“Where is she?”
“Nethers?”
The doctor walks in and smiles, all of us letting go of the breath we didn't even know we were holding in.
“She is going to be fine. She has some broken ribs and some of her lacerations needed stitches. We have her sedated right now. We are going to keep her overnight for observation and if nothing changes she should be good to go home tomorrow. Whoever had her really did a number on her but she fought and held her own. She is one strong woman.”
“Thanks, when can I see her?”
“As soon as we get her in a room, I will let a nurse know and they will come and get y'all.”
He shakes our hands and walks away shaking his head. I always knew Joslynn was a fighter. It is one of the many things I love about her.
Chapter Seven
Joslynn
It feels like a bad case of déjà vu when I wake up to the sound of beeping. I slowly open my eyes and look around the room. Taylor is staring out the window, chewing on her nails. I try to move my hand, but it won't move because someone is holding it. When I look beside me my heart stops. It feels like the whole world melts away and all that is left standing is Marshall. He's sitting in the chair beside the bed, holding my hand. His head on his shoulder, his eyes shut.
“Mar...Marshall?”
His head pops up, his eyes full of concern. My eyes fill with tears, and he becomes blurry. He stands up and leans over me kissing my face.
“Oh, baby. I am so sorry. How do you feel?”
I try to swallow and my throat is dry. Taylor hands me a glass of water and I take a drink. My arms are covered in scratches, some have bandages on them.
“Thank you.”
I look around the room once more and see Trevor standing at the end of my bed smiling. He looks to Taylor and motions towards the door, and my heart melts. He looks at her with such concern and what can only be love. She looks to me, and I smile and nod.
When they walk out the door, I look back to Marshall and wait. I have missed him and thought of nothing but him for so long. And now here he is, and I can't think of a thing to say. He leans in and kisses my forehead again, his hand tightening on mine. We sit and look at each other saying nothing for what seems like hours.
“Where? Why?”
He nods his head and takes a deep breath. His other hand rests on mine and he starts to rub it.
“When I was in the hospital Trevor and I contacted a friend. I wanted to find Frank and Tank. I wanted to end this so you could live without being scared of when they would come for you next. I knew if I told you, you would have tried to stop me. I wanted you to rest and get better.”
“You should have just told me. At least then I would have known you were okay.”
I start to cry harder and he lays down beside me wrapping his arm around me. I bury my face in his chest and close my eyes. His smell enveloping me.
“I know, baby, I know. I am so sorry, please, forgive me.”
“Never ever leave me again, Marshall, ever, I can't live without you.”
His arm tightens, and I wince.
“Sorry,” he says and loosens his arms.
When I look into his eyes, all the feelings come rushing back, and I can't tell if I am drowning in happiness or if he is my life raft in a sea of pain and hurt.
“Where's my father and Frank and Tank?”
Just their names coming out of my mouth causes me to shudder.
“Your father is back in jail. When I saw him on the floor of your old room he already looked defeated.”
“And Tank? He's the one who took me. He saw me walking the park and took me in to the woods.”
I don't tell him what Tank said because there is no need to add to the hate we already share for them.
“Neither of them was there, Joslynn. The police said they would find them.”
“I want out of here, Marshall. I said I would never leave but I can't do it anymore as long as I live here they won't stop.”
“I know that. My parents have a place in Georgia they never use. We could all go there and start over.”
I nod my head and smile.
“Trevor and Taylor too?”
“Baby, I think you are stuck with all of us for a while.”
“I am sleepy.”
“Sleep, baby, I'm not going anywhere I will be right here when you wake up. I talked the police into waiting until you are home to question you.”
I close my eyes and lay my head against Marshall and fall asleep listening to the sound of his heartbeat. I have my heartbeat back. As long as I have that the world could stand against me, and I wouldn't care.
Chapter Eight
Marshall
“Joslynn, sit down.”
“I have already answered their questions once before and they let him out on house arrest, a lot of fucking good that did and now they want to talk to me again? For what?”
Trevor starts to laugh and Taylor slaps his arm, and then puts her hand on her mouth to cover her giggles. When I look to them they both shrug their shoulders.
“What? She has your attitude. And the mouth of a reborn sailor,” Taylor says and sticks her tongue out at Joslynn.
A knock on the door gets our attention. Standing at the door is an officer and Taylor lets him in. Joslynn walks to the kitchen sighing and motioning for the officer to sit at the table.
“Would you like some tea?'
