Page 60 of Bound by Love
She had no choice. They had promised to be open with each other about everything. But this…this memory was a long-buried secret she had never wanted to share.
He rolled her over to face him. “Brie.”
She couldn’t look at him when she finally found the courage to speak. “Hearing about Darius today sparked a memory.”
“Of his bullying?”
“Yes…”
“And something more?”
She cuddled against him, needing his physical reassurance.
“You’re shaking, Brie.” Sir pressed her against him, tucking the blanket around her.
Even though the memory filled her with a deep sense of shame, she finally voiced the secret only she and Darius knew. “He was mad at me for tattling about him stabbing me with the needle…”
“What did he do?” Sir asked, a hint of anger coloring his voice.
Brie found it difficult to speak. “Darius cornered me alone and…choked me.”
Sir waited, brushing his hand against her cheek.
“He made me take off my shirt…” she said, a sob escaping her lips. “He did it to humiliate me, but then he touched and kissed me.”
“And you were how old?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Twelve.”
Brie could feel the heat of his rage building. The anger in his voice was barely contained. “Did he do anything else?”
“He tried to force his hand between my legs, but I threw up.”
“Thank God for that,” Sir said, gathering her into his arms. He buried his face in her hair and shook his head, saying nothing.
Sir’s response surprised Brie. She felt no condemnation, no shame in his arms.
Needing him to know the whole story, she continued. “I headed home afterward because I knew my mom would be worried. Before she was out of the kitchen, I ran up the stairs to hide in my room. Mom tried to stop me, but I was too ashamed and afraid to face her. Thank goodness, too. I ended up having to wear a scarf for weeks to cover up the marks he left on my throat. It was embarrassing because my mom told everyone that I was going through a fashion phase, and she was so proud of my new look. She never knew what happened.”
Sir growled under his breath.
“Looking back now, I realize I should have told her. By saying nothing, it’s almost as if I was protecting Darius. My silence made it seem like what happened was okay, but I was just a little kid, and it was so weird what he did. I couldn’t really understand what had happened, and I was deathly afraid of him.”
Sir squeezed her tighter. “No fault lies with you, babygirl.”
Brie braved a look up, gazing into his eyes. “Do you know what eats at my heart?”
“What?”
“I left. We moved out a short time later. Without me there, he moved on to someone else. Because I said nothing…” Her throat closed up, and she had to force the words out. “…some other little girl became my replacement.”
Brie buried her head against him and cried.
Sir let her release her pent-up tears but, when she began to quiet again, he lifted her chin, looking at her in the darkness. “Stop holding that little girl hostage for something that should not have been expected of her.”
“But—”
“It really is no different than the guilt I carried because I decided not to tell my father about my mother’s infidelity when I was a kid. We were young and innocent—the consequences do not lie on our shoulders.”
