Craving Lucy

by Terri Anne Browning

  Grabbing a big handful of toilet paper, I got it ready as I slid the knife under my big toe. The blade sliced deeper than I was going for, but that was okay. The pain was welcomed. I pressed the toilet paper to the blood pouring out and took in my first deep breath since I’d opened my phone.

  I let the cut bleed for a minute before putting pressure on it. Once I’d gotten the blood flow slowed down, I limped back to the cupboard and found a bandage. Wrapping it around the deep cut, I placed my foot back into my ballet slipper before hiding the razor in the wastebasket and washed my hands.

  By the time I made it back to Emmie’s office, she was just hanging up the phone. As I took my chair once again, she gave me a grim smile. “Natalie is going over to check on Harris. As for the video, I have five of the best computer minds working to get the videos taken down. They are already on ten sites, but one of my guys was able to get them pulled.”

  Relief burned like acid through me. “But what about Tessa? We can’t let her get away with this, Aunt Emmie.”

  “She’s not going to. I’ve spoken with Seller who does all our security. He’s going to handle her.” She sat back in her chair, her big green eyes softening a little as she took me in. “The only thing you really need to worry about right now, Lucy, is you. What are you going to do about Harris?”

  Just thinking about him made my chest hurt. I curled my injured toe and let out a long breath. “I don’t know,” I told her honestly. I couldn’t think about what was going to happen with me and Harris. It was too much. Not even the pain in my foot could help me deal with what tomorrow might bring with us. “I just don’t know.”

  “Well, that’s a reasonable answer. Layla and Lana both decided to run when they got hurt, so you not knowing is a lot more mature than just picking up and running away.”

  I frowned. I’d known that Lana had run to New York after Drake did something stupid, but my mom? “Mom ran? I don’t remember that.”

  Emmie shrugged. “She almost ran. She overheard your dad and I talking and assumed something that just wasn’t true. She was packing when Jesse found her and convinced her she had it wrong and asked her to marry him. You were at a sleepover, I think. It was right before we all went to Vegas and they got married.”

  “Oh…” I frowned. So they had both ran—or at least tried to. Had it helped? When Lana had left, running away from her pain at losing Drake, had it helped her?

  I really needed to know the answer to that.

  To be continued…

  Coming Soon

  Rocking Kin—The Lucy & Harris Novella Series Book 3

  Shattering Lucy—The full-length conclusion to Lucy & Harris

  Playlist

  Style—Taylor Swift

  Sangria—Blake Shelton

  I am the Fire—Halestorm

  Always—Killswitch Engage

  Yours Again—Red

  Heart Attack—Demi Lovato

  Desire—Years & Years

  Fall Forward—Stars in Stereo

  My Heart is Broken—Evanescence

  Don’t Cry—Like a Storm

  Whatever She’s Got—David Niall

  Drive---Sixx: A. M.

  Most of you know what happened the night Lucy’s biological dad took her, but there are some of you that have been left wondering. If you are a new reader and haven’t read The Rockers’ Babies then here is the scene from nine-year-old Lucy’s POV that you don’t want to miss.

  Lucy

  So this was my real father? The man who had helped Lydia Daniels give me life.

  He was kind of ugly looking and I was suddenly very glad I looked more like the woman who had brought me into the world than this disgusting man. I don’t call her my mom. I had never really called that woman Mom. From the time I could remember it had been Lana who had taken care of me until Lydia had died and we had moved in with Layla. It was then that I really understood what a mom was like. Layla was everything a kid could want in a mom. And this man? He was everything nightmares were made of. His teeth were yellow, his eyes all glassy looking. He was kind of skinny, boney really. Tattoos up his arms that didn’t make much sense to me. His hair was messy and smelled nasty, like he hadn’t had a shower in a while.

  Vince Grady was mean too. Real mean. He had hurt Emmie. Made her bleed and then just left her on the side of the road. When I had run, making him chase me, he hadn’t liked that very much. As punishment he had hit me five times in the face. Now my face felt swollen and hurt so bad I couldn’t help but cry. I had the lingering taste of blood on my tongue where he had split my lip from his first slap.

