“Shut up, bitch!” He yelled as he upended her bag, looking for the money she had hidden in her bra; knowing he’d never think to look there. He was mumbling as he dug around in her bag, about what an ungrateful little brat she was. When he finished looking through it, he got up and tossed it at Keeley telling her, “It’s high time your ass moves out of here, you’ve been nothing but a burden since the day you were born. Nobody wanted you, and I still wish your mother had aborted you when she had the chance, instead of wasting the money on her next fix. You have five minutes to pack your stuff and leave.” He went back and sat down in his chair, grabbing his bottle of vodka. Keeley was surprised at this. She didn’t know what to do. She had nowhere to go, no friends. Nothing. Twenty years old and she’d just been reduced to nothing.
“I said get out!!” He yelled at her again. Scrambling up she ran into her barren room and went through a few things, grabbing a couple changes of clothes and the fairy music box her grandmother had given her on her fifth birthday. It was the only present she’d ever gotten, and the last time she had seen her Grammy. One thing to be thankful for, though, was Mack had forgotten it was her birthday.
As she was walking through the living room to the front door a few minutes later, her father looked up and snarled, “Where do you think you’re going, you stupid whore?”
Stupefied at his question, because he had told her to get out just a couple minutes ago, she stuttered out, “Yo—you told me to get out.”
Narrowing his eyes he bit out, “Shut the fuck up and sit down.”
Sitting down, across from him, on the old couch that they’d had since she could remember, Keeley was incredibly confused by his behavior. She knew today would be bad, but he’d never tried to kick her out before, and now he was acting like he never even said it.
Sitting quietly, watching him from underneath her lashes, she tensed as he leaned toward her menacingly, with a look of intense hatred and rage in his black soulless eyes. Unprepared for his quick movement, she almost wasn’t in time to duck when he threw his empty bottle of vodka at her head, missing her by just centimeters. She felt it swoosh by her hair. “Go to your fucking room and don’t come back out!” He screamed at her.
Flying to her room in fear, she shut the door quietly. Grabbing the small desk chair she had and wedging it under the door handle, gave her hope it would keep him out should he decide to try to attack her at any point during the day or night.
Laying on her bed cradling her knees to her chest, she prayed for a miracle. That by the grace of God, she would make it out of her house and maybe one day, have a new life.
A better life.
*******
After another night spent tossing and turning, thinking about the situation Keeley was in, Nate got up around dawn feeling restless. Going through his morning routine of showering, he went downstairs to find Ty already in the kitchen. He had the morning news on the small TV they had above the refrigerator, turned down low, while drinking a cup of coffee.
Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, he poured himself some coffee as well, before sitting down beside Ty at the breakfast bar. Thinking about her and how vulnerable she seemed last night, left Nate with a bad taste in his mouth. He didn’t want to leave her, but knew she wasn’t ready for the way he wanted to take over. To make sure she feared nothing again.
Being a Marine he was used to protecting people, making sure that they were safe. Realizing he couldn’t do that with her, just yet left him cold inside. He had done three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan over the years, and while he liked to think it didn’t change him he knew that it had. After coming home, like many soldiers, he suffered from PTSD and nightmares from the things he’d done and seen. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he needed help either, which thinking back on it was probably going to be his saving grace in regards to Keeley.
If he hadn’t gotten the counseling he needed, he probably wouldn’t recognize her for what she was, a chance at a fulfilling and loving future.
*******
Sitting next to Nate, Ty was lost in thoughts about the past. He knew that in order for them to convince Keeley to give them a chance they would have to present a united front, show her that they were for real.
They thought they’d had a future once, with a woman they had meet after they got home from their first tour in the Marines. She was nice, sweet, caring, and had been open to a ménage relationship, too. They thought she’d been it for them, until they really got to know her. On the outside she was what they wanted, but on the inside she was cold. Calculating. She tried to play them against each other, make the other jealous about who she spent the most time with. It might have worked, but Ty knew that their hearts hadn’t been engaged. So when they came home after their second tour and found out she’d been cheating while they were gone, neither was saddened by it. More annoyed than anything.
Ty had been relieved. He hadn’t realized at the time that he wasn’t happy with her, until she was gone. She tried to play Nate into thinking that she was lonely and needed someone, that it was somehow their fault she was a cheater. Thankfully, he had been less engaged with her than Ty had, so he just walked away without a backward glance.
Once they’d retired and decided to put their skills to use, they both realized how much happier they were and decided to try looking for a woman to complete them. They always knew they’d have the same type of relationship as their parents. It was a relief to know that if something ever happened to either of them, the other would be there to take care of their wife and children.
*******
Getting up the next morning, stiff from not moving all night and in fear that her father would hear her and come pounding on the door, Keeley looked at the time and realized it was later than she thought. With only a few hours to get ready before her lunch date with Nathaniel and Tyler, she got up slowly to get showered and changed into something that wasn’t four sizes too big and didn’t have holes, like the clothes she’s usually worn. Hopefully it won’t be raining like the forecast had been predicting either.
Making her way quietly out of her room, Keeley darted into the bathroom across the hall to get ready for the day. Undressing, she noticed her arm was bruised from her fall the day before, but nothing major, and the fingerprints were much more noticeable on her neck, too. With tears welling up in her eyes, she hopped into the lukewarm shower and washed up quickly. Getting dressed in something presentable was a little harder than she suspected, her clothes were old hand me downs. Nothing fit properly and it was all worn and holey. Finding a pair of jeans that hung off her hips just a little, and only had holes in the knees, then grabbing a sweater and tossing it on, she figured it would have to be good enough for now. Towel drying her hair was all she was able to do before putting it up in a ponytail.
Grabbing her bag, she went out to the kitchen to grab a drink and something quick to eat, before making the long walk to the restaurant. Stopping short when she saw her father looking in the fridge, she was torn about running out the door and staying there. Her indecision cost her.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” He barked at her.
“Nothing,” she replied meekly.
Seeing the anger in his face and etched in every line of his body, Keeley started to shake in fear. “What are you shaking for, girl?” He snarled. “You scared? You should be,” he said while advancing on her.
Taking a step back for every step forward he took, she hit the wall at her back. “Please don’t,” she pleaded.
Slamming his fists on the wall on either side of her head he had her boxed in, scaring her even more. “I’m thinking you’re holding out on me with your money, huh. Time for you start making more.”
“I’m not, I swear,” she whispered, afraid to speak too loudly, in case she angered him more by thinking she was talking back.