Текст книги "Dominic"

Автор книги: L.A. Casey

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

I searched the strange faces until my eyes landed on someone I knew.

Alec?

I continued to look to the right and saw Kane and Damien. I nearly fell over when I spotted Dominic smirking at me. I glared at him before continuing to look to the right, and when I spotted my sister, sat on Ryder's lap, I screamed.

This could not be happening!

"No! No fuckin' way, get up, now!" I bellowed.

Branna dropped her jaw; Ryder sighed when he saw me while the rest of the table either snorted or looked at me like I was mental.

"Bronagh, don't be so rude. This is Ryder, I was goin' to introduce-"

"Fuck that, you are literally sat with the enemy. That is Dominic! The lad who you are all but dry humpin' up is his brother!" I growled and pointed to the smug-looking American bastard.

Branna widened her eyes. "Wait Nico is Dominic? That Dominic kid that tried to-"

"Yeah!" I snapped, cutting Branna off.

Branna was like Muhammed Ali when she reached out and punched Dominic; it was so fast, none of us had time to react. Dominic's head snapped to the side, but he turned his head back just as fast to glare at Branna. Ryder jumped up, and all but pushed her off him like she was dirt, and that enraged me.

"Don't fuckin' push me sister, you big bastard!" I snapped and tried to hit Ryder, but he ducked out of my reach.

"Get lost Branna, we're done," Ryder then hissed to Branna, clearly mad that she hit his little brother.

Branna laughed as she grabbed my hand. "Believe me, sweetie, I'm goin'. I'd kill your pervy little brother for doin' what he did to me little sister otherwise!" she growled.

I didn't get a chance to give Dominic the finger again or even rat off an insult in farewell because Branna pulled me away with her.

I hugged her when we were back at the dance floor. "Holy shite, Bran, you were amazin'. You punched Dominic in the face; I'm so jealous!" I gushed in awe and delight.

Branna smiled and hugged me tightly. "Nobody messes with my sister, especially not a pretty little batty boy."

She was brilliant, she seriously was!

I was about to ask her how she knew Ryder, but she cut me off by shouting, "Now, let's dance!"

I didn't need to be told twice; I let Branna lead me into the crowd of swaying bodies. I was a little nervous at first, but I literally just let go along with Branna, shoved my hands in the air, and got lost in the music. It was so much fun, possibly the most fun I had ever had.

I knew I needed to get out more, but this, being here right now, was a huge step from hiding behind my Kindle at home or behind my iTouch at school. It was progress, and I was happy about it.

After five songs and some serious carefree dancing, Branna and I were parched. She ordered me a small vodka and Coke because I didn't feel any drunken effects from the three glasses of WKD that I had already drunk. She was pretty buzzed by the time she finished her fifth glass of vodka and Coke. I was still on my first one, because it tasted strong; I was sipping it every few minutes instead of gulping it down like I did with the WKD.

Branna and I were laughing at a joke she told when lights from our right suddenly lit up the darkened side of the club, earning loud cheers and screams. The majority of the dance floor and bar area emptied as everyone ran towards the lights. I focused my eyes and noticed there was a round platform up a few feet in the air in the centre of the now lit up area. A single black line went around the edges of the circled platform that looked important, so I asked Branna what it was.

"It's just showin' the no cross point of the circle. If a fighter gets knocked out of it, it's an automatic knockout. It's a pretty big circle, so no strong fighter ever falls off; it's usually the weak fighters who get beat up so bad they unknowingly move backward makin' it easier for them to be knocked off," Branna explained.

I widened my eyes and pointed. "What about the people standin' around the platform?" I questioned.

Branna snorted. "They usually move back quick enough to avoid a body landin' on top of them."

I gasped. "That's horrible!"

"That's the sport." Branna shrugged. "It's a mixture of different things, the main things being hot, sexy, sweaty, dangerous, fierce men-"

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, making Branna chuckle.

"Ladies and gents, welcome to Darkness!" A deep voice suddenly blared through the speakers around the club where music was playing just seconds ago.

The voice caused loud cheers to erupt around the club.

"It's Friday night here at Darkness and you all know what that means…"

"Fight Night!" The crowd that surrounded the platform screamed out in answer, making the deep voice chuckle through the speakers.

"That's right, it's Fight Night, but tonight is a little different. Instead of our usual three fights, tonight we have four."

More cheers.

"The first two lads up are still newcomers so go easy on them, because they sure as hell won't go easy on each other. They have both fought a few of times over the past few weeks so you may recognise them."

