∞
Karlie felt completely out of place. She didn’t know where to sit, whom to talk to, or why she was even there. What had she been thinking? Oh yeah, mom guilt. The only good thing—no, great thing—that had come out of this entire fiasco was Drew. God, the man looked amazing in his suit. She loved the way his broad shoulders filled out the jacket. Knowing what he looked like under the suit made her heart skip a few beats. He wanted her to stick around; wanted her to work for him. But did he want her? He definitely wanted her for sex, and honestly, she didn’t mind that at all.
“There you are.” Her mom was standing in the pew in front of her. “Why are you back here?”
“I just thought that it was best for me to stay out of the way. This is Jenna’s day, and I didn’t want to cause a scene,” she admitted. She had a feeling that no matter where she sat, people were going to be watching her and whispering behind her back.
“Well, if you sit in the back of the church, everyone will think that you don’t support your sister. Why don’t you come with me and tell Jenna that you are happy for her? Your dad and I are heading back to the bridal room. Why don’t you come with us?” Karlie considered her mom’s offer, trying to decide what to do. She glanced past her mom to find Drew, who was standing up front with some of the other groomsmen. He watched her and seemed confused and concerned. She gave him her best smile, trying to ease his worry, but it didn’t seem to work. She waved at him to let him know that she was going to follow her mom to the bridal suite. It was time to stop living in the past. The only person keeping her from her future was herself. She was done running. The only place she wanted to be was with Drew, and she would somehow make that happen, but first, she needed to make amends with her past.
∞
Her sister was gorgeous in her gown. She was glowing, probably due to the pregnancy. The only problem was—she looked so unhappy, so unsure. Karlie took Jenna’s hands into hers. “You are so beautiful.” Karlie teared up. “Why don’t you look happy?”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it.” Jenna cried. “Crap, I’m going to ruin my makeup.” Where was their mom when they needed her? She had left Karlie and Jenna alone, saying that she had to check on some flowers. Karlie knew that her mom had wanted to give them some privacy to make up.
“No.” Karlie shook her head. “We won’t cry. We will just hug and make up. I am happy for you, Jenna, and this baby.” Karlie’s hand cupped Jenna’s tiny bump. “I can’t wait to be an aunt.” Jenna lit up at the mention of the baby. Karlie was being truthful when she said that she was excited to be an aunt. She wanted to do all kinds of fun things with her nephew or niece. She’d be the coolest auntie ever. But, feeling her sister’s baby bump, she longed for something, someone that she never really wished for—a baby of her own. Someday, maybe, but today was Jenna’s day.
“How about you go out and meet Dad? He’s a nervous wreck about walking you down the aisle. I need to use the little girls’ room, and then I will slip into the church before you even start to walk down the aisle.” Karlie smiled, trying to reassure her little sister.
“Sit up front, with Mom and Dad,” Jenna called back over her shoulder on her way out.
Karlie just needed a minute to get her emotions under control. A baby? She had never really given much thought to a baby, but now—she lightly touched her stomach, now she didn’t want anything more. First thing was first—a husband would make things a little easier, or at least more feasible. At that moment, she could think of no one but Drew. A baby with Drew—she would be adorable with her dad’s green eyes and brown hair. Maybe she’d even mimic the mischievous way he laughed at everything. Yeah—not the time and definitely not the place to be thinking about a baby.
She needed to use the powder room and get out to her seat. The last thing she wanted to do was make a late entrance and draw attention to herself. She turned at the sound of the door. “Jenna, what did you forget?” Karlie felt her smile fade at the sight ofJake.
“I forgot to tell you how sexy you look in that little cocktail dress, Babe,” Jake slurred. God, was he drunk? He stepped closer to her, leaving her nowhere to go but to retreat toward a dead-end wall. Yep, he was definitely drunk. He reeked of scotch, his drink of choice.
“You are fucking drunk,” she spat. “How could you do that to Jenna? What kind of fucking jerk are you?” He slithered closer to her and grabbed her short hair, then with a hard tug, he pulled her closer to his face. She fought him, swinging her arms, trying to get away from his hold. Each time she swung her arms, he tightened his around her. “What the fuck are you doing?” She hissed in pain as his arms bound tighter around her. Jake pulled her in closer, licking his foul-smelling tongue over her lips.
“Let me in, baby, like you let him in. You let him fuck you, didn’t you? You’re a little slut now, aren’t you? Did you let him lick your cunt? Did you like it? You had an orgasm, didn’t you? You’re a fucking whore,” he spat. Jake tried to kiss her, and she wanted to vomit as hot tears ran down her face. She bit his lip so hard; she tasted his blood. Bile rose to her mouth. “You bitch,” he screamed. “You fucking bit me. I thought we could play nice, but I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.” He started trying to rip off her dress while still holding her hair to keep her in place. She wanted to scream, but his mouth started to cover hers again, taking her air. She tried to bite him again, but he’d learned his lesson the first time. He backed away from her and released her hair to get a better grip on her dress, tearing it at the shoulder. She screamed, and the terrifying sound she made startled even her.
