I told you guys that I would update in a few days and I have. After all, I didn't want to keep you all waiting for too long to see what happens to Marie. Now, without further ado, the sixteenth chapter.
Chapter Sixteen
Bradin snuck through the back door of the beach house, trying not to make a sound as he tiptoed across the wood floor.
"And just where have you been?" Bradin looked over at Johnny who stood in the kitchen, a glass of orange juice in his hands and his hair still mussed from sleep.
"Surfing?" he replied with a shrug and an innocent, or what he hoped was innocent, smile.
"Nice try buddy," Johnny shook his head and gave him a look. "You were out with Marie, weren't you?" Bradin didn't say anything, and the older man gave a disappointed sigh. "Bradin we told you…"
"We didn't do anything." Bradin cut him off angrily, "We've never done anything."
"Ava found the pregnancy test."
Bradin bit his lip to keep from yelling the truth at Johnny. He had promised Marie only hours before that he wouldn't say anything, that he would wait for her to gather her courage and allow her, when she was ready, to ask for the help that she needed.
"Bradin." Johnny's commanding tone forced the teen to look up. "What are you not telling me?"
The sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded through the bedroom. Marie's head collided with the wall, stars dancing in front of her eyes and blood pooling in her mouth. She spit, the blood droplets forming crimson stains on the beige carpet. Her breathing was heavy, her body screaming in agony from the first hit of what would, most assuredly, be many.
He sat on the couch, surrounded by the four adults. Johnny had called in reinforcements when Bradin wouldn't speak. They pestered him, trying to pry the truth from him, but he sat there, tight lipped, jaw clenched, refusing to give way. He was determined to keep Marie's secret, even if it killed him.
Her stepfather stood above her, his chest rising and falling with each angry gasp of air. Marie looked up at him through wide and frightened eyes. The death glare in his eyes was enough to make her look away.
His hand clamped around her arm in a vice-like grip, instantly numbing her arm from the elbow down, cutting off the circulation. He lifted her to her feet as if she were nothing more than a doll, only to punch her in the gut, then across the jaw, sending her sprawling, once more, across the floor. The bitter, coppery taste of blood once again flooded her mouth.
"Come on Bradin, talk to us." Ava knelt down in front of the young man, her hands resting on his knees, pleading with him to tell her what it was that he was hiding. Bradin bit his lip, hard. He could taste a few drops of blood on his tongue.
"Bradin, please." Ava said, "How can you expect me to trust you if you want talk to me?" He looked away from her, instead focusing his gaze on the ocean on the other side of the glass backdoor.
"Tell us what is going on Bradin." Johnny said. Bradin turned his head to glare at the older man.
"No." He said, returning his attention to the view of the ocean. He could see the reflections of the adults in the glass. Jay placed a hand on Johnny's shoulder, restraining the dark haired man.
"Bradin," Jay said, his accent thick, "do you remember when you asked me what I thought about telling people secrets?" Jay had his attention now, even though Bradin didn't move his focus from the door.
"You asked me what I would do if someone asked me to keep a secret that could be harmful to them, and I said that I would tell, if I truly cared about that person. I think you're keeping a secret for Marie, am I right?" Bradin rested his elbow on the arm of the couch and placed his hand under his chin as he watched the waves.
"I promised her I wouldn't say anything."
Marie was numb. She couldn't feel anything, couldn't hear anything, couldn't think anything. She was lost in her own world, allowing her body to be beaten as she traveled between the world of consciousness and darkness. The dark was so inviting, promising a place of peace and ease. A place where she could be with her father again, a place where there was no pain, only happiness and love.
Kicks and punches were delivered to every inch of her body. But Marie felt nothing. Her left eye was swollen shut, a shoulder dislocated. The pain was so intense it numbed her. She never uttered a sound, never screamed. There was no fight in her, she simply allowed what was happening to progress. What would be, would be.
"What did you promise you wouldn't say, Bradin?" Susannah asked. Bradin drew in a deep, shaky breath. Marie would kill him if she knew he had said anything. She would never speak to him again. And after that night, Bradin wasn't sure that he could live without her now.
"I promised I wouldn't say anything." he repeated, turning his gaze to the adults that surrounded him.
