by Chloe Walsh
Lying on top of me, my heart dropped when I heard the sound of a zipper being pulled, his hands touching my ass. “Oh god, please. . . .”
My jeans were ripped down my legs and I think I died inside of my own body.
I could hear my heart beating.
I could feel his hands, his body, but the shame was smothering me.
I prayed to die.
I begged the lord to stop my heart from beating so I was dead before my body could tell my brain what was happening to me.
I held my breath with the hope I would black out and this would be over.
I wanted to peel my skin off. I was sure that if there was a knife close to me in this moment I would bury it in the heart of the man I had thought was my father.
“Please,” I sobbed when I felt him press against my behind. “Please stop . . .”
Hope. Hope. Hope.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
Get up.
I heard something clatter to the floor but I couldn’t see what it was.
I heard a voice, no two voices, but I didn’t care.
I wanted to die.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded as I rushed up the driveway of Thirteenth Street.
“I received a text from Tracy, saying she’s in trouble,” Ted hissed as he slammed his shoulder against the front door. “Dammit, it won’t budge.”
“Break it fucking down,” I roared as I shoved Ted out of the way.
I could hear her screaming. Jesus Christ . . .”I’m here, baby,” I roared in desperation as I threw myself against the door.
It wouldn’t budge.
Fuck.
Pulling off my sweater, I wrapped it around my hand before I drove my fist through the window.
I could feel the blood seeping down my arm but I felt no pain.
Kicking the remainder of glass out of my way I climbed through.
“Daddy, please stop . . .”
I staggered through the hallway and nearly vomited at the sight in front of me. Her clothes were torn open. Her bra . . . Jesus Christ, No . . .
“Get off her,” I roared as I grabbed the back of Jimmy’s shirt and dragged him off my wife.
The image of Lee lying half-naked underneath that bastard was all I could see as I pummeled my fists repeatedly into his face.
I kept hitting him.
I couldn’t stop.
He touched her.
He fucking touched my wife.
“Kyle,” Ted roared. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. “Kyle, stop, you’re going to kill him.”
“Good,” I snarled as Jimmy fell to the ground. I continued kicking him until I was dragged away.
“Take care of your wife,” he whispered into my ear and every ounce of adrenalin in my body drained away. I closed my eyes and clenched them shut as I willed myself to step away from him.
Opening my eyes, I staggered over to her. She was curled in a ball on the floor almost naked with her eyes clenched shut. Her clothes were torn. Her body was shaking so much I thought she might pass out. Her face was barely recognizable. Pieces of her scalp were burned away. She had a cut on her face. Fuck, it wasn’t a cut . . . It was more like a four inch flesh wound. From a knife.
That bastard had knifed my wife’s face.
It ran from her cheekbone to her jawline. Jesus Christ, I felt faint from the sight of the blood trickling down her face, but the sobs tearing from her throat were much worse . . .
“Princess,” I whispered. I was afraid to touch her—to hold her. I didn’t know what she’d do—how she’d react. “Come here,” I begged, falling to my knees. I tried to pull her to me but she scrambled away. Resting my bloodstained hands on my thighs, I took a trembling breath and bowed my head. “It’s me, baby,” I whispered. “It’s Kyle.”
“Kyle,” she whispered.”
“Yeah, princess,” I choked out. “I’m here.”
I felt her small hand touch mine. Two arms wrapped around my neck as she curled herself onto my lap. “Kyle,” she cried. “Kyle . . . Kyle . . . Kyle . . .”
“Shh, baby. I got you,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her. “I got you, baby. I got you.”
“Don’t leave me,” she hissed, clutching me frantically. I could feel the hot, wet blood filling the palm of my hand where I was cupping her cheek. She wasn’t bleeding heavily, but she was still bleeding.
Another scar.
“Give me your shirt,” I demanded as I rubbed Lee’s trembling body. Ted passed me his shirt and I dressed her quickly.
“You . . . saved . . . oh god . . . Hope. My baby . . .” she mumbled.
