With messy blond hair and a lip piercing, topaz green eyes and a lopsided smile, he’s every girl’s dream and I can see how happy she is with him. He looks up and smiles when he sees us.
"Hey, sweetheart." Immediately Kel steps into his arms and he kisses her forehead.“You don’t have your key?" she asks, smiling as she looks at him through her thick-lashed eyes."I do, just thought I’d wait for you. How did it go, Sophia?"Lucas wraps an arm around my sister’s shoulder and then releases her to give me one of his well-known and loved bear hugs, lifting me off my feet easily.I grin and laugh and wipe the moisture from my eyes before he sees it.
"It went great,” Kel says for me as Lucas takes my keys to unlock our door.The minute I make it to the couch I set my dance bag down and plop onto the love seat, where Kel joins me.
“You were amazing," Kel says, obviously seeing my doubts after this performance. I know she’s right, but sometimes I can’t help doubting myself.After that night, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to love myself and believe in my abilities again.
Four Months EarlierThe sound of a loud crash coming from the kitchen makes my eyes fly open in a mixture of surprise and panic.Bryce comes home faithfully every day at six. Why would he come home at, God, two-thirty in the afternoon? My hands shake as I scramble to my feet, knowing what’s coming.
The only possible reason he'd come home early is because he's drunk. I make my way toward the bedroom door as a pit in my stomach forms; fear that I’ve come to live with stopping my body in its place.
“Where are you?" Bryce yells, making me jump when I see his cold eyes and clenched fists, ready to aim when the anger strikes him.I lift my head and I search for any sign of emotion or humanity in his eyes, but all I see is anger. That’s all I ever see. Cold, dark eyes of anger and possibly hatred.
"I...I was sleeping, Bryce. I’m sorry." My voice shakes unintentionally.He narrows his eyes at me, raises the empty bottle of whiskey in his hand, and throws it past my head, making me flinch and jump back from him."Do you know how worried I’ve been?" he asks, quiet venom in his words as he backs me into a corner and forces me to look into his reddened eyes.His hand grips my chin and his fist clenches against it, making me whimper at the force of his hold.
"I’m sorry...I..." He doesn’t let me finish as his fist comes down hard on the side of my face and the pain spreads across my skin.I cry out and fall back, my head hitting the hardwood floor with a hard smack. I feel the blood trickle down my face and my body trembles in fear for what’s to come.
He looks down at me with his brown eyes almost black with anger as he curses and kicks me in the stomach.
Once, twice, three times...I lose count as each blow molds into the other, searing the pain low in my abdomen as I shake with tears falling down my face.
I struggle for breath, and as he grasps my hair in his right fist, my eyes close and the darkness overwhelms me as the pain ceases and I black out.
The pain wakes me up as I find myself lying face-up in the king-sized bed in Bryce’s bedroom.My clothes are in a messy pile on the floor as I feel my panties being slid down my legs and his mouth nipping at my neck. No, God, no! He can't be doing this. This can't happen...
"No...No...Please...stop..." I plead, having no strength to struggle against his hands trapping me against the mattress.Bryce grins against my skin and grinds against my hips, making my body shake and tremble in fear. There was a time once when I thought I loved him.
I would do anything to please him. But now I know that was only a game to him. This is the man I've come to know.
I feel rough, merciless hands digging into my waist while his knee presses against my side.
The last of my laced underwear comes off my leg and I pull my knee up and attempt to buck him off me.
"No!!" I cry out, making contact with his stomach instead of his nether regions. I continue trying in vain to push against his hold, kicking my legs is useless.“Oh, I love it when you fight me, princess. So feisty.”I feel the rub of his lips against my jaw, my collarbone, my neck, and then my mouth. A whimper escapes me when he pushes his tongue in my mouth and takes.
“You. Are. Mine. Sophie.” He growls each word into the space between our mouths.His chuckle is empty and cruel against my ears. I’m still struggling, forcing my head to the side to try to escape his weight, his voice, his cold, clammy hands gripping my thighs.
