by JA Low
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Chris. She told me she needed space. I should have fucking been there.” The poor thing is shaking like a leaf as uncontrollable tears run down her face.
“Can I see her?” I ask Camryn, because I need to see her.
“Yeah, but she’s heavily sedated. She’s going to be okay, thankfully there was no internal bleeding just a lot of bruising and swelling.” Camryn holds my hand as she takes me into the hospital room.
The loud beeping of the machines fills the room. There she is lying helpless on the bed. Her caramel hair fanned out behind her head, her green eyes that usually sparkle are closed. There’s bruising all over her face. Her lush, pink lips have dried blood still on them.
“I’m going to fucking kill him. How the fuck could he do this to her?” My hands are balled into fists my whole body shaking with anger.
“I introduced them, Chris. I’m the one that brought this monster into her life.” Camryn starts crying again.
Pulling her into my arms I try to comfort her. “You didn’t know.”
“I broke up with Lance over this.” This is surprising, she has been with him for the past couple of years.
She hiccups on a sob. “That bastard stuck up for his friend. Told me maybe Vanessa provoked Kane because she is known to be a bitch. That Kane was sick of her nagging and sick of her workaholic nature, she never had time for him, and he needed a woman to satisfy him instead of breaking his balls all the time. That’s when I realized Lance probably frequented that club as well with Kane. Then it sunk in that Lance was cheating on me also, which he was.”
Fuck what a bunch of fucktards, who the hell cheats on these beautiful women? Seriously I am ready to give them both an ass whipping, I don’t care that they are fucking football players, I can take them on.
“Forget them. Those bastards aren’t real men. You deserve better. Vanessa deserves better.”
Camryn turns to me, her bright blue eyes glimmering with unshed tears, “She only dated him to get over you.”
Huh, I’m confused.
“Don’t forget I was there the first night you two met. I also have lived with Ness over the last couple of years. You two have a connection, I know it hurts her seeing you with other women and I’m sure you don’t like seeing her with other men.”
I shake my head; I’m not going to deny it.
“She wanted to move on; obviously you two can’t be together while she is working at the label and I know she loves her job and wouldn’t give it up for anything. It just sucks, because I think the two of you together would be amazing.”
“It’s not our time, Cammie. One day it will be, but we’re not ready for it yet. Until then we have to just be friends.”
Camryn lets out a big sigh. “Well don’t wait too long, Chris, because someone else might come along and sweep her off her feet and you will be left watching from the sideline again.”
Giving me a kiss on the cheek, Camryn walks toward Nessa, whispers something to her then kisses her forehead. She walks out of the room leaving the two of us alone, before the Police arrive.
I’m trying to open my eyes but they are heavy, the darkness keeps pulling me under. I am too weak to fight it. Bits and pieces of grainy images filter through the darkness but not enough for me to understand them. Something touches my hand but I am paralyzed to move it. Why the hell does my brain not work? I don’t understand what is happening.
“Why did you do it?” My question hangs in the air.
“I was doing you a favor. You don’t have time to fuck me, Ness. You’re always too busy with those fucking rock stars to service your boyfriend,” Kane spits at me, his face has gone red, I don’t understand why he is upset at me, I’m not the one cheating.
“Are you fucking serious? I love my job. I am damn good at my job. If you wanted a trophy wife, then you should have chosen one of those bimbos that are continuously hanging around you. I’m sure they would love nothing more than to stay at home waiting for you to walk through the door ready and willing to suck your dick. I am not apologizing for my job.” My body is shaking with anger.
“You know why those women happily service my dick? Because that is what they are there for and that is all they are good enough for. They are a stress relief. That’s why I’m with you. I can’t marry any of those sluts,” Kane splutters.
“Seriously, they are good enough to suck your dick but not good enough to marry? And I thought rock stars were bad.” I shake my head in disbelief. Kane is a fucking pig. How the hell did I fall for him? I must have been drunk or on drugs.
