by Skye Turner
Raquel tentatively walks into the room breathing heavily and holding a stitch in her side. She tries to catch her breath from the climb.
I lean against the window sill and open it, to try to get some air. I try furiously to choke the vomit sitting in my chest down and weakly say, “He cornered me. He said he wanted to rape me and he liked it when girls fight. He said that the strong-willed ones are always the best and that it was even better when they finally submitted to him.” I look at them and see the dawning realization on their faces as they understand just what he meant. Raquel cradles her stomach and slumps against the door frame. Gabby walks over and puts her arm around her, but looks at me.
She says, “Did he touch you, Rose? Did that filthy bastard put his hands on you?” Her gaze takes in my ripped dress.
I nod. “He tried. He caught me by my hair and I couldn’t get away. Then, he licked my cleavage and grabbed me. But I was able to kick him in the balls. He let go and when he fell to the porch, I kicked him in the ribs. I knocked the breath out of him. He said he was going to kill me and I told him to bring it and then I ran into the house.”
Raquel is shaking and wringing her hands as she looks at me. “Rose, he will! He’s crazy! He’ll try to kill you and he will rape you! You have to stay away from him.”
Gabby nods as we hear the door open downstairs. She glances toward the stairs with fear. “Rose, your birthday is tomorrow and the day after everything should be over! Please… please stay out of his way until then. It’s only two days! I know it’s asking a lot… it’s asking everything, but please. Just stay away from him and don’t push him.”
I nod because I know they’re right. That was stupid to antagonize him on the porch.
Shit!
What if I just fucked everything up?
Dear God, please let him have been so drunk he’ll forget all about it.
As we recognize Bernice’s tread on the floor downstairs, we listen to hear where she’s going to go. Luckily, she heads down the hall and into the room she uses as an office. It’s the room next to the room the men from town use, so we know that she’s doing whatever she does in there and won’t be coming upstairs.
We listen carefully to see if we can hear Tobias, but everything is quiet except for the creaks and groans of the house. Even the house wants to break free from these people.
Sighing in relief, I look at the girls as they huddle together. I whisper, “We need to get back to work. Let’s just act like nothing happened and hopefully Tobias is passed out somewhere and won’t even remember.”
They nod in agreement and we all head back downstairs one at a time, avoiding the stairs that creak. We spend the rest of the day doing the same pointless chores and eventually all head to the barn together to muck the stalls and change out the hay for the horses.
As we’re tackling that task, I hear Jaye call out to Raquel and ask how she’s feeling. It’s very obvious that she’s pregnant now and no matter what we do, if they really look at her, they’ll know. I don’t understand how they haven’t realized it yet. Or maybe they have and they just don’t care…
Raquel answers him and he makes her sit down on a bale of hay as he takes over brushing the horse down for her. The sweetness of his concern for her endears him to me even more. I sneak glances at him as I fluff the hay and a couple of times, I find him watching me, too.
I don’t want to be obvious with Gabby and Raquel in the barn, even though they know that we are together, so I stay in the far stall as they work in the stall next to me.
When we’re done, it’s fully dark outside and my stomach is grumbling. I chuckle as I tell it to be quiet. It’s not like it’ll get full from the slop that’s waiting in the house. I bet it’s not even warm anymore.
Jaye ushers Gabby and Raquel inside and says that he’ll walk me over in a bit.
They leave the barn with one glance in our direction and he walks over and reaches up to pull hay out of my hair. He stares at me and says seriously, “Why is your dress torn, Rose?”
With a grimace, I finger the torn neckline. I’d forgotten. I fill him in on the scuffle with Tobias earlier on the porch and his face darkens with every word.
