by Alex Grayson
I stop talking and take in a deep lung full of air. Jaxon is still bent over. I can’t see his eyes. I don’t know if I want to. He hasn’t said anything the entire time I talked. I’m scared to see what his eyes will reveal.
Nick takes a step forward and my eyes fly to him. He looks like he’s on the verge of killing someone. His eyes are blazing. When he’s standing directly in front of me, he squats down. “Why, Bailey? Why run now? What else did he do?”
I advert my eyes away from him. This is the hard part. This is the part where I need to watch what I say. I’ll give them some, but I can’t reveal everything. I ball my hands into fist and finish.
“One day a few months ago I was upstairs putting away laundry. Things had been rather calm the last several months so I was in a false sense of security. He still did horrible things to me but not near as bad as usual. I really should have known better. As I was making my way out of our bedroom, I saw him at the top of the stairs. The look in his eyes terrified me. I had seen hate before but what I saw was so much more. I knew at that moment that he meant to kill me. It was written all over his face. I turned to run, but he was really quick and caught up with me easily. He grabbed the back of my hair and slung me to the ground. My head hit the railing on the banister almost knocking me out. By the time my vision cleared he had dragged me over to the edge of the stairs. I was standing there with tears pouring out of my eyes begging Steven not to do it. He just snarled into my face with so much venom and punched me in the face. The force of the punch, which I knew he meant to do, caused me to fall down the stairs. My face hit the corner of the table that was at the bottom. That’s how I ended up with this.” I lift my hand and gently brush my fingers over my scar.
“I had multiple fractures in both arms, cracked ribs, a concussion, and numerous bruises all over my body. Of course, he told the police he was out of the house when I must have tripped while carrying a laundry basket full of clothes.
“On the fourth day in the hospital my friend Chris was able to sneak in while Steven was away. I never admitted it to her, but she knew for a while what was going on. She knew that I was too scared to get help and she couldn’t prove anything, especially against someone with Steven’s influence. Steven had threatened to harm Chris if I ever told her so I had to protect her as well.
“Anyway, the day she came to visit she threw a bunch of cash at me and said I had to leave. She said that if I didn’t then she was going to the police. I refused at first, but I knew that I had no other choice but to do what she said. I knew that Steven would eventually kill me if I didn’t leave. I signed myself out of the hospital a day before I was supposed to. Steven had a meeting so I knew he wouldn’t be home. Both Chris and I went to our house and gathered just a few of my things, things that were important to me. I took not one thing that Steven had bought me. After, she took me to a car lot and I bought a cheap car. A couple towns over I bought a disposable cell phone so I could keep in touch with Chris, to let her know where I was and how I was doing.
“A couple weeks after I left Steven caught up with me. I don’t know how he found me, but he did. He was so angry. We stayed in a cheap hotel. That night, after repeatedly hitting me until I passed out, I woke up to him raping me. Afterwards, he left to go to the store across the street. He must have thought I was so weak that I couldn’t move. He underestimated my resolve to get away from him. I snuck out of the bathroom window and hitched a ride with a trucker that was on his way out of town. Morning time came and the trucker dropped me off in a little town in West Virginia, where I bought another cheap car. I haven’t stopped since, except to sleep.”
By this time, Mia is sitting on the opposite side of me from Jaxon. She takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. Jaxon is still sitting beside me staring at the floor. Even though it scares me to think what must be going on in his head, I wish he would look at me. It’s killing me not knowing what he thinks.
“Where in the fuck were your parents this whole time?” Mia asks me.
I give a harsh laugh and answer her question. “Probably in the same place I left them when I turned seventeen, sleeping off their drunken high with multiple partners in bed with them. They weren’t the best of parents by no means. They liked to throw parties where they and their friends would get high on whatever drugs they could find. Once the party really got started their friends would drag me into the mists of it and have fun with me. My parents would look on and watch with expressionless eyes, or get off on the abuse that they witnessed.”
“Son of a bitch!” Nick storms and rakes his fingers through his hair. “You had no one you could go to?”
I shake my head slowly. “No, neither of my parents had siblings and both sets of parents were already dead.”
I turn to Jaxon and see that he has his head in his hands. They are clinching his hair so tightly that his knuckles are white. I hesitantly reach out and place my hand on his back.
“Jaxon,” I whisper.
My touch and whisper must have set him off. He jerks away from me and flings his body off the couch so fast that I feel the wind from the movement. I flinch away from the sudden movement, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He’s in his own world of pain right now.
Jaxon stalks over to his desk and grabs the lamp that’s sitting on top. He rears back and throws it hard against the wall, completely shattering it. Mia and I both jump at the loud noise. He then picks up a small wooden chair and smashes it against the desk. After that, he moves over the wall that he threw the lamp at and starts throwing punch after punch against it. With each punch he throws he screams in rage.
I know that the anger he’s feeling isn’t directed towards me, but the fear I feel is just the same. His hands are bloody from punching the wall and all I want to do is go and comfort him. I’m terrified to get up though. Terrified to go to him.
