Torn Between Times (Three Seconds, #4), page 3
“I love you, Val. Your past doesn’t change that. I don’t ever want you to think that’ll change or that I’m just using you,” Warrick breathed into my neck.
I ran my fingers through his hair, “I love you, too, Warrick. There’s a part of me who knows what Az was doing, but the other part of me who’s been terrified this whole time was louder.”
Warrick pulled back a little cradling my face, his eyes searching mine, “It didn’t help he took advantage of you, putting you in a dangerous situation. Are you okay, love?”
I took another deep breath, “Yeah, just more shaken than anything. I’m embarrassed. I’m scared. I’m just feeling all the things right now.”
“You have cuts all over,” Warrick observed.
I looked at my arms taking in the small cuts. I had completely forgotten about those until now. I looked back up at him, “They’re small, but I should get cleaned up. So should you.”
“I’m fine,” Warrick said caressing my cheek.
“Warrick, your nose is still broken. You’re covered in blood.”
He rested his head on my shoulder, “I know. I’ll take care of that when I get home.”
Warrick sat back on the floor, and we sat there in silence, watching each other. A few more minutes passed then Warrick stood up offering me his hand, “I should go, love.”
“Okay,” I said finally on my feet.
He gave my hand a squeeze as he gave me a quick kiss on my forehead. When he pulled away, Warrick said, “Get cleaned up. I’ll see you in the morning.”
As he walked away, I suddenly felt alone. My arms wound their way around my stomach as I sank back down the ground. What the fuck happened tonight? Az stirred some things up in me I had kept tucked away. It surprisingly hurt to see him as a completely different person from who I thought I knew. Warrick, thankfully, proved he’s different, but it was still conflicting to watch him tonight. I mean, I was definitely feeling like I made a mistake there. If I were with Lou, I’d probably have avoided all of this and maybe I’d have a shred of sanity left in me.
I groaned letting my head fall back to rest on the edge of the tub.
“You okay?” Lou asked.
“Yeah, just coming down from everything that happened. Is everyone still out there?” I asked.
“They all went back to your house,” he answered. Lou sat next to me on the floor, “I take it things are good between you and Warrick again? He left looking better than when he came in.”
I sighed turning my head to look at him, “I guess, but it’s still a little murky.”
“A lot of feelings must’ve been stirred up tonight.”
A laugh escaped my lips as I went back to staring at the ceiling, “What did Jennie tell you?”
Lou ran a hand through his hair, “Quite a bit, actually. You and Azrael have some history.”
“Yeah, we do,” I agreed.
“Do you think he misses you and that’s why he was acting the way he was tonight?”
I sat up, wringing my hands together, “Maybe? I’ve never seen that side of him. I just don’t know how much of what he said was true and how much was just to stir the pot.”
“That’s fair,” Lou nodded his head. “You may have thought you made a mistake, but I don’t think we would ever work out in that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have a type, you know that, right? And I definitely don’t fit in that picture,” Lou gently elbowed me.
I snapped my head up at him to find him grinning. I laughed again, shaking my head when I realized he was messing with me, “What? Dark, moody, and unstable?”
Lou shook his head, “I don’t know how Gabriel was, but I wasn’t going to put a label on your preference of men.”
“Whatever,” I shook my head, getting up smiling. “I should head back and see how everyone else is doing. They shouldn’t have been forced to see all that. Can I have a ride?”
“Sure,” Lou said following me towards the exit. “Just know you aren’t going to be able to shelter them forever, especially if they’re joining you on this journey.”
“I can still try.”
Lou dropped me off at the house and I walked in to find Jennie and Bev still up sharing a bottle of wine. Bev pointed to an empty glass, “Gonna join us?”
“Yeah, but let me get cleaned up first. I’m tired of smelling like alcohol and there’s blood that doesn’t belong on me,” I answered.
I took a quick shower hissing at the sting from the cuts, and was back downstairs before Jennie and Bev could finish off what was in their glasses. Jennie patted the space in between them while she filled my glass with a little more than usual. I started to protest, but she shook her head, “You need this more than we do tonight.”
“I’m sorry you guys had to see that,” I blurted. I was embarrassed by what went down and could only imagine how they felt.
“Why?” Bev asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It should be Azrael apologizing to us, not you.”
“I can’t believe Az changed that much,” Jennie said before taking a sip.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’m with you there.”
“How was he before?” Bev asked.
“He was honestly my favorite out of all the guy’s Val had seen before shit hit the fan,” Jennie started. She polished off what was left in her glass and refilled before continuing, “Az was so kind and loving. He took care of Val in every way possible. She was really grieving at the time, but he never made her feel bad. He never told her to move on. Val’s parents loved him. Everyone approved, even Daryl, who was always the hardest one to convince.”
We sat there in silence for a moment missing our friend. Jennie was the first to break the quiet moment, looking at me, “On a lighter note, can I just say you know how to find the sexiest men?”
I let out a bark of laughter and drank about half of my glass before responding, “They may be hot, but they have a lot of issues. Can’t forget about the red flags. I mean, Warrick and Az are walking red flags, and yet, I can’t seem to stay away. You know Lou mentioned I have a type?”
