Eyes Closed
**ROMANY**
*Oh my God... will I ever learn???*
*How am I this dumb?*
*This is why Ruby never wanted me here.*
*She knew what I didn't. That these men would find a way to break me.*
*They used me. All of them.*
*Maybe not in the same way, but it is what it is.*
The truth of It hits me with the force of a freight train when I realize it, and suddenly I want midnight to come and go so badly that I can hardly stand it. I need to be a ghost. Just a shadow of someone who *once* had a presence here, because I've never been so ashamed in my life.
*Is that why Mickey was able to walk away after seeing me kiss Matthew that night? Because sure, he wanted me, but not in the way that matters. Not in the way that costs.*
One guttural sob escapes before I can stop it, and
hear him growl out. "Wait a minute, doll,
me to make sure the back door shut. A moment later,
in the direction of the front
I really
about what conditions we might face, either. YOU? Your job is to do what I say when I *feel* like saying it.
back? To
this be the same gate that
if Santos *does* let me go the way he promised to, I don't think I'll ever want to see this place again. There's an intense pounding behind my eyes and I whimper, keeping them closed tight and not wanting to release the burn of my tears. Mickey's hard body crowds in behind mine, his warmth nearly coaxing the sobs right from my chest. I can feel him so close, right up against my back. Wet heat streaks my
his lips on
the first time he's ever called me that, and
with one hand, preparing to open my eyes, but Mickey whispers, "Not yet, baby. Keep those
him press me back against his arm. A shudder passes over his body and I hear him dispel a slow breath. It's warm and close and
beneath that canopy of trees next to
Mickey's warm palm glides over my thigh, stopping just under the hem of
my eyes, especially when I hear Kale exit and the driver's
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