  Now he was pacing back and forth, kind of like Shane did sometimes when he was worried. Only Vince was talking to himself, and scratching at his arms. I noticed he had a few sores on his arms and every now and then would scratch a scab off of one of them, causing blood to drip down his arm. Yuck.

  There were noises coming from the room next door that were scaring me, and I kept hearing sirens in the distance. This wasn’t a good part of town. He hadn’t bothered to cover my eyes as he drove me through the city with my hands tied and my legs taped together so I couldn’t run away again. So I knew that this part of the city was what some of the older kids in my school would call ghetto.

  I wasn’t sure how long we had been in this smelly old motel room, but my legs had fallen asleep a while ago and I had to use the bathroom really bad. I was scared to tell him that though. Scared he would have to watch while I peed. I didn’t want him to see me like that.

  From my back pocket my cellphone vibrated and not for the first time. Vince, seemingly lost in his own world as he continued to pace and mutter and scratch his bleeding arms, didn’t notice the slight noise though. I knew it had to be Harris and shut my eyes as I said a little prayer that I would get to see my best friend again. He was probably mad at me right now. I had promised to go trick-or-treating with him tonight and he no doubt thought I had bailed on him. Part of me wished he were here with me now. He was braver than I was, and he wouldn’t let this man do anything to hurt me. Another part, a bigger part, was glad he was home with his dad. Safe from the monster I shared DNA with.

  The vibrating stopped and I closed my eyes. I was tired and my face was hurting so bad. I wanted to go home, wanted to see Layla and the twins… Wanted my dad to hold me and keep me safe.

  Tears that had nothing to do with the pain I was in leaked from the corner of my eyes. Vince Grady might be my real father, but Jesse Thornton was my dad. Completely. Totally. A million percent. He loved me. Would never hurt me like this gross, evil man had hurt me. I prayed that I would get to see him again. Get to hug him and tell him how much I loved him…

  I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Vince was shaking me. I opened my eyes or at least tried to. My left eye was completely swollen shut now from where he had hit me earlier and my right one felt heavy and achy. “Time to go.”

  His breath so close to my face made me gag and I tried to turn my head to get away from the stench before I vomited all over him. Eww. How could someone smell that bad? Like week-old trash that had been sitting in the sun. It smelled sour and dirty and vile.

  Vince lifted me and tossed me over his shoulder roughly, hurting my stomach with his boney shoulder. I hoped he didn’t drop me, because he didn’t look strong like my dad or Drake, Shane, and Nik. I was sure even Axton was stronger than this guy. He carried me like a sack of potatoes out of the room and I noticed that it was dark outside. It had still been daylight when he had brought me here. I wondered what time it was and where he was taking me.

  I’d heard his part of the conversation when he had talked to Dad on the phone earlier. He was going to exchange me for a lot of money tonight. Money that my dad would pay because he loved me. I just hoped Dad didn’t get hurt.

  When we got to the old beat up truck that Vince had used to hit Emmie’s SUV with, he tossed me in the back instead of placing me in the front seat like he had before. My elbow hit something metal and I whimper
ed in pain. He jumped in and started the truck. It backfired twice, making me jump and whimper again, but then he was backing up and the wheels were squealing as he pulled into traffic.

  He didn’t drive far before he stopped and just sat parked for a while. It was dark out here. No lights from buildings. No stars or even a moon. It was so dark that at first I thought I was going blind or that my right eye had swollen shut too…

  The sudden lights of an oncoming vehicle reassured me that I could still see out of my right eye. Vince got out of his truck and must have left the door open because I didn’t hear it shut. After only a moment I heard two doors open and my heart stopped.

  Was it my dad here to get me? Or was it someone else?

  When I heard a deep, angry voice I breathed a sigh of relief. “Daddy,” I whispered then strained to hear what he was saying.

