Broken Dreams

by Kelly Elliott

  “What in the fuck is going on here? Someone please tell me!” Sissy said.

  “Baby, are you hurt? Did he touch you anywhere?”

  Courtney began shaking her head quickly. “No, but he almost…he almost…oh God, Reed, thank God you showed up when you did. I didn’t know what else to do, so I kicked him. He almost…he had his hand up my dress with my hands pinned above…above…” She began crying again.

  I turned around and motioned for Sissy. “Take care of her for me, please.”

  Sissy grabbed Courtney, who was crying hysterically.

  Court reached for me and yelled out, “Reed, no! He’s not worth it.”

  I turned back to see that Noah was beginning to walk toward the door.

  Tyler walked into the library, took one look around, and asked, “What in the hell is going on?”

  Noah laughed. “Nothing. Your sister wanted to talk to me, and—”

  I lost it. “You lying piece of fucking shit.” I launched myself at him and grabbed him before he could move. I pulled my fist back and hit as hard as I could.

  He stumbled back and fell but quickly jumped up.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Meg come in.

  “We heard someone scream, and—oh my God. What are you doing here, Noah?”

  Noah turned, looked at her, and winked. When I looked at the expression on Meg’s face, it felt like I was looking at Courtney all over again. She had the same look of fear on her face.

  I turned back and looked at Noah. “You son of a bitch.”

  I jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. I just began hitting him over and over again as I heard Courtney, Meg, Tyler, and Marie yelling for me to stop. Tyler tried to pull me off Noah, but there was no way I was letting this asshole get away with what he had done to Courtney.

  “Courtney, stop your husband, for God’s sake!” Tyler yelled.

  I kept hitting the son of a bitch over and over again. Each hit was for Courtney and the pain he’d caused her. Before I knew it, four guys, including Tyler and Steve, were holding me back as Marie was helping Noah up.

  Marie turned, looked at me, and asked, “Why? Why would you do this, Reed?”

  I looked at Courtney, who was just standing there, stunned. I faced Meg, who was now crying. She looked at Courtney and put her hand up to her mouth.

  She walked over to Courtney and placed her hand on Courtney’s shoulder. “Oh my God, Courtney. Did Noah do it to you, too?”

  My knees felt weak, and the guys holding me back were now actually holding me up.

  Courtney snapped her head and looked at Meg. “Is that what you were talking about earlier?” she barely said.

  Meg slowly nodded her head.

  Tyler said, “What in the hell are you two talking about?”

  “How old were you, Courtney?” Meg asked.

  Courtney looked at me before looking back at Meg. “Sixteen.”

  Meg sucked in a breath of air and began saying, “Oh God, no.” She turned toward Noah and walked up to him. She began hitting him on the chest as she screamed over and over, “How could you, you dirty rotten bastard? She was a baby!”

  Marie stood there, stunned. Tyler let go of me and grabbed Meg, who was still screaming at Noah.

  “Meg! Meg, what are you talking about?” Tyler held on to Meg as she dropped to the floor, crying.

  I just noticed that she was wearing her wedding dress. She had been minutes away from getting married.

  “Reed, if we let you go, will you please stay calm until we figure out what is going on?” Steve said.

  I nodded my head and stared at Noah, who looked scared shitless.

  Tyler was pushing pieces of hair out of Meg’s face as she cried. I looked at Courtney. Sissy was still holding her, and I thought Sissy was the only one who had put two and two together because she was now crying.

  “He’s a monster. I’ve tried telling you so many times, but he kept threatening me,” Meg said in between sobs.

  “Who, baby? Noah?” Tyler looked up at Noah.

  Tyler looked back at Meg when she said, “Yes. He said you’d hate me if you found out.”

  Tyler’s head snapped back to Noah. “What did you do?” Tyler hissed through his teeth.

  Noah stood there in silence.

  Tyler pulled Meg’s chin up and whispered, “Baby, please tell me what is going on.”

  Meg looked at Courtney, who seemed to be in shock.