Kane stalks toward me getting right up in my face. My heart is racing because I can feel the aggression pouring off him in waves. He’s scaring me.
“I bet you happily suck those rock stars’ cocks? That’s why you are too tired for me, because you spend your days fucking them, don’t you?” Poking me hard in my chest, he sends me back into the wall. Fuck, that is going to bruise in the morning.
“Fuck you. I am a fucking professional,” I spit back, his words reminding me of that bitch in London. Flashbacks from a time I would rather forget.
Kane grabs me and starts shaking me violently. “You are a fucking slut, aren’t you? I know you’ve fucked them. Tell me you stupid bitch.”
My head is shaken back and forth like a damn rag doll; I can’t catch my breath as I am in shock. I have never ever seen him like this before. Finally, he stops shaking me, but I don’t think he is done yet. His large hand wraps around my throat, squeezing it tight.
“Tell me, Vanessa, have you fucked any of them?”
I could see the fire in his eyes. His fingers keep squeezing harder, slowly cutting off my air, the room starts to spin. Then a sharp pain creeps across my face, I blink a couple of times trying to focus. Fuck, Kane just slapped me across the face so I wouldn’t pass out. What is he doing? I thought he loved me? Shit, what the hell is he going to do to me?
“Answer me you stupid slut, have you fucked any of those guys?”
Spit hits my face as he screams at me. “Yes,” I squeak out. I want to hurt him but I also want him to stop.
“What the fuck did you say?” He lets go of my throat so I can speak. Kane takes a step back watching me.
“Yes, I have, and you know what, every single time I was with you, I wished it was him.” Fuck you, you fucking cunt, I scream in my head. I reach for my throat to rub it as it starts to throb from where he had gripped me.
Kane looks calm as his face turns to stone, his whole body stills.
“Which one?” he asks calmly.
“Does it matter?” I throw back, pushing myself away from the wall that he had me pinned against. I make my way back to the kitchen under the guise of grabbing a glass of water but I’m looking for a weapon.
“Yeah, it does, humor me, Ness.”
I frown at his request.
“It was Christian, I met him the same night I met you.”
The vein on Kane’s forehead starts to throb and he cracks his neck to each side. My heart starts to race. Fuck, what have I done? You never poke the beast, Ness. So fucking stupid. But I wanted him to hurt just the same way he hurt me.
“Christian? The same Christian you spend all your fucking time with? The same Christian who you travel with? Your best friend Christian?”
Putting the island bench between us, my eyes dart around the kitchen looking for something to protect myself with in case Kane blows up again. I see something change in Kane’s eyes before he launches at me. He’s too fucking quick and I get a couple of steps away before he is on me, tackling me to the ground.
“You fucking bitch, you are nothing but a goddamn slut! You are no better than those whores that suck my dick,” he snarls, his hands are all over me as he grabs at my pants, trying to get them down my hips.
I try my best to kick, punch and scratch him to defend myself. “Get off me. Get your fucking hands off me!” I scream, tears filling my eyes. Who the hell is this man? Why is he doing this
to me? I thought he loved me.
“You give up your pussy so easily for everyone else, why not me?” His hand breaches my panties as his fingers thrust into me. “I am going to fuck you until all you can think about is me. I am going to wipe Christian from your mind.”
I twist in his arms as he is distracted for a second trying to finger me again. I punch him hard in the face making him drop his hand. Thankfully, shock registers on him allowing me time to scurry away.
“You fucking bitch, you’re going to pay for that.”
I bolt through the house trying to get to the front door but he is so fast, tackling me again, my head hitting the floor hard, stunning me. Then I feel his fist in my face. Fuck, I think I see stars. I swear he just broke my nose, maybe my jaw.
“How fucking dare you disrespect me like that!” Kane screams into my ear. I flinch as the roar rocks through me. He’s so loud and menacing that the sound of his voice rattles my bones. Another fist, this time to the stomach, making me curl up into a fetal position. I can only hope it will help to protect me from his onslaught. The fists keep coming one after another until I pass out and the darkness swallows me up. I embrace it.
