Scarred

by K. Webster

  “I’m sorry, Olive. This just took me by surprise is all. It’s very nice to meet you, honey.”

  “Nice to meet you too, ma’am. Bray’s a great guy.”

  “Crumbs! Don’t call me ma’am. Please just call me Connie,” she laughed. Her features lit up, reminding me of Bray. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “Connie, can I get you something to drink?” I asked, hoping to keep the mood light.

  “I’ll take a glass of Merlot, honey,” she smiled.

  Skirting around her, I pulled two glasses from the under cabinet rack and poured the wine that was sitting on the counter. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator for myself.

  Once we sat down with our plates of food, Connie started telling a funny story about Bray’s dad, Jim. Apparently he was a crotchety man who enjoyed staying in the confines of their home. I could relate.

  “So, Olive, what nationality are you? I never expected Bray to date a black girl,” she said rather bluntly, making me choke on my water.

  Bray’s eyes grew huge as he gasped in exasperation. “Mom! Does your candor know no bounds?”

  “What, Bray? It’s a legitimate question. She’s got the lightest brown skin I’ve seen on a black girl. Her eyes are so pale. Those cheeks of hers turn rosy red when she’s embarrassed, which appears to be often. I just want to know how she came to look like this. Olive, you’re a beautiful girl, by the way,” she winked at me. Bray rolled his eyes at her, but I could see the interest in his eyes to know a little bit more about me.

  “My mother is African-American and my father is Caucasian. He left her once she was pregnant with me, but that’s how I came to have this fair skin and light-colored eyes.”

  “I see. Honey, did you not want any wine?” she asked, just now realizing I was drinking water.

  My cheeks burned, and I instantly felt guilty because she’d just mentioned my obvious blushing. Bray and I exchanged nervous looks.

  “Mom, I need to tell you something.” He pulled my hand into his lap under the table and squeezed it. She frowned at the serious look on his face. “Olive is pregnant. We’re going to have a baby in September,” he rushed out.

  Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head and her jaw dropped open. “But you aren’t even married. You just started dating!” she exclaimed. Snatching up her glass, she downed the entire thing.

  “Connie, we conceived a couple of months ago. We’re both happy about this,” I supplied, hoping to erase the sick look on her face.

  “Of course you are happy about this. Since you won’t be able to model anymore, you’ll latch on to my successful Brayden. Life will be perfect for Olive. Of course you’re happy,” she snapped. Tears sprung to my eyes. This woman was insufferable.

  “Mom!” Bray roared, startling Connie and me.

  She just glared back at him. “Bray, you don’t have to be with her just because she’s pregnant. I know how your mind works. You think you need to save her. Just because you got her pregnant doesn’t mean you have to force a relationship. You can still pay child support and be a part of the baby’s life. But you don’t have to stay with her,” she spat.

  Hastily standing up from my chair, I rushed into the living room. Their words had become heated and were growing louder. I walked back into the room, clutching my purse.

  Bray’s eyes widened in surprise. “Babe, please don’t leave,” he pled, standing. Connie’s mouth quirked up in a smile as she thought she’d succeeded in running me off.

  “I’m not leaving, Bray. Here,” I told Connie as I thrust the sonogram in her face. “This is your grandbaby. A sweet little baby that is half of your son. We love this precious being. If you want to be a part of this baby’s life, I suggest you lose the attitude. I won’t have my child around this negativity,” I told her fiercely.

  My hands were quivering but I mentally high-fived myself for bravely standing up to her. She grew quiet as she stared at the picture. When she finally looked back up at me, her eyes were glistening with tears. Bray walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Mom, meet A.B.” He grinned and winked at me. I smiled back at him. The way he boasted about our little baby filled my heart with happiness.

  “A.B.?” she questioned, looking up at him.

  Chuckling, he told her, “Alien Blob.”

  “Brayden! Don’t call my grandbaby an alien!” she scolded, but the grin was plastered all over her face. “Olive, I’m sorry—again. This is just a lot to take in. Give me some time to acclimate myself to all of this, but I promise I’ll come around,” she told me in apology.