  Shit. Her whole family is about to find out what happened to her.

  “Noah…he…he forced me…and Courtney…to have sex with him. Oh God, Tyler…Courtney was only sixteen! I was at least older. He threatened…he said…he would hurt you if I said anything.”

  Courtney let out a loud cry and began falling to the floor. I quickly ran to her and grabbed her as Courtney began crying hysterically.

  “Baby, I’m here. I promise you, he will never touch you again. I promise you,” I said as I held her to me.

  Tyler tried to stand up but stumbled backward. “Noah, is it true?”

  Noah wiped the blood from his mouth and said, “Courtney wanted me. I saw it in her eyes.”

  I was about to go after him again, but Courtney grabbed me tighter, and before I knew it, Tyler was on top of Noah, beating the hell out of him.

  Steve pulled Tyler off of Noah while Tyler screamed, “That’s my baby sister! You motherfucker! What did you do to my sister and Meg? I’ll kill you!”

  “Get Tyler out of here now!” Steve yelled at the other guys standing there in shock. “Marie, get Meg and Courtney out of here.”

  Marie had tears running down her face as she and Sissy helped Meg up. I slowly picked up Courtney and carried her out of the room. She was crying so hard that she seemed to be having a hard time breathing. I followed Sissy into the living room and set Courtney down on the sofa.

  I placed my hands on her face and made her look into my eyes. “Angel, I need to go back into the library, okay?”

  She grabbed my hands and shook her head.

  I wiped her tears away with my thumbs and brought her forehead down to my lips. “I promise you, I will be right back, but your father cannot be alone with Noah, okay?”

  She just continued to cry as she looked into my eyes.

  “I promise you.” I looked up at Sissy and said, “Will you stay with her?”

  She quickly wiped away her tears and sat down next to Courtney.

  I turned to head back to the library when Sissy called after me. “Reed?”

  I turned around and looked at her.

  “Please don’t let my father do something stupid.”

  I nodded my head as I gave her a weak smile. I spun around and headed back toward the man I wanted to kill more than anything.

  As I walked by the kitchen, Tyler was arguing with a few of his friends. “Just let me go. I just want to go see Meg and my sister. Please just let me go.”

  My heart broke for him. His fiancée and his sister were both victims of this fucker.

  The library door was open, and when I walked in, I saw Noah sitting in a chair as Steve was talking to some guy I’d never seen before. The guy looked up at me and then nodded before he started walking out. Steve turned and saw me. As the guy passed by me, he placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a caring look. I smiled back and gave a quick nod in return.

  “Reed, shut and lock the door, please,” Steve said.

  I glanced over at Noah. He had a terrified look on his face, and I almost wanted to smile. I did as Steve had asked. I stood back away from both of them. If I got too close to the asshole, I’d just want to beat the shit out of him again.

  Noah looked at me and smiled. I balled my fists together and looked at Steve before glaring back at Noah.

  “What in the fuck are you smiling at?” I asked Noah.

  Noah’s smile faded as he looked everywhere but at Steve.

  “I want to know what you did to my daughter,” Steve said through gritted teeth as he sat down in front
of Noah.

  “Nothing she didn’t want,” Noah bit back.

  I started making my way over to him. “You motherfucker! She was sixteen, for fuck’s sake!”

  Steve held up his hand to stop me. “Don’t worry, Reed. I’m going to make sure you have some alone time with this lowlife. Just give me my time.”

  I stopped and barely said, “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m going to ask you again. What did you do to my daughter?”

  Nothing.

  Noah wasn’t saying a word.

  I cleared my throat and said, “I know what he did to her, Steve.”

  Without ever taking his eyes off of Noah, he said, “Tell me.”

  I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Court just turned sixteen, and Noah had asked her to the prom. He snuck into her room and told her he was going to have sex with her because he saw the way she would look at him, and he had waited until she got older. He threatened her by saying he would hurt Tyler, you, Marie, and worse yet…he would go after Sissy.” I stopped talking when I saw Steve making fists.

