Trapped (Bullied Book 4) (Bullied Series) Vera Hollins (best large ereader txt) 📖

the one who should say that. Look at me. I’m all whiny and crying when you went through a lot worse—”

“Hey.” He made me look at him and smiled softly. “Don’t worry about me. You can cry all you want.” He ran his thumb over my cheek. “I’ll be here to take care of you.”

His words opened the dam, and I couldn’t stop myself from bursting into more tears. I cried and cried as he slowly rocked me in his arms, all that fear, pain, anxiety, and stress flowing out of me. It was over. That horror was over.

My tears had long stopped and dried, but he didn’t let go of me. Peace unlike ever before took over me. I wasn’t going to break. He wasn’t going to die.

“I was so worried about you,” he said. “I was scared shitless when Isaac went to find you, but I couldn’t do anything to stop him, because Lawrence had pinned me against the floor.”

I leaned back to look at him. “What happened there? With Lawrence?”

“He tried to take my knife, but then Bobby Q pulled out his gun, and I knew I had to act fast if I didn’t want to end up dead. I had to use my knife. It was the only way for me to free myself and fight back before Bobby Q killed me. You saw the rest. What happened with Isaac?”

I took a deep breath and told him how I’d used the rope to defend myself. “I was afraid I’d killed him, Blake. I was afraid I’d gone too far.”

He observed me with awe, a small smile flickering across his lips. “But you didn’t. You just defended yourself. You did nothing wrong.” He took my hand and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to my palm that I could feel all the way through my body. “I’m so proud of you, Jessie. You were so strong back there.”

My chest inflated at the look in his eyes. It felt like I was dreaming, only this time there were no nightmares. Just sweet dreams, which fueled me with hope that tomorrow would be a new day, a better day.

I leaned in and touched my lips to his. This time our kiss was slow and sweet, our lips brushing against each other softly, and I savored the moment.

I was warm all over when I pulled away. “You saved my life. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for what you’ve done for me.”

He planted a small kiss on my forehead. “There’s no need to. I would do it again.”

He would do it again. I just looked at him, the depths of his searing gray eyes pulling me in. How things had changed between us. From enemies to this. From a person I feared and hated the most to the person I loved and needed the most. I wanted him to know how he made me feel. I wanted him to know I was okay with our past. I wanted to tell him everything.

“I love you,” I started. “All this time I was fighting against it, against the pull, but I couldn’t beat it. I thought I was going to finish school, leave Enfield, and forget about you, but I don’t want to forget about you. I don’t want to be away from you.

“I’ve let go of our past. I was holding grudges all this time and reminding myself how bad you were, but you’ve changed, and what you did for me in that house…no, from the moment you stepped in front of Isaac’s gun to protect me in the school parking lot—I’ll never forget it. And now I just want to be next to you and love you. I just want to make you happy. And I…” I placed my hand on his cheek and ran my thumb softly over one of the cuts that marred his cheek. “I forgive you. For everything.”

His eyes darted between mine as he studied me quietly with no smile on his face, and the prolonged silence played with my nerves.

“Say something,” I let out on a breathless chuckle.

“It took you a while,” he said with a smirk and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I raised my eyebrows as the faint blush coated my cheeks, but then his gaze softened.

“That’s okay. It took me a while too.” He leaned in and pulled my lower lip between his, tugging at it once before he kissed it. “It took me a while and that fucking gun aimed at your head to realize you’re the most important thing to me. Nothing matters but you.” He laced his fingers through my hair. “All this time I was so stuck on my past I didn’t even see I was missing out.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “I was missing out on the best thing that has happened to me, and I almost lost it. I almost lost you.” He nuzzled my nose. “But not anymore. I’m not leaving you. Ever.”

A sweet ache nestled in my chest as warmth and happiness claimed each inch of me. A happy melody formed in my mind, playing out in a quick tempo that matched my fast heartbeat. I couldn’t look away from his eyes that spoke so much to me, feeling the warmth that helped dispel the ever-crushing feeling of his death. He was here; he was alive. Not dead. Not anymore.

Too overwhelmed by my feelings for him, I pressed my lips against his and gripped him by his hospital gown. I felt like no kiss would ever be enough. I was going to kiss him again and again, day after day, and shower him with the love my heart begged me to give him.

“Thank you for forgiving me,” he said in between kisses. “Thank you for being the person you are.”

He held me by the back of my head and deepened our kiss, and it was all I’d ever needed and much more.

“You got under my skin, Jessie, and I love every