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“I like you, Piper.”
I ran around him and jumped onto my bed when my feet were pulled out from beneath me. I cried out, struggling against him. I kicked and fought with all of the strength I could muster. My foot landed against Brody’s crotch, making him grunt, but it didn’t stop him from ripping at my clothes. His fingers dug into my sides, his knee pushing into the small of my back.
No matter how much I fought him, I couldn’t get him off me. It took Jaron breaking into my room for that to happen and even then, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
Brody still touched me. He still put his hands on me when I never wanted him to.
“Brody, please stop this.”
But he never listened to me.
“I will make it so you never forget me.”
He was right. He was right this whole time. I never forgot him. I tried to. Lord knew I tried. But it never worked.
Even though the house no longer existed, I was still brought back to that night. Leaning against the wall for support, I tried to forget. A night that had changed everything. I had been pregnant with Brynlee at the time. Brody’s punches could have killed her, but they didn’t. She was strong and I knew once it was confirmed that I was in fact pregnant, that she was a fighter and would do amazing things for this world.
My mind was playing tricks on me as I continued making my way to the bathroom. Even though I knew this wasn’t the house I used to live in with Gigi and the other girls, that sense of fear still slithered over my skin like I was back there. Back in my old room. Back in my old bed with Brody on top of me.
The room that had held so many happy memories was tainted by one fucked up night. And then Jaron was taken from me and that night became even worse.
A sound at the end of the hallway made me spin around. Jaron stood there with his arms crossed under his chest and a deep scowl on his face. He was pissed. Not at me. I knew it wasn’t at me. But he was mad at the situation. He was mad that I went into the house without him. He was mad that I was losing myself and he couldn’t do anything about it. He was mad that the simplest things triggered a memory of that horrible night. He was mad. Period.
My heart raced, my blood pounding in my ears. “I just…I had to…I…”
I shook my head, Brody’s words from that awful night still ringing in my ears. My head suddenly started pounding, remembering the many times he had punched me in the face.
“Piper.” Jaron closed that final distance between us, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
“I had to pee,” I told him, a sob wracking through my body.
“Shhh…” With his arm around my shoulders, he guided me down the hall to the bathroom. We walked into the small room and instead of leaving like I thought he would, he shut the door and leaned against it. “Take all the time you need, Piper.”
I looked at the toilet, my bladder screaming for release.
“I’m not leaving,” Jaron said, tugging the thought right out of my head. “Tell me what happened.”
“I had to go to the bathroom. I didn’t think I would get a trigger, but something made me think of that night. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe it’s because I’m here. Maybe it’s because I’m with the same people as that night.” A sigh shuddered through me. “I thought maybe I was over it,” I told him, deciding to get used to the fact that he was there and went about my business. When I finished, I was washing my hands when his next words made me pause.
“How the hell do you expect to get over something like that, Piper? It could take years. And even then, you might not ever get over it.” Jaron came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
I shook my head, pulling away from him so I could dry my hands. When I was done, I turned toward him. “Do you get triggers? Anything that reminds you of whatever happened while you were in jail?”
His jaw clenched, a sharp exhale leaving him. “Yeah. I do.”
“How do you deal with them?” I asked, leaning against the wall opposite him.
“I have you, Piper.” He took a step toward me. “You help me deal. I know I haven’t told you every nitty gritty detail of what I did but…” He closed the final distance between us, reaching out and locking my chin in his grip. “I love you and without you, I would have done far worse shit than I did.”
I swallowed hard. “Really?”
His gray eyes darkened, something flashing in his intense stare. A stare that I could get lost in if I ever let myself.
“Really,” he murmured, placing a soft peck on my forehead.
My eyes fluttered closed at the gentleness coming from him. “I’m here for whenever you want to talk about what happened.”
“I know.” He pulled away, putting some space between us, but it wasn’t space that I needed. No. I needed him. Every inch. Every dark stormy stare. Every smirk. Every word. I needed him to tell me that this was going to be okay. Thatwewere going to be okay.