"Bradin, if you really care about Marie, and this secret could harm her, you have to tell us." Ava said, beseeching her nephew with her eyes. He shook his head.
"I can't."
"You love Marie, right?" Johnny had switched tactics now. Bradin looked at him and nodded.
"You don't want to see her hurt, do you?" The older man continued. Slowly, Bradin shook his head.
"No." he whispered.
"Then tell us what is going on."
Her father stood before her, holding his hand out to her, smiling, inviting her to join him. Marie reached out a hand for him, trying to reach him, but her fingers fell through his palm, his skin wavering like vapors shuffled by a breeze. Her breathing quickened, frightened. She tried to reach for him once more, but her hand went through his again.
No, her mind screamed as her father's image began to flicker in and out of focus, NO! His image floated out of the room. Marie began to crawl after it, wanting him near her, wanting him smiling on her once more. Each movement caused waves of pain to wash over her, but Marie continued on her quest. She moved across the carpet, staining it with the blood that seeped from the many wounds which had been inflicted upon her.
She heard her stepfather's malicious laugh above her.
"There's no escape now bitch, it's high time you got what's comin' to ya." he said, his words barely registering in Marie's mind. She was too intent on the retreating form of her father, which she frantically tried to follow.
A war raged within Bradin. If he told, Marie would never speak to him, she would shut him out of her life. Yet, if he didn't tell, who knew what would happen to her along the road. Her stepfather was an evil man. Bradin had never met him, never laid eyes on the man, but he knew what he was and what he had done to Marie, and what he would continue to do to her if Bradin didn't tell.
He was at a crossroads, stuck between a rock and a hard place. What did he do? What did he say? Marie's face floated in front of him, her smile, her eyes, everything Bradin loved. He focused on the picture, drinking in the sight of her. Suddenly, the smiling face transformed into one of intense pain and torment. A silent scream erupted from her mouth, and Bradin felt as if he had been punched in the gut and pain so extreme, so horrible flooded his body that it was all he could do not to cry out. Tears flooded, unbidden, down his face.
Before he knew what he was doing, the whole, terrifying story, from when he first met Marie to right that moment, poured from his lips. The adults before him listened in captivated horror and disgust. Their faces contorted in repulsion as they heard of the hell that the young girl, who seemed so perfect and together, endured.
Bradin felt drained as he came to a stop, the story finished. He had told them everything, everything that they could possibly want to know and everything that he knew. But he kept his vision from them, afraid that they would think him crazy if they heard of it. But he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that filled him.
"There's something else, isn't there?" Savannah asked, surveying Bradin's face with wet eyes.
"I…I think she's in trouble." he replied quietly, looking up at the four with eyes full of pain and worry. Johnny and Jay locked eyes and started towards the door, moving as if they were one.
"Where are you going?" Ava asked.
"To see if Bradin was right." Johnny said.
"I'm coming with you." Bradin stood hurriedly, the world around him darkening slightly as he stood too fast.
"No, you stay here." Johnny commanded.
"You don't even know where Marie lives." Bradin argued. "Besides, if nothing's wrong than I have to explain to her why I told even though I promised I wouldn't."
The two older men shared a look before nodding.
"Alright," Jay said, "you can come, but if there's trouble you stay out of the way. Got it?" Bradin nodded, ready to agree to anything as long as he got to see for himself if Marie was alright or not.
She crawled all the way to the closed door of her mother's bedroom. She pushed at it weakly, the stark white door swinging open at her touch, as if someone had left it unlocked for her. Marie forced herself to move across the floor, even though the carpet stung her elbows as she used them to pull herself forward. She really was imagining things now. Before her, her mother sat up in bed, her eyes widening as she saw Marie come crawling inside. Marie's lips trembled as she tried to speak, tried to call out to her mother, to tell her what was happening.
A hand clamped around her ankle, pulling Marie out of the room. Her shirt rode up, leaving the pale skin of her stomach exposed to the coarse material of the carpet. She clenched her jaw as her stomach rubbed against the carpet, making her feel as if she were on fire. She struggled against the pull, trying to make her way back to her mother and the image of her father which now stood beside the bed, still beckoning her to him.
