Less than Perfect, S. J. Evans [classic literature books txt] 📗

little droplets of water trickling down her cheek. If she could stop it she would, but there was something that was telling her that it would be hard to stop him. He had the strength of a wrestler. He could knock her out and get his way if he wanted, with ease. After all, he had always somehow managed to get what he wanted before and there wasn’t going to be anything to stop him that time either.
“Please, just don’t—” her voice caught in her throat as she sobbed desperately.
“I’ll be careful,” he purred, trailing his fingers over her shirt and pulling it up.
She gasped. “No, don’t touch me anymore, Bryan. Let go of me! You said you would change, you can hurt me or do anything else, just, please Bryan, not that

.”
“I can’t promise you anything.” He kissed her neck and hissed in her ear, pressing their bodies together.
This is it, I can’t handle anything else

, she told herself as he violently kissed her; however, there was no passion on her end, she felt utterly uncomfortable. He wasn’t going to stop, and she couldn’t do anything to stop him. She couldn’t even breathe. The small light in the room faded around Bryan and she was left alone with breaking thoughts. I shouldn’t have listened and let him get to me. How could I think that he had changed?

She whimpered and looked away as his hand slipped up her neck and slapped her cheek with near jaw-breaking force. I can take a beating; it’s everything else that I can’t handle

.
Bryan brushed his lips against her skin and breathed in her scent again. “Finally

,” he whispered. He knew that was about to get what he wanted.

Bitterly Lovely

Bryan’s lips traveled up her body, lingering on her lips when they met. He cupped his hands around her chin and pressed against her, forcefully kissing her. She was unresponsive, frozen underneath him, tears staining her cheeks as she let him kiss her. She didn’t want him to do more, though, ever

. Her pounding heart started slowing, retreating on its beats as she started to give away to her own exhaustion.

His fingers traced the frame of her face, pulling her as close as possible, and brushed over the bruises that were inflamed with pain. He kept kissing her, trapping her with him.

However, he was so distracted by his interactions with Skye that he failed to even hear the sounds of footsteps on the floor above. It was then when a voice called out, worried and muffled through the floor and door blocking the sounds volume. “Skye, where are you, sweetie?” It was Leah, calling out for the daughter she couldn’t find.

He was snapped out of the kissing, a sudden fear of being caught electrifying his veins and pushing him to get off the couch, cursing under his breath. Scrambling around for his shirt, he slipped it over his head as he muttered to himself about how he thought it all was very unfortunate.

Giving a glance in the direction of Skye, he noticed she was still on the couch, breathing quickly. Hurrying to her aid, he pulled her shirt down over her and lifted her up into his arms, her arms limply falling around him. “What do I do?” He whispered, his heart pounding inside his chest, threatening to break free.

She was weak, slowly fading, and unable to really process what was happening; but with a little help from fret and fear, she found enough of her voice to give him an answer. “Set me down,” she spoke quietly, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears. He did as she told him, and she wobbled a moment, his arms catching her into balance. “Stay down here, Bryan, and I’ll talk to them. Then, when you don’t hear us anymore, leave and go home

.” She added, straining to find her concentration on his face.

He looked at her for a moment, burning those dark blue eyes into her, and gave her a small smile before kissing her forehead and giving her a gentle push towards the stairs. She didn’t know what to make of it, his sudden carefulness, but she knew that it was better than what she had experienced moments before.

Practically crawling up the stairs, she made her way out the door and around the corner, sneaking a peak to find Leah. Finding no one, she made her way into the kitchen, weariness creeping into her body. She tried to manage her way over to the stools, but she collapsed, the stress and tiredness draining her energy. Her eyes were heavy, threatening to close as she watched as blackness dotted her vision.

The shuffling of footsteps echoed in her ears as Leah and Johnny entered the kitchen, her only awareness of them being their slippers. Leah gasped, rushing down beside her daughter. “Skye, are you alright?” Her small voice was filled with worry—the same worry that was speeding her beating heart. “What happened, sweetie? Why are you not in bed?” She asked as she pulled her into her own arms and put her hands on Skye’s face, examining her.

Skye wanted to reply, she tried

to reply, but nothing came out. She looked at Leah’s blurring face, fighting the oppressing darkness of sleep. She didn’t want for her to be worrying; she wanted Leah to be happy, never having to even think

about worrying for her. Johnny, on the other hand, she couldn’t care less what he did or how he felt.

