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“They...” I choke on a sob. “They did…” The tears fall down my face, nothing to stop them and when the lump in my throat becomes too much, I turn to Luke, shaking my head.
“He paraded her in front of everyone at the church,” Luke says, not taking his eyes off mine, keeping us both grounded. “Told everyone they found her beaten, but they didn’t because they did that to her. He was gonna marry her to Jonah on her birthday, but they wanted their fun first.” A muscle ticks in Luke’s jaw, a growl coming from someone behind me. “They locked her in the basement.” I close my eyes, not willing to look at Luke. “I’m sure you can come up with your own conclusions as to what they did to her.”
“Oh, God,” Aiden says, his voice utterly broken. Part of me is glad he finally sees it now. “I never should have left you with him.” My eyes whip open before I turn my head to face him. He stands up causing Ty to step toward him, but it doesn’t faze him. “I should have known after what he did to Mom.”
I swallow, my limbs heavy. “You knew what he did to her?”
“A is for apple,” he croaks out. “B is for banana.” I smile as he starts to recite the food game we used to play every night. “C is for cucumber.” He takes another step toward me. “I wasn’t trying to make you hungry every night, Lil. I was trying to drown out their noises.” My chin wobbles as I try to stand, Luke’s hands on my hips. “I swear to you, I thought he wouldn’t touch you. I thought… I don’t know what I thought.”
“You thought I was safe,” I tell him before stepping out of Luke’s hold.
“I’m so sorry, Lil,” he says, his voice breaking on the last word, and that’s all it takes for me to take four steps and into the safety of his arms.
I press my head against his chest as I wrap my arms around his waist. He holds me tight, his head resting on top of mine as he continues naming foods to the alphabet, taking me back to the nights he would sleep by my side, saying he was cold in his room. He tried to protect me all these years and I never even knew.
“He won’t touch you again, sis. I promise.”
“Damn right he won’t,” Luke growls from somewhere behind me.
I turn around, not moving from my brother’s arms as I stare at Luke, his ice-blue eyes softening as he looks at me and I know I’ll never be safer than I am right now.
LILY
“Come on, darlin’, we’re gonna be late.” I roll my eyes as I look at myself in the mirror before adjusting the light-pink camisole I’m wearing and pull at the waist of my jeans.
I look over myself, taking in my blond hair that flows over one shoulder, my face clear of makeup, my eyes wide but most importantly, shining. I lean closer, examining them, wondering when that happened. When did the darkness evaporate and make way for the happiness shining through them?
My head turns toward the bathroom door and I know without a doubt it’s him. He’s the reason they’re bright and alive now. I step toward the door as a smile lifts the corners of my lips before I open it up and lean against the doorframe.
Luke sits on the edge of the bed, his gaze trained on the door. I swallow as he tracks me from the Vans on my feet, up my legs, stopping briefly where the material of my camisole meets my jeans before he continues up.
He stands, his movements slow and measured as he steps toward me. I can’t help but look at him the same way, the combat boots on his feet and over his dark-blue jeans. I worry my bottom lip when I come to the white t-shirt, the tattoos that cover his arms and shoulders peeking out of the sleeve at his bicep.
I tilt my head back when he stops in front of me, his ice-blue eyes not moving from where they’ve settled on mine.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs, his hand cupping the side of my neck, his thumb rubbing at the base of my throat. “So damn beautiful.”
I swallow again, my throat drier than it’s ever been.
The air swirls around us, the atmosphere making me want to step back but forward at the same time.
His head dips and I close my eyes, expecting him to press his lips against mine, but when I feel them on my shoulder, I pull in a shaky breath.
“Luke,” I whisper, not sure what I’m trying to say.
He doesn’t answer me, instead his hands move to my hips, grasping me and pulling me closer to him, his hard chest colliding with mine as his lips continue a path up to my neck.
My hands move, pushing through his hair as I tilt my head back. For the first time I feel like I’m in control. I can say no at any stage and I know he’ll stop. There won’t be any hesitation.
Stepping back, he takes me with him and when my eyes open, all I can see is his bed. My body freezes, my muscles so tight I’m afraid they’ll snap inside me as I reel back. My brain says yes but my body says no.
He whips his head up, his gaze meeting mine, the blue darker than I’ve ever seen before. He pauses, watching me for what feels like a lifetime, but in reality, is only a second before he stands to his full height and pushes his hand through his hair, pulling at it.
“I’m sorry,” he croaks, his voice deep.
“It’s okay.” I step back, gripping the edge of the camisole. “I just…” My gaze flicks to the bed. “I’m not ready.”
He shakes his head, his eyes clearing as he takes hold of my hand. “I know, darlin’, I should have held back—”