  “How long did it go on for?”

  “Three months.”

  Steve’s head dropped, and his shoulders began shaking. I fought like hell to hold back my tears. I tried to place myself in his shoes, but I couldn’t. As much as I wanted to kill this fucker, I couldn’t imagine how Steve felt.

  I sucked in another breath and continued, “One night, Courtney went down to your gun safe. She got out a pistol and waited for him. When he came into her room, she told him she would kill him, and if she had to sit outside Sissy’s door every night, she would. She told me Noah stopped staying over, and Tyler would instead stay at Noah’s house when his parents were out of town.”

  Steve sucked in a shaky breath. “Did you ever touch Sissy?”

  Noah looked up at me. “She told you everything?”

  I nodded my head, and he looked away.

  Steve yelled, “Did. You. Touch. Sissy?”

  “No. Never.”

  I was pretty sure Steve and I both let out the breath we had been holding, but I didn’t trust this bastard.

  “The only reason I’m not walking over to my gun safe right now is because I love my family, and they need me. Otherwise, you’d be dead right now.”

  Noah’s face dropped, and I could see the sweat running down his forehead.

  “If I so much as ever see your face or find out you are attempting to talk to anyone in my family, I’ll find some way to make it happen. Do you understand me?”

  Noah nodded his head and whispered, “I understand you. What are you going to do?”

  Steve stood up and turned to look at me. “I’m going to leave you alone with the man who loves my daughter, and you better pray the police get here fast.”

  “Think about Courtney,” Steve said to me as he made his way past me and to the door.

  As the door shut, I turned and looked at Noah. He just stared at me as I made my way over to the same chair Steve had been sitting in.

  “Why don’t you just get it over with?” he said as he looked away.

  I sat down in the chair and let out a gruff laugh. “Believe me, asshole, I’d like to beat you until you’re barely breathing.”

  He gave me a cocky smile and said, “Then, why don’t you?”

  “Because I love Courtney, and I won’t do anything to harm our future. Besides, I’m the winner in this.”

  “You’re the winner? How do you figure?” Noah said as he touched the side of his eye that I had split open when I hit him over and over.

  “I’m married to the most amazing woman, and we’re going to have a baby in April. I’m going to give her everything she has ever dreamed of. I’m going to make love to her every single chance I get. Each morning and each night, I’m going to cover her in kisses while I tell her how much I love her. I’m never going to take her love for granted, and I will adore her always.”

  He smirked and said, “I’ll always be her first.”

  I jumped up and grabbed him by the shirt as I got in his face. “You were never her first. You were nothing but a nightmare that I intend on making sure she never has to worry about again. I swear to God, if you ever attempt to contact her, you will regret it. I would go to jail for the rest of my life to protect her and my child.”

  Noah quickly looked away.

  “Do you understand how lucky you are? There are three men here right now who would love to kill you. I suggest you leave and never look back.”

  The door opened, and Noah’s head snapped up. He closed his eyes as he dropped his head.

  “Reed?”

  I took a few steps back and turned around to leave. There was another man standing next to Steve. He looked like an older version of Noah.

  “Noah’s father is here. Courtney is asking for you.”

  I nodded my head and walked past the two men. As I made my way out, I turned in the opposite direction of where Courtney was and made my way to the guest bathroom. I shut the door and turned on the cold water. I splashed water on my face over and over again as I lost it and began crying.

  After a few minutes of trying to get my breathing under control, I heard a knock on the door. I cleared my throat and held out my hands. They were barely shaking now, so I opened the door. Marie and Steve were standing there.

  “Courtney is asking to leave, Reed,” Marie said as she wiped a tear away. “Oh God. I only wish we had known.”

  Marie broke down crying as she fell into Steve’s arms. He looked at me, and I gave him a knowing nod. I knew exactly how he felt. He just wanted to take all their pain away.

  “I’m going to get Court and take her back to the hotel.”