“She doesn’t look well. I’ll put her to bed,” Johnny said, setting his hand on Leah’s shoulder. He looked entirely exhausted but in another way, he looked fully alive, driven by the opportunity to help his wife.

“Be careful, Johnny, remember her wounds,” Leah reminded him, giving a glance in his direction. She held her daughter, cradling her, and kissed her head, whispering soothing words.

Johnny bent down and lifted Skye’s limp body into his arms, holding her as a young child, and carried her out of the room and up the stairs, Leah following behind them.

“I’ll be in bed,” Leah told him, rubbing at her temples as she walked away down the hall.

Skye groggily looked up, noticing Johnny’s slow nod aimed towards Leah, and whimpered, hating how he was the one touching her. She had just been through so much with Bryan, and even though he wasn’t doing anything wrong to her, she hated Johnny’s touch.

He entered her room and nestled her down on the bed, tossing a blanket over her shaking body. He knew why she was shivering and how it wasn’t at all because of the temperature. Still, he didn’t seem to mind that, maybe enjoyed it even. He cocked his head to the side when she brought the blanket around her, cuddling into the warmth and security, and smiled faintly, a cold and weary smile.

She could only guess that he knew something more of what had happened earlier, the truth maybe. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to cope with the dark and taunting images of Bryan’s sick game. She couldn’t forget about the looks he had given her, the feel of his lips crushing against hers, and the torturing discomfort of his body weighing against hers. She hated it all, each and every part; and in one part of her, she hated Bryan more than anything. Then her mind gave in, making words form into a lesson she should have learned long before. Bryan’s just never going to grow up or change. He’ll always be the same boy that I stupidly fell for, only, now I have grown weak because of him.

Johnny left the room, refraining from saying anything, and she sighed as she felt her mind relax, the exhaustion finally letting her escape the dark world.

***

Skye bolted upright in bed, gasping, with a cold sweat plastering her hair to skin. She had a nightmare, Bryan starring as her assaulter. Exhaling slowly, she winced as the pain from the sudden movement pierced her ribs. It was just a dream

, she concluded, fighting off the sheer horror of how real the dream had felt. Her mind was swimming in a vast river of horror as she unwillingly recalled moments of the dream. She couldn’t stand any of it—especially the realness of Bryan’s touch, as if it hadn’t been a dream at all.

Carefully, she pealed the covers away from her and managed to get out of bed. She needed a shower. It could help clear her mind.

As she took a shower she let the hot water wash away her crippling pain, hoping that it would take it all away. The pain wouldn’t be numbed though; it couldn’t be numbed entirely. Whether the pain was physical or emotional, as long as she stayed with Bryan and Johnny she would have such an uncomfortable pain.

Once finished, she wrapped herself in a towel and stared in the mirror, looking at the reflection with regret. She didn’t see herself. She only saw a weak, fragile, and slowly fading girl—desperately hoping for something seemingly impossible.

“You have let yourself get into this,” She whispered to the reflection. A cold and desperate hatred clung to her heart and she let out a cry of agony. “It’s your entire fault!” She cried out, but the sound was muffled and quiet, her trembling lips spluttering out the words. Dropping her head in her hands, she curled against the counter, pain tearing across her chest. She ignored it.

In her mind, she replayed the events of the night before, wishing them away with no luck. How could I have been so stupid? He was just using me, the entire time. He doesn’t really want to change. But, he has to; otherwise… I can’t be near him. I can’t give up on him either way. He needs me more than I need freedom.

It was settled in her mind. She had to help him. With what, she wasn’t even sure; but she knew it had to be done. It would save them both in the long end.

Even if staying with him and helping him for a long while was the only way.

She cringed at the idea, hating how much of a possessive hold he had on her. There were so many reasons for as to why she should find a way to escape both Johnny and Bryan, but no matter how many or how big they were, the fear of losing someone important to her topped it all.

She wanted to go back to how things used to be with Bryan; back to when he wasn’t always aggressive with her. Going back to the days when the moments they shared built their relationship up and only brought smiles to their faces, that’s what she wanted.


“Skye, don’t even think about it,” Bryan warned her, laughing under his breath as he watched her flaunt herself and his cell phone in front of the water at the shore. She was giggling, pure joy spilling from her countenance.

“Oh, I’ve already thought about it, Bry.” She teased, bringing the phone to her lips and faking a search for the perfect spot in the