Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) (7 page)

James appeared at the patio door holding his black doctors
bag and smiled sweetly as he nodded in our direction, "Good afternoon
ladies, oh and gentlemen." He stated as he saw Tommy at the far end of the
table."Are you okay for me to examine him?" he asked as his eyes met
mine.
He was a stranger but he was a professional so I didn't see any harm in him looking
Tommy over. I was just grateful that he could do it straight away rather than
waiting for an appointment and this way it wouldn't be on Tommy's records.

I followed James into Maggie's bedroom holding Tommy's hand reassuringly
as he looked nervous. I crouched in front of him, "Tommy, I need you to be
brave. James is a doctor and he wants to take a quick look at your bruises to
see if you need more medicine to make you better."
Tommy didn't say anything but his eyes spoke a thousand words. I knew that look
as I'd seen it before, he was petrified and his little body started to shake as
I held his hand firmly. I moved closer, "Tommy, it's going to be okay.
James is a doctor, he's here to help." I repeated again so he fully
understood. Placing my hands gently on his shoulders, I looked directly at him until
he nodded in agreement for James to examine him.
James joined me on the floor as he also crouched beside Tommy and held out his
hand. "Hi Tommy, I'm James. I just need to take a look at you but could
you point to where you are hurting the most."
Tommy looked at me for encouragement and I nodded indicating that he was free
to do as James had asked.
He slowly pointed to his side and James put on a pair of latex gloves before he
gently lifted Tommy's t-shirt to reveal the bruising. He pressed lightly around
the area and Tommy grimaced at the contact. "You're doing well,"
James stated as he continued to apply just enough pressure to make sure nothing
was broken. He followed the trail around his back, pressing lightly as to not
hurt Tommy further.
"It's just bruising but I say that in the loosest of terms." He
stated, clearly annoyed but trying to be professional. "Can we take your
t-shirt off so I can get a better look?"
Tommy lifted his arms so that I could remove his t-shirt and James twirled him
around to observe his bruises in more detail.
James furrowed his brows and nodded his head, "Do you hurt anywhere else
Tommy?"
"He was complaining of..."
James held up his hand to quieten me, "Sorry but I need to hear it from
Tommy." He slowly lowered his hand as I nodded in agreement embarrassed by
my outburst.
He was right, I didn't know where he was hurting only Tommy knew for sure.
Tommy glanced in my direction, then back at James and I could see him
hesitantly lift his shaking hand towards his groin. I let out a gasp and had to
put my hand over my mouth to try and control my emotions.
"Tommy, are you okay for me to take a look?" James asked in a soft
tone with caring eyes.
My brave little soldier nodded and quickly pulled his trousers and pants down
so that James could examine him further.
James' facial expression didn't change as he pressed around the clearly bruised
area of skin, "Okay buddy, you can get dressed now and go and finish your
lunch."
I assisted Tommy with his clothes and he briskly walked out of the room a lot
happier than when he walked in, closing the door behind him.
James removed his gloves and sat back on his heels to look at me, "What
are the chances of you returning to your husband?"
I shook my head vigorously, "None."
"I'm pleased to hear it. That's a vicious attack on Tommy and I can see by
your face that he was also violent towards you."
I moved my hand to my cheek to the area that Liam had punched me repeatedly for
trying to protect my son.
"Do you want me to take a look at your injuries?" James asked in a
softer tone.
I took a deep breath and silently stood as I looked towards the door.
"We can open it or I can get Amy to sit with you if you would feel more
comfortable?"
I closed my eyes and shook my head drumming up the courage as I pulled my
t-shit up over my head before turning so that he could examine my back. I knew
he would be able to see through the recent bruising at the permanent scars
caused by a belt buckle but although embarrassed I needed him to see it because
as a professional he would hopefully understand that it wasn't my fault, and I
needed people to realise that.
I wanted to start a new life for myself and my beautiful children and not live
in fear or regret. I knew that the first step after that initial decision to leave
would be to accept what had happened to us. It didn't make it right, no person
should ever violate another but I needed to accept it for what it was and move
on.
Revealing my injuries would cause people to question my motives or they would
see me as being weak for letting it happen but I had been groomed over the
years, made to feel useless, worthless, disgusting and that if I spoke out no
one would ever believe me and I may even lose my children. I'd had some low
points, I had even contemplated suicide over the years but it was the love for my
children that kept me going and as they grew older, I grew more confident
knowing that I would one day have the strength to leave him. My only regret is
that this gave Liam the opportunity to hurt Tommy and I would have to live with
that for the rest of my life. There is no worse feeling then not being able to
save your loved ones.

