Read Online Look After Us by Elena Matthews - Free Book Online Page A

rape and the depression, I would have shied away from his wanting eyes and covered myself up immediately, not wanting to bare all to the man I loved everything I thought was tainted. It took me a long time to push past the insecurities of the things my brother did to me, but eventually, after grueling work with therapists and months of battling with my inner demons, I finally found the strength to love my body again. And from that moment on I was able to look at myself in a mirror without being ashamed of my body. It was freeing, both emotionally and physically. In turn, finding my way was the key to finding my way back to Ashton. I was lost for a while but in the end it was Ashton who saved me.
    I sit up as he passes me a freshly poured glass of orange juice and two painkillers. “Take these,” he demands before getting back into bed.
    I do as he says—even though I’m surprisingly fresh from the amount of alcohol I consumed last night—and I drink the orange juice, quenching my thirst from the dire heat.
    “It’s so fricking hot in here, why did you turn the air conditioning off?” I say, feeling another bead of sweat roll down my spine as I drain off my last drop of juice.
    “I woke in the night and you were shivering, so I switched it off. I’ll switch it back on.” He takes hold of the remote and switches the portable air conditioning back on, allowing the cool air to slowly begin circulating around the room before he gets back into bed, lying on his back with his head tilted towards me. I gently place the glass onto the bedside table before lying back in bed, unable to take my eyes away from Ashton. It’s impossible not to, he’s just incredibly perfect.
    “How do you feel?” he softly asks, bringing my hand into his and pressing his lips gently to my knuckles.
    “I feel good. I stopped drinking pretty early on. I don’t know about your mom though. She was pretty worse for wear when we came home last night. We left her passed out on the sofa with a trashcan beside her just in case she hurled. She was so drunk,” I chuckle, remembering the mischief she kept finding herself in. One particular memory I have includes her getting up on the tables with one of Mia’s cousins and dancing to ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke. She was wild, that’s for sure.
    “She seems okay this morning. She’s downstairs making breakfast.”
    My eyes narrow on Ashton, shocked. “Are you serious? She drank enough to float a battleship last night! How is she even walking, let alone making breakfast?”
    His laugh fills the room. “What can I say? She’s a college chick at heart.”
    “You can say that again. You don’t even want to know the things she did last night.”
    “Knowing my mother, I can imagine exactly what she got up to … and as her son, I beg you to never tell me,” he almost pleads with a horrified glare, and I bury my head into his neck with a high-pitched giggle. After a few moments of silence, I position myself on my side with my head resting against his shoulder, his fingertips working through the strands of my hair, causing delightful shivers to tingle across my naked skin.
    “So this is your old bedroom, huh?” I ask looking around at the dark blue walls, with band posters adorning the walls and numerous sports trophies lined up along a shelf, detailing his love for football, soccer and basketball.
    “It sure is.”
    “I wonder how many girls you’ve had up here,” I say with an intrigued smirk before my smile falters at the thought of Riley in here. Just the mere thought makes the orange juice I devoured moments ago begin to regurgitate in my stomach. How I’m jealous of a girl who was in Ashton’s life eighteen years ago is beyond me. But, it’s Riley ... I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth ever since I met her. I managed to put my dislike for her to the back of my mind last night with the help of alcohol, but I still have two days of her presence to put up with. How is it possible