  I just smiled shyly at her and nodded.

  “Okay, kids. It’s getting late. I need to get home to feed Jim. But first”—she pulled her iPhone from her pocket—“I need to make A.B. my screensaver,” she grinned as she snapped a picture of the sonogram. “Granny needs to show Poppy his grandchild.”

  She looked pleased at appointing herself as Granny. The earlier tense moment lifted as she gathered her purse. I was surprised when she pulled me in for a hug.

  “Don’t hurt my boy,” she whispered into my ear before pulling away, and I shivered at her warning.

  Once Mom finally left, I turned to Olive, feeling awful about the entire dinner.

  “Babe, I’m so sorry about all of that. My mother is great once you make it through her tough exterior. Ask Andi—she knows firsthand. I’m sorry she said those things to you. I really care about you and I’m excited to be having this baby with you. Tomorrow we can move some of your things over here.”

  She looked at me with sadness in her eyes, making me feel sick about the way my mother had treated her. Her own mother wouldn’t have anything to do with her and now mine was giving her a hard time. Grabbing her hand, I led her over to the sofa, where we sat down beside each other.

  “Bray, I’m not using you. I can find an apartment. There’s no sense in you feeling obligated to take me in. I probably won’t show for a little while longer and then I can get a job waiting tables or something. And honestly, I send my mom most of my modeling money anyway and she never cashes those checks. I bet I have quite a nest egg saved up.”

  “Fuck that!” I growled, causing her to flinch. Reaching over, I pulled her light frame into my lap. Instinctively, she settled a leg on either side of my hips. “Olive, there is no way I’m letting my pregnant girlfriend wait fucking tables. I want to wake up every morning as I watch your belly swell with my child inside. You aren’t an obligation to me.”

  She nodded but still seemed unconvinced. Her eyes misted over, but she quickly blinked them away. Between Pepper and now my mother, Olive was feeling like the bad guy. It was one thing for them to be pissed at me, but I saw red when they treated Olive the way they had been.

  Olive’s phone rang from her back pocket. When she went to answer it, I took the moment to distract her from her sadness by teasing her nipple with my teeth through her shirt. Grabbing a handful of her ass with each hand, I pulled her against my already throbbing, hard cock. She nearly whimpered as she answered her phone.

  “Hello?” she asked, distracted as I continued to touch her. When her body became rigid, I looked up at her and stopped my caresses. She was frowning and seemed worried as hell. “Opal, slow down. Where are you? I can come get you but you need to tell me where you’re at.”

  I could hear a hysterical female voice on the other end. Olive was listening intently. She finally spoke again.

  “I know all about abusive boyfriends. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

  Suddenly Olive dropped the phone into my lap. She looked incredibly ill as she practically ran into the kitchen, barely making it to the sink before she vomited. I picked up the phone.

  “Opal? This is Bray, Olive’s boyfriend. What’s going on?”

  I’d never spoken to her but I felt like I knew her since Olive talked about her so often. Olive adored her baby sister. And unfortunately, because of their mother, the two hadn’t been
able to see each other. Olive had hoped that since Opal had turned eighteen recently, things would change.

  “I was just telling Olive my address. Where did she go?” she asked tearfully. The girl sounded panicked. Extremely panicked. The hair on my neck prickled.

  “Tell me the address, Opal. We’re coming to get you.” I hopped up and hurried into my third bedroom, which I use for an office. Locating a pad of paper and a pen, I asked her to give it to me. I scrawled out the address and asked her to repeat it to make sure I’d written it down correctly.

  “Hurry! He’ll wake up soon,” she whispered.

  “I can be there in fifteen minutes. Hang tight.”

  I hung up and found Olive still bent over the sink in the kitchen.

  “Babe, are you okay?” I asked. She shook her head back and forth as she looked ready to heave some more. While rubbing her back, I quickly called Andi. “Andi, let me talk to Jackson,” I demanded when she answered the phone.

  Understanding that my tone was a serious one, she didn’t argue, passing it on to a voice that was gruff when it answered.

