Chapter Eight

Becca

 

 

 

 

This has gone way too far.

"I got one of those too, but I'll bet your life I'm a better fucking shot." Storm's bites back at my brother.

I break free from his grasp and move in-between them. “Enough! Pat put your damn gun away! This is crazy.”

Storm reaches for me and tries to pull me behind him, but Pat grabs my other hand while still keeping the gun on Storm.

“Both of you get the hell off of me. This isn’t a damn tug of war. Pat put the gun down!” My brother studies my face before lowering his gun. I turn to Storm, “Can you give me one minute and wait by the door for me?” His eyes move between my brother and me. “He’s not going to hurt me, please.” He pauses a minute before giving me a nod and moving back the ten feet or so to the door.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind? Do you know what these people are capable of?” Pat’s voice is frantic as he studies my face.

"I know what I'm doing, and maybe you shouldn't make judgments about people before you know them. When I tell you how we first met, you might change your mind, but for now, you need to leave." I cross my arms and let him know this is not negotiable.

“Maybe you do need to go away again.” He mumbles under his breath.

I smack him across the face before I even realize what I'm doing. "Get away from here." My voice is cold. How dare he say that to me.

The look of shock on his face is evident.

"Don't follow me. Go home, Pat." I walk toward Storm feeling accomplished and defeated at the same time.

"You really need to think about what you're doing, Natalie," Pat yells at me and I stop cold, turning toward him.

The smile on his face tells me he just did that shit on purpose.

"I hate you," I say through tears forming in my eyes.

I walk toward my building and when I open the door Storm follows me in. I don't even bother with the elevator and take the stairs. My body is so full of emotion that it feels like I might explode. I can hear his boot sounds behind me and I feel comforted, but at the same time, I dread having to talk to him. We reach the third floor, but before I can pull open, the door Storm grabs my hand bringing me to a stop.

His hands brace my face. A few tears escape, and I hate myself for it. He brushes them away with his thumb, before lowering his head and placing a soft kiss on my lips. He pulls away, opens the door and takes my hand as we walk toward the apartment.

Once I unlock the door, I see that Sara isn't home yet. I walk into my room knowing that Storm is following me. I sit on my bed pulling my legs to my chest and laying my head on my knee. The bed dips and I know that he's next to me. Neither of us says anything for a few minutes. I know he must have a million questions. The most important one being why my brother called me by a different name.

I finally dare to look up, and Storm is gazing at me. "I'm sorry." It's all I can manage as my voice shakes. I'm trying to hold it together, but between the fight with Pat and having to explain my past, I'm having a panic attack. My chest feels like it's constantly being shocked by lightning.

"Sorry for what?" He asks, his voice is level, and I can't tell how he's feeling.

“For my brother, for the fight…for lying to you.” The last part is the hardest.

"So that you know I don't give a shit what your brother says or thinks about me. As far as the fight, that was nothing, and I'd do it again for you at the drop of a hat. What I'm concerned with is the lying part. What are you lying about, and why did he call you Natalie?"

I take a deep breath. "My name isn't Rebecca Maxwell; it's Natalie Howell I changed it a little over four years ago." I stop, and he lets me without pushing. "When I was fourteen men broke into my family's house. I was sleeping; my mom hid me in my closet. I heard my father arguing with them downstairs and then I heard the gunshot. My mom hid under the bed, but they found her and I watched them kill her." I stop I haven't thought about that night in forever. Tears stream down my face, Storm places his hand on my leg and it gives me some comfort.

"I didn't talk for three years after that day, except in the courtroom. I had to identify the man I saw kill my mother. They had no other witnesses; my brother had been away at college. If I didn't testify, he would have walked. The problem was he was part of a mob, or gang, or something. The cops were nervous he'd come after me. My brother couldn't care for me because I wouldn't talk, I couldn't eat or sleep." A choked cry escapes my mouth and Storm pulls me against him. I relax against his chest as he sits with me. "Pat put me in a hospital to try to see if they could help me. By the time I escaped my own mind I was seventeen. I had missed all of high school, so I got my GED. I changed my name to Rebecca and enrolled in college to try and start over. My brother has left me on a short leash since then because he's scared I might break down again."

Storm lays down and pulls me against him, my head resting against his chest as we face each other. I look up at him, his green eyes full of compassion, and what I think could be sadness. The light from the moon is highlighting his short hair. His stubble is starting to grow in.

"I want to move past everything, and when I'm with you, I feel like I might be able to. You have to know though that I'm completely inexperienced with all of this. When you kissed me the other day, it was a first for me. I missed out on everything because of what happened, and I've been too scared to put myself out there and experience any of it before now. I want to escape the prison I built for myself here, and I want to do it with you."

I lean forward kissing him, and he pulls me closer to him, deepening the kiss. My hands press against his chest and wrap around his back.

I pull away from him. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

“Angel, I’ll do anything you ask me to.” He presses his lips against my forehead.

“Why do you call me that?”

"Because that first night it's what you looked like when I brought you home. A damn angel sleeping and I felt something between us then." His hands tighten around me as he sighs. "Being with me ain't easy. It's what I wanted to talk to you about tonight. I can wait, and maybe we can handle that tomorrow. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into."

“Whatever it is, it’s making me happier then I’ve been in as long as I can remember.”

I press my head against his chest, letting his warmth envelop me.

I start to drift off completely drained from the night. Storm shifts to his back and pulls me against him. I feel him place a kiss on my head as I drift off. He says something, but I can't completely make it out.

It almost sounds like.

I’m sorry, I hope you can forgive me.