Love Song Series Box Set

by Emily Minton

  His appearance has changed too. His normally close-cut hair is now shaggy. He has on one of his normal button-down shirts, but it’s full of wrinkles and is covered in stains. His pants have a large tear in the knee, and the toes on his wingtips are scuffed. This is definitely not the Dean I know.

  I’m brought back from my thoughts by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. I look up, and Bethany is coming down. Thank God, Jenny is nowhere in sight.

  “Where the fuck is my daughter?” Dean screams as he rushes over to Bethany. Before she has time to respond, he slaps her across the face. The hit sends Bethany to her knees. She looks up at him, hatred in her eyes.

  “Jenny was lonely without her mom, so she called her dad. He came and got her. She stayed over there last night.” I know she’s lying; I have his keys, so he wasn’t going anywhere. I can only hope Jenny is hiding somewhere Dean can’t find her.

  Bethany’s words barely leave her mouth before Dean is on top of her. “I’m her father,” he screams between punches.

  I want to help her, but I have to think of the baby. I have to make a run for it. I have to try. I don’t make it even three steps before Dean grabs me and throws me onto the floor. I land on my stomach, and the pain starts instantly. My baby, he hurt my baby. I try to lie still, hoping it will pass, but it doesn’t. It only grows worse. Within moments, I feel warm liquid seeping between my legs.

  Chapter 29

  Jase

  I wake up, and my head is pounding. Fuck. I look over at the empty bottle of Jack on the floor. I must have drained the whole damn thing. I check out the time; it’s almost seven. Shit, I’m late. We were supposed to leave for the mountains at six. Julie may not want to go, but I’m taking my daughter on vacation. First though, I’m talking to Julie. She may not believe me, but she’s going to listen.

  I get up as quickly as I can, grab some aspirin, and get showered. I get dressed and make my way down the hall. As I walk through the living room, I see Matty passed out on the couch. Maybe I didn’t drink the whole bottle by myself.

  I walk over and give the couch a hard kick. “Wake up, brother.”

  Matty rolls over and looks at me with bloodshot eyes. “Fuck you!”

  “Come on, man. I need your help. Julie should be home by now, and I’m going to make her listen to me, but I may need you to get me through the door,” I say as I walk into the kitchen to make coffee. Not the most genius plan ever, but it may just work. I hope.

  “What are you going to tell her?” Matty asks from the living room.

  “She needs to know about Becca and what was going on yesterday. I also have to tell her about what happened nine years ago.”

  “What Becca did was really fucked up, but it doesn’t change what she saw at Pop’s.” His voice is trailing off as he walks into the kitchen.

  I nod but don’t reply. He’s right. Any way you look at it, I messed up, but Julie already forgave me for that shit. I just have to make sure she knows I didn’t fuck up again.

  I grab my coffee and start to leave. Before I can make it to my front door, someone is pounding on it. I jerk it open, and Becca rushes in. She pushes past me and looks around. She is totally panicked.

  “What the hell, Becca?” asks Matty.

  “I went over to talk to Brittany this morning. I wanted to let her know I was done with her and all her shit, and that I didn’t want to be any part of whatever game she’s playing with Julie.” Becca takes a deep breath and looks up at me with fear in her eyes. “Jase, I’m scared for Julie right now. We need to go to her.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask, running out of patience with Becca and all her drama.

  “Brittany told me that Julie would be gone soon. I swear she had the scariest smile on her face that I have ever seen. She wouldn’t tell me what she did, but I know it’s bad.”

  Matty and I are out the door before Becca even finishes her sentence.

  Julie

  I reach down, and place my hand between my legs. I pull it back up, and it’s covered with blood. No! I cry out in shock and try to crawl to the door.

  “Didn’t you learn your lesson yet? You are not going anywhere until I say so.” Dean grabs my hair and pulls me toward the living room, but stops a few feet from the entryway and releases me.