Jennie giggled, “Yeah you do.”
“Okay, catch me up here. What’s your type?” Bev asked.
Jennie held up a finger and ran upstairs. When Bev looked at me confused, I just shrugged my shoulders. Jennie didn’t leave us for too long, returning with a couple of pictures in her hand. She spread them on the table, pointing to the one on the left then moving to the right, she said, “Let me introduce you to Gabriel. Az. And now, Warrick.”
Looking at the three of them next to each other, I instantly knew what Lou was talking about. They each had dark hair, handsome faces, were built, and looked like they had a darker side. Bev let out a whistle, “Damn, Val, you like the bad, brooding type. I could see that by looks alone, but personalities? Are they really all the same?”
“I think two out of the three are pretty similar considering they’re brothers and all,” I said. “But, Gabriel was very different from the rest of them.”
“In what ways? If you don’t mind me asking,” Bev looked at me.
I sighed, “He was the kindest person you could meet. He wouldn’t hurt a fly and was one of the hardest workers I knew. That man never did anything toxic or abusive or anything that falls under the red flag category unlike the other two, clearly.”
Bev stared into her glass before looking back up at me, “Not trying to be mean, Val, you could just have a little bias. Jennie, is that really how he was?”
“Oh yeah,” Jennie nodded her head vigorously. “I mean those of us close to Val weren’t happy when he got her riding bikes, but that man had the sweetest soul.”
Silence settled around us. We all took a few more sips waiting for someone to start the conversation again. Deciding to be that person, I reached over to Jennie’s hand, giving it a squeeze, “I really am sorry about Chris.”
She stared at her glass playing with the stem, her face and tone matching in seriousness, “Before you came home tonight, Bev and I were talking about everything that’s happened since the bombing, but we were mostly focused on what’s happened since being back here this time. How do you handle all of this?”
“Handle what?” I asked, not quite following where she was going.
Jennie brought her eyes up to mine, tears threatening to spill over, “How do you handle all the death, threats, and attacks so well? I mean, out of all of us, you’ve definitely gone through it. Despite all of that, you’re still standing and moving forward. How?”
“Oh,” I said taking my turn to focus on the glass in front of me. I gave it a twirl thinking about how I was going to approach this. I didn’t feel like I was handling anything. I felt like I was a rope finally fraying, approaching the end of what I can take. “Bear with me for a minute because I know you’re going to try to dispute me. I’m not handling it well. I’ve honestly felt like I’ve been chewed up and spit out, literally and figuratively. It started when I got Daryl’s head delivered to me wrapped up with a fucking bow. Then, I got out of this world and felt like I was living in paradise with Lou until Warrick showed up. Between him and Lou, I got beat up pretty good. Add in Lou getting close to Melody sending me into a reckless spiral that ended with me almost dying and I just about broke. Jennie, you saw how I was. I still have nightmares and jump when anything goes bump in the night. Hell, in the fae world, I almost got dragged under the sand. Then, I come back here and I feel like I broke up your engagement. Add in the shit from tonight, and we have the perfect disaster that is me.”
I paused to take a sip then jumped right back in, “I haven’t hardly been here for you guys. I haven’t been around to talk about how you all have been feeling with the world falling down around us. I’m not the only one who feels like home is no longer home. I’m lucky to have this house jumping with me, but I don’t feel like I can live life back in that world anymore. I can’t even imagine what’s been running through all your minds when it comes to figuring out what life looks like after this is all said and done. I find a way to keep going because I feel like the best gift I can give in return for everything you guys have done for me is to try to get you back to some sort of normalcy. I’ve felt so lucky to be able to find you as quick as I have when there are so many places you could’ve ended up.”
“Well,” Bev said after she was sure I was done. “Joe and I appreciate all you’ve done for us because it’s been a lot. We’ve been thinking of planting our roots here because, like you, we don’t know what we’d be going back to in our world. Even if our house was still standing, I don’t know that I’d want to live in a world so boring after seeing all of this. You’ve brought more excitement into our lives than anything we could’ve done. Yeah, it’s sucked losing people along the way and dealing with crazies like Az, but we’re still standing, right, Jennie?”
Jennie swiped at her eyes, “Yeah. I know I haven’t said the best things to you, but you’ve been fighting like hell for all of us. You make it look so easy; I had no idea you were still feeling like that. The only time you ever showed how you were truly feeling was after Melody rescued you. I guess my question was more coming from a place of struggling with all these crazy changes at once while losing those we love.”
“Well, I for one, am glad Chris is now out of the picture,” Bev said leaning back in her chair taking a long drink.
“That’s harsh,” I muttered under my breath.
“That’s because Jennie has a shot at Lou now, right?” Bev asked cocking an eyebrow.
Jennie’s jaw dropped and I burst out laughing. Bev stood up to grab another bottle, “If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t complain.”
“Does Joe hear you talk like this?” I asked, giving Jennie a chance to piece some sort of response together.
Bev giggled, “Yeah. He doesn’t mind. He actually agrees. It’s like we’re watching our favorite reality shows play out in front of us with all the relationship drama. You don’t need to worry about us, Val. We’re happier than we’ve ever been.”
