Empathy (9 page)

The little men inside my head trying to hammer their way out make me groan and stir. My mouth is so dry I have to peel my lips apart. Last night rushes into my mind, then the reason I wanted to get wasted pushes through.
Mom, Dad, gone. Murdered.

I feel shattered, particles separate from my true being. Now I’m just dust on the wind, ash on a burned out flame. The hand that wrapped around my throat in that house is still there, squeezing tight, robbing me of my soul.

I pull the blankets back and look around the unfamiliar room. It’s neat, almost too neat. My eyes sting from the crude exposure to the sun beaming through the open blinds. I slip my legs free from the bed and wince as my feet make contact with the cold wooden floor. Tiptoeing to the door I sigh with relief when the bathroom door is open just a couple feet from this room. I come face to face with a mirror as I enter, sending a shiver through my veins. My hands tremble; it’s the same whenever I look in a mirror since that night.

“It’s okay, Mel. You’re okay,” I reassure myself, and look back up into the mirror. I don’t recognise the distorted image looking back at me. My dark hair lacks its usual shine, my eyes are unfocused. God, I drank too much. I look down at the panties and tank top I’m wearing, a groan leaving my lips.

A shadow passes behind me and I freeze. It morphs into the form of a guy. Fear steals my breath, and my heart slows then picks up speed, beating erratically. A hand on my shoulder makes the contents of last night’s drinking rush out of me in a burning torrent. The sting in my throat makes my eyes water. The retching sends an ache through my ribs.

“Fuck, why does he bring women home with him?” the male grumbles behind me.

I spit, unladylike, into the sink and turn the tap to wash away the bile. I look up and stare.
No way
. His eyes are the color of gun metal fused with dark green flecks. His dark hair is swept back off his face. His white shirt is pulled from his slacks, a few buttons undone. My eyes seek out the strong muscle of his chest on display. I flick my eyes back to his and watch him as he gazes back at me.

NO FUCKING WAY. I’M LOOKING into the green eyes that keep me up at night
.
She’s standing in MY bathroom in her underwear. Fuck, she’s in her underwear. My eyes drag themselves down her body. Tight and tanned, she looks so smooth I want to reach out and touch her skin. Her round tits fill out the tank she’s wearing, and my appraisal is having an effect on her, tightening her nipples into hard little pebbles. Saliva fills my mouth. Her legs shift, drawing my eyes to that perfect v between her thighs, her black lace panty shorts giving me a hip jerk reaction. Fuck, she’s smooth down there; I can see the folds through the lace. My dick stirs and hardens. What the fuck is she doing in here?

“Oh, hey. She’s with me,” Ryan says, walking up behind me and patting me on the back. He skims by and grabs her hand, leading her past me. It’s a reaction I’ve never had before, an urge driven by emotions I’ve never possessed. I grab her wrist, halting their steps. Her green orbs bore into mine and her lips part.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She came here and stayed the night with Ry. Ry’s sexual preference is not for young, green-eyed girls like her. She came here and fucked Ry? Why does that twist my gut?

“What are you doing, Blake? Let go of her.”

I clear the confusion clogging my head. Releasing her wrist, the one with her LIVE tattoo and flower, I raise my eyes to meet my brother’s. He’s studying me, searching for answers I don’t want to give him.

“I’ve told you about bringing your whores here, Ry.”

Her gasp draws my eyes to hers. “Screw you,” she breathes and rushes from the bathroom.

Ry pushes my chest. I look down at the place his hand just left, then back up to him with a cocked brow. He has never cared enough to have a reaction before.

“Don’t. She’s not like them, she’s different and I don’t need you scaring her. I can do that on my own if I want to.” He turns and leaves me speechless.

I love my brother, he can be irresponsible when it comes to bringing club trash home, but I’ve never wanted to hurt him before now, before her. The thought of him being in there with her.
She’s different.

Fuck my life! This girl has messed up my head. I faltered at that house and didn’t kill her. I watched her break and now she haunts me when I try to sleep. She occupies my thoughts when I’m awake and is now in my house, in my brother’s bed. Who is she and why was she sent to cause bedlam to my mind?