  I look up at him, and he is looking down at the floor. I turn my head to see what he’s looking at. There’s a trail of blood from where I fell to where I now lay. My baby is dying, and I can’t do anything to help him. Tears fall from my eyes as I start to pray that God will save my baby.

  “No! You will not die. You are mine!” he yells.

  “Dean, you have to get her to the hospital,” Bethany says, but Dean ignores her and picks me up. He carries me to the couch and removes my pants. I want to tell him to stop, but I’m too weak to say anything.

  My contractions have started, and it’s nothing like when I had Jenny. Those started slowly and built up with time. These are coming quickly and feel like my insides are going through a meat grinder.

  “Go out to my car and get my bag. Then I need some towels. I’ll also need you to boil some water and get me anti-bacterial soap,” he says in his doctor voice.

  I shake my head. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not now.”

  “Please, Dean. We need to take her to the hospital now,” Bethany begs.

  Her voice sounds so far away that I can barely make out the words. I’m sure I’m going into shock, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

  “No!” he shouts. “Just do what I say. She’s got a placental abruption, and I’ve got to get the bastard out now. If I don’t, she’ll bleed to death. We don’t have any time to take her anywhere.”

  It suddenly hits me; I’m having the baby right here. Dean’s going to deliver, and there is nothing I can do to stop him. The thought of him cutting my precious son from my body ricochets through my mind, and I shudder. Please God, help my baby.

  He continues to talk to himself, or at least I think he’s talking to himself. “She can’t die. She can’t! She’s mine. I decide when she goes.”

  I hear Bethany run out the door, and I try to call out for her to go get help, but I can’t form the words. Everything seems to be happening around me in slow motion. I can feel Dean removing the rest of my clothes, but I can’t stop him. I feel relief when I hear Bethany come back into the room, even though I wish she had gone for help.

  She’s talking, but I can’t hear what she’s saying. I feel myself fading, and all I can think is that I wish I could tell Jenny and Jase that I love them one more time. I wish I could just hold my son once. I wish that I could protect my family from the pain they’ll be feeling.

  The blackness fades, and I slowly open my eyes. I’m not sure how long I was out, but I come to with Dean shaking me. “Wake up.”

  I try to tell him I’m awake, but my lips won’t move.

  “Do not pass out on me!” he yells. “You’re going to have to push if you want your baby to live. If not, I will cut it out of you. One way or the other, you will live. You are going to come home with me and be punished properly.”

  His words send a chill down my spine. I worry what will happen to my son after he is born. I try to focus on the pain. I hope it will help me stay awake. I have to keep my baby safe.

  Bethany lifts my upper body and squeezes between the couch and me. “I’ll help you, Jules. I need you to stay awake and do your part. Okay?” she says while rubbing my hair.

  I want to shout out that it’s not okay. Nothing about this is okay, but I know she’s here for me. She could have run, left me and my children alone to suffer Dean, but she didn’t. She came back. She always comes back. I try to nod, but my head barely leaves her chest.

  Leaning down, she whispers in my ear. “The police will be here soon. You just have to stay awake until they get here.”

  As her words work their way through my pain-dulled mind, hope flares up inside me. I feel Dean between my legs. I want to
push him away, but I know he is my baby’s only hope. It sickens me that I need him, but I will do what I have to in order to save my son. I lay still and let him position me as he wants.

  “When the next contraction hits, I want you to push as hard as you can, but you listen closely. Stop when I tell you to.”

  Seconds later, another contraction hits. I try to push, but I’m too weak. Bethany pushes my body up and places her hands on my stomach. “Push, Jules,” she begs as she pushes down on my stomach.

  “Stop!” Dean shouts. I lie back into Bethany and sigh with relief. I hardly get a chance to breathe before the pain starts again.

  “Push. Push now!” Dean says. I lift back up and bear down as hard as I can.

  “Stop!” he yells again. “I see the head.”

