I didn't reply.

I was tired, and I just wanted to go back to the new house and be on my own so I could sit and be in peace.

“Keela?” Alec murmured after a few minutes of silence.

Again, I didn't reply.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean for you to take what I said in the way you did, I think of you as nothing but a blessing in my life. I love you.”

Damn it.

“Say something.”

I sighed. “I heard you, I just want to go back to the house and be on me own. I'm... I'm just tired.”

“Tired of what?” Alec asked. “Me? The move? In general?”

“I'm tired of everythin',” I replied honestly and went back to looking out the window.

We drove the rest of the ten minutes back to the new house in silence. When we pulled up in the driveway I was confused, there was a black sports car parked in our driveway and I had no idea who it belonged to.

“Who is here?” I asked.

“I'm not sure,” Alec replied, but he wouldn't look at me.

He got out of the SUV and I followed.

He waited for me to walk ahead of him before he fell in step behind me. I walked up to the door and tested the handle, but found it was locked.

“Do you have a key?” I asked Alec.

He leaned over me and inserted his key into the key slot.

“It's our house,” he said and turned the key. “Of course I have a key, yours is in the kitchen.”

I stepped forward and pushed the door open. We stepped inside and closed the door. I walked down the hallway and turned into the sitting room when deafening screaming erupted and figures of people jumped out at me. I jumped backward and screamed bloody murder.

“Surprise!” voices shouted.

Surprise?

What the fuck?

“It's okay,” Alec's laughter came from behind me.

“What is this?” I asked him pressing my back into his front as I tried to back away from all the smiling faces.

There was only fifteen or so people in front of me—the brothers, the Murphy sisters and Aideen made up six of them. The others were faces I knew from Branna's job, and Dominic's friends from his gym.

Alec's mouth lowered to my ear. “It's a housewarming party.”

A housewarming party?

“Are you fuckin' serious?” I asked and turned to face Alec.

He scratched his neck. “I didn't think you would be as tired as you are. I thought you would be excited for a party.”

I stared at Alec unblinking for a moment then shook my head at him. “We aren't even fully moved in yet. There are boxes everywhere.”

“We took care of the boxes,” Bronagh's voice chirped from behind me.

I turned to face her. “The place is not fit for guests—”

“We made it fit for guests,” Aideen cut me off, and grinned. “You need a drink. Don't argue with us.”

I wanted to argue, I wanted throw everyone out on their arses and march straight up to bed, but I didn't want to be that woman, so I smiled.

“Thank you,” I said to everyone.

I jolted when music started up and blared throughout the house.

“Where is that comin' from?” I leaned my head back and asked Alec.

Alec moved his mouth down to my ear and said, “Dominic brought his Beats Pill over from his place, it's pretty loud.”

I'll say, the stupid thing could wake the dead with the volume of it.

Alec moved around me and greeted the faces smiling at us, so I followed suit and did the same. After I was done, I excused myself to go into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I'd just downed my glass when he spoke from behind me.

“How mad are you?”

I gritted my teeth. “I could fuckin' kill you right now.”

“Trust me, if I knew you would have reacted like this I wouldn't have arranged it for you.”

I turned to face Alec. “You arranged this for me? Don't you dare lie—you arranged this for you. This entire fuckin' move has been about you. This house? You. The SUV? You. The furniture? You. Everythin' else? Fuckin' you!”

I stormed forward and brushed by Alec but he caught my forearm and jolted me back to him.

“Ow!” I shouted. “You're hurtin' me! Let go!”

Alec kept his hold on me, but loosened it slightly. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you being like this?”

I tried to push Alec's hand off me but his grip was too tight. “I'm not being like anythin'... let me go!”

“No!” Alec snapped. “Talk to me.”

That was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Dominic!” I screamed, using his full name to show I needed him.

Alec stared down at me with wide eyes. “Why the fuck are you calling him?”

Dominic shot out of the sitting room with Kane behind him, but when Kane saw it was me and Alec in the kitchen doorway, he closed the sitting room double doors and kept our guests inside with the music blaring.

“What's wrong?” Nico asked as he walked towards us.

I pulled my arm. “Tell him to let me go, he is hurtin' me.”

Nico widened his eyes then looked to Alec's hold on me then to his brother's face. “Bro...”

“Don't, Dominic,” Alec snarled. “Just... don't.”

He let go of me and I quickly pushed away from him. I proceeded to run down the hallway and up the never-ending staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. When I reached the top of the stairs it took me a second to remember which door lead to our bedroom.

I hated that I was somewhere so unfamiliar, and I hated that Alec threw a stupid housewarming party.

My head was killing me, and the blaring music from downstairs did nothing to ease the pounding in my skull. I entered my bedroom and closed the door behind me. I walked over to our new bed and I was grateful there were sheets and covers already on it. I knew the girls made it for us, and I knew they thought Alec was going to get some based on the revealing underwear that was laid across the bed.

I pushed it aside to the floor and climbed up onto the bed where I flipped onto my back and stared up at the white ceiling. I could hear the music from downstairs and it was picking away at my already shot temper. I lifted my hand to my face and covered my eyes, coating them in darkness to try and ease the pain in my head.

I relaxed a little bit, but seconds later I jolted as a bang sound went off during the music, followed by two more bangs. An image from my nightmare flashed across my mind, and I screamed.

You don't deserve him.

I cried out at my own voice repeating those dreaded words to me in my head. I jumped up off my bed and ran to the corner of my room. I slid down against the wall until my behind touched the ground. I drew my knees up to my chest and placed my forehead on my knees and covered my head with my hands.

“Stop,” I cried. “Please. Stop.”

My nightmare was playing over and over in my mind, and it made me feel sick with fear. I heard another bang and I screamed again, but this one was different, it sounded like something hitting a hard surface.

“Keela?” Alec's shout floated into my mind.

“No!” I cried out knowing what was coming.

I was going to see him die.

I screamed when I felt hands touch me. “Stop. Please. Leave me alone. Get out of me head!”

The hands tightened on my arms. “Kitten, I'm here.”

“Alec, just hold her.” Bronagh's familiar voice filled my ears. “It's the nightmare, she is relivin' it in her conscious state.”

“Nightmare?” Alec repeated. “What nightmare?”

I heard a whimper. “She's been havin' them since last year... whatever she went through... it's hauntin' her.”

Aideen.

“I'm fine,” I whispered.

I didn't want to upset anybody and hearing them talk even though they were talking about me, focused my mind on my reality. What I thought was happening really wasn't. It wasn't real. It was in my mind.

That was the problem though—I didn't want it on my mind.

I wanted it gone.

“She's been having nightmares? I didn't know,” Alec said, his voice broken.