“Nige did what we pay him for. He caught wind of the messages you were sending, about fucking fluffy pyjamas, and hiding his visit from your parents, and uh… we thought… he thought…”
“They thought I was grooming a kid for sex. They thought I was a fucking paedo. Apparently there is a line in the Bennett world, and that one thing alone is on the other side of it.”
Julie frowned. “Why didn’t you just look at whose phone it was?”
Seb looked up from smelling Cass’s hair like some kind of freak.
“Nige did look into it. It’s registered to a Mr Sid Kim. I’m guessing that’s your father. So you see… since it likely wasn’t him, it seemed highly likely that he had phones for his children. You have a younger sister, Caitlin. She’s fourteen. Uh… well… we kind of see red, when it comes to stuff like that.”
Julie has a sister? She sighed. “What a mess. Yes, my father paid for my phone, and I never thought to change it. I pay the bill myself, but it’s in his name. And yes, my sister is much younger. And no, Adam, I can tell you’re wondering. We don’t stay in touch. She’s the perfect Kim daughter, and I’m not. But I can see how they got concerned.”
“Thank you.” Seb said, smirking at me. “See?”
“You’re still a prick.” I muttered.
“Cass, any chance you can get them out of here? I’ve had a rough night, and I have something I want to say to Julie. Without a fucking audience.”
She smiled suddenly, sliding out of Seb’s lap, while he adjusted his pants. Perv.
“Julie, we’ll get together tomorrow. Proper girl-talk session. These three can do whatever the hell they like, while we do.”
She hugged Julie, when she joined her in the middle of the room.
The brothers stood up too.
“Yeah, we can take a hint.”
“Eventually.” I muttered, and they laughed.
“Look, Butch, we misjudged you, and things got weird, but it’s all good. You guys will pop over to the house for lunch tomorrow. We know better than to keep Cass waiting, on something she wants.”
I didn’t care. I just wanted them out. Out of my fucking life, preferably.
When the door closed behind them, Julie came back to sit with me, and I pulled her tight against me, her head under my chin, my hand cupping the back of her neck.
“I’m so fucking sorry.” I whispered to her, and she lifted her head.
“It doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong. They thought you were something we both know you’re not.”
“They had me strung up, ready to kill me, Julie. Torture and kill. Don’t go assuming they’re good guys, just because Cass loves them, or because they wanted to punish a paedophile. They were wrong, and if not for Cass, I’d never have even known why they were doing it. They’re rash, they’re unhinged, and they’re fucking deadly.”
She was watching me with huge, worried eyes. “I can’t believe I almost lost you tonight. I just thought you’d changed your mind about being with me.”
I grabbed her chin, leaning closer, ignoring the sharp dig in my ribs, as I moved.
“Julie, nothing would change my mind about being with you. I want you. I need you, like I need to fucking breathe. I love you.”
She gasped, swallowing hard. “You… you do?”
I released her chin, smoothing the long wisps of black hair from her forehead.
“Sweet girl… your parents made you feel worthless, but you need to understand that nobody has ever mattered more to me, than you do. They never will.”
I saw tears and it was killing me, because this wasn’t supposed to upset her. Was I moving too fast for her? Scaring her?
I brushed at the tears on one cheek with my thumb, while I kissed them away on the other side. My other arm wouldn’t move without extreme pain right now, but she needed to be comforted.
“I love you, Julie. I love you. I think I knew that the moment I first saw you, talking to Jeff outside Harvey’s burned out shop. It just took time for me to have the balls to tell you.”
She sniffled. “Nobody ever loves me for me. What if I disappoint you?”
Fucking hell. I couldn’t help myself. I think I glared at her.
“Not a fucking chance in hell, lit… sweet girl. Listen, I… you don’t need to say it back, until you feel it, but just know that I nearly didn’t get the chance to tell you how I feel, and I didn’t want to pussy out, and not say it. Not now. Even if you tell me to sling my hook, I’ll still love you.”
She leaned forward, her lips crushed to mine, as she practically shuddered in my arms. Then she pulled back, just a breath.
“I love you too, Adam. So much. And now, I need you. I need you inside me. Please, please, fuck me.”
Holy shit. I’m going to give it my best fucking shot.