Page 44 of Forever Enough
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I don’t…well…I don’t talk about it. I mean, I have. Just to a therapist and my sister.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart, you don’t have to tell me anything.”
Her hand came up to her neck and she rubbed it as if recalling something. Then a sob slipped free, and she covered her mouth.
Standing, I gently reached for her and pulled her up and into my arms. “Shhh, you don’t have to say anything.”
Burying her face in my chest, she softly cried.
The intense anger that I felt scared me. I’d only known this woman for a day. One fucking day, and I wanted to wrap her up and keep her close. I never wanted to leave her. Most importantly, I wanted to find the asshole who’d hurt her and kill him with my bare hands.
I held Kenzie for what felt like an eternity, but was more likely just a few minutes or so before easing back a bit. “Come on, let’s go sit on the sofa.”
With her hand in mine, I led her over and sat down. She picked up the cat and held him closer to her as she sat next to me and stared straight ahead.
“I’ve really only ever talked to a therapist back in Georgia about this. And my lawyers, if you want to count them.”
Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I tried not to think about the reasons why a twenty-three-year-old woman would need lawyers. “You don’t have to talk about it now.”
She nodded and looked at me. “I know I don’t, but I feel this connection with you, and I want to be honest and open. I want you to know everything about me, and I want to know everything about you, and I guess I just don’t want you to think less of me when I tell you what happened. And if you do…I’d rather know now. Before we get too close.”
My eyes went wide. “I would never think less of you for any reason.” The pounding of my heart in my chest nearly drowned everything else out. What if someone had hurt her badly…raped her? I’d fucking kill them.
I needed to calm down. For both our sakes.
“Kenzie, I don’t care about your past, about any of that. I mean, of course I hate that you were hurt by someone, and I really want to hunt them down and pound their face in.”
She let out a sob-filled laugh.
“But that doesn’t change what I’m feeling right now. And maybe we’re crazy for jumping in like this, but I’ve never felt this way before, and I don’t care if anyone thinks it’s too fast, too foolish, whatever. If you want to tell me, I’m here to listen. But I won’t pressure you for anything until you’re ready.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I want to be with you. I think I wanted it the moment I threatened you with the broom last night and you smiled at me in amusement. I’m just afraid. I know my worth, Bradly. I know what happened wasn’t my fault. But I still feel guilty for running.”
“Running?”
She nodded. “Leaving my mother, my sister, the state of Georgia. I feel like I’ve been running since I turned eighteen.” Her head dropped forward, and she cleared her throat. “My stepfather started to hit my mother just a few months after they got married.”
I stiffened.
“When my father died, a part of my mother did as well. Hell, a part of me did. My stepdad swooped in and promised Mom he’d take care of her and us girls. And we adored George when he was my dad’s best friend. He was always kind to us, brought us presents, played hide and seek.
“Mom wasn’t struggling financially after my father passed…or at least, she shouldn’t have been. But right away, she started spending money like it was growing on trees. I remember once, hearing some guy telling her if she didn’t stop soon, there’d be nothing left. Then George came into the picture. Made all his promises. And he did take care of us financially, but I think he was so consumed with jealousy that we loved my father so much, even after his death, that he turned into someone we didn’t recognize. Or maybe it’s who he was all along…I don’t know.
“He told my mother he wanted us to call him Daddy, and she laughed. That was the first time he yelled at her and started calling her all these names. Worthless, damaged goods, things like that. The first time he physically hit her was just a few weeks later, when he saw her standing in the hallway, looking at a picture of my father. He grabbed it off the wall and threw it against the floor. She made the mistake of saying he was acting crazy. He slapped her so hard, I swear I can still hear it in my ears.”
She paused for a minute or two, wrapping her arms around herself tightly.
“She stumbled back and fell. I ran over to make sure she was okay, and he grabbed me by the hair and pulled me away from her. I could hear my sister Emily crying.”
“Kenzie,” I whispered, taking her hand in mine.
“I was positive my mother would kick him out for how he’d treated us that day. Afterward, he’d brought me to my room and locked me in, not allowing me out for supper. My mother came in hours later to say good night. I thought for sure she would’ve brought me food, but she just stared at me with this blank look on her face. I was fourteen at the time. I asked her if he was leaving, and she said no. He’d apparently apologized and said it would never happen again. But it did. Again and again and again.
“He never did hit Emily, but he yelled at her a lot. She learned to stay out of his crosshairs and kept to herself in her room, or stayed at friends’ houses. I, on the other hand, couldn’t learn to keep my mouth shut. When he went after my mother, I always tried to stop him. He was good at hiding bruises. No one ever saw the marks he left.
“I hated him so much…and eventually started to hate my mother for letting it happen. She told me she needed him, because she had no money and no job experience. She couldn’t touch the money my father had left in trusts for me and my sister. Not that she and George didn’t try. Him, especially. The night before my eighteenth birthday, I left in the middle of the night. I found an apartment the very next day, since I was able to access my trust when I turned eighteen. I hated leaving Emily behind, and I felt so guilty, but his hatred for me just grew and grew. One time, he grabbed me by the throat, and I thought for sure he was going to kill me. I knew the second I could access my money, he’d do anything to get it.”