you ever again." We both knew that wasn't true, so Winter agreed anyway. "Now choose one."

I pointed at a random dog. He nodded and bent down. "We can't take them away from Honey just yet, so remember what this one looks like."

I scowled. "It looks just like the others. How am I supposed to tell?" I had chosen a brown and white one. Winter smiled and stood up. "You need to open your eyes up a little more, Jace. Maybe then you'll notice personality, not looks."

"That sounds like its directed at something else." I shot back. "And I do look at personality. My brothers are handsome, but I hate them for who they are. I hate people for who they are, not what they look like."

He smiled again, pulling me closer. The moment his lips touched mine, my stubbornness disappeared. Once he pulled away, I couldn't help but smile a little bit. "You had better not pay more attention to the dumb dog than you do to me."

He just leaned in for another kiss.