average human’s Reviews > So This Is Love > Status Update

So when I had asked him at the café if his boss was a good man, he had been talking about himself. He had told me that he wasn’t perfect, but he tried very hard to be. Every day.
In my opinion, he was doing a good job.
“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to be working on school stuff,” I said.
“Okay. I’ll be back.”
A few minutes later I could hear his bike roaring to life. It was the first time I’d heard him drive it since I’d been here. Mac had told me he also owned a truck, and he had been using that while he fixed up the damage I’d caused to his motorcycle. Since he was driving it today, it made me wonder if he was done working on it.
Silence followed after he drove away. It felt eerie and lonely. I was happy to have the distraction of schoolwork. I was so focused, the hour flew by quickly. I was almost done when I heard knocking out in the living room. I looked up from the computer and listened. It was silent, but my heart still raced.
I jumped when there was another knock. It was louder this time and more insistent. I set the computer aside. Before I could get to my feet, the knocks turned into pounding. It was clearly someone at the front door.
I wanted to ignore it. I wanted to hide. But what if it was Bram? What if he was locked out and he was pounding like that so I could hear him at the door because he had disconnected the doorbell? It was past the time he’d said he’d be back.
My hands fisted at my sides.
I can do this.
The pounding was nonstop until I reached the living room. I froze when it suddenly ended. “Bram?” I tried to say loudly, but my voice cracked. Slowly, I went to the bay window by the door and peeked through the blinds. No one was at the door. Then I heard a strange noise come from the garage. I glanced in that direction, wondering if he’d found a way to get in through there.
I heard the door connecting the garage to the house open, and I sighed. “Were you locked out?” I asked as I started heading back toward the hall that led to the guest room and the garage.
As I was about to pass the stairs, someone came around the corner. Only it wasn’t Bram.
Eyes widening, I stopped walking abruptly.
How?
How is he here?
Clay took me in from head to toe. “You’ve been a bad girl, Charlotte.”
He began to close the short distance between us and I backed up quickly, almost stumbling.
He grinned as if delighted to see me cower. “Clearly I didn’t punish you enough if you thought it was all right to run away like that. Your mother is very, very disappointed in you.”
I had to get away.
I had to run.
But my body wouldn’t listen. All I could do was back up, which he quickly stopped when he was close enough to grab me by my upper arm.
“Look at you.” He ran a finger down my still-healing cheek. “You’re trembling.” There was excitement in his voice.
He glanced around. “Interesting place you’ve run off to. What was even more interesting is the guy you’re shacking up with.” His fingertip dropped to the neckline of my shirt and ran along the edge toward my bare shoulder. “If you wanted an older cock to suck, you know I would have given you mine.”
My stomach churned and I began to shake even more.
“You know how much I’ve wanted to have you.” His finger doubled back until it reached the top of my breast. He dipped the tip into my shirt and began to pull it down. I wasn’t wearing a bra. I hadn’t in nearly a week because it was too tight around my ribs.
When I realized he was trying to expose my breast, I finally felt the urge to fight. I jerked away from him, not getting far. He yanked me closer, fisting the front of my shirt and ripping it halfway down the middle.
I screamed as my breast was exposed and I swung at him, clawing his face with my nails.
He growled in frustration and I knew he was going to hit me.
I screamed again, dropping to the floor, hoping my dead weight would force him to let go. His grip slipped and I tried to crawl away as fast as I could. He caught me by my hair.
“Help!” I screamed as loud as I could even though it hurt.
He pulled on my hair, forcing me to roll over onto my back. I kicked. I slapped. It was no use. He deflected everything as he climbed on top of me.
“Someone help me!” I screamed with all my might again.
“No one’s going to fucking help you,” he growled as he struggled to pin my arms with one hand. “No one cares about poor Charlotte. Mommy doesn’t love you. Mommy sees you as nothing more than property to be sold to the highest bidder.”
“Stop it!” I yelled as tears filled my eyes.
He laughed as he finally managed to capture my wrists together above my head. “Don’t act like you didn’t know. The Carmichaels want to buy you, and before their brat bends you over, I’m going to get a taste.” With his free hand, he reached between us and shoved my pants down on one side. Then reached to the other side.
I screamed and screamed and screamed. I sounded like a wounded, desperate animal as I wiggled and bucked beneath him.
