Kyle, Jack and Ryan - LeAnn Ashers Page 0,10

gray sweats and a white T-shirt that does amazing things for him. “Come on in, you don’t even have to knock, Chrystal.” He gives me a look telling me not to argue with him.

I laugh, holding up my hands. “Fine.” I’m not going to argue with that. My smile drops the second I think about why I’m up here in the first place.

Kyle notices and studies me. “What the fuck is the matter?”

I let out a deep breath, gathering every single bit of courage I have. “I need to tell you the reason why I was sleeping in my car.”

His eyes widen in realization, and he takes my hand and walks with me to the living room. I sit on the couch and grab the blanket off the back like it’s going to protect me somehow, keep me grounded. I’ve only told one person about him, about how he treated me—she threw me out on my ass.

Kyle sits in front of me, fully facing me.

“I was married when I was eighteen years old,” I start off, and Kyle’s eyes jump. “When I was sixteen years old, my mother introduced me to the man; his name was Joshua Campbell. I was to marry when I graduated from high school. He was twenty-eight when I met him, and he was thirty when I married him.” Kyle’s face darkens, jaw tight. “I didn’t want to marry him, but in exchange for me, my mother would be living a life of luxury.” I feel bitter at the thought of my mother doing this to me and the fact that I was stupid enough to follow through with it, but I was so young. “The marriage wasn’t bad at first, then the real side of him slipped out when I accidentally spilled his plate of food. That was the first time he hit me.” I whisper the last part, ashamed. “I went to my mother, hoping she would take me in, but she threw me out because she didn’t want to lose her lifestyle. My father is so brainwashed by my mother, he doesn’t know the sky from the ground.” I pull the blanket farther up my arms, chilled to the bone. “So I picked myself up and went back to him, promising myself I would save money so I could run.”

I don’t look at Kyle because I can’t handle that right now, and I need to finish this. “It got worse. He would find things that didn’t make any sense, and I would get beaten. He broke my toes because I left my shoes out and he tripped over them.” The memories of all of this are overwhelming. I never got to deal with everything.

I finally look at Kyle. “I found out I was pregnant, so I had to get out. I bought a broken-down car with cash, I got in, and I never looked back. Here I am. Roseville, Maryland is a place I never want to see again,” I whisper.

Kyle reaches out to touch my face but stops himself. “I will not touch you when I have such fucking anger inside me. He is going to pay. He is never going to hurt you ever again.”

But that doesn’t mean I can’t touch him. I crawl over to him, lifting my leg over his and hugging him tightly. He hesitates to hold me for a second before he gives in, burying his face deep in my shoulder. I close my eyes and just bask in the feeling of being safe. “Chrystal,” Kyle says, and when I lift my head to look at him, he puts his hand on my neck. “If you had one fucking wish when it comes to that bastard, what would it be?”

I think on it, but there is one thing I wished over and over as he beat me down and hurt me. “I want him to die. When he was hurting me, belittling me, I wished him dead so many times,” I admit, not even caring if it makes me a bad person. Kyle smiles. He smiles in a way that sends shivers down my spine. He doesn’t say a word; he just holds me. I fall asleep in his arms, the best sleep I’ve had in years.

Kyle

I wait until she falls asleep, and I carry her upstairs to my bed. I don’t want to be apart from her right now. I just want to fucking look at her and make sure she’s okay. The pain I saw