Cheers and screams came from next to me, causing me to roll my eyes; Branna was so into this.

"Make way for our new boys, you all get to choose their fight names durin' the fight tonight so for now, welcome Nico and Drake!"

I widened my eyes.

No.

No fucking way!

"Bronagh, it's Nico, your Nico!" Branna gasped.

My Nico?

What the fuck?

"He isn't mine!" I bit out.

Branna waved me off because she was watching the show, so I turned to look as well and watched as Dominic pulled himself up onto the platform and sort of bounced on his feet while he shook his limbs out. He was shirtless, and even though I hated him with a passion, my mind automatically flashed back to when that shirtless body was pressed against mine, making me shudder before shaking my head and the thoughts away.

I studied the rest of Dominic; he had on black shorts that ended a little above the knee, and wore padded fingerless gloves. His hair was pushed back out of his face; I guessed there was some gel in it now because it stayed the way it was pushed back, making it look messy.

I widened my eyes as I got sight of his right arm and back when he bounced around. I had seen his back in his room when I was running away from him, and it was only partial curled at the shoulder with a tribal tattoo. Now, though, there was more detail on his shoulder, and his sleeve was complete.

"Nice tat," Branna mused.

I growled, "We hate him, remember?"

She shrugged. "Yeah but that doesn't mean we can't say he has a nice tattoo, because he does."

I huffed. "It's new, the sleeve wasn't complete a few weeks ago."

Branna side looked at me. "Yeah, you got a good look at his body back then, didn't you?"

I growled at her, making her laugh as she reached for her vodka and Coke. I reached for my own and gulped it down. I welcomed the burning in my throat and chest since it took my mind off Dominic. Well, until I looked back up at him that is.

I blew out a breath when another lad the same height and build climbed up on the platform. He was wearing the same thing as Dominic except his shorts and gloves were a dark blue.

"That Drake kid is hot," Branna gushed.

I looked him over and agreed with her; he was hot. He had a sexy lean body, blond hair, and I could only guess that he had pretty blue eyes to match.

"Here we go," Branna beamed as she pulled me from my seat and towards the crowd.

I went with her without protest and laughed when she screamed, "Kill him, Drake!"

Drake heard this and grinned around his mouth guard, while Dominic quickly glanced down. And out of everyone, he made eye contact with me and glared like he thought I had said that to Drake.

Whatever, I was thinking it.

Dominic returned his focus to Drake and attacked him when a loud beep sounded. I gasped when Dominic landed a solid punch to Drake's face; it reminded me of when he beat up Jason and Gavin. How he fought then should have given me some indication that he did this a lot, and the fact that he rolled into school some days with bruises on his face and swollen bits of flesh everywhere. But it didn't, which was why I was still surprised to be watching him in action now.

"Come on, Drake!" I cheered, making Branna whoop and some people around us chuckle.

There was a low chant of Drake that somehow turned into The Destroyer, and that got the announcer's attention.

"Seems as though Drake has got his fighting nickname, he is The Destroyer," the voice boomed getting loud screams in return.

We started to chant 'The Destroyer'.

Drake seemed to get a boost of confidence from our chanting because he speared Dominic to the ground and began pounding on him.

"Woohoo," I cheered and clapped my hands together.

Every punch Drake landed on Dominic, in my mind, was payback for all the bullshit he had put me through since he first started school with his brother.

My smile was wiped from my face when Dominic got his leg up under Drake and kicked his body off him. Dominic jumped to his feet and kicked Drake to the floor when he tried to stand back up. Dominic pounced on him then and unleashed a series of bullet fast punches to Drake's guarded head and unguarded chest and stomach. I had seen him like this before when he fought with Gavin in school, it was like he lost it completely and went crazy with punches and other hits.

"Whoa! Nico is goin' on a bit of a rampage here, this might be over quick folks!" the voice stated.

The chant 'Rampage' was heard then, and I instantly knew that was going to be Dominic's fight nickname. It made me scowl, because it was a good nickname that suited him.

I glared hard at Dominic's back that was now covered in a layer of sweat. One punch later, and the same beep that started the fight, ended it.

Dominic got off Drake and turned his body in my direction; his eyes found me, and he glared hard at me while smirking at my shocked expression. I couldn't believe he just destroyed The Destroyer!

"Rampage wins; The Destroyer cannot continue. Give it up for, RAMPAGE!"

I scoffed while everyone around me went crazy; Dominic lifted his arms above his head in victory as he continued to smirk down at me.

