Page 52 of The Young & the Sinner

Mason

Seeingher pinned to the floor while the bastard held her down and violated her in the worst way possible was my undoing.

I didn’t think when I pulled him off her. I didn’t think when I slammed him against the wall, or when I beat the shit out of him.

I wanted to kill him.

I would have, too, had Max not held me back.

“Mason, snap out of it. I don’t need you killing the bastard here.”

I growled at him. I wanted to destroy the fucker.

Memories of the past threatened to resurface as I fought for control to stay in the present. I couldn’t have protected myself before, but I sure as hell could protect her.

Unless…

Were we too late?

I didn’t know.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“Upstairs in her room.” Max eyes glazed over, his voice catching a little.

“Did he…” I couldn’t even finish that sentence.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”

The heartbreak in his eyes was clearly evident. I felt the same way, though I was sure for a completely different reason.

I never wanted anyone to go through what I went through, least of all someone as small and innocent as Olivia.

We should have protected her better.

I blinked away the burning sensation in my eyes, my angers pulling away my sorrow, one stich at a time. Everything became nothing more than one big red haze.

We looked down at the son of a bitch.

Lorenzo was unconscious on the floor. He was breathing, but his breaths were coming out shallow, so there was that. I kicked his stomach, and he flinched a little, letting a small groan. Max grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away.

“Watch him. Call the cops,” I said, moving upstairs as I said it. If Max responded, I didn’t hear. I walked up to her closed bedroom door and raised my fist as if to knock but changed my mind at the last second. I grabbed the doorknob and turned it, grateful she didn’t lock it.

When I caught sight of her small form on the floor, my heart shattered into a thousand little pieces. I sat down on the floor next to her, afraid to touch her. With what she went through, I didn’t know how she would respond to my touch.

“You’re going to be okay.” I said, my voice catching. “Maybe not today. Or tomorrow. But someday, you’ll be okay, and this will be nothing more than a distant memory.”

I would make sure of it.

She didn’t say anything to that, and I wasn’t even sure if she was aware that I was there.

We sat there in silence, save for a few sniffles coming out of her every once in a while. Each one was like a punch to the gut.

Then, “W-will you h-hold me for a while?”

“Of course, Livie. I’ll hold you for as long as you need me to.”

I carefully wrapped my arms around her shoulders, hating how fragile she felt in my arms. I pulled her tighter against me when she buried her face into my chest, her tears dampening my shirt.

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