“Shh, baby, don’t talk,” I crooned as I held her on my lap. “Just rest, Hope is with Derek. She’s safe. You’re safe.”
I hated the words.
They felt toxic.
I had no fucking idea of what he’d done to her. Her body was bruising. Her face was covered in blood. “I need to get her to a hospital,” I said more to myself than anyone.
“No,” Lee screamed as she shook harder. “No . . . no . . . no hospitals,” she sobbed. “None.”
When I tried pulling back to look at her, she wailed and covered her face with her hands. “Don’t look at me,” she hissed. “I’m hideous.”
“You’re fucking beautiful,” I whispered.
“I’m a monster,” she screamed. “My whole body.” She scratched at her face and wailed. “My face . . . Oh god. I’m ruined.”
“No,” I hissed. “You’re perfect.”
“Where’s your mother, Lia?” I heard Ted ask and Lee sobbed harder.
“I’m here, Ted,” I heard Tracy say as she staggered into the kitchen.
I watched in confusion as Ted rushed over to Tracy and wrapped his arms around her. He held her in such a way that made me want to turn away from them.
“He’s my father, Kyle,” Lee sobbed. “He’s the boy from her hometown.”
“Ted?” I asked in a shocked tone.
Lee nodded and cried harder.
I turned to glare at them. “Are you?” I demanded, glaring at Ted. “Are you her father?”
He nodded once. “I’m sorry, Lia,” he choked out. “I failed you.”
“Let me get this straight,” I snarled. “You watched her dying after the shooting and fucking knew there was a possibility that you were a match.” I shook my head in disgust. “How could you do that? How the hell could you allow her to live in that house? What kind of a man are you?”
“I was trying to protect Tracy,” he said in a weary tone. “You should understand better than anyone, Kyle, just how far a man will go to save the woman he loves.”
“Not when it involves letting the woman I love die,” I barked. “Does Mora know about this?”
“No,” Ted muttered. “I was with De . . . Tracy for most of my teenage years. When her parents died, and she moved away, I turned to Mora . . .” Ted shook his head and wiped his brow. “You have to understand, I searched everywhere for Tracy,” he choked out. “By the time we met again, I had a wife and a baby.”
“She was my sister,” Lee sobbed.
“Yes,” Ted husked. “And she loved you fiercely, Lia.”
“I didn’t know he had a family, Lia,” Tracy sobbed. “I didn’t know about Cam and Mora, I swear.”
“She’s telling the truth,” Ted added quietly. “I lied to her in order to have her. And then I followed her . . .”
“Please don’t hate me, Lia,” Tracy sobbed. “I love you so much . . .”
“Just stop it, the both of you,” I snapped. “Shut the fuck up for a second and let her breathe.”
“I’m sorry, Kyle,” Ted whispered.
“Don’t apologize to me,” I spat. “Every fucking sorry that comes out of your mouth for the rest of your life should be for Lee and for Cam and Mora . . .”
“Del . . . ia,” Jimmy coughed as he slowly dragged himself up to lean against
the wall. I went to move, but Lee clung to me like a monkey. “Help . . .”
“What’s wrong with him?” Lee wailed as she tucked her face into my neck. “Make him stop talking to me . . .”
“He’s having a heart attack,” Ted replied, without a hint of sympathy in his voice.
I reached for my phone and Tracy grabbed it out of my hand. “Don’t,” she hissed. “Let him die.”
“But . . .”
“Kyle,” Tracy said in a firm tone. “You need to get out of here.”
I shook my head. “We can’t just let . . .”
“Tracy’s right,” Ted snapped as he turned his gaze on me. “You need to take your wife and run. Get the hell out of here and do not go home until I call you. Do it now, Kyle.”
Climbing to my feet, I lifted Lee into my arms and, for the first time in my life, I did exactly what I was told to do.
I ran.
I lay on my side, watching the night creep into the sky.
I couldn’t remember the day.
