“I don’t want to talk about it right now, Daddy. I don’t want to talk about anything.” Nicole sniffled and made herself comfortable against the side of her bed.
“Because you’re mad at Danny, or because you’re mad at Lil?” Raymond asked, walking in the room anyway. He sat down next to her.
Glancing away, she took a deep breath, knowing the answer, but not wanting to admit it. “Do you think Lil said those things?”
“Do you think she did?” he countered.
Nicole rubbed her head and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “One time…one time…once, when we were teenagers…” She couldn’t get it out. She shook her head and the hid her face in her knees. She felt so very young and upset. I’m such a fool.
He arched an eyebrow. “You heard Lil talking about you?”
“She laughed it off, calling it a joke, and saying she was trying to keep a boy away from me, because he wasn’t good enough for me. I didn’t like what she was saying, but I bought her answer. I know she gets really clingy and almost possessive when people, other than her brothers, show an interest in me. I thought that’s all it was.”
He gave her head a gentle pat. “Now, you think it was more than that?
She swallowed hard. “I…I’m scared it is. What else has she told, and who has she told it to? What kind of things has she made up about me? I mean, the things she told Danny are horrible enough, but what did she say to whoever actually listened to her? God, that thing…” Nicole began bawling uncontrollably as she was hit with what felt like a million emotions at once.
Racing to her feet, Nicole was stunned she made it to the bathroom in time to throw up in the toilet. Lillian had encouraged that asshole. Encouraged him to…She couldn’t even finish the thought. No, she didn’t blame Lillian for what he had done and how he had violated her, as that was his decision. But Lillian planted the idea, told him to do it, told him I wanted it. And while she had told Danny he had put his finger in without her permission, she hadn’t told Danny about the argument that followed, the names he had called her, and what he had done after their breakup. It had all been beyond terrible.
Who else has Lillian encouraged to try to get me to do things I’d never want to do? Her mind raced over any and every horrible experience she’d had with a lover that Lillian had met; hell, even with friends that Lillian had met. Her stomach bubbled and more bile spewed from her mouth. Coughing, she spat into the toilet before flushing. She noticed her dad in the doorway as she moved to rinse her mouth out.
“What’s wrong?” Raymond asked with concern in his emerald eyes. He raised a hand, like he wanted to touch her, but seemed frightened that she might break.
Nicole shook her head. How could I tell Daddy that I had a boyfriend who stuck his finger in my ass after I told the jerk on multiple occasions I wasn’t into that sort of thing? How can I tell Daddy that the damn jerk didn’t even care how much it hurt, or how scared I was that he’d try it again or anyone might try it? I couldn’t believe Lillian actually encouraged that. While brushing her teeth, she had to hold her tears at bay, but her eyes burned right along with her heart and soul.
“I thought Lillian liked me, Daddy. She was my little sister. Why would she do this?” Nicole sniffled. Why would she purposely hurt me like this? I was so good to her.
Raymond shook his head and walked over to her. He embraced her like he used to do when she was a little girl. It was an all-encompassing hug, holding her together at the seams and keeping all the evil in the world at bay. She turned and hid in his chest, clutching his shirt. He rubbed her back.
“Why?” Nicole bawled.
“I don’t know why, Nicole. I wish I could tell you. You’ve been sweet and kind to Lillian her whole life. Sometimes, people are just mean.”
“But, she’s my cousin.”
“Yeah, but still, sometimes people are just mean.”
“Do you think Junior and Spider do the same thing? Do they hang out with me and smile in my face and then talk about me behind my back?”
Raymond sighed. “I don’t know. I’d like to think they don’t. God, you always have such a good time with them, and it really looks like they love you as much as you love them. I’ve never…I’ve never heard them talking about you.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve only heard Lillian do it once, but now I can only wonder how many times she’s actually done it. How many times did she tell someone I was a whore and then come and smile in my face, hook her arm around me, and pretend to be my sidekick? How many times?”
