The feeling of freezing water caused me to gasp. I frantically reached around for something to get me out of it when I snapped my eyes opened and found that I was sitting in a bathtub slightly filled with the icy water and the shower was pelting down the same cold as hell water on me from above.
“Tegan?!” Talon sounded off.
I gasped some more for a steady breath as I tried to push myself out of the tub but kept slipping back down into it. The water shut off.
“Can I help you?” Talon asked nervously.
Why was he talking to me like that and why was I sitting in a tub of cold water? Then what happened hit me full force. I felt the air leave my lungs and a chill run down my spine. I had officially lost my damn mind.
I shook my head yes and almost instantly warm hands wrapped around my soaked t-shirt wearing self and helped me up to a standing position; which didn’t last long. Talon wrapped a large towel around me and scooped me up into his arms. I snuggled against his chest as he carried me back into the bedroom, but this time the light was on. I didn’t bother to take in the décor of his room because my mind was spinning out of control, trying to grasp what I had said and done before I blacked out.
I couldn’t fully remember…
It must have been a worse attack than usual.
“I’m sorry for putting you in the cold water but your eyes were open and you were breathing but you were unresponsive. I freaked out…”
He pulled the covers back and slid me under them before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s fine. Please, lay with me,” I sounded weak, like a wounded animal begging for someone to spare its life.
He dropped his eyes to the striped pattern on his comforter. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
I must have done something awful…or said something to scare him off.
“Talon, I’m so sorry for what happened. I’m—I’m not even sure what happened. Please come lay with me. I just need someone to hold me right now.” My voice cracked as tears pricked my eyes.
Without saying another word he got up and slid underneath the covers beside me, pulling me against his chest. I snuggled deeply into his warmth as my tears fell freely from my eyes. My shoulders shook as I silently cried. “Talk to me, sweetheart,’’ he whispered as he caressed my arm lovingly.
I shook my head back and forth.
He kissed the top of my head. “I hate to see you so closed off from everyone. I know something bad happened to you, and I have an idea of what it might be, but I don’t want to make assumptions. I love you, Tegan, and no matter what you have gone through I will be here to help you overcome it. Give me the chance to do just that. Confide in me about the demons that keep pulling you away so I can help you defeat them.”
My tears relentlessly poured down my face from what Talon had just said. He loved me. Was I dreaming? Could this man actually love me? My heart was racing as I decided that I needed to let him in. He needed to know the darkest part of me so that we could hopefully build a foundation together, demolishing that wall I’d had standing in the way of a normal life for so long.
“I was attacked…” I exhaled before finishing the sentence just above a whisper. “He raped me.” Talon’s body went stiff and his hand stopped making soothing motions on my arm. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to look at him. His expression would be my undoing.
“Tegan…” His voice was soft, and every bit of emotion that made up Talon Fisher was pouring out of it.
Another round of tears slipped from my closed eyes and slowly rolled down my cheeks. I knew he had questions but couldn’t find the words to ask so I pushed on with the admission of that horrific night.
“I had stayed after at the studio to work on a routine for my Juilliard audition. It was pretty late when I heard a noise in the locker room; students would show up all the time to pick things up that they had forgotten so it wasn’t anything out of the norm, but it wasn’t one of my girls…it was a man that I had seen in the area off and on for a few weeks. Somebody had mentioned that his name was Fred. I’m not sure if that was actually his name or not—” I tried to choke back the thick lump in my throat so I wouldn’t sound as weak as I truly felt. “He knocked me off my feet in the locker room and pinned me to the floor. I finally got away from him by kicking him in the gut and ran out the exit door just outside of the locker room area but I didn’t get far before he caught up to me again.” I fell silent for a moment. “The last thing I remember before things went black is what he said to me.” I hiccupped a sob. “It’ll all be over soon.” A shudder ran through my body and Talon squeezed me tighter into his chest.
Talon’s silence made me nervous. Was it the right thing to tell him what happened to me? I was beginning to second guess that it was. “I woke up in the back parking lot and could barely open my eyes from the swelling. He had hit me a few times before knocking me out cold. My entire body ached from pain as I managed to get to my feet. I had forgotten my ankle injury that occurred during the struggle, but it hit me full force when I dragged myself back to the studio. I cried louder than I ever had—might’ve even screamed a few times as I fell in the gravel a couple times. My leotard was torn to shreds and had splotches of blood on it—”
“You don’t have to tell me anymore, Tegan.” He kissed the top of my head as I continued to cry.
I ignored his request and continued on, “I did the one thing you’re not supposed to do in a situation like that. I took the hottest shower that my body would allow me to, leaving the shreds of clothing on the floor in the locker room. Once my skin was angry red from all the persistent scrubbing, I lost it, Talon.” The melancholy tone of my voice sounded foreign, “I completely tore apart the studio. I broke windows, shattered trophies from competitions, and even attempted to burn the place down when the police showed up. Someone had called them because they thought some burglars were vandalizing Graceful Moves, when in reality it was me.”