I didn’t know the time.
All I could feel was the fear.
Kyle rotated between sitting at the edge of the bed and pacing the floor. Finally, after what seemed an age, his phone rang.
“Yeah,” I heard him whisper and a few minutes later the sound of the motel room door closing as he slipped outside. Scrambling into a sitting position, I watched the door until he returned.
“Well?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I couldn’t bear to know. I had never been as afraid for another person in my life as I was in this moment.
“He’s dead.”
“No,” I screamed as I scrambled off the bed and ran towards him. He caught me as I lunged myself into his arms and held me tightly. “I won’t let them take you,” I cried as my fists knotted in his shirt. “I won’t Kyle. You saved me. That’s all. You saved me.”
“No one is going to take me,” he whispered.
Pulling my face back so he could see my face, Kyle kissed my forehead. I shuddered from the tenderness in his touch. “I’m not leaving you. Ever.”
“They’re going to arrest you, Kyle,” I cried. “Your fingerprints. The blood . . .”
“I didn’t kill him, Lee,” he whispered as he exhaled a shuddering breath. “It was the heart-attack. They told . . .” he paused and rubbed his face with his palm. “He died of heart-failure.”
Staggering backwards, Kyle sank onto the bed and I wrapped myself around him, clinging to him for dear life. “Your mother’s been released from the police station,” he whispered. “She explained what happened—she told them what he did to her.”
“Is she okay?” I whispered, feeling terrified for her. I knew she’d lied to me, but I just couldn’t be mad at her. I loved her . . .
“She’s okay, baby,” he husked. “She’s been examined and she’s not being charged with anything.”
“Really?”
“He raped her, Lee,” Kyle choked out. “His semen was inside of her and Ted took the blame for Jimmy’s bruises. They never named us. We’re okay, I promise. You’re safe. “
“What about you?” I whispered.
He nodded his head. “Yeah baby, I’m safe.”
“Do you think we could get scissors?” I asked him.
Kyle frowned. “There’s one in the first-aid box under the sink,” he husked. “I saw it when I was getting sterile wipes for your face.”
“I need you to cut it off for me,” I told him, gesturing to the matted clumps of hair on my head. “Please,” I sobbed. “I need to clean the cuts and it’s hurting so much.”
“Okay baby,” he whispered. “I’ll make it go away.”
Slowly and with extreme cautiousness and gentleness, Kyle began to cut my hair, shearing what was left of my long curls until they fell in a pile at my feet. He then began to bathe my hair with antiseptic bandages.
“How does it look?” I asked through clenched teeth. “Is it badly burned?”
He was silent for so long I thought it must have been awful and he didn’t want to tell me. Then he whispered, “The burns aren’t as bad as I thought.” He sighed and dropped his face to my neck. “I love you so fucking much,” he whispered against my neck. His fingers scorched my skin and I wanted his burn. “Come with me.”
I followed Kyle into the bathroom where he turned on the shower. He sat me on the toilet and knelt in front of me. “Baby,” he whispered. “I need to know. Did he . . . were you. . . . Did that man rape you?”
I shook my head as the tears fell down my cheeks. “You came in time.” I cupped his cheek with my hand and wiped his tears away with my thumb. “You saved me.”
I’d never heard a man sigh in such relief as I did in that moment.” Let me clean you, baby,” he husked. “Let me wash it all away.”
“She was my sister, Kyle,” Lee choked out, her voice laced with pain. “Cam was my sister . . . how do I deal with that?”
“It changes nothing about how you felt for Cam or how she felt for you,” I told her, unsure of what to say. Lee’s whole world had been turned upside down in the last twenty-four hours. My life had been turned upside down. Jesus . . .”You both loved each other like sisters. Don’t let this change your memories . . .”
“You would have killed him for me,” Lee sobbed as I held her under the water. “You would do that for me.”
“I told you before,” I whispered as I pulled her closer to me, tightening my hold on her. “There’s not much I wouldn’t do for you, Lee Carter. I would take the whole world down.”