When I’m done, he throws his head back and exhales deeply. His eyes meet mine and he says, “Ok, they’re right. You have to stay away from him. Tomorrow is your birthday. I’ll make sure I stay close to the house so I can keep an eye on him. He’s going to want me to go into town tomorrow, I know it, but I’m not going. I’m not doing that anymore. I’m never doing that again. That’s my promise to you. Happy birthday, Baby.” He sighs as I cup his cheek with my hand. His stubble scratches my palm. Turning his head, he presses a kiss into it. “I’ll remove the spark plug from the truck once everything goes dark and the house is quiet. Can’t go into town if the old truck won’t run.”
With a nod, I press a kiss to his chin. I can’t speak through the emotion in my throat. Jaye is giving me all of himself for my birthday.
With one final kiss and embrace, he tells me to go into the house before they come looking for me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jaye
Today Rose is sixteen. It’s her birthday and while I wish I could shower her with gifts and love, I can’t. All I can do is stay close and keep watch over her. Tobias is getting bolder and I’m not putting it past him to try to take what he can from her before the Judge gets here tomorrow.
He won’t though. Neither will.
I promise myself that I’ll keep her safe.
God, please help me to keep my promise.
The day goes by without incident. I work on a section of the barn that’s rotten so I can keep the girls and the house in my sight. Raquel is really struggling and I just want to tell her to sit down and rest her feet. I don’t know anything about babies or being pregnant, but I know that she doesn’t look good and she’s beat. She looks like she could collapse at any minute.
Rose and Gabby are protective though and I notice that they carry the majority of the weight and do most of the work while giving her the lightest tasks.
Tobias stares out from the porch as he drinks a time or two, but he never opens the door and leaves the house.
I see him glare at me once, but when I just glare back, he looks away and mouths something. I’m too far away to make the words out though.
I’m determined to spend some time with Rose tonight. I want to go over everything about tomorrow one more time and I also selfishly want a moment alone with her since it’s her birthday. I want her to feel cherished if even for just a moment.
My chance to talk to her comes in late afternoon. The sky is darkening even though it can’t be more than 4:30 or so. Shorter days and cooler temps mean that winter is on its way to Texas, but we should be well away from this hellhole before it actually arrives if things go the way I pray they will.
Rose walks past the barn on the way to the pig-pen and I drop my hammer to the ground, from my position up on the ladder, to get her attention. I don’t know if Tobias is watching. As I hoped, she walks over and picks it up before reaching up to hand it to me. “You dropped this?”
I nod as I glance at the house. I see a shadow in the doorway, but can’t make out who it is. “Thank you. Happy birthday, Baby.”
Her cheeks flush in the evening light. “Thanks.”
Looking back at the barn, I start to nail another board in place, but say, “Meet me tonight?”
Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I see her smile and nod. “I will. I’ll come as soon as the house is quiet.”
Swinging her bucket as she turns, I call out to her softly, “I’ll be waiting.”
I hear her humming as she feeds the pigs and cleans the pail before she disappears into the house.
I remain outside until I see the light come on in their bedroom upstairs before heading into the barn and cleaning up. Then, I just wait.
*
I must have dozed off while I waited for Rose, because a gentle shake an
d a whispered, “Jaye. Hey, wake up,” wakes me from my slumber. Groggily, I open my eyes and smile as emerald green eyes stare down at me. She grimaces. “I’m sorry it’s later than I intended, but Tobias just went to sleep.”
Reaching out, I grab her and pull her. She squeals and tumbles on top of me. It ends on a moan as I take her mouth.
Eventually, we’re both breathless and her hands are under my shirt, but I gently push her off me. She frowns and asks, “What’s wrong?”
Grinning, I sit up and take her with me. Tweaking her nose, I laugh as she growls at me. “Easy, kitten. Come on. I want to show you something. I did something for you.”
Her brow creases as she frowns at me again. “What did you do?”
Standing, I help her straighten her dress and lead her out of my room and into the barn. She pulls on my hand and grumbles, but she follows me.
When we get to the ladder that leads to the loft, I point up.
Her face shows her confusion. “What? You want me to go up there?”