  “Where is she?” he demanded and it sounded like an animal growling.

  “Back of the truck. You got my money?” Vince sounded anxious. I wondered if he had lost some of his scariness in the face of the big beast that was my dad. Not many people, scary or not, could see my dad and not be intimidated.

  “Right here, Grady. As soon as you give me my girl and sign these papers you can have the money,” Dad told him, still sounding all growly.

  “Papers? I don’t remember agreeing to sign no papers.”

  “Right here… Sign them and take your money.” It was a different voice this time. Nik! I wanted to cry out, ask him if Emmie was okay, but I was too scared to speak. What if Vince heard me and changed his mind? I wasn’t going to do anything to stop my dad taking me away from this monster.

  There was a pause and then Vince started screaming curses at Dad and Nik. “Fine!” he shouted.

  “Now give me Lucy,” Dad commanded.

  “In the truck,” Vince told him, but he must have had his money because he sounded calm again.

  “Lucy!” His voice was closer and I finally let a sob escape me.

  “Daddy!” I tried to roll over, but couldn’t move. “Daddy!”

  “Lucy… Gods.” The tailgate opened and then he was lifting me into his arms. His hands skimmed over me from head to toe, checking me over. He couldn’t see my face clearly with just the lights from the vehicle as his only light source. I tried not to whimper when he touched my hurting face, but it was agonizing to have his big rough hands touch my eye and cheek.

  “Oh, baby. Daddy’s here.” He kissed the top of my head and carried me toward the vehicle he had gotten out of. The closer he got to the vehicle the more light he had and when he glanced down at me, seeing my swollen bloody face, I felt a change in him.

  “Fuck…” he breathed, his eyes black as the night around us. “Nik…” He was shaking and there was an expression on his face that would have terrified me if I didn’t know how much he loved me.

  I felt another pair of hands on my still-tied arms. “Let me have her, bro.” Nik lifted me into his arms and carried me to what I realized was Layla’s Tahoe. He didn’t say a word as he placed me on the second row of seats and used a knife to untie my hands before cutting through the duct tape around my ankles.

  “Motherfucker!” I heard Dad roar followed by the sound of groaning. I closed my eyes, knowing that Jesse Thornton was ripping Vince Grady apart.

  The sounds of flesh hitting flesh, groans and curses, filled my ears and I covered them with my now free hands. I had never been scared of the dark before, but it suddenly felt like it was closing in on me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

  “Deep breaths, Lucy.” Nik’s big hand rubbed circles on my back. “It’s okay, baby cakes. You’re okay.”

  “Make it stop,” I pleaded. “Please, Nik. Please make it stop.”

  His blue eyes were cloudy in the dim lighting of the overhead light in the Tahoe. I knew in that minute he didn’t want to stop my dad from beating the man to death. Part of me didn’t either, and that just made me sick to my stomach. “Put your seatbelt on, sweetheart.” He leaned forward and kissed my right temple, being careful not to touch any part of my face that was throbbing. A hard task since my entire face was one big ache.

  Nik stepped back and shut the door of the Tahoe. I didn’t move, but kept my eyes on Nik as he walked toward the front of the SUV and pulled Dad away from Vince. Dad said something that I couldn’t hear because it was practically sound proof in here. Nik didn’t seem scared of Dad like this and pointed toward me as he said something back. Before my eyes I saw another change in my dad. His shoulders seemed to droop and his head bowed.

  Dad stood like that for a minute then nodded. He didn’t look back as he walked toward me. Nik just stood there for a long moment. His back to me, but his shoulders told me that he was in a bad place. It took a lot to get him as mad as he was right then. He was the calm one most of the time. The one I expected to have his cool in any situation.

  The back door to the Tahoe opened just as Nik lifted his foot and stomped. I heard something crunch and Nik stomped his foot again and again. I nearly gagged at the sound that came from Vince. It was full of pain and something else that I recognized only because I had been feeling it for hours. Fear.