And when he takes and takes and takes, there is no one there to hear my cries of agony.The sobs break through my chest and I cry silently, willing this to be a nightmare.My skin crawls with a dirty, horrid feeling and my eyes close, willing myself to die instead of live through this torture.
***"Sophia, sweetheart, open your eyes," my sister’s sweet voice whispers as I force my eyes to open against the numb of pain in my body.She's sitting next to me, kissing and squeezing my hand in hers. When I see her tear-streaked face and hear the beeps of a machine next to me, I realize where I am.
“What happened?" I choke out the words through a dry throat.My head is pounding and I can barely open my eyes to see my sister and an unfamiliar man standing next to her.
Kel leans forward and kisses my forehead. I hear her intake of breath and wait for her to tell me what happened. Why am I here? In a hospital?“Dad found you in your apartment this morning. You were beaten...and..." Her voice trails off, as if she's unable to finish her sentence.I see tears build in her eyes and what's worse is when her voice breaks. "Do you remember what happened?"
I take a deep breath, trying to lift my body that’s numb from the medication I must be on. Pain spears me in the chest as I remember his face, my cries for him to stop, and the pain down there and throughout my whole body. I just don't understand how I hadn't seen him for what he really was until that moment. I was so blind. I cover my face with my hands in an effort to gather my scattered thoughts.“He came home really angry...I tried to talk to him, but then he hit me and I must have blacked out because when I woke up I was in his bed. He...Oh, God..." My voice cracks as I realize the three words that I can’t seem to wrap my head around. He loved me, I know he did, but last night, God, he was just...a monster.Kel squeezes my hand and with her eyes full of sympathy and love, urges me to continue."He forced himself on me, Kel," I say in a shaky voice, grasping onto her as she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight, allowing me to finally let go of the overwhelming emotions tha
“Did you hear?" I ask, and Kel smiles that proud sister smile that I’ve only seen twice before across her face.She grabs me by the shoulders, her laughter ringing against my ear as she hugs me tight. We’re both basking in this moment. The first happy moment we’ve had in so, so long."I knew you’d get it!" Kel squeals, squeezing me once more. She lets me go and has a wide grin on her face. She’s happy for me, just like I knew she would be.Swinging her arm around me, she whispers in my ear, “He’s here, you know. He’s talking with Lucas now." A blush rushes to my cheeks in anticipation. My joy in my news is replaced by the excitement and nervousness of seeing Gavin again."Do I look okay?" I rub my hands down my lavender mid-length summer dress, biting my lip when it starts to tremble. I don’t want to mess this up. Kel is right; it’s time to live again.Kel’s hand reaches out and squeezes mine.“You’re perfect, Sophie.” She tucks my hair behind my ears and gives me a little push towar
“What the hell, Sophia, are you okay?" Farah asks as she grabs my hand and we sit on the steps. I take a deep breath and turn to her. She’s been my rock for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what I’d do without her.“I don’t know what I’m doing, Farah. I met this guy today and he’s, God, so gorgeous. Like his eyes captivate me and when he was holding me just now, it felt so right, you know?"She grins and squeezes my hand for reassurance, her reddish-brown hair tucked behind her ears, her knowing eyes seeing right through me."Then go with it, Sophia. Don’t start over thinking it!""He called me beautiful, Farah. I mean, I don’t even know his last name! Is this crazy?"She shakes her head and looks into my eyes, forcing me to be honest.“Do you like him?" She cocks her head to the side, pinning me with her gaze."Yes.""Then stop thinking about it. I can tell he likes you." I grin at the thought and narrow my eyes at her."Really? How?"Her eyes gleam with a smile as she throws
