Page 74 of Saved By My Buyers

The man has many hidden talents.

The first bite has my stomach cramping, but in a good way. The pasta is rich and flavorful, which means I’m going to have to eat slowly so it doesn’t make me sick, but holy shit is it good.

Jack and Bronwyn appear amused and they watch me as they eat. I’m sure I’m making pornographic noises but I can’t find it in me to care.

“This was incredible,” I sigh, taking a sip of water as I sit back from the plate. “I don’t think I should eat anymore, though. It was really rich, but totally worth it.”

“I’ll box the rest up,” Jack says easily, starting to put away leftovers. “If you’re not used to full meals, we should try snacks too throughout the day. Maybe protein shakes?”

He’s on a mission to help me gain weight, and it’s really sweet. I agree though, it may be harder for me to gain weight after essentially starving. It’s sad that my money never stayed mine while working at the club.

Even the money that I took with me when I left Gareth’s house, I spent carefully, living on the streets so it would be harder to find me.

Twelve hundred dollars still doesn’t stretch very far, though.

“I think that’s a good idea,” I reply, realizing I hadn’t answered yet. “Sorry, I kind of got lost in my thoughts.”

“I’m used to it,” Bronwyn says with a shrug, moving to help Jack with the dishes. “Don’t apologize for being yourself, Dahlia.”

“Agreed,” Jack says, wiping down the counters. “I just wait for you to come back. It’s never bothered me.”

Soon, the kitchen is set to rights, and I’m chewing on my nails as Bronwyn gives me a knowing look.

“What am I missing?” Jack asks curiously as we migrate back to the living room.

“I told Bronwyn that Gareth used to threaten you guys to keep me in line,” I murmur, curling up in a corner of the couch. Picking at a stray thread on the jean shorts, I gather my thoughts as they sit next to me.

“This all started after the wedding. I went downstairs to get something to eat, and he was there. I was happy not to have gotten lost in that house, so I just skirted around him. He made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t just one thing, but my skin would crawl around him.

“It was as if he‘s two different people, and Gareth has a hair trigger. He got too close to me, invading my space, and was creepy and smelling up my neck. I claimed I wasn’t all that hungry, and decided to make a run for it, but he grabbed my hair,” I explain.

Jack takes my hand, and I squeeze it as I stare down at his strong fingers. “He…”

“You can tell us anything,” he says, tugging me closer. “Take your time, but I think Bronwyn and I are going to need you to sit between us for this. Can you do that?”

Nodding, I move until I’m safely squished between them. The proximity helps me relax safely. This next part is going to suck.

“He said that he saw the way I was around you, Jack, so I obviously enjoyed the attention of older men,” I whisper, staring at our joined hands. Anxiety fills me as I force myself to remember to breathe, lost in my memories.

“Gareth pulled me against his chest and held a knife to my throat, going on about all kinds of disgusting things. I remember his erection was digging into my ass, and all I could think about was how could this be happening to me. He threatened me, said he’d kill anyone that I told, and then yanked the necklace you gave me for my birthday when I ran.”

“This has been happening since then?” Jack asks incredulously. “He used our friendship against you too, baby. I’m so sorry. Fucking pig is going to get what’s coming to him one day.”

“I have no doubts that he will,” Bronwyn rasps, her head against the back of the couch. Her fingers fidget in the hem of her dress, processing my words. “Is that why you were still in your room on Monday?”

“I managed to make it back there before I got sick in the bathroom, and I stayed in my room the rest of the weekend,” I reply. “I didn’t want to get caught by him again.”

I explain everything that happened that year, the way he’d get into my room and hurt me, sometimes not even waking me up, so I’d wake up covered in cum and violated. The way it started with fingers and petting, and how he’d whisper in my ear that he would take all my firsts.

“I started falling asleep in Bronwyn’s bed, but he’d find out and everything would get worse,” I whisper. “I was a shell of myself, and started feeling as if I was fractured. There was the me that lived to hang out with my friends, Bronwyn, and you, and then the me that lived a nightmare when my eyes closed. I could never wait him out, no matter how hard I tried not to fall asleep.”

The sound of Jack’s harsh breathing is the only thing in the room for a moment, but it reminds me he’s still with me. Bronwyn’s hand moves to hold onto the hem of my shorts, tightly clenched, as if to ground herself.

None of this is easy, and I’m not even done yet.

I tell them about how I dodged questions, hid bruises, and subsequently my body. The only peace I had was when Gareth was out of town, because it meant I was free of him.

“Everything started getting really bad when Bronwyn went to visit her aunt,” I say. “Gareth began threatening to kill my mother, by picking up a knife at the dinner table and pretending to plunge it into her back, when she leaned over to refill her wine glass. Mom started working more night shifts too, which meant she was never around. Then, on my sixteenth birthday, I decided to live in the moment, and enjoy it with Jack.”

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