I bring my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them. Big tear drops drip down my face. I don’t necessarily fear Jaxon, but I’m still in protective mode in the wake of his temper. I shouldn’t have told him but I needed him to understand.
I watch as Nick cautiously walks up to Jaxon and places a hand on his shoulder. “Jax, calm down man.” Jaxon immediately turns around at the touch and clocks him in the chin. Nick stumbles backward.
“Fuck, Jaxon, I’m not the enemy here! Save it for the bastard who’s done this to her!”
“Just stay the fuck away from me, Nick! I can’t—Fuck!” Jaxon growls and turns back to the wall and smashes his fist against it again.
Mia jumps up from beside me with her hands balled into fists. She’s shaking as well. She screams at Jaxon. “Jaxon Walker, you need to get it under control! Look!” She says pointing at me. “Look at Bailey! Look how fucking terrified she is right now! You want that? You want her to be scared of you as well?”
Her words must have penetrated the uncontrollable rage that is filtering through him. He bends at the waist and places his hands on his knees. There’s blood dripping off his torn knuckles. I hear him taking in several deep breaths. Once his breathing is somewhat under control, he lifts his head and zeroes his eyes on me. After straightening up, he takes a cautious step towards me, like he’s scared I may run away.
“Angel...” He says but doesn’t finish when he sees his bloody knuckles. Reaching over and opening one of his desk drawers he pulls out a rag. After quickly wiping his hands to clear off most of the blood, he drops it into the trash can. He doesn’t take his eyes off me the entire time.
All I can focus on is his hands as he makes his way slowly towards me. I don’t like to see his hands torn and shredded. His hands have been nothing but kind and gentle with me. Now, they look like they’ve been through the grinder.
When he gets to me, he drops down to his knees and his chest meets my drawn up legs. He places his hands on either side of my hips. My eyes are still following the movements of his hands.
“Bailey, look at me, please.” He says quietly.
I reach over and tenderl
y pick up one of his hands. My crying has quieted down but when I bring my eyes to his more tears silently trail down my face.
“Your hands, Jaxon,” I whisper to him.
“They’re okay. I’m okay. I’m so sorry I scared you. You know I would never hurt you right?”
I nod my head because I know deep down that Jaxon would never hurt me. The pain and heartache on his face when he looks at me when he realized his reaction scared me solidifies my belief. Jaxon is a protector and even though he didn’t know me at the time he feels like he didn’t protect me when I needed someone the most.
“I know you would never hurt me. I wasn’t frightened because I thought you would. I was worried about you. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before. I didn’t because there’s nothing you or anyone can do. He has too much power. He knows people that can hurt other people. I don’t want that for you. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you. A while back when you called and I was freaked out, he called me that night. And tonight, I got another phone call. It was a recording of us reciting our vows. He said he was coming for me. I saw him tonight in the bar as well.” My eyes are pleading with him to understand.
Jaxon looks to Nick. “Nick...” He starts but doesn’t get a chance to finish before he’s interrupted.
“On it,” Nick says before disappearing out the door.
“I have to leave, Jaxon.”
“No,” is his demand to my plea. The anger is seeping back into his eyes.
I take his hand that I still have a hold of and place his palm against my cheek. “Jaxon, you need to understand. Steven’s made many contacts over the years. Contacts that work outside the law and aren’t afraid to make people disappear. He always makes sure that it’s never traced back to him. He’s very careful. Do you have any idea how destroyed I would be if anything happened to you.” I gesture with my arm to Mia and the door, meaning anyone here in this town.
“Angel, what do you think it would do to me if anything happened to you?” He counters.
“Any of us in this town that have met you, Bailey, would be devastated if anything happened to you. Don’t underestimate us. We may be a small town but we hold our own and protect what we feel is ours. You’ve been Jaxon’s since you first asked about that job, and in a sense the whole towns.”
I look up at Mia and see determination in her eyes. She truly means what she says. When I bring my eyes back to Jaxon, he’s watching me with careful eyes.
Can I truly trust that they can help me without getting hurt? It’s a huge risk, but do I have a choice? If I want to stay here, and I most definitely do, then I have to chance it and hope that it’s not one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made.
I nudge Jaxon a little with my knees. He leans back so I can drop them. Once my feet are on the floor, I scoot to the edge of the couch, which brings my legs to either side of his waist. I place both of my hands on his scruffy cheeks.
“Okay, Jaxon, I’ll stay,” I tell him and lean in for a brief kiss.
He wraps his arms around me bringing my body flush against his. I may have instigated the kiss, but it’s Jaxon that controls it. It’s gentle, but I know Jaxon is holding back for two reasons. One, he doesn’t want to frighten me, especially in light of what I just told him. And two, because we have an audience.
Even still, he runs his tongue across the seam of my mouth and waits for me to open for him. When I do his tongue barely grazes mine. I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer to me.
The kiss ends just as quickly as it started and I can’t help feeling disappointed. Jaxon finishes it by kissing the side of my mouth, my chin, the tip of my nose, and then finally my cheek right over my scar. After, he places his forehead against mine.
