3. - – Charlotte
CHAPTER THREE
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CHARLOTTE
~A month later~
It’s been a month since I moved in with Chad, and I’m trying to get my feet on the ground.
I work in the office of the guys’ garage.
It isn’t hard; all I really do is make sure the paperwork is filed correctly, and things get paid on time.
The customers have been nothing but amazing, except for an asshole named Kyle.
Go figure on that one. He gives me the creeps.
All he does is stare at me. Chad has talked to him, and Theodore has threatened him, but this asshole hasn’t gotten the hint.
I’m sitting at the front desk, looking up a list of parts for Chad for a lovely older lady’s car. When the bell chimes, letting me know someone has come in, I don’t even look up from the computer when I let out a greeting and let them know I’ll be with them in a minute.
“Hello, Charlotte,” A familiar voice calls out.
My heart skips a beat as the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
I slowly look up, and there's Jeff, standing in the middle of the front of the store, staring at me. With shaking hands, I press the little button that’s on the underside of my desk.
This little button sends a sound into the shop and an SOS text to both Chad and Theodore’s phones.
“How may I help you, sir?” I ask through gritted teeth, proud of myself for not sounding scared, even though I am one hundred percent scared.
Jeff just stares at me, causing goose bumps to spread across my arms. Everything in my body is screaming for me to run. But I’m frozen in my seat, pressing the button, praying someone comes and they come fast.
“Charlotte, why did you leave? I said I was sorry. You just made me so mad,” Jeff says in a sad voice.
“That didn’t give you the right to put your hands on me,” I say.
I watch as Jeff’s jaw clenches, and anger flashes in his eyes.
My body flinches away in memory of that look.
My eyes go wide as Jeff starts walking towards the desk.
I hurry up and get out of the chair and try to make a run for the door leading to the shop.
But just as my fingers touch the doorknob, I’m being yanked back by my hair.
Jeff has a fistful as he forces me to look at him.
“Such a stupid little girl, you think your brother is going to keep me away from what belongs to me?” Jeff says.
Tears are burning my eyes as I try to pull his hand away from my hair. My eyes go wide as I watch Jeff ball up his other hand into a fist, and he slams it into my face. I hear a crunch, and I sob as pain screams across my face. He decides to punch me one more time.
“I really don’t want to ruin this pretty face, but you need to learn. I can do whatever I want to you. BECAUSE I FUCKING OWN YOU!” he yells in my face.
I go limp, which causes him to take it as a sign of submission. He doesn’t let go of my hair, but with the hand he used to punch me, he runs it down my body and painfully squeezes my breast. An ugly sob rips through me as he continues to grope me.
“It’s been a fucking month, Charlotte. A fucking month!” he spits out.
I whimper as his hand leaves my breast and flies to his pants as he struggles to undo the button and zipper.
Once his pants are loose, he pulls out his dick and forces my head towards it.
He shoves his dick into my mouth and begins to fuck it roughly.
Tears are streaming down my face as I try to push him away.
The thought of biting him crosses my mind.
“If you think about biting my dick, those punches to the face are going to look like child's play when I get done with you. And then I’m gonna beat the shit out of your brother and his little buddy and make them watch as I fuck you,” he growls out.
I dig my nails into my palm and squeeze my eyes shut, praying to anyone who will listen to me to save me from this. When the door of the shop slams open, it causes me to jump, and Jeff curses. In that moment of distraction, I shove him away from me. Jeff stumbles back, falling on his bare ass.
“YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!” Theodore yells from behind me.
I squeeze my eyes shut once again as I sob to myself, listening to Jeff getting the holy fuck beat out of him. I pull my knees to my chest, burying my face into them while all of this happens.
THEODORE
The rage that is consuming my body is something I have never felt before, not even with my sister.
I hate myself for not coming sooner, but Chad and I were, unfortunately, elbow deep in an engine, and we both thought she bumped it with her knee, once again.
But the moment I opened that door and saw that bastard with Charlotte on her knees and him shoving his dick in her mouth, I lost it.
I rushed past Charlotte and grabbed his shirt as I began to slam my fist into his face, over and over again.
Blood splattered across my face as his nose snapped against my fist. All I could see in this rage was Charlotte's tear-stained face.
