Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
“Don’t push me!” Vanessa yells.
I squat down, gasping for breath in a constricted airway, and I press my white Blondie band tee to my face.
“Donnelly?” Luna kneels to me. “Donnelly?”
Luna. Fear envelops me, and on instinct, I let go of my shirt, and I pick her up around the waist, pressing her chest to mine.
“Donnelly, wait.” She grips my shoulders. Her legs dangle like I’ll put her down any second, but I won’t.
I distance us from Vanessa and try to hail a cab from the curb. “We’re getting out of here.”
Frog and Quinn jog to reach us.
Then Vanessa yells out at Luna, “You don’t wanna be with him!” It’s vindictive, soulless shit I’m trying to escape. “You know what he’s done?!”
I stiffen, but I don’t drop Luna. I keep her in my arms, and she’s holding tighter to me. Her legs wrap around my waist. Come on, cab. Come on. Please. It flies past us.
Frog steps into the street to hail one.
O’Malley barricades Vanessa from storming over here. His arms are outstretched. She spits in his face, and he wipes it off as she yells at him, “You’re gonna hit a woman, tough guy?!”
He shoves her hard.
She lands on her ass.
A cab has stopped, and Frog opens the door. I set Luna on her feet, and she crawls into the back. I glance one last time at the sidewalk. Where the photo of me and my mom lies on the cement.
I watch O’Malley crouch down to Vanessa. “You scum of the fucking earth—you ever lay a hand on my cousin again, and you’ll find yourself behind bars with your friends. So you better run. You better fucking run until your feet bleed and you never think of coming back.”
Vanessa is shaken, wide-eyed. It’s the last of her I see, then I climb in the cab beside Luna and shut the door. After I give the name of the hotel we’re spending the night at, I can’t speak. Not one word. I lift my shirt back up to my eyes, and she touches my thigh and leans her weight on me.
Feeling Luna—it’s the only thing helping me breathe.
72
PAUL DONNELLY
“I was gonna tell you tonight about it. It’s why I wanted to talk to you,” I whisper—I dunno why I’m whispering. We’re alone. We’ve been alone in this four-star hotel for an hour. Luna’s apologized a few times since it’s not the Ritz, but it’s her hotel of choice when she stays in Hell’s Kitchen. Because it’s closest to Eliot and Tom’s apartment.
It’s nicer than she realizes.
I wouldn’t even care if we were in a cardboard box under an overpass right now. I’m glad we’re not though. This is a thousand times better.
We shoved the shower curtain to the side and filled the bathtub. Luna squirted lavender body wash in the water. Smells good. And we’ve shed our clothes and sunk down in the warmth, our legs threaded.
I take deep breaths. Partly, I’m scared to touch her. Like she might not wanna touch me after this. “That was Vanessa—and she was right when she said you don’t know what I’ve done.” I pinch my eyes with the soapy water, and it just burns more. When I drop my hand, I swallow hard and stare into Luna.
She bows closer, which nearly crushes me. ‘Cause she should be pulling farther away, shouldn’t she? Her fingers touch my temples, her forehead pressing to mine. It’s impossible to abandon her eyes. I murmur, “You might not love me after this.”
“No,” she says adamantly.
“No?” I choke on a wheezing laugh. I haven’t told her anything yet. “You’re so sure, babe?”
“I know the secret of our universe,” she whispers. “I’m sure.”
“You gonna tell me?” I cup her cheek with a wet hand and search her eyes. “Don’t leave a human hanging. Might dangle…I dunno what the fuck.” I break down, losing my train of thought. Tears prick me, my face tightening, and I pinch my eyes again, pulling my head away from her.
She stays intimately close. And so softly, she whispers, “I’ve loved you at your weakest, at your strongest, at your most broken. And you’ve loved me at mine.”
I hold her cheek again, drawing back while I cry.
“There will never be a day where I won’t,” she says shakily, her tears cascading. “You don’t need to be afraid to lose me, Donnelly. I’ll always love all of you exactly as you’ve loved all of me—that’s the secret of our universe.”
I shut my eyes, letting those words flow over me.
Gently, I open them. Gently, I kiss her. As our eyes cradle each other, I brush my fingers into her hair. Water sloshes around us as her knees shift against mine. She’s edging closer to my body. Luna burrows her face into the crook of my neck, and I weave my arms around her back, skating my fingers down her spine.