by Lexi Wilson
“What are you writing?” I asked her.
She smiled. “I’m writing down the date and the movie. Allie’s first movie. Your mother is right. I need to document these moments. Also, I never want to forget this day.”
“It was a good day,” I said to her.
She looked at me then, and I was surprised by the seriousness in her gaze. “No, it was the best day. It was the best day I’ve ever had, Jaxon. The best.”
I gulped. I wanted so badly to tell her that I loved her, but I had to hold it back. Instead, I smiled. “It was,” I said.
We put Allie to sleep and then made our way back to her room. The moment we were alone, she started to undress me, and the two of us made love gently and quietly without waking up Allie. This time, I let her take control. She needed me, and I would be there for her through all of this. I didn’t want to scare her away in the same way that she’d been scared before. I wanted to give her more days like today.
I love you, I said in my head repeatedly before finally drifting off to sleep with her in my arms. I wondered if she was saying the same to me in her head.
Chapter 24
Kaylee
I felt good that day. I woke up to breakfast in bed by both Allie and Jaxon, which was by far my favorite way of waking up. They’d made me breakfast in the shape of a smiley face, with eggs for eyes, and toast cut up to make the rest. It had been Allie’s idea to do the face, and she was very proud of herself. We sat on the bed talking about the day ahead, and Allie was excited when Jaxon said he would do some more guitar lessons with her. When she climbed off the bed to get ready I smiled.
“She’s so good. I thought it was going to be a problem having her there at the school with us, but she’s so easy to have around,” I said. “Although, one of these days I need to start thinking about sending her to her own school. I have to admit, the thought of sending her off for the day frightens me, but maybe she needs it.”
“There are some great schools around here,” Jaxon said with excitement. “We should start considering them for next year, perhaps. And you don’t have to worry, she’s a good kid, they’ll be lucky to have her.”
I nodded thoughtfully. Talking about taking Allie to school in this town made it sound like I was going to stay much longer than I had planned to. Was that why Jaxon seemed excited about the idea? My heart went out to him. We hadn’t put a label on it, but it was clear that we were now going out. We were a couple, whether I wanted to admit it or not. But he was going out with a woman who had clearly stated that she wasn’t going to hang around here forever. I never gave much thought to how this must make him feel, but I couldn’t imagine it was a good feeling. Now I was talking about sending Allie to school in the area, which was only going to confuse matters more. I was very aware that I was giving him mixed signals, but right now it was only because I was just as confused about the situation myself. I constantly moved between wanting to stay and wanting to leave. I knew I probably should leave, but my heart was so firmly telling me to stay. Also, Allie was happy here, and how could I take her away from all of this?
I nodded. “Yeah, let’s start looking into some schools soon. It might be nice for her,” I said and smiled. “And thanks for the breakfast, you really are too kind to me.”
He chuckled. “I’m trying to fatten you up.”
“You are? Well, it’s clearly working. My clothes are so tight on me these days.”
He laughed. “Nothing wrong with that. You were far too skinny when I first met you.”
“I was?”
“Yeah. You were. I remember thinking that when you first showed up on my steps that day. My first thought was that you were very pretty. My second thought was that you seemed very determined. My third thought was that you needed a good meal.”
I laughed. “And many a good meal I’ve had since that day. You’re right. I’d rather be fat and happy than skinny and unhappy. Which reminds me, we need another ice cream date soon.”
“That can be arranged. Just don’t say the ‘I’ word too loud. Allie’s little ears work very well.”
I chuckled. “They sure do.”
We both gave each other a knowing glance then, and I couldn’t help but blush. We still had sex in my bed most of the time, but when we wanted to turn up the volume a little and let loose, we always went back to his room. Sex with Jaxon was just one thing I never tired of. Even now, just talking about it, I wanted to rip off his clothes and crawl under the covers with him. But it was time to go to school. I leaned in and kissed him.
“Your bed tonight?”
He grinned and bit his lip. “Today is going to be the longest day in the world. Come on, let’s go to work so that the day can be over with. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back.”
“Don’t forget to pack the pizza,” I said as I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and change. We had leftover pizza from the night before, and we were bringing it in for lunch that day.
“I would never forget the pizza,” he said.
“Of course,” I said. “For Operation: Get Me Fat.”
As it turned out, Jaxon did forget the pizza. He only realized it when lunchtime came around. He came to me with a sheepish look on his face.
“You didn’t by any chance bring that pizza, did you?”
I laughed. “You mean the pizza I told you not to forget?”
He chuckled. “Uh, yeah, that one.”
I shook my head. “You’re lucky you’re so cute. It’s hard to be angry with that face.”
He laughed. “I’m sorry, though. I’m starving. I’ll go over now. I just have to finish up my lesson. I want to help one of the kids a little more.”
“You carry on. I’m done so I’ll go and get it. Anyway, I could do with a bit of a walk. Do you mind if I leave Allie here, though? Will your mom look after her? She’ll make the walk a million times longer if I take her.”
