Page 5 of Sweet Temptation

Bailey glares at Damon. "I want you out. I refuse to interact with you, especially with how you treat girls. Plus, I don't like you."

Damon rolls his eyes and stands, towering over Bailey and me. "You want to end up picking up a dead body off a bedroom floor? Continue being friends with her, then; we all know how you handle dead bodies," Damon growls, stalking past us and retreating out the door.

What the fuck? Why would Bailey know what it's like to see a dead body?

She didn’t know Emily, so why?

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, my heart pounding against my rib cage. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Bailey spins to face me and eyes me up and down. "What does he mean? Why would I see another dead body?"

I flinch and stare at the floor. "Don't ask me about it… just don't ask." Bailey studies me for a moment longer before she walks into the kitchen. I slowly follow her, dragging my feet behind me. This city is fucked up.

"Cookie?" Bailey asks, handing me a chocolate chip cookie.

I shake my head and smile. "Thank you for the offer, though."

Kayla marches into the kitchen, her eyes blazing. "What makes you think you can kick him out of my apartment?" she growls. Bailey faces her roommate and crosses her arms. My eye widen at the defensive side of the redhead.

"Because I told you when I moved in that you can have any boy you want in here, except for him. I can't be around him. He pisses me off even more than his roommate," Bailey snaps.

I lean against the counter and chew my lip softly, glancing at the clock, only to realise I've been here for three hours. "Uh! I have to get home," I squeak, looking at Bailey. He's gonna notice I'm gone. He's gonna…

She turns away from Kayla and smiles at me. "I'll take you, let's go." She smiles before throwing Kayla some cash. "Grab my pizza when it gets here," she barks, leading me out of the apartment and down to her car. Once buckled, she shifts into first gear and drives out of the parking lot. "What's the address?"

I ramble off the address and stare out the window, picking my bag off the floor and clutching it to my chest. I'm so screwed, so screwed. Bailey parks outside my house and smiles. "I can come get you before we have to be in class tomorrow."

I smile back before nodding. "Mines at three, but I don't mind being there early." Bailey waves as I grab my bag and I race up the steps into my house.

I hear the car retreat and sigh. Once I hear the footsteps, my heart lurches in my chest. "You're late," my stepbrother barks, his arms crossed and his lips in a snarl. I knew I was fucked.

I clutch my bag to my chest and bite my lip. "I-I made a friend… we hung out," I whisper under my breath as I watch my feet. Why do I sound like a scared child when I talk to him? Fuck! His footsteps come closer until he's towering over me.

"No friends. You go to college, and you come home. Your gramz pays for those damn classes, so you do as I say!" he yells, his hand going through the wall beside my head. I never understand why my grandmother leaves him in charge of my school tuition. It shouldn't involve him, yet it does.

I close my eyes, waiting for him to leave, praying for him to ignore me. His thumb traces my bottom lip, and I hear his ugly ragged breath. I resist the urge to throw up on his fancy jeans. "I want those lips wrapped—" He's cut off as my grandmother makes her way down the stairs.

"Brayden, leave your sister alone," my sweet gramz screeches. He is not my brother. I have one of those, and he does not treat me how Brayden does. Harley saved my life once while my stepbrother just continues to ruin it.

He lets me go and walks into the living room, sitting in the chair. "Did you have a good day?" She smiles at me. If you call ripping open my arms and getting touched by my stepbrother, then sure, my day was great. Not that I can say that out loud.

Instead, I nod slowly before walking past her upstairs into my bedroom, locking the door behind me. I drop to the floor and burst into tears, my entire body shaking as I cry. I hate his hands. I hate his voice. I hate his touch. The tears don't stop as I hug my knees and cry into them. He doesn't deserve my tears, but here I am, crying again.

I hate everything about living here. I miss my dad, I miss Harley. I wish he lived here. I wouldn't be dealing with this and… My train of thought disappears and I continue to cry. Pulling myself to my feet, I strip off my clothing and slip into some pjs, the tears still falling, still clogging my throat.

Climbing into bed, I pull the covers up to my chin and I continue to sob as I grip my phone and dial my brother's number with trembling fingers. "Hanna?" he utters when he answers.

"Harley…" I hiccup, trying to calm my crying so he doesn't question things.

"Are you alright? I thought sending you to Grandma's would make everything better?" Harley asks over the papers shuffling around in the background.

"Yeah, it is better… It's just Brayden…" I hiccup again.

My brother is silent for a few moments before his voice filters into my ear. "Did he do something to you?"

It's the question I knew was coming—the one I dreaded and the one I can't answer. "No. He's just… He makes me uncomfortable," I grumble, tucking a piece of my brown hair behind my ear.

"If he does anything else, you will tell me, won’t you? I’ll deal with him, that's a promise," he replies as the shuffle of papers grows louder.

"Yeah. Thanks. I’ll let you get back to work," I whisper. I say my goodbyes and tell my brother I love him before hanging up.