Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
And my soul screamed out for her.
With a deep sigh, I started the car, reversed, and then exited the parking lot.
Once upon a time, in the land of gods and monsters, there lived an angel.
And her name was Lexi.
Chapter Two
Lexi
I was cold and wet with perspiration but momentarily ignored the vicious need to shower. The second I walked into the house, I called out, “Hey, anyone home?”
To my absolute delight, no one answered, and with a light sigh, my feet took me into the kitchen. Grabbing a chair from the table, I dragged it, ignoring the low screech that vibrated throughout my ear, and then stood on it. Opening the highest cabinet on the left, I reached in and pulled out a strategically hidden chocolate bar. With a happy smile, I climbed off the chair, sat on it, opened the wrapper, and took a huge bite.
Eyes closed in sheer bliss, I chewed slowly, savoring the sweet, rich taste.
I looked down at the chocolate bar, feeling mildly guilty about eating the delicious treat almost immediately after finishing a workout.
With a light shrug, I took another bite, and uttered, “Meh. Screw it.”
This was why I worked out, wasn’t it? So I could eat what I wanted to? And right now, I wanted chocolate, so.... “Yum,” I garbled as I threw the rest of the bar into my mouth.
The front door opened and my eyes widened. I took the foil wrapper and shoved it into my bra, chewing quicker.
“Okay, little dude,” Molly said. “Take your shoes off and put your bag away.”
As A.J. rushed past the open doorway, he yelled, “Hi, Mum!”
Putting a hand to my mouth, I continued to chew, swallowed hard, and then called back, “Hey, honey.”
Molly walked into the kitchen and looked closely at me. She grinned and asked, “Have you been eating chocolate?”
How did she know? “What? No,” I said a little too quickly.
When she frowned, smiling, and brought her finger to the corner of my lips, she pulled back and sniffed her finger, smirking. “Chocolate.” Then her brow narrowed. “Where’d you get chocolate? I want chocolate.”
Shit.
Busted.
The twenty-two-year-old had fast become a member of this family. Yes, it was small and broken, but Molly fit with us. When Julius recommended her as a part-time nanny for A.J., I was hesitant. I should’ve known anyone that Julius recommended would have been checked thrice over.
He was not a man to take chances. Neither was his wife, Alejandra.
I missed them both quite a bit.
They lived with us for six months when they first moved to Sydney, and at their time of arrival, Alejandra had not been in a good state. Having been attacked and held for days, she was more than just physically damaged. Mentally, she was so fragile that she seemed almost brittle, to be knocked down at the slightest touch or sound or breeze, and after her ordeal, she barely spoke anymore. It didn’t matter how many times I went over it in my head; I couldn’t begin to understand what that poor woman had gone through.
In mere days, she’d lost a finger, had multiple bones broken, been repeatedly raped, and suffered permanent eye damage at the hands of a maniac with a hunting knife. She was now badly scarred and utterly petrified of doctors. However, Julius loved her just the same. In the time they lived with us, I got a firsthand view of just how wounded she was.
At times, the memory still haunts me.
I remember waking to the sounds of terrified screams and wailing cries, panting and gasping for air, and by the time I was out of bed and rushing down the hall, Julius was attempting to regain control inside their room.
“Wake up, baby,” he uttered, then more frantic, “Fuck. Wake up!” Then, louder, “Ana!”
But the screams continued, and I stood at the end of the hall with a hand pressed to my chest in a weak attempt to calm my racing heart. When the yelps and panicked shrieks finally subsided and were replaced with the sounds of low keening cries, I grudgingly went back to my room, but sleep never came.
At one point, I heard shuffling out in the hall, so I put on my robe and stepped out of my room, and what I saw broke my heart.
Julius carried a pile of sheets into the laundry. The smell of urine was faint, but it was definitely there.
I moved into the open doorway, and feeling my presence, he twisted back to look at me, dressed only in pajama pants, looking dazed and sleep worn. I didn’t miss the marks at his neck and scratches that marred his chest, his mocha skin partially reddened. “Hey,” he whispered, then went back to stuffing the sheets into the washing machine. “Sorry we woke you.”
Julius, I was coming to realize, had the patience of a saint. “Don’t worry about it,” I told him. After a short hesitation, I asked, “Is she okay?” With his back to me, he shook his head, and I stepped into the laundry room. “Another memory?”