Chapter 19
WREN
Nightmares woke me multiple times through the night, and Axel was there through it all. Every time I startled awake. Every time I cried. Every time I screamed. He was there. He comforted me and held me until I fell asleep again.
I wake up and see the sun peeking through the blinds in his bedroom and sigh. I made it through one night, but only with Axel’s help.
He’s sleeping beside me, so I try to move off the bed without waking him, but I’m unsuccessful. He reaches out and pulls me into his arms.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs softly, his voice still thick with sleep.
“I’m okay,” I whisper. “It’s daylight.”
He blinks his eyes open and moves to a sitting position, taking me in. “Did you get some sleep?”
“Thanks to you,” I tell him, leaning over to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
“Good. Have you thought anymore about seeing a doctor?”
I sigh. “Yeah, I think I need to. I don’t know if he gave me a concussion.”
“I can take you whenever you’re ready, baby.”
I nod my head and chew on my lip. “I think I need to see a therapist, too. Maybe they can give me some coping mechanisms.”
His shoulders sag. “I think that’s a really great idea.”
“This isn’t going to define me,” I tell him, stubbornly lifting my chin. “I shouldn’t even be this affected. It’s not like he raped me.”
“I know you won’t,” he murmurs with pride in his eyes.
“But of course, you’re affected by this.
He tried to take something from you that you didn’t want him to have.
He beat you and defiled you with his come.
Sexual assault is traumatizing. I just want you to know that we’ll be here for you every step of the way. ”
I know the club will be. That’s the one thing I know for sure. I have a support system. I will get through this.
I climb back off the bed and go in search of my bags.
I find them by the door and search my purse until I find my phone.
I have so many messages from Sophie and Axel that I can’t go through them all.
I look at a few of Axel’s where he explains what I heard and asks if he heard his and Rowan’s response to it.
I didn’t. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have left.
Maybe if I had, none of this would have happened.
I can’t let myself think like that, though.
I open Sophie’s text thread and send her a message.
Wren: I’m awake if you and Grayson want to come over.
Sophie: OMG! I’ve been so worried about you. We’re coming over now.
Wren: I’m okay. Come to Axel’s suite.
Sophie: Be there in ten minutes.
I walk back into the bedroom with my bags in tow and chuckle when Axel jumps up to take them from me. The sound is almost foreign to me, like I didn’t think I’d ever hear it again, but it makes me hopeful that Dylan didn’t break me. No matter how hard he tried.
“Sophie and Grayson are on their way to check on me,” I tell him. “I told them to come to your suite to talk, is that okay?”
“Of course, it is,” he says as he puts my bags back in the closet and bathroom. He walks back out with a black, Sovereign Sons sweatshirt and hands it over to me. “I thought you might like something comfortable to wear today,” he offers.
My eyes burn from his kindness. “Thank you,” I murmur before holding it to my nose and smelling it. It smells like him, and I slip it over my head and revel in the extra layer of protection it gives me.
I walk back into the closet and grab a pair of leggings from my bag, quickly slipping them on and walking back out so I can be ready when Sophie and Gray show up.
Axel walks back into the closet and grabs a t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants to wear.
I walk into the living room while he gets dressed and take a seat on the couch.
I bite on my fingernails nervously while I wait. I know I’m going to have to tell Sophie and Grayson what happened and I’m not looking forward to it. I know it’s what I have to do if I want the club to get justice for me, though.
Axel walks into the living room right before there’s a knock on the door. I jump at the sound and curse myself for being so skittish. Axel walks over and looks at me in question before he opens it. I nod and stand from the couch, tucking my hands into the sleeves of his sweatshirt.
I watch as my best friend barrels into the room and rushes over to me. Her hand covers her mouth as she takes me in and then, in the next second, I’m crushed to her chest.
“Ow,” I grumble against her shirt.
“I’m sorry,” she says through her tears, holding me just as tight.
I look over her shoulder and see Grayson walk in with Lily in his arms. They must have had someone look after Asher, though, because he’s not with them. Thank God for that.
Sophie clings to me for so long that Grayson walks over and gently pulls her away.
“Let’s let Wren tell us what happened,” he tells her softly.
She nods her head and gives me a weak smile before letting Grayson guide her to a seat on one of the couches. I sit down and Axel takes the seat beside me, gently clasping my knee in support.
“Dylan attacked me. I overheard something that upset me last night and I ran like a bat out of hell,” I admit, not wanting anyone to blame Luke for what happened.
“I was upset, and it caused a migraine to start. I was distracted when I got to my apartment and by the time I realized someone was behind me, it was too late,” I continue watching Sophie’s face turn emotional and Grayson’s turn murderous.
“He tackled me inside my house and kicked the door shut. I tried like hell to fight him off,” I say my voice cracking as I rub over my busted knuckles.
“He was too strong, though. He surprised me. I kicked him, I scratched him, I even bit him, but it didn’t stop anything.
He smashed my head into the ground and then,” I bite back the sob that tries to escape and Axel scoots closer to me, lending me his strength.
“And then he jerked off while straddling me. He came all over my pelvis and then a sound scared him off. He said that he would see me soon so he could finish what he started.”
Sophie’s sobs fill the room as she mourns what happened to me. My breathing quickens as I try to fight off the emotions I’m feeling and Axel stays by my side, strong and steady.
“Do you want to go to the cops?” Grayson asks.
I take a deep breath and look at him. “No, I want club justice.”
I see a spark in his eyes. “You don’t even have to ask.”
“What can I do for you?” Sophie asks with tears in her eyes.
I shrug. “Just be there if I need to talk? I don’t really know right now. I still feel a little numb. He’s not going to win, though and it could have been so much worse.”
“He already lost when he chose to fuck with you,” Axel growls.
“Damn right, he did,” Grayson agrees. “We’ll let you get some rest. Just let us know if you need anything,” he tells me as he nudges Sophie from the couch.
She rushes over and hugs me again. I cling to her and savor the closeness from my best friend. We pull apart way too soon and then Grayson is hugging me.
“We’ll kill him,” he whispers, and I nod my head eagerly.
He pats Axel on the back before they leave the suite. Axel brushes his hand over my back. “Are you okay?”
I nod my head. I do feel better after getting that off my chest. I know I have a long way to go, though.
“Can you take me to the clinic?” I ask.
He nods. “Let’s go.”