4. Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Wolf
Shaking my head, I watch her slink around the side of the house. Of course, she snuck out. The wholesome reverend’s daughter shouldn’t be out partying with the likes of me.
I know what that asshole says about us in his sermons and the irony isn’t lost on me. While he preaches about our sins, his faithful parishioner, Bay River’s Sheriff, has his hands in all kinds of dirty dealings, including if my father’s suspicions were correct, diddling underage girls.
The reverend is the ultimate hypocrite but that’s fine, he can say whatever the fuck he wants if he stays out of our business. As for the sheriff, his day is coming, he just don’t know it yet.
Lilli is nothing like her sister, who leads my brother around by his dick. Truthfully, when he admitted that he knocked Miriam Abernathy up, I wondered what he saw in his girl. I mean, c’mon, who would want to bag an uptight daughter of a self-proclaimed righteous man? Talk about a cold encounter.
Color me surprised though because beneath all Lilli Abernathy’s layers of clothes and polite manners is a beautiful young woman just waiting to be plucked.
Maybe that’s what caught Duke’s attention. A woman like that, who looks at you with wide sparkling eyes, would do whatever you fucking wanted.
Her pretty, dark stare lingers in my vision and that hair, fuck me, thick and luscious, brushing her ass.
With a sigh, I push the image of those ripe titties from my head and put the truck in gear. Little Lillith Abernathy is so far off-fucking-limits, she should come with a warning sign.
Although after that little stunt at the track, I wonder if secretly she’s a freak in the sheets. Why did she go back to the track? I’ve never seen her there before the last time and it was obvious to see she didn’t belong.
Perhaps she’s rebelling against the bullshit spewing from her hypocritical dad’s lips. If that’s the case, maybe she’s not a virgin.
“Fuck me,” I groan, shifting my aching dick. Her creamy skin glowed in the lowlights. The prettiest pink nipples I’ve ever seen dared me for a taste which is why I gave into temptation and touched her.
Soft, like satin and oh-so-fucking smooth. She was so responsive that I can only imagine what it would have been like if I took it further.
Luckily, someone came along before I made a huge mistake. Fucking her would have come with consequences I have no plans to accept, especially because she’s still in high school.
Jail-fucking-bait. While she's sitting home doing homework, I’m out hunting down our enemies…and it’s not to grab a beer and chat about territory.
Nope, those men are running scared for a reason. Thoughts of which send a chill down my spine.
She’s a good girl with an asshole dad. I’m just an asshole. I might like to play but that’s where it would end.
I’m not about to set up house like my brother. Fuck no.
My phone rings, breaking me from my thoughts, and with one hand on the wheel, I put it on speaker.
“What?”
“Bro,” Duke says.
“Yeah?”
“Joker told me to call you. Something about meeting him at the track.”
Fuck. I forgot. As soon as I saw Lilli, I had to get her out of there. It’s clear from the way she was gazing at everything that she’s too fucking naive to protect herself.
Once she met my gaze, I confirmed she was also fucked up. Why the fuck do I care whether she’s out getting high? She ain’t my problem but I swooped in anyway and like an idiot, I left Joker high and dry while I brought the little troublemaker home.
This is why I don’t do this shit. Women are trouble, no matter the form they take.
“Got it,” I mutter. “I need you tomorrow.”
“Okay, what…uh, gotta go.”
“Wait. What the fuck, Duke?”
“Look, it’s Miriam’s sister. I’ll call you back.”
He hangs up before I can question him further and I shake my head. If that’s sweet little Lilli, I might have to spank her ass for not listening.
Lilli
Hoping I can lie and get away with it, I sneak through my window on tenterhooks only to slump when no one emerges with the belt.
Shoot. Maybe they didn’t notice?
“You thought you could bring sin to my house?” Daddy yells.
Glancing up, I tiptoe to the door, spying Mercy with her head poking out of her room when I step into the hall.
Rachel appears above her and meets my stare with a glare which I ignore, before tiptoeing down the hall toward Daddy’s shouts.
“You little whore,” he says, and I pause on the threshold to the living room.
My head is still spinning from the combination of alcohol and drugs that I consumed and I’m regretting every bit of it as I peek around the wall.
At first, all I see is daddy staring at the floor with the whip in his hands, but the couch blocks my view until I step to the side.
The picture of Jesus hanging over the mantel mocks me, and I can’t contain my gasp as Daddy shouts, “Do you hear me?”
No one notices my presence while Daddy rages at Miriam lying on the floor. She’s clutching her stomach and my belly cramps at the sight of her ashen face.
Tears roll down her cheeks but she’s silent. I can’t let this happen. Does he know what he’s doing? Does he know that she’s pregnant?
Turning to Mama, I stumble in her direction, hoping she’ll intervene which is foolish because she’s standing back with her arms crossed and a weird smile on her face.
Daddy raises the whip again and I step forward, my knees shaking violently as I sob, “Stop. Please.”
Daddy looks up, his dark eyes black, and says, “Go back to your room.”
“Daddy,” I plead but he turns back to Miriam, raising his foot.
“No,” I scream, rushing forward but Mama catches my arm and pulls me back.
Wrenching on her hand, I cry out when Daddy kicks Miriam, only to collapse when Mama slaps me across the face.