He stopped trying to pull down my pants to cover my mouth, muffling my screams.
A shadow loomed over us before Clay was ripped off me and tossed across the room. Bram stared down at me, eyes wide. He took me in as I tried to cover myself. His face shifted from shock to murderous rage as he looked toward Clay, who was getting up.
Bram stormed over to him and kicked him in the back before he could get on his feet fully. Clay crumpled back to the floor. Bram grabbed him by the shoulder, rolling him over, and punched him in the face. Pathetically, Clay went flat on the floor. Bram put a knee on Clay’s chest and just started punching him over and over again. I lay there curled up as I watched Clay’s face become bloodier and more swollen with each hit.
He must have passed out at some point, because when Bram got off him, Clay lay there unmoving.
Bram was breathing hard as he just stared down at Clay. The hand he’d used to punch dangled at his side, blood dripping from it. “This is the alarm salesman.”
“That’s my mother’s boyfriend,” I said hoarsely.
Bram’s nose flared as he inhaled deeply. With his clean hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He didn’t stop glaring at Clay as he brought the phone to his ear. After a brief moment, he started speaking. “I need you to come to my house. Bring Ty, Bobby, and Reid with you.” Bram paused to listen to whoever was on the other end. “Unless you want me to call your boy, let Reid off work early. My daughter is going to need someone, and you know I can’t call Viv. She can’t handle what I’m about to fucking do.” Bram hung up before waiting for a response.
Bram walked over to me as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “Okay. Come here,” he said as he scooped me up. The way everything about him shifted to gentleness made me sob.
Crying without holding back, I clung to his shirt as he carried me out of the living room.
“I’m sorry,” I cried.
He frowned. “You don’t have⁠—”
“I’m sorry.”
“Charlotte, you⁠—”
“I’m sorry, Bram.”
Understanding seemed to hit him then and his frown disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” I said one more time between hiccuping sobs.
“Okay, kid,” he said with a quiet voice, and he laid me on the bed in the guest room. “I understand what you’re saying.” His hand went to the top of my head. “You won’t have to worry about the piece of shit after today. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Sniffling, I nodded.
“I don’t want to leave you, but I need to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. Will you be okay until Reid and Bobby get here?” he asked.
I nodded again.
“All right.” He placed a kiss on the top of my head and left after closing the door behind him.
Ignoring the pain, I curled up on my side in the center of the bed and continued to let tears leak from my eyes. Everything that had just happened replayed over and over again in my head and I did my best to battle and process.
I didn’t know how much time passed until I heard the door open. Whoever came in didn’t announce themself and didn’t say anything for a long minute. It had to be Reid.
Finally, he spoke. “What can I do?”
“Nothing you don’t want to,” I said numbly.
I heard rustling before the bed dipped behind me. “Roll onto your back. You must be in pain on your side.”
I rolled onto my back to find him lying next to me on his side. His hand shot out quickly and he pulled my ripped shirt up to cover my breast. “You need a different shirt.”
I didn’t care about my damned shirt. “It hurts to lie flat, too.”
He sat up and helped me do the same. We awkwardly sat facing each other in silence. My tears started falling faster again. I wished Roe or Wyatt were here.
“What do you need?” he asked, sounding at a loss.
“I want to be held.” I hated how pathetic I sounded, but I couldn’t stop hearing what Clay had said and I needed him to be wrong.
Reid reached for me and I leaned away.
“I don’t want you to hold me if you don’t want to hold me,” I snapped. “I don’t want something fake or forced.”

His hand fisted. “Everything I’ve done and will do with you is because I wanted to.” He reached for me again and grabbed me under the arms. He pulled more than lifted me to him until I was straddling his lap.
Wide-eyed, I put my hands on his chest before I could fall against him. His gaze dropped to my chest for a moment before he sighed through his nose. He averted his eyes toward the ceiling as he pressed me to his chest and leaned back against the headboard. My head rested just below his chin.
“Try to relax,” he said, and it was then that I realized how tensed up I was.
I adjusted to get comfortable by tucking my arms close and nestling my cheek against his chest until I found the perfect spot. It took a minute, but I eventually relaxed. “Were you at work?”
“Yeah.”
So Bram had called Noble.
“Bram’s going to kill Clay,” I said.
