Page 36 of Forever my Love

ChapterEleven

Hailey tried not to remember that night. What Fred had done to her. Tying her up, gagging her, raping her. There are parts she blocked out, thankfully.

Then there are the other parts. The moments she plays over and over in her mind at the strangest times. Like in the middle of brushing her teeth or helping a customer.

Those seconds tick by, much like they had those long hours she’d been Fred’s plaything, as he’d called her.

“He liked that I was a virgin. Back then, I had no clue what that was.” She glanced at Reece, thankful that he was hiding his emotions very well. “Our mother was never there for us in any aspect of our lives. If it wasn’t for Harper”—she shook her head— “I wouldn’t have known the basics of being a teenage girl.”

“This is the man after you? The one who attacked Harper tonight?” he asked in a strained voice.

She nodded. “Harper was worried when the news report of her and Nick saving those kids from the bus went national. She’d always feared he’d find us.” Her eyes locked with his. “That last night, before we ran away, when Fred…” Her throat closed up for some reason, so she picked up her tea and took a sip of the now lukewarm liquid. “When I finally freed myself from the ropes he’d used on me, I crawled into Harper’s bedroom. The gag was still in my mouth. I was naked,” She closed her eyes and swallowed. She felt Reece’s hand on hers and all those fears about the past just disappeared. She felt as if she could continue, as if the simple contact somehow made her stronger. “Harper untied me, helped me clean up, helped me dress, then she disappeared for a while. When she came back, we left and spent the night in the woods. The next morning, Harper went back to the house and told me to wait in the woods at one of our hiding spots. I didn’t know why, but when she came back, she had a backpack of food and some cash. We hiked for a few days and then spent our first night in a motel. But first she stopped off at a drug store and…” She bit her lip, wondering if she had said too much. If Reece was going to kick her out and tell her that their night together was a mistake. Still, the look on his face had her finishing. “She used all our money and bought a morning-after pill for me.”

Reece didn’t even move. Didn’t even blink.

“Harper said that, with her, Fred always used a condom. With me, that night, he hadn’t. For the next few weeks, we went to the free clinic and I got tested. We don’t trust doctors, well, Harper doesn’t. Until tonight, she hadn’t even been seen by one before.” She shook her head. “But with me, it was different. I had no clue what STDs were or even really knew how pregnancies happened. I’m clean and clear of everything,” she added quickly. “I wouldn’t have… tonight, if…”

His hand tightened on hers. “I know. I’m clean too,” he added. “Just so that’s out there.” He smiled.

She nodded, needing him to hear the rest. “Harper told me later that our mother had died that night from a drug overdose. She hid it from me for a few weeks. I can’t remember when she finally told me, but I do remember not really caring much. I was glad she was gone. She was a terrible person. Part of me hoped that Fred was gone too.” She looked down at their joined hands. How different they were. His were large, tan, strong, hers thin, shorter, smaller. “That first year, we traveled a lot. Motel after motel. Harper got jobs, most of the time serving drinks at some bar or strip club. We were in a motel just outside of Atlanta when Fred found us. Well, he bumped into Harper at work one night,” she corrected. “Harper ran out of there, and we packed up and left Georgia. Over the next few years, we headed west. She didn’t tell me about our great-uncle’s place until we were outside of Vegas. At that point, we’d never spend more than a few months in any single town. She encouraged me to finish school and since I’d always gotten good grades, I took my GED.” She smiled remembering how proud Harper had been. How they had celebrated that night with burgers and cupcakes. “Our uncle’s cabin was the first real home we ever felt safe in.” She turned her entire body towards his. “I won’t let him take that away from us. I won’t let anyone take that from us. Harper deserves to be happy. I deserve to be as well. Fred almost killed her tonight and instead of wanting to run and hide from him again, I want to kick his ass. I want to punch him so hard,” She took a deep breath and realized Reece was smiling at her.

“You and me both. I think you can add Nick to that list as well. Along with a few other people in town that care about you two,” he said.

She smiled. “I love Pride. Love the people in it. I won’t let him take that from us.”

Reece reached up and touched her cheek, and she realized he was wiping a tear from her face.

“If you keep up your training, you won’t have anything to fear.” He leaned closer and brushed his lips across hers. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I can’t pretend to understand the pain you’ve been through. But I want you to know that no matter what, I’m here. If there’s anything you need to say, anything you are feeling, I’m here to listen.”

She nodded. “Up until a few days ago, Harper believed she’d killed our mother.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Why would she think that?”

“When she disappeared, when I was packing my things, that last night at home, she snuck into our mother’s bedroom and put rat poison in our mother’s drugs. She said that Fred was sleeping on the floor, which made it possible for her to get to them. That next morning, when she went back, Fred was gone and our mother was… dead,” she said slowly.

“What happened a few days ago?”

She nodded. “Nick found out her time of death from the official report. It was noted in the autopsy that she’d died the evening before. Before Fred… before. Before Harper had poisoned the drugs.”

He nodded that he understood.

“For years, we’ve been running because we both believed Harper was a murderer. That if the police ever caught up to us, she would be locked up, and I’d be taken away from her. Even after I turned eighteen, we just worried that we’d be separated.”

“She’s your world,” Reece said with a smile.

Hailey felt more tears roll down her cheeks. “She’s everything.”

He pulled her into a hug and she held on, realizing that it was the first time she’d ever opened up to someone other than Harper. The fear of being shamed or judged disappeared the moment he pulled her close.

Everything was changing. Her and Harper’s worlds were changing. Her sister had Nick, loved Nick. She held in a sound as she realized that the two of them would probably get married. That was the next step, right?

That would, no doubt, leave Hailey all alone in the cabin. All alone in life.

“Hey,” Reece said, pulling back a little. “What do you say we stop by tomorrow on your lunch break and make sure she’s okay? We can bring her a pie, and you can see how she’s doing.”

She nodded, suddenly feeling drained. “I’m tired.”

He stood up and took her hand and led them back upstairs. Ali was snoring in the middle of the bed, which made her smile. The dog was still small now, but someday he would probably push Reece off the mattress.