Stronger With Us (The Strength Series Book 3) (16 page)

We sit in silence until the water starts to cool off. I think she may have even fallen asleep for a bit.

“Come on, princess, let’s get you into bed,” I say as I move her forward so I can stand. I get out of the bath first, wrapping a towel around my waist. Christin looks absolutely gorgeous with her hair wet on the ends, sitting in the water watching me. I take another towel off the rack and hold it open for her. Once she’s out of the water, I wrap her up and pull her to me. I take her hand and lead her to the bed where I gently sit her down and go about drying her legs with the towel I was wearing. Once she’s dry, I tuck her into the covers and go let the water out of the tub and hang the towels.

By the time I make it back to the bed, I can hear Christin softly snoring. I smile to myself and climb in beside her. She rolls over and I pull her body to mine, putting my arm under her head so she can use me as a pillow. It doesn’t take very long and I’m drifting off, feeling more content than ever before.

28

I wake up and I’m warm. Really warm. Taking inventory of my body, I realize that my shoulders are sore, my face hurts a little, and I’m laying on someone. I never spend the night so who the fuck is in bed with me?

I crack one eye open and see the man who has haunted my dreams for months. Suddenly the day before comes rushing back. The idiot in the ER, the cut on my cheek, the gunshots, the death, and the relief. I feel guilty that I caused someone’s death. My eyes fill with tears as I think about it.

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Jude’s sleep-filled voice pulls me from my thoughts.

“I know, but I don’t have to like it. He was a person who obviously needed help. He didn’t deserve to die.”

Jude rolls us, putting me on my back and him above looking into my eyes. “I didn’t say he deserved it, but you have to know that he had plans to do so many things to you that would make you wish you were dead. I couldn’t let that happen. I’ve met guys like him, and they don’t stop. They call it love, but it’s a sick obsession to possess a woman’s body and soul. Trust me, it could have been much worse.”

I shudder knowing what Becca went through at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. That could have been me yesterday. Tears fall down my face.

“Hey, don’t cry, princess. You’re safe now. I’m never going to let anyone hurt you ever again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I whisper, trying not to hope for the impossible.

“I never do. We need to talk about this. Who did this to you?”

“What do you mean? Did what?” I fire back defensively.

“You know what I’m talking about. Who put this distrust for men in your head?”

I sigh and shake my head. The last thing I want to do right now is dig up the past. “I don’t…”

“Yes, you do,” he cuts me off. “Please, tell me. I want to change your mind.” I look in his eyes and see nothing there but acceptance. Maybe he really does want to stick around.

“It’s not a pretty story, and I don’t like telling it. If I do, it will only happen once and you will never get it out of me again. Is that understood?”

He leans down and kisses my lips quickly before pulling back to look me in the eye. “I promise I will never ask again. I meant it when I said I want you in my life. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we met.”

I nod and close my eyes, gathering the courage to tell him about my mother, the whore. As I open my mouth and the words come out, I’m transported back to the past.

Yelling. She’s always yelling. I pull my pillow over my head and hope that it will be enough to drown out her voice.

“CJ, get your ass out of that bed!”

I lay as still as I can when I hear my door slam into the wall. I can’t deal with her today.

“Did you hear me? Get out of that bed right now,” she says as she pulls my blanket off my face.

“I heard you. The neighbors probably heard you. It’s Saturday, and I want to sleep,” I whine. It’s not going to work, but I have to try.

“I don’t need your attitude today, CJ. What I do need is for you to get up and help me clean this place. I’m having company tonight, and I want everything to look nice.”

I groan softly, hoping she doesn’t hear me. I know what having company means, and it’s not going to be fun for me.

“Okay, Mom. I’m getting up. Where do you want me to start?” I know she’ll just stand there and bug me if I don’t obey her.

“You work on the bathroom and when you’re done come to the kitchen for another job,” she says as she finally leaves me alone. I sigh and sit up, knowing that more yelling will happen if I don’t make noise like I’m cleaning something.

As I make my way down the hall, I hear my brother in his room. He’s got his Game Boy going and I can hear the Mario Bros. theme music. He’s always playing that game and never has to help with the chores. I sneak in to his room to scare him. It’s such a pig sty in here. I walk over a pile of dirty underwear and the smell nearly knocks me over.

“Why are you such a slob?” I yell as loud as I can. Bobby jumps and Mario falls into the water.

“Really, CJ? I was about to make it to the next level. What do you want?”

“I want you to get off your butt and help me clean this house. Mother says we’re having company tonight.”

“Oh, no,” he says shaking his head. “I can’t handle another night of that. Can we go somewhere?” His pouty face is something I have a hard time ignoring. He’s annoying, but I feel like I have to take care of him since Mother doesn’t.

“I’ll see what I can do. Now, get off that game and help clean if you want me to get us out of here,” I say as I lightly smack him on the head. He jumps up and follows me out of his room.

We apparently got things done to my mother’s satisfaction because she ignored us all day. I’m trying to figure out how to get Bobby out of the house when the first guests arrive.

“CJ, answer the door and be polite. I don’t need your teenage attitude tonight. This party is too important.” I roll my eyes knowing she can’t see me, but go to answer the door.

