Her Forever

Rosalie

“You don’t have to talk about it, Benjamin. We just met. That is kind of a big step,” I spoke cautiously. Benjamin nodded, and I sighed. “I want to; I feel comfortable around you. You’re almost like a mother figure… Weird, right?” He gave a slight smirk.

“I was about 10 years old,” Benjamin began. “My parents and I lived in a pa––community like this one, except much smaller. We were all happy. Mom was actually pregnant with a set of twins, and we decided to go on a picnic. It was the perfect day, the sun was shining, and we headed to the lake. It took a good 15 minutes to get there, and my job was to bring the blanket; Mom hated to sit on the grass.” Benjamin laughed for a moment, then his smile faded. “I forgot the blanket, so my Dad said he would go back and get it. At first, I said I would, it wasn’t that far, and I knew the way. Dad insisted, though; he said he would be faster. Mom was pretty sore at me cutting into our family time, but aren’t most parents when they remind you over and over when they want you to do something?

Anyway, it hadn’t been long, maybe 10 minutes, when we heard a loud scream, it was my Dad. I ran into the forest while my Mom tried to catch up as much as she could. She was pretty far along with the twins, so running wasn’t something she could easily do.

In the middle of the path, my father laid in the middle, b***d everywhere.” Benjamin started sobbing, and I pulled him into a hug. “He… he was dead. An animal got him. He was dead before we even got there.” A few tears escaped my eyes listening to Benjamin. “We were so close, my Dad was my best friend, and I felt like it was my fault. As soon as my Mom got there, it only got worse. She screamed in pain and told me to run back and get help. By the time I got back, she was lying against his body, sobbing. Everyone gathered her and my Dad and took them to the hospital.”

Amanda sat rubbing Benjamin’s hand, and he gave her a small smile. “Mom lost the twins.” I gasped. “From heartbreak and stress of the moment. My grandparents took care of me for a month or two to let my mom heal. Once I came back, she was different. Cold, distant. At first, it was verbal threats of the whole thing being my fault, then it turned physical. She would hit me for the smallest things.” Benjamin’s hands clenched.

“This went on for 5 years until I couldn’t take it anymore. No one believed me, or they didn’t want to believe. I had scratches, bruises and still, no one did anything. I reached out to Jack in the neighboring pa––community, and he immediately requested a transfer and got me here. He’s kept me safe; everyone has kept me safe. They make sure that she is nowhere near the area. I’ve been here for 3 years now, and I’ve never been happier.” I gave him a nod of approval.

“You are really something, Benjamin. Going through all that,” I whispered. “You survived it, and I’m glad you came here because I got to meet you.” I smiled warmly at him. “Do you have nightmares or flashbacks?”

“Not as much; she would hit me, slap me, give me a couple of good bruises once or twice, and I got a few deep scratches, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I don’t think she would have killed me; I was all that she had left for a family,” he said solemnly, holding Amanda’s hand. I hummed in response, not really knowing what to say. “She was my mom, so I didn’t have the heart to fight back.”

Benjamin looked up, “So what is your story? I know what ’emotionally damaged’ looks like. We are all spilling secrets!” he said, trying to lighten the mood. Amanda looked at me, knowing I wasn’t sure. I’ve kept it for so long, hiding in secret, running from a man that may not even be looking for me anymore. I rubbed my sweaty palms together. Should I come clean of everything? To everyone? Even Jack? That way, he could go ahead and stop flirting with me. It would be so much easier if he stopped now than find out later I was damaged goods. Who would want someone with some guy’s name etched into their side?

“Well, I guess you could say I’ve been hiding from someone. Would I be protected here if I told Jack?” Looking up from my lap, I saw Amanda and Benjamin with concerned looks.

“If you have someone that you think is still looking for you, Jack will protect you, Lee. You need to tell him so he can really put a security plan into play. With all your great ideas, this place will be a fortress, but we also need manpower. If you feel comfortable, you should tell him.”

I let out a heavy breath and looked anywhere and everywhere but the two friends in front of me. “Hey, Jack will still like you,” Amanda spoke softly.

“Ha, he doesn’t like me. He is just touchy-feely. He hired me to work here and nothing more.” I crossed my arms and huffed.

Benjamin whistled, “Girl, you are bliiiiind. He is all up in this.” He waved his index finger all over my body. “Have you seen the way he looks at you? Gets upset when others look at you? I was spying from the stairs watching you guys in the dining room. He’s into you, trust me.” He put his hand on his chest.

I let out a short laugh, “He won’t be once he sees these scars, both physical and psychologically.” I ran my hand through my long hair. “Come on, I’m done talking about this. Let’s get it over with.” Amanda took the lead and took us to the office on the second floor. You could hear someone yelling on the other side of the door and a few things falling to the floor. “Maybe this isn’t a good time; I’ll come back later.” I turned around to walk away until Benjamin picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

“Hey!” I squeaked. “Put me down!”

“Nu-uh, you need to spill about this guy that hurt you. I’ll protect you with my life, but we gotta know who we are dealing with.”

“Ok, ok, just put me down.” He let me down softly, and I straightened out my clothes, so I didn’t look like a big mess. Amanda knocked on the doors a few times, and we heard a big gruff, “come in.”

Walking in his office, you could feel the testosterone. Keith and Bruce were sitting on either side in front of the desk in massive leather chairs while their papers were thrown across the floor. Several paperweights laid in ruin on opposite sides of the room. There was a deep scowl on Jack’s face, something I had never seen before. I was about to duct out until Benjamin grabbed my arm and pulled me forward.