Raymond didn’t have any answers to that. He only hugged her tighter. She appreciated that more than answers for the moment. She held onto him with a desperate affection, toothbrush hanging from her lips.
Chapter Sixteen
“SO, WHO DID YOU end up fighting, Junior or Spider?” Kathleen asked from her space on the cushy leather sofa. She had personally bandaged Dane, which was quite weird. They hadn’t spoken as she did so, but she had managed to get Dane to let go of her guitar. Kathleen then led her into the den, sat her down next to her guitar, and requested the housekeeper fetch them some tea.
“Lillian,” Dane answered in a mumble while doing her best to not think about why Kathleen was being so nice to her. One of the things that aided in that was sitting down on the comfortable couch, definitely a Godsend. Something is wrong with me to be taking so much pleasure in the simple action of sitting on my ass.
A shadow crossed Kathleen’s face briefly and then she nodded. “What did she say?”
Dane leaned over a bit, studying her. “How do you know she said anything?”
Kathleen’s face went tight as a frown pulled its way onto her mouth. “I know her. She’s a bitch. I heard her talking about Nikki a couple of times. I threatened her that if I heard her talking about my daughter again, I’d rip out her tongue.”
“You never told Nicole?” The very idea stunned Dane, because she was certain that Kathleen, the extremely overprotective mother that she was, would’ve done something to at least keep Nicole away from that bitch.
Kathleen shook her head. “I don’t expect you to understand, Danny. You don’t have a daughter, and I can only assume you don’t know what it’s like to be someone’s child, considering what came out at Thanksgiving, but no one wants to tell their child things that will hurt them. Besides, since I didn’t hear anything, I thought she’d stopped. I’d have seriously hurt her if I heard anything and she knew that, so like I said, I thought she’d stopped.”
“No,” Dane scowled. I can’t believe even Kathleen got fooled. “She was more careful. But, not careful enough.”
“So, you cut your knuckles on her?”
Dane nodded and looked at her bandaged hand. Her knuckles had been split, but she hadn’t realized it at the time. The cuts burned with satisfaction. She hadn’t even flinched when Kathleen cleaned them.
“What did she say?” Kathleen asked, mouth still tense and frowning.
“You don’t want to know. It’s not so much what she said, but what her words led to. She got Nicole hurt and it could’ve been worse. Maybe she didn’t know, maybe she did, but her words were more than words.” Dane shook her head. Part of her wanted to tell Kathleen, if only because she knew Kathleen would make that little bitch pay even more. But, that information would hurt Kathleen and Nicole too much.
Kathleen nodded and did something surprising by moving to sit next to Dane. She put her arm around her and patted her leg with the other one. And then, she leaned over and gave Dane a soft kiss on her forehead.
Dane gasped and became so stiff that she thought she might shatter in a soft wind. Her heart beat heavy in her chest, and she feared it might do what Junior couldn’t—break her ribs. Tears burned the corners of her eyes, but they dared not fall. It was the strangest thing she had ever felt.
“Thank you so much for sticking up for Nicole. If Lillian did that with you, I’m sure she did it with other significant others. You’re the only one to do something about
it, to say something about it. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Kathleen said.
“Uh…”
Kathleen sighed. “I know, it’s disturbing.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Would you like me to move?”
Dane knew she should say yes, but the feeling wasn’t disturbing. The situation itself was strange, but having Kathleen show her appreciation at least led her to believe she had done the right thing. She felt validated. And so, for a long moment, Kathleen held her, and she allowed it.
“So, who ended up defending Lillian and hit you back?” Kathleen inquired, moving away from Dane. The moment was gone, Dane assumed.
“Junior. Damn thing is, he knows Lillian talks about Nicole. They all know. I don’t think they all talk about her like Lillian, but they damn sure know that bitch does this crap. They don’t tell Nicole, because they don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
Kathleen scowled. “He hit you, even though he knows Lillian is a bitch?”