I gave him the finger and mouthed, "Fuck you!"

He winked at me, which I scoffed at again then turned to Branna, who was looking between myself and Dominic with wide eyes.

"What?" I asked her.

"He purposely looked at you after he kicked the shite outta that lad. I think he has a thing for you."

I rolled my eyes. "He just wanted to make sure I saw him win. He is a cocky bastard like that," I assured her to which she shrugged in response.

When Dominic and a battered Drake got down from the platform, the voice announced two more fighters that looked older than Dominic and Drake. It continued like this for two more fights until all the fights were over. I was shocked that I was cheering and screaming when whoever I was rooting for won or lost. It was exciting in a twisted sort of way; I mean I was getting enjoyment out of lads kicking the shite out of each other but so was everyone else here. I wasn't alone; they were all just as sick and twisted as me.

When the fights were over, it was past two in the morning because aside from Dominic's fight, there were no knockouts until twenty minutes or more into each fight. Yeah, that's right, these things actually went on that long.

My vision was making me see double and my head was dizzy so I got a glass of water from the bartender before Branna and I started to leave. I came to the conclusion that I was drunk when I fell walking up the stairs of Darkness and then burst out laughing. Branna was drunk as well, but she seemed to be walking fine and only laughing a little when I did or said something stupid.

"Come on, let's get home," Branna announced when we got outside.

I waved to Skull, who didn't look so much like a serial killer to me anymore with his smiling, happy face. "That was deadly!" I shouted to him.

He laughed and waved. "Get home safe, ladies."

"We will." Branna waved back to him.

Branna had her arm around me as we walked down the path with people in front and behind us.

"Hey babe," a voice said from my left.

I looked to the voice and instantly beamed.

"Drake!" I shouted. "You're The Destroyer! I saw you fight tonight; you were deadly!"

His face was pretty busted up but he was still smiling, which meant he couldn't be hurting that bad. "I got me arse handed to me but thanks, I'll get better once I get a decent practice routine."

I nodded my head. "I bet you will."

He grinned at me and glanced to Branna. "Do you and your friend wanna come to a party?"

Branna perked up. "A party? Where?" she asked making Drake chuckle.

"In Upton, Nico is havin' a party to celebrate his win tonight."

I instantly scowled. "We can't go."

Drake frowned. "Why?" he asked.

"Because Dominic and I hate each other plus me sister here punched him in the face earlier tonight so we won't be invited," I snorted then cracked up when Branna cackled when she remembered what she did.

"I'm sure Nico won't mind you comin'," Drake continued as his eyes flicked over my shoulder.

I was chuckling now. "No, seriously, he would mind a lot."

"I wouldn't mind at all, pretty girl."

I froze.

Why did he appear at the most unnecessary times?

Seriously, he was like fucking herpes.

"Go fuck yourself, Dominic."

Drake raised his eyebrows as he looked over my shoulder and asked, "She your misses, man?"

I erupted into laughter like what he said was the funniest thing ever.

"His misses? In his fuckin' dreams-"

"Yeah, she's mine."

Drake nodded his head, though he didn't look happy anymore. "I'll catch you around then, babe. See you back at yours, man."

"Yeah bro, later."

I spun around, taking Branna with me, to face Dominic… and all his brothers.

I glared at all of them, except Damien, and then lifted my free hand that wasn't wrapped around Branna and pointed it into Dominic's red and slightly swollen face while he folded his arms across his chest and looked at me with a raised eyebrow and smirk playing on his swollen lips.

"Listen here, y-you little cock suckin' cunt, I am not yours. I am n-not anythin' to you and if you so much as hint t-that I am again, I'll kick the shite outta you and then stab you in the e-eye with a pen-"

I cut myself off when I heard Branna heave and felt her body droop.

"No Branna, don't do this. Don't you p-puke on me or die, I can't carry you home; I'm w-weak as shite!"

When I heard the lads laugh, I looked up and growled.

"Fuck all of you, except you Damien, you're n-nice," I said, making Damien laugh and Dominic growl.

"Give me her, I'll carry her back to the house."

I looked at Ryder when he spoke. "Eh, no, she thinks you're a p-prick – as do I – and will punch you if she realises you're w-with her."

Ryder smirked and looked down to Branna as he said, "I'll take my chances."

I rolled my eyes and swayed a little because the movement made me feel dizzy again.

"I got you."

I felt the weight of Branna's body leave my arms, and I forced my eyes open and glared at the silver ones staring down at me. "Let. Me. Go," I growled.

