23. CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 23
KASON
“Where in the fuck is she?” I question out loud for probably the hundredth time tonight.
I came back from Charles’s to find my house empty. I wasn’t worried at first. I needed the time to get my thoughts and words together. I’m going to have to give my girl some hard news tonight and I don’t even know where to start.
How do you tell the woman you love that not only do you know who her biological dad is, but she has already met him?
She’s finally starting to let go of the past, and now I have to deliver the words that are going to push her right back into it.
When too much time passed, and she didn’t come home, I started to panic. I pulled out my phone to call her and realized I forgot to turn it back on. I noticed a missed call and voicemail from her and played it. She said she was going somewhere, but then the call cut off.
I called Leo to see if Kylie had heard from her, but he said she hadn’t. I could have called her uncles, but I didn’t want to cause them worry .
I’ve been pacing the house ever since, knowing something isn’t right. It’s been a couple hours since I got back. I keep trying to call her cell, but it goes right to voicemail.
I call Leo again, and as he answers, Sierra walks in the door. I mutter she’s home now and disconnect the call.
“Where in the hell have you been?” My words are frantic and even have a hint of anger now that I know she’s safe. Her mouth opens, but instead of words, she lets out a wail and slumps to the floor. I rush to her and pull her into my chest. She clutches my shirt in her hand, and her tears wet the material as she cries. My heart is beating fast, and I’m sure she has to feel the vibration against her cheek.
I keep my voice soft as I ask, “What happened, baby? You’re scaring me. I was worried about you.”
“I-I tried to call you, but then my phone died.”
I should have never turned my phone off. Another reason to hate Simon. If he hadn’t called, I would have been able to answer her call.
“Brook called me and needed my help. When I got there, her mom’s boyfriend had her up against the wall, and he bit her.” I know my woman, and I know she would not have stood there and let him hurt her.
“What did you do?”
“I hit him in the back with a lamp.” A part of me is proud of her but a bigger part is angry that she put herself at risk by getting involved.
“What happened then?” She’s quiet for so long that I don’t think she will answer.
“He pulled my hair and pushed me into a wall.” Her words have me pulling her away from me. She didn’t appear injured when she came in, and the thought of any man putting his hands on her has my blood boiling. As she looks down, I rub my hands around her head looking for anything that might tell me if she’s hurt. I place my finger under her chin to get a good look at her face, and my body goes rigid. There are bruises on her throat .
I try hard to keep my sharp fury in check, but I know she has to hear it. “He fucking touched you!” It’s not a question as the evidence is there in front of my face. Anger has my body trembling, and I clench my fists ready to track that fucker down and beat the shit out of him.
“Where is he?” I can’t keep the growl out of my voice.
She places her hand on my chest as if to soothe me. “The police arrested him and took him to the station.”
I wish they hadn’t because I’d like nothing more than to find him and commit my first murder. I wouldn’t regret it.
Pulling her to me, I hold her, thanking God she was able to come back to me at all. This could have been so much worse. Lifting her in my arms, I carry her up to our room and place her on the counter of our en-suite before turning and starting the water in the tub. I pour a little of the lavender oil in it that she likes to use when she bathes before bed. She told me the fragrance calms her. I watch the tub fill and feel my muscles contracting in need of release of this intense fury that some man dared hurt her. Neither of us are uttering a word. I’m too pissed to speak.
When the tub is halfway full, I turn back to her and slowly start to remove her clothes. I keep my eyes on my hands because I can’t bear to see the bruises again. I can feel her stare on me, but I don’t look at her. I carry her over and place her in the water before kissing the top of her head. I hold my lips there for a few moments before pulling back. “Relax baby. I’ll be back.”
Exiting the room, I feel her gaze on my retreating back, but I keep going. I keep going until I’m in my home gym. I rip off my shirt and walk over to the punching bag, where I throw my fist into it. Then I do it again and again and again. I put everything I have into the punches. It occurs to me that I can’t mess up my hands with the season starting, so I begin kicking it instead.
The worry over what worse could have happened to her has me kicking the bag harder. I put my fury at the man who dared to harm one hair on her precious head into each attack on the bag until my body wears out, and I fall to my ass. I can feel the sweat dripping down my body. I’m going to be shit at practice tomorrow.
When I feel calmer, I rise to my feet and go back to her. Entering the bedroom, I notice she’s already in bed, covers pulled up below her chin as if she knows I can’t look at the marks again. Her assessing gaze watches me as I stroll over to her and kiss the top of her head before entering the bathroom to shower. It’s quick because now that I’m calmer, I want to hold Sierra. I pray a silent thanks to God that she came back to me in one piece.
I drop the towel from around my waist when I enter the bedroom and climb into bed, pulling her against me. She lays her head on my chest, and I run my fingers through her hair. A peace settles over me having her in my arms again, but I need to let her know how I feel about the situation she put herself in.
“I’ve died a thousand deaths thinking of what worse could have happened to you. Please don’t ever do that again,” I plead.
“I just wanted to help her. I know I should have waited until help arrived but I can’t say I would have done things differently.”
No, she wouldn’t have and even though a part of me doesn’t want to hear it, I ask her to tell me everything that happened. My body tenses throughout the story, but I keep my anger in check knowing I need to be here for her. I feel guilty leaving her as I did earlier, but I knew I’d be no good to her until I pounded out the rage I had for that asshole.
“Do the bruises hurt?” It’s a question I should have asked earlier.
