When we arrived at my parents, there were already a ton of people here. Did I miss what time it started? Shit. I think I did. That, or people were just excited and showed up early. Whatever the case was, I was glad that we weren't alone with them."Lynn!" Mom greeted excitedly as she ran over and hugged me. Then she surprised me by turning to Drake and touched his face. "I'm so glad you two came back. There's beer in the cooler and Dad has already fired up the grill. Make yourselves at home and mingle with family. They're all excited to see you, lynn! l." Then she was off to be the bubbly host everyone loved.I wasn't expecting Mom to be so normal, but who was I kidding? She was always sweet. It was my dad I was worried about.My eyes scanned the area and I found him over by the grill talking to Uncle George. I knew this would be a good time to go speak with him as I knew Uncle George would help break the ice.I grabbed Drake's hand and tugged him along with me."Hi, Uncle George," I
DRAKE'S POV Fuck! This is not good. Lynn marched toward her sister and I couldn't help but look back at her dad. He stayed by the grill and gave me a go-to-hell look. Was he seriously going to just stand there? The guy was obviously a tool. He was letting Melissa dangle his grandson in front of him and because he was too cowardly to say something, he let her."You fucking bitch!" Lynn roared as she approached Melissa. The people sitting there inhaled surprised breaths and started moving out of the way.Jason put his hand near Lynn's chest to stop her and I saw red. "Don't you fucking touch her!" I pulled Lynn back far enough to get her away from him.His devilish grin silently begged me to do something, but what he doesn't know is that I actually will. When it comes to Lynn, I'd strangle his ass right in front of a cop. Her family being here wouldn't stop me. "You're just jealous," Melissa snapped back. "When Jason didn't want you anymore, you fled like a little bitch!""Jealous?! Yo
"No! Please!" I heard Lynn cry out."You're going to pay for this!" Melissa screamed next.Handcuffs were secured tightly around my wrists before they roughly sat me up. I saw Lynn try to get to me but an officer held her back."You're under arrest for assault," the officer told me."Micky!" I turned my head and saw Lynn's dad walking toward us before he slapped the officer on the back. "There was no assault done by this man," he stated as he pointed at me.Relief filled me but my confusion was stronger. This guy seemed to fucking hate me and now he was stopping me from getting arrested."Gene, I have to arrest him," the officer stated.Lynn's dad sighed. "The only one who should be arrested here is him," he pointed down at Jason as I moved my eyes over to him. Jason was unconscious and covered in blood. "He punched Lynn."The officer cursed beneath his breath before he walked over to Lynn and grabbed her chin as he turned her face this way and that. I didn't like his hands on her and
DRAKE'S POV My head pounded and I knew I would have a killer fucking migraine tomorrow morning, but I didn't care. There were so many foreign emotions running through me and not one of them made sense. I was angry that her family did nothing and allowed that piece of shit to be here. I was furious that I was cuffed and belittled by that prick with a badge. And I was fucking livid and jealous over how he looked at and spoke to Lynn.I hated these emotions and I didn't know how to shut them off. How do people do relationships?! This is a fucking nightmare! I've literally just started my first one ever and I already missed just fucking.No. No, I didn't.I would rather have these unwanted emotions than the lonely ones that kept me up all night. Meeting lynn has been the best thing to ever happen to me, I just need to figure my shit out.After climbing the stairs to the second story, I opened the first door on the left and was relieved to find a bedroom. I needed to take a breather and t
"I may or may not have read some of that..." I ran a hand over my face as I blew out a breath. "Jesus, lynn... Did that shit really happen to you?!"She wrapped her arms around herself and looked I didn't like that. Jason was out of her life and I would never let him near her again. As long as there's a breath in my lungs, he will never harm her again... even if we aren't together anymore."I can't follow that," I stated."What?" Her brow furrowed.I laughed and shook my head as I grabbed her journal. "I would give anything to time travel back to these dates and ring that fuckers neck. But I'm not the guy for you, lynn."She rushed up to me and grabbed my shirt."What the hell are you talking about, Drake?"Tears burned my eyes again as I tore my gaze from hers."Isn't it obvious? I'm all kinds of fucked up and don't know the first thing about having a serious relationship with a woman. You should run fast and far from me, lynn. You've been through hell and back and need a stable guy
LYNN'S POV Entering the familiar family kitchen, I slid out the wooden farm table chair and sat down in front of my parents. Drake took the seat next to me as I stole a nervous glance at him and then focused on my parents. They looked stressed and tired and I knew they were going to give me an ear full about ruining their BBQ. I honestly didn't mean to, but I wasn't going to let Melissa and Jason stay here. They didn't belong here."How is your hand?" Mom asked Drake.He looked at it and then just shrugged before he hid it beneath the table. It was as if he was ashamed of what he had done. I wasn't ashamed. I was proud. Seeing Jason get pummeled like that was the greatest thing I've ever seen. There were times during our marriage that I wished someone would punch him out for me, but nobody came to my rescue. Until now."What is it that you want to discuss?" I asked. They called us down here for a reason and I wasn't leaving until I knew.The scowl on Dad's face made me a bit nervous
Dad scoffed and shook his head. "You know that Melissa will never go for that. She's too independent and thinks nothing is wrong with her."I shook my own head and sat back. They were defending her again. There was probably nothing I could say to change their minds. Then I looked at my mom."Who is Melissa's father?"She looked down at her hands and replied, "His name was Mack and he was very abusive. I ended up in the hospital right before I gave birth to Melissa... that's when I left him for good.""What?!" Deja vu punched me in the gut! How do I seem to know nothing about my family?! Then a realization slapped me in the face. "Is that why you freaked out when I told you what Jason was doing to me?" This question was directed at my mom. "I cried to you on several occasions and you always told me to just stop making him angry and he wouldn't hurt me anymore. You knew about the bad stuff and still let me suffer."It wasn't until he almost killed me that you offered me a way out." My h
DRAKE'S POV "Something doesn't feel right," I mentioned to Lynn as we stepped into our private elevator to head back up to our suite. There was a tightness in my chest and my instincts were usually spot on."What do you mean?", She askedI shrugged as I stared straight ahead. I didn't know what to say as I couldn't pinpoint the problem. There was something much deeper going on. I could feel it."Half a million just seems like so much money for the debts they mentioned. How much money did your lawyer cost? It just doesn't seem to be adding up." I ran a hand over my face as I blew out a breath.My head was pounding and I had long ago lost my buzz. A hangover took its place and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep, but there was no way I could fall asleep with my mind going as fast as it was."I didn't think he cost that much and when the divorce was finalized, Jason was supposed to cover his costs. I wanted nothing to do with him once it was finalized and I was so lost that