Page 52 of Saved By The King's Gamma

“When Azalea and I were little, the butcher used to offer us candy to help him in the basement. We never did. He always gave us strange vibes. We always thought there was something off with him, so when he would ask, we used to tell him Mrs. Daley gave us chores, which she did anyway, so it wasn’t technically a lie.”

“You thought I was a creep?” he asks appalled, as he should be; no one would like being thought of that way, which makes me feel guilty. However, I couldn’t help when the memories float in, uninvited.

“No, just when you said you didn’t eat candy, it came to mind. It’s just where my mind went for some reason.”

“Well, I am definitely not a pedophile. That I can assure you, and do you mean Doyle, that same butcher?”

I cringe hearing his name but nod, looking back out the window. All that seems like a lifetime ago, yet at the same time, I will always remember every detail, remember it like it was yesterday; it only needs the right thing to trigger it and bring it to the forefront of my mind.

“He’s dead now. You don’t have to worry about him,” Gannon says, and I swallow.

“It’s my fault, though. I went down to the basement with him. I knew I shouldn’t have, but Mrs. Daley said she wouldn’t feed us for a week if I didn’t help him bring the meat down to the freezers.” I clench my eyes, my stomach turning.

“I shouldn’t have gone down there. We always made sure we were never around and made sure we were busy when the butcher came to drop the meat off. We both knew something was off about him.”

“Then why did you?” Gannon asks. My bottom lip quivers.

“Because if I didn’t, she would have made Ivy, I mean Azalea. We hadn’t eaten in three days. Mrs. Daley used to make us share whatever scraps were left over. But this time, we had gone a while without food. There was nothing left over.”

“She used food against you?” Gannon asks, and I nod.

“Mrs. Daley said if I helped him stack the freezers, we could make ourselves a plate and eat with the rest of the children, so I went down there. She said we would have got lashings if I didn’t. If I had known what was waiting for me, I would have taken those instead, but we were hungry, and Azalea’s back was badly torn up already. She couldn’t take more lashings, and some were down to the bone. I just didn’t expect what I got when I went down there,” I whisper the last part.

25

“That doesn’t make it your fault,” Gannon says. “And afterward?” he asks, and I stare, unblinking out the windshield for a second before my gaze goes to my fingers as I pick at the skin.

“Azalea found me afterward. We cooked dinner, and she fed us. We were allowed a bowl of rice to share. Both of us were starving, yet neither of us touched it. That was the payment, a bowl of rice.” A tear escapes, knowing my worth to her was a bowl of rice.

“Mrs. Daley then called us ungrateful, and Azalea,” Taking a deep breath, I shut my eyes as the guilt rolls over me in waves. Shame stains my thoughts, knowing she bore over half of her cuts that day because of me. “She was punished for our refusal.” My voice comes out weaker than intended, “It was supposed to be just five lashes; cruel nevertheless, but more bearable – Mrs. Daley made it forty.”

“Was supposed to be five?” Gannon’s question pulls me from my haunted memory. A slight nod is all I manage while battling the fresh onslaught of guilt at recalling how much she suffered for me.

“Yes.” Swallowing hard, I manage to find my voice again. “She threw a bowl at Azalea when we defied her at dinner. It shattered against her face. The sharp edge left a bloody trail down Azalea’s face and cleaved her eyebrow in two.” With a shuddering breath, I vividly picture the gnarled cane with its intimidating whip wrapped around the handle – usually brandished exclusively for Azalea.

My own quiet sob breaks through the silence piped in the horror of what Azalea had endured on behalf of my defiance that night – willingly bearing punishment destined for me.

“What happened?” Gannon asks.

“Mrs. Daley gave her the five lashings, but when it was my turn, Azalea…” My face burns with shame at my next words.

“It hurt, I couldn’t sit; it hurt too much. Azalea was already hurt, and she still did it.”

“What did she do?” Gannon asks. I chew my lip and glance out the window as that night burns through my vision like I was right there all over again, witnessing it.

“She attacked Mrs. Daley so she wouldn’t hit me with the cane.” Gannon glances at me, probably shocked at what he is hearing because it shocked me back then too. I believed Mrs. Daley would kill her. “Azalea’s back was bleeding everywhere, her cuts from the day before had reopened. Mrs. Daley told me to straddle the chair; usually she made us stand for lashings. But she said her back was sore and wanted to make sure we didn’t move on her.” A startled laugh comes out of me.

“Her back was sore; that woman didn’t know the meaning of a sore back,” I chuckle.

“Abbie?” Gannon asks, pulling me back from wherever I drifted off. I suck in a breath, remembering I am supposed to be explaining what happened. “I told her I couldn’t sit, and she tried to shove me in the chair. When she grabbed me, Azalea slapped her. I was so shocked I just stood there. We were petrified of that woman, yet Azalea slapped her. Mrs. Daley slapped her back, knocking her to the ground, where she whipped her five more times.”

I peer out the window, my mind going back to that haunted place. “But then, when Mrs. Daley turned back to punish me, she got back up and hit her again, this time knocking Mrs. Daley over.”

Tears burn my eyes, and I can still see the blood gushing from Azalea’s face where the bowl hit her. I had never seen that much blood before. It ran down her arms and legs, staining her clothes. I gave her my own clothes because I couldn’t bear to wear them anymore. Mrs. Daley already whacked her good for that before dinner for wasting clothes. Only to suffer more for me.

“Mrs. Daley smacked her head on the coffee table. She had a nasty bump, she then sent me to my room, but I stayed on the stairs. Mrs. Daley said Azalea was going to get 40 lashings for messing up her face before the Alpha visit. But it was so much more than that.”

“Forty Lashings?” Gannon asked, shocked. He growls when I nod casually.

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