Dane shrugged. “I guess he has to defend his sister, no matter what. Is it right for them to not tell Nicole? Beth said they don’t want to take away the joy that Nicole shows when Lillian is around. Does that make sense?”
“Unfortunately, it does make sense. They’re all close. They don’t want to hurt each other, but I don’t see why Junior would do this to you if he knows that Lillian talks about her. I didn’t know they were aware of it. This doesn’t make any sense, unless he wants to keep up appearances or something.”
Dane ran her hand through her hair. “I don’t know if they know exactly what she says, and they probably don’t know the consequences of what she says. I only know about one consequence, but that was more than enough for me to pound her face in.”
“Was it…was it really bad?” Kathleen’s voice cracked at the end of the question, and her breathing sped up for a few seconds.
“I promise you that you don’t want to know, but if you think you do, you can ask your husband. I sort of screamed it in the car when Nicole was defending Lillian. She wasn’t physically hurt.” Or so I hope. If she was, and I find out, I’m hunting that bastard down next and beating him in the face with a pipe before letting him know first-hand how she felt.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Kathleen nodded. “Okay, that’s good.”
“So, I think I figured out what you meant by his family not being as accepting as yours. They hated me the second they saw me, because I hadn’t been camping before. Well, among other things. They kept calling me city girl, like it was an insult. Weird.”
“No, they’re surprisingly judgmental.”
“They don’t like you because you can’t camp?”
Kathleen chuckled and shook her head. “No, that’s not why they don’t like me. They are of the belief that I changed Raymond. He was laidback to the point that, when I met him in school, junior year, his major was physical education, and he didn’t plan on being a gym teacher.”
Dane arched an eyebrow. “Then why was he in school?”
“Apparently, he went to college just to go to college. I think his mother talked him into it, as his father would’ve been more than happy if Raymond drove a tow truck like he did. Richard followed that same course, and I’m sure Raymond planned to do the same thing. His mother wanted a child to go to college and, since Richard didn’t go, she forced Raymond to go.”
Dane squinted in thought. “But, didn’t she have other kids? He didn’t have to be the one.”
“Yes, he did. She didn’t plan on any of her girls going to college. They were expected to finish high school, get some type of office work until they met the right man, and then get married.”
“Wait, what?” Is it 1950 and no one told me?
“Yes, so Raymond had to be the one to go to college.”
“And when he met you, he decided on law school?”
Kathleen nodded. “That’s the short of it. One day he returned home with a purpose. Life wasn’t all a game, and his family didn’t know how to handle it. They accused me of changing him, for the worse in their opinion.”
She put him on the path to become one of the best lawyers in the city and they hate her for that? His family’s fucked up. “I can believe that.”
The bonding was interrupted, when Mrs. Harlow entered with the tea. Kathleen smiled her thanks to the other woman, and Mrs. Harlow took her leave. Kathleen moved farther over as she reached for her tea. Dane had to test her right hand to make sure she could hold a cup. There was no way she’d ever pick anything up with her left hand. Her knuckles stung, but that was all, so she picked up the cup and had a taste.
“How is it?” Kathleen asked.
“It’s good. Thanks.”
“Be sure to try some of the cookies with it.” Kathleen nodded to a small plate of cookies.
Dane nodded as she reached for one.
***
Nicole stopped dead in her tracks as she was walking into the den. Her father, who was by her side, did the same. They stared into the scene, watching Kathleen and Dane calmly sip tea, sitting next to each other, not killing each other, or even belittling each other.
“Let’s join them,” Raymond said, and Nicole could only nod.
The pair stood there for a few more seconds before stepping into the room. It was surprising there was no tension in the area. For a second, she and her father didn’t know where to sit and just looked around. They ended up in the two armchairs, usually reserved for her parents. Once seated, Nicole got a look at Danny.
“Oh, my God, Danny. You should put ice on your cheek,” Nicole said. It was swollen and bruised a deep maroon.
Danny waved her off. “It’s fine.”