“Bitch, hold still and shut the fuck up.” He backhanded her across her right cheek, and she fell to the floor, pain burstingthrough her head. Jake picked her up by the hair and was about to slap her again when her dad burst into the room. Drew was just behind him, and when he saw what was happening, his concerned gaze turned murderous.
“Get the fuck off her,” Drew shouted as he launched himself across the bridal suite, grabbing Jake by his shoulder and swinging him around. Karlie fell to the ground, sobbing. She felt two small hands on her—Jenna. Her sister was crying and holding her. Drew was punching Jake in the face, over and over again, until Jake fell. Drew dropped to the floor next to Karlie and Jenna, pulling Karlie into his arms, kissing and rocking her.
“Baby, tell me you’re all right,” he pleaded. When she didn’t respond, Drew looked at her helplessly. “Karlie?”
“I-I’m okay,” she lied. “He tried to t-tear my dress off.” Her teeth were chattering, and she was freezing, even though it had to have been 75 degrees in that little room.
“She’s in shock,” Drew said to her dad. “Make sure Jenna’s okay and get someone to get that piece of shit out of here. Call the cops. Karlie is going to press charges.”
“Isn’t that for Karlie to decide?” her dad said. “You can’t just come in here and beat the crap out of Jenna’s future husband and then start barking orders.”
“I am not marrying that asshole, Dad,” Jenna yelled. “Did you see what he tried to do to my sister?” Jenna was crying and reaching for Karlie, but Drew held her just out of reach.
“Don’t touch her,” Drew said firmly. “She’s in shock. I’ve got her.”
“She’s my daughter, I think I know what’s best for Karlie.” Her dad was trying to take her from Drew, and she screamed in panic. Had that come out of her? Everyone but Drew backed away from her. She could hear muffled chatter out in the hall and realized that the entire church had emptied into the tiny hallway to watch the show. She needed to get herself together and restore what little dignity she had left.
“Baby,” Drew crooned, “let me get you out of here.” She nodded, and he helped her from the floor and then carried her out of that small room, past all the whispering spectators. The little bit of sunlight left in the evening sky hit her when Drew shoved the doors open. She shielded her eyes and hid her face in Drew’s neck.
“I’m gonna put you in my truck and then I will see that Jake gets safely into police custody.” He brushed her hair from her eyes, and she winced. Her scalp felt like Jake had pulled out patches of her hair. He looked at her bleeding lip and quickly bruising mouth and cheek. “God, baby, I am so sorry. I should have known that he was up to no good. I could smell the booze on him. He said he had to go take a piss, and I believed him. I should have known. I am so sorry, baby.” He lowered his forehead to hers, and she winced in pain again. As if on cue, the police pulled up behind his truck, and he told the two officers what had happened. Two others had gone into the church to arrest Jake. They brought him out a few minutes later, cuffed and barely walking on his own. Drew made his way back over to where she sat in his truck, saying that the officers had finished questioning him. Karlie couldn’t even look at Jake as they put him in the back of the police car. She was terrified of him and what he’d done to her. The thought of what he could have done to her if her father and Drew hadn’t burst into the room caused her to sob. Drew growled when he saw Karlie’s reaction to Jakebeing brought out in handcuffs.
“Baby, he’s nothing. Don’t let him have your fear. Look at me, Karlie, he can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let him ever touch you again,” Drew promised. Karlie looked up at Drew, and he appeared to be in more agony than she felt. She looked past Drew to the front of the church, where everyone had gathered under the huge pillars. It was the same spot everyone would have stood to throw rice at the happy couple after the ceremony. Now, there would be no happy couple. Her eyes found her little sister, heartbroken and crying on her dad’s shoulder. Her mom had wrapped her arms around Jenna’s back, crying into her sister’s neck.
God, how had this happened? Her sister watched as the officers shoved the father of her baby into the back of the police car. Her father was soothing her, whispering to Jenna, and Karlie could only imagine what he was saying. He seemed to want Jenna to marry Jake even after what he had tried to do to Karlie. What was he thinking? Did her father not understand what Jake had intended to do to her? Karlie looked back at Drew, whose eyes were still on her, watching her. Her teeth had stopped chattering, and she wasn’t cold, but she hurt. Her head felt like it was going to explode.
“Can we g-go to your house now?” she begged.
