Page 71 of The Retaliation You Deliver
“Everyone told me that losing a parent as a young child was probably the worst thing I’ll ever experience,” she whispers so quietly I probably wouldn’t hear it if she wasn’t pressed against me. “But clearly, they were wrong, because losing two and being committed to life with your neglectful and abusive uncle was the worst thing that any child could experience.”
My arms tighten around her as I drop my nose to her hair, breathing her in and hoping that she can find some strength from me. Not that I have much of it left. I can barely keep myself standing most days, I have no idea how I’m meant to hold her up too. But I’ll do everything I can to make it fucking happen because she deserves it.
“My room at his house,” she says. “It was nothing more than a prison when I was forced to be there. He would ignore me for days on end, leaving the door locked forcing me to stay inside. There were so many days when the only thing that passed my lips was water from the faucet in my bathroom.
“The day he swung my door open and demanded I pack a bag because I was leaving was one of the best days of my life.
“School was hell, I hated it. I never fitted in. But I didn’t care, because for the first time someone actually cared about me again.
“Okay, so it wasn’t the same because it was their job. But it didn’t matter to me. I was just grateful to be fed every day and to be treated like a person, not an unwanted pet.”
I suck in a shaky breath wondering for the first time if I actually got the better end of the deal with Richard. At least I was only subjected to him for a few weeks of the year and I was forgotten when he was done with me, able to continue with my life. But Macie… what she had to live through…
“I went back there for the first few summers before he figured out he could dump me at some camp wherever he could find one. I have no idea why he didn’t think of it sooner seeing as he ran a camp of his own but I never questioned his decisions because I knew it would only result in pain.”
“Did he hit you?” I ask, not really knowing if I want the answer.
“A few times. But he preferred his torture to come in the form of things that left no physical evidence.
“I spent hours trying to find a way to break out of my room so that I could sneak down to the kitchen for food when I knew he was out with you all. It worked after a while, I managed to pick the lock and I would take whatever I thought he wouldn’t notice and stash it under my bed.
“But the day I found you, I’d heard some of the boys fighting. It was brutal and I couldn’t sit there listening to them without doing something.
“I knew he was in the house, so I risked leaving my room to get help before they hurt each other. In hindsight, maybe I should have left them to it.”
“No,” I state firmly. “I might never have seen you then.”
She fights her way out of my arms and stares up at me as the first flash of lightning lights up our dark surroundings.
“You wouldn’t have hated me for ten years.”
“I wouldn’t have you in front of me right now then.”
Her expression softens as more tears fill her eyes.
“Lee, don’t do that,” she warns.
“Do what? Tell the truth?”
“I have no idea what the truth is.”
“This,” I say, sliding my hand around the nape of her neck and threading my fingers through her hair. “This is the truth.”
I brush my lips over hers gently, half expecting her to slap me for making a move but instead, she just remains motionless in my hold.
Lightning flashes again as I pull her lip into my mouth, encouraging her to join in.
The sound of giant raindrops hitting the ground around me mixes with the rumbling thunder in the distance and the blood rushing past my ears with my racing pulse.
“Red,” I growl, needing her to do something, even if it is to pull away.
Pressing my hand against the small of her back, I press her soft body against my hard one and she gasps feeling my length against her belly.
“Only you, Red. Only for you.”
Her lips part hesitantly, but the second my tongue brushes hers she dives into the kiss. Our tongues duel, our teeth clash as our hands roam, trying to pull the other closer.
The rain hits us, but neither of us even try to move, more than happy to drown in this than our usual darkness.
