Page 72 of Unbound
If I could punch Raven and actually get away with it, I would.
“Nova?” someone calls from downstairs.
Her eyes widen. “Red’s looking for me.” And then she jets out of the room.
Raven takes my pillow, the one my head’s on and then hits me in the face with it. “Clean up. Beck and Linc are downstairs waiting for you and we have a wedding to control.”
I spit the wrapper at her. “You’re such a bitch.” To purposely piss my sister off, I turn over and rip my comforter away.
She’s quick and runs away with her eyes closed, right into the wall. Rubbing her forehead, she starts to laugh. “I totally fucking hate you right now.”
She’s out the door when I hear her say to Sophie, “Get up, slut. And for God’s sake, take a shower. He’s dirty.”
Sophie laughs and my smile ignites. The sound hits my chest, then my heart. It pounds, beats for a girl who’s just feet away laughing. Though I can’t see her, I know exactly what the smile gracing her lips looks like. I know because last night, in my arms, it never left.
Pulling my jeans on, I climb out of bed hoping to see her in the hall but when I’m out of the room, she’s downstairs already.
Damn it.
Running my hand through my hair, I jog downstairs to the kitchen. There’s a house full of people already and I’m hoping to see Sophie, but she’s nowhere to be found.
“What a fucking mess,” Raven remarks, pouring a shot of vodka at six-thirty in the morning. I mean, the sun’s not finished coming up. “And we don’t know where Lenny is.”
“What do you mean you don’t know where she is?” I ask, noticing Red pacing the back deck with a cell phone attached to his ear.
“That’s exactly what I mean, dumbass.” She smacks the back of my neck as I’m pouring a cup of coffee.
“Does he know?” I nod at Red, turning around to lean against the counter. Beck and Linc come into the kitchen but keep their distance.
“No.” Raven shakes her head. “He’s calling around trying to find canopies for the wedding since it’s you know, fucking raining.”
Glancing around the room, I know I need to talk to Beck and Linc, but that’s when I see Sophie on the deck.
She’s holding Lyric, letting him splash his hands in the puddles on the railing of the deck. I want to walk out there and be a part of their moment. I want her closer. I want her to walk inside the house and be near me. My heart beats louder, memories of last night surfacing.
I know one thing for certain, even if I don’t know where her and I stand, I don’t want some other guy raising my son.
Raven’s still beside me and snaps her finger in my ear. “Don’t tell him Lenny’s missing.”
I give her a confused look. “Who?”
“Red,” she whispers. “He doesn’t know.”
“How did you lose her?”
“We didn’t lose her. She spent the night with me and Tyler because the bride can’t see the groom the day of the wedding, but when we got up, she wasn’t on the couch and her Bronco was gone.”
“Think she ran?” You have to admit all the signs were pointing that way.
“No, you idiot. She’s probably….” She pauses, thinking of what to say and then picks up a doughnut off the counter. “Well, I don’t know what she’s thinking. She was clearly nervous, but she wouldn’t have left. Besides, her son’s in the other room. She wouldn’t leave her kids.”
She has a valid point. Lenny wouldn’t leave the kids.
“I need to go search for her but whatever you do, do not tell Red. Tell him she’s upstairs and he can’t see her.”
“Fine.” Reaching around her, I grab a doughnut off the counter from the box laid open.
As I’m chewing and watching Sophie from a distance, Beck comes closer.
