Discovering Us 2: Redemption

ZACH

Violet’s sleeping on my chest as I look down at her restlessly.

I normally sleep a lot, and you’d never see me up this early. But I can’t sleep in this place. The sterility of it is too unnerving.

Violet has been astounding in her recovery, but it hasn’t passed my notice that she cries when she thinks I’m asleep.

She’s been through so much. Yet she’s so strong, and I admire that.

Tyler finally plucked up the courage to leave, and he hasn’t been back since. He says he’s too busy at work, but I know he isn’t. I think he needed an escape.

Probably because I’ve been punishing him super hard. He is the butt of all my jokes.

I don’t know why. I’ve already forgiven him, and I should tell him, so we can move on. But I’m having too much fun seeing him squirm.

Violet jumps as someone knocks at the door. Her hand flexes on my stomach as she opens her eyes into the dimly lit room, and the first thing she does is looks up at me.

I can’t help it. My heart swells.

“Come in!” I shout. “Morning, beautiful.” I lean down to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

I look back at the officer standing in the doorway, looking between the two of us on the bed with rosy cheeks. He clears his throat before walking in.

“Hello, I’m Officer Kind. I’m here to question you, Miss Camber.” She tenses immediately but relaxes as she strokes my stomach.

We knew he would turn up, now that she’s awake. It’s just a shame it’s this early in the morning. Violet sits up awkwardly, pulling the blanket up to cover her. Incidentally, she pulls it from me.

The officer looks at my lack of attire with raised brows as he registers that I literally only have boxers on.

“And you are?” he questions me with a disdainful look on his face.

“Zachary Henderson.”

He smiles looking between us. “Ah, yes. The bad boy. How’s your father doing?”

I square my shoulders. “Wouldn’t know. We don’t talk”

He raises his eyebrows at me in question. Yeah, the only time my dad bothers with me is when I’m in a police station.

“Well, I suppose this is good. You’ve been avoiding me, Mr. Henderson,” he says as he pulls the chair beside the bed.

Yeah, because I hate the police.

Violet strokes my naked stomach, smiling to herself. It’s funny, because I can’t help but tense my muscles for her to feel.

“I’ve had better things to attend to,” I answer him sarcastically, looking down at Violet.

She shares a small smile with me, knowing exactly who I have been preoccupied with.

“So, Miss Camber.”

Violet shudders at him calling her that again. I’m not sure why he even has that as her name.

“It’s Miss Stevenson,” I correct him.

Violet looks up at me, surprised yet thankful.

I have your back, baby girl.

The officer nods his head and jots it down in his notepad.

“I’m sorry. We didn’t have any other name for you on file.”

I snort at the fact that they haven’t even completed a background check. I get a contemptuous look from the man.

Do they even know that she was living here illegally until we applied for a residency visa?

“Miss Stevenson. I understand this may be difficult, but we need to talk about what happened earlier this week.”

She nods at him feebly. I wish she didn’t have to do this. After all, she’s been through enough already. But that bastard needs to be behind bars, because if he walks, I won’t stay away from him.

Then I’ll be the one behind bars, and I’m not sure my mother or Violet would handle that.

“Firstly I’d like to tell you how sorry I am. What your stepfather did was despicable. How are you doing?”

She swallows and nods at him.

Fuck, is she going back to not talking?

He looks between the two of us, worried.

“Would it be easier if I asked him to leave?” He points his pen at me.

“No, please,” she begs him, holding on to me tightly as I feel the tremors going through her body.

He jots something down on his note pad, and I’m unable to stop the angry growl sitting in my throat.

“There’s not a chance in hell that I’m leaving,” I state, making Officer Kind look between us again.

“What happened on Monday?”

I shoot him a glance. He knows damn well what happened.

He smiles sickly sweet, waiting for her to answer, but Violet says nothing. She just stares down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs together.

“She’s obviously not ready. Can we just leave this for another day?” I demand.

“No, Zach. Please. Can you give us a few minutes,” she whispers, making me look at her, outraged.

How did she go so quickly from begging for me to stay to begging for me to leave? I don’t want to leave her. I start to shake my head, until she looks up at me pleadingly.

Those pretty blue eyes beg me to give her privacy.

Fuck, will I ever say no to her?

“I’ll be right outside.” I point to the door.

Officer Kind smirks at me as I stand up with only my boxers on to cover me. And let me tell you, I’m not doing a good job of hiding my morning hard-on.

“Thank you, Zach,” she says as I put my jeans on. I watch her swallow hard when she sees my cock.

A fleeting look of need crosses her face, giving me the confidence not to bother with my top as I walk out of the room, leaving her with that bastard.

I stand outside the door, naked from the waist up, with no socks and no shoes.

A few of the staff members give me a once-over with raised brows.