"Okay," Dominic said and let me go, only to grab me again when my knees buckled from under me.

He laughed as he lifted me up and held me against his hard body. "Looks like you need me, pretty girl."

I hated when he called me that, it was a stupid nickname.

"I don't even look p-pretty," I replied, groggily overlooking the comment about me needing him, there was no way in hell I would admit to that. Ever.

Dominic's reply was a chuckle as he hoisted me into his arms and carried me off somewhere. My last coherent thought before everything went black was that Dominic was going to cut me and my sister up into little pieces, and his brothers would help.

Except Damien, because he was nice.

Pain.

That was all I could feel in my head and body as I blinked my eyes open only to squeeze them shut seconds later. It wasn't bright; my room was actually dark indicating the curtains were pulled, so that wasn't what hurt my head. No, the pounding in my head was caused by my own doing, and the nasty taste in my mouth pretty much confirmed I did this to myself.

Alcohol, I thought, and almost wished bad things upon Branna for taking me out last night.

I relaxed into my bed, stirring a little but carefully sat up.

"Branna?" I called.

The last thing I remembered from last night was Ryder offering to help me with her. I remembered Dominic talking to me but then things went black.

"Lie back down, I wasn't done cuddling that body of yours yet," a husky male voice said, making me scream at the top of my lungs.

I scrambled off my bed only to fall from the bed and land arse first on the floor. I cried out in pain but quickly got to my feet with my arms raised ready to fight off my attacker.

"Are you actually planning to fight me with your eyes closed?" the voice asked, sounding amused now.

I forced my eyes to fully open, and when they landed on the owner of the voice, I gasped and then screamed again.

"What… what am I… what am I-"

"You're currently stuttering which is making it hard to understand you. Your accent is thick as it is, add stuttering to the loop, and you're practically speaking Chinese."

I was offended.

"Fuck you," I snapped. "What am I doin' here? In your house, in your room, in your fuckin' bed?"

Dominic grinned, and my stomach lurched at the sight.

"Please, don't tell me we… we… did… it."

"It? What would it be, pretty girl?" Dominic asked as he raised both his hands behind his head and grinned at me.

I hated that my eyes flicked down to his chest; I could see his arm muscles flex as they were raised behind his head and also the tattoo that curled from around his back onto the side of his waist, up to his shoulder and down his right arm.

"Enjoying the view?"

I snapped my eyes up to Dominic's and glared. "Did we have sex?" I growled.

Dominic fully smiled. "No, we didn't. If we did, you would remember it because you would have been fully sober during it."

I let out a huge breath of relief.

I didn't have sex with him, thank God.

"Thank you, Jesus," I said to the heavens then looked back down and snarled at Dominic, who was sizing me up with his eyes.

"How dare you put me in your bed when I wasn't in me right mind? How fuckin' dare you-"

"How dare I?" Dominic suddenly snapped and jumped from the bed to his feet and stalked towards me.

I was pissed at him, but I noticed he was in just his boxers and that he had a couple of bruises on his chest, shoulders, and his face. They were all obviously from the fight last night.

"You were the one who was so drunk she couldn't stand. You were trying to help your sister when you could barely stand yourself. And just so you know, bitch, you wanted in my bed instead of partying downstairs with everyone else. You told me you wanted me to sleep with you and hold you. You asked for that, not fucking me."

I was wide-eyed by the time he finished speaking; my throat felt a little dry as I swallowed.

"I don't believe you-"

"Well, you better start because it's true!" he growled as he got in my space and lowered his head to mine, scaring the crap out of me.

"I was drunk, so that's why I said whatever I did last night. I can't remember it so it didn't happen-"

"It happened, and you liked it. You fucking purred when I cuddled you."

I purred?

What the fuck did he think I was, a cat?

"Humans don't purr-"

"Baby, you made a rumbling purr sound because you were so relaxed and content in my arms. Whether you like it or not, you enjoyed sleeping with me!"

I narrowed my eyes to slits. "I was drunk."

"That's your excuse? You acted like you did because you were drunk?"

Eh, yes!

"Obviously, Dominic, I can't stand you so I would have to be drunk out of me mind to willingly crawl into your bed and want you to touch me!"

His silver eyes flared.

"Fuck you, Bronagh, you're being a real cunt-"

I punched him, directly in the face. I surprised myself with my sudden action of violence, but I couldn't stop it.

No motherfucker called me a cunt!

