Page 41 of Bound By Threads
I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to.
My body trembled like a leaf, and all I could do was try to breathe through the panic. Oscar didn’t ask questions and didn’t push me, but I saw how concerned he was. I could feel the way he pressed himself against me like he was afraid I would disappear if he lost contact. Then, the panic eased, and the world around me stopped spinning. Oscar was still there, waiting. He was too good of a guy to walk away and far too stubborn to leave me alone when I was falling apart. I think he knew something had happened to push me to hide in the alleyway, and that’s when the other side of him appeared.
“Tell me what happened. Right now.”He demanded.
And I knew there was no way out. I was hiding in the alleyway next to a strip club. I had no idea how he found me, and still, to this day, he won’t tell me, no matter how often I ask. There was no way for me to hide. I was exposed—physically and emotionally—by the panic attack. Never mind the outfit I was wearing.
So I told him everything. I explained how I’d started working at the club, how I was just trying to find something to feel in control of, a way to prove to myself that I wasn’t ruined. I told him how I tried to keep it secret, and I told him about the man who had no regard for my boundaries, the customers who felt entitled to touch me however they wanted, the helplessness that choked me every time I stepped onto that stage.
Oscar sat there, watching me sign all of this as tears leaked from my eyes, his jaw set tight. He never judged me, but I could see the anger building in his eyes.
Not at me… never at me.
“Never again, Lottie. I will never let anyone hurt you ever again,”he signed.
The next week, Oscar was there at the club with a job offer. He had gotten hired as security. He didn’t say much about it, refusing to tell me how he pulled strings to get the job, but I knew. I knew it was because he couldn’t sit by and let me work somewhere I didn’t feel safe.
And that’s how he became my shadow. Every night I worked, he was somehow there. Standing in the back, watching, making sure nobody ever got too close. He didn’t let me walk to my car alone anymore, even when I begged him to let me do it. It wasn’t just that.
It was the little things—the way he’d pull me aside during breaks, offering me a bottle of water. The way he’d always check in with me with just a look, not just when things were bad. He never let me forget that I wasn’t alone.
It’s why I knew I didn’t deserve him. I hated myself for the feelings bubbling up because Oscar deserved someone whole, somehow, who wasn’t tangled up in her past, who could love him without all the baggage.
Someone who didn’t still dream about the man who saved her from drowning.
But here we were. Oscar was always close, kind, and looking out for me even when he didn’t have to. And I couldn’t stop myself from wanting more, even when I knew I shouldn’t.
The thumpof the music brings me back to reality. My eyes immediately find his.
Steady.
His protectiveness is almost palpable as he hovers at the back of the crowd, his eyes following my every movement. He doesn’t judge me for needing to do this. He doesn’t even seem to care.
But I can’t look at him without feeling a pull, a desire I shouldn’t have. Not when I’m in love with his best friend just as much.
Just friends.They deserve more than someone broken.
I glance toward the back of the room, my eyes scanning the familiar faces I see here so often. It’s hard to focus, and the strobe lights are creating more shadows than I’m comfortable with. Seeing them again has thrown me off.
I’m just glad Archer doesn’t know about the stripping. His image is burned into my mind. Strong, protective, his jawline sharp enough to cut glass, his eyes always so intense, like he’s reading my thoughts as if he can see into my soul with just a glance.
And it terrifies me.
He saved me. Pulled me from the water that night when I thought it was finally my end, when everything in my life was slipping away. He pulled me back and gave me a family and a future, and I haven’t been able to look at him the same since.
I’m not supposed to feel like this about him. Not when Oscar is here, watching me, flirting with that dangerous line of being friends ormore. I feel trapped. I owe them both everything, and I would never be able to choose one of them to give my heart to fully.
Just friends.
I take a deep breath, pulling my eyes away from his direction. I’m a mess. I have been since I locked eyes with the ghosts of my past. The lights are blinding, and my breath comes a little too fast. The world around me spins, dizzying with the beat as I spin around the cold metal pole, the flashing lights, and my tangled emotions.
I keep dancing, but something feels wrong. I feel too exposed… too seen.
I swear I see them. The faces, those damn faces, lurking at the edge of my vision. My hands turn sweaty as I angle myself to the right.
Roman, Crew, Elijah.
I’m not sure if I’m imagining them or if the lights are just playing tricks on my eyes, but I swear it’s them sitting in the corner booth. The three of them sit side by side, their expressions unreadable from where I am.