“Make love to me, Kyle,” she whispered against my chest. “Wash it all away. Clean me.”
My whole body shuddered as I hoisted her into my arms and opened the shower door. “No,” she whispered, pressing her hand against the door to halt me. “Now. Here, I need you right now.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I confessed.
She was hurt.
I fucking knew she was . . .
“I need my husband,” she begged. “I need my husband inside of me. None of your touches hurt me. They heal me.”
Sliding down until I was sitting on the shower floor, I lifted her onto my lap. She pressed herself onto my erection and I slipped inside.
I wasn’t sure if I should be doing this.
I stayed still and waited for her to make the next move.
“No one,” she sobbed as she leaned forward and curled herself against my chest. “No one gets to take this away. I gave this to you. No one else. Never anyone else.”
Wrapping my arms around her I held her to my chest. “I love you so goddamn much.”
“I am yours,” she wept as she buried her face in my neck. “You’re the only one allowed to do this Kyle.”
“I know, baby,” I coaxed as I held her to me. “I know.”
“I’m pregnant, Kyle,” she confessed. “Dr. Michaels told me this morning. Six weeks.”
My heart soared before stopping dead in my chest.
Oh no . . .
Jesus, no . . .
“Lee,” I said as calmly as I could while everything inside of my body churned. “We need to get you to a hospital, baby.” Lifting her off me, I pulled us both to our feet. “You need to see a doctor straight away.”
“I’m okay, Kyle,” she told me. “I’m sure of it.” She pressed her hand to her stomach. “I protected him,” she whispered.
“I’m sure you did, baby,” I coaxed as I helped her out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her frail body. “But I’m not taking the risk.”
“Jesus Christ, guys,” Derek shouted out in relief the moment I opened the front door of our house and helped Lee inside, keeping my arm wrapped around her waist tightly.
We’d gone straight from the motel to the hospital and the relief I’d felt when the doctor in the ER assured us she was still pregnant had been overwhelming. I didn’t know what to say though. I was fucking thrilled, but after the day we’d put down
I doubted Lee wanted to celebrate . . .
“Are you okay?” he demanded.
Rushing towards us, Derek wrapped his arms around the both of us and shuddered. “Mike told me everything,” he choked out. “I’ve never been so scared in all my life, guys.” His eyes locked on mine and I nodded silently, letting him know I was okay.
“He’s dead,” Lee whispered, allowing Derek to hold her. I felt nothing but relief about that fact. After what Jimmy had done, I was worried she’d be terrified of men again. “It was all a trap,” she sobbed, wrapping her arms around Derek’s neck. “Everything’s changed, Derek . . .”
Releasing her, I stepped away and gave them space. I needed to see Hope. I had to. When I opened the door of her nursery and saw her sleeping soundly in her crib my eyes welled up with tears. Jesus . . .
I could have lost everything today.
When I made it back to hallway, I looked through the doorway of the lounge and saw Lee sitting on the couch with a glass of water in her hands.
“Was he telling the truth?” Derek asked quietly as he came to stand beside me. “Did you sign everything over to your dad?”
“Every last dime,” I whispered. “And I have no fucking clue of what I’m gonna do now, man.”
“You’ll make a plan,” Derek said softly. “You always do.”
“Lee’s pregnant,” I told him.
“I know,” he sighed. “I just hope . . .”
“It won’t happen again?”
“Yeah.” Derek shivered.
“How’s fatherhood?” I asked, desperately trying to distract myself from the fear of Lee suffering another miscarriage.
“I’m going to make it right, Kyle,” Derek said in a serious tone. “My son deserves a proper family and that’s what he’s gonna get.”
“Good luck tryna get Karen to agree,” I chuckled humorlessly.
“It shouldn’t be too hard,” he mused. “Considering she’s downstairs in my bed.”
My head snapped up. “For real?”
“I promised Jordan I’d be there for him,” Derek replied. “That promise extends to his mother.”
