Shelter from the Storm Read online

  “I was only going for a walk, kiddo.”

  She looked at him. “You were fighting.”

  Mac lifted her up. “People have arguments. Jennifer and I had a disagreement, that’s all. Sometimes when you don’t see eye to eye and you’re angry, it’s a good idea to cool off.”

  “It’s okay, it’s not like you hit her.”

  Mac put Sara down, then led her over to the bed. He sat on the edge of it, positioning her so she was standing in front of him. “Did Cliff hit your mum, kiddo?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he hit you?” Mac asked.

  “I didn’t give him reason to.” Sara leaned forward and in a hushed voice added, “I made myself invisible.”

  “I’m not like Cliff, kiddo. I would never hit your sister, that I can promise you.”

  Sara smiled with a confidence she rarely displayed. “I know, silly. You and Jennifer love each other, like Ariel and Eric!”

  “Ariel and Eric?” Mac asked.

  “The Little Mermaid,” Rachel clarified as she climbed off the bed. “I think it’s time for us to go.”

  “The Little Mermaid, huh?” Mac leaned in to give Sara a kiss on the forehead. “Seems I missed that one. Maybe we can watch it together sometime.”

  She nodded enthusiastically.

  Mac pulled back the covers and patted the mattress. “In you go, missy.”

  The little girl happily obliged.

  “Gotta tell you something though.” He tucked the covers around her. “Jennifer and I, we’re real people. Relationships in real life tend to be a lot more complicated than Disney makes them out to be. I mean, you don’t even want to get me started on the whole Pocahontas thing. Anyway, I think Jennifer and I are still trying to figure out some things. It’s going to take us a while.”

  “Not too long, I hope.” Sara stifled a yawn.

  Mac smiled and picked up the book Tom had just laid down. “Why don’t I finish the story? Then Jennifer can see the two of you out.”

  Jennifer walked over to Sara, and gave her a big hug. “Goodnight, Sara. Thanks, Mac.”

  “Give us a second, Tom.” Rachel pointed toward Jennifer’s bedroom. “In there, now.”

  “What?”

  “What? Don’t give me that, I’ll never sleep tonight. Spill!” Rachel closed the door.

  Jennifer began to take off her wet clothes. “You know? I’m kind of tired—”

  “No excuses, I’m not budging until you tell me why you didn’t say anything.”

  “About?”

  “About? Are you kidding me? Don’t make me kill you. I so don’t have time to train a new best friend, never mind a new business partner. About you and Mac!”

  “I’m sorry, it’s all happening so fast. I’m scared, and it…”

  “It what?”

  Jennifer slipped into her favorite robe. “I don’t know! Did I mention the scared part?”

  “Maybe this time it will be different?”

  “This time I’m going to make it different. I think he’s someone I could love. Maybe I do already. I started seeing Arlene again and I’m going to stick with it this time.”

  Rachel eyes widened in surprise. “You went back to see Arlene?”

  “Yes.”

  “And…you used the ‘L’ word.”

  Jennifer nodded. “I did, didn’t I?”

  Rachel stepped closer. “Have you told him?”

  “That I love him? No. I said I think he’s someone I could love. We have this connection…it’s incredible.”

  “I meant have you told him about Joe?”

  “Some. We’re going to talk more tonight. I know not telling Eric was a mistake, maybe if he understood or—”

  Rachel shook her head. “Eric was a mistake, period.”

  “You’re right. I’m not sure how to do this, Rachel.” She swallowed, hard. “It’s been so long since I’ve talked about it.”

  “Truth be told, you’ve never really talked about it, have you?”

  What Rachel said was true. “I guess not, not in the way you mean.”

  “Not even to me.” Rachel reached out and pulled Jennifer into her embrace. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “Call me if you need to? I don’t care what time it is.”

  “I will. Thanks, Rachel.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mac emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and wearing dry clothes. “I’m afraid we ate all of the tacos. I could make you an omelet.”

  “I’m not really hungry.”