“They’re fine as long as I don’t touch them. The doctor wasn’t concerned and said to take Tylenol or seek medical attention if I develop any symptoms.”
“I hate that he laid his hands on you.”
“I know.” She starts to rub along my abs. Nothing more needs to be said. I check the time on my phone, and I’m shocked to realize it’s past two in the morning. I’ll be lucky if I get three hours of sleep tonight before being at the stadium by seven, but I’ll worry about that tomorrow. The one thing that matters now is that I have Sierra safe and sound in my arms.
It hasn’t escaped my mind that I never had the chance to tell her about Charles, but with everything else that happened, I can’t tell her yet. She has enough on her plate right now. I know I’ll have to have that dreaded conversation, but I can’t put that on her right now.
One hurdle at a time.
Just as I suspected, I was shit on the field at practice. I don’t think the coach has ever yelled at me as much as he did today, but I deserved it. My tired mind and focus were on the woman I left sleeping in my bed. She was covered up to her waist in the blanket, and my gaze landed on the marks. This time I didn’t look away but placed gentle kisses on them. She didn’t stir when I did it. I’m sure she’s exhausted.
Peeling my sweaty clothes from my body, I shower and head out to my locker, anxious to get back to Sierra and needing to know she’s okay. As I slide on my shorts, Jonas stops over and claps my shoulder, drawing my attention to him.
“You doing okay?” he asks in a concerned voice.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Jonas is a good friend and teammate, but I’m not going to tell him about Sierra.
“Good isn’t dropping passes and running incorrect routes.”
“I’ll be better tomorrow.”
“Need to talk about it?”
No. I want to get home to my girl. “Another time. I have somewhere to be. ”
“Let me know if you need anything.” I nod and knock fists with him before he walks off.
I finish dressing and grab my phone from my bag. There are a couple of texts, but the one I open is from Sierra.
Sierra:
I’m at my apartment. Brook had nowhere to go, so I brought her home with me. We stopped at the station where we gave statements. Her mom blames her for Trevor going to jail. I didn’t want you to worry about where I was when you got home. I love you XO.
Me:
I’ll be over soon. I love you too baby.
Looks like I’ll be spending the night at Sierra’s. It’s been a long time since we spent the night there. I stop at my place to grab what I’ll need for a couple days before heading over to Sierra’s. I’m extremely exhausted, and the only thing I want is to see my girl then to crash into sleep. Sierra gave me a key a while back so I use it to let myself into her apartment and walk into the living room.
I find Sierra watching television on her couch with a girl sitting next to her. She has blonde hair with a reddish tint to it, but that’s all I can see as her back is to me. It’s the third woman in the room that I didn’t expect to see.
“Mom?” She and Sierra have grown close, but I’m still surprised to find her here. She smiles brightly at me.
“Hello, Kason.”
Sierra gets up and strides over to me. I can barely make out the marks on her neck, and I assume she covered them with makeup. She wraps her arms around my middle, and I kiss the top of her head.
“I missed you,” she whispers into my chest.
“I missed you too.” With my season about to be crazy, I imagine I’ll be missing her often. We release each other, and I stroll over to my mom and hug her hello before my eyes land on Brook. She looks like a frightened mouse and stares at me like I’m the hungry cat. I remember Sierra telling me she’s timid by nature, so I smile at her. “Hello, Brook.”
“H-hi.” I imagine being a man might scare her a little, so I decide to make myself scarce.
“It’s been a long day. I’m going to head back to sleep.” With a goodbye to my mother, I head back to Sierra’s room even as I hear her footsteps following behind me. Sierra shuts the door behind her as we enter.
“I hope you don’t mind staying here.”
I turn and kiss her forehead. “It’s fine. I was surprised to see my mom though.”
“Oh, she called and invited me to lunch. I told her about Brook and what happened, and she stopped by wanting to help. I think Brook really likes her. Your mom is so sweet, and Brook was fine around her. I expected the opposite but maybe her not having to worry about being around Trevor has eased her. She’s relaxed, and I told her she’s welcome to stay as long as she needs.”
I don’t think she took a breath once. Maybe she’s worried I might have an issue with Brook being here, but I know Sierra’s heart where this girl is concerned, so I wouldn’t have expected anything different.
“It’s fine. It might be good for you to have some company while I’m on the road too.” I feel better knowing she won’t be alone.
A thought occurs to me that has me arching an eyebrow and smirking. “You’ll have to be quiet when I ravish you though, so your screams of pleasure don’t scar the poor girl for life.”
Pulling her into me, I press her breasts into my chest and show her with a demanding kiss what she’ll be missing.
“You’re so bad,” she mumbles against my lips.
“I know.”
She pulls away with smiling eyes then smacks my chest. “Down boy. Don’t forget your mom’s out there.” That’s one way to shrink my dick.
I release her on a groan and take off my sneakers. “How was practice? ”
“Long.” I don’t go into how bad I sucked today. Sierra studies me but doesn’t ask anything else. My short response is probably the reason.
I start to undress. I wasn’t kidding about going to bed. I’m exceedingly tired and crawl into bed in my boxers. I usually sleep naked next to her but with Brook in the house, it’s best I don’t take the chance of her catching me with my dick out.
Sierra comes to the side of the bed and gives me a kiss. “I’ll be in once your mom leaves and I settle Brook in for the night.”
“Okay.” I roll to my side and get comfy before closing my tired eyes. I don’t even think she makes it out the door before I fall into a deep sleep.