I could hear James rise to his feet and felt him behind me
as he put on another pair of gloves. James pressed gently around the bruising
and I squeezed my eyes tight as my heart rate increased and tried to compose
myself, chanting in my head that this wasn't Liam touching me.
He must have felt my body stiffen, "Louise it's okay, try to control your
breathing. Do you want me to open the door?"
I hadn't realised that I was now breathing so heavily and on the verge of
hypoventilation.
"No, I'm fine." I whispered as I stepped forward out of his reach to
breathe slowly.
James waited until I had composed myself, "I'm going to need you to lie on
the bed so I can examine you properly."
I shuffled nervously at first by his words but I did as I was asked and laid on
the bed hesitantly, and watched his every move as he walked across the room and
leaned over me to push lightly on my tummy. He worked his way around my side
and up and over my ribs, just applying enough pressure to not be too
uncomfortable.
"Has your vision been effected in any way?" I shook my head,
"Have you experienced any dizziness or headaches?"
"No, honestly I'm fine." I stated as I rose slightly now leaning on
my elbows.
James nodded his head and gave me my t-shirt so that I could cover myself. I
could see that he was clearly annoyed which only fuelled the fire inside me,
"I can see your annoyance and disapproving looks but no one understands
what I went through. The first sign of him abusing my children, I left. I would
never want any harm to come to them, you have to believe me James."
He was clearly shocked by my outburst and sat beside me on the bed, leaving
enough room so that it wasn't too uncomfortable. I still flinched at the close
proximity but was nervous as an outburst like that would most certainly of got
me a beating from Liam.
"Sorry Louise but this annoyed face is directed at your husband not you. I
just don't understand how any man could beat on a woman and in your case a
child as well." He shook his head from side to side and bit on his lip to
prevent him expressing his thoughts further.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout." I twisted my hands together and
looked down at the bed rather than make eye contact with him. It wasn't like me
to lose my temper, I very rarely raised my voice as I knew what the
repercussions were but I wanted people to understand that I really tried my
best.
I could see him pondering something, "Did he use a belt to hit you?"
He asked turning slightly on the bed so that he could face me fully.
I still didn't make eye contact, I didn't want to see the pity in his eyes.
"It was his favourite punishment." I rocked back and forth, I really
didn't want to be talking about this anymore.
"Sorry, I don't want to upset you Louise. I should stay impartial but it's
difficult."
I gave him a small smile before standing, "Do I just continue to give
Tommy pain relief?" I adjusted my clothes, making sure that I was fully covered.
"Yes and make sure you take some as well."
I gave a small smile, "I have a high pain threshold now but thank you
James, I appreciate you taking the time to look at us."
"Anytime, you just take care of yourself. Could you do me a favour and
tell Amy that I had to go."
I nodded before leaving the room to join the group for lunch.