  “You’ve got to eat something.” He pulled out a frying pan.

  “My tummy is filled with these nervous butterflies. I won’t be able to eat until I get this over with.”

  He set the pan down. “Maybe the food thing is secondary at the moment.”

  “The trouble is, I don’t know where to start. I feel like my chest is going to explode.”

  “How about you start with whatever pops into your mind? We can do this however you want. There’s no right way. We can stay up all night if we need to. You said you wanted me to understand.”

  “I do.”

  “I want that too, so very much.”

  Jennifer untied the sash of her robe. “The scar.”

  “The scar?”

  “That’s where I’ll start.” Jennifer slipped the garment off her shoulders and down her back then turned around. “Look at it.”

  Mac wrinkled his forehead and bent down, turning Jennifer slightly so her back was better lit. He remembered now, the day they had first had sex in the shower he had gotten a glimpse of it. It was so fleeting and he was so distracted, he had promptly forgotten. Their couplings since had been in the darkness of his room. But there it was. Plain as day and crudely carved into her flesh at the base of her spine, just at the rise of the curve of her buttocks. MINE.

  Mac’s stomach clenched and his throat constricted. He slid one arm around her waist and leaned his forehead against the back of her neck. “Joe did that to you?”

  “And worse.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t you.” Jennifer rested her hand on top of his. “It was a long time ago.”

  “I know. But I still feel…”

  Jennifer stepped forward, slipped her robe back onto her shoulders, secured the sash and then sought out his eyes. “I need to know if you can handle this, Mac.”

  “I’ve known your past wasn’t all sunshine and roses.” He reached out to caress her cheek. “Yes. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”

  “You’re not going to look at me in the same way after this.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “The truth is going change everything.”

  Mac took her hand in his and led her over to the sofa. “I’m counting on it.”

  Jennifer took a deep breath, closed her eyes and began. “I can remember it as if it were yesterday, although sometimes it seems as if it were a lifetime ago. I was so in love. Well, I thought I was. I was also very naïve. He was completely different in the beginning.”

  “What changed?”

  “What changed?” She mulled over the question. “You know? I’m not even sure. Looking back, there were signs. I guess I saw what I wanted to see. That day, the day I left home I went to him, my knight in shining armor.”

  “Don’t cry, it’ll be all right,” Joe said.

  “You don’t understand, I have no place to go,” Jennifer cried.

  “You’ll stay here for a while and pull yourself together. Then you’ll go to school and concentrate on your tests.”

  “Then what, Joe?”

  “We’ll work something out. Meet me back here later. Maybe I can fix this place up a bit. You can stay right here.”

  “Here?”

  “No one will ever know. It’ll be our secret. I’ll take care of you,” he promised.

  “Really?” Jennifer’s voice was filled with gratitude. “You would do that for me?”

  “So, that’s how you came to live in
the garden shed?” Mac asked.

  Jennifer nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t a huge space, probably eight by ten. By the time I got there after school, the place already looked different. He had laid an old section of carpet on the floor and found a twin-sized mattress, a blanket and a lantern.”

  “Oh, Joe, how can I thank you? This is wonderful!” Jennifer reached up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’ll show you,” Joe said, huskily. He held her face in his hands and leaned in, crushing his lips to hers in an almost brutal kiss.

  Their kisses up to then had been sweet and slow and tender. Jennifer felt him bite her lower lip and she gasped in shock.

  “Ow!”

  He pinned her against the wall and aggressively plundered her mouth with his tongue.

  She could feel the metal of the shed’s wall against her back. The coppery taste of her own blood filled her mouth and she moaned in protest. She tried to snake her hands between them to push him off, but he was so much bigger and her struggles only seemed to encourage him and excite him further. She felt the unmistakable evidence of his arousal as he began to grind his erection into her. Jennifer’s heart was pounding, her mind was racing.

  Joe pulled back from the kiss. He noticed the bead of blood on her lower lip and smiled down at her. “Did I hurt you, baby?”

  Jennifer’s tongue darted out, instinctively to touch the site.

