Drayton #2
My mouth opened to tell him to stop talking so that I could check on her, but something was triggering me to be silent… The colors? Memories? Is that what was trying to come?
“I don’t know. I slept?”
Elec’s head shook. “Try again.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I don’t remember anything else but that.”
He went to speak, stopping as he scanned for Quinn but turned to Jaxson. “This is very important. I need you to go and have your brother and Marian’s things packed as quickly as possible. Can you do that?”
“Is she okay?”
“No. Don’t say a word to anyone. Have their things packed and taken to my driver and pack some things for yourself. You have five minutes. Be fast.”
He nodded, rushing from the room. My fingers curled harder into Marian’s shoulder, and she was still crying.
“Marian, talk to me right now. What the hell happened?”
She sobbed, but Elec was on me so fast, I couldn’t prepare. He grabbed the tie at my throat, jerking me towards him, right over the front of Marian.
“What the hell did you do last night?”
I pried his hand away, feeling the beast within me rage. I wasn’t sure how I managed not to attack him. “I told you I don’t fucking remember.”
“Do you remember this?”
He spun Marian’s chair so that she faced me. He moved in, leveling his head next to hers as he eased her shirt down over her chest. The dark bruising had my blood boiling. The further he drew it down, the worse it became.
“Who the fuck did that to you?”
A painstaking cry filled the room, and Elec’s finger came out to point at me. Even as it did, my fist drew in, and out, and in, and out.
“She says you did that.”
“No. I had the cane. I… I was careful.”
“After. That. What happened?”
My lids slightly squinted as I tried forcing my mind to think.
“I…” Harder, I pushed the thoughts, seeing a flash of Elec. Seeing… “You were in my room last night.”
Anger faded from Elec’s face, but something else replaced it. Something I couldn’t quite gauge.
“I was. So, you remember that?”
A sound left me from the slight stabbing in my brain as I tried to force the memories.
“I remember you were there. I don’t remember why.” My head shook. “Why were you there?”
A pause. “I thought it was odd that you asked when I got here. I came over to talk to Jaxson. I checked to see if you were awake to get your approval to invite him to the group, so I knocked on your door.” His head shook. “You invited me in, Drayton. You don’t remember our conversation?”
Darkness overtook me as I closed my lids. My headache was getting worse. It was a constant throb. A stabbing when I tried to force myself to think.
“I don’t.”
“You were telling me about your day. It wasn’t anything important. We all talked, but she says after I left and you both went to bed, you did this to her. I can’t stress how this is not acceptable. Did you hurt her after I left you, Drayton Pennington?”
My stare went back to Marian. I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know. I stood, easing her to her feet. The way she curled into herself. The time it took her to even straighten out… How hadn’t I realized that earlier? Had I not wanted to? Hadn’t I even forced her to hurry on our way here from breakfast?
I could hardly take a full breath as I reached for the bottom of her baggy sweater.
Elec came around, cursing immediately as I pulled it to just under her breasts.
Horror. That’s all I could feel as the room seemed to move underneath my feet.
Dark purple bruises blotched across the surface, from underneath the band of her tights to the lining of her bra.
Flashes blinded me. Flashes of Elec next to my bed.
Flashes…of him leaving. Hit…after hit as Marian lay in bed asleep.
The sight sent me stumbling back, and I felt sick.
“You fucking answer me right now, Drayton Pennington. Did you do that to her after I left?”
“Drayton, please. Drayton, no.”
Her cries took me over as I watched her curl into a ball at the impacts. The sight had me turning to place my hand on the wall to try to stop the sway.
“I haven’t been sleeping. I can’t. My fucking head. It always hurts. But I was finally… sleeping. I… was… and then. I did. Fuck… I… I think I did. I—”
Marian’s body spasmed, and she cried out as she fell to her knees. I dove down just as Elec did, feeling his hand slam into my shoulder to push me away from her. I saw nothing but her as she fought between crying and curling deeper within herself.
“Marian, I swear I didn’t mean to do that. Marian, I don’t know what happened. God. Jesus.”
“Calm. Down.” Elec growled. “Possible baby comes first. Marian, are you bleeding? Are there any signs that you could be pregnant or miscarrying?”
Marian’s head shook. “I’m late, but I’m not bleeding. I do hurt. I hurt everywhere.”
“Alright. …We can’t take her to a normal hospital,” Elec ground out.
“That’s what we need. But not like this.
Word will get out. It’s too dangerous. Fuck.
” His fist rose to me and held. “When we get her settled, you’re going to tell me what happened after I left, and you’re going to fucking remember everything.
If you did this, we fix it. But if you didn’t.
” His head moved in closer to Marian, right next to her ear, “and someone else caused this. They are dead.”