“No, ma'am, this will not take long. I only want to ask you a few questions.”
Joslynn looks to me, sits down and waits for me to sit beside her. When I had tried asking her about what happened while she was at her fathers, she said she only wanted to talk about it once. I had to wait until the officer got here and she told him the story. I have a feeling everything she tells me is going to make me wish I would have pulled that trigger instead of letting him walk out of the house with the cops.
“Can you tell me what happened from the beginning please?” The officer asked.
Joslynn takes a deep breath and grabs my hand.
“I went to the park to walk the track. I had walked around it a few times and decided I would walk it one more time before I came home. I thought someone was walking behind me. So I turned to look and when I turned back around I ran right into Tank's chest. He grabbed me and pulled me into the tree line. He put a cloth over my mouth and next thing I knew, I was at my father's house.”
Her hands start to shake and tears come to her eyes.
“Did he say anything? Where they are hiding? Why is he helping Nick Nethers?”
“He said my father came into Frank's and offered them money to kill Marshall and me but when Trevor came in he ruined everything. He said he was taking me to Daddy.”
My hand is rubbing hers as she takes another deep breath and I bite my tongue. The officer looks around the room at each of us before he continues the rest of his questions, jotting down some notes on his paper.
“What happened once you got to your dads?”
“He locked me in my old room and came in and talked for a while about my mother. He threw a beer bottle above my head causing it to shatter and kicked me in the stomach. When I tried to run for the door he grabbed me and threw me across my dresser and I hit the wall on the other side.”
“And his face? He says you cut him?
“Since the bottle he had thrown at my head shattered, I grabbed a piece of it and wrapped some of my pillowcase around it. When he got close enough I cut him across the face and scratched him. It was the only way I was going to be able to make it out the door.”
The officer nods and looks to me.
“Marshall Andrews?”
“Yes.”
“How did you find out she was at her fathers? I understand you called us to report her missing earlier in the day?”
“It wasn't that hard to figure out once I calmed down enough to think.”
I can tell he isn't satisfied with my answer but he continues with the rest of his quest
ions.
“And what happened when you arrived?”
“I came in and found Joslynn on the couch passed out. I looked around the house for her father and found him in her room sitting on the floor so I called the police.”
“He says you had a gun?”
“You think I would actually bust in the house of the man who had the love of my life and had already tried to kill us once unarmed?”
He sits silently for a second before he nods accepting my answer.
“That will be all for now I believe. I want to assure you both he will not be getting out this time. But they will want you all to be at court to testify against him. I assume none of you will have a problem with that?”
He looks around the room waiting for us all to answer. When we all nod in unison he closes his note pad and stands. Joslynn jumps up.
“Wait what about Frank and Tank?”
“Ma'am, we are doing everything we can to find them both. Until they are found there will be an officer in the area at all times and we will notify you as soon as they are found.”
Joslynn nods her head and watches as Trevor shows him out the door. Taylor and he come in to the room and sit at the table across from us.
“Tay?” Joslynn asks.
“Yeah?”
“Marshall has offered for all of us to move to Georgia. Their family has a house there and they said we could stay at it.”
Taylor looks to Trevor and me and we both nod.
“I've already told you we should have moved.”
I start to laugh when Joslynn sticks her tongue out at Taylor. It's good to be back home and have her in my arms again. I take a deep breath to get ready to drop the news on Joslynn I have been holding in. As much as I want to keep it from her I would rather her find out from me than someone else.
“Joslynn, I need to talk to you about something.”
She looks to me confused and I squeeze her hand.
“Frank's sold the day it went on the market,” I say and take a deep breath. “To someone named Josie Lucilla Nethers.”
As soon as the name leaves my mouth her eyes grow big, her hand covers her mouth, and tears run down her face. I hear both Trevor and Taylor gasp.
“That's...that's my...my mom. I remember my dad and grandmother talking about her one day. He would never tell me her name but my grandmother let it slip one day. I think he was scared if I knew her name I would go looking for her and he wouldn't have anyone but himself to blame for the way his life was,” she says.
I wrap my arms around Joslynn and hold her while she cries, my heart breaking for her. How could a woman just walk away from her child? One that is so beautiful and full of life and love even though her whole life has been nothing but hell since the day she was born.
Joslynn wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
“How did you find me and all this out?
“A friend of ours named Luca is a genius with time and a laptop,” I say and smile.
“Can...can we take a bath? I want to relax and get some rest.”