Once I entered the room, and Jack saw me, his face softened. His scowl instantly retreated from his face, and he continued to walk around the desk. “Kitten, what’s wrong?” Jack came over quickly and took my hand. I was not going to cry; I couldn’t cry. There were too many people in this room for me to break down and see how fragile I was.

Amanda cleared her throat since Jack, and I kept staring into each other’s eyes. Jack’s eyes were so warm and inviting; it breaks my heart to have to tell him this. Now he will know I’m ruined, that I’m something that cannot be fixed and should be left in the dust. Jack was the epitome of a perfect man. Strong, fearless, and natural leader while I was just the pebble in someone’s shoe. A nuisance, a pain in the butt, and a whiny baby.

“Lee would like to talk to you about something,” Amanda said softly as she reached for my hand to lead me to the couch in the room. Everyone was now sitting down, and Jack made Amanda get up so he could sit beside me. There was warmth was radiating from his body, and I instantly felt comforted by it. I was going to miss him trying to get close to me.

“What do you want to say, Kitten?” Jack soothingly rubbed my knee. I looked at my knee and then at his face. Laced with concern and curiosity, I decided to begin.

“I was brought up in the foster system,” I began as I cleared my throat. Occasionally glancing at everyone in the room as I spoke. “I had an average life up until the age of 7 when I had to move foster homes again to a man named Derek.” I choked back a sob. “He had a really nice house, was rich even. Better than anything I had ever seen in past foster care homes. He was really kind. I thought it was weird that he didn’t have a wife or significant other with how nice he was. Plus, they don’t usually let kids go to people who don’t. He gave me a nice room, a few toys. He took me to school, fed me, clothed me. It went great for two years. I was actually starting to trust him, thinking maybe he would adopt me.” I laughed lightly as everyone stared at me.

“The foster care system came by a lot those first two years to check on me. They saw how happy I was, and I even told them I would be happy if he adopted me. They finally said they wouldn’t come by much anymore because he seemed like a good guy. But that is when things went bad.” I put my head in my hands and choked back a sob. Jack started to rub my back while coming closer to me on the couch, and his leg was touching mine.

“The moment they left, he had a smirk on his face. It was so evil, I’ve never seen anything like it. His eyes almost glowed how happy he was. I was going to run to him and give him a hug until I felt a sharp sting in my cheek, and he had backhanded me. From that moment on, I dealt with his abuse. First, it was just hitting, slapping for not cleaning something right or just ‘being in the way’.” Jack’s fists began to ball up into his hands, and his knuckles began to turn white. “Then manual labor at his restaurant. I would wash dishes as soon as I got home from school until the bar closed; my hands would be bloody by the end of the night.” People in the room began to shuffle around, not wanting to stay in their seats, but I continued.

“Then the cutting started. When he would get drunk, he would bang on my bedroom door, which had been stripped of everything but a mattress and a box of clothes. He would drag me to the basement, cutting places here and there. He would take his finger and put it in the wound and then put it in his mouth telling me how sweet I was going to taste once I was properly aged.” I shivered. Jack rose from his seat, breathing heavily. I didn’t want to go on, so I stopped and started to silently cry. The males in the room began to gather around Jack, holding him in place as Jack started growling from his chest and swinging his arms. It was something angry, fierce that began to scare me. I glanced over to Amanda, who was quickly at my side. To help soothe me, she rubbed her hands up and down my arms as she sat with me. “Keep going; it’s alright,” she whispered.

“What else did he do?” Jack’s voice was deep, almost unrecognizable like he was another person. There were whispers from Keith telling him to remain calm.

“He branded me with a hot iron on my back as well as in between my, m–my chest.” I heaved out a long sob. “I can’t talk about this anymore.” I stood up to leave the room as the tears started rolling like giant waves into my hair. Before I could run out the door, Jack picked up his entire desk and flipped it over. I was too shocked to move, afraid he would come after my friends or me because when he turned around, his eyes turned the brightest yellow I had ever seen. They glowed, and I’m sure it could pierce through the darkest of nights.

My breath hitched as I saw him walk towards me. My heart rate picked up, and I could hear people talking, but it only sounded like I was underwater, too muffled to listen to their cries. Holding my arms up to my chest to get some bit of protection that would be for nothing, Jack stopped in front of me. Pulling me into his chest, he engulfed me into his arms, and immediate relief came through my body.

I let out a dramatic sigh as the tears continued to flow. “You are ruined; no one will want you.” Derek’s words continued to echo in my mind. As I tried to back away, Jack only held me tighter.

“You are strong, Kitten. So strong,” Jack continued to whisper in my ear and pet my hair. Everyone else in the room seemed to filter out, some giving me an encouraging pat on the back as Jack continued to hold me close. He pulled me back to look into my eyes. I was a mess, I knew I was, yet he still looked at me like I mattered.

“I will protect you until my last breath. You are worth protecting, and you are worth everything to me, do you understand?” I nodded my head in agreement, and he put my head back to his chest. Picking me up bridal style and walked up the stairs, he took me to his bedroom. Normally, I would be upset going into another man’s room, but he felt so good that I didn’t want to let go.

Sitting me on the plush bed, he laid me down, so he was spooning me, my back to his chest. His hand continued to pet my hair as he tried to lull me to sleep. Letting out a contented sigh, I started to fall asleep; I’d never fallen asleep so fast before. Usually, I was just waiting for someone to open the door and begin my torture all over again. “Sleep, Kitten. I’ll keep you safe,” he kissed the side of my head, and I drifted off to some of the best sleep I had ever encountered.