I didn't even care if he hit me back, it wouldn't be about a male hitting a female because at this stage I put my hands on him more than any person should to another person, but this prick asked for it.

I turned to storm out of Dominic's room, but a hand gripping my hair hard and an arm came around my waist, halting my movements.

"Let me go!" I shouted, my hands flying to grab the hand on my hair.

"No," he growled in my ear, "because you hit me again."

"You called me a cunt, so I don't give a flyin' fuck!" I screamed.

His teeth, yes, his teeth, latched onto my neck and bit down. I knew it wouldn't have been hard enough to break the skin, but it hurt; it hurt a fucking lot.

I screamed again and swung my hands back, punching at any piece of him I could hit.

"I'll kill you!" I swore.

He suddenly released me with his mouth and hands, so I swirled around and literally jumped on him with my hands swinging.

We collided and fell back onto his bed; I was on top for about three seconds before Dominic rolled us over and pinned me under him. I was acutely aware that I was in just my dress from last night, and it had risen up to the very top of my thighs showing off my underwear and bare thighs.

"Blue lacy? I would have pegged you for the granny type of panties-"

"Get off!" I screamed and tried to kick him since he had my arms pinned down, but he pressed himself between my legs to stop me from hurting him that way.

"Calm down, you aren't doing any good acting like a psychopathic bitch-"

"Oh, my God, do you know anythin' about women or people in general? Don't insult someone when tryin' to calm them down because it has the opposite effect you fuckin' retard!"

I ignored the fact that I should take my own advice because Dominic was just as mad as me right now and calling him names wouldn't make him any happier.

He shook his head, hissing at me. "I could honestly throttle you right now, you're un-fucking-real!"

"If it wasn't illegal, I'd murder you!" I snarled back.

Dominic's lip curled then before he shook his head and chuckled lightly. "Right back at ya, pretty girl."

I growled, and he glared back at me.

He lowered his head down to mine, and I held my breath when the tip of his nose touched mine, making my heart pound into my chest.

"I hate you!" I forced out.

Dominic's left eye twitched. "I hate you, too."

He then slammed his mouth down to mine and kissed me with a hunger and intensity that surprised me.

I fluttered my eyes closed and tried to squeeze my legs together because the shivers I was currently experiencing were shooting straight down to one location. The fact that Dominic was between my legs only made my legs squeeze his hips making him growl down at me.

My hips bucked forward into his.

I hated him so much for making my body react this way to him. I hated him even more when I opened my mouth to him and kissed him back, hard!

"You drive me fucking crazy," he growled into my mouth.

Back at you, mate!

He released my pinned hands and put his weight on his elbows as he leaned over me. I should have used my hands to push him off me or to claw at his face or something along those lines, but I didn't. I did a stupid thing and put my arms around his neck and pulled his head as close to mine as I could.

We kissed each other, and it was an exact replay of the scene from the last time in his bedroom. He had me on my back, on his bed, ready to give him something that wasn't his to take.

"Bronagh?" I heard Branna's voice shout loudly, then she started banging on Dominic's door.

Dominic groaned into my mouth, and then growled when I pulled away from him.

"We're busy!" Dominic shouted.

Whoever was outside with Branna laughed then yelped.

"Get away from me sister you pervy little fucker or I'll end you!" she bellowed.

I pushed at Dominic. "Get off me," I breathed.

He did, so I quickly stood up and fixed my dress. I grabbed my bag that was on the floor and looked around for my shoes, but I couldn't find them, so I just rushed over to Dominic's door and opened it.

"I can't remember anythin' or how I got up here, but I didn't do anythin' with him; I swear!" I gushed to Branna who looked as bad as I felt.

She looked me over, and her eyes landed on my neck and her face turned red.

"You better not have touched her without permission-"

"I didn't! I'm not a fucking rapist!"

Branna growled. "You better not be because I'll fuckin' rape you if you harmed her in any way!"

Dominic's smirk was enough to put me back in a bad mood with him.

"You can rape me anytime you want, gorgeous."

I gasped.

The fucking prick!

"You're a prick!" I snapped.

He flicked his eyes to me and rolled them while sighing. "I'm kidding, don't be mad at me for that. I prefer you over your sister even though she is smoking hot."

Was that meant to be a compliment or something?

"Piss off, Dominic."

I turned to Branna and grabbed her hand. "We're leavin'!"

She nodded then looked back to the figure behind her. "Move!" she snapped to him.

"I'm not letting you leave until you hear me out!" Ryder said in a firm voice.