Nicole nodded and looked down. Guilt gnawed at her stomach for not having taken care of her beloved’s wounds. By Danny’s side, she noticed the guitar. She gasped, realizing Danny couldn’t let it go.
“Danny, I am so sorry about your guitar. I’ll make Junior buy you a new one,” Nicole said, even though she knew that wouldn’t help.
Danny waved that off, too. “Don’t worry about it. He can’t replace this one.”
“How so? It’s just a guitar,” Raymond said.
“My mother bought this guitar for me almost twenty years ago. Might be the only thing she’s ever bought me in my life. He can’t replace this guitar,” Danny stated in a deadpan tone.
Raymond colored a bit, obviously embarrassed. “Oh.”
“It’s okay. Maybe it was time to get rid of the damned thing. Don’t know why I’ve been holding on to it in the first place.” Danny frowned briefly before focusing on Nicole. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that. You’re the one trying to be a knight in shining jean shorts,” Nicole replied with an awkward smile. She wanted things to be okay between them, and she wasn’t sure how to begin making up for everything that had happened.
Danny leaned over and took Nicole’s hand. “Here to protect you as best I can, Angel. Sorry I ended up hitting her, and I’m sorry she’s your cousin. But, if I hear anyone, relative or not, saying stuff like that about you and encouraging people to do bad things to you, I’m going to hit them, because they don’t have the right to do that. They don’t have the right to cause you that kind of pain and suffering. She’s lucky I only had my hands. If I could’ve uprooted a tree to beat her ass, I would have.”
“Did she…do you know…I mean, do you have an idea of how many people she said these things to or what she’s said?” Nicole tried to calm her breathing and get her stomach to stop fluttering. She supposed it was good she wasn’t hyperventilating or throwing up, but she felt like she might at any moment.
“No, but, from what I can guess, she’s probably told every boyfriend and girlfriend of yours that she’s ever met that you’re into really kinky things and that you’ve had a lot of sexual partners. I don’t know what she might have said to other people.”
Nicole nodded and sniffled. “Do you think…do you think people believed her?”
“The people that matter don’t believe her. I didn’t believe her. I know your parents don’t, and your other cousins still respect you.”
“Not Junior and Spider…” Nicole sniffled again, and a tear slid down her face. Why should I care? They’re asses, them and their damned sister.
“I don’t think you should write them off just yet, even if Junior is an ass. They probably have to chew on this for a while, but I think they’ll come around,” Danny said.
“Did he hurt you anywhere else?” Nicole suddenly asked, managing to hold back any more tears. She wasn’t even sure when Junior had hit Danny, but she recalled his anger and imagined he hadn’t stopped at hitting her once.
Again, her lover waved it off. “I’m a little sore, but I’ll live. Give it some time, Nick. I don’t think your cousins are going to give up on you, especially based on my actions.”
“I might just give up on them. I asked Junior and Spider to give you a chance so many times, and they didn’t. And then Junior hits you after knowing about Lillian. She’s the bad guy, not you. Or at least to me, but I might be seeing it wrong. Either way, I don’t like what he did,” Nicole huffed.
“You’re upset right now, Nikki. These are your cousins,” Kathleen reminded her.
Nicole scowled. “I know who they are.” Assholes who pretended to care about me, like way too many other people in my life.
“Give it a few days to settle, Nick, before you write them off. It might not be so bad,” Danny said.
Nicole couldn’t help thinking Danny knew something she didn’t. She decided to just trust Danny on it. She moved to be closer to her beloved. She took Danny’s hand and held it tightly. Hold onto me like this, Danny. Hold onto me.
“You know, you two can stay here tonight, since we’re back a day early,” Raymond said with a bit of a smile.
“It’s no problem.” Kathleen nodded to show her approval.
“Thanks for the offer,” Nicole said, while Danny pressed into her hand with her thumb. “But, I think we will pick up Haydn and go back home. We’ll be fine.”
First Degree Burns Page 25