I nod and tap her bottom through the material of her dress. “Come on. Up you go.”
She mutters that I’m crazy, but she climbs the ladder and I follow her. When we reach the landing, she stops.
It’s completely dark up here and cool, but the window is open and the full moon is reflecting through it and projecting a beam of light onto the blanket I’d spread in the hay earlier this afternoon.
She gasps and turns to me. Pulling her hand, I lead her over to the blanket and sit down, before patting the space beside me. She carefully sits and whispers, “You did this? For me?”
Nodding, I reach into the corner of the blanket and find the matches I stowed there when I was setting up. As I strike one and light the candles I’ve placed around the blanket, she gasps again. Her face is illuminated in the glow from the four candles. Her eyes are glassy, but she’s smiling. Reaching over, I cup her face and pull her down to me. My lips lightly brush hers as I whisper so as not to disturb the perfection of this moment, “I would do anything for you, Rose. I love you. I can’t give you much, but I can give you this.” I take her hand and place it over my beating heart. “I freely give you this.”
Tears fall from her eyes as she launches herself at me. We tumble to the blanket and soon we’re a mix of naked limbs and sweat.
Her throaty cry fills the barn as I fill her. When we’re done, she lies in my arms and presses her cheek to my chest. She softly whispers that she loves me and I tell her I love her, too. We stay in the loft for another hour or so and make love once more. I take my time and make it all about her. When she shatters in my arms, I allow myself to once again follow her over the peak.
The moon is high in the sky when I kiss her tenderly and say, “You need to be getting back to the house, Baby. I don’t want you to get caught out here.”
We leisurely dress and steal a few more kisses before heading back down the ladder to the barn. When we reach the ground, Rose kisses me again and things get heated. With a desperation that almost scares me, we are once again naked and I’m swallowing her cries as I catapult her to the brink.
Suddenly, an enraged voice is screaming over us and before I can react, I’m flung backwards. I’m dazed as my head hits one of the support pillars in the barn. Through the fog, I hear Rose scream. Blinking rapidly and struggling to stand up, I see Rose reaching for her dress to cover her nakedness. I’m in shock. I was so engrossed in Rose, I didn’t hear him come in.
Then, I realize Tobias is screaming obscenities at her. “You fucking little whore. You think you can fuck this piece of shit?! Now, I know he’s had you. You’re mine. Nothing is going to stop me.” His eyes are wild and his gaze is focused on Rose. He’s devouring her naked body with his gaze as he unfastens his pants. Before I can stand, he pushes his belt and pants down and lunges for her in the hay.
She screams and tries to crawl away as she kicks at him. She’s striking him in the face and chest with her small fists as he latches on to her ankles. Furiously she kicks at him as he yanks her toward him through the crushed hay. I see his fist ball and he strikes her in the head. Her head lolls to the side and her movements slow down.
No. God no. He’s not going to rape her! I will not let him rape her!
With almost inhuman rage, I fly at him. I’m still naked, but I don’t even care. I only have one thought… distract him so Rose can get away.
I’m bigger than he is, but he’s meaner. I’m pummeling him, but the bump to my head messed me up. I’m seeing two of him. I miss the next time I swing and he shoves me to the ground. Before I can get up again, crippling pain radiates through my back as he crashes something into the middle of it.
The pain is so severe I can’t move. My legs are numb and electric shocks are traveling through my extremities. I scream out in anguish and rage. The urge to succumb to the darkness that’s threatening to pull me under is so strong. I can’t see. My vision is completely black and every part of my body is screaming in debilitating agony.
No, Jaye. Fight it. Fight it, you mother fucker. If you black out… if you don’t get up… you’ll break your promise. Tobias will RAPE Rose.
Don’t you dare give up.
Fight it! Fight it! Get up!
Get up for Rose!
Swallowing the pain, I struggle to my knees.
I’m swaying from the severity of the torture moving creates and struggling to see clearly. Rose is still screaming and I can hear her crying. I hear Tobias grunting and I pray that it’s not because he’s raping the girl I love.
