As the night wore on, I just laid beside her, thinking. I wondered if she had a good childhood. Was she happy living in Tennessee? Did she have friends, anyone she could call upon to help her? Did she have any other family, anyone who missed her besides her brother? What were her dreams, hopes, desires? I wanted to know everything about her. The good and the bad.
Just thinking about the bad angered me. I tried to comprehend what she may have gone through, but until she told me herself, my imagination was thinking all sorts of things. I knew being trafficked and used was one of the worst things that could ever happen to a woman, or any human being for that matter. It was something that I agreed with Reaper in. Human Trafficking needed to be eradicated. Erased from this earth and those who harbored ill will and deviance towards another human being for profit deserved whatever punishment they received. As for Layla, her captors had no clue what waited for them, and I was eager to show them. I would find them, and when I did, I would treat them with the same respect they gave Layla.
A soft whimper brought me out of my desire for revenge. Turning towards her, I gathered her in my arms. Her head lay on my chest. I tried everything I could to soothe her nightmare. Whatever was consuming her tonight seemed troubling, but nothing like last night when she lashed out and fought whatever demon that threatened her.
“I’ve got you,Cara. Just sleep. Nothing will harm you tonight.”
“I can’t sleep. When I do, he shows up.”
“Who?”
“The boogeyman.”
Sighing, I tightened my arms around her. “He won’t ever get you again,Cara. Not as long as I am around. Rest now.”
“Gio?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you make me forget?”
“How Layla? Tell me, and I will do it.”
“Make love to me.”
God give me strength.Sighing, I held her to me and said, “Layla, you are not ready for that. You’ve been through too much. Your mind is in turmoil. You need to rest and gather your strength.”
“I know what I need Gio. I need to feel again, something real. To feel human. To feel as if I’m more than my past. I need to do this. I can’t move past all the bad if that’s all in my head. I need something good. Something beautiful.”
“That time will come,Bella,and when it does, it will be more than you imagine. I promise. Until it happens, I will do anything you need, but please don’t ask this of me.”
I didn’t move when she rolled away from me and got to her feet. I stayed quiet as she began to pace the room, still only wearing her bra and panties. I tried not to look, but I was just a man. I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering. In the moonlight, she was stunning, a vision of grace and beauty, but I saw every scar, every wound that marked her beautiful skin. She had been tortured, and like the strong woman I knew her to be, she wore those scars proudly.
She was a survivor.
I was in awe of her. She was everything I was, would never be. To endure what she went through would break anyone, yet she was still standing, fighting for some remnantsof her former life.
“I see him. Every night. He’s there in my dreams. I can’t unsee un-feel every vile thing he did to me. He did things...” Shaking her head as she fell to her knees, tears flowing freely down her face, she cried, “No! I can’t think about that anymore. I need something good. Something pure to hold onto. I can’t do this anymore. Please Gio. Please make it all go away.”
I moved quickly, my arms wrapping around her. Cradling her closely to my body, asI silently roared out, crying for her pain. The suffering she endured. Her mind was chained to the past. Something had to give. She couldn’t go on like this. Her torment was too unbearable to watch.
Grabbing her face, I prayed I was doing the right thing.
Dear God, please forgive me, I thought as I bound her lips to mine.
19
Layla
As his mouth carefully yet tenderly covered mine, I braced for the pain.
It never came.
At that moment, I felt a tenderness I hadn’t felt in years. Like the gentle wind as it kissed my skin as I ran through the meadow of my childhood home. I felt the warmth of the sun on my face, the soft grass beneath my feet. I could smell the sweet honeysuckle and hear the bees as they buzzed and hummed for its nectar. I could see everything so clearly as if I was actually there.
Safe and loved.
I was home.