Chapter 40
Jade
The bruising on my neck had gotten worse just like I thought it would. Lucas came in from his hike and immediately skidded to a stop. “I leave for one afternoon and something has happened.”
I had thought about hiding it but I knew it would be no use. He would find out eventually. I finished off the chocolate pudding I had been snacking on. “It’s not a big deal.”
“You sound like a domestic abuse case and what’s worse? You look like one too.” He toed his shoes off before he climbed onto the bed next to me. His jaw ticked as he looked me over. “Is this all that happened?”
I nodded. What was I to say? There was no need to explain anything. We both knew Damian was the bad guy here, we had just forgotten how bad he was. He could have hurt me much worse.
“I see that look in your eye, Jade.” His voice cracked. “He’s not going to stop now. He put his mark on you. It will happen again.”
My anger got the best of me. Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to someone being so protective that wasn’t my parents but it reared its ugly head. “This isn’t the worst thing that has ever happened to me. You think Rafe was the first bad boy I had a run-in with? You think other guys didn’t beat me around?”
Lucas took a step away from me and his face fell. “Just because that happened to you doesn’t mean you deserve it.”
I closed my eyes as I felt the burning there intensify. “I know what I deserve now, but I want you to understand that I can handle this.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “You’re playing with bigger monsters here, Jade.”
“Good thing I’m a monster too.”