“Dillon!!”
I hear her shrill scream. As I turn my head to look at her, I see her drop to her knees with her hands flying to her face. The force of his steel-toed boot in my side causes my body to jerk and slide across the floor. He kicks me again and again until the pain is so intense, I close my eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I can hear her cry. I can hear him scream at her.
“You’re a whore like your mother, aren’t ya Amy? You fucking this boy? Had him send the police after me? You tell him about me and your crazy mama? You fucking bitch.”
I see his boots step in front of her and I try to move. I try desperately to move toward her. I can’t move. I can’t help her. The pain is paralyzing.
“Your mama left you all alone? You know, she used to do me favors. I think you owe me a fucking favor for hidin’ from daddy for so long and then going to the fucking police.”
He crouches down and reaches out to touch her face.
“You’re a pretty little thing aren’t ya? Yeah, your mamma was too. I remember when the old man brought her home. She was all shy and sad. Just wanted to please everyone. Yep. Tell her to suck my cock and she dropped to her knees. Didn’t want to cause any trouble so she did as she was told. Fun times.”
Amy’s whimpers tear my heart out and all I can do is lay there. I can’t move and my eyes are trying to close. I hear a groan escape my mouth as I struggle to move my legs. I dig my nails into the tile and frantically try to drag my body across the floor, but I just can’t.
“Fun times are over now, Amy. When I found your mama five years ago, she made a deal with me. She promised to do anything. Anything. As long I didn’t take you from her. She promised to keep our secrets. You broke the deal, Amy. You told. I just can’t have you going to the police again. No one will be surprised if you take too many of your mama’s pills. Life sucks and can be too much sometimes, right baby girl? I’m going to fix that for you.” He pulls out a gold prescription bottle out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and then sets it on the counter.
As he stands in front of her, he forcefully pulls her hands away from her face and grips her wrists with one hand, holding them above her head. With his other hand, he reaches for the buckle of his pants. She starts to cry.
“Amy….” I hear myself gasp.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoes off of the walls. My eyes widen with fear as I strain to see her. She has her head covered with her arms and she screams. A piercing scream, like when she had her night terror. What the fuck just happened? Then I see him, his body on the floor in front of her.
Then I hear my dad’s voice. “Officer Douglas, an intruder has just been shot on our property. Yes sir.”
I collapse onto my back and see him standing above me, holding a hunting rifle in his hand. “Amy!” he calls. “You okay? You hurt?”
“No...but Dillon!” she cries out. My eyes flutter, trying to stay awake. My dad lifts me and rests my back against the wall as I slump against it clutching my side.
“Dillon? You with me?” I can hear the concern in my dad’s voice.
“Yeah.” It fucking hurts to breathe. “You said…stay out of it….don’t be a hero…”
“And you should have listened to me, huh son? You suck as a hero.” He laughs.
“But how did you know…to come here.”
“Long story Dillon, I’ll explain later. Let’s get you back to the house.”
“Is he dead?”
“Nope. He’ll live, but the police will take over from here.”
I look across the room to where Amy is still on her knees and hunched over. I’m afraid she’s going to regress. I’m afraid she’s going to withdraw again and I can’t stand the thought of her not wanting me to touch her.
“Amy,” I squeak out, clutching my ribs. I need to know she’s okay.
She lifts her head. Her eyes are swollen and red. Tears cover her red cheeks. She looks over at me and then I watch her crawl across the floor toward me and right into my lap. She wraps her body around mine and cries into my neck. I close my eyes and hold her tight against me as her body continues to tremble. I’m in so much fucking pain, but I need her like this. I need to know she’s going to be okay.
“It’s over. You’re free,” I whisper.
CHAPTER 23
Amy
“I didn’t sleep with her Amy,” he moans.
Dillon is squirming on his bed in agony, holding a fluffy pillow to his ribs as he lays flat on his back in only his pajama pants. He’s waiting for me to give him his pain pills. I stand over him with the bottle, glaring at him.