  Steve nodded and began walking with Marie.

  As I headed to the living room, I heard Tyler and Meg talking. My heart ached for them. It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives, and it had turned out to be nothing but a nightmare.

  I walked past the kitchen, and Tyler called out for me, “Reed! Please…wait.”

  I stopped and took a deep breath.

  “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. If I had just known what Noah had done, and…I mean…” He began choking back a sob. “He asked me not to tell Meg, but that didn’t surprise me because Meg had made it known that she didn’t like Noah, but I…I didn’t…fuck. He didn’t want me to let Court know he was here either, and now, looking back, I fucked up so bad. I don’t know why I didn’t see the signs.” He fell back against the wall and said, “My own sister and girlfriend. Oh God…”

  I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, “I think you and Meg should spend some time alone together. If she hasn’t talked to anyone about this, she is really going to need you now more than ever.”

  He nodded his head. “Court won’t talk to me. She wouldn’t talk to anyone but Mom, Dad, and Sissy. Do you think she hates me, Reed?”

  I shook my head and gave him a weak smile. “No, Tyler. She just needs some time. Just give her some time.”

  He slowly nodded his head and attempted to give me a smile.

  “Listen, I need to get Court out of here. Is Meg okay?” I asked as I looked around him and into the kitchen. I was guessing it was her mother and father who were in there with her.

  Tyler looked back at Meg and said, “Yes and no. But we’re gonna be okay. I’ll do everything in my power to help her in whatever way she needs.”

  “I know you will.” I reached out my hand and shook his before I headed to my girl.

  She was curled up on the sofa, and Sissy was sitting on the floor. Courtney was running her fingers through Sissy’s hair. When Sissy saw me, she turned, gave Courtney a kiss on the cheek, and whispered something to her.

  Sissy walked up to me and gave me a hug. “Please take care of her.”

  I brushed away the single tear from her cheek and smiled. “Forever and always.”

  I gave her a kiss on the cheek and then made my way over to my angel. I bent down and ran the back of my ha
nd down the side of her face. When she smiled, my heart began pounding harder.

  She sat up and said, “I need to get out of the house.”

  I reached for her hand and helped her up. I reached down and swooped her up into my arms.

  She let out a little giggle. “I can walk, you know.”

  I winked at her and said, “Any reason to have you in my arms, and I’m taking it.”

  We walked through the house and out to the rental car. I placed her into the passenger seat and walked around the front of the car. I knew exactly what I was going to do next.

  Reed and I drove back to the hotel in silence. Every time he came to a stoplight, he picked up his phone and texted someone. I didn’t want to close my eyes because every time I did, I saw Noah. I wanted to ask him what he’d said to Noah when they were alone, but the faster I forgot about what had happened, the better.

  Reed reached for my hand, and I felt those familiar goose bumps cover my body. He rubbed his thumb back and forth on the back of my hand, and with every motion, I began to relax.

  Reed pulled up to the valet and said, “We’ll be right back down. We’re just changing.”

  I looked at him, confused. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and go to sleep. Reed smiled at me as we walked into the hotel. Making our way over to the elevator, I looked up at him. He was smiling from ear to ear.

  “Reed, I’m so tired. Where are we going?” I said with a whine.

  He squeezed my hand and motioned for me to get in the elevator. “Somewhere fun,” he said as he pushed the button for our floor.

  “I don’t want to do something fun. I just want to crawl into bed and sleep.”

  He looked down at me. “I know you do, babe. I know. Will you please just trust me on this?”

  I wanted to argue with him, but I just didn’t have it in me. I was emotionally exhausted and honestly too tired to care. We walked into the hotel room, and I made my way over to the bed and collapsed. I watched as Reed got undressed and quickly slipped on a pair of jeans. He slipped on a T-shirt and then put on his sneakers.

  He looked at me and said, “Come on. Change out of that dress and put on something comfortable.”

  I stood up and stomped my foot before I began taking my dress off. It wasn’t lost on me that Reed was staying across the room.