They haven’t kept their opinions to themselves, obviously. They don’t like me sleeping in her bed, but it’s tough shit, because that’s exactly where she wants me.

I pace in front of the door for a few moments. I hope he isn’t upsetting her in there.

As I turn back to pace toward the nurse’s desk again, I notice Sophie, fucking Sophie Ballard, sitting there watching me.

Quietly spying.

What is it with this girl? Surely she should be working or something.

I turn back around and walk back the other way.

She’s started it already. The stupid fucking stalking shit, the exact games she played for months last time.

As I walk back to the nurse’s desk, she stands up and advances toward me.

“Zach.”

I look at her for a small second. “Oh no. No, definitely not, Sophie,” I hiss at her, turning away again.

“We need to talk.”

I scoff at her. We need to do nothing.

“I have nothing to say to you. Hell, I’ve had nothing to say to you for, what is it, five or six years now?” I tell her sternly.

“Can’t you just let him go? If you let him go, he wouldn’t feel so guilty about wanting me.

“He wouldn’t fight his feelings. We could be a family,” she almost sings to me, spewing her alternate reality, which makes me turn to her furiously.

What the fuck? A family? I don’t welcome the thought that her baby could be Tyler’s.

“He doesn’t have feelings for you,” I spit angrily.

“Then why does he keep coming back to me? Haven’t you asked yourself that question?” She smiles sweetly at me, goading me.

“He came to punish you, that’s all,” I tell her.

“And what about when we met up back in New York? We did nothing but fuck there. Was that a punishment too?” she says.

I falter for a moment, jealousy running through my veins. Is that why she messaged me that day?

Did they sleep together? Has he been lying for this long?

I shake my head.

No, he said he didn’t see her.

He didn’t look at all guilty of anything when he came back that morning.

“He didn’t see you back home,” I whisper to her.

“Didn’t he?” she asks.

I huff and walk away from her again. No, he promised. I know when he’s lying, and he wasn’t then. He didn’t see her back home.

This is all in her head.

“Why can’t you just let him go? You’ve found someone else. That girl. The one in that room. Let us finally be happy, Zach,” she pleads with me.

Happy?

Tyler will never be happy with her. I saw that the other night when he didn’t give two shits about her being outside the room.

He’s never done that before. He’s never shut her out for me. He’s point-blank refused to cut her off before, but he’s cut her off now.

She laughs that I’m questioning everything she’s telling me.

I can’t stop myself from pinning her against the wall. I grab the top of her arm, pushing her back, and she looks at me, alarmed. After all, she knows what it feels like to be spanked by my hand.

I know that’s what she’s thinking about as I lean in to make it look like I’m kissing down her neck. I’m doing anything but that, but I saw the two doctors walking down curiously toward us.

I don’t need security called.

“Stop with your lies. It’s not happening. He’ll never want you,” I whisper into her ear with conviction.

“He does want me, Zach. He’s always wanted me.” She places her palm on my naked chest.

I recoil from her touch.

“I’ve never wanted you,” Tyler says from behind us, making me smile down at the woman in front of me.

Exactly as I’ve just said.

She looks crushed at his words. Absolutely crushed. Which is good. So very good.

“He could barely even keep his cock hard enough to penetrate you. What twisted memory do you have that convinces you otherwise?” I ask her capriciously.

She looks behind me at Tyler.,

“Stop fighting to hide us. We could be so happy. Please, baby.” She reaches her hand around me toward Tyler.

I push myself away from her when I see no more staff members. Then I childishly slap away her offered hand from Tyler.

I’m surprised to see he isn’t even looking at her. I thought he might be.

Instead he’s leaning against the wall, facing away from us.

Out of a spur-of-the-moment thought, I walk to him, and he raises his eyebrows at my state of undress. His hands come up to stroke my abs as he has done so many times before.

I think it’s instinctual, because he widens his eyes when he looks down at his hand. But I don’t swat it away.

I should keep up this charade of me being upset with him, but I can’t let her see that we’re fighting. I can’t give her any ammunition to use against us.

Instead I lean forward into him, taking his lips on mine, and I kiss him the way I’ve been craving to for days.

I kiss him so passionately that he pulls me into him harshly, making me growl at how tightly he holds my ass as he presses my already rock-hard cock into his.

The sound of Sophie’s heels walking away gives me my cue to pull away.

I do just that, pushing myself away from Tyler. He looks down with an amused smile playing on his lips.

“Were you just marking your territory?” he asks contritely.

I push him back into the wall. My hand pulls his head so that my lips can brush his ear. I leave a soft trail of kisses before I bite down just under his ear, where he’s sensitive.

I suck his neck to perfection, only pulling away when I know there will be a mark left for everyone to see.

“Baby, I’ll never let anyone else have you,” I tell him before I pull away again and knock on Violet’s door.

Officer Kind has had enough of her time.