by A. K. Evans
Something came over him. I didn’t know what it was. I had gotten really good at reading my sister. I only knew a few of my father’s reactions and what they meant. This wasn’t one I’d ever seen before now.
Luckily, he walked away from Kaia’s bed. Unfortunately, he started coming toward me. It was okay. At least my sister was safe.
When he stopped just inches in front of me, his voice dropped dangerously low as he asked, “You think you can change my rules?”
I swallowed hard. “No, sir.”
“No?” he repeated. “It just sounded to me like you did.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “It was a mistake.”
I barely got the words out when I felt the back of his hand connect with the side of my face. My body flew back onto the bed as pain seared my cheek. As my hand came to my cheek, I sat up. A normal person would have stayed down. I didn’t.
Because I knew if I did, it would only be worse.
It would end much sooner if I took the punishment standing. So that’s what I did. Or, that’s what I attempted to do. Even though my father was careful about how he struck me so I’d never end up with a black eye or a visible mark, it was still far too powerful for a thirteen-year-old girl to take without flinching. I did the best I could to be strong, though. And I’d do it because I knew that as long as he was abusing me, he wasn’t abusing Kaia. And she was the only thing that mattered to me.
I didn’t have any sense of time. It always felt like an eternity, even if it only lasted a few minutes.
Through it all, I never once made eye contact. Not with him. Not with Kaia.
When it finally ended, after he walked out and I heard the door to his bedroom close, I ran into the bathroom and cleaned the blood from my face. Then I stripped out of my bloody pajamas, put on new ones, and climbed into bed.
It had to have been at least ten minutes after we’d been there in the dark when Kaia called, “Parker?”
“Yeah?” I rasped.
“I feel it.”
Unsure of what she meant, I asked, “What do you feel?”
There was no answer for a long time. Then I heard movement before I felt the mattress dip. A moment later, Kaia had curled her body up against mine. Then she croaked, “Your pain.”
Tears leaked from my eyes as I held on to my sister.
“I’m sorry about the invitation, Parker,” she apologized after some time had passed. I couldn’t miss the anguish in her voice.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I’m okay.”
The silence stretched again before she whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
With that, no additional words were spoken. We stayed there like that, holding on to one another because we knew we were all we had.
And because that was the case, I knew if the situation ever presented itself again, I’d do the same thing for my sister. If it ever came down to it, I’d always step in the line of fire for her.
To my husband, Jeff: I’m convinced there isn’t anything you can’t fix, especially my mood when I’m having a bad day. Thank you for being so patient with me. I love you.
To my boys, J&J: If you ever get knocked down in life, always know that Mom and Dad will be there to help you rebuild.
To everyone else who helps make each book the best it can be: Thank you so much!
Special thanks to:
-My ARC Team
-Sarah, my cover designer
-Stacey, my formatter
-Ellie & Rose, my editor & proofer
-My readers
-The bloggers
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The Everything Series
Everything I Need
Everything I Have
Everything I Want
Everything I Love
Everything I Give
The Cunningham Security Series
Obsessed
Overcome
Desperate
Solitude
Burned
Unworthy
Surrender
Betrayed
Revived
Road Trip Romance
Tip the Scales
Play the Part
One Wrong Turn
Just a Fling
Meant to Be
Take the Plunge
Miss the Shot
In the Cards
Hearts & Horsepower
Control the Burn
Behind the Wheel
Far Beyond Repair
How to Rebuild
Out of Alignment
A.K. Evans is a contemporary romance author of over twenty published novels. While she enjoys writing a good romantic suspense novel, Andrea’s favorite books to write have been her extreme sports romances. That might have something to do with the fact that she, along with her husband and two sons, can’t get enough of extreme sports.
Before becoming a writer, Andrea did a brief stint in the insurance and financial services industry and managed her husband’s performance automotive business. That love of extreme sports? She used to drive race cars!
When Andrea isn’t writing, she can be found homeschooling her two sons, doing yoga, snowboarding, reading, or traveling with her family. She and her husband are currently taking road trips throughout the country to visit all 50 states with their boys.