AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s all morphed into one, and I can’t make heads or tails of any of it.
All I know is I’ve never felt more sure of a decision in my life as the one I made to come to Wyatt and Elias. Realistically I know I didn’t really have any other choice. Where else was I going to go? No one else I know would help me. But I guess I knew these two men would keep me safe, and when you’ve spent your whole life afraid of the people around you, that means a whole hell of a lot.
I look away as they peruse the bruises Jason left. I don’t want to see them, not unless I want to lose the contents of my stomach.
The room falls silent for so long I almost look up to make sure they haven’t left, but I know they haven’t. Their warmth is just a breath away, and although I can’t look them in the eyes, just having them close is enough to put me at ease.
Elias lets out a steadying breath, and I finally manage to look up at him. Emotions whirl around in his eyes as he looks at me, but none of them scare me. “Leighton, I need to know what happened. Can you tell me?”
I nod, and I find a throw wrapped around my shoulders, while another rests over my legs. I didn’t notice him move, but Wyatt has silently given me my modesty without me having to ask him. “Thank you.” I give him a tight smile, but even that hurts. “We got home from the gala, and I went to the bedroom to get changed. I was coming out of the closet when I ran straight into him, and then he…” I choke.
Wyatt takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze of support. “It’s okay, angel. Take your time.”
“He started calling me every name under the sun, saying he knew what we did, and that he was going to use me the way I deserved to be treated.” A violent tremor runs through my body causing me to hiss out in pain. “He got me on the ground, but then I felt the bat he keeps under the bed, and I managed to get him with it so I ran. But I wasn’t fast enough. He caught me on the stairs, and I fell down most of them. By the time I hit the bottom, I was pretty banged up. I couldn’t move, and he used that to his advantage.”
Elias squeezes his eyes shut, the anger burning behind them should probably scare me, especially seeing as I’ve just fled from a man intent on beating me within an inch of my life. But the only thing that scares me about the two men crouching in front of me is how intense the feelings I have for them burn in my chest.
“He had me pinned to the ground, he kept shoving the bat against my…against me.” I’m not sure why I can’t bring myself to say the words. The men in front of me are intimately aware of that part of my body, but at this point getting the story out is more important than analyzing that. “And then he was hitting me with it. My stomach. My thighs. My pelvis. It hurt so much.” Tears fall against my cheeks, the salt in them burning the cuts. I must look like a real fright, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they’re looking at me.
Wyatt takes a steadying breath, but he manages to keep his face mostly passive, I think for my benefit more than his.
“His phone rang in the other room, and I guess he thought I was too injured to move.” I shake my head. “I probably am, but I guess my fight or flight responses took over, and all I could think about was getting out of there.”
I look down at my bloody hands in my lap. I need a shower, but it’s going to hurt, and I’m really not sure how much more pain I can handle right now. As it is, the adrenaline is running out, and the agony threatens to take over.
“You’re so fucking brave, Leighton.” Elias gently pulls my face up until I’m staring into his eyes. “I need to make a call. I want a real doctor to look you over, but I don’t want to take you to the hospital and risk him or your parents coming.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
Wyatt moves into my view with a gentle smile. “Can you trust us to take care of you tonight, angel? I can’t imagine how much pain you’re in right now, and all we want to do is help.”
“I trust you.”
“Good girl.”
The words move through me, and despite the agony I lean into the praise. I did the right thing coming here. I made the right choice.
Elias disappears out of the room, and I allow my eyes to drift closed, exhaustion threatening to pull me under. Sleep has never sounded better if I’m honest, but a warm hand against my cheek forces my eyes open again.
“I know you’re tired, angel. When Elias comes back I want him to check you for a concussion, and then maybe you can rest for a little while until the doctor arrives.”
I nod but hold his gaze.
He leans forward and presses his forehead against mine. “Thank you for coming to us, Leighton. Thank you for trusting us to keep you safe.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
WYATT
Seeing Leighton’s beautiful skin smattered with angry purple bruises is a new kind of torture. I know that’s kind of fucked up because a week ago I was thinking about how fucking good she looked covered in our marks, but this is different.
Those were created in passion, proof of the night we shared and the bliss we tore from her sweet body. But these…
I pinch the bridge of my nose to try to calm the raging beast in my chest. I need Jason wiped off the face of the earth. I need to make sure he can never hurt Leighton ever again. But I’m not sure how I’m going to let her out of my sight ever again to make that happen.
Elias checked her for concussion when he came back from making his call, and as soon as he confirmed she was okay to rest I moved her to the couch.
She protested about getting blood on the suede, but I honestly couldn’t give a shit about the fucking furniture right now. Her head lays across my lap, her body curled in on itself as her mind drags her under to unconsciousness. But she’s anything but peaceful right now. The crease in her brow, the little flinches, how she winces when she moves, it’s all evidence of the night she’s had.