Finally, I’m able to see his outline. Staggering to my feet, I pull his body back with the last of my strength. He doesn’t expect it, so he rolls off of her. I’m trying to scream at him, but the words won’t form. I’m too weak. “Leave her alone. You’ll never touch her. I’ll kill you.”
He laughs and shoves me. I’m too unsteady to fight him. I fall. I can see the ground rising to meet me and know there’s nothing I can do about it. I slam into it and manage to roll to my back. But, as I do, I clearly see the raw hatred on his face… and what’s in his hands. He has the pitch-fork. He’s going to kill me.
I scream out, “Noooooooo.” But there’s nothing I can do. I can’t stop him.
I’ve failed… Rose is going to get raped and Tobias is going to murder me. I won’t be able to save Raquel and Gabby. I’m a failure. Sam is going to be so disappointed in me. I’ve failed everyone I love.
The glee on his face as he grips the pitch-fork and stands over me is going to be the last thing I see on this earth…
I scream, but I’m not sure if the words even leave my head. “I’m sorry, Rose. I’m so sorry. Loving you was the best thing that ever happened to me…”
The barn shakes with what sounds like an explosion. Tobias’s eyes go wide and he looks down in disbelief.
What? What the hell… Is—is that blood?
The pitch-fork falls weightlessly next to me and Tobias starts to topple over as the blood spatters onto me and a giant hole appears in the center of his chest.
I manage to roll as his body crashes to the ground. His sightless eyes stare at me and the pool of blood from his chest turns the dirt and hay a bright red.
In shock and disbelief, I try to drag myself to where Rose is frozen in place… Rocking as she clutches the shotgun that is always propped against the wall to scare the coyotes away.
She’s muttering over and over, “Oh God…Oh God… I shot him… I didn’t mean to. He was going to kill you. I didn’t mean to. I don’t know…” She stares at the gun as if she doesn’t know what she’s looking at and with an anguished cry, she drops it to the ground.
I’m still trying to pull myself over to her through the pain when Bernice runs into the barn screaming frantically, “What the hell? Tobias, what did you do?” She comes to a dead stop as she looks around the barn. Her gaze centers on Rose as she mumbles and rocks naked on the ground. She looks at me and her eyes widen as she notices my naked body struggle to stand with
blood running down my chest and back and splatter of some kind all over my face… and then she looks to her husband lying in a dark pool of blood on the ground with a giant hole in his chest.
Shrieking like a mad woman, she glares at Rose as her hand disappears into her pocket. I watch and it’s as if everything is in slow motion as she starts screaming at Rose. Her voice sounds like it’s in a tunnel. “This is your fault. You stupid little bitch. What have you done? You tempted him! Tormented him! Made him crazy! This is all your fault! You’ve ruined everything! What have you done?”
I hear what she’s saying and I see her hand jerk out of her pocket. She’s holding a small revolver and it’s pointed at Rose. The hatred on her face makes my blood freeze in my veins. She screams again that this is Rose’s fault and she’s going to pay.
She’s going to shoot Rose. My Rose. My love.
She can’t. This is not her fault.
This is THEIR fault. All of this is their fault. Rose will not die. Not today.
Another blast has the horses screaming in the barn and I stare in complete confusion as Bernice’s eyes go wide and her jaw goes slack. I notice most of her face is gone as she topples to the ground in death. The revolver bounces against the hay at her feet. As she falls, she hits the ladder to the loft and it crashes to the floor.
Not understanding what happened, I look to Rose, but she’s staring at me in horror. She’s staring at my hands. I look down.
I’m holding the shotgun.
What? How did I get the gun?
I shot her?
I killed Bernice… but Rose is safe…
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rose
My ears are ringing. This is a nightmare. It’s not real. There is no way this is real. I’m having a nightmare and I’ll wake up anytime now.