"Sophia," he whispers against my lips, pulling back an inch to meet my eyes, reading them for a moment before that gorgeous smile graces his mouth and he leans his forehead against mine. I let go of his shirt and wrap my hands around the back of his neck as I struggle to catch my breath."That was...wow," I whisper, smiling excitedly. His hand brushes my flushed cheek and his mouth sets in a smile that shows off his ruggedly handsome face."Amazing," he says, pressing his lips to mine softly once more before he leans back and grasps my hand, his eyes shining as he gazes down at me. "Do you want to dance, beautiful?"I grin and nod as he leads me back inside. My heart beats fast and erratically in my chest. His fingers close over mine as we walk back to the almost empty dance floor where a soft melody by Shania Twain is playing. He pulls me into him and presses a hand to my waist. He sweeps me into a slow dance that is just as graceful as before, only this time he presses his mouth
"When did you start dancing?" he asks, his deep voice next to my ear."When I began preschool, my mom enrolled me in a toddler dance academy, and my love for it grew from there.""Is your mom a dancer?” Gavin’s hands skate down my arms, causing goose bumps.I giggle and press closer to him. Being in his arms feels better than I could have imagined. "That’s two questions, but no, she isn’t. She's a model and travels a lot, too." The last thing I wantto think about is my absentee mother, but he asked and, truly, I want Gavin to know me."Did I upset you?" he asks, turning me so that I’m facing him. I hastily shake my head, pressing it against his shoulder as his hand strokes up and down my back."No, she wasn’t around a lot when I was growing up, though. I actually haven’t talked to her in a long time."Deftly, Gavin lifts my face with a finger under my chin and gazes into my eyes."I understand, but if she doesn’t appreciate you then it’s her loss, Sophia, not yours." My heart skips
"My dad passed Thomas Corporations down to me, the family company, last spring. He’d been priming me for it since I was fifteen years old. I own and operate it now, along with my mom, of course, who runs the offices and legal aspects of it."My breath catches. I struggle to imagine how much money he must make, owning a growing computer technology corporation like that. Mom always told me to follow the men with gold, but it doesn’t make me want him any less or any more. It’s just a surprise."Wow. I mean I figured you had a pretty high-end job to afford your Jaguar, but I didn’t expect that. What do you do? It’s computer technology, right?" He nods and leans back a little so his eyes meet mine in the setting sun."We try to innovate mobile and computer technologies for modern-day society. After Windows 8, our system was in almost every PC in America."I give him a smile, reassuring him that I’m only curious about his work and not trying to pry."Windows 8?""Yeah, once we put together
As I make my way into the kitchen, I see my dad giving Kel a hug. I squeal, a huge smile on my face since I haven’t seen him in weeks. Excitement bubbles up inside me when he turns and sees me."Pumpkin, come here,” Dad says, pulling away from my sister. I run into his arms, so happy to see him as he lifts me off my feet and kisses my cheek."When did you get here?" I ask, pulling back to take a look at him. I laugh, seeing his beard coming back. He has new lines around his eyes and mouth, but his deep amber eyes, the same as Kel’s, are as bright as they’ve always been."You look happy, Sophia," he says, twirling me in a circle like he always does."Dad, you seriously have to shave!” I laugh through the words. He throws his head back and laughs, pulling me with him. He makes his way into the kitchen where Kel places three plates of mac and cheese on the table.“I’ll take it under advisement, pumpkin,” Dad winks at me.Turning to my sister, he says, “This is great, Kel. Thank you." I si
GavinThe cup of steaming hot coffee meeting my taste buds could be described as the highlight of my day on most days I spend in the office. Today was different. Meeting Sophia Jones was the highlight, and if I could have spent more time with her today, I would have jumped at the chance. I haven’t truly thought about a girl or rather, a woman, in any way other than an easy fix at the end of a very long day in I don’t know how long. Back in college, it had been different. I was convinced that my girlfriend at the time, Jasmine, was the one. The one. As I think about it now, I have to laugh at myself.I didn’t know how naive that sentiment was. As if there was one woman that would stay by me through thick and through thin. As if there was a woman out there that could look past my name and the number attached to my bank account. Maybe even past the dollar signs on my paycheck each month. I’d thought she was that one woman. Shit, was I wrong. I sip my coffee slowly, closing my eyes f