SCARRED - Part 3 (The SCARRED Series - Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

I’ve never talked to anyone about all of this...it’s kind of exhausting.”
    “I wish I could say that I can imagine,” he said, dropping to his knees next to her. “But I can’t. I can’t even begin to imagine.” He laid his head against her and she put her hands in his hair. He was even more encouraged when he felt her lips brush the top of his head. He let her hold him like that for several minutes before he said, “I’m going to draw the bath.” She smiled again and nodded.
    Derek went into the bathroom and before he did anything, he stood with his hands resting on the counter and looked into the mirror at his own face. He was still struggling with the rage. It felt like it was eating him up. He only even came close to feeling this way once before...and even that couldn’t compare. When he was in high school, he went to a private school in Manhattan. He was surrounded by rich, arrogant boys and girls and most of the time, he got along with everyone and he learned over time that most of the people who acted like they were so much better than everyone else were struggling with their own insecurity.
    There was one kid. His father was the CEO of some corporation that his family founded in the 1800s. They were old money and they had so much of it that no one really knew exactly what they were worth. The kid’s name was Brandon and he walked around the school like he was king. Brandon had “yes” men even in high school. These were the guys who scrambled to do his bidding at every turn. Most of the girls wanted him too. Derek didn’t pay him much attention until one day, the girl that Derek was dating didn’t show up for school. Her name was Rachel and as hormones would have it, Derek’s fifteen year old heart was convinced that he loved her. He was on the phone on his break, calling to find out why she wasn’t at school and if she was okay when he heard Brandon telling a group of guys that he had gotten a “hand job” from that “slut” Rachel at the rally the night before. Derek ended the call before she answered and turned around towards Brandon.
    “What did you just say?” he asked him.
    Brandon looked up and smiled at him and said, “You’re a lucky guy, Derek. That girl of yours knows how to make a guy feel real good.”
    Derek saw red. He barely remembered what happened to this day but it took about five guys to pull him off of Brandon and when he was finished, his face was a bloody mess. He probably wouldn’t have stopped if those guys hadn’t pulled him off, and that had scared him. He found out later that Rachel hadn’t even been at the rally the night before. Her aunt was sick and she’d gone to see her in the hospital. Derek was expelled and his father had to find a new school for him to go to. That was his last fight and until tonight he’d never felt anything comparable to that rage. The rage he felt now was like a volcano in his chest and he feared what he would do when it erupted.
    He took a few deep breaths and then he ran water from the shower head into the large, Jacuzzi tub until it was warm. He took the soap and shampoos and body washes out of the basket the hotel had left on the counter and sat them near the tub. He made sure there were a clean fluffy towel and the complimentary robe within reach. Then he went out and let Chloe know it was ready. She thanked him and started towards the bathroom.
    She stopped when she was about halfway there and turned towards him and said, “I’d really like it if you joined me.”
    “Are you sure?” He asked raising an eyebrow.
    She nodded and then she said, “Because of you, I’m slowly beginning to separate in my head the differences between loving and abusive. I know that doesn’t make much sense to a “normal” person, but when you’ve lived with it; it sometimes gets all twisted in your head. I need you to love me tonight, Derek.”
    He felt tears stinging his eyes again. He went to her and took her hand, leading her into