Ride Me | ✓ |

Part Thirty One

The Truth and Big L
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Harley Finley

Once I pulled up to my driveway I hadn't seen in what felt like a lifetime, I helped Chloe out of the car. She waddled up the small hill, holding her back with one hand and a few bags of leftover snacks in the other while I held the case of beer she insisted on getting.

I looked around to see Mrs. Darcy, my downstairs neighbor, sitting on her porch swing with a book in her hand and her glasses pushed all the way to her nose. Her wrinkled face scrunched with a smile as she lifted herself with her cane and watched us approach.

I gave her a gentle wave, in an attempt to get out of one of her deathly tight hugs.

"Hi, Mrs. Darcy. This is Chloe." I practically yelled, reminding myself she was legally deaf.

"Harley, hunny! Where have you been?! Who's this beautiful woman?" She asked in her sweet grandma voice.

"Oh, dear god." I grumbled under my breath, being sure not to move my lips too much. "This is Chloe!" I screamed, gaining a nod of understanding from the old woman in front of us. "I was visiting family!"

"Oh, how nice! Well it's good to have you back. Nice to meet you Chloe!"

"You too." Chloe smiled but I could tell she was physically exhausted from the drive.

"What?" Mrs. Darcy screamed as a response.

"It's been a long drive! I'll talk to you tomorrow!" I yelled and guided Chloe up the stairs that led to my apartment.

"Keep going before she starts talking about her twenty cats." I hushed, taking the bags from Chloe so she could hold onto the railing.

I fumbled with my keys, trying to rush into the apartment. It felt like eternity before I was pushing the door open and slamming it shut behind us, locking the top, bottom and deadbolt before allowing my body to ease into the floor. A stressed, harsh exhale left me as I looked to Chloe plopping down on my couch with her stomach in her hands.

"What exactly did Elijah say on the phone?" I asked her, not able to stop my hands from shaking or my heart from racing.

"He said to come straight here and lock all the doors and windows." She breathed a shaky breath.

"Fuck, this stress isn't good for you." I quickly stood to my feet, making sure every single window was locked and curtain was drawn before kneeling in front of her. "What can I do to help, Chloe?"

"Harley, I'm okay. I think I just need sit and calm down." She huffed. "He said they want to use you to keep the bloodline going. What is going on?!"

"I don't know." I lied. After Elijah had said that, I knew what it all meant.

Or at least some of it. It was all beginning to click in my mind like a puzzle piece.

"Do you want to lay down in my bed? I'll get you new sheets." I offered but Chloe declined. Instead she spread out on the couch and accepted the blanket I had placed over her.

I turned on the TV and handed her the remote before excusing myself and hiding in the bathroom with a paper and pen.

My mind was racing just as fast as my heart. I couldn't breathe. I felt cornered, trapped even. My whole life, my whole existence was a lie.

So I jotted down my thoughts in quick scribbles.

Mom - Cult
Bloodline - sex rituals
Drew x Harley -

"Fuck!" I cursed in a whisper, tears lining my eyes.

"I'll make you spill all your family secrets." Drew had said to me. At the time I thought he meant that I knew them, when in all reality, he was the one who was playing me. I remember the excitement in his eyes when he first saw me, how he asked me on a date right away. Then the way he held me down, acting as if it were normal to fuck a woman like that.

Maybe it was normal for them.

I couldn't think straight anymore. Without even thinking I stripped off my clothing, my skin suddenly feeling dirtier than ever. I turned the water the hottest it would go, letting it burn my skin. My tears stained my cheeks, running down my body with the shower.

How could I have dated a man like that? How could I not see the signs? The overbearing, control freak ex boyfriend was the man this stupid cult had destined me with.

And my mother just let them.

A soft knock took me out of my self pity then the door creaked open, allowing the cool air from the rest of the house to infiltrate my self induced hell in the steaming shower.

"Chloe, I'll be out in a minute." I murmured with my raspy voice from softly sobbing the whole time I had been in here.

"Harley." His voice made everything disappear. All the heart ache and pain of my overthinking thoughts vanished.

"Angel." Colten murmured softly before pulling the shower curtain to the side. His brown eyes quickly looked me over, not sexually. I could see the worry mixed with a small amount of relief sinking into his facial features.

I couldn't even answer before he was stepping into the tub with me. Wrapping his still clothed body against mine. He tucked his face into my neck with a shaky breath as he held me tight. The water soaked into his jeans and shirt but he didn't care. All he did was hold me until I was breaking down in his arms. My heaving chest rubbed against the rough, wet fabric with every sob. My fingers ran through his now wet hair, clinging to him as I cried.

"You're okay. I got you. I'm here now. I won't let them get you." Colten kept cooing, over and over in a soft, sweet tone until the scorching hot water became luke warm.

"Colt." I gasped, breathing for the first time since he held me. "Someone was following us. I told Elijah but I couldn't get a hold of you."

"I know. I'm sorry." He pulled away, holding my face with his large hands by my cheeks. "I got his text when I stopped for gas. I was racing to get here even after I found out you made it safe. I checked, there's no one around but you did so good. You even got the license plate in the picture. You did everything you could have done."

"Fuck, Colten. I was so scared." I looked up to the ceiling, trying to hold back more of the sobs that wanted to escape me.

"Harley, look at me." He demanded, forcing my eyes to look into his as he rested his forehead to mine. "I won't let anything happen to you. Do you understand? They'll have to kill me before they even lay a finger on you."

I numbly nodded.

Colten pursed his lips. The first time seeing me in a complete downward spiral seemed to be hitting him just as hard as it was me. His eyes kept looking between my reddened cheeks, glossy eyes, and pouting lips. It didn't take long before he was leaning towards me, placing his mouth against mine in a sensual kiss. He pressed into me more until his nose was against my cheek and our teeth almost clattering together. He started pulling at his clothing, taking off the wet linen and tossing it into the sink, only breaking our embrace to yank his shirt over his head.

He curled his fingers under my thighs, bringing them both around his now naked torso. His perfectly sculpted chest pressed into my breasts, holding me up against the shower wall.

"Colten." I tried to scold him in a soft voice when his lips glided over my jaw bone, all the way to my ear.

He nibbled on my ear lobe, bringing his mouth over my neck.

"Shut up and let me love you." His voice cracked at the big 'L' word but I could tell he meant it. The way his breathing faltered and his heart raced against mine, I knew he meant it even if he didn't mean to say it.

***
A/N: it's almost 6am here and I'm getting ready for work. It sucks but you know what makes it a little better? Posting a chapter! :o

Good morning <3 The truth is now out. Most of it at least.

Until tomorrow, loves xx