“Yeah, for sure. I’ll let my mom know. Otherwise she can sit with me.”
“Thanks, Jaxon. I won’t be long. But if I arrive with less pizza than you remember, that’s not my fault. You can blame Toby.”
He laughed. “I’m going to count the slices!”
I rushed off laughing and quickly ducked out before Allie could see me. She’d probably insist on coming with me. I usually wouldn’t mind, but I didn’t want to take too long, as I still had one more lesson to get through that afternoon. Allie loved nothing more than taking her time when she walked. She wanted to pick flowers, and she always wanted to know what everything was. A 10-minute walk could easily take us an hour. I hurried down the road, eager to get the pizza. I was starving, and the thought of pizza was making me salivate. Thankfully, without Allie, it was a quick walk, and I made it back in no time.
I reached the front door and rummaged through my bag for the keys. Jaxon had given me some spare keys, although I very rarely used them because we were always together. Finally, I found them, and I was just about to open the door when I heard a noise behind me. At first I thought I had imagined it, but then I heard it again. I turned around, and gasped when I saw who it was. Bill. I was about to scream when he knocked me on the side of the head and I fell down.
“You thought you could get away from me, did you?” he said.
Seeing him again startled me. I had started to think that I had imagined how scared I had been of him, but now that we were face-to-face I knew that I had not imagined it at all. Bill was terrifying. His eyes were so dark that it felt like I was looking into a bottomless pit. I shivered at the sight of him, and tried to stand up to get away. He kicked me in the ribs and I fell back down again in pain. He had kicked me so hard that it almost took my breath again.
“Stop,” I said. “Please, Bill. Stop. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to do this.”
“Where’s Allie?” he asked.
“Bill, please, just leave us alone. Please, don’t do this to us. Leave me alone.”
“So, you think you can just run away from me
without telling me where you are going? Do you think I’m stupid? Did you really think you could run away from me like that? Kaylee, Kaylee, Kaylee, you really know nothing, do you? Don’t ever underestimate me again. You hear me? You are a worthless piece of shit, and you don’t deserve to have me in your life. But here I am. Do you even understand how lucky you are to have me? I will never have you out of my sight again. You hear me? Don’t you ever run away from me again.”
“Bill, please, please don’t do this. You’re hurting me,” I said.
He laughed and bent down so that his face was right by mine. Then he slapped me so hard across my face that I felt blood. He stood up and kicked me again. This time I was sure that something was broken. It was a pain I was all too familiar with. I started to cry even though I knew it would only make him kick me again. I wanted to scream, but my voice wasn’t loud enough. Instead, tears streamed down my face. Then, suddenly, there was a noise, and he ran off.
I tried to get up. I desperately wanted to get inside the house and lock the door but I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe and the pain was so overwhelming I thought I was going to faint. I felt around for the keys, which I had dropped when he first attacked me. I knew they were around somewhere, but I couldn’t see them. I felt around, praying that I would find them before he came back. My body refused to do what I wanted it to though, and the more I moved the more pain I felt. I closed my eyes and felt the darkness creeping up on me. I was ready to surrender to it just to get away from the reality of where I was. Then, just as I was about to faint, I heard a voice. A voice that was not Bill’s. A voice so kind it made me cry all over again. Relief washed over me as I saw Jaxon looking down at me with panic written on his face.
“Oh my God. Kaylee. Oh my God. What happened to you? Kaylee!” he cried.
I closed my eyes, then forced myself to open them again. I needed to stay awake. I needed to get away before Bill came back.
“B…B…” I couldn’t speak. I looked at Jaxon and cried. “I’m…”
“You’re going to be fine,” he said. “I’m here now. You’re going to be fine.”
Chapter 25
Jaxon
I still wasn’t sure why I had come home. I knew that Kaylee was getting the pizza and coming straight back, but something compelled me to go after her. It wasn’t like I even had a reason. I just figured I’d go and help her. I’d been in the middle of a lesson with someone and I’d just told them to continue without me. it wasn’t like me at all, but the moment I decided to go and see her I knew that I had to follow my instinct. And thank goodness I had. The moment I got there I knew something was wrong. I was sure that there was someone standing there with Kaylee, but the moment I got out of my car the person was gone and Kaylee was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. I knelt down in shock.
“Kaylee, are you okay? Can you talk? Are you okay?” I asked. My entire body trembled at the sight of her.
“B… B…”
I had no idea what she was trying to tell me. I found the keys lying on the floor and quickly opened the door. I then lifted her up and brought her inside. I placed her gently on the sofa, then I got out my phone to call the ambulance. But she put her hand out to stop me.
“No. Jaxon. Please don’t.”
“Kaylee, are you crazy? I have to call someone. You are bleeding so much and you’re in pain. I need to call someone to help you. Don’t worry, they’ll help you. We have some amazing paramedics here. I promise that you’ll be fine. I promise.”
Kaylee burst into tears. “Please don’t, Jaxon. I’m begging you not to. Please. I don’t want anyone seeing me like this. Please. I’m fine.”