“Welcome to Julia’s soirée. Please follow me,” I say not making eye contact. These two are wearing a lot of leather. The woman has a dog collar on her neck, and the man is holding a chain leash attached to her. He smiles at me and it gives me the creeps.  I take them to the back living room. My mother has it set up like she always does. Few lights, whips hanging on the wall, a leather-covered table in the middle of the room with handcuffs hanging from the sides. I know what they do in here, and it makes my stomach turn. I’ve never let Bobby see this, but he knows that bad things happen because we’ve both heard the screams. In my nearly fourteen years on this earth, I have had to listen to a lot of things I wish I didn’t.

My mother enters the room and tonight she’s wearing a red leather body suit. She is a beautiful woman, tall, thin, long blonde hair like mine that she has pulled back in a braid. But when she has company, she looks sinister. She’s always in charge. The one time I dared to peek in here, she had a whip in her hand and was hitting a naked man with it.

“You can go, Christin. The other guests will be here soon.” I run from the room as fast as I can. My brother is in his room, where I told him to stay.

“Let’s go. I’m taking you to Johnny’s.” He looks up at me with tears in his eyes. He’s only nine and there’s no way he’s going to stay here for this tonight.

“What about you? Where will you go?”

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle her. Let’s get you to your friend’s. I’ve already talked to Johnny’s mom, and you can stay the night. Grab your toothbrush, and I’ll pack a bag real quick.” Bobby doesn’t argue and does what I ask. Less than five minutes later I’m walking him down the street to his friend’s.

“Can’t you stay with me and Johnny?” he asks. I put on my best smile to try and reassure him.

“I’ll be fine. You boys wouldn’t want me there bossing you around anyway. I’m going to Sophia’s, so stop worrying.”

“Okay, as long as you’re not going back there.”

“Nope, now, stay here until I come back to get you tomorrow. I want to be sure everyone’s gone and the place is safe for you.” I pull my little brother into my arms and hug him tightly. He returns the embrace and holds on longer than necessary. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. Go have fun with your friend,” I say as I peel his arms away. He looks at me with tears in his eyes, but stands up straight and nods. Johnny opens the door when I knock and I stay on the porch until I hear the lock slide into place. Then I turn and walk back to the living hell waiting for me.

I jump when I feel a hand run up my arm. Jude is looking at me with more sympathy than I can handle. I close my eyes so I can’t see his face as I continue. If he says anything, I’ll lose my nerve.

I get back to the house and there are three more cars parked outside. I walk around the side and enter the kitchen. I go about putting food out and making sure there are plenty of glasses for the bottles of water. Mother never serves anything but water, saying that it’s important to keep a clear head. I have an idea of what that means, but I’ve always thought that adults like to drink alcohol at parties.

“Good, that’s what I wanted. Christin, tonight you’re going to join the party,” my mother says as she comes into the kitchen. My heart stops. I don’t want to be in there.

“It’s okay, Mother. I can just stay in here and make sure you don’t run out of food.”

“I said you’re joining the party, and you will not argue with me. You’re almost fourteen and it’s time you learned.”

I know it’s futile to fight with her because she’ll just get violent. I look down at my shoes and follow her silently to the back of the house.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a special treat for you this evening. I’ve brought you a virgin to play with.” Tears start falling down my cheeks. I’m not naive enough to misunderstand her intentions. My own mother is going to let these people touch me.

“My God, you poor thing,” Jude whispers against my hair. I’ve curled up next to him, and he’s holding me tightly.

“I’ll spare you all the gory details, but suffice it to say my entire world changed that night. After that I didn’t trust men. My mother had never let anyone stay in our lives for very long, so I grew up thinking that they didn’t want to. But after that night, I learned that men only want to control you and do whatever they want to you.”

“Not all men are like that, but I understand why you’ve thought that. Did your brother ever find out?”

“Thankfully, he was spared that hell. Unfortunately, he died two years later. He was riding his bike to school and was hit by a drunk driver.”

“Jesus Christ, how horrible. I’m so sorry, baby.”

“It was ten years ago. I was crushed, but my mother didn’t seem too upset. She had more parties and more men. I started staying with friends because that was the only way to avoid being one of her playthings for her company.”

“Where is she now?” he growls.

“Honestly, I have no fucking clue. When I left for college, I swore I’d never see her again. I’ve kept that promise to myself.”

“Good because I’m quite sure that if I ever met her I’d kill her with my bare hands.” The look in his eyes tells me that he’s serious.

“She’s not worth a prison sentence, but it’s sweet of you to say that.”

“How long did you endure that hell?”

I swallow hard before I answer. “She started having people over when I was five. I left after my brother died so eleven years or so.”

“I can’t believe a mother would do that to her child,” he says as he squeezes me.

“Well, she did. So now I’ve told you about my past. You get a couple more questions before I stop talking about it forever,” I say as I pull away enough to look him in the eye.

Jude smiles at me and winks. “I only have one. What’s the tattoo on your inner thigh about?”

“That’s for my brother. The heart represents my love for him and the wings are because he’s an angel now. I put it there so only someone who’s really important to me would see it.” He cocks one eyebrow at me. “You have to be up close to it, you know?”

“So, no man you’ve been with has had his eyes close enough to your thigh to see it?”

“Nope, just you. I don’t let guys put their faces down there. For some reason, you broke through my defenses.”