Reid’s hand began moving up and down my back.
“Is it strange that I’m relieved by that?” I asked.
“No.” There was so much assurance behind that single word that I believed him.
“Are they going to do it here?”
Reid’s hand went still on my back. “They took him somewhere else and I didn’t ask where. I didn’t ask anything because I’m not a Haven’s Rebel.”
I supposed I didn’t want to know all the details, either. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to get too involved, like Reid. I just didn’t want to waste any more energy on Clay.
Closing my eyes, I listened to Reid’s heartbeat and breathed in his smell. He went back to running his hand up and down my spine.
Just as I was about to doze off, I thought I heard Roe’s voice.
“Lottie!” He sounded like he was in the living room.
I startled.
Reid’s hand on my back pressed down on me. “It’s just Roe and Wyatt.”
Before he could finish telling me, they came rushing through the bedroom door. I pushed against Reid’s chest to sit up as they approached the bed.
“Are you all right?” Roe asked as both his and Wyatt’s eyes dropped to my chest.
I followed their line of sight and realized my breast was out. I pulled the sleeve up to cover myself. “I know I need a new shirt.”
Roe frowned at Reid.
Reid sighed. “I know this looks bad.”
Wyatt smirked at Reid. “You think?”
“I’m not the one who ripped her shirt,” Reid grumbled.
“Are you going to tell us who did? Because you didn’t say shit on the phone,” Roe snapped.
“Her mother’s boyfriend showed up,” Reid said.
I didn’t want to sit there and listen to him tell them what he knew. I climbed off him and grabbed a new lounge set from the closet before heading into the bathroom to change.
By the time I returned to the bedroom, Bobby had shown up. At Bram’s request, he was there to see if I was all right. Physically, anyway, and I was. He took a look at my stitches while he was here and said he could take them out. It was nice that I didn’t have to wait until the next day.

37%

Wyatt snuck over the next night and the next. On the third night, I dreamed that I was standing at the top of the stairs in Mother’s house. I wanted to run, but all I could do was turn around. When I did, Mother was standing there. She was staring at me like she always stared at me. Like I was nothing to her.
I knew she was going to push me before she did it. I just stood there watching, waiting, knowing what was coming, and couldn’t do anything to make myself move. Just like she had done with my father, her hands came out so fast. They hit me hard. Then I was falling.
I woke with a gasp before I hit the steps. It was still dark.
A hand went to my bare stomach, followed by Wyatt’s sleepy voice. “You all right?”
I looked in his direction and could just barely make out his outline in the dark. “Yeah. Bad dream.”
He scooted closer, lying on his side facing me. “Do you need to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Try to go back to sleep.” He nestled closer as his thumb rubbed back and forth along my skin, making me break out in goosebumps. Butterflies I thought had withered away began to flutter low in my stomach.
Roe had kissed me so much since they had brought me to Bram’s. It felt good. It meant something. Sometimes I needed him to kiss me more than I wanted air, but I hadn’t felt aroused in the slightest. I knew it was because I’d been hurt and trying to find reasons to not jump off the Kendry Bridge. It didn’t have anything to do with Roe.
A lot had happened in the last couple of days. My ribs had been feeling a little better. Not completely, but better. It was like I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel of discomfort, and that was a huge relief.
Bram dealing with Clay had also caused a shift. In me, mostly. I could see a possibility of change. If I wanted to make it more than a possibility, I had to change. It was hard to not think that everything was all for naught all the time, but I was working on it. I had stopped drawing the Kendry Bridge.
Now here I was, getting turned on all because Wyatt’s hand was low on my bare stomach.
Maybe I should blame Bobby and his stupid sex talk. Or maybe feeling like this was a good sign that I was getting back to who I’d been, whatever that was, prior to wanting to just call it quits. Not to say I’d been sex-crazed before.
As I thought about it, I sighed. I was pretty sure being aroused right now was going to be more of a hindrance than anything. The entire time I’d known Wyatt, he hadn’t made a real move. He had kissed me to stop my panic attack at a party once, and we’d had that moment at the hotel after he stayed with me all night. He had said he liked me. Yes, a lot of things had happened to me, but the lack of any real move on his part left me with doubts.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, startling me. I’d thought he had fallen back to sleep.