“Of course, baby.”
I stand and lead her to the bathroom. I lean over the tub and fix the water. When I turn to Joslynn I stop breathing. She is standing before me naked. Bruises cover her body and still she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I want nothing more than to bury myself inside her and never leave.
I will my erection to go down and lick my lips as I walk towards her. I lean in and kiss her slowly putting all the love and sorry I can behind the kiss and hope that she feels it too. She moans and throws her arms around my neck pulling me towards her, opening her mouth allowing me to enter.
I wrap my hands in her hair and hold her close moaning into her mouth. Her hands rub down my back and back up doing nothing to help the erection that is pressing against my jeans begging to be let out.
I pull back and lean my head against hers.
“As much as I would love nothing more than to bury myself inside you, you need to rest and heal. I don't want to hurt you, baby.”
She pokes out her bottom lip and steps in the bath.
“Come on.”
I slide my clothes off and step into the bath behind her pulling her back against me and wrapping her in my arms. She lays her head back and sighs.
“I love you, Marshall Andrews.”
“And I you, Joslynn Nethers.”
“I really hate that last name.”
Her words cause my heart to beat faster and I smile. I think I am going to need to have a chat with the two T's tomorrow.
“I do too, baby, I do too.” I kiss her head again and close my eyes and smile.
Chapter Nine
Joslynn
His words shock me. Why would she buy Frank's? Has she always been this close to me and never took the time to try to get to know me? I have always asked myself a million questions about her but it was easier in a small way to accept that she wasn't close to me. In some weird way, it made it easier to know that she didn't want me if I told myself she was far, far away.
However, knowing she was close enough to see me and knowing who I am makes it harder. I would never be able to walk away from my child and never look back.
I lie in bed wrapped in Marshall's arms and stare at the wall. The bath was amazing. He washed me off from head to toe and kissed every bruise and cut in his path. Each kiss tells me how beautiful I am and how much he loves me.
He dried me off and brushed my hair, giving me his shirt and a pair of panties to put on. Wrapped in his arms and his scent, I feel like I am on a cloud. I want nothing more than to beg him to bury himself inside me. He seems to think I need rest. I think it is well overdue and I need it now.
I turn over with my decision made and run my hands along his chest to his pants line. He moans when I dip my finger below his boxers. His eyes slowly open and he shakes his head.
“Baby, you need to heal.”
“I need you please,” I beg.
He growls and slowly pushes me back. My ribs hurt, but I try to keep the pain from my eyes. I have to have him now. Pain or not I need him. He runs his hands from my shoulders to my stomach taking great care in each touch and caress. Like I am the finest treasure and he wants to admire every inch.
I lean up and he slides my shirt over my head throwing it to the floor.
He stands and slides his boxers off, and I moan as he springs free ready and waiting. He climbs on top of me and slides my thongs off throwing them to the floor. Once we are both naked he hovers over me. His hands are on each side of my head and leans in to kiss me. He grabs my hair with his hand as he deepens the kiss, our moans are loud. He releases my hair and he runs his hand down my body.
I lift my hips begging him to keep going. As soon as his fingers touch my clit it feels like my body could explode. He pulls back and looks at me.
“Are you sure?”
“Marshall, please don't stop.”
“If I hurt you once, Joslynn, stop me I mean it.”
“I will.”
He stares at me for a second before he nods his head and slowly starts to run his hand back up my body. His head comes down, placing his lips on my earlobe and pulling it into his mouth. I feel his hot breath on the side of my face.
He slides into me and stops until I once again lift my hips begging him to move. His pace is slow. His hands are in my hair as he kisses my neck and ear. Our moans fill the silence of the room and I know Taylor and Trevor can hear us.
I wrap my arms around him digging my nails in his back. I can feel my orgasm coming and I will it away- I don't want this to end.
“Cl....close, Marshall.”
“Come with me baby.” he says his pacing picking up.
That is all it takes for my orgasm to come and his head rolls back our orgasms coming at the same time. He lays down beside me and sighs. I roll over and lay my head on his chest. His heartbeat is racing matching mine.
***
The next morning I shower and walk into the kit
chen and stop when I see Taylor and Trevor cooking breakfast.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” they say in unison causing the three of us to laugh.
I look around the room and can't find Marshall. My heart starts to race with worry.
“He's outside on the phone,” Trevor says setting a plate on the table.
Forgive Me (Say Something Book 2) Page 3