Her lips rub together, and I feel her hand beneath mine dig into her thigh. Her eyes skirt away from mine to land on something across the room.
“He uh….” Her brows furrow. I squeeze her hand, telling her without words to continue. Her eyes slide back to mine and so much pain reflects in them it almost knocks my breath away. “He almost raped me last night,” she finishes on a warped whisper.
Red clouds my vision as her words echo over and over in my head. My body vibrates as violent rage fills me.
“Say that again?” I say with a deadly calm voice. I need to make sure I heard her right.
Jules flinches at my side, but she opens her mouth and repeats the words that send my blood from boiling to volcanic hot.
“Theo almost raped me last night.” Her voice cracks. “I was dreaming and when I woke up, he was touching me. I wanted him to stop, begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t.”
“You said almost.” I try to keep my voice calm through the vicious fury simmering in my system. “What does that mean?”
She licks her lips and water pools in her eyes, making my anger ramp up more.
“H-he didn’t have t-time to… push himself inside me before Aria walked in the room. I don’t think she knew what he was doing.” My hand on my thigh cramps from fisting it so hard. “I don’t know if he would have stopped or not, but it wasn’t the first time he’s almost lost control like that.”
“Fuck!” I bellow and launch myself from the couch. I kick the coffee table across the room. The small lamp on the table by the couch is next as it smashes against the wall. Jules cries out, but I’m too far gone in my rage to comprehend it.
My brother. My fucking brother. I stalk across the room, stabbing my fingers through my hair. I would have never thought my easygoing and laid-back brother was capable of something so violent. And for him to do it to his wife… twice. A wife he claimed to love so much.
But then again, his demeanor has drastically changed since Jules has been back in the picture. He’s been bitter, irritable, and a downright asshole lately. Even our parents have commented on his attitude.
The wild possessive look in his eyes from that first day comes to mind. It’s that look and the difference in his temperament lately that has me so easily believing Jules. A growl tries to rumble free when I think of him touching her without her permission. Even one touch is too much when the person doesn’t want it.
I spin back around and face Jules, my eyes no doubt carrying a wild look.
“Why in the fuck are you just now telling me?” I yell the question. “Why in the fuck didn’t you say something the first time? To anyone in the family.”
Her face is red, and she’s shaking like a fucking leaf as she stands at the end of the couch, far away from me. I throw my hands on my hips and drop my head, taking in deep breaths of air, trying like fuck to calm the raging fire burning through me. She’s already scared enough, the last thing I want to do is frighten her more, especially given our history.
“Because I was scared. Because he said he was sorry, and I believed him. Because I knew this couldn’t be easy on him either. His memories of me are intact. He remembers everything we shared. He remembers the love we had for each other and the times we were together… intimately. I couldn’t imagine living with someone you wanted, knowing you’ve had them before, but the person doesn’t remember you. I tried really hard to make it work between us because of the past we shared. I was giving him a chance.”
By the time she’s done talking, her chest is heaving. Her arms are folded tightly across her stomach, likes she’s protecting herself.
“None of those reasons give him the right to lay a finger on you when you don’t want him to,” I grind out.
“I know.” Her voice is small. “But he’s your family. I didn’t know if you, your sister, or your parents would believe me.”
“Why didn’t you call the cops?”
“I just want to be away from him. That’s all I want. I can’t….” Her eyes close for a brief second before sliding open again. “I don’t want to involve the police. I just want it to go away.”
I tip my head back and close my eyes for a moment, then make a decision.
“Grab your shit. You’re coming home with me.”
Her eyes widen, then turn hesitant. “I don’t want to leave Aria here.”
“He won’t hurt Aria,” I tell her and speak the truth. He may be a shitty dad at times, but he loves his daughter and is fiercely protective of her when it counts.
She shakes her head. “I still don’t want to leave her.”
I glower at her. “So, what? You’re just going to stay here and let him follow through the next time?”
She recoils as if I slapped her, but fuck, she needs to understand this is something I refuse to allow to happen. She’s not fucking staying here another second. I’ll carry her ass out of the house and throw her in my truck if I need to, and not feel one bit of guilt afterward.
I inhale deeply, then release it, pushing back those dark thoughts. “I don’t want Aria here any more than you do, Jules, but I can’t just take her, especially once he finds out you’ve left him. No doubt he’ll retaliate for me taking you by calling the cops and claiming kidnapping. I swear to you, he won’t hurt her. I need time to think of what to do.”
She wavers, and after a moment, her shoulders sag. She nods, but I can tell she agrees reluctantly. As she leaves to grab her things, I stand in the middle of the living room, barely containing the need to hunt down Theo and beat the shit out of him. Ella’s words of the other day take forefront in my head. I know of the angry look she spoke about. I saw it in his eyes the day the whole family was over. I assumed the look was only directed toward me because of what I had done, but now I wonder if it was more. I just don’t get why. Why would he be angry at Jules? What in the fuck has she done to garner such animosity from him?
Theo’s my brother, my twin, my fucking family. I’ve always been fiercely loyal to and protective of my family. Jules is part of that family now. She’s more than just Theo’s wife. I don’t know what she is exactly, but she’s just fucking more.
I vow to myself, standing in his living room while waiting on Jules, that there will be hell to pay, and Theo will the one cashing in his ticket.
JULES IS QUIET ON the way to my place, which isn’t really surprising since I only live a few miles away. Her silence speaks volumes though. It shows her trepidation over the situation she’s about to be in, living with me, her fear of the one she just left, and her unease about leaving Aria behind. The first one I don’t blame her for, given past circumstances. The second one I’m trying to push to the back of my mind for the moment, so I don’t go off the wall and rearrange Theo’s fucking face. The third has my chest expanding, but again doesn’t surprise me. Aria is an easy girl to love. She wraps every person she meets around her tiny fingers, and Jules, it seems, is not immune to her sweet and innocent charms, even willing to go so far as to stay in a hazardous situation.
I pull into the driveway, then reach back and grab her small bag before opening my door. I’m halfway around the truck when Jules climbs out. I watch her closely and notice her rubbing her lips together, giving away her nervousness.
It enrages me that’s she’s here for the reason she is, but I can’t help the adrenaline rushing through me at having her in my home, so close to me. My obsession with her hasn’t waned in the slightest, and the thought of having her so close on a daily basis really fucks with my head and body.
I lead her inside and drop her bag on the couch before turning to her. She’s stopped in the middle of the living room, her arms tightly folded across her chest, looking around. I don’t have a lot, but I’ve worked my ass off for what I do have. It’s no doubt a lot less than what she had growing up.
When she turns to face me, her eyes carry a bleak look.
“Thank you,” she says quietly.