“You’re staying with me until this is over.” He says while looking in my eyes.
I don’t hesitate to agree with him because the thought of sleeping alone in the apartment terrifies me. It would be all too easy for Steven to get to me there. There’s no security system and the locks aren’t all that great either.
“Okay.”
I’ve taken him off guard by my easy acceptance. With my one-word reply, he pulls his head back. “Okay? That simple?”
I nod my head. “Yes, okay. I’m not stupid, Jaxon. I know I’ll be safer with you. The thought of him getting to me petrifies me. I’m not going to make it easy for him.”
“That’s my girl.” He smiles at me and when he does it lightens his face. I love that look on his face. It completely transforms him from the big, tough, intimidating man to a sweet and endearing man.
“Alright, let’s get you home. Work’s over for you tonight.” He backs away and gains his feet. Reaching down he takes my hand and pulls me up, putting his arm around my neck to bring me closer as soon as I’m standing.
Nick walks back into the office and his eyes zero in on Jaxon. “Nothing. No one’s seen a damn thing. He’s gone.”
Jaxon’s jaw goes ridged, but he nods his head.
Nick walks up to me and kisses my forehead. I feel Jaxon slightly stiffen beside me but when I look up to him, he looks relaxed. Nick’s words pull my attention back to him.
“Don’t worry about anything, Bailey. We’ll take care of him. He’s not getting to you again.” His words are sincere and they send a shiver down my spine. I know that these people will do almost anything for me. I just pray they stay safe in the process.
Nick steps back and Mia takes his place. I’m pulled from Jaxon’s arm when she reaches over and hugs me and says in my ear, “I know I haven’t been the friendliest person and I’m sorry.” She pulls back and looks into my eyes. “Please let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Thank you.”
She smiles at me and I suck in a breath. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen her smile. She was beautiful before but when she smiles she’s utterly breathtaking.
Jaxon reclaims his place by draping his arm back around my neck. Kissing the side of my head he says, “You ready?”
I look at him and reply, “I just need to grab my purse from the bar and a few things from upstairs.”
“Okay, let’s go.” He walks me across his office and out to the bar, where I grab my purse. After gathering a few essential items from upstairs, he leads me out to his truck, where he deposits my bag in the back seat. Getting in and buckling up I watch Jaxon move to his side and get in. He looks over to me and grabs my hand.
“It’s going to be okay, Angel.”
I nod and turn my head forward to look out the windshield.
Please, God, let Jaxon be right.
Chapter Sixteen
I’m sitting on Jaxon’s huge king size bed with my phone in my lap. I’m about to call Chris. I hate to worry her, but she needs to know what’s going on, just in case. Jaxon is in the shower.
Jaxon’s house is a complete shock to me. It’s gorgeous but not what I expected. His three bedroom, two bath log cabin style home sits on ten acres of wooded land. When we first pulled up to the house, after driving for about fifteen minutes, the house that sat before me was nothing I would have pictured Jaxon living in.
The whole house has a wraparound porch with several comfortable looking padded chairs. I only noticed these because the porch light was on. Other than the porch light the house is surrounded in darkness. The outside of the house is made of dark wood.
When we first walked in and Jaxon flipped a switch to turn on the lights my amazement heightened. The first room we enter is a cozy living area that has two couches shaped into an L, with an end table between them. In front of them is a huge fireplace. An image pops into my head of Jaxon and I snuggling on the plush carpet sitting in front a roaring fire. Pillows are laid out and we’re laying there entwined with each other under a nice warm blanket.
The kitchen is of modest size with nice stainless steel appliances. The cabinets are a finished dark wood and the counters are a nice sapphire blue. There’s a small table on one side of the room and a sunken in pantry o
n the other side. Off from the kitchen there’s a decent size mudroom that houses the washer, dryer, utility sink, and a few other items.
The family room consists of another couch, a recliner, a coffee table, and an entertainment center that holds a big flat screen television. On either side of the television are two tall towers where a stereo, a DVD player, several stacks of DVD’s and CD’s, books, and several framed photos sit.
Down the hallway is one of the bathrooms, a spare room that has a single bed, a linen closet, the stairway that leads to the basement, and the master bedroom.
Jaxon’s bedroom is arguably the biggest room of the house. Even though his bed is massive it does even take up half the room. He has both a dresser and chest of drawers, end tables on both sides of the bed, a captain’s desk that holds a laptop, a recliner, and a chest at the end of the bed. The closet is walk in and is almost the size of my bedroom back at the apartment. The color theme of Jaxon’s bedroom is steel gray and dark blue. It matches him perfectly.
Bringing myself out of my thoughts of my brief tour of Jaxon’s house I look down at my phone. After swiping my finger until I find Chris’s number I hit the talk button. She picks up on the third ring.
“Hey, girl! How’re you doing?” I feel guilty at her excitement because I know that I’m about to squash it. The last several times I spoke with her we were both doing good. Our conversations were light and carefree. Yes, the lingering anxiety of my situation sat in the background but, overall, it almost felt like old times talking to her, before I met Steven.