  “Let me.” He rested one hand on either side of her head, trapping her. Then he leaned down and lapped up the blood. “Mmmm. You taste so good. Now… I want you to taste me.”

  “So not a vampire here.”

  “No.” He placed his strong hands on Jennifer’s shoulders and pushed her to her knees. “I want you to suck me off. I want to fuck your mouth.”

  Jennifer tried to pull away. “No, Joe. I’ve never… I’m not—”

  He grabbed a handful of Jennifer’s hair and yanked up. Her hands immediately flew to his. She tried to climb to her feet, to decrease the tension. “You’re hurting me. Why are you doing this? I thought you loved me.”

  “Loved you?”

  “Please, don’t hurt me!”

  “I don’t want to hurt you. You’re making me hurt you. It’ll be good, I promise. You’re going to love it. I want to take care of you. All I ask is that you take care of me in return. Is that too much to expect from my girl? I’m not seventeen, Jennifer. I’m a man, with needs. I guess I could go to someone else—”

  Joe released her and turned to walk away.

  “No!” Jennifer felt confused and desperate. “I don’t want you seeing anyone else. I’m just not ready, Joe. I don’t even know what to do.”

  “It’s not like it requires a complex skill set. Whores do it all the time. Just open up.”

  “And this begins to explain the blowjob issue,” Mac said. “He forced you and you hated it.”

  “The first time was a disaster. As soon as he touched the back of my throat I started to gag.” Bile rose up in her throat at the mere memory. “I was nervous and scared. I felt dirty. The taste of his pre-come was nauseating and I panicked. I felt like I was suffocating. As soon as he started to come, I began to retch and released him. Joe was furious. He reached down, grabbed my hair and came all over my face, and then he slapped me, hard. I fell in a heap onto the floor.”

  “You know, if I didn’t know how crazy you are about me, I might have ended up walking away with the impression you weren’t enjoying yourself!”

  “I’m sorry—” Jennifer was sprawled on the floor, loose fragments of cement grinding into the palms of her hands. The musty smell inside the damp shed coupled with the smell of Joe’s spendings was overpowering. She tried to deliberately slow her breathing.

  In those next few moments time seemed to stand still. She caught sight of a small spider, crawling near her hand and watched as it slowly crept over to the corner. When it reached the edge of the elaborate web Jennifer noticed for the first time the smaller insect trapped there. The spider approached it inch by inch. Jennifer’s eyes began to fill with tears. As she brought her forearm up to wipe her face, Joe reached down and grabbed it.

  “Don’t be sorry. Get better.” He released her and tucked himself back into his pants. “You’re a smart girl, do some research. Learn to like it.” He crouched down and dropped a silver key on the floor in front of her face. “Here’s a key to the side entrance. Dad locks up at six o’clock. You can use the locker rooms next to the gym at night.” He tilted her face up, bent over her and smiled. “You look good with my come all over you.” Then he licked the side of her face from her chin to her temple. “I have so much to teach you. This is only the beginning.”

  Jennifer shivered at the memory of those words. Mac wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his chest. “How long? How long did it go on?”

  “It was only three months until graduation. I figured I could put up with anything for three months. Then I was going to escape. Within a week of leaving home I found out I was going to get a scholarship to SDSU. I figured I would get a part-time job. Meanwhile, I had no one to turn to, no one to confide in. I spent every waking minute thinking of the future, of what my life would someday be like.”

  “How horrible.”

  “The present didn’t matter. It was just something to get through, until I was able to escape and begin to really live.” Jennifer quietly wrapped her arm around Mac’s waist and squeezed.

  He returned the pressure with reassurance and kissed the top of her head. “So you lived in that hellhole, at that monster’s disposal for three months before escaping.”

  Jennifer nodded and sighed.

  Mac shifted.

  Jennifer sat up and watched as he stood, walked to the kitchen, opened up a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He walked back to the sofa, poured himself a drink and took a swallow. She noticed his hand was shaking.

