Page 22 of Unbroken

“You’re really going to choose him over your own daughter? You know what? Never mind. I won’t be back.”

Thirty seconds. I’ll give her thirty seconds before going to her so she doesn’t know I overheard. Counting in my head, I make it to seventeen before the sound of her sobs reaches me. Rushing inside, I find her leaning over the counter, one arm gripping her stomach, her head bowed on the other across the counter.

“Lucy.”

She jerks back, her hands swiping at her face, but the tears don’t quit flowing.

“I... I’m so s–sorry.”

“What happened?” Setting the cup of coffee on the counter, I pull her into my arms. She buries her face in her hands and presses them both to my chest. I trace a hand up and down her back in soothing circles while she attempts to calm her breathing.

“She just... how could she do this?” Her words are broken between sobs she is fighting to keep inside.

“Tell me what happened. Who hurt you, Little Dove?” I ask, trying my best to remain calm when every instinct is telling me to get in my truck and drive to her mother’s house right now.

She pulls away abruptly, reaching for a rough paper towel. “Nothing. I’m fi—”

“Don’t you dare say fine. Tell me.” I growl out the last word.

“It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. I’ll handle it.”

Wrapping my hand around her shoulder, I spin her around and tilt her head, forcing her to look me in the eye. Nothing about this shit is okay, and I’m sick of pretending otherwise. This girl has gotten under my skin and burrowed into my fucking soul. She needs to understand that.

“Do you think this was just fun for me? A quick fuck over a weekend? You are mine, Little Dove, and someone has hurt you. That means you will tell me, and we will handle it together. Do you understand?”

She nods, wide-eyed.

“Good. Start at the beginning.”

“I was getting ready for the party Friday, and the bathroom was hot, so I opened the door while I finished my hair. Roger... Roger is my mom’s boyfriend. He’s been staying there for a few weeks.”

I nod in understanding and wait for her to continue.

“Anyway, I was almost done when he walked past then backtracked and pushed inside the bathroom. I yelled at him to leave, but he ignored me and started reaching for me. One hand grabbed my... it squeezed my boob... while the other one groped at my crotch. I yelled at him to stop and kneed him between the legs. When he fell, he was shouting and screaming at me. My mom ran in, and I told her what happened, but Roger just kept calling me a lying cunt.

“What did your mom do?”

“She flipped out...on me,yelling about how I should be ashamed while she helped him to his feet, and I just fled.”

“When you walked inside, you were upset. This had just happened.”

She nods. Pulling her back into my arms, I press my cheek to the top of her head. “You’re not going back there. When we leave here, you’re coming home with me. I don’t want you to step foot back inside that house ever again.”

“My clothes...”

“We’ll get you new clothes. Anything you need. But you don’t look back. Deal?”

I don’t bother telling her that it’s safer this way. If she went back there, I would be by her side, and I don’t trust myself to not touch Roger inappropriately myself. A fist to the nose, for example. The idea of him putting his hands on her, trying to force her into something she didn’t fully consent to... I’ll kill the motherfucker. No one touches what is mine.

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