There was another yank, and Marie gave a strangled cry as the carpet singed her. Her shirt rode up above her breasts, leaving them prone to the burn of the carpet. She was kicked over onto her stomach. Her stepfather stood over her, sneering as he drank in the sight of her bare breasts. Marie was too frightened to even try and cover herself. He pulled his leg back once more and delivered a swift and harsh kick to her side, rolling her once more. Again and again he kicked. Marie realized too late just what his intentions were.
"Here," Bradin ran across the sand towards Marie's home. "This is it." He cried, yanking at the door. The panes of glass in the door were covered, hiding the events that were unfolding inside the house from the eyes of passersby. He yanked hard at the door handle, willing it to open, but it was locked. Bradin pounded on the glass, hoping against hope that Marie would answer, give him a smile and a kiss and tell him she was alright.
Jay pulled him away from the door, holding Bradin tightly as he struggled against the Aussie's hold. Johnny put a finger to his lips, silently telling Bradin to calm down and keep quiet. The dark haired man placed an ear to the door, trying to hear what was going on. The air was silent and charged with anticipation. Bradin strained to hear, listening for any signs of trouble.
He didn't have to be like Johnny, ear pressed tightly against the glass, to hear the strangled cry and the repeated thuds that sounded from inside the house.
Head hitting repeatedly against the uncarpeted stairs, Marie rolled down the staircase until she came to a rough halt against the side of the couch. Tears flooded down her cheeks, mixing with the blood that came from her nose and the corners of her mouth. She couldn't move, not even if she had tried. Too many bones were broken, pain taking over her mind and controlling her thoughts.
Marie wished for the darkness that had been offered to her only a handful of minutes before. She wanted to go to that place where her father rested, where she could finally be free.
Her stepfather bent over her, gripping the top of her tank top in his well muscled hand. She looked up into his eyes, facing his rage and hatred head on. She wanted him to see her as she was, to see the pain and horror that he had inflicted upon her as he delivered the final blows. She wanted him to be haunted by her face for the rest of his life, she wanted for him to see her wherever he went. To see the face of the girl that he had murdered in cold blood, for that was the only way he would stop the beatings, when he had, finally, killed her.
Locked in their gazes, his one fist rising above his head, both intent on the final blow, neither heard the sound of glass shattering.
The three men looked around frantically, searching for something, anything, that would grant them access into the locked house. There, a rock sat beside the porch, large and heavy, and just what they needed.
Jay picked up the small boulder before Bradin could, and lobbed it at the door. The entire pane of glass shattered. Bradin rushed inside, directly behind Jay and Johnny. His gaze traveled the room, searching for Marie. His eyes locked on her stepfather, the unnamed terrorist of her life.
To put a face to him now was unnerving. Had Bradin seen him simply walking on the street, he wouldn't have even been able to comprehend what this man was capable of. He looked just like anybody else. He looked like Jay and Johnny, just a normal man with a normal life and normal friends. Could this man truly be capable of such horror? Bradin's eyes locked on his raised fist, blood that wasn't his glistened on his knuckles. His eyes traveled down the man's body to see Marie huddled below him. The tank top that she had been wearing only hours before was now torn and bloodied, clenched in the white knuckled grip of this monster. He took in the eerily calm expression on her face, as if she weren't even of the world anymore, but already looking beyond to the world she would enter as soon as she took her last breath. Her bare chest rose and fell with each harsh intake of air.
Bradin watched in horror as her stepfather's fist moved to deliver the fatal last blow. Everything moved in slow motion. Bradin felt a shout tear from his throat as he watched the fist come down and Johnny run towards the evil man. He tackled him, stopping the fist from its decent. Things returned to normal speed as Johnny and Marie's stepfather collided with the wall, shaking the pictures that hung on the wall. Bradin rushed to Marie's side as Jay hurried to help Johnny restrain Marie's tormenter.
Kneeling beside her, Bradin pulled her shirt down just enough to cover her chest. Her body was covered in bruises and red welts, her skin an array of color. Bradin bit his trembling lip. It broke his heart to see Marie like this. Her eyes were vacant, staring straight into his without any emotion. He took one of her hands in his.
"Marie?" He reached out a tentative hand to touch her cheek. A single, silent tear slipped from her eye and traveled slowly down the side of her cheek, washing away the blood that rested in its path.
"Marie?" Bradin searched her eyes, willing her to look at him, to see him, "Marie, are you alright, please, say something." Tears bit at the back of his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. She remained silent, her fingers limp around his hand.