“How come you’ve never kissed me?” I blurted. “I mean really kissed me.”
He didn’t respond.
“Do you even want to kiss me?” I asked. “Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe it was all the talk about having an orgy or a threesome. I must have misinterpreted everything, and you were just playing along. I⁠—”
“Joint thief.” His hand moved up from my stomach to the side of my face. In the dark, I could only see the shape of him before his lips covered mine.
At first, he was gentle, as if gauging my reaction. I slid a hand into his hair and the way I kissed him back was anything but gentle.
He let out a soft, low groan. His pierced tongue plunged into my mouth, exploring and tasting. I curled mine around his, feeling the barbell.
He broke away. “If you keep kissing me like that, I might do something bad.” He trailed kisses down my jaw, then placed one right above my heart.
I was wearing a gray spaghetti-strap cami with matching shorts tonight. So his lips met skin.
I grabbed the sides of his face and brought him back to my mouth, kissing him just as heatedly as before. I wanted his attention. I wanted him to touch me. I wanted that something bad he threatened. I didn’t even care if it hurt.
He must have sensed that, because his lips stretched into a smile against mine. “I’ll give you what you want. Just tell me.”
I pulled away. “I’ve never had to ask for an orgasm before.”
He shook as he laughed silently. When he was finally able to calm down, he let out a happy sigh. “I adore everything that comes out of your mouth.”
His lips returned to mine. The way he kissed changed. It was as if he’d been holding out before. The way he was kissing me now, I wasn’t able to reciprocate. Only receive and endure what his mouth and tongue were doing to me. His hand returned to my stomach before it moved down into my shorts and underwear. My breath hitched the moment his fingers slid between my legs.
I was so turned on, I had soaked through my underwear. He seemed to realize it as well, the moment his fingers dipped into what was pooled at my center.
“All of this for me?” he whispered against my mouth as he spread my wetness between my lips and over my clit. Once he reached that sensitive spot, he stayed there, rubbing small, slow circles over it. “Is this how you want me to make you come?”
I wanted to moan so badly. I couldn’t, though. If Bram came barging in here, I’d lose my mind.
His fingers left my clit and returned to my center. “Or do you want it this way?” He pushed a finger inside me, then withdrew. He repeated the motion of pumping his finger in and out a few more times before adding a second. “Is this how you want it, Lottie? Do you want me to finger this pussy until you come?”
I tilted my head back as I took in small breaths. At my side, I fisted the blankets.
Wyatt kissed my cheek and trailed his lips to my ear. “Or would you prefer my head between your legs? I know which I’d prefer. You’re dripping wet and it would be a shame not to taste it.”
“I want it all.” My voice trembled as I whispered.
Wyatt’s fingers withdrew from me as he pulled his hand from my underwear and shorts. The covers were ripped away, and Wyatt disappeared from my side. The bathroom light flicked on and a little bit of light bled into the bedroom. Wyatt reached over his head and pulled his shirt off as he climbed back on the bed between my legs. He hooked his fingers into the sides of my shorts and underwear.
I went to lift my hips.
“Don’t, beautiful,” he said. “I do all the work, remember?”
He pulled my clothes down my hips easily. He tsked when I bent my legs to help him remove them the rest of the way. “So impatient.” He tossed my clothes on top of his shirt on the floor. “I’m going to feel like shit if your ribs are killing you tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll take pain meds and you’ll never know.”
He shook his head at me and parted my legs with his hands on each of my knees. His eyes turned hooded as they took me in. He cursed. “That’s a pretty pussy.”
“Wyatt,” I whisper-yelled as I tried to close my legs.
He held them open and lowered himself. “What? It’s the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”
I covered my face with my hands.
“As much as I’m looking forward to eating this, I can’t wait to have it wrapped around my cock.”
I felt his breath on me right before his tongue dragged up my slit slowly. I gasped at the feel of his piercing on me.
“Mmm,” he hummed, and he gave me another exploring lick. “Roe was right. You do taste good.”
“He told you that?” I breathed.
“How could he not brag after having his face here?” He sucked my clit into his mouth, making my hips jump. He released me and laid his tongue flat so he could roll his piercing around that little bundle of nerves.
I brought one hand down on top of his head and covered my mouth with the back of my other.
“’She tastes so good,’ he told us,” he said against me.