“Ness, can you hear me? Wake up please. I need you. I miss you.”
I know that voice. I could pick that voice out anywhere. Christian! Why can’t I talk? I don’t understand. I try to move my hand but nothing, so I try and move my fingers, slowly they wiggle.
“Ness, Ness. Nurse she’s waking up.”
I hear footsteps run into the distance. Where am I?
“Baby, come back to me please.” Lips whisper against my ear.
Using all my strength I try really hard to move my body, but nothing happens. I focus on just trying to open my eyes, bit by bit I can feel them twitch, until I see a sliver of light trickling in. More light appears as my eyes try to focus but I can’t see anything.
“Welcome back, Miss Roberts,” a female voice says. “Take your time, you have been out of it for a while, don’t try and push yourself.”
Finally, the room comes into focus. I can hear the beeping of a machine in the distance, a bright fluorescent light shining in my eyes. My whole body aches. What the hell happened to me? Turning my head, I see Christian standing beside me, he looks pale and I notice the bags under his eyes. He doesn’t look well at all. He gives me a smirk as he catches me looking at him.
“Thank God you’re awake.” He rubs his hand against mine.
“What?” I try to speak but my throat is all scratchy.
“Here, sweetheart, take a sip of this,” the nurse instructs, giving me a straw as I take a sip of water from the bottle she is holding. “That might make it better. You will find it hard to talk for a while as your throat is bruised.”
Why is it bruised?
“Do you know why you are in the hospital, Ness?” Christian asks me.
I shake my head.
His whiskey colored eyes look at the nurse, he looks worried.
“There’s been no brain damage, Mr. Taylor. She might just be a little groggy from the drugs.”
Nodding at the nurse, his eyes turn back to me. “Kane attacked you.”
My body tenses and the machine starts to beep louder and faster as I remember exactly what happened. No, no, no.
“V, calm down, it’s okay. I’m here. I’ve got you,” Christian says, pulling himself up onto the side of my bed wrapping me in his arms, protecting me as my tears start to flow. How the hell did I let myself get into this position?
***
“Babe, the police are here and they want to talk to you?” Christian wakes me from my nap. I sit up in my bed as the two young police officers come in, their eyes widening as they see Christian and Axel from Dirty Texas sitting with me in hospital.
“Miss Roberts, we are here to interview you in regards to your injuries,” one of the officers says.
“Thank you, I appreciate you coming down but I won’t be pressing charges, nothing happened.”
The two officers stare at me blankly.
“What do you mean you’re not pressing charges? That fucker deserves to pay for what he did to you, Vanessa,” Christian angrily protests.
Ignoring the pissed off rocker, I look to the officers, “I’m sorry but I won’t be making a statement.”
The other officer speaks, “We can help you, Miss. You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore.” His kind, brown eyes look at me. He can see the injuries that have turned a nice deep purple over my body.
“You can’t help me. The man that did this, he is too high profiled. He will never come to justice; he has vowed to ruin my life. I have too much to lose. I just can’t. No one will believe me, he is a fucking god in people’s eyes.”
Tears threaten because it’s the truth. No one would believe Kane Bennett hits women. He is a football star who wins Super Bowl rings; he donates to charities and feeds the homeless. No one would ever believe me.
“Ness, he can’t get away with this.” Christian looks at me with pain in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Chris, I just can’t.” I turn my face away from him because I can’t look at his disappointment any more.
“Chris, just leave it,” Axel says, comforting his brother.
“Miss, here is my card, if you ever need to talk please give me a call,” the officer with the kind eyes offers as he leaves the card on my bed. A few moments later they walk out the door.
“I’m sorry, Chris, I just can’t. It would be a PR nightmare for you and for the label. The paparazzi and the media would have a field day with this. It would follow me around forever—I just can’t.” My tears start to flow again.