“Hold on,” Jennie finally said. “What makes you think I’d have a shot at Lou? He’s still so wrapped up in Val. You saw him tonight.”
I shook my head, “I think you’ve had some blinders on when it comes to him. Lou and I have already made it clear we aren’t ever going to work out in that capacity. It’s only the friend zone from here on out.”
“He’s also become super protective of you, Jennie,” Bev said settling back in her chair. “And don’t think I don’t catch the little glances you steal of him and vice versa.”
A smile slowly crept across my face as I said, “Being with a werewolf will change your life. There’s no going back after that.”
“Val!” Jennie blushed giving me a light smack on the arm.
“Let’s not forget that one of your wishes came true,” I teased.
Confused, Jennie asked, “What are you talking about?”
“As intense as it may have been, you not only got to see Warrick naked, but you got to see Lou, too,” I casually took a sip of my wine finishing what was in the glass.
Jennie’s faced turned redder than a tomato while Bev burst into a fit of giggles. When she composed herself, Bev joined in, “That’s right! You’re already one step closer to getting with him.”
“You guys are relentless,” Jennie said trying her best to hide a smile.
“Busted,” I called her out. “That smile tells us everything we need to know.”
“And what exactly is that?”
Bev laughed, “You enjoyed what you saw.”
Jennie shook her head but didn’t say anything to deny it. A few more giggles escaped from us as Bev and I kept giving Jennie a hard time. She eventually got over whatever was making her embarrassed and joined in.
“Oh, this has been a great way to end a weird night,” Bev smiled.
“We really haven’t had girl talk like this in a while,” I observed.
“It has been nice,” Jennie nodded her head. “Val?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m glad you’re doing okay, even if things still feel really hard to keep moving forward,” Jennie gave my arm a squeeze.
“Thanks. I’m glad you two are hanging in there, too,” I reached for both of their hands.
We talked a little more about Joe and Bev starting to try for kids and the plan to try and get Jennie and Lou on a date. Bev moved to put her glass in the sink, yawning. When she turned back around, she yawned again, “I think it’s time to sleep. Goodnight, ladies. Thanks for hanging out.”
“Goodnight, Bev,” Jennie and I called in unison.
I pulled out my phone to shoot a text to Warrick to let him know I’d be coming over whether or not he wants me there. The conversation with Jennie and Bev stirred up questions of my own and I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait for answers.
“Booty call?” Jennie asked with raised eyebrows.
“Actually, no,” I put my phone on the table. “More like I have questions that I want answers to. I can’t think of having sex after the stunt Az pulled.”
“Well, I’m going to head up to bed, too,” Jennie moved to get out of her chair. “Take that bottle with you.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I gave her a little salute.
I checked my phone not surprised to not see any response then checked outside. The roads were dry and it didn’t look like there was any threat of inclement weather, so I threw on some riding gear and rode over to Warrick’s apartment. It may not be the smartest thing to do right now, but I can’t ignore this tugging feeling in my gut. I tested the door handle finding it unlocked. I cracked open the door giving a little knock, calling out to the dark apartment, “Warrick?”
He still had the Christmas decorations up, the glow of the lights keeping the place from being completely shrouded in darkness. I stepped in closing the door behind me, “Hello?”
I took one more step into the space but froze the moment my foot crunched on glass. I crouched down to try to see what I had stepped on and was greeted with the smell of whiskey. I scanned the rest of the space before taking any further steps. It looked like some of his furniture was out of place. There were a few more broken things littered about the living room. I shot a text to Lou letting him know I was over at Warrick’s and that something was up. Shit, I hope he’s not losing it right now or worse.
My phone buzzed with a response from Lou: Are you surprised? He’s having to face the only person who can hurt him.
My fingers flew across the screen: No, something’s really wrong. I don’t think he’s at his place and things are smashed up. I can’t get ahold of him either.
How smashed?
Broken glass on the floor. Furniture out of place.
Maybe he’s just been drinking and taking his anger out on his stuff.
Maybe.
Staying in my spot, I listened for anything to indicate any signs of life only to be met with silence as I shoved my phone in my pocket. Rolling my shoulders back and taking a deep breath, I took a few more steps into his place, “Anyone home?”
I finally heard footsteps approaching from the hallway. I put my helmet and my bag holding the bottle of wine on the counter and turned to face the dark space, “Is everything okay?”
“Of course, I’m doing fine, but I have no idea where you chased Warrick off to,” Az answered.
Chapter 3
“What the hell are you doing here, Az? And how did you even get in here?” I asked taking a step back and running into the island.
He was out in the light now, his sinister smile on full display, “I don’t think that’s what you should be concerned about right now.”
He was right. I was in Warrick’s apartment alone with Azrael. I was no match for his strength and he could do whatever the hell he wants to me without anyone trying to stop him. I glanced at the front door. I wasn’t that far away and there was still some good distance between myself and Az, but I had a hunch he would be able to catch up to me before I could make it. I had to take that chance because if I didn’t, he would definitely get his hands on me.
