Stolen Beauty (Jackson Family 1)

I slowly ripped open my eyes, staring up at the familiar ceiling. James’s arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, his head on my shoulder as he slept. I had a slight headache, and my eyes felt puffy and swollen, like I had been crying a lot.

“James?” I croaked, knowing he wasn’t a heavy sleeper.

He lifted his head, looking down at me through bleary eyes. “Hey, little one,” he rasped, his voice still tinged with sleep. “How are you feeling?”

“What happened?” I asked him.

He frowned. “You had some kind of flashback. I wasn’t able to bring you out of it. You were screaming and crying, so I had Dr. William come sedate you.” His frown deepened. “Who is Mrs. Banner?” he asked.

I flinched at the mere mention of her name. I cast my eyes away from his. Using his index finger, he pulled my head back over to look at him. “Little one, who is she? What the fuck did she do?”

Tears burned in my eyes, but I kept them at bay, refusing to cry over something that I couldn’t change. What had happened to me was done and over with – had happened years ago when I was seven.

“She was an evil foster mother who is now wasting away in prison,” I bitterly replied. My skin crawled as I remembered spending three days in that dungeon-like room. I hadn’t been able to see anything for three damn days, could only feel what that man was doing to me. The beatings seemed never-ending. My poor, battered body had taken weeks to recover.

Vomit rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down. “Who hurt you?” James asked me. I didn’t answer – just stayed mute. James gripped my chin and turned my head to face him, his face hovering above mine as he raised himself up on his elbow. “Little one, who the fuck hurt you?” he demanded to know.

I shrugged at him. “I don’t know,” I told him honestly. I cast my eyes away from his for a moment, trying to collect myself. He waited as patiently as he could before he pulled my eyes back to his. I helplessly shrugged at him. “I never saw his face nor what he looked like,” I informed him. “It was always dark.” A chill swept down my spine, freezing me from the inside out. “So fucking dark,” I whispered.

James laid back down and pulled me into the circle of his arms, holding me tightly against him. “I swear, little one, one day, I will find out about every mother fucker who dared to ever treat you wrong, and I will make them pay,” James promised.

“It’s pointless,” I told him quietly.

“Not pointless,” James growled.

A tear slid down my cheek. “It is, James,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “There’s too many to count.”

James growled. “Good thing I’m a sadistic psychopath,” James rumbled. “I don’t mind getting my hands bloody, baby. I’ll destroy this entire fucking world over you – don’t ever fucking doubt that.”