Page 5 of His Curvy Flower

“Yes. I mean…no, not really. Shit, I don’t know!”

“How would you like to react?”

I took a deep breath. “I’d like to hold my head up high and tell them I owed them nothing. They have no proof, and I never wanted to see them again.”

“Perfect. Now we’ll work on turning that like to do into a will do.”

Head up. Shoulders back. Say the words.

I forced my head up and my shoulders back, but when I opened my mouth to say the words, none came out.

Instead, they both approached me, backing me into a corner. I dove behind the table, putting it between us, but Randy flipped it over and threw it across the room.

I screamed.

“Give me my money back, you bitch! I gave birth to you, kept you alive, and this is what I get in return?! You steal from me and think you can hide? Think you can run? Well, you can’t run forever!” my mother snarled. She barely had any teeth left and looked as if she’d aged twenty years and not the three I’d been gone.

“We want our money back! And we’re taking you back with us.” Randy grabbed my hair, my mother slapped me across the face, and I screamed again as I tried to fight them off.

Suddenly, there was a loud growl from behind me.

“Get your fucking hands off her! NOW!” Arlo stormed into the room and made a beeline for Randy. Arlo tapped his shoulder, and when the idiot looked, Arlo punched him directly in the face, knocking him out cold. My mother screamed hysterically as she dropped to her knees. “Randy! Randy! What the fuck did you do, you monster?”

I rushed into Arlo’s arms as sobs overtook me, my body shaking. Lacey was beside him a moment later. “The police are on their way. Sadie, are you okay? What the hell happened?”

“I’m so sorry, Lacey. I’m so sorry!” I cried as Arlo held me tight.

“Shh, it’s okay, love. C’mon, let’s go to my office. Arlo, will you stay here until the police get here?” Lacey wrapped her arm around me as Arlo reluctantly let me go.

I didn’t look back at Randy and my mother. I didn’t look back at my now destroyed room or the look of concern on Arlo’s face.

I looked straight ahead as Lacey walked me to the safety of her office.

* * *

After I filledLacey in on my sordid past, she comforted me and told me it wasn’t my fault. Sometimes in survival mode, we did what we had to. I told the police the same story, and in the end, I went down to the police station with Arlo to file a restraining order against them. They were escorted from the spa and warned never to return and to get out of Appleridge. I was warned they could press charges against me, but I knew they wouldn’t bother with their extensive criminal records.

Lacey told me to take the rest of the day off, but I wouldn’t relax. There was no way I could be alone. I was pretty sure Arlo felt the same.

When we climbed into his truck, he looked at me and covered my hand with his large one. “I refuse to let you out of my sight. Not after what just happened. I don’t care if you agree or not.”

His possessive streak was kind of intimidating, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue, so all I did was nod.

“We can go to my place or yours, your choice, but if we go to yours, I have to bring my puppy.”

“Puppy? You have a puppy?” I asked, my mood lifting.

“I do. I adopted him a couple of months ago. He’s only six months. A German shepherd named Warrior.”

“I bet he’s adorable. But I’m not sure I’m allowed pets. Can we just swing by my place so I can pack a bag?”

“Sure thing. Warrior is going to love having someone new to play with.”

“Honestly, playing with a dog is something I think I need more than anything right now.”

“One of the many reasons I got him.” Arlo steered his truck out of the police parking lot as I told him my address.

When we pulled up to my cabin, I noticed the door was open. It looked like it had been kicked in.

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