“Yeah, there’s nothing here I want. I’m tired of being known as the trailer trash kid or just the whore’s daughter. My mom has quite the reputation around town, and I’ve got no intention of joining it. Besides, it’s the only way I’m going to be able to one day get a place like this. Maybe have a family.”
“You’re not close to your mother?”
Chapter Six
Mona
So, for the first time in my life, I told him everything. I told him about my mom and dad, what happened that night all those years ago. I know it annoyed him, maybe even pissed him off. He didn’t want me to go back home, so he made me show him where I’d disappear to when things at home got too bad.
“This is where you sleep?”
I nod. “Yeah. It’s not so bad after a while. It beats being back home, you know.”
“You’re not staying here ever again.”
“What?”
“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for a young woman to be here, like this? It’s … no, it’s not happening. I’m not going to have you endanger yourself.” He stepped up close to me, cupping my face. “You’ll come to my place.”
“Elijah, you and I both know this is not going to last forever. You’ve got your life, and I want to leave here.”
“Do you need me to put you over my knee and spank that ass? I don’t give a fuck what is going to happen. None of us know the future, so you better come to me, otherwise I’ll punish you.”
With that, he slammed his lips down on mine, and I couldn’t help it. I fell a little more for him.
I think what scared me the most was I wasn’t falling anymore—I was already in deep.
“Come on, let’s go.” He took my hand.
Instead of heading back to his place though, he parked outside the tracks near the trailer park. “Go and get your stuff.”
“Elijah?”
“No. I need to know that you’re safe at all times, and the only way to do that is for you to be with me.”
“What about … everyone?” I asked. “We can’t keep it secret.”
“We’ll figure it out, but I’m not having you live like this. Not with those bastards who think they can put their hands on you. You’re mine, Mona. Make no mistake about it.”
So I had no choice but to go and gather the few belongings that I had.
When I entered the trailer, Mom was passed out on the sofa. Several bottles of cheap whiskey were on the floor, empty.
This place had never been a home for me.
It had always been a prison.
Stepping over the bottles so I didn’t make a noise, I gathered the few items of clothing and books I’d been able to keep over the years. With a drunk for a mother and deadbeat for a dad, you didn’t exactly get presents for birthdays or Christmas.
Once I had everything, I left the trailer. With every step I took, I felt lighter, as if I was finally breaking free of all the pain that had been thrust upon me.
Climbing into Elijah’s car, I smiled at him.
He nodded, and we headed back to his place. He didn’t allow me to take my own bags in.
I waited as he brought in my two bags. My entire eighteen years of life, in two bags. It could be worse.
He closed the door, and I followed him back upstairs to his room.
I was a little stunned as he started to take out spare hangers and put my clothes on them, placing them carefully in his closet.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You’re here now, with me. You can still do your waitressing job, and we’ll be careful. Either way, I’m not letting you sleep out in the dark or alone anymore.”
After he put everything away, we made our way downstairs for dinner.
“You’re sure your mother wouldn’t phone the cops to report you missing?”
“No. The only thing she cares about is being at the bottom of a bottle.” I wasn’t bitter. You couldn’t be bitter when you didn’t care. My parents, they were not perfect, and I didn’t want perfect, not even a little bit.
I made Elijah go and sit down in the living room as I finished washing the dishes. Running my hands across the counter, it was surreal to actually be at home and to feel like I was. Once graduation came, I’d be gone. That day, I intended to leave.
Making my way into the living room, I saw he was watching an action flick. I went to walk past him, but he grabbed my hand and drew me in. I straddled his lap, feeling the hard length of his cock. Going on instinct, I reached inside his pants to start touching, teasing, to make him feel good.
“I love it when you put your hands on me.”