Pain spears me in the chest as I remember his face, my cries for him to stop, and the pain down there and throughout my whole body.
I just don't understand how I hadn't seen him for what he really was until that moment. I was so blind. I cover my face with my hands in an effort to gather my scattered thoughts.
“He came home really angry...I tried to talk to him, but then he hit me and I must have blacked out because when I woke up I was in his bed. He...Oh, God..."My voice cracks as I realize the three words that I can’t seem to wrap my head around. He loved me, I know he did, but last night, God, he was just...a monster.
Kel squeezes my hand and with her eyes full of sympathy and love, urges me to continue."He forced himself on me, Kel," I say in a shaky voice, grasping onto her as she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight, allowing me to finally let go of the overwhelming emotions that threaten to smother me.***Present DayMy hands are shaking from the force of the memories, the darkness that looms around me from my broken past.Lucas squeezes my shoulders from behind, bringing me back to the here and now.
“You okay, Sophia?" Lucas asks over the brim of his second Corona Light. I blink, shaking my head to clear all thoughts of the past.I look to see Kel hurriedly setting out party platters, hanging streamers from the ceiling, and placing buckets of beer bottles on the tables in the living room.
That makes me smile. She’s in her element right now. Planning a party, making the individual platters, and setting the decorations up, that’s something she loves to do.
“Wow, she’s excited."He laughs, a light sound that I haven’t heard in far too long. When he hands me a Blue Moon from the cooler, I look over to him and grin.“She loves a party, huh?"“She wouldn’t be Kel if she didn’t love this, right?” His eyes go to my sister, softening when Kel winks at him from across the room. He’s so good for her. Just what she deserves.I nod, lifting the beer to my lips."We invited someone today. We met him at the studio." Lucas is in the middle of raiding our fridge when he looks up, raising an eyebrow at me. His eyes narrow at me.He thinks I’m kidding, since for most of the time he’s known me, I have refused to even think about men.
But now I want to. I want to be open to the future if that happy-ever-after is still a possibility for me.
"What?" His voice is incredulous, but he already has that grin across his face.And then, he erupts into a wide, no-holds-barred smile. One I’ve never seen before.
Setting his beer down, Lucas wraps me up in a hug and squeezes too tight.
"You’re finally getting back out there! That’s great, Sophia. Who is he?"I blush and look away, not wanting to think about how bad I like Gavin, how close I came to leaning into his touch today. It's crazy and it scares me how much I reacted to him when we met."His name is Gavin. I don’t know...after what happened with Bryce, I don’t..." He steps up to me and squeezes my shoulders. It’s reassurance."Any guy would be damn lucky to have you, Sophia. Okay?"I nod, giving him a smile, and run to catch up with Kel as she balances two trays in her hands. I hastily grab one from her and set it down on the kitchen island.“Careful, sis”"You ready, Kel?" Lucas calls from the living room, well into his third beer.She grins at him, narrowing her eyes. She’ll never say so, but she is totally smitten with that man. It’s only an hour later that we have everything set up and the DJ we hired for tonight arrives.I do my best to get him squared away at the table near the bar in our living room and find Kel on the couch with Lucas, deep in discussion.
Needing a minute of fresh air, I open the doors to the balcony and close them behind me, taking a deep, fortifying breath. Then my phone rings.
"Hello?" It’s an unknown number, which makes me nervous, as if Bryce would call me after all these weeks.Would he? Would he come back and look for me after all this time? God, what would I do…?
"Hello, my name is Peter Piers. I’m with Grayson Dance Academy. I'm calling about a spot in our program. How are you today, Ms. Jones?"Relief and elation swim through me. This is the call I’ve been waiting for, praying for. Excitement quickens my pulse.
I’ve been waiting for this call for weeks. I auditioned for his dance company, the very company that is known throughout the performance arts world as the most esteemed dance company in the country.
