Chapter 16 #2
She curls into me as I pick her up, either finding comfort in me being here or the fight is leaving her. Just as I’m about to place her on the shower floor, I think better of it. One of the worst feelings is the feeling of wet, soggy clothes that are freezing cold clinging to your skin.
“I’m goin’ to set you down for a second.
You with me?” I get a subtle chin tuck in acknowledgement.
Fuck. I haven’t been this nervous to take a girl’s clothes off since that time when I was fifteen and finally got Stacy Davidson alone for the first time.
“I’m goin’ to turn around and let you take your clothes off.
I just want you to sit in the shower for a second.
I promise it will make you feel a little better, okay? ”
Sutton’s lifeless eyes are staring a hole into the small dent in the wall from when I was kicking my boots off shitfaced one night and it went flying into the wall.
Knowing she’s with me enough to understand, I turn around to face the wall as I wait for her to undress.
My ears strain to listen for when she’s done and the curtain pulling back and close over the sound of the water hitting the shower walls, but I hear nothing.
“You in?”
Silence.
“Sutton?”
Once again, nothing.
“I’m turnin’ around.” I warn before slowly turning, expecting to see the outline of her shadowed figure through the curtain inside the tub.
My heart drops at seeing Sutton in the same spot on the bathroom floor that I set her down in.
Tears are streaming down her face as her eyes hold no emotion but so much emotion all at the same time.
Her eyes, in this moment, will always haunt me. If I could take every ounce of pain and hurt away so she never experiences it again, I would. I’d do it in a fucking heartbeat.
Her knees are pulled against her chest as her quivering arms are locked around her shins, keeping her in a tight ball.
“Alright, bunny. I’ll do it,” I murmur before crouching down to her level.
“I know you aren’t ready to talk yet but I’ve gotta ask, did he—fuck,” I curse, hanging my head.
I can’t bring myself to say it. If I say it and it’s not the answer I want to hear, I won’t stop until I find that piece of shit tonight.
Clearing my throat, I try again, “Did he force himself on you?” I’m barely holding it together here and the longer she takes to answer, the more on edge I become. “Sutton?”
I stop breathing as the tears flow even harder until they’re pouring off of her jawline.
Fuck.
I’m going to fucking kill him.
Inhaling deeply, I try to rein it in.
“It’s okay, bunny. I’m here.” I try my best to comfort her, but it’s hard to do when I’m picturing myself cutting off his dick and shoving it up his ass. “I’m goin’ to see where Doc is.”
I start to stand, bringing her with me to set her back on the counter .
“I’ll be right back. Whatever you do, don’t get in the shower yet. The rest of my space is yours, though.”
“No,” she says barely above a whisper.
“Bunny.” Fuck, this is not what I want to be talking to her about. “Justice will be served for what he did to you. Regardless if you want something to happen to him or not, it’s fucking happenin’. I won’t be gone long. I just need to step out for a second to talk to my brothers.”
For the first time since I brought her back here, she lifts her head and looks me in the eye. “He didn’t rape me.”
“Sutton, now is not the time to cover for that piece of shit. Look at your fuckin’ throat,” I growl, the rage I had so carefully contained coming out.
If I was a good man, her visible flinching would have me apologizing and taking it back, but I’m not a good man. I’m the man that’s always going to find my own form of justice. I’m the devil disguised in tattoos, ready to kill any motherfucker who gets in my way.
“I’m not covering for him!” she screams, her wild eyes are bloodshot from crying.
“Okay.” I raise my hands in defense, trying to calm her down. If she hadn’t been looking me in the eye, I don’t know if I would have been so inclined to believe her. “Can we get you cleaned up?”
She swallows as she tightly nods, looking anywhere but me. I wait patiently for her to make the first move, but nothing happens. She looks like she’s starting to zone back out.
“Do you want me to step out?”
After a long moment, she shakes her head, burning a bigger hole into the spot on the wall from before.
Once again, she doesn’t make a move to strip.
Sutton doesn’t protest as I close my eyes, slowly pulling the hem of her shirt up.
Just as I think I’m nearing her shoulders and almost have it off, the shirt gets caught.
I’ve undressed enough women in my lifetime that I should be able to do this with my fucking eyes closed, but this is different.
This feels different .
Staying true to my word, I keep my eyes closed as I try to get the back of her shirt off the hook of her bra.
Little goosebumps pepper her skin where my calloused finger grazes her skin.
Sutton raises her arms above her head, and I pull her shirt the rest of the way off, discarding it on the floor.
Her bra, panties, and ugly khakis follow suit.
Now would be the time to burn those fucking things.
“Do you need my help gettin’ in?”
Knowing her, she’s probably responding with her head, and I can’t fucking see it.
“Sutton? My eyes are still closed. Just give me a yes or no and I’ll leave you to it.”
“No,” she says, voice quiet.
And that’s my cue.
Without another word, I leave the bathroom, making sure she hears me close the door.
What am I getting into with her?