“Ouch,” I whimper as I roll onto my back. My eyes feel dry and puffy as they adjust to the soft glow. Gold lines make a beautiful Indian pattern along the ceiling. I gasp when I realize I’m not in my room, as the memories of last night come rushing back to me. I lift my hands to cover my face and feel the pain in my arms. Looking down at the pair of black and blue handprints—one on each arm—I can’t believe I escaped him. Shit! I scramble to stand on shaky legs. My head is fuzzy, and I retch as I wait for the dizziness pass. I sneak out of the library and stand outside my room. I put my ear to the door, listening to hear if anyone is in there. It sounds clear, so I punch in the code and slip inside.
Everything looks okay. Nothing has been moved, my unmade bed reminding me of what almost happened. My stomach drops when I see the time—ten thirty! Oh, God, I hope Abigail hasn’t come up to check on me yet. I rush into the shower after grabbing a blue tank top with a grey sweater that ties in the front. I know there will be no blow drying my hair today because of my arms. It will have to dry wavy. I stand in front of my door, trying to convince myself to go downstairs and face everyone. I am beyond mortified that someone might see the security tapes. I need to figure something out.
“Good morning, Savannah.” Dell smiles as he reaches for the OJ in the fridge. “Sorry about last night.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Dell,” I reassure him. “Where is everyone?”
“If you mean York, he’s been in Cole’s office all morning. I think he’s nursing a hangover, because he’s hurting today.” He laughs. “Serves him right. He gets such a power trip whenever Cole’s gone.”
Good. I hope his balls are swollen to the size of grapefruits.
“Yeah, he sure does,” I mutter. “Hey, do you have any pain medication that’s stronger than Advil?”
He stops mid-bite.
“Why, did you hurt yourself?”
I look away, not wanting to lie, but my arms really ache.
“Isn’t there any goddamn ice in this place?” York yells from down the hall.
My stomach turns as fear kicks in.
“You know what? Never mind.” I head for the stairs and up to my room. Once my door is locked, I start to shake. How am I going to live in this house with him? I crawl onto my bed and concentrate on my breathing.
“Savi.” Abigail shakes my arm.
“Ouch,” I cry out, and my eyes open, seeing her puzzled face.
“Sorry, but it’s time for dinner.”
I roll back over, wincing in pain. “I’m not hungry.”
“Savannah Miller,” she whips out her mother tone, “I know for a fact that you haven’t eaten a thing today. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I will not leave this room unless you are with me.”
I sigh and pull myself up quickly before she can touch me again.
“Care to share?” she asks as we walk down the hallway, her expression questioning.
“Not really.” I pull my sweater tighter around me. “Sorry.” I feel badly not being able to share what happened, but it’s still too raw, and God knows what she would do.
We walk into the living room to find Dell and Quinn talking to Cole. My stomach jumps. They’re back! Abigail winks as she walks by. Oh, man, she’s good. But as my excitement rises, my nerves do too.
“Hey, you.” Mark leans in, giving me a peck on the cheek as he hands me a martini. “You look like you could use something stronger than wine tonight.”
I take a long sip of the heavenly drink.
“Guess I was right,” he remarks.
“When did you guys get in?” I ask, watching Cole’s back. He still hasn’t spotted me.
“Thirty minutes ago.” He shakes his head. “It was a rough trip. Glad we were able to come home early.”
“Rough?”
“Honestly, you don’t want to know.”
I probably don’t.