Page 80 of Forever Found
I turned to check out my surroundings just as a tiny woman with a huge baseball bat held threateningly over her shoulder, popped up from behind the small breakfast counter in the kitchen.
“Kane?” she whimpered as she looked between us.
“He’s fucking dead!” Kane growled as he moved towards his sister in two huge strides. I released his jeans and watched on. Jenny dropped the bat behind her with a loud clang as Kane reached her and pulled her into his arms tightly. She was visibly shaking from where I stood, and there was bruising on her face and all of the way around her delicate throat. She was petite, which surprised me, likely only a couple inches taller than me. Her hair was a bright ash sort of blonde, that suited her perfectly with her fair skin tone. It was cut into a stylish bob that I was sure was usually immaculately styled, but right then it was wild and I could see a streak of blood near her hair line. She was slim and nothing like Kane at all. Her flared, short skater skirt wasintact, but the halter top she had beneath a colorful patterned cardigan was torn, one of the straps hanging loose and her bra exposed slightly.
“I’m sorry. I just…I can’t think straight and I was so scared. I know I should have…”
“Enough.” Kane cut off her shaky words as he placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could take in her injuries. “Don’t you ever apologise for calling me when you need me. I’d be pissed if you didn’t.”
“I p-packed a bag, but I…I should change,” Jenny said as she pulled back from Kane’s arms and looked herself over. She seemed to panic when she realized her top was ripped and hurried to wrap her cardigan around herself. “I have to change,” she repeated with a tremor.
“You’re bleeding,” Kane commented as he tipped her head back a little and looked at the cut along the edge of her hair line.
“It’s nothing. It already stopped bleeding,” she assured him.
“We should get you to a hospital.”
“No, Kane. I’m fine, just bruised and shaken. The last thing I want is some asshole doctor poking at me,” Jenny groaned.
“Your clothes are ripped,” Kane growled and I looked down at his hands, which were clenched into fists at his sides. I knew what he was thinking, because I’d thought it too.
“He didn’t…he was too busy throwing me around and hitting me. My shirt got ripped in the scuffle, that’s all. I tried to fight, but he was crazy. Like I said, I th-think he was on something.”
“Sounds like it,” Kane agreed with a nod. “Go and change. I’ll call someone in to change the locks right away. That fucker’s not getting back in here.”
Jenny looked a little unsure as she glanced from Kane and down the hallway I was sure her bedroom must be down.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped forward. “I’m Addy. You want me to help you change and clean up?” I offered. I knew exactly how it felt to be too scared to be alone after going through something like the attack Jenny had just faced.
“Addy. Fuck! I didn’t even realize you were there. I’m so sorry. This is not how I wanted to meet the first real girlfriend my brother has ever had,” Jenny cried as she seemed to rally and stand straighter.
“Ever?” I cried as I turned to look at Kane with shock. He’d never had a girlfriend?
“I was in the military. It didn’t make sense to try and have a relationship,” he shrugged as he looked to me with the cutest blush on his cheeks.
“He’s a total commitment-phobe. Always has been, even in high school and college. That’s why I was so desperate to meet you – the woman who got my brother to finally grow up,” Jenny smiled a little, then winced and grabbed her cheek.
“That’s not accurate. Don’t listen to her bullshit, angel,” Kane told me as he pointed an accusing finger at his sister.
“It is,” Jenny whispered animatedly, making me smile. Their eyes, I realized as I looked between them. Their eyes were identical and the only tell that they were related in anyway. The same color, the same shape, and the same sparkle in them as they playfully argued.
“Get out of here, and don’t be telling Addy any crappy stories from when I was a young, dumb kid,” Kane warned with a playful wink my way.
Jenny leaned in to hug her brother with one arm again as she seemed to drop the levity she had momentarily found. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she told him emotionally.
“Come on. Let me help you,” I said as she pulled back and looked to me hesitantly. I rounded the counter and grabbed her hand, which was a bold move for me, then we walked together towards her bedroom.
Something within me had come alive, a need to help and be there for this woman who had been through something I knew all too well. I wanted to be there for her the way no one had been there for me when I was left bloodied, beaten and in pain during those two years I was held. I wanted to help her get through this so the darkness that abuse would have created within her, never got the chance to grow as big, wild, and overwhelming as it had within me.
“He’s overprotective, but I guess you know that already, huh?” Jenny said as we walked into the bedroom together. Her room was painted in shades of white and teal, dominated by a huge bed, covered in soft looking blankets and fluffy pillows.
“I definitely do,” I agreed with a smile. The bed was flanked by a pair of nightstands, and the only other item of furniture was a huge dressing table, the top of which was absolutely covered with hundreds of items of makeup. I owned one tiny bag with about four items in, and I barely used those. I wondered how she could possibly need everything laid out before me.
“Sorry about the mess. I was a little crazed when I was trying to pack,” she said as I looked around again. Behind me was a doorto a large closet, and the entire floor of it was filled with clothes in messy piles and thrown out onto the carpet outside.
“It’s fine. Do you have first aid supplies?” I asked.
“Under the sink in the bathroom. It’s the room right next door,” she told me as she nodded to the door back out into the hallway.