  My mind is fuzzy. I know that everything about this is wrong, but I know I have to keep trying. I can feel Dean pushing his hands inside me. I want to scream; it hurts too much, but I don’t even have the energy to cry out.

  Please God, let the police get here soon.

  Jase

  I run to my truck and dig in my pocket for the keys. They’re not there. Shit, I forgot. Matty grabs my arms and motions toward his truck. We speed the entire way to Julie’s house with Becca in the backseat. I don’t even know she’s back there for the first few miles. I’m not sure why she’s coming along, but I don’t say anything because I’m in too much of a hurry for Matty to stop and kick her ass out. I just need Julie to be okay. I need to see her, now.

  We pull up to Julie’s house, and nothing seems wrong. I turn around to Becca, who is just staring at the house as she takes off her seatbelt. “What game are you playing?”

  She shakes her head and looks at me with sincerity in her eyes. “It might look fine, Jase, but Brittany did something. I’m not sure what, but you have to get in there.”

  When I get out of the car, I hear someone screaming something. What the fuck? I start to run toward the house, but stop before stepping inside to tell Matty to call 911. There’s no need; he’s already on the phone with the police, giving them the address. As soon as he mumbles it out, his eyes jerk to mine. “The cops are already on the way.”

  Fuck! That means someone else has already called. What the hell is going on here?

  I try the door, but it’s locked. There’s no other choice; I have to break the fucker down. I take a few steps back and run at the door. By the second hit, the door gives under my weight. When I step inside, it takes a second for me to process what is going on. Julie is on the couch with no clothes on. Bethany is sitting behind her with blood dripping down her face from an open wound above her eye. There’s a blonde man between Julie’s legs who I’ve never seen before. I instantly know that the fucker is Dean.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I yell out.

  “Jase,” Julie whispers so softly that I hardly hear her, but I can see the panic on her face.

  “Get the fuck away from my girl!” I say, stepping closer to the couch.

  “I’m trying to deliver a baby here. I suggest you shut your mouth and get back,” the bastard orders.

  “Jase, don’t leave me alone with him,” Julie whispers, looking at me with fear in her eyes. I can tell it took every bit of her strength just to speak those few words.

  “Never,” I say as I rush around the couch and squat down by Julie’s head.

  I touch my lips to her forehead and am surprised at how cold it feels. I look up at Bethany to ask her what in the hell happened. That’s when I notice just how badly she’s been beaten. Blood is pouring above her right eye, and her bottom lip is split in two. I look down at the man between Julie’s legs and wish I could kill him right here and now, but I know he is the only thing standing between Julie, my child, and death.

  He chooses that moment to look up at me. “You need to move away from my wife,” he says. His voice is laced with anger, and his eyes are wild.

  “Why don’t you just hurry up and deliver my baby,” I say, adding emphasis to the word my. I know I shouldn’t antagonize him, but I can’t hold back.

  He ignores me and continues to shout orders at Julie. Push, stop, bear down…

  He is so in the zone, he doesn’t even realize my brother is walking into the room. “Yeah, the police will be here soon, and I want a chance to fucking kill you before they get here,” Matty adds from the doorway.

  “Shut up,” he shouts before ordering Julie to push again.

  I grab Julie’s hand and look up at Matty. I nod toward the stairs, trying to get him to go check on Jenny. I know my baby girl is in the house somewhere, and I want her found as quickly as possible. I watch him make his way up the stairs, then I look back down at Julie. She’s as white as a sheet, and her breathing is labored. She continues to push, but she’s barely conscious between contractions. I look down at Dean, and his arms and shirt are covered in blood.

  I don’t know anything about having a baby, but I do know this isn’t right. If I don’t get her to a hospital soon, I’m going to lose Julie and the baby. “We need to get her to the hospital.”

  “She doesn’t have time. If we move her, she and the baby will both die.”

  His words send a chill down my spine. I can’t lose them. I can’t.