  “Jackson, I’m going to text you an address. Meet me there. Get over there as soon as you can. Send Andi over here to my place to stay with Olive—she’s sick and I’d hate to leave her alone. I’ll text you my address as well.”

  I would have called Jordan, but since Pepper was being a bitch to Olive, I would have to deal with Jackson instead. Surprising me, he grunted that he’d be there and hung up. After quickly texting him the addresses, I wrapped my arms around Olive and kissed the back of her head.

  “Andi is coming to stay with you. I’m going to get Opal for you. Will you be okay?”

  I pulled away from her to grab my keys and wallet. When she turned to look at me, I was chilled by the haunted, wild look in her eyes.

  “Bring me my purse,” she rasped out, her voice scratchy from vomiting. I went into the living room and brought it back to her. She dug through it and produced a key.

  “You’re going to need this,” she tells me softly.

  I grabbed the key from her as things started rapidly falling into place. Nodding, I kissed her forehead once more before bolting out the front door. Things had just gotten more serious, and I needed to get Opal out of there quickly.

  Minutes later, I was in my car and hauling ass to the address I’d programmed into my GPS. When I pulled up to the apartment building and found a spot, I was pleased to see Jackson already there, leaning against the building.

  “Want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” he grumbled.

  “Olive’s sister Opal is in trouble. She’s here and we need to get her out as soon as possible,” I told him as we walked quickly into the building. Once we were at the door of the address Opal gave me, I produced the key from my pocket.

  “What are you doing?” Jackson hissed.

  Ignoring him, I quietly unlocked the door and walked into the dark apartment. Jackson followed cautiously behind me. My eyes scanned the living room only to find it empty. I took soft steps toward the end of the hallway, where dim light shone through under the closed doorway. Once there, I gingerly turned the knob and peeked inside.

  My stomach flip-flopped at the sight. A naked young woman sat shivering on the floor beside the bed. One hand was bound my some sort of rope to the bed post. Her free hand clutched a cell phone. A large, naked black man lay facedown on the bed, snoring. When her eyes met mine, I saw nothing but relief. A long, slender finger covered her lip, indicating for me to be quiet. Nodding my understanding, I opened the door enough to get inside the room.

  I turned to Jackson and saw that he was glaring angrily at the situation. Without words, he started snatching up her clothes from the floor while I quickly set to work at freeing her hand. Tears were silently streaming down her cheeks. Finally, I loosened the rope enough that she was able to slip her hand through. She rubbed it for a second before attempting to stand. I grabbed her elbows and stood her up. Her body shook violently so I didn’t release my hold. Jackson helped dress her while I made sure she didn’t collapse.

  It was in that moment that I realized she had been roughed up. Dried blood was caked on one corner of her busted bottom lip. More was smeared around her nose. Her hair was wild and all over the place. The rat bastard on the bed had done this to her.

  I clenched my teeth and was about to jump on the bed to break the fucker’s neck when Jackson’s eyes met mine. He shook his head, silently telling me not to do what I was thinking. With a reluctant nod, I got over that notion and we started helping Opal to the door. When a groan came from the bed, Opal yelped out in fear.

  “What the fuck?” the voice growled.

  In an instant, Jackson scooped Opal into his arms and bolted out the door. I was heading that way when a pair of large hands spun me around.

  I was nose to nose with a very large dark-skinned man whose eyes shone wildly with rage. The alcohol on his breath was strong, and he wobbled slightly. He was stark naked, and my eyes couldn’t help but hone in on the tattoo scrawled across where his heart was. One simple word: Olive.

  My vision blurred with hate as my thoughts were confirmed. Rearing back, I punched him forcefully in the jaw, which sent him stumbling back several steps. He tripped over a pair of his shoes and landed hard on his ass. Stalking over to him, I kicked him brutally in the ribs. Kicking him over and over again, I thought of each scar across Olive’s belly and it served to fuel my rage.

  Falling to my knees, I grabbed his throat and began punching his face repeatedly. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been hitting him when a pair of strong arms pulled me away from him.

  “That’s enough. She’s in the car waiting. Let’s go,” Jackson commanded. He had a firm grip on my upper arm.

