The Boy Next Door

Chapter Fifteen

“That’s a snore!?” 

He was screwing with her, wasn’t he? Having a merry little laugh at the fact that she was losing what few marbles she still possessed. He had to be! Because there was no way such a horrible sound could be a snore.

“Yes,” he huffed. “Now quit screeching and go back to sleep.”

Sleep? He wanted her to sleep with his brother’s “snores” giving her chills. How could anyone sleep with that noise!? Too late, Samara realized she had grumbled that question aloud.

Colton snorted. “You think that’s bad? Never stay in the same house as my mother-sounds like mountains shifting. Swear to God, the whole house shakes.”

“That’s truly terrifying, really. But it’s not your mother’s snoring that’s keeping me awake…” She murmured and, thankfully, he seemed to take the hint.

“Gimme a minute.” He rolled away from her and off the bed, stomping like a child out into the hall. And, if she didn’t know any better, Samara would have sworn he snatched something off her dresser, but before she could give it another thought the horrible noise stopped, and did not start again. 

“Thank God,” She sighed, relieved she could actually hear her own thoughts once more. By the time, Colton crawled back into the bed she was already half-asleep, curling into his embrace with a sleepy, “You start snoring like that and I’m shoving a pillow over your face.”

“I’m sure you’ll try.” Colton laughed, but she was already sleeping. Otherwise, he felt sure she would have rammed that elbow of hers into his ribs again. Not that it really bothered him all that much.

After so many years of waking up to on-or more-of his brother tossing his naked ass into the lake they’d found behind their parents’ home, a pillow covering his mouth and nose until he felt sure he would pass out or, God forbid, his father standing over him with a bucket of ice water to “help control your morning wood”, having Samara jamming her elbow into his side-he barely felt it at all. 

What did bother him was his poor nose being abused again!

Well, that and Ian’s snoring because that truly was a horrible sound. However, waking his little brother to stop that noise was not an option. Once Ian woke and realized Colton had done the one thing he could think of that would keep Ian where Colton could keep an eye on him-the one he was certain would keep the dumb ass from going off and doing something incredibly stupid, Colton would never hear the end of it.

How else was he to be expected to keep an eye on Ian 24/7?

“Sit on him if you have to. Have him locked up for the night I don’t care. But do not let him out of your sight, Colt. We can’t afford for him to go off half cocked right now,” had been Noah’s only advice on the situation when Colton had called his older brother hours earlier. 

That and staying out of the investigation himself, but how was he, of all people, supposed to look his little brother in the eyes and tell him to sit back and let someone else investigate the deaths of the woman he loved and their unborn child? When he knew firsthand what it felt like?

Did Noah actually think Ian would listen? Had Colton’s eldest brother lost his mind and failed to inform any of them? Did anyone really think Ian would not do everything in his power to-

Samara let out a pain riddled little whimper and he cringed, releasing the bruising grasp he hadn’t realized he had on her. Colton ran his thumb across the reddened area, marveling at the softness of her skin, but when he glanced up to make sure she was still sleeping… it wasn’t Samara’s face he saw.