I scoffed. "You can't keep her here, arsehole."

He flicked his eyes to me and narrowed them. I sort of moved behind Branna because it was only then that I realised how much bigger he was than me; he was even bigger than Dominic.

"Don't look at me sister like that, do you hear me? You're scaring her!" Branna shouted.

Ryder scrubbed his face with his hands. "Bran, baby, I didn't know Bronagh was your sister. You called her Bee when you talked about her. If I had known who she was I would have told you, so you didn't look at me like you did last night."

I widened my eyes.

They knew each other?

"Hold up, rewind and freeze. Branna… are you seein' him?" I asked, blatant shock laced in my tone.

She looked to me and frowned. "I wasn't keepin' it from you, sweetie. I met him at Darkness a few weeks ago when he was there with Alec and Kane. We hit it off and went on some dates since then; I wasn't goin' to tell you about him until I was sure about him. I know how you feel about people, and I didn't want to bring him around unless I was sure he was goin' to stick around." She cut her eyes to Ryder then, and he was looking at her with such intensity that I gasped.

"What is your deal with people, Bronagh?" Dominic's voice asked from behind me, making me tense up.

Branna felt my hand grip hers so she looked at Dominic. "It's none of your business," she snapped then looked back to Ryder. "I'm not doin' this to her; she doesn't like you, and that means it won't work between us."

Ryder looked beyond mad as he reached for her and pulled her away from me so they could talk in private, but it was pointless because I could still hear everything that was said.

"You can't just dump me because you sister doesn't like getting close to people, Branna. I really like you, and I care about you a lot. I know you feel the same way about me. I don't want to end this; I want you to be my girl. We can take things slow; I won't press Bronagh out of her comfort zone but please don't give up on me, on us."

My heart broke for him; I didn't know he and Branna had a thing. I thought he just pulled her last night when I found her sitting on his lap at the table, but I guess they were sort of a couple, and that's why they were sat the way they were. It made sense when I thought about how Branna said she wanted to introduce me to Ryder before I cut her off in the club last night. Things had clearly escalated since then because they weren't smiling and acting all loved up with each other anymore like they were before all hell broke loose last night. They had obviously fought over me and Dominic, and that made me feel like crap. They shouldn't not be together because of us or more importantly because of me.

"Branna," I mumbled.

She looked at me, tears in her eyes.

She clearly felt the same way about Ryder; she didn't want to break up with him, and I didn't want her to.

"Don't break up with him. I'll… I'll try harder for you; I promise," I said, lowering my head.

Branna cried then and said, "Baby, you don't have to try for me. Try for yourself, this outlook you have isn't healthy. I want you to let other people in; you can't only have me in your life. If anythin' ever happened to me, you would be all alone, and that terrifies me Bee, more than anythin'."

I nodded my head; I knew it was weird to only limit myself to one person in my life but I was afraid to allow anyone else to become a part of my life simply because I knew they could leave as quick as they entered, and I hated the worry that came with that.

"Okay, I'll try harder. I promise." I nodded my head.

She kissed my cheek and hugged me tight. When we pulled apart, I looked at Ryder and awkwardly met his gaze.

"Sorry for causin' trouble for you, Ryder."

He smiled at me. "I think you just saved me a lot of trouble, Bronagh."

I smiled a little at him then, because when he looked at Branna, he looked really happy.

I couldn't believe I didn't know about him.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about him. You usually can't keep shite to yourself, so how you didn't let on about him is beyond me."

Branna laughed, sniffled, then rubbed under her nose. "It was horrible. I wanted to tell you so many times but had to bite my lip or talk about somethin' random."

I chuckled. "So, you're both like a real couple? Boyfriend and girlfriend?"

They looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.

I snorted. "This should be interestin'."

Ryder looked to me. "Why is that?"

"Because she is a freak, and you will soon learn things about her that will have you runnin' for the hills. For example, she is an OCD cleaner and has multiple personalities. I'm not even jokin', she could be me sister one minute then me ma and da the next."

Branna slapped my arm while Ryder laughed.

"Why would she be your mom or dad?" Dominic asked from behind me.

I instantly looked down; I had forgotten he was there.

He just overheard all of that conversation.

Oh, my God.

"Our parents both died nine years ago, Nico, I've been her guardian since I turned nineteen. I took over raisin' her when our parents passed away, so she considers me her sister, her ma, and da all wrapped into one. Her memories with them are limited, because she was so young when they passed. She doesn't talk about them at all."