Page 37 of Neighbor Nik

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Page 37 of Neighbor Nik

“I don’t trust men. My dad cheated on my mom my whole life and beat her. He left us when I was ten.” She paused, and my heart hammered in my chest. “My mom was heartbroken. I never understood it. How could she love a man who hurts her, you know?”

I nodded. “It’s messed up, baby.”

“To numb herself, she started drinking, then moved onto drugs. But drugs cost a lot more than cheap vodka, so she started pimping herself out.”

“Fuck.” I found myself holding my breath as I watched Rita’s tears streak down her face.

“It got to a point where selling her body wasn’t enough. So on the last day of school, my eighth-grade year…” Her voice trailed.

Fucking hell, I was about to explode in a fit of rage if she told me her mother… God, I couldn’t even think it.

“I wasn’t raped. I can see the questioning in your eyes.”

I blew out a breath.Thank fuck.

“Men were in and out of our apartment all times of the day. I’d seen naked men, heard them having sex with my mom. It was awful. I was just a little girl when it all started. But in eighth grade, my body changed. I had curves and breasts.” She stopped and looked at her empty cup.

“Want another?”

“Please.”

I refilled our glasses, trying to hide the slight tremor in my hands. The direction this talk was going in freaked me the fuck out. I didn’t want to hear Rita had been assaulted, but the way she acted was enough to know whatever happened hadn’t been pleasant.

She didn’t gulp the tequila, but I swallowed mine all at once. It didn’t help to calm my nerves.

“She made me let her and one of her regulars take pictures of me in my underwear and without a bra.”

I nearly launched off the bed in a fit of rage. “Baby—”

She held her hand up. “Let me finish. Please.”

I nodded and took her hand, entwining our fingers together. I needed to touch her, be connected to her.

“The police had come and arrested Mom and the dude. I’d overheard them telling Granny when she came for me two days later that Mom confessed she’d done it for money to buy drugs. My mom was going to post the pictures of me on the internet.” A sob ripped from her chest.

I tugged Rita into my arms and held her tightly, vowing to protect her from this day forward. I didn’t need to hear any more. I understood why she didn’t trust men, but she could trust me.

“I’m no good for you, Nik.”

“What? Are you fucking kidding me? Rita Rocha, I’m not good enough for you.” I kissed her temple, feeling fiercely protective of this beautiful, sweet, caring woman.

“It doesn’t bother you what they did to me? They took pictures of me in awful positions and threatened to hurt me worse if I didn’t do what they said.”

“Of course it bothers me but not because you did something wrong. Your mom and that man are to blame, Rita, not you. You were an innocent child.”

Hearing my own words hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d been an innocent child when my mom left me. I’d always thought I wasn’t enough, that I disappointed her, but her taking off was on her. Not me.

I tipped up her chin and kissed her lips softly. “I just had a major breakthrough.”

She furrowed her brow, sniffling. “What kind of breakthrough?”

“We belong together.”

She wiped her tears away with a look of confusion in her hazel-green depths. “We do?”

“Yes! We’re perfect for each other. We’ve both been through some shit and don’t trust the opposite sex. Because of this, we won’t hurt each other.”

“Hmm. Keep talking.” The corner of her lip curled.




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