Walking back into the garden, I met Amy's eyes and her look
of concern that instantly warmed my heart. I mouthed that I was okay and she
gave me a small smile.
"Hi babe, I'm home!"
We all turned to see Hound and Spike walk through the kitchen making their way
towards us. My heart started to race at the sight of Spike and I was aware that
I was staring. I quickly composed myself and pulled Tommy towards me as I
positioned him on my lap. He quickly snuggled in my embrace feeling safe in my
arms and distracted me momentarily from Spike's heated stare.
I watched as Spike grabbed a cookie off the side, "Mother fucker!" he
dropped it on the floor and blew on his fingers as the hot cookie burnt them.
Devon laughed uncontrollably and I couldn't make out if it was because he had burnt
himself or the bad language he had used.
Spike stared at Devon but with a warm smile on his face, "Oh, you think
it's funny huh!" Spike stalked towards Devon as she jumped out of her
chair at lightning speed and took off running down the garden to get away from
him.
Spike took chase and finally caught Devon half way down the garden as his
strides were much longer. He grabbed her and flung her around making aeroplane
noises as he twirled Devon like she weighed nothing. Her laughter was
infectious, filling the air which was a heavenly sound.
"Are you sorry for laughing at me?" Spike asked as he continued to
turn her around making Devon dizzy.
"Yes, I'm sorry Spike!" She screamed through her laughter until he
placed her safely on the ground. "Ha-ha not really!" Devon poked out
her tongue and ran but her dizziness from spinning made her stumble and she
landed in the flower bed.
The group erupted into laughter at the sight in front of us and now Spike was
in the flower bed retrieving a very muddy Devon.
 "It's not funny, stop laughing." Devon shouted as she stood with her
hands on her hips pouting.
Her expression quickly turned to shock as Spike picked her up and held her
under one arm as he brought her up onto the patio area.
Devon continued to sulk but Spike pulled her onto his lap regardless of her
muddy clothes and wrapped his arms around her before planting a kiss gently on
the top of her head. Her frown quickly turned to a smile as she snuggled into
his embrace. The interaction between them earned him an array of different
looks from Amy, Maggie and Hound but he seemed oblivious to what he'd just
done.

The conversation flowed as we ate our lunch and the cookies
that were now a suitable temperature were demolished in record time. Hound had happily
taken the children up into the tree house and they were in their element having
everyone fuss over them, even Tommy was slowly coming out of his shell.
Although everyone was enjoying themselves I was conscious of the time, "I
hate to break up the party but I need to get to the chemist before it
closes."
"I can give you a lift if you want? There's no point taking everyone, the
kids are enjoying themselves." Spike stood and reached into his pocket to retrieve
his keys.
I looked directly at Amy for support, I was truly grateful for their acceptance
of myself and my children but I had only known them a couple of days. I
wouldn't yet feel comfortable leaving the children and I didn't want to be on
my own with Spike.
Amy clearly saw my hesitation, "It's okay we can all go." She said as
a matter of fact before standing to stalk towards the tree house encouraging
the children and Hound to come down. Spike glanced at me with a questioning
look before joining Amy. One by one they climbed down the ladder and Spike gave
a helping hand to the twins making sure that they didn't fall.

"Bye Maggie, thank you for letting us bake
cookies." Devon stated giving Maggie a huge hug around her waist.
"You are very welcome. I hope you can come again soon, we could maybe do
some painting or make finger puppets next time."
I didn't know who was more excited, the children or Maggie.
"Could we also play in the tree house again Maggie?" Tommy asked as
he made his way over to where his sister was standing.
Maggie ruffled the top of his head, "Of course you can little man,
anytime."
I said my goodbyes and thanked Maggie for entertaining the children and the
lovely lunch she had prepared. I was grateful for how welcome they had all made
us feel.

We arrived at the chemist that was in the high street, not
far from Amy's cafe.
"Come on kids." Devon and Tommy looked at me through tired eyes as
they slowly removed their seatbelts.
"You can leave them here while you pop into the chemist." Amy stated
as she turned around from the front seat to look at me.
I hesitantly glanced at her and could feel Spike's eyes boring into my skin as
he looked at me in the rear view mirror. "Erm...I'd rather just take them,
I promise not to be long." I didn't linger too much on their unreadable
expressions and quickly opened the door. Once we were on the pavement I
directed the children quickly towards the chemist, I wasn't sure of the time
but I was aware that it must now be late afternoon.

It was a small shop with aisles of fully stocked shelves
making it feel a little claustrophobic. I walked past the group of people who
were waiting for their prescriptions, holding both the children's hands firmly.
I saw the glances and raised eyebrows as people noticed the bruises on my face but
there was nothing I could do to hide them. My makeup had been lost in the fire
and I didn't want to waste money on purchasing such trivial things as I didn't
know when I would next get some money.
I neared the counter and a young eastern European lady greeted me kindly before
leaning over the counter to ruffle the top of Tommy's head.
"Could I please have some pain relief for my five year old." Amy had
some in her medicine cupboard at home but I didn't want her to think I was
taking advantage and becoming a free loader.
The lady nodded and handed me a bottle of ibuprofen as she informed me of the
price. My money was dwindling quickly, I really needed a job which meant I
needed to enrol the children into a school as soon as possible.