Talon shifted his body so that he could see my face. I had opened my eyes while I was telling the last part of the story because of the burn of the tears. He lifted my chin so I had no choice but to look at him and the sight caused my lip to quiver and the tears to flood them again. “I hope to God they caught that piece of shit and he is rotting in jail right now.”
I felt the color drain from my skin. Would he understand what I had done? My hands were shaking as I forced the next words out of my mouth. “I have no idea where he is.”
“What do you mean?!” A confused look pulled his eyebrows down deep in the center.
“I didn’t testify—I couldn’t!” I cried out as my heart hammered in my chest. “The police tried everything, Adalynn tried to convince me even, but I couldn’t do it! Without proof that it was him, without me testifying, he got off Scot free.” After those words left my mouth I felt like I was going to vomit. Gagging, I covered my mouth quickly and took a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly through my nose, trying to calm myself. I pulled away from Talon and hung my legs off the side of the bed, dropped my head into my hands, and silently cried until my body shook with each sob that escaped me.
I felt his hands begin to caress my back and shoulders. “Tegan, baby, you have nothing to be ashamed of. That bastard hurt you, and there wasn’t much you could do about it. The choice you made to not testify was yours to make. I can’t say that I would have done anything differently if I were in your shoes. But I’m sorry as hell that that motherfucker put his hands on you, and for as long as I live I will do my best to keep anything else from happening to you.” I sat up and looked into his eyes. The fierceness in them told me that he meant every word that he had said, so in reply I leaned forward and took his mouth with my own.
“I love you, too,” I whispered against his lips as a lone tear slipped from my eye and rolled down my face.
The side of his lip tipped up in a smile as he wiped the tear from my cheek. “I’m glad you do, baby, so fucking glad.”
Chapter Eight
I’d been st
aring at the dark curtains that kept the sun from shining into Talon’s room for a good hour. We had fallen asleep together as we talked about what had happened to me. I hadn’t planned on staying the night, let alone in the same bed as Talon, but as the night progressed I felt safe in his arms. He was my safe haven, even though I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not.
I thought I would feel embarrassed after pouring my heart out to Talon, but I didn’t. He had a way of making the most terrifying situations not seem as bad. His leg moved against mine before wrapping around it at the ankle. I sighed from the simple touch of his leg. That was how he made me feel. Every. Single. Time.
I lazily drew patterns across his bare skin. Neither of us had bothered to put on more clothes after my breakdown. I was wearing one of his large shirts and he was still clad in boxer briefs only. As he rolled onto his stomach I caught sight of a large tattoo across the top of his back. It read For I Have Sinned. I wasn’t sure what it stood for, but it had to be meaningful for him to have it so largely scripted. I began tracing each letter with the tip of my index finger lightly brushing against his skin; tiny bumps started to rise in the wake of my touch. I smiled to myself from the feeling of accomplishment washing over me. Why did I find that as an accomplishment? Because it showed exactly how his body reacted to me. Or at least that’s what I liked to think.
“That feels good,” Talon’s sleep-filled voice rumbled his body.
I smiled again.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” I ran my hand up into his messy hair and scratched his scalp. He rolled onto his back and pulled me on top of him as he went.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He smoothed his hands over my bare thighs causing my eyes to flutter shut. His erection was pressing into my center as I sat there. I felt my entire body flush as I wiggled just slightly, not meaning for it to come across in the way it did. “You’re gonna have to stop wiggling, Tegan, it’s driving me crazy,” he groaned as he moved his hands from my thighs to roughly run them up and down his face.
“Sorry!” I replied shyly.
“It’s fine. I just don’t want this morning to start out like that.” His lips tipped up in a sleepy smile and my heart picked up its pace.
“What time’s Zoey coming home?” I tried to change the subject without making it awkward.
“Speaking of Zoey, I need to call her.” He stretched his arms above his head as I slid off of his lap so that he could retrieve his cell phone.
I watched as Talon stood from the bed. His tall, muscular, yet lean frame was gorgeous. I couldn’t help but to stare, and staring is what I did. Snuggling into his pillow I watched as he made his way across his bedroom to the dresser on the opposite wall. He turned to face me and smiled widely as he lifted his cell phone to his ear.
I kept my eyes on all of him as he talked with Zoey. Apparently she was spending the day with Layla, but Talon was saying that he had no idea about something…One-sided conversations always left others in the dark. He walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back to look outside. “You weren’t lying. Well, you have fun and I’ll see you soon.” He paused for a moment. “I love you too, Zoey.” Letting the curtains go so they would fall back into place, he sat his phone on the night stand beside him and turned back towards me.
“Like what you see?” His teasing tone had me giggling and shaking my head yes. “Well, it’s a good thing.” He threw the covers back far enough that they were no longer covering me.
“Why is that?” I laughed as I tried to scoot away from him.
“Because there is a shit load of snow outside and we won’t be going anywhere for a while.” He wrapped a hand around my leg and pulled me to him as I yelped. My body was flush with the mattress as he lowered his lips to mine. The tenderness of his kiss was my undoing. I snaked my hands up his back and slowly ran my nails down his spine. Talon shivered in response and I took his bottom lip into my mouth, sucking hard.