I finish getting ready and make my way downstairs. I must have missed them coming out of his room because now they’re in the kitchen, drinking coffee. They’re both dressed. Her eyes bore into me as I make my way to the pot and fill my cup. I’m about to take a gulp when some blond guy comes down the stairs in a pair of boxers. What the actual fuck? He blushes like a woman when he sees me.

“Hi.” He head nods to me and then looks at Melody who is suppressing a grin

“Did I miss a party?” I ask, cocking my brow as Ry smirks.

“You couldn’t handle my kinda parties, brother.”

Melody’s eyes widen. “Ry, thank you for taking care of me, and you too, Sean but I’m never drinking again.” She puts her cup in the sink, her arm brushing mine. Even a subtle touch makes my dick come to life. “I need to head back to my dorm.” She waves over her shoulder on her way out of my house. That was a real casual goodbye.

“She’s not your usual type,” I say, then look to the practically naked blond guy standing there like a statue. “Go get dressed, party’s over.”

Ryan’s eyes follow the retreating guy while answering with no emotion in his tone. “They’re just some people from college. The guy you just gave a stroke is Sean, and the female you insulted in the bathroom is Melody. Although she fascinates me I’m not fucking her.”

Why does that make my body relax? Okay, not going to dwell on that. I leave before he can read anything into the small smile that tilts my lips. Like I figured, a girl like her wouldn’t be into bed hopping with a kinky bastard, even if she did try it on with me. I head to work without another word.

I FELT A LITTLE TIRED as I sat sipping my coffee. I didn’t really like drinking alcohol but with Melody practically tipping shots into my mouth last night it couldn’t be avoided. My mind replays everything that happened over in my mind.

Carrying Melody to the cab; she was troubled, even in her alcohol-induced sleep. So, alcohol was going to be how she coped with things. The turbulence in her eyes told me she was battling to cope. I wanted to ask her, get her to open up to me but even with her drunken tongue, she didn’t say anything about her trip home. The reason she was gone for so long and the reason behind her sorrow remained a secret.

Sean climbed in next to me and kept glancing at Melody, asleep, wrapped in my embrace. I gave the cab driver my address and we rode in silence for the ten minute journey. When we pulled up, Sean was hesitant, clearly not sure if he was welcome to come in. I was curious if he would let me take an unconscious Melody into my house without saying anything. He’d only known me for two weeks.

The cab driver broke the stare between Sean and me. “Is she okay? Do you know her?”

I smiled. “She’s our best friend, had a rough break up. Sean, baby, get the door.” The cab driver scrunched his nose, looked between me and Sean then nodded. Sean was stunned, staring at me.

I kicked his ankle. “Door.”

He opened his door and rushed round to get mine. I pulled myself out of the cab, not easy with another person attached to you. “Pay the driver.”

Sean scrabbled for his wallet, giving the driver a twenty and tapping the roof of the car. The driver took off, kicking up gravel as he departed.

“My key’s in my front pocket.”

Sean’s eyes bulged then he slipped his hand in my pocket, his pale skin displaying a blush as it painted his entire face. He couldn’t make eye contact and I suppressed a laugh. He was so transparent and he didn’t even know it. Pathetic. He unlocked the door and followed me in. I went straight upstairs and placed Melody on my bed. “Take her pants and shoes off. I need to piss.” Sean squirmed a little, looking between us. “Sean.”

“Why did you tell the cab driver she’s our best friend?”

I narrowed my eyes. “He was asking questions, because two college guys coming home with a passed out chick looks a bit suspect, no? At least if he thought we were more interested in fucking each other than her, he’d shut up.”

The crimson from earlier reappeared. I stepped closer to him, leaning down so I was right in his face. I bit my lip and watched his eyes zone in on the action. “He doesn’t need to know how much we love pussy, and how much we want to taste Melody under our tongues.”

He flinched and stepped away from me. “She’s out of it, Ry.”

Yeah, that’s the reason he doesn’t want to taste her.
God, if there was a time for him to just tell me he bats for other team this would have been it.

I turned my back on him and called over my shoulder. “I like my women to know what’s happening to them, Sean. God, what do you think I am?” I grinned, knowing he was wringing his hands together with anxiety.