Pierced (Lucian & Lia #1)(37)
I drop my head into my hands, not wanting her to see how her story moves me. What girl that age has to come up with ways to make sure the people who are supposed to protect her don’t violate her instead? My lonely life growing up without my parents suddenly pales in comparison to what she has faced. “How about the burn? How did that happen?”
She shudders, and I feel like a bastard for making her talk about something so painful. “It was right before my mother kicked me out. They were fighting and I was doing the laundry. He was mad and drunk. I was using the iron when they came in and I set it down, trying to leave before they noticed me. He…somehow burnt his hand on it, and he was so mad. My mom ran out when he turned his attention to me.” A tear slips down her face as she continues. “He told me not to worry about him touching me, but that I needed something to remember who I belonged to. Co—Cows are branded by their owner. Oh, God, I just remember the smell, the awful smell. Then the pain; my whole body was on fire.”
“Fuck,” I spit out, so angry on her behalf that I want to rip someone’s head off. And now her cunt of a mother wants to put her daughter right back in the line of fire again? I’ve already got my lawyer looking into it; now I plan to have my investigator find out more about the f*ckers who put a poor, innocent girl through Hell. I pick up her hand, stroking the soft skin. “How did you make it this far on your own, baby?”
She uses her other hand to wipe the moisture from her eyes before answering. “I applied to every college around during my last year of high school. I was offered a full scholarship to St. Claire’s and was just trying to make it at home until school started. I hadn’t really thought of all the other expenses outside of what was covered. When my mom kicked me out, I was lucky enough to meet Debra, who you spoke with on the phone, and get a job at a diner she owns. She and her boyfriend Martin helped me so much. I…worked there and lived in my car to save money for school.”
My stomach flops, and I feel bile rising as I gape at her. “You lived in your car? I thought you said they helped you. How is that help?” I know my voice is rising when she flinches away. I lower it, fighting for control. “Honey, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to understand.”
“Debra asked me to stay with her;” she says quietly, “but I…just didn’t trust anyone at that point. I had the car I had bought from her, and at least it was mine. I spent a lot of time at the library and the break room at work, so I wasn’t really living in the car. When school finally started, all my savings went so fast. Debra tried to loan me money, but again, I just couldn’t take it. My roommate told me about Date Night where she was working, and well…you know the rest.”
Indeed, I f*cking do, and it makes me furious on her behalf all over again. I am stunned to know all she has gone through. It’s amazing she has made it to her last year in college, all on her own, after living in a f*cking car. “Have you seen or heard from your mother since you left, or your stepfather?” She shakes her head slowly.
“No, I don’t know how they found me; I’ve been so careful to stay away from areas I know they frequent. St. Claire’s is miles away from where they live, and I’ve never known them to have any business around here.”
“Honey, thanks to the internet, finding someone is nothing anymore.” She looks terrified at my words, and I scramble to reassure her. “I don’t want you to worry about them, okay? I have my people on this. If you do have to go to court, you’ll be well-protected, and you’ll have someone there to watch out for your interests.”
She squeezes my hand back, looking so fragile in that moment. “Thank you, Luc. I’m sorry to put this on you. This probably wasn’t what you were expecting when you asked me out.” She is right about that, but in a different way than she means. She is so much more than I was expecting, and I’m freaking reeling from it. Her story, though different, is eerily familiar to me. The need to protect her is overwhelming. The lines between her and my past are blurred further as I’m drawn to her, f*cking lost in my desire for her.
When she stands to start cleaning up the kitchen, I silently collect our plates and help her load the dishwasher. When we are finished, I take her hand and tug her back toward the bedroom. “Come rest with me for a while.” She settles next to me without protest, and I pull the comforter over us. I’m still too tired to touch her like I want, so instead, I settle for curving my body around hers, shuddering as she tucks her tight ass against my groin. I push up my shirt she is wearing and feather my fingers over her stomach. The sound of her soft breathing lulls me into sleep. When I wake in the evening, she is gone, leaving a note on the pillow saying she has gone home to get ready for school tomorrow. The smell of her scent on the pillow beside me makes me feel something I haven’t admitted to feeling in a while: lonely.
Chapter Ten
Lia
As I sit through my last class of the morning, I accept the simple truth: I’m dying. There is no other explanation for it. My throat is on fire, my body aches, and my head is pounding. I’m barely able to keep myself upright in my chair. When I woke this morning, I was tired. I blamed it on worrying about Luc all night and not sleeping well. Now, I think it’s something more. This isn’t simple fatigue; I suspect it’s the flu. Spending almost three days in constant close proximity with someone contagious was not my brightest moment. The flu shot isn’t going to save me this time; I can only hope it shortens the duration as it promises to.