How to Resist Prince Charming(37)

Braxton followed his family to the exit. He smiled and shook his head as they walked out, discussing who was going to drive what automobile home. When he shut the door, he kept his hand on the knob for about ten seconds. Finally, he turned and met Lenna’s gaze.

For some reason, she knew he needed her. A strange, needy look marred his face, like he was completely lost. She stepped forward to go to him.

But as soon as she moved, he shocked the snot shaking his head and burying his face in his hands.

“Shit,” he muttered as strangled sobs seized him.

“Braxton?” She gasped and ran the last few steps, wrapping him in her arms.

He clutched at her hair and buried his face against her neck. “I’m s-sorry.” He trembled as he blubbered. “I can’t...I can’t—”

“Then don’t,” she instructed softly and rocked him soothingly, much the same way she’d watched his mother cradle his sister. She ran her hand over his hair and held him while he mourned.





CHAPTER 11




As Braxton calmed, he realized two things.

He’d bawled like a baby all over Lenna. And she’d met his family.

At some point, she’d led him to the couch and had him lay his head on her lap where she stroked his hair and let him grieve to his heart’s content.

But when the realization of what had happened struck him, he bolted upright.

“My parents. They just saw—”

“It’s okay,” she reassured, smiling gently as she smoothed his plastered hair off his forehead.

“Your dad didn’t recognize me. I think I was ten or eleven the last time I stopped going to work with Dad because my brother and sister started begging to come too. So...”

“He was probably too worried about Savannah to recognize your name either,” Braxton agreed. He squeezed her fingers. “Don’t worry. If any of them ask about you, I’ll tell them you’re one of Greg’s exes. My friend is always breaking up with these women, and they keep coming to me as if I can explain what they did wrong to make him not want them anymore.” He shrugged. “It’s a pretty common occurrence, and my family knows all about it. I’m sure I can get them to buy that story if they grow suspicious.”

But Lenna didn’t look so certain. “Your sister saw me in your bed.”

Braxton’s face fell. “Don’t worry about that. She doesn’t remember it.”

That fact defeated him. Sensing his pain, she touched his face. He closed his eyes and sank closer. “I’m sorry about what happened to her.”

He couldn’t speak for a minute. Then he said, “I feel so powerless around her. I know she can’t help what’s happening, but I get so frustrated. I can’t stand her alter ego and only snap when she’s Clara. Then she turns back in Vannah, and I feel guilty for losing my patience. What’s worse, when other people find out what’s wrong, they look at her like she’s some kind of freak. I want to protect her, but I don’t know how.”

He glanced warily at Lenna. “She’s not violent. Throwing those keys at us, that’s as mad as I’ve ever seen her. She’s not...She’s not crazy.”

Lenna nodded like she understood. But he knew she didn’t. She couldn’t. He didn’t even understand it himself.

“People with dissociative identity disorder get such a bad rap,” he muttered. “After all those horror movies about split personalities, they think she must be part serial killer or something. But she’s not. She’d never intentionally hurt a fly.”

Nodding again, Lenna smoothed her fingers over his hair again. “From reading Sybil in school, I always thought people grew a split personality from having a really bad childhood.”

“Yeah, that’s typically the case,” Braxton admitted. He’d learned more about the subject in the past nine months than he'd ever wanted to. “But really, no one knows the actual cause. Any kind of devastating stress can start it.”

“And yet she got it from a physical injury,” Lenna murmured, her eyebrows puckering thoughtfully. “Was it blunt trauma to the head?”

Braxton lifted his face and sent her a guilty look. “Not exactly.” He winced. “I mean, I’m sure that part didn’t help, but...” When he received a confused scowl for his confession, he sighed and closed his eyes. “When she was in the accident, Vannah didn’t immediately fall into a coma upon impact.”

Lenna frowned. “Then—”

“The wreck was her fault. She was talking on her cell phone and ran a red light. Five cars were involved. Four people needed hospitalization and three died. One guy had both his legs amputated. He’ll never walk again.”

Lenna gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

Braxton nodded. “She says she doesn’t remember the accident, and no one’s told her how it started. But she has to know. Somewhere in there, she knows. Neither of her identities will touch a cell phone to this day.”

“Poor Vannah,” Lenna murmured.

“Everyone at the scene said she was conscious and alert after the wreck. They knew she’d hurt her head. It was bleeding. But she talked and walked around like she was fine. She even helped pull a few injured people from their cars. As soon as the ambulances and police arrived, she collapsed. She didn’t wake up again for three weeks.”