AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was worth it knowing Vivi was safe.
Except she wasn’t safe, and he conned her into paying him too. I regret not blowing his fucking brains out on his front porch earlier, witnesses be damned. Actually, that’d be too kind for what he deserves. My knuckles itch with the desire to pummel his ugly fucking face in.
Movement pulls me from my rage as Vivi pushes away from me on the bed, a look of fear in her eyes that I put there. Jesus Christ. I need to calm down. She comes across as strong and brave—which she is—but also traumatized beyond what I know. I’ve seen it multiple times now.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly, using every ounce of will I possess to calm my tone and relax my body. “I’m not mad at you.”
Those big hazel eyes peer up at me. “This was a mistake.”
“Don’t say that. You’re safe here. I’m just pissed my piece of shit father took advantage of you.”
She sits up, crossing her legs, looking almost incensed. “No, he didn’t. What are you even talking about?”
Her reaction gives me pause, and again, I feel like I’m missing something. Even without telling me, I know Ray didn’t leave her alone like he was supposed to. Why is she trying to protect him? I told myself I’d wait until she was ready—give her time to learn to trust me—but I’m losing patience. Ray’s already dead in my book; I just need to find out each reason he deserves to be there before I strike.
“I was paying his bills, or at least I thought I was. After hearing this, I think I was paying for his gambling addiction.”
She looks at me, shocked. “Why were you paying him?”
I sit on the edge of the bed. If I want her to open up, I need to do the same. Time to tell the truth. “I never wanted to leave you, Vivi. If I had it my way, I wouldn’t have. I would’ve stayed until you turned eighteen to make sure he couldn’t come near you—even if it meant getting the shit kicked out of me every day. The night I left, shit went south.” I run a hand down my face. “For years, I held it all in. I took whatever he gave me because I knew if I fought back, he’d kick me out. I don’t know what was different about that night.”
“You fought back?”
“Yeah, and it must’ve scared him because I was finally bigger and stronger than him. There was a shift in power we both felt, and it terrified him. I saw it in his eyes. When he told me to leave or he’d call the cops, I panicked. I even offered to take you with me since he always complained about the drain you and Laura were. He wouldn’t let me, so I did the only thing I could and offered to pay him off if he left you the hell alone.”
Even though this information means Ray was fucking us both over, she looks almost relieved. “Oh.”
“Oh?”
She shrugs. “I mean, are you all that surprised?”
“No. I guess I’m not.” I look down at my scarred hands, wondering how to get her to spill everything that happened to her. “Look, I understand if you don’t want to rehash the past, but before I handle Ray, I need to know. What have the last fifteen years been like for you?”
She says nothing as she climbs off the bed and walks to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I guess that’s my answer. She doesn’t trust me, and can I blame her? All these years, I didn’t so much as look her up on social media. I guess, deep down, I knew Ray would go back on his word, and I also knew if I knew that truth, I’d kill him. It felt like an unnecessary risk that could get the club in trouble.
I buried my head in the sand. I relished my freedom and the happiness of being away from that house. I took the coward’s way out. I’ll never forgive myself, and apparently, Vivi won’t either.
Standing, I walk toward the door, thinking it’s best to give her more time. She deserves more than that, but it’s all I’ve got for now. I pause when the bathroom door opens, and Vivi comes out, posture stooped and face rosy from washing. There’s also bruising along her cheek and jaw, deep purple and black that she had been hiding under makeup.
I see fucking red.
“He did that to you?”
“And more. After you left, Mom became his punching bag. At one point, I knew he was going to kill her if something didn’t give. I was young; I could take more than she could. So, I started stepping in between them, and his anger flipped to me,” she says, her chin wobbling.
I carefully inch my way forward as though approaching a wounded animal. With a finger gently pressed under her chin, I rotate her wounded face side-to-side. It fucking destroys me to witness her pain, knowing what it feels like to be on the receiving end of Ray’s fist, but I force myself to look. I deserve it.
Once I’ve memorized the shape, size, and color of each bruise, I tilt her head up, meeting her pained eyes. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I let this happen to you, and I wouldn’t blame you if you hate me. Just know, Ray is a dead man walking. I swear to Christ, he won’t live to see another day.”
“No.”
My eyes go wide with a confused expression. “What do you mean, ‘no’?” She can’t really want him alive, not after years of abuse.
“You’ll get caught, and I can’t be responsible for you going to jail. Besides, killing people is wrong.”
I chuckle humorously, dropping her chin and taking her hands in mine. They’re warm and feel good wrapped in my own. “That’s just some bullshit societal morality you’ve been taught. It’s not real.”
“It has nothing to do with that. I’m a firm believer that you get what you put out in this world. Killing will take a part of your humanity you can’t get back.”
