Damaged and the Beast (Damaged #1)

“A burger would be great,” I said, sitting at the table where his brother, sister, and Maddy waited.

Cooper pulled a chair from the next table and sat an inch from me. He was watching me in the way he sometimes did at Denny’s. Like he was dissecting me, breaking through all of my barriers, and soon would know my every thought. Hating being scrutinized, I avoided his gaze.

“I should give you your money,” Cooper said after we ordered. “I have a feeling you might freak out soon and I don’t want you storming off without your cash.”

“Why would I freak out?” I whispered, hating to have everyone staring at me. “And I can’t storm off when I don’t know how to get home.”

“I’d take you,” Bailey announced. “But first, we could drop by a frat house and party.” Cooper glared at his sister who grinned. “Find ourselves a few real men and get naked and…”

“Gross,” Tucker muttered. “You naked is a real buzz kill. Now, Farah is someone I wouldn’t mind getting naked for a little fun.”

Cooper looked ready to hit his brother, but Maddy got there first. Elbowing Tucker in the jaw, she stood up and threw her drink at him.

“I’m carrying your baby and you’re trying to fuck this whore!”

There were moments in my life when I wished I was invisible. Right then, I was having one of those moments.

“Baby,” Tucker soothed, wiping his face, “you’re so hormonal and shit.”

“Don’t blame this on hormones. You’re a pig and I hate you for wanting to fuck someone else.”

“Not fuck,” Tucker said softly, hands out in a gesture of peace. “A blowjob at the most.”

The next second everything exploded. Cooper punched Tucker then turned to punch another guy who did something I hadn’t seen. Bailey yelled for Cooper to kill the guy then she yelled for Tucker to kill another guy. Maddy slapped Tucker on his way to the ground then she ran to the bathroom, screaming about a mother protecting her young. I didn’t wait around to find out what happened next.

Bolting out of the bar, I ran without looking back. Once I reached the road, I guessed which way we’d come. Everything was so green and nondescript out by the bar, but my inner GPS screamed for me to head left. I ran up the road, ignoring honking cars speeding by.

I needed to get home behind a locked door so I would be safe. Growing up, how many fights had broken out with me and Tawny nearby? How many times had someone hit me trying to get to my parents? Tawny lost a tooth in such a fight. One minute, we were standing in a store. The next minute, Tawny took a punch to the face meant for our mom. I still thanked God we had dental insurance through the state. If not, my poor sister would be missing one of her front teeth. Like life wasn’t hard enough with her teeth intact.

No more chaos of my childhood. No more madness. I needed free of my past. Free of danger and fear. The apartment I shared with my mother wasn’t fancy or even all that welcoming, but it was nicer than most places I’d lived in. It was as safe as I would find here and I hoped I was running in the right direction.

Past exhaustion with a bone dry throat, I whimpered when I heard the motorcycle. The rural highway had become residential and I believed I was close to my neighborhood. Even nearly safe, I couldn’t outrun a Harley.

Cooper roared to a stop in front of me and let the bike idle. His gaze was angry and I noticed blood on his bottom lip. Standing there sweaty and thirsty, I felt glued to my spot much like I did when I got in trouble as a kid. My dad would tell me to come to him and I knew I would get the belt. Sometimes, I didn’t care. The few times I turned bratty, I didn’t mind a spanking because I hated our life. Those times when I hadn’t really done anything wrong and my dad just wanted to punish someone, I did care about the spankings. I would stare at him and wait for someone to save me. I knew no one would, but I couldn’t move towards my fate. Every time I panicked like that, Dad spanked me where I was glued to the floor.

Now, I waited for payback from a pissed Cooper. Breathing too fast and with a violent look in his eyes, he gestured with his finger for me to come closer. I didn’t move though. I wasn’t walking over to him so I could be punished. If he wanted to do it, he could come to me. It wasn’t much of a stand, but I had learned to accept the small victories.

Cooper shut down his bike and climbed off. Watching him move towards me, I wanted to run. Just like when I was kid waiting for my spanking though, I had nowhere to go.

Before he reached me, Cooper lost the rage in his expression. His dark eyes softened and he sighed. “Why did you run?”

Shaking my head, I just wanted to go home and be safe. What if I said the wrong thing to Cooper and he hurt me? No one would care. No one would help me. He was rich and powerful. I was poor and nobody.