“Us?” I panted.
Wyatt chuckled. “Caught that, did you?”
I fisted his hair and pushed his mouth back on me to silence him. As if to pay me back for that little stunt, he pushed two fingers inside me as he flicked the tip of his tongue against my clit.
My hips bucked and I had to press the back of my hand harder against my mouth. I was going to come. I could feel it getting closer and closer.
“Don’t stop,” I panted. “Please, don’t stop.”
He didn’t. Instead, his rhythm quickened and I was thrust toward the finish line. My legs shook as I tried not to squeeze them around him and I had to cover my mouth with my palm. Little noises still managed to escape as I rode the waves of my orgasm.
As my body settled, I released Wyatt’s hair and relaxed my legs.
He lifted from me, smiling. His mouth and chin glistened even in the little bit of light there was. “You ready to go again? Because I’m not done down here.” His tongue flicked out, lapping my sensitive clit, making me clench around his fingers.
I reached for the top of his head. “Again, please.”
I didn’t have to push him down. He dove back in. When I came the second time, I had to cover my face with a pillow to muffle my moans.

38%

“Yeah. Heading to work?” I tried to deflect.
“In a few. The prospects are here. I want you to meet them.”
Oh, that’s right. I went to step out, but Bram put a hand up.
“Maybe you should change,” he said.
I looked down at my pajamas. I was still in the gray cotton shorts and matching spaghetti-strap cami I had gone to bed in last night. Sure, the shorts were a little short and I wasn’t wearing a bra, but I wasn’t indecent. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now? Do I need to be presentable? Or is what I’m wearing embarrassing for you?”
“I could never be embarrassed by you.” He sighed as he glanced over his shoulder toward the living room. “Remember how I said boys are stupid?”
“Ah, come on, Bram,” a male voice said. “We’re not here to do anything but our job.”
Bram shook his head as he moved aside so I could come out and go into the living room. By the front door, two nearly identical men around the same age as Reid stood wearing cuts with patches on them that read Prospect. Both had brown hair with a hint of red in it, but different lengths. One had an inch-long messy crew cut and was clean-shaven; the other had a man bun with faded sides and a short beard. They were both heavily tattooed from what I could see of their arms and necks.
As I came to a stop a few feet away from them, their matching silver-blue eyes looked me up and down, probably taking me in just as I had done with them.
Bram came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. “This is my daughter, Charlotte.”
The one with the messy crew cut’s brows lifted as if surprised. “I thought you said she was a kid?” From the sound of his voice, he was the one who had spoken earlier.
“She is a kid,” Bram grumbled.
“Technically, I’m an adult,” I said as I stared at them. “Is there an issue with my age?”
Messy Crew Cut shook his head and held out his hand to me. “No. My name is Bash.”
I shook his hand.
“I guess we’re here because of whoever gave you that nasty necklace you got there?” Bash said as he eyed my neck. “Was it a boyfriend?”
“It was a boyfriend, but not mine,” I said quickly.
“As I told you guys before, I need you to keep Charlotte safe until I get home,” Bram said, not clarifying.
It made me wonder if he was keeping it private for my sake or because he didn’t want anyone to know.
“If anyone shows up, don’t let them in the house or near Charlotte, and call me right away,” Bram added.
“Understood.” Bash released my hand and nodded toward his twin. “The quiet one is my brother Theo.”
Theo gave me a silent nod.
I looked from one to the other. “You can call me Lottie.”
“These are Kyle’s boys,” Bram said.
I did my best not to let my surprise show. Their father was Bram’s late best friend. The one Bram’s father had killed.
“You can hang out here in the living room. There’s food in the kitchen if you guys get hungry. I’ll be working a little late this week to play catch-up, but won’t be home later than five.”
As Bram continued to give Bash and Theo instructions, I slipped away back to what I was now calling my bedroom.
I supposed I was up for the day.
After concluding that I needed to make some changes this past weekend, I knew I really needed to start today.
I grabbed my phone off the bedside table and dialed Prue’s number. It was early. She would be just waking up or getting ready to head to Mother’s house. I brought the phone to my ear. It rang all the way to voicemail.
I was going to hang up, but at the last second I decided to leave her a message. “Prue, it’s me. Please call me back.”
Ten minutes later, she did.