“Tegan…” He warned, but I didn’t listen. I nibbled on his lip, causing him to let out a groan unlike any I had heard from him before. I smiled against his lips as our tongues tangled together like our survival relied on it.
As he slipped a hand up under my shirt I closed my eyes, hoping this time I would be able to make it through this. Talon pulled his mouth from mine, “If it gets to be too much, let me know.” I answered by connecting our lips once more. His hand was slightly rough, calloused from his everyday life, but it felt nice against my skin. Sliding it over my panties he continued up my ribcage, stopping just beneath my breasts. I arched my back, pushing my braless chest into the air, hoping he would get the hint that I wanted him to touch me, and he did.
A moan escaped my lips as I dropped my head back, breaking our kiss. The sensations from him kneading one of my breasts had my entire body responding. “Talon…” I whispered, that was all the sound I could muster up. As he moved on to my other breast my stomach decided that it was going to completely ruin the moment by letting off a growl of hunger that I was almost positive the people two blocks down could hear.
Talon stopped dead in his tracks. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, whether I should be embarrassed or act like it didn’t happen, but while I waited he tossed his head back and let out a bellowing laugh that caused me to do the same. The laughter continued on until we were both clenching our stomachs from the pain you get when you laugh too hard and long at something either completely hilarious or completely stupid. Either way, you end up feeling awesome from the endorphins.
“How about we get something to eat before your stomach eats itself, sound good?” He said as his laughter died down.
As much as I wanted to continue on with what we were doing, my stomach wasn’t having it. “Okay.” I tried to contain my giggling so we didn’t break out into another fit of laughter. I wanted to wake up to mornings like that for the rest of my life.
If only I could be so lucky…
We had spent the entire day on the couch watching a broad array of movies. Talon was stretched out as I rested my body between his legs with my hands tucked on his chest so my head could rest on top of them. I didn’t want to move, but the sound of his cell phone ringing from the bedroom was forcing me to do so.
“You don’t have to move. It can ring.” He pulled me back down to his chest.
“That’s the third time it has gone off in the past twenty minutes.” I gave him a knowing look. “It seems pretty important.” I sat up on the end of the couch so that he could get up to retrieve his phone as it started ringing yet again.
Without saying a word he stood from the couch and headed down the hall. A few long seconds passed before I heard his muffled voice coming from his bedroom on the other side of the wall. I couldn’t make out what was being said, but from the sounds of things it was important.
“Tegan!” Talon yelled. I jumped from my resting spot on the couch and fled down the hall, my heart was racing as I took in the frantic look on his face. “Zoey’s at the hospital. She and Layla wrecked the four wheeler, we’ve gotta go.” He was pacing the room looking for clothes to throw on.
My heart sank in my chest at the news. “Is she okay?!” My emotions were lodged in my throat, making it hard to speak very loudly.
“Mandi said there wasn’t an update yet, but she was unconscious when the ambulance arrived.” I crossed the room and placed my hands on Talon’s forearms, stopping his frantic search.
“It’ll be okay, Talon. She will be okay.” I stretched up on my tiptoes to kiss him softly on his lips. His eyes were beginning to fill with tears as the rims turned bloodshot.
“She has to be okay,” he choked back.
“I know.” I patted his arm before quickly changing into the clothes I had worn the night before. I had no other choice; I hadn’t planned on staying, let alone getting snowed in.
The snow!
I zipped my jeans and turned to face Talon. “How are we supposed to get to the hospital with all the snow outside?!” He dropped his head
back. He had forgotten about the snow, just as I had.
I knew my car wouldn’t make it through that much snow, and Talon’s was most likely the same. Being on the other side of the United States from my parents gave me no one to turn to, except Adalynn. Her father ran a tree removal company; he spent a lot of time during the winter removing fallen trees from power lines and the roofs of homes. Hopefully she would be able to get one of his trucks so we could get to Zoey as fast as possible. I explained my idea to Talon as he took a seat on the end of his bed, dropping his head into his hands. I had never seen him such a mess.
I pressed Adalynn’s picture icon in my contacts, and she answered on the first ring. “Are you finally calling to tell me about last night?! How did it go with loverboy?!”
I completely ignored her question and dove straight into what was going on. “Please tell me you can get one of your dad’s work trucks! Zoey was in a four wheeler accident and is in the hospital. I’m at Talon’s right now but we have no way to get to her.”
The line fell silent… “Please tell me that she’s okay…” I could tell by the sound of Adalynn’s voice that tears were most likely streaming down her face.
“We don’t know anything,” I said as quietly as possible, not wanting to upset Talon any more than he already was.
“Usually I have one of his trucks, but I told him I wouldn’t need one today since classes were cancelled.” I silently cursed. “Let me call him and see if he can, or someone who works for him can, swing by and give you all a ride.”
“We would appreciate it.” I sucked back my tears.
“Anything for you.”
Graceful Scars Page 10