"Yes, thank you for getting back to me. I’m good. How are you?"I’m proud that my voice doesn’t crack with the nervousness I’m feeling at this moment.I remember how nervous I’ve been all season about this program.It’s a modern dance fellowship and at the end of it I could possibly have a position with any one of their world-renowned studios. It’s been my dream since high school, hell, since the very first time I danced.
“I wanted to speak with you about this position. Are you still interested in a full-time spot with our Modern Dance program?"I beam in excitement, practically jumping in the heels I’m wearing."Absolutely." It’s every dream I’ve ever had. My dance."Good, we’re honored to have you. The footage I saw of you was phenomenal. You’re a very talented dancer, Ms. Jones."His voice is filled with awe and I know he means every word. Having the praise of the Peter Piers means so much.
"Thank you, Mr. Piers,” I say, squeezing my eyes shut from the sting I feel from the tears that threaten to fall."I'll send the orientation paperwork to you as soon as I can. Welcome to the program!""Thank you. You won’t regret this." It’s a vow.I hang up and jump when I see Kel at the door. She beams with such happiness and I know she’s heard everything.“Did you hear?" I ask, and Kel smiles that proud sister smile that I’ve only seen twice before across her face.She grabs me by the shoulders, her laughter ringing against my ear as she hugs me tight. We’re both basking in this moment. The first happy moment we’ve had in so, so long."I knew you’d get it!" Kel squeals, squeezing me once more. She lets me go and has a wide grin on her face. She’s happy for me, just like I knew she would be.Swinging her arm around me, she whispers in my ear, “He’s here, you know. He’s talking with Lucas now." A blush rushes to my cheeks in anticipation. My joy in my news is replaced by the excitement and nervousness of seeing Gavin again."Do I look okay?" I rub my hands down my lavender mid-length summer dress, biting my lip when it starts to tremble. I don’t want to mess this up. Kel is right; it’s time to live again.Kel’s hand reaches out and squeezes mine.“You’re perfect, Sophie.” She tucks my hair behind my ears and gives me a little push towar
“What the hell, Sophia, are you okay?" Farah asks as she grabs my hand and we sit on the steps. I take a deep breath and turn to her. She’s been my rock for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what I’d do without her.“I don’t know what I’m doing, Farah. I met this guy today and he’s, God, so gorgeous. Like his eyes captivate me and when he was holding me just now, it felt so right, you know?"She grins and squeezes my hand for reassurance, her reddish-brown hair tucked behind her ears, her knowing eyes seeing right through me."Then go with it, Sophia. Don’t start over thinking it!""He called me beautiful, Farah. I mean, I don’t even know his last name! Is this crazy?"She shakes her head and looks into my eyes, forcing me to be honest.“Do you like him?" She cocks her head to the side, pinning me with her gaze."Yes.""Then stop thinking about it. I can tell he likes you." I grin at the thought and narrow my eyes at her."Really? How?"Her eyes gleam with a smile as she throws
"Sophia," he whispers against my lips, pulling back an inch to meet my eyes, reading them for a moment before that gorgeous smile graces his mouth and he leans his forehead against mine. I let go of his shirt and wrap my hands around the back of his neck as I struggle to catch my breath."That was...wow," I whisper, smiling excitedly. His hand brushes my flushed cheek and his mouth sets in a smile that shows off his ruggedly handsome face."Amazing," he says, pressing his lips to mine softly once more before he leans back and grasps my hand, his eyes shining as he gazes down at me. "Do you want to dance, beautiful?"I grin and nod as he leads me back inside. My heart beats fast and erratically in my chest. His fingers close over mine as we walk back to the almost empty dance floor where a soft melody by Shania Twain is playing. He pulls me into him and presses a hand to my waist. He sweeps me into a slow dance that is just as graceful as before, only this time he presses his mouth