  Then, as if he hadn’t just left a man broken and bloody, Nik turned around and got in behind the wheel while Dad climbed in beside me. No sooner was the door shut behind me was I climbing in his lap, and my tears just wouldn’t stop.

  From the front seat I heard Nik talking to someone. “We have her… Can you meet us in the ER? She’s going to need a doctor… I know, man. I know. Just… Layla can’t fucking get out of bed! You don’t let her… Shit! Okay. Okay. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes.” He didn’t say another word as he drove through the dark night.

  Dad seemed scared to touch me too much. Afraid to hurt me. He just kept me on his lap, kissing the top of my head every few minutes, letting me cry it all out. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to cry this all out. My body would probably shrivel up from lack of water before I stopped crying.

  That morning I had been so happy. Layla and my brothers were doing okay. I was actually going to get to see and hold the babies before I got to hang out with my best friend that night. Now… I didn’t feel happy. I didn’t feel much of anything except this need to hold onto my dad. I was still scared, even if he was the one who made me feel safe. I was still sick to my stomach, the memory of Vince’s smell alone making me gag. I wanted this to just be a dream, to wake up any minute with just a fading memory of this horrible night. But the pain in my face told me that it wasn’t.

  Nik had to pull over twice so I could be sick. He just stopped in the middle of the street and Dad helped me out so I could throw up. People honked and cursed at us, but I barely heard. Vomiting only made my pain twice as bad. By the time we got to the hospital, I was dizzy and still nauseated.

  Shane was standing by the entrance to the hospital with two hulking-looking men in suits. From the corner of my good eye I could see vans and cameras flashing across the parking lot. The press, again. I hated the press. All they did was take pictures of me and my family and all we wanted was peace. Before the door opened, Dad pulled a blanket out and covered me from head to toe. He didn’t want the photographers to get a picture of me like this, and really neither did I.

  I felt Dad get out of the Tahoe with me still tucked close to his body then he was walking so fast he was practically running. I heard Shane whispering something, my dad curse, and then there was a whole group of voices I didn’t recognize. Someone told Dad to put me down so they could examine me. He barked at them to get out of his way.

  “Move or I will move you,” he told the woman who had told him to put me down.

  “Sir, we must tend to the child,” a male voice spoke up and I struggled to uncover my head so I could see who was speaking.

  I wiggled, needing down. “Daddy, I have to use the bathroom.”

  I was instantly placed on my feet and the blanket was pulled off of me, a chorus of gasps greeting me as they saw m
y face for the first time. “Are you going to be sick again?”

  I just shook my head and was relieved to find a sign for a bathroom just down the corridor from where we were standing. I had to pee so badly, it was a wonder I hadn’t already gone in my tights. I locked the door behind me and ran to the toilet, already pulling my old dress up, not caring if I tore it or not. It had been stupid to go as a zombie version of Jane Austen anyway.

  When I was done, an entire minute later, I flushed and moved to the sink to wash my hands. That was when I finally got a look at my face. I froze at the sight staring back at me. I had cried off most of the green and black makeup that I had used for my costume but I still looked like something that would roam the streets on Halloween. My left eye was a rainbow of colors: black, blue, purple and all kinds of shades in between. It was swollen shut, making my face look almost deformed. My top and bottom lips were split, and even though it looked like it had started to scab it was still bleeding just a little. There was a bruise in the shape of a hand print on both cheeks. When I touched my fingertips to them, I winced as it caused the throbbing to start all over again.

  “Lucy?” I heard my dad’s voice on the other side of the door. “You okay?”

  “Be right there,” I called back before washing my hands and grabbing a few paper towels to dry them.

  Opening the door I found Dad, Shane, and Nik standing there while a man in a doctor’s coat and two nurses stood behind them. “I just want to go home,” I told Dad.

  He grimaced. “I know, baby. But you need X-rays at the least.” He reached for my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’ll be right here with you the whole time.”

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