Read Online Patch Up by Stephanie Witter - Free Book Online Page B

for air. His hard body feels foreign against mine. He hugs me in a way that makes me feel like he’s about to swallow me whole. And here I am, bawling like a baby, feeling a mixture of fear but also security. I have my answer, right now.
     
    “I trust you,” I stutter weakly. I can’t bring myself to hug him back, even if, somewhere deep inside of me, I want to.
     
    He sighs and I hear his heart slowing down, returning to his steady and calm beating. He squeezes me and pulls away, bringing back the coldness I live with every day. I shiver. Quickly, I dry my face with my shaking hands and walk to my bed. I lay down facing the wall and leave some space for him to climb in. I don’t think anymore. I keep in mind how secure I just felt in his arms.
     
    Slowly, almost waiting for me to change my mind, he lies beside me, his chest touching my back, his thighs touching the back of my legs. Then, he sighs and puts one of his long, muscled arms around my waist, his hand clasping both of mine. He’s spooning me in my bed and my heart and stomach are doing weird things. But I don’t feel as afraid as I should. Granted, a huge part of me wants to bolt, but everything feels different. I know he’s not going to hurt me, and not everyone is like Sean. I know that for now I can have confidence in Duke because he’s too shaken by his confession about his girlfriend to think about anything else and that’s why I push away my fear and force my body to relax.
     
    “Thank you for this, Skye. I know it’s hard for you,” he whispers in my ear, his breath making the skin on my neck tingle. I’m itching to let my hair fall free to cover my skin, but I can’t move. Well, I don’t really want to because I know I won’t be able to go back to my bed with him like that.
     
    “Tell me the truth, Duke. You know what happened to me, right?”
     
    I have no more tears left. It’s useless to cry, it’s useless to have any pretenses now. There are too many giveaways of what happened with Sean for Duke to ignore. He’s a smart guy. I can fool other people, even the closest ones to me, but I can’t fool him.
     
    “I’m guessing, but I want to hear it from you.” He tightens his hold on me but it’s not suffocating me, it’s soothing me. My world is upside down. I can’t say that I like him touching me, but I can tolerate it.
     
    “So why are you still here with me?”
     
    “What do you mean?”
     
    I swallow and shrug, feeling my back rubbing against his hard chest. “You should be disgusted or something like that.”
     
    “You’re kidding, right?” When I don’t say a word, he sighs. “Women often think it’s their fault if their boyfriend or husband beat them, but it’s not. Sean is a creep and he’s the only one at fault. Not you.”
     
    And just like that, in a few words, it’s in the open. Sean beat me. He beat me for three years and I said and did nothing to stop it. I shut my mouth, sucked it up, and went on with what I had to deal with in my life. All of this in the name of love. I was so stupid. I am so stupid.
     
    “Somehow I know this, but I did nothing, Duke. Nothing.”
     
    “Hell, Skye, you’re young. Of course you didn’t know how to deal with it.” His thumb makes little circles on my hand. I stiffen and he stops, not moving away. “I won’t let him get close to you.”
     
    “You don’t have to do this, Duke. Now that you know you can go back to your life.”
     
    It’s true after all. He knows why I’m the way I am and that’s the only reason he came to me in the first place.
     
    “I can’t.”
     
    “Of course you can.”
     
    “No. I want to hear from you how it began. I want to see a real smile on your face and not a fake one. I want to help you because I want to be your friend and because it helps me, too.”
     
    I pull one of my hands away and I feel his body tensing. I’m sure he thinks I’m about to bolt, but it’s not at all what’s on my mind. Instead, I put my