Unveiled (Torn #6)(8)

He was right. Carter wouldn’t allow that to happen. I knew that; however, I couldn’t help feeling deeply shaken by it anyway. He was close, so freaking close to losing his life. How could he be so thoughtless?

“I know,” I somehow managed to say, giving him a small smile—a first since I had completely disconnected my relationship with him and Amber. “Thanks for being there for him, and for being there just in the nick of time.” Surprising as it was, I felt no more anger towards him. I supposed it was due to the fact that I was grateful he had been with my brother. Had he not, things might have gotten ugly.

Brody remained between Carter’s bed and where I was sitting. He kept glancing back at his recovering friend before gazing back at me, his eyes full of unexplainable emotions.

“Listen … I was hoping—and I’m sorry in advance for bringing this up—but I was hoping you and I could talk. Not right now—of course not—but maybe sometime soon?” He looked too hopeful and too much of everything that represented my past. I was left speechless, gazing up at him with my mouth half open, before my eyes dragged towards where Dimitris was standing, expressionless as he trained his gaze on us, observing.

“I … um … can I think about it?” I knew it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for, but I wasn’t in my right mind at that moment. Besides, given the fact that Dimitris was there, taking in everything we were doing and saying, it made me feel like a total ass. I knew him enough to know he was showing great restraint, but why? The question boggled me.

The Greek man I was accustomed to was highly possessive of me, to the point of madness. So, why wasn’t he reacting at all? Was he testing me and how I would handle Brody with him in the room? It was baffling, yet I couldn’t worry about it as of that moment. It was almost three in the morning, and the emotional and mental upheaval I had gone through had thoroughly wiped me out. I was exhausted, and the problem of flying to Athens for Christmas still loomed.

I spoke to the nurse who came back to check on Carter before injecting something in his IV, and she reassured me enough that Carter wouldn’t be awake for quite some time. I supposed it was the way she gave me a comforting smile that told me she knew I was worried and that she understood. It gave me a sense of security to drag myself out of the hospital, leaving Brody there since he insisted he didn’t have anything else to do, that he would rather be with Carter more than anything.

After a silent goodbye, Dimitris and I drove to the house I still shared with Amber and Trista. Emma’s room remained vacant; none of us wanted another girl to move in and take the empty bedroom.

It was hard to fully admit that we were all growing up and slightly growing apart. It was inevitable since maturing and living our own lives was part of what life was about. Yet it saddened me to know the little cocoon of security I had, always considering my friends my very own family, was going to expand once we found our own way into the working world. It was a sobering thought, one I wasn’t looking forward to happening. As much as I loved the idea of working and being a go-getter, the daunting prospect of not always having my friends with me when I needed them for emotional support, to gossip, or simply to enjoy our sisterly bond made me feel like an abandoned girl again. It was selfish of me; I wasn’t one to deny that I was being an egotistical woman.

That was why Dimitris bringing up the idea of me moving to Athens always brought out a colossal fear. I would rather live around Malibu where I would still be able to see all of my friends. I knew this long distance arrangement wouldn’t last between him and me. I was hoping we would eventually come to solid ground and he would concede that conducting business in America would be more beneficial to him in the long run.

Seeing how much he argued for spending Christmas with his family—which was a vital thing for them since Greeks were pretty much defined by their large family bond and loyalty—I knew that, as much as he loved me, I couldn’t compete with his entire clan.

So the questions remained, how deep was our love? Would we be able to fight all these odds against us?





Chapter 5


Lindsey


“You’ve been quiet.” I raised my brow at Dimitris who was starting to take off his shoes.

We hadn’t been given the chance to grab any of his essentials when we had left the hotel; as a result, he would most likely sleep naked or in his boxers, not that I would mind. I would rather see him without any clothes if it were up to me, but ever since we had left the hospital, he had been keeping to himself. Usually, he made a comment or so that would evoke a conversation, but that night, he had been more than pensive.

Looking over at him, he seemed to be frowning at his shoes that were tucked neatly close to the door. His expression struck me because I felt like I couldn’t give him what he wanted at the moment.

“Dimi?” I whispered, as I got close to him, hugging him from behind then tip-toing to kiss the base of his neck. Shutting my eyes, I inhaled the manly scent of him and immediately felt the love I had for him blossom and flourish inside me. God, how I loved that man. I simply couldn’t get enough of him. “I love you so much … so f*uking much it terrifies me every single time it hits, like right now.” There was no mistaking that I was epically crazy about him, but at moments like those—where I could truly feel the love flow through my veins, singing, electrifying me to life, as much as I feared it—I had never felt so f*uking alive.