  “Want one?”

  She nodded.

  “There’s more, isn’t there?” He poured a second and offered her the glass. “You didn’t exactly escape, did you?”

  “No. It took him a few months, but he found me.”

  “I love Elizabeth Barrett Browning, don’t you?” Robert held the door to the coffee shop open so Jennifer could exit first.

  “She seems so fragile. I wonder if she was as isolated as she sometimes sounds?” she asked as he joined her on the sidewalk. “I admire the way she was able to express herself. It’s like her soul is right there on the page, for everyone to see.”

  “Sometimes all it takes is the right person to draw you out. To inspire you.” Robert placed his arm over her shoulders. “I’ve been working on a sonnet and, well, I finished it. I’d like to show it to you.” They turned the corner, and walked into the alleyway where he’d parked his car.

  “I’d like to see it.” Jennifer tilted her head back and gazed up at the sky. “The moon is full tonight.”

  “It makes you glow.”

  She looked away, shyly.

  “You do realize how beautiful you are, don’t you?” he asked.

  “Well, well, well, the first bloom of young love. Isn’t this just nauseating?” Joe stepped out of the shadows. “Now, what’s wrong with this picture?”

  “Joe!” Jennifer stepped away from Robert, quickly distancing herself.

  Joe smiled. “Hello, baby. Long time no see. Miss me?”

  She took a step backward and shuddered. “I have a different life now, Joe.”

  “Really?” He took a step forward, then another and another until he was crowding her, towering over her. She was trembling in fear, but she didn’t turn, she didn’t run. She stood her ground.

  “Jennifer?” Robert hesitantly placed his hand on her arm.

  Joe turned to look at him, a surprised expression on his face. “You’re still here?”

  “Leave him alone, Joe,” Jennifer said, taking another step back, this time pulling Robert with her. “He hasn’t done anything.”
>
  Joe advanced on her, backing her into the wall. “Are you kidding me?” He grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms up over her head. “He touched what’s mine.”

  “He hasn’t.” Jennifer shook her head. “Get out of here, Robert. Please, Joe, he hasn’t touched me. I swear. We were just talking, studying.”

  Robert had only been kind to her. He was sweet, gentle. He didn’t deserve to get mixed up in this.

  “Did you really think I would let you go?” Joe growled.

  “Please,” she begged. “I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Look, Joe—”

  Robert was of no consequence to Joe. He wasn’t even worth a second glance. Joe had come for one reason and one reason only, to teach her a lesson. He pulled out a knife and held it up to Jennifer’s throat, tilting the blade slightly so it glinted in the moonlight. “You’ve been a naughty girl. You need to be punished and the boy’s going to watch your humiliation.”

  “Robert, get out of here,” Jennifer shouted, more insistently this time.

  “Don’t move. I’d just as soon kill her as kiss her,” Joe countered.

  “Don’t listen to—” Before she could finish her sentence, Joe backhanded her across the mouth and then spun her around and roughly pushed her face into the brick wall of the building.

  Jennifer struggled against him, trying to break free.

  “That’s it, baby. Wiggle your sweet ass for me. You know how hard it makes me.” Joe lifted her skirt up over her hips before forcefully pulling down Jennifer’s panties and giving Robert a fleeting glimpse of her bare bottom. “You ever see such a beautiful ass?” He slapped it.

  Robert was frozen in place. “Man, you don’t want to do this!” His voice quivered in fright.

  The knife tip skimmed down Jennifer’s back into the waistband of her bunched up underwear. He slipped the cold metal inside, and with the flick of a blade, he cut them loose “You know what, Robert?” He unzipped his pants and released his cock. “I really, really do!”

  Jennifer would have screamed when Joe began to brutally pound into her, but he’d clamped his hand over her mouth. Normally he liked it when she screamed, he’d take her places where the screams didn’t matter. In fact, he’d encourage it. But tonight wasn’t about Joe’s enjoyment. It was about her punishment. Although in her experience, for Joe one seemed to lead to the other.