  Instead of fighting, I let him push me out of the apartment. It wasn’t until we’d reached the cool evening air that my head cleared. And suddenly I was ready to finish the job.

  “Let me go,” I spat at Jackson as I tried to go back upstairs. My body thrummed with the need to kill the man who preyed on innocent women.

  “Not a chance. Now get your ass in your car and drive home. We’ll follow you.”

  Conceding, I jerked my arm away and stalked over to my car. Now that I knew where the fucker lived, I had a feeling we’d be seeing each other again. And soon.

  “They’re on their way back now, Olive. Jackson just texted me. They have Opal, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay,” Andi confirmed.

  The message was music to my ears. I was going to have my sister back. There were so many unanswered questions. The main one was driving me crazy. How in the world had Opal ended up with Drake?

  She handed me another cracker. Once she had shown up earlier with crackers and ginger ale, I had started to feel lots better. Now, we were huddled together on the sofa while I nibbled crackers.

  “Andi, he was a monster,” I told her softly.

  Her eyes flew to mine. Nobody but Bray knew the story of exactly what kind of monster Drake really was. She squeezed my hand, urging me to go on. Suddenly, I wanted to tell her everything.

  “He abused me,” I began. Feeling slightly ill, I sipped on the soda before continuing. “At first, it was simple stuff. I’d smile at someone in public and he would get jealous. He would grip my wrist tightly, leaving bruises. In the beginning, I just thought it meant he really cared about me. That he didn’t want to share me. It was flattering in some warped way.”

  I fiddled with the hem of my shirt with my free hand. While with Drake, I’d really lost the sense of what was right and wrong.

  “It only got worse—especially when he’d been drinking. He moved on to shaking me or shoving me. Then slapping me. Eventually he would punch and kick me. He controlled everything about me—what I ate, what jobs I took, who I could talk to. I felt trapped but didn’t know what to do about it. I was so scared.

  “One day, he took it way too far. He hurt me so badly that I ended up in the hospital. That next day, I met you. You wer
e my guardian angel, Andi,” I told her.

  Tears filled her eyes as she sniffled and pulled me in for a hug. We cried together for a few minutes before we finally broke apart.

  “I’m still you’re guardian angel. Don’t you forget it,” she teased.

  I smiled at her, but then it fell away sadly. “Andi, that’s why I’m so worried about Opal. She somehow ended up with Drake, and I know what he can do. He did this to me,” I said and lifted my shirt.

  Her eyes flew to my belly. A hand covered her mouth as she gasped.

  “What the fuck! Olive, why isn’t that fucker in jail?” she exclaimed. I didn’t flinch when her fingers delicately traced the outlines of the scars. It was time I’d come to terms with my past. No more hiding from it.

  “Honestly, Andi, I thought he would come after me. A successful guy like him with no prior record will just get released on bail. I was worried that he would immediately seek revenge if I turned him in. And up until I met Bray, I had been terrified of running into him. New York seems like a big place until you have a crazy ex that would stop at nothing to reclaim you. Suddenly every shadow and tall, dark-skinned man had me running for the hills. I took up self-defense and now own a gun that I know how to shoot.”

  “Yeah, I think you proved that with the whole Cole situation,” she agreed.

  “It wasn’t until I met Bray that I felt like I could move on with my life. He was protective and gentle—two things I desperately needed in a man. Problem was, he was your ex. Hooking up with him while we were drunk was such a mistake. We didn’t consider your feelings. But once we made that connection, we couldn’t turn it off. That’s why, even though we chose to be just friends, we couldn’t stay away from one another.”

  Andi smiled and squeezed my hand again. “Babe, I’ll be honest. It was weird when I found out, but I wasn’t unhappy. Don’t tell Jackson, but I’ll always love Bray. He was my first love. And even though he made the mistake he did, Bray is still a good person. The fact that he acknowledges his mistake and seems keen on never doing anything of the sort again is huge. Deep in my heart, I always knew he wouldn’t do it again. But we were finished and I haven’t looked back. We weren’t right for each other.