“But you’re in pain.”
“I’ve been through this so many times before. I know that the pain will eventually subside. The bruises will heal. I know my body. I know when it’s serious enough to go to hospital. Most of these are surface wounds. I know. You have to believe me, Jaxon.”
“I do believe you. I’ve always believed you, but I also don’t want you to be in pain anymore. What about the cops? Can we call the cops? Who did this to you?” I asked. I had so many questions and so few answers. I hated this. I hated this so much. All I wanted was for Kaylee to be okay, and I felt so helpless with her asking me not to call anyone.
“Please, no cops. Please, Jaxon.”
“Who did this to you?” I asked. “Please, you have to tell me.”
“Bill,” she said. “Bill did this to me.”
“Who…”
“Not now,” she said. She winced in pain. “Please not now.”
I sighed and nodded. “Okay, not now. But you’re going to have to tell me, Kaylee. Now, I’m going to ask you one more time and I promise to do whatever you want me to. Can I please call an ambulance or at least the cops to come and see to you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine. Please. I’m fine.” Then she gasped. “Allie. Where…”
“Don’t worry. Allie is with my mother. I’m going to call her.”
“She can’t see me like this. Please.”
“Don’t worry. She won’t. I’ll call my mother. Then I’m going to give you something for the pain.”
I ran outside to call my mother, not wanting to talk in front of Kaylee. When my mother answered, she was jovial and completely unaware of what was going on.
“You two are taking a long time,” she said.
“Mom, something happened.”
“What? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine. It’s Kaylee. Someone hurt her. Don’t say anything out loud, I don’t want Allie to hear. Is she okay? Is she with you?” I asked.
“She’s fine. What’s going on, Jaxon?”
“I’m not sure just yet. I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on. I’m going to see to her now. She’s in a lot of pain.”
“Darling, you need to call the cops. And get an ambulance. This is not up to you. You can’t fix this. This is something for a professional to handle. Okay? Let me call someone for you.”
“Mom, wait, wait. Kaylee asked me not to.”
“What? You can’t listen to her. She needs medical attention. And right now, if there’s someone after her, then we need to call the cops. Call Styles. He can help you. Come on, you can’t do this alone.”
“I know, Mom, but she’s asked me, and right now I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt. I promise you that if she’s in too much pain or things are too bad I will call for an ambulance no matter what she says. But right now, I’m going to trust her, and you need to trust me. Okay?”
My mother sighed. “Okay. But…”
“Mom, I need to go. Please, can you take Allie home with you today? Make it fun and try not to let her see that you’re worried. We don’t want Allie seeing her mom like this.”
“Okay. But you promise to call me later and let me know what’s going on?”
“I promise,” I said. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Be smart about this, my boy. I trust you, but make sure you’re doing the right thing. Okay?”
“Okay. I promise.”
I cut the call and ran back inside to check on Kaylee. She seemed to be moving in and out of consciousness. I ran up to her and knelt beside her.
“Allie,” she said. “Allie!”
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “Allie is fine. She’s fine. She’s with my mother and Mindy and she has no idea about what happened. She’s going to go home with my mother today and she’ll stay with her tonight. I told my mother to make it fun so that she has no idea that anything is wrong. Okay? She’s fine. She’s fine.”
“Thank you,” she said as the tears rolled down her face.
“Now, I’m going to get something for the pain. You wait right here,” I said.
I ran to my medicine cabinet and searched through it until I found some strong painkillers. I made her take some with some water, and then I spent some time cleaning up the blood. She’d been slapped in the face, an
d blood had poured out of her nose and mouth. Whoever had done this to her, whoever this Bill person was, was obviously very strong. I made her sit up as I lifted her shirt and I gasped as I saw her ribs. I cleaned up the blood, and then grabbed an ice pack to put on it. She cried out in pain while I told her that everything was going to be okay. I cleaned her as best as I could, then I put some fresh clothes on her and made her lie down again. I made her eat something, which was not easy because she kept resisting, but I didn’t want her to be filled with pills and no food. I knew that the food would help even if she didn’t feel like it. With the food in her, I gave her some more painkillers and let her rest.
Then I spent the rest of the night on the computer, looking up rib fractures and signs of a concussion. I was so worried that I had done the wrong thing by not taking her in. What if something happened to her? It would be all my fault. I just had to hope that she was telling me the truth. I thought about what she said and I felt sick to my stomach. She’d been through this so many times that she knew what it felt like. Who was this man and why would he do this to her? I knew that there was no way I was leaving her out of my sight today. I made sure that all the doors were locked and then I sat on the sofa next to her. I stroked her hair and told her that everything would be fine even though I had no idea if it really would be. Now that the blood was gone she was left with some nasty-looking bruises.
When she was asleep, I called my mother. I sat in the kitchen so that I was far away enough to talk without waking her up, but still close enough to watch her if she woke up and needed me.
“Hey, Mom,” I said. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up on what was going on. She’s sleeping now.”
