Page 75 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
Yeah, I fucking did, and that piece of shit better hope he never crosses fucking paths with me…
“Knowing I had no other choice I went back. I was goin’ to give myself two, three months top. I’d work my butt off to save what I could and get the hell away from him. When I got back we didn’t speak, and again, I made sure to stay away whenever I could. Then the money I was makin’ began to disappear. I knew he was stealin’ from me, so I started hiding it. When he couldn’t find it he became enraged. One night he stormed into my room and started sayin’ all these awful things to me. He accused me of sleepin’ with Adam and insisted I was a whore just like my mother… He back handed me across my face, knockin’ me to the ground, then took his belt off and whipped me repeatedly with it. He hit me so much, Sawyer, I couldn’t get out of bed the next day,” she breaks off sobbing.
Pulling her closer, I try to breath through the violence that rushes through my veins like fire. The motherfucker is dead; I’m going to find him and fucking kill him…
“After that, I knew I wouldn’t last months with him. So I decided I’d wait for my paycheck at the end of the week and go to Charleston to find my father. I figured there was no way my father was going to be worse than him. But during that week he… he started lookin’ at me different. In a way he shouldn’t have, do you understand what I’m sayin’?”
Dread begins to mix with my rage. Oh fuck…
“He started bargin’ into my room at random times. He wouldn’t do or say anythin’; he would just stare at me for long moments then close the door. I didn’t know what he was doin’, but I was so scared I barely slept, and I made sure I set my alarm to wake every so often so he couldn’t catch me off guard. My last night there I thought everythin’ would be okay because his girlfriend was spendin’ the night. She was a drunk like him, and normally when she was there he wouldn’t acknowledge me, but I was wrong… so, so wrong.” She swallows thickly and I feel her start to shake. “I woke up to him comin’ into my room…” her words trail off as another sob breaks from her.
Fuck! I flip her over, the top half of my body covering hers. “Did he fucking touch you, Grace? Did he?” I shout the question not meaning to. She cries harder and wraps her arms around my neck, bringing me closer. “Tell me, baby, what the fuck did he do?”
“He tried. He told me it was payment for takin’ me in. I fought with everythin’ I had but I couldn’t get him off of me, Sawyer…” She trails off and tries to compose herself. I thread my fingers in her soft hair and trail my lips across her wet face, trying to give her any comfort I can. Hoping it will also help calm the white, hot rage that’s about to explode from me.
“Thankfully his girlfriend woke up and started callin’ out his name. He snuck back out of my room before she could find out where he was. As soon as the door shut behind him I quietly got up and packed everythin’ into my bag that would fit, which wasn’t much. I snuck out my window and ran to the bus stop. I was terrified he would catch me before I made it there, but thankfully he didn’t. Using the little money I had left, I purchased a ticket to Charleston in hopes my father would want somethin’ to do with me. But the closer I got, the more unsure I became. I was so scared of him rejectin’ me, I didn’t think I was strong enough to take it if he did. I ended up meetin’ a real nice, old lady on the bus. She had told me about Sunset Bay, and what a beautiful town it was. Since it was so close to Charleston I decided I would go check it out, until I had enough courage to face my father. By the time I made it there, it was early in the mornin’. The bus stop was right across the street from the diner. I went in there for a tea, until I could figure out where to go, and that’s when I met Mac… my angel.”
My body is jacked with a million fucking emotions right now, as I try to wrap my head around everything she just told me. None of this should have fucking happened. She should have been protected. Instead she was abused and almost fucking violated in the worse way. Hell, I’m sure there’s a shit load more that she hasn’t shared…
“Want to know what’s the worst of it all, Sawyer?” Her sad voice pulls me from my thoughts.
Jesus, it gets fucking worse? I lean back and look into her sad eyes, ones that don’t belong on someone as beautiful as her.
I wipe the tears away from her cheek. “What, baby?”
“I left without her…” she chokes out with agony.
What? “Without who?”
“Mama. He took her ashes from me, just to be cruel. I had tried to find her a few times and failed. I was too scared to search for her again before I left, not wanting to get caught, so I just left her there.” Her expression twists with guilt, “I can’t believe I left her with him.” Agonized sobs rip from her body and I swear flow right into my fucking heart.
I bury my face beside hers. “Don’t you fucking dare blame yourself for that, baby. You did the right thing, Grace, you had to get out of there. Listen, everything is going to be okay. We’ll get her back…”
“What? No! No, Sawyer, you can’t!” She becomes hysterical again as soon as the words leave my mouth, her eyes wild with fear, “You can’t go anywhere near him or else he will know where I am. I don’t want him to know anythin’ about me. I just want to pretend he doesn’t exist…”