"When did you start dancing?" he asks, his deep voice next to my ear."When I began preschool, my mom enrolled me in a toddler dance academy, and my love for it grew from there.""Is your mom a dancer?” Gavin’s hands skate down my arms, causing goose bumps.I giggle and press closer to him. Being in his arms feels better than I could have imagined. "That’s two questions, but no, she isn’t. She's a model and travels a lot, too." The last thing I wantto think about is my absentee mother, but he asked and, truly, I want Gavin to know me."Did I upset you?" he asks, turning me so that I’m facing him. I hastily shake my head, pressing it against his shoulder as his hand strokes up and down my back."No, she wasn’t around a lot when I was growing up, though. I actually haven’t talked to her in a long time."Deftly, Gavin lifts my face with a finger under my chin and gazes into my eyes."I understand, but if she doesn’t appreciate you then it’s her loss, Sophia, not yours." My heart skips
"My dad passed Thomas Corporations down to me, the family company, last spring. He’d been priming me for it since I was fifteen years old. I own and operate it now, along with my mom, of course, who runs the offices and legal aspects of it."My breath catches. I struggle to imagine how much money he must make, owning a growing computer technology corporation like that. Mom always told me to follow the men with gold, but it doesn’t make me want him any less or any more. It’s just a surprise."Wow. I mean I figured you had a pretty high-end job to afford your Jaguar, but I didn’t expect that. What do you do? It’s computer technology, right?" He nods and leans back a little so his eyes meet mine in the setting sun."We try to innovate mobile and computer technologies for modern-day society. After Windows 8, our system was in almost every PC in America."I give him a smile, reassuring him that I’m only curious about his work and not trying to pry."Windows 8?""Yeah, once we put together
As I make my way into the kitchen, I see my dad giving Kel a hug. I squeal, a huge smile on my face since I haven’t seen him in weeks. Excitement bubbles up inside me when he turns and sees me."Pumpkin, come here,” Dad says, pulling away from my sister. I run into his arms, so happy to see him as he lifts me off my feet and kisses my cheek."When did you get here?" I ask, pulling back to take a look at him. I laugh, seeing his beard coming back. He has new lines around his eyes and mouth, but his deep amber eyes, the same as Kel’s, are as bright as they’ve always been."You look happy, Sophia," he says, twirling me in a circle like he always does."Dad, you seriously have to shave!” I laugh through the words. He throws his head back and laughs, pulling me with him. He makes his way into the kitchen where Kel places three plates of mac and cheese on the table.“I’ll take it under advisement, pumpkin,” Dad winks at me.Turning to my sister, he says, “This is great, Kel. Thank you." I si
GavinThe cup of steaming hot coffee meeting my taste buds could be described as the highlight of my day on most days I spend in the office. Today was different. Meeting Sophia Jones was the highlight, and if I could have spent more time with her today, I would have jumped at the chance. I haven’t truly thought about a girl or rather, a woman, in any way other than an easy fix at the end of a very long day in I don’t know how long. Back in college, it had been different. I was convinced that my girlfriend at the time, Jasmine, was the one. The one. As I think about it now, I have to laugh at myself.I didn’t know how naive that sentiment was. As if there was one woman that would stay by me through thick and through thin. As if there was a woman out there that could look past my name and the number attached to my bank account. Maybe even past the dollar signs on my paycheck each month. I’d thought she was that one woman. Shit, was I wrong. I sip my coffee slowly, closing my eyes f
Sophia "My Sophie," he whispers, sending terrible shivers down my skin as I writhe against his hold, finding myself trappedagainst his hard, heavy, unyielding body. His cold, hard eyes stare down at me. He grasps the button of my jeans,undoing it and roughly pulling them down my legs as I sob, feeling helpless against his weight and his greedy hands. "Please, stop. Stop, Bryce...you’re hurting me...no!” I whimper and scream fearfully as he holds me down,he’s having no mercy as I clutch the bed covers and sobs rack my body. The pain is relentless as I feel his hard lipsagainst mine. I can’t get away. It hurts! "No! Get off me...It hurts!!" I writhe and scream, crying out for help as he slaps me hard across my cheek,making me whimper in pain. I yearn for it to stop, but it never does. "Stop...please..." He chuckles, taking me again as I feel my sex spasm painfully against his punishment. I have no way ofgetting him off me with his death grip on both my hands. "Shut up, bitc