Page 64 of Make Us Yours
“What’s going on, baby?! Talk to us,” he says with worry while petting my hair.
“He’s here! He’s here,” I sob in a panic.
Gabe pushes me off him, holding me at arm’s length, a raging look in his eyes. “Where!?”
I turn to look over my shoulder, ready to point out the man who I’ve been running from. But when my gaze falls to the place that I last saw him, he’s nowhere to be seen. I turn in Gabe’s arms, looking around frantically. “He was right there… I know I saw him. I’m not crazy.”
Noah comes to my side, cupping my wet cheek. “No one thinks you’re crazy, Kitten.” He looks around the place with a stern expression, then back to me. “I think that’s enough shopping for today. We’ll take you girls home.”
“Take her back with you. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t think she should be alone right now. I have to work soon, so I won’t be home to stay with her,” Aubrey tells them, and they both nod.
We walk Aubrey to my car and wait for her to leave, making sure no one’s following her, because I wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that. Then the boys take me to Gabe’s car, and we make our way to the penthouse.
I don’t talk the whole drive home, I’m too lost in my head, and they don’tpressure me to say anything, not until we get inside. “Veronica, I think it’s time you tell us what’s really going on,” Noah says.
I sit down on the couch with a sigh, looking down at my hands.They’re right… I can’t keep hiding this.“I don’t even know where to start…” I whisper.
Gabe comes to sit beside me, taking my hand in his. “Start from the beginning,” he says while Noah takes a seat on the coffee table in front of me, placing his hands on my knees as he leans in.
I swallow and take a deep breath. “Victor and I met when I was sixteen. He was the older bad guy that girls fall for. Driving a motorcycle, tattoos all over, long hair that he kept tied up in a bun. That sense of danger that followed him everywhere he went, yet you couldn’t help yourself but be drawn to it. He swept me off my fucking feet the moment I laid eyes on him.”
“How old was he?” Noah asks, his jaw muscles tensing.
“Twenty-six.”
“What the fuck?! Vixen, he was a full-grown adult preying on a child!” Gabe growls.
“I know, okay? Now I see it. But at the time, I didn’t. I was a rebellious teenager growing up in a religious home with a pastor as a father. I went to church every freaking Sunday without missing a beat.” I pass my hand through my hair.
“I never swore, never drank, never went out with my friends. I had a fucking curfew and never once passed it by a minute. Can you understand why I was so drawn to him? He was everything I craved. He was my ticket out, the freedom I was dying for.”
“Your father’s a pastor?” Gabe gapes at me. “I really never could have seen that coming.” I giggle in response because no one ever does.
“So, what happened?” Noah asks, encouraging me to continue my story.
“He used to drive by my house every day. When I’d walk to school, he’d always pass me. Every time he’d slow down and smirk, giving me time to look at him as he looked me over. That went on for over two months, until one day I found him waiting against his bike by the sidewalk, exactly where we’d always cross paths.”
I look up at them, and they’re both staring at me, listening carefully to every word falling from my lips. “He asked me if I wanted a ride, which was stupid because my school was literally down the road. But I think it was more his way of seeing if I’d actually do it. Testing to see how much of a good girl I really was. It’s what he used to call me. His good girl.”
I swallow again, wishing I had a drink in hand or something. Liquid courage always helps. Noah must sense my need because he stands quickly and wanders overto the kitchen, grabbing us each a beer, then coming back to his spot.
“I feel like we’ll all need this by the time you’re done.”He’s not wrong...
I take a big gulp, then focus on the bottle as I continue. “I wasn’t going to, I knew it was wrong, but a part of me wanted to feel alive just for two minutes. So I got on the back of his bike, and that was the start of it.” I close my eyes momentarily, wishing for the millionth time I could go back in time and never get on that damn bike.
“From there, we spent all our time together. I started skipping school, drinking, smoking. I’d show up late for my curfew, or not show up at all. I gave him my virginity. I became wild and did everything to please him.” I laugh humorlessly, unable to believe how stupid I was.
“Soon my parents figured out what was going on and kicked me out, disowned me, and told me I was never allowed back into their home until I regained my faith. Victor took me in right away, and life was perfect for a little while. I was in love. I had the guy of my dreams. Well, that’s what I thought at the time.”
I take another sip. “He was nice to me. I had never feared him even though I knew he was dangerous. Not until I turned eighteen… that’s when things started going south. I always knew he was involved in some questionable things. He was always secretive about what he did.”I should have paid attention to the signs. They were all there, right in front of me. And I ignored every single one of them…
“He’d have late-night meetings with the rest of his crew. Sometimes he’d come home all bloody and would ask me not to question it. He didn’t want me to know what he was doing, which was probably the only good thing he did.”
I take a deep breath, knowing we are getting to the darker parts of the story. The parts that have me needing a therapist because of all the trauma it caused me.
“Once I turned eighteen, he let me see his true colors. He gradually became violent. At first it was verbal, but then it turned physical… he would hit me every time I did something wrong. Beat me when I’d ask too many questions or disobeyed him…”
My throat clogs as horrific memories resurface. Memories I’ve tried to bury for so long. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and onto my forearm while Gabe’s hand in mine shakes with rage.
