Read Online Penalty: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Alpha Second Chances Book 3) by Rowena - Free Book Online

lightly again.

    * * *
    I ’m amazed by this floaty feeling again—cloud nine sliding me from here to there.
    Abe and I showered together, and I got to see what he looked like with droplets on his firm skin.
    The man should have statues made of him—a specimen like him has to be commemorated in some way. Future generations of humans need to know such physical perfection existed.
    Once we got dressed, my shyness had completely disappeared.
    It felt like our bond had deepened, and there was no shame in being at my man’s side, sharing my body with him.
    Who cares who knows?
    He drops me off at campus, letting me know he has to make a store run, and I figure now is as good a time as any to check my campus mail.
    I don’t really expect anything since I have no relatives to send me anything, but sometimes there are school notices, so I try to make it to my mailbox every few days.
    I discover I actually have a few pieces of mail this time: a notice about an upcoming guest speaker, something about the cafeteria, and a manila envelope that makes my blood run cold.
    The return address just says ‘Mom.’
    Once I can get my body moving again, I hurry to my dorm room, thankful my roommate is still away so I can freak out in solitude.
    I toss the other two pieces of mail aside and rip open the manila envelope.
    If my blood had run cold before, it’s pure ice now.
    The envelope holds nothing but a photo—a photo I recognize, despite the damage done to it.
    There I am, smiling with my mom against a generic background sky.
    In the original photo, my mom is smiling too, her dirty blond hair long and free, spilling over both of us while mine is tucked away out of sight.
    Her blue-green eyes reflect a slight bit of pain, but it’s just one of those moments she’s smiling through it.
    In this altered photo, someone photoshopped her bald, removing all traces of her long locks, and there are black ‘X’s where her eyes should be.
    An ugly smaller x is over her mouth, hiding just some of her smile.
    I cover my mouth with my hands as my eyes immediately fill with tears—a welcome temporary block against the hideous image.
ABRAHAM
    “What the hell got into you?” Cody says as we cross paths in the hall. He’s just leaving his room as I’m about to reach mine.
    I almost say something lewd in response, but respect for Maddy halts my naughty retort.
    I briefly wonder how much to tell him, but ultimately, I can’t keep it to myself; I’m just too fucking happy to contain it.
    “Maddy,” I say, ignoring his impatient look.
    His face relaxes, and he studies me quietly for a few moments.
    “Wow,” he says, at last, then he studies me some more. “I’ve never seen you like this,” he finally says. “It’s almost like you’re… ” He laughs a little, shaking his head.
    “Well, I’ve never felt like this. Maddy makes me feel like… happy. Like, no matter what, everything will be fine—as long as I’ve got her.”
    Cody whistles.
    I can tell he’s about to say something but my phone buzzes.
    I see it’s Maddy so I pick up right away, signaling Cody to shut the hell up while I’m on the phone.
    “Okay, wait—slow down. Beth did what?”
    She says something about a photo of her and her mom defaced.
    “I don’t know who else it could be!” she wails. “Who else would do this? And why? She’s the only one with something against me… ”
    She sounds so distressed, I scramble to find a way to calm her down and assure her everything will be okay. But I don’t want to minimize her distress—it had to be traumatizing to see a trashed image of a dead loved one.
    I know I need to see her immediately, even though I was looking forward to hitting up a hot tub; I can comfort her better in person.
    I hang up and turn on my heel, reversing direction.
    “Whoa, what was that?” Cody says as he falls into step with me.
    “I’ve got to go. It seems Beth might have sent Maddy an upsetting image—a trashed photo of her dead mom.