Lila’s POV
The thunder crashed outside my window like the world was splitting open, and I bolted upright in bed, my heart pounding in my chest.
Rain lashed against the glass, and lightning flashed, illuminating my room in stark white bursts.
I was twenty years old, for f**k's sake, but thunderstorms still turned me into that scared little girl again.
The kind who would run down the hall to her parents' room, seeking safety in their bed.
My mom and stepdad, Derek, had always been my safe haven.
Especially Derek. He was this big, a strong guy with broad shoulders and a voice that rumbled like the thunder itself.
When I was younger, I'd crawl between them, and he'd wrap his arm around me, pulling me close until the storm passed.
But things had changed, I wasn't a kid anymore.