With wide eyes, I look up at her, clutching my throbbing cheek. Her feral gaze makes me shrink, but when Miriam cries out, I drop to my knees and crawl toward her.
Daddy believes in corporal punishment, but we’ve never been beaten like this, never like this.
Miriam flinches, curling inward as Daddy raises the whip and strikes her, his eyes wild. “You little whore. You think you can bring shame to my family?”
Shaking my head, I reach out my hand, but Mama grabs my hair and pulls me back.
“Please,” I sob as he brings that damn whip down on her head and shoulders three more times. Finally, he steps back and spits, “Get out of my house and don’t come back.”
It’s achingly quiet as he walks from the room. Mama follows and dazed, I stare at my sister until she whimpers, and I snap out of it, crawling to her.
“Miriam?”
She shudders and I move my hand over her body but I’m afraid to touch her, to hurt her more.
“Miriam? What can I do?”
“Leave.”
“What?” I say, dropping my hand.
“Help me leave,” she says, raising her tear-swollen eyes to mine.
Nodding, I wrap my arms around her waist and help her to stand, tears filling my eyes when she trembles in my hold.
What has he done? Why?
When I go to lead her toward our room, she shakes her head and rasps, “No.”
“But—“
“You heard him. I’m going.”
Where? My heart aches at the thought that she’s leaving us but now is not the time for selfishness. Miriam is hurting and if I can help her get somewhere safe, that’s what I have to do.
I’ll worry about what this means for the rest of us later.
“Okay,” I say shakily, leading her to the side door, where it takes me three tries to unlatch the lock because my hands are trembling so violently.
Once we step outside, the cool air soothes my raw cheeks, and I sniffle back more tears as Miriam says, “I shouldn’t ask this of you, but I can’t make it.”
“What? It’s okay,” I say, as she moves along the side of the house.
At the corner, she peeks around it before disappearing and I follow crouching before her as she sags against the side.
I can’t see the extent of her injuries, hidden beneath her clothes, but I hope her baby is okay. Thoughts of which send rage burning through my soul. How dare Daddy beat her knowing that she’s pregnant.
“You could get in trouble,” she warns, and I wave her concern away. I’ll do anything to help her. She’s my sister, after all.
“What?”
“Duke is waiting for me at the edge of the woods. Go. Bring him back.”
I glance back at the house, worried about leaving her here but she crawls toward the bushes where she hid the bag of contraband clothes and collapses to the ground.
“Go.”
As soon as she says it again, I take off down the street, running as fast as my legs will allow. The fresh air sobers me up a bit as I step into the woods and race along the path. My lungs burn and my side aches, but I don’t slow until I see Duke’s idling car.
He glances up, his smile fading when he sees me. After sliding into the passenger seat, I point down the road and gasp, “Go.”
“Miriam—“
“Go now. Please.”
He frowns but pulls away from the curb before following my fingers as I lead him through the neighborhood and down our street.
Two houses from ours, I raise my hand and say, “Turn it off.”
He puts the vehicle in park and turns it off before I wave for him to follow.
The only sound is our feet on the pavement as we go down the street and around the house.
At the bushes, I kneel in the dirt and whisper, “Miriam?”
When she groans, Duke drops to his knees and barks, “What the fuck?”
“Shh,” I hiss, glancing around with my heart in my throat. From here on out, Miriam will hopefully be safe, but god knows what the repercussions will be for me if I’m caught helping her.
“You have to go,” I say.
Duke makes a weird choking sound, his chest rising and falling rapidly before he half rises and says, “I’ll kill him.”
What? Oh shoot.
“No! Go, just go,” I say, grabbing his arm as he looks at me in the moonlight, his mouth in a snarl. For a moment, I don’t think he heard me and panic clenches my chest before he finally nods and drops back to his knees.
Silently, I watch as he gently picks Miriam up. When she groans, he flinches and pauses, staring hard at the house.
Please, just go , I silently plead, relieved when he carries her back around the side and toward his car.
Once she’s gone, I sag against the wall, holding back a sob. Will I ever see my sister again?
I pray the baby is okay as I back away. I can’t quite process what just happened, but I know that with my parents' rage and Miriam taking off everything has changed.
My spine prickles and I rub my hand down my face. If they find out that I helped her go, their rage will turn to me.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel fear, just a sense of rightness. It may be a small act of defiance and if I’m lucky, they will never know. However, I finally found the strength to stand up to them and the notion fills me with hope that I too can someday escape this nightmare.
In the distance, I hear the faint rumble of a car and sigh. I need to go back inside before I’m caught, and this becomes messier than it already is.
“Lilli?” Mercy says and I jump, grabbing my chest before turning to her.
“Mercy? What are you doing out here?” I whisper, pushing her toward my window.
After everything that just happened, I’m worried that Mama or Daddy will come to their senses and realize I was gone, which is why I’m relieved to find the room dark and empty.
“Can I sleep with you?” she whispers, and when I nod, she slides into the bed.
After quickly changing into my nightshirt, I hide Wolf’s shirt beneath the mattress before joining her.
Her tiny body trembles and I hug her close as I stare at the wall. Now that my drug and alcohol induced high is fading, tears fill my eyes, and I rub the ache in my chest.
Miriam is gone. What am I going to do now?