In Their Arms

CHAPTER EIGHT

EIGHT

HOLLAND

Kara sits quietly during the ride home. Every now and then she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth to chew on it but that's the only outward sign of anything. She's good at being closed off. 

It was by pure coincidence that I'd seen her walking down the sidewalk. We'd been trying to catch her so we could talk to her and have Tyler apologize but she was slippery when she didn't want to be messed with.

I knew she'd be standoffish but watching her in the thrift store earlier had been both nerve-wracking and hilarious. I'm just happy she got in the car, even if it was with a small bribe and a blindside of a family dinner. 

I pull into a coffee shop with a drive thru and we only have one car in front of us. 

“What would you like?” I ask. 

“A caramel macchiato please. The largest one they have.”

“Can do, babe.” 

Soon the other car is pulling away and I’m placing our order, her macchiato and my own simple black coffee.

“Nothing for the others?” She asks softly.

“Nah, this is a you and I treat. Plus, they’re getting dinner stuff ready so they’ll be picking.”

“Should we be there to help? I don’t want them to think I’m taking advantage of them.” Her tone changes when she says advantage. 

I reach over, grabbing her chin and angling her face towards me. She has her eyes trained downwards so I wait until she reluctantly lifts them to meet my own gaze.

“I don’t know what was said, exactly, by Tyler but whatever it was came from a place of drunken depression and a need to lash out at anyone standing by. It doesn’t excuse the behavior but he’s got his own demons that like to come out and play sometimes. The guys and I are more used to dealing with it and we know not to take any of it personally. That situation will be rectified in good time but until then, let’s get something straight. You have not, nor will you be anytime in the foreseeable future, a burden. If we don’t want to do something, we simply don’t. There’s nothing for you to take advantage of because we’re not weak willed men. You’ve lived with us for a while now. We know you and we know that you’d rather hole up in your room eating God awful noodles than to accept a three dollar burger from a drive thru.”

“That will be fourteen seventy five, sir.” The guy who took our order chips happily as the smell of freshly made coffee fills my car.

“Do you understand me, Kara?” I tighten my hand on her chin softly, refusing to look away until I get the answer I want.

“Yes.” She breathes out in a gentle puff of air. I can’t help the smirk that pulls my lips upwards as I see her pupils dilate. 

“Good.” Letting her go I turn and hand the guy a twenty. “Keep the change.”

“Thank you, sir. Any extra napkins?”

“No, just our drinks.”

Kara stays quiet as I place our coffees in the cup holders. She watches me as I open her straw and place it in her drink for her, a small smile curving her lips upwards. As I drive off she grabs it, takes a deep sip and sighs happily. 

“Thank you, Holland.” 

“Anytime.”

We're both silent the rest of the way home but it's a comfortable one. I turn the vehicle off and we exit at the same time, both of us opening the back doors to grab her bags. Her cup is empty, hanging limply in her free hand, so I snag it and toss both of our cups out. I make sure to hold the door open for her, which has a small smile appearing as we get into the old elevator. 

It whines as it starts to move and I can't help how my hands clench. The thought of being trapped in this small, shit box has chills going over my entire body in waves. I take a deep breath as I imagine the walls closing in on me so I begin to count the seconds until we're on our floor. 

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seve-

“I took Atti to the vet last week and they think she's about a year old. The vet checked her over and she seems healthy. She got her shots, something she was extremely offended by, and the vet thinks she's been spayed already. There's not a tattoo but he said it feels like there's some scar tissue.” Kara says cutting my train of thought off. 

“I told you I'd help to pay for that.”

“Nonsense, Holland. Atti is my cat so I can take care of her. Plus,” she waves her hand at me when I open my mouth. “I've picked up some extra shifts the last few weeks and that on top of being bumped to a waitress has made things easier on me financially.”

I had noticed her working more, something I wasn't happy about. Especially since she worked late hours and some nights we couldn't be there to give her a ride home. To be honest, we've been there a few times these past weeks and she's acted like we were invisible. Kent had to practically hunt her down at one point because we couldn't find her. Grant had to threaten to carry her to the car at one point because she’d told him that she had two good legs and could walk just fine. That was a tense ride. Other than those few situations, we had to get all of our information from her coworkers. 

One of them, Hannah I think she said her name was, made sure to talk shit about Kara every time we asked how she was doing. At one point Grant looked at her and told her to get the hell away from him. Kent went so far as to speak to the owner last night after Kara was done with her shift and from what I heard, Hannah would be lucky if she still has a job soon.

“Besides, it’s not your responsibility to care for her when I’m the one who brought her into the house. I think Kent still thinks she doesn’t have a litter box, which is insane by the way. I caught him whispering to her to pee in Tyler’s closet if she needed to go in between me letting her outside.” 

The elevator stops with a sharp motion that has my stomach clenching. Kara grabs my hand and shoves me in front of her so I’m the first one out. I pause to look back at her but she’s so close that she doesn’t stop in time. She rams into my back and my stomach clenches down for an entirely different reason as her tits smash against me. 

“What the hell, Holland?” Her voice is muffled and I can’t help but laugh at her.

“Come on, Kara.” I grab her hand and we make the short walk to our apartment.

Before stepping inside I can already smell food and my stomach rumbles.

“Someone’s hungry.” Kara comments, earning a grunt from me.

I open the door and make sure she’s in before closing and locking it up behind us. I follow her as she makes her way to her room and lay her bags down on her bed. I notice she’s gotten new sheets but her bed is still on the floor, something that I want to fix immediately.

“Get settled and come out front, dinner should be ready soon.” I walk so that I’m right in front of her and when she looks up at me, I take the time to study her face. 

Her eyes are striking, the rich green color seems to always be shifting from light to dark depending on her mood and what she’s wearing. Her hair is piled up in a messy bun on top of her head with small chunks hanging down to frame her face and neck giving her that natural, comfortable look so many women try to do. On her it’s perfection. Her nose is slender with a few freckles here and there and her lips are a soft pink that I find myself thing about a little too much these days. 

“Holland?” She asks softly when I don’t say anything.

“I just want you to know that I had a great time with you this afternoon, even if you were a brat.” I lean down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Don’t keep us waiting or we’ll send Tyler in to get you.”

I turn to walk away with her huff of annoyance directed at my back.