Read Online Forever (Cruiser & Lex, Book 3) by Dee J. Stone - Free Book Online Page B

belongings and is living his life.
    Mr. Dalton gives me a bag to put Rey and Cruiser’s dirty laundry in. It’s obvious only men are living here. Not that the house is a hurricane, but it’s definitely missing a woman’s touch. Mrs. Dalton is the type of woman who takes on the household responsibilities, so it’s no surprise that the men here seem a bit in over their heads.
    When I return to Cruiser’s room, he looks lost in his own head. He’s staring at the room as though he’s never seen it before. I gently touch his arm, which causes him to blink and look at me. “Are you okay?” I ask.
    “Yeah. Just thinking.”
    I wish he would elaborate, but his mind must be jumbled now. He’s been in the hospital for a week and is starting to come back to the real world and has to deal with what happened. My head would be a mess, too.
    “I brought a bag,” I tell him. “To put all your dirty things in.”
    “You don’t have to do this, Lex. Cleaning up after me and Rey.”
    I get down on my knees before a pile of clothes. “It’s okay. I need to occupy myself with something.”
    He sits on his bed. “What’s on your mind?”
    I keep my eyes on my work. “I don’t know. Everything.”
    “I feel the same.” He carefully lowers himself next to me and gathers some of the clothes with his right hand. “Lex.”
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m gonna stay with my dad for now. I need to be near Rey.”
    I nod. “I understand.”
    He puts his hand beneath my chin and raises my face to meet his eyes. “I’m not pushing him in front of you. I want to patch things up with you, but Rey…”
    I nod again. “I understand, Cruiser.” I know Rey’s struggling with something and that Cruiser wants to keep an eye on him. I know it’s because of Rey that Cruiser got attacked. But I don’t say anything because I don’t want to shake things up. Cruiser and I are together again and I don’t want to ruin it.
    Once the room is pretty much clean, Cruiser takes my hand and leads me to his bed. He twists his body as he lies down, then wraps his arm around my waist and lowers me on top of him. My head rests on his chest. I feel how fast his heart is beating. I’m not sure if it’s because of me, or because he’s nervous about something. His chest rises and falls in a steady pace.
    His hand rubs my back for a few seconds before slowly going lower. He touches the hem of my uniform, his fingers brushing my upper thigh. It’s gentle and soothing, like he’s comforting me and not like he wants to do anything dirty.
    “I’ve really missed you,” he murmurs.
    “I’m sorry. For everything.”
    “You don’t need to apologize, darlin’.”
    I shake my head against his chest. “But I do, Cruise. I falsely accused you of hooking up with Erica Sandford. You tried to explain, but I didn’t want to hear it. It’s like I was sabotaging our relationship because I was so scared to get hurt. Like maybe I wanted to hurt you before you hurt me.” Tears fill my eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m such a bad person.”
    “No, T. Rex,” he says softly. “You’re not a bad person. Not at all. You’ve been through a lot of shit. Been hurt a lot. It’s understandable that you’re scared you’ll get hurt again. Especially by me. I’m sorry for what I put you through.”
    I close my eyes and take in a strong breath, letting it out slowly. “I told myself the best thing to do to move on from the past is to not talk about it. But now I realize that might not be the best idea. We’re going to constantly be reminded of it. We might meet girls from your past, like Erica. We’re always going to have the guilt of Rosie’s accident consuming our hearts. But if we can forgive ourselves and trust one another, I think we can make things work. I just wish I won’t hurt you ever again.”
    He cups his hand around my chin. “It’s okay if you hurt me. Because it shows you care.”
    “You’re too good to me, Cruise.”
    “You’re the best thing to have