“Baby…” He pulled me to him by the back of my head, careful to stay away from my back. “I’m the one that’s sorry. I didn’t mean to make this about me. I just got so mad that she hurt you. And then I… It doesn’t matter. How bad is it?”
I pulled away from him and wiped my face, attempting to calm down. “You don’t want to see it. Just leave it at that. It hurts, and I don’t want you to look at it.”
“Let me see, Aubrey. Telling me that makes it worse.”
I shook my head. “Please, Axel. Just leave it alone.”
“Were you cut?” he asked, and I could only nod my answer. “Did you go get it taken care of?”
“I did my best with it.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Bree? You…? That’s it. I’m going to go pick up a first aid kit and then I’m taking you back to my house. You will let me see it, because someone has to take care of it. And if you don’t let me do it, I’m taking you to the hospital, and then I’ll answer their questions.” He pulled the Jeep away from the curb before I could argue.
He stopped at a local dollar store and parked up front, ending the silent drive. “I’ll only be inside for a few minutes. Don’t test me, Bree. If I come back and you’re gone… Just don’t test the lengths I will go to protect you. Right now, I’m barely holding back from calling every cop in this county until I find one that’s not in your mother’s back pocket. Get out of this car, and I won’t hesitate to start making those calls.”
“I won’t leave, I promise.”
His expression fell as he lightly stroked my cheek with his fingertips. “I’m sorry I’m so mad, and that I’m taking it out on you. I know it’s not your fault. Please, don’t misunderstand my anger. I love you, Aubrey, and the thought of you being hurt makes me see red. I’m not upset with you.”
I nodded slowly and then closed my eyes as he leaned forward, closing his mouth over mine. It was a gentle kiss, full of love, but it lasted longer than I’d expected it to.
He stepped from the Jeep and took one more look at me before closing the door and disappearing into the store. I tried to relax in my seat, but my back prevented it, so I turned my body and stared out the window, just in time to watch the car parked next to us back up.
Axel stayed true to his word and only left me alone for a few minutes. After he got back behind the wheel, he drove me to his house to dress my wounds. Fear bubbled up inside at the anticipation of his reaction. I hadn’t been able to see my entire back in the mirror, but what I could see and feel wasn’t pretty. It made my eye look like a paper cut.
“I’m not wearing a bra. How exactly do you want to do this?”
We stood in his kitchen near the sink. He spun around and said, “Just cover yourself with your shirt. I won’t look until you’re ready.”
With shaky arms, I took off my sweater, pulled my large T-shirt over my head, and winced in pain. I pressed the garment against my chest, and once I told him he could turn around, I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. But instead of words, I heard a harsh gasp, and then I felt feather-light touches along my shoulder blade.
“I couldn’t reach it all, but I did pour peroxide on it in the shower. I could only cover some of them with bandages.”
“Your mom didn’t offer to help at all?” he asked in disbelief. When would he ever understand? Someone capable of this doesn’t possess the decency to help clean it up. “Tell me, Bree, what happened? Please. And don’t even think about lying to me.”
I took a deep breath and filled him in on what took place after I got home from his house.
“How dare you!” Those were the first words spewed from her lips. “Is this what you’ve been doing behind my back? Wait for me to go to bed and then sneak out? What were you doing? Were you spreading your legs for the little neighborhood boys?”
“No, Mom. I was just sitting in the woods like I always do.”
“In a dress? In the middle of the night?”
“It’s a nice night. And I wanted to be cool.”
“You’re a pathetic liar, just like your father. You two think you can run around behind my back and fuck whoever you want while I sit at home. You disgust me.” She took steps in my direction, causing me to stumble backward further into the living room. “You’ll never amount to anything more than a cracked-out streetwalker.”
I should’ve left it at that, just dropped it, let her walk away. But against my better judgment, I squared my shoulders and allowed the wolf inside to take over. Axel had seen it in me, but I never believed him until that very moment. “I’m a slut? Then what does that say about you? You pointing your finger at a virgin and accusing her of being a whore…yet weren’t you the one knocked up by a guy that only slept with you because he was desperate? You had to force him to marry you. And then force him to stay with you. But I’m the slut…”
She lunged forward, grabbing a fistful of hair on the side of my head. “You listen to me, you ungrateful bitch. My biggest regret in life was having you. I should’ve killed you before you took your first breath. Keep pushing me, and I’ll take your last.” With that, she shoved me and I fell against the glass doors of the wall unit behind me.
The sound of broken glass didn’t register past the screaming in my ear. With wide eyes, I observed the deranged woman in front of me and realized those ear-piercing cries weren’t coming from her. Pain filtered into my mind as the deep burn in my upper back took hold of me, preventing me from drawing in a deep enough breath. The glass sliced through skin and murdered my strength. My knees gave out, as well as my fight.
As long as I was under her roof, I’d never survive.
Tears slowly leaked from my eyes as I recounted every moment to him, and then explained how she wouldn’t let me out of her sight for the rest of the weekend. Having him at my back instead of seeing my face made it easier to voice the worst moment of my life. Apparently, sometime during my explanation, he’d finished cleaning and bandaging my wounds. I could sense him closer to me, his scent becoming more powerful, overpowering the air around us. Soft, warm lips caressed my shoulder and the side of my neck.
“You can’t stay there, Bree.”
“I don’t have a choice,” I said with a sniffle.
He gently spun me around with his hands on my hips until we were chest to chest. His eyes no longer held the heated emotions as before. They’d turned forgiving and tender…worried, but easy. “Give me this week. Give me time to figure this out. I don’t care if you have to move four hours away to your dad’s house, but I won’t let you stay there any longer. I can’t wait around for a year with the fear I have inside me right now.”
I rested my forehead against his chest, my arms between us, pressing his shirt to my skin. But then he swiftly lifted me up, setting me on the ledge of the counter behind me.
He moved to stand between my legs. With a gentle hand on my cheek, he forced me to look in his eyes. “I will get you out of there, Bree. If it’s the last thing I do, I will keep you safe. Nothing will ever happen to you again.”
“I love you,” I confessed with a hiccup, feeling calmer than before.
Instead of answering my confession with words, he showed me what he felt with his lips. His kisses. His touches. And then he abruptly pulled away, studying me with bright, impassioned eyes. “I protect the ones I love most. You, Bree, are the one I love most.”