  From the corner of my eye, I see Becca sneak into the room. She taps Bethany on the shoulder and motions for her to leave the room. Before Bethany can even get up, Dean screams at her. “If you fucking leave this room, sister, I’ll kill the baby before it’s even out. I may want Julie to live, but I don’t care what happens to her bastard child.”

  When he says that, I fucking flip. Not thinking about the damage my actions may cause, I let go of Julie and charge at him. As I tackle him to the floor, I yell for the girls to help Julie. “Take care of her.”

  Time and time again, I send my fist into his face. I have him pinned to the ground by the time the police walk through the door. I continue to hold him down as Becca explains what is going on. One of the officers finally pulls me away from the bastard, and I make my way over to Julie. She’s out cold now, but I can still see her stomach contracting.

  “Where’s the ambulance?” I scream to no one in particular.

  “It’s en route and should be here soon.” the same officer that pulled me off Dean says.

  I grab Julie’s hand and start to pray. It seems to take forever before I hear the ambulance’s siren coming down the road. Everything moves quickly then. The paramedics place Julie on the gurney and are out the door within minutes. I start to follow her, but stop when I hear Jenny calling me.

  “Daddy!” she screams and runs to me. She’s still in her pajamas, and tears are streaming down her face. I reach down and pick her up. Holding her close, I do my best to soothe her.

  “It’s okay, Sweet Pea. Everything’s going to be just fine,” I say as I rush to Matty’s truck. My hands are shaking as I get her buckled up in the back seat then start to climb into the driver’s seat.

  Matty pulls me back. “Let me drive, man. You ride in back with your daughter. She’s scared to death. I found her curled up inside her fucking toy box,” he finishes in a whisper.

  I don’t take time to process what he says. I just climb in the backseat and pull Jenny close. Bethany climbs into the other side and slides close to Jenny. She grabs her hand and starts to whisper in her ear. I pull my arm from between them and wrap it around Bethany too. I pull them both in close, needing my girls near. We huddle together all the way to the hospital.

  Chapter 30

  Jase

  Staying here in this fucking waiting room is pissing me off. I need answers, and I need them now. No one has come out to tell me any damn thing! Pop comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down, boy. You aren’t making the situation any better.”

  “Fuck calm. I want to know how my woman and kid are!” I yell out.

  “I know, son, but you have to calm down, or they will kick your ass out. Julie needs you here.”

  I start to yell
again but stop when I see Bethany walk into the room. She’s been in another room getting seen to, only agreeing to go after Jenny fell asleep. She looks like she now has more than a few stitches. I think about the beating she must have taken to earn them, and wish I could have killed the fucker when I had the chance.

  She walks straight to me and wraps her arms around me. “Have you heard anything?”

  I know if I open my mouth that I will scream. She doesn’t need that. I find the willpower to shake my head no as I wrap my arms around her and place a kiss to the top of her head.

  “I’m so sorry, Jase,” she says, tears filling her eyes.

  I don’t even have time to respond before Matty walks over. “You do not have shit to be sorry for, girl. This was your brother’s doing. It has nothing to do with you or anyone else.”

  Bethany looks over to him and shakes her head. “That’s not true.”

  “Yes, it is! This is not your fault,” I say, giving her a squeeze. I will not let anyone take responsibility for this shit, especially the woman who took a beating, but still stayed by Julie’s side. No one but that fucking psycho Dean.

  She pulls away from me. “That may be true, but it does have something to do with Brittany.”

  “What?” Matty and I both ask.

  “Brittany was the one giving Dean Julie’s new numbers. She also gave Dean the key to the house. She had copies made before we even moved in.”

  Matty looks to me. “How did she even know about Dean in the first place?”

  As soon as Matty asks, I hear a gasp. I turn around, and Becca is standing behind me with tears running down her face. “I did it.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask, but it comes out sounding more like a roar.

  She shakes her head. “I didn’t know.”