The Unbreakable (Ghost #3)

Chapter 22

Blake

When I wake up it's already evening. I quickly check on Lia, but she's still asleep. She didn't wake up even once for those last hours and I'm happy to see that she can finally get some much needed rest. The last weeks have been a constant nightmare for her. As soon as she closed her eyes, she was tormented by her memories and it was painful to watch.

I get up from the bed, adjusting the duvet over my kitten with a kiss to her head, then go to the bathroom. Once I'm finished with my business, I decide to make myself some late dinner. But I just can't stop thinking about what happened today.

All of a sudden, Lia's biological mother shows up on our doorstep, accompanied by her three sons, who, apparently, are Lia's half-brothers. I don't really have any problems with the guys, they seemed to genuinely care about their little sister. But Anna... she unnerves me. She barely made herself known and she already wanted to tell my girl what to do. It was as if she thought Lia's still a kid that needs her mommy to guide her and not an adult.

And it pisses me off.

Lia is more mature than anyone I know and I hate it when people treat her like a kid. She went through hell and back quite a few times and it caused her to grow up faster than other kids her age. She doesn't need anyone telling her what to do.

I eat alone, not wanting to wake up my sleeping beauty. She needs as much rest as she can get. To kill time, I read through the messages I got from the guys and Lia's brothers, almost smiling at how worried they are. They're asking how's Lia, if she's alright, how is she dealing with all this and why isn't she answering her phone. I reply to everyone, telling them that Lia's asleep and will be off the grid for the next few days.

After I'm done eating and washing the dishes, I go back to the bedroom to lie with my kitten. I don't like leaving her alone for long. As soon as I'm back in bed, Lia turns towards me and cuddles into my bare chest with a quiet whimper. I gently put my arm under her neck so her head can rest on my bicep and cradle her small body to mine, pressing a loving kiss to her forehead.

My kitten sleeps for two whole days, only waking up for our Monday classes. I thought she would skip, but it's like she has some sort of nerd clock inside her that wakes her up for school. But when I asked her at breakfast how she knew it's already Monday, she said she had no idea and she just felt rested enough to wake up. I didn't have to ask how she slept, cause I already knew the answer to that, but I did ask if how she was dealing with all that happened.

"It's weird... you know, finding out I have a mother. But the guys are okay. They seem like a nice bunch. – Lia shrugs, staring out the car's window – I just don't like how Anna tries to dictate my life already. I mean, come on! I'm an adult! I don't need her to make decisions for me." I chuckle at this, getting a curious glance from my girl.

"I was thinking the same while you were sleeping. She suddenly shows up out of nowhere and treats you like a child." I tell her, not taking my eyes off the road as I drive to the campus.

"I get that she wants to, I don't know, reconnect with me, but I don't like the way she tries to do that. Whatever, I don't want to think about it now. I still need to talk to dad, he has the right to know what's going on." Lia leans her head back on the headrest, sighing tiredly. She may have rested physically, but the emotional exhaustion is still present.

"I told you we could skip today. – I say smugly, getting a stink-eye from my girl – You don't have to push yourself so hard, kitten. I'm here for you." I take her hand in mine, kissing her platinum engagement ring on her finger before putting our joined hands on my thigh.

"I know, Cakey. I seriously have no idea how I would do this without you." She smiles lovingly, sending me an air kiss.

"Don't think about it, baby. Now we have bigger problems to face. Mrs. Johnson's class." Lia bursts out laughing at my horrified tone. But I'm not joking. Mrs. Johnson is a vile hag that enjoys torturing me and my kitten because she knows we're together while she's single at the age of sixty three.

"Oh please, everyone knows she has the hots for you. She just hates me cause I have you all for myself." I shake my head at her. I love how easily we slip into a playful mode.

"You know she wants a piece of this – I smugly gesture at my body – and you're not even jealous?"

"Nah, not really." Lia smirks mockingly.

"You're so bad." I laugh, shaking my head.

"I know."

We reach the campus few minutes later, and I quickly park the car in our favorite spot, right next to David's car. As soon as we get out, we're approached by my teammates, who immediately start questioning my girl.

"Guys, leave her alone, will ya?" I try to get through them, but Dave swiftly pushes me away. "Guys!"

Lia seems to be annoyed by their constant questions so she jumps on the car then slides down the hood to stand behind me, using me as her shield. I don't even try to hide my amusement as she grabs my jacket and presses herself to my back.

"Holy fuck, I don't know if that was mean or awesome." Simon gapes at my girl, seemingly rendered speechless.

"Mean. I'll go with mean." James grumbles, folding his arms sulkily.

"I'll go with awesome, then." Simon smirks cheekily, earning a glare from James.

"Why can't you just agree with me for once? That was mean!" He whines like a petulant child.

"Awesome."

"Mean!"

"Awesome!"

"MEAN! M-E-A-N!"

"Awe-some!"

I decide to leave the two idiots bickering and head to class. Those two are children, I swear to god. They argue about the stupidest stuff.

"How the hell are those two in college? They belong to kindergarten." Lia mumbles from beside me as we walk hand-in-hand towards our lockers. Since they're assigned according to the rank on the board, we don't have to go far.

"I have no idea. – David chuckles – Just ignore them, they're always like that." He waits for us as we get our stuff, since he already has his. The first class we have is a part of the advanced course shared with the senior year, so all three of us are heading to the same place.

"You ready for Mrs. Johnson?" Lia teases, making both me and David groan loudly. It's no secret that the old woman likes to ogle the guys from the football team, but since she has classes only with the students from business administration major, the only guys she is able to ogle are me and David. Which is freaky and we hate it!

"Don't remind me. – David grunts – I am not looking forward to having her stare at me."

"You're not the only one." I grumble.

The three of us go to the back of the auditorium, sitting in the centre of the row so we have a good view on the blackboard. Lia sits between me and Dave, as usual, and takes out her notes, quickly reviewing what was talked about last week, while Dave and I just stay quiet as we wait for the lecture to start.

"You're such a nerd, Lia."

"Hey, don't call my girl a nerd." I defend playfully, punching Dave's shoulder behind Lia's back. My girl is a nerd, but she doesn't need to hear it all the time.

"Oh please, being a good student doesn't automatically qualify me as nerd." Lia chuckles.

Dave just scoffs. "Yeah, right."

I'm about to speak, but I'm stopped by none other than Mrs. Johnson entering the room, along with the last person I would ever expect to see.

"W-What is he doing here?" Lia turns to me with wide eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

I can feel David's questioning stare on us. "Guys, who is it?"

I don't take my eyes off the fucker in front of us. "That's... Declan Rother."