Christian pulls me into his arms, “Shh, babe, don’t cry. I’m sorry, we don’t have to do anything. I just want to protect you, okay?”
Looking up into his eyes, I can see how much Christian is hurting by all of this. “I don’t want to let you down, Chris. I know I should report him so it doesn’t happen to anyone else, I know this, but I just can’t.”
Christian wraps himself around me. “I love you, Ness, and I will support you with whatever decision you make?”
Christian loves me, my heart feels like it is going to burst.
“Shit, never thought I would see the day my brother pronounced his love for another woman other than Mom,” Axel jokes.
“Fuck off, dickhead, thanks for ruining the moment,” Christian curses at him.
Axel walks out of the room flipping his brother off.
“I do love you, Ness. You’re my best friend, I don’t have any female friends because…well you know…my incredible good looks and huge dick always gets in the way.”
This makes me laugh.
“But you’re special. We just click. Seeing you in here, thinking I’d lost you, it drove me crazy. I realized I’d never told you how I feel, that you are as close to me as Axel is or the rest of my family are. As much as I want to bone you every day, because let’s face it, we are both fucking hot, I understand we can’t. Fuck, I still jerk off thinking about that weekend we had together all those years ago.”
This shocks me but it makes me smile.
“What I want even more than that is your friendship. I love hanging out with you doing boring shit, like cooking dinner or hanging out at the beach. I love that I’m the person you call when your car isn’t working or you need a tap fixed in your house. So if the only way I can keep you in my life forever is to have you as my best friend then I’m okay with that.”
Leaning over I give Christian a kiss on the lips, it is supposed to be just a small one but his words kind of hit me hard and before I know it we are making out.
“Fuck, Ness,” he whispers, resting his forehead against mine.
“I love you too, Chris, and I agree sex complicates things. Honestly I don’t want to lose you. I love having you around even if you are annoying as shit.”
“Yeah, but you love it,” he says, giving me a mischievous smile.
“Yeah, I kind of do. Thank you
for hanging around over the past couple of days at the hospital.”
Christian looks a little embarrassed by my compliment.
“It’s what friends do.”
“Home sweet home.” Camryn smiles, opening the door for Vanessa, who is tense in my arms. Walking through the doors of her home after what she experienced here is tough but Camryn and I have redecorated the space. We rearranged the room that Kane destroyed. We purchased new furniture, repositioned things around the room so that when Vanessa sat down to watch TV she didn’t have to relive the horror that happened here.
“It looks different,” Vanessa says, taking in the new look of the home.
“Yeah, Christian and I did some redecorating, hope you like it.” Camryn sounded like a perky cheerleader, but I know she is just nervous about today.
Vanessa’s eyes look around the room; she gives us a smile. “Looks nice. I’m just going to go lie down for a while, I’m tired,” she says as she walks toward her bedroom.
Once she has gone I turn to Camryn. “Fuck, do you think she’s okay?”
“It’s an adjustment coming back here. I guess it will take time.”
“Should I check on her? That woman standing here earlier with us was not our Ness.”
“I hate being in this house because of what happened, I can’t imagine how she feels. Yeah, I would check on her even though I know she will hide whatever is going on in her head.”
Maybe it’s a mistake bringing her back here. I should have taken her back to my place. I walk down the hall to Vanessa’s room. Lightly knocking on her door, I announce, “Ness, it’s me.”
A mumbled, “Come in,” filters through the door. Opening the door, I find Vanessa curled up in a ball crying into her pillow. I race over to her, pulling her onto my lap, rocking her as her whole body shakes.
“I can’t stay here, Chris. I can feel him all around me.” She is shaking like a leaf.
“Angel, you don’t have to stay here. Come live with me. I can move all your stuff to my place and you can stay with me for however long you want or even forever, I don’t care.”
Her green eyes look at me. “You’re a good man, Chris.”