Angrily, Bradin whirled around to face Marie's stepfather, letting the young woman's hand slip from his as he stood.
"You bastard." He cried, "You damn son-of-a-bitch, look what you did to her." His face was contorted in red-hot fury as he lunged at the man. Jay grabbed him, holding tightly as Bradin struggled to reach Marie's stepfather, who Johnny was struggling to hold down.
"Calm down Bradin." Jay cried, shaking the teen. "You're not gonna help Marie this way." He loosened his grip on Bradin as the boy slowly calmed down. "Go and stay with Marie, make sure that she's okay. Can you do that?" Bradin pushed off Jay's hands and returned to Marie's side, taking her hand once more in his. Her skin was cold, her palm clammy.
"You're gonna be okay Marie," he whispered, brushing the hair out of her face. He pulled his hand away from her forehead only to find his fingers covered with blood. "You're gonna be okay, you hear me? I'm not gonna let you die, I'm not going to leave you and you're not going to leave me, I won't let you." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I just found you." he whispered in her ear, "I'm not going to lose you."
Her fingers tightened around his. Bradin looked down at their entwined fingers, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
"She's alright." He cried, looking over his shoulder at Jay and Johnny. "She's gonna be alright."
"NO!" Her stepfather roared, "The bitch is gonna die!" Bradin watched in horror as he pushed Johnny off of him and threw him against the wall. Johnny was soon joined by Jay as the angry man made his way towards Marie and Bradin, murder in his eyes. Bradin couldn't move as the man descended on him, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him towards the stairs. His back connected with the bottom step, sending bursts of pain down his spine.
Marie's stepfather grabbed her once more, ready to kill her. Bradin looked to Jay and Johnny to help Marie, they were too far away. By the time they got up and made their way over to where Marie and her stepfather were she would already be dead. Bradin tried to get to his feet, but it hurt too much to move. Blinding pain shot up his back as he tried to stand and he quickly fell back to the floor. He opened his mouth to scream.
"Move away from my daughter this instant."
The voice floated in Marie's head, so familiar, yet so foreign. She turned her head to the side, just enough to see who had spoken. Pain shot through her head and neck, traveling through the rest of her body. She closed her eyes, trying to gain control over the pain. Opening her eyes once more, Marie could have sworn she was dreaming again.
Only a few steps above Bradin, her mother stood, one hand wrapped tightly around the banister of the stairs and a gun in the other, trained right on Marie's stepfather.
"Momma?" Marie rasped.
"It's going to be alright Marie." Her mother replied, her own voice hoarse from disuse. Her eyes traveled back to the man standing above her daughter. "I said, move away from my daughter or I'll shoot you where you stand."
Marie moved her eyes from her mother's swaying form to Bradin. He looked at her, worriedly, his eyes shifting from her to the woman who stood above him. Marie reached out a hand for him as her stepfather stepped away from her, his hands in the air. Out of the corner of her eye, Marie saw two men grab her stepfather and pull him away. Bradin returned to her side, moving slowly as he pulled his way across the floor.
"You're…you're hurt." she breathed, watching the pain in his eyes.
"I'm fine." he said, smiling down at her. Marie felt someone grab her hand and moved her eyes over to her mother's face where she now sat beside Marie.
"Momma…"
"Shh, it's alright now baby."
"You're awake." Her mother smiled down at her, her face extremely pale in the sunlight that filled the living room.
"I'm awake." Marie tightened her hold on her mother's hand. Bradin grasped her other hand and she looked at him and smiled before closing her eyes and giving herself over to the darkness which sought her.
I think that was the best chapter I've ever written. Don't worry though y'all, this story isn't over yet and there's still a lot to cover. I hope you all liked this chapter and will review.
Jmarocks: If I ever get published I'll give an autographed copy of my book to all my faithful reviewers. Lol.
Chanelbabe202, Caitlin, tinydancers17, SoupSkittles, darkdestiney2000, rachel, Charliechaz, Haylie, grullo-cowgirl, Ally B, OTHlover04, jessesfan0409, kandykane33, Mike Rules 2003, xohugsndkissesox, closetwriter, and Dramagrl: Thank you all so much for reviewing. It means a lot to me that you would take the time to do so.