I feel someone grab my shoulder and yank me off of Jeff. I yell and curse at the person who pulls me off, but in the struggle, I manage to stomp on his dick twice before being shoved to the desk.
“Theodore, what the fuck is going on?” Chad asks.
“He forced himself on Charlotte! This sick fuck was forcing her to suck him!” I shout, my chest heaving.
I was ready to go back to him, just thinking about what else this poor excuse of a worm was going to do to her.
When a broken whimper breaks the silence, my head whips around to the sound, and there is Charlotte curled into herself.
My heart breaks at the sight of her. I slowly walk over to her, freezing when I see her flinch.
“Charlotte, hey, it's me,” I whisper to her while crutching down.
She pulls her head up and looks at me for a brief moment before launching herself at me. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, rubbing her back and rocking both of us slightly while heavy sobs rack her body.
“Josh!” Chad shouts.
I hear the door to the shop open again and a bunch of curses.
“Help me with the trash!” Chad says.
I barely pay them any attention. My focus is on this broken woman in my arms. I stroke her head while whispering calming things into her ear.
Her sobs begin to calm down, but she is still shaking.
I get up while holding her and head to the shop's door and walk through, going to the stairs that lead to a loft with a shower. I open the loft’s door and shut it behind me, turning the lock.
“Charlotte, I’m going to sit you down and go start a shower, okay?” I whisper softly.
Her arms tighten around me, and the sobs grow stronger as she shakes her head no.
“Okay, okay… I won’t put you down, but I’m still gonna get that shower going,” I say.
Slowly walking towards the small bathroom, I open the door and turn the lights on.
Doing this one-handed is a struggle, but with the death grip she has on me, I know she isn't going to let go of me.
I let out a sigh while trying to figure out how I am going to make this work.
I pull Charlotte closer to me and with one hand, I turn the shower on and patiently wait for the temp to become perfect.
“Charlotte, the shower is ready. Do you want me to leave the room while you get undressed?” I ask gently.
She shakes her head no, and I let out a sigh, “Well, I’m gonna put you down and turn around so you can get undressed and get in the shower.”
She nods her head, so I put her down and turn to face the door, blankly staring at it, waiting patiently for Charlotte to get in the shower.
“It's safe to turn around.” She says softly.
I turn around, and standing in front of me is a very naked Charlotte.
A low groan leaves my lips as I look up at the ceiling.
Good lord, give me the strength to not make a fool out of myself.
I hear Charlotte moving, so I briefly look at her, and she's standing in front of me. She’s looking at me with her big, beautiful green eyes, full of uncertainty and need.
I feel all of my blood rush to my dick, and I have to close my eyes and take deep, calming breaths, praying and hoping for once I don’t think with the wrong head.
My eyes snap open when I feel Charlotte pressing herself against me.
“Charlotte, what are you doing?” I ask tentatively.
“I want… No, I need you.” She whispers.
I stare at her. I’ve been waiting. No craving to hear her say that, but not like this.
Not after everything she went through. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing the words I was about to say to her were going to destroy this moment, and there was a high chance of them destroying anything in the future.
“Charlotte, as much as I want this. We can’t not after what he did to you. This is trauma speaking. And I don’t want you to regret this after. I’m so sorry, but no.” I say as gently as possible while removing her from me.
I see the rejection, the hurt, and the confusion flash in her eyes.
I turn around and walk out of the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
I start walking to the door of the loft when I hear heartbreaking sobs coming from the bathroom.
I have to fight every instinct I have that’s screaming at me to turn around and go comfort her.
But I know that would send mixed messages, and I can’t do that to her.
So I continue with my departure from the loft and from the woman I was falling in love with.
I stop at the bottom of the stairs. Chad and Josh are both in the office talking in hushed voices. They stop talking and stare at me. They must see something written on my face cause Josh excuses himself and goes back into the garage, giving Chad and I the room.
“How is she?” Chad asks.
“She’s in shock, she’s confused, and she now probably hates me,” I say.
Chad looks at me for a second, “Theo, I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head, “It’s not your fault, but I think it’s best if I take a week or two off. So one she doesn’t have to see, and two so I can clear my head and figure out if I can fix this.”
Chad just nods, and I leave the shop.