Chapter 66 #3
He shakes his head, and I swallow over the lump in my throat. “Vinny was there when I got arrested, and I can’t blame him for hating me then… I would’ve hated him for killing you too. It made sense.”
“Okay…” I say shakily, watching him as his face saddens.
“I sat at the police station for days, then finally got bail. Came home and Kai was here waiting for me. He basically just told me I was dead to them, blahblahblah, tough-guy Kai shit. You know how he is.” He rolls his eyes.
I nod, and he continues. “A few days later, him and Vinny show up on my doorstep, push inside, and Vinny beats the shit out of me.”
He chokes on the last word, and a tear slides down his cheek before he quickly pushes it away. I tighten my grip on him and scoot closer, trying to give him the comfort he needs to continue.
“I don’t blame him, Sage,” he says, his voice cracking with sadness. “He was so fucked up that you were gone. Plus, he thought I killed you, and he wanted to fucking punish me. I know that he needed to do what he did to show me that he could.”
Beckham brushes another tear from his cheek and clears his throat before he meets my gaze.
“Vinny told Kai to hold me down so he could fuck me.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head as nausea overcomes my senses, twisting like a knot in my stomach, the memory of my own recent assault coming back to me.
“I can’t get the fucking memory out of my head, Sage. I can’t fucking stop thinking about him like that, the fucking man I love, taking advantage of me because he wanted to show me he was more powerful than me. I know that I deserved it, bu—”
I cut him off, opening my eyes and putting a hand to his cheek. “You didn’t deserve that.”
He looks at me, and he’s so fucking dejected I want to scream. I want to make it better, make him better, but most of all, I want to show him that he’s not fucking alone in this. He doesn’t need to suffer in silence with this.
“We’re going to get through all of this leftover trauma, Beckham.” I move closer, putting my legs around his waist as I scoot onto his lap to plaster my body to his. “We’re going to fucking survive this. We’re here, and we’re together, and I’ll never let anything happen to you again.”
He shakes his head softly, then he kisses me hard enough that I groan on impact.
My mouth opens, and he angles his head to mine to deepen our connection, his hands threading into my hair to control the movements of my lips.
After a minute, he pulls back, his chest heaving.
“I love you, Savage. I love you so fucking much.”
I slide my hands under his shirt to feel his burning skin. “I love you too, Beckham.”
He kisses me again, his fingers pulling my hair softly as we fall back into the chaotic mess of our kiss, and that’s how we stay for a long time, our bodies pressed together in the shadow of the broken crypt, our trauma pooled around our feet as we kiss like long-lost lovers coming back together again, once and for all.
I feel anxious as we leave the cemetery, the image of Beckham being taken advantage of on a loop in my mind. I want to make it better for him. I want to find a way to help him heal from what was done to him, and at the same time, I want to find a way to heal from my own assault.
By the time we’re back inside my house, I know how to handle the feelings that I have left over from everything my uncle did to me.
Before we left the cemetery, Beckham made me promise I wouldn’t say anything to Kaiden and Vinny about it, even though I’m so angry I want to tear them apart. It’s his trauma, though. He gets to decide when it’s brought up, and I understand that.
Kai and Vinny are sitting at the kitchen table when we get back, both of them eating cereal.
“Morning,” I say, kicking my shoes off and pulling my hoodie over my head.
“Where have you two been?” Kai asks, anger in his eyes.
“We went to the cemetery,” I say, feeling angry for my own reasons too. “Is that okay?”
Kaiden gives me a look, one that screams trouble, and then licks his lips as he takes a breath through his nose. “Maybe you shouldn’t disappear without a word a day after returning home from being kidnapped?”
“She was with me,” Beckham cuts in, sitting down and grabbing the box of cereal in the center of the table.
Kaiden shoots daggers at Beckham, and I sigh as I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
His hand slides around my thigh, and he pulls me onto his lap so he can speak into my ear quietly. “At least take your phone if you’re going to go somewhere, okay?”
The tone of his voice tells me that he was genuinely worried, the fear of me leaving hitting a nerve I didn’t even think to consider. I can understand why he was freaked out; he woke up, and I was gone.
“I’m sorry,” I say, kissing his throat. “It won’t happen again.”
“Good,” he says, putting some confidence back into his tone as he slides his hand up my back and into my hair. “Now give me a kiss good morning.”
Grinning, I put my mouth on his so he can kiss me, and his hands tighten in my hair for a moment before he pulls away.
He pats my ass, signaling for me to get up, and I stand so he can take his bowl to the sink.
Vinny reaches for me, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer so he can kiss me as well. It’s quick, close-lipped, and over too soon, so I lean back in and grab his jaw, sucking on his lower lip for a moment before his large hands slide around my thighs and grab my ass.
He pulls away again, groaning, “Princess.”
“I want you,” I breathe. “So bad.”
A hand threads into the back of my hair and massages my scalp lovingly, and then Kaiden’s voice cuts through the tension. “There’s no time for that, baby. We need to be at the university in twenty minutes to re-enroll you.”
I groan, leaning my head back to look at Kaiden. “Seriously? Today? I just got home.”
He chuckles. “It’s almost February. We can’t afford to miss any more time.”
I roll my eyes, and Kai pulls my hair, making me hiss. “Kaiden.”
“Go get dressed. We’re leaving in ten.” He kisses my lips, then lets go of my hair and walks back to the sink. “All of you.”