Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Zac hurt her,” he suddenly whispered, like he was telling me something he wasn’t sure was supposed to be kept secret or not.
My heart stopped in my chest, and I stared down at him for a moment before figuratively shaking myself and handing him back his juice. Crouching in front of him, I gently gripped his upper arms, running my eyes over his sweet face. “What did you see that night, kid?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Nothing. But I heard him yelling at her and she was screaming for him to stop.” My throat closed, making it hard to breathe. Our trauma was never supposed to touch him—not my shit with my dad and not this shit with Zac. “Mommy told me to stay in my room, so I did. But I was scared, Daddy.”
I pulled him into a tight hug, tears burning in my eyes. But I wouldn’t let them fall. If he saw me crying, he would be alarmed, and I didn’t want to frighten him. They were both safe now, and I’d never let anyone hurt either of them again. They’d have to get through me and my family first.
“Mommy is okay,” I told him. She wasn’t, but he was just a kid, and he didn’t need to know about the adult-problems. This had already touched him more than me or Trinity were comfortable with. I wouldn’t let this shit storm touch him more than it already had. Leaning back, I smiled at him. I knew it didn’t reach my eyes, but I was sure he couldn’t tell. “Mommy is just very tired, so she’s sleeping.”
He nodded. “Okay, Daddy.” He held up his juice box. “I’m gonna go drink this. Can I watch SpongeBob?”
I nodded. “You can watch whatever you want, bud,” I assured him. When he scampered off into the living room, I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter and bowed my head, forcing myself to take deep breaths. Knowing Wyatt had heard his mother being raped just made me want to drive the hundreds of miles to Zac’s house and beat him until I was coated in his blood and he was no longer breathing. I’d gladly serve prison time if it’d wipe his existence off this fucking earth.
“Jimmie?” I snapped my head up at the sound of Trinity’s soft voice. She was standing in the entrance of the kitchen, her worried gaze on my face. Straightening, I blew out a soft breath. “Jimmie, what’s wrong?” she asked as she took a step further into the kitchen.
I grabbed the spoon and went back to mixing the pancake batter. “Wyatt heard,” I said quietly.
She frowned at me, but when her sleep-soaked brain finally understood, she made a choked sound. I glanced at her to find her leaning heavily on the kitchen counter. I sighed, my shoulders so tight with tension, they ached. “But he only heard. He didn’t see anything. And he only heard Zac yelling at you and you begging him to stop.” She squeezed her eyes shut, beginning to tremble now. If I didn’t settle her, she was going to have a panic attack, and Wyatt didn’t need to accidentally witness that. “Baby, I need you to breathe,” I told her. “He’s okay, and I’ll keep an eye on him, okay? I just thought you needed to know in case he asked you any questions. I didn’t want you to be blindsided.”
She nodded and drew in a deep, shaky breath. Then, stiffening her spine, she tilted her chin up. “Okay.” She nodded again. “Okay,” she repeated, her voice a little stronger this time. There she is, I thought to myself. There’s my brave girl. “What can I do to help with breakfast?”
I passed her the pancake batter. “Griddle is already hot and buttered. Can you make pancakes?”
She nodded. “Yes. Can you make me a cup of coffee?”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Sure, baby.”
Things weren’t normal. Life for Trinity would never be normal again. But the fact that she hadn’t fallen apart when I’d told her Wyatt was aware she’d been hurt meant we’d made some headway last night. And I was sure getting some rest had made a huge difference in how strong she could be today.
We were taking steps forward, and as soon as I could sit down and talk her into pressing charges against Zac, we would be making even more headway in her recovery. And after she agreed to pressing charges, I would get her into therapy.
I had a plan—a plan that would help her heal. All I needed from her was to let me take care of her and give me her cooperation.
Chapter Nine
Jimmie
“Nooooo!” Wyatt shouted at the top of his lungs, flopping over onto his side dramatically. I laughed as his character crossed the finish line in fourth place. One thing I didn’t do with my son was pretend to lose just so he could win—at least, not a lot. I was raising a gamer, and gamers needed to be competitive. And in my opinion, to truly be competitive, you had to lose some games.