Betrayal: Kyle's Revenge (The Betrayal Series) (20 page)

After taking a shower, Abby crossed paths with Kyle on her way to the bedroom. She and Kyle stared at each other for a moment without exchanging words. Abby couldn’t hold Kyle’s cold, disgusted glare longer than a few seconds. His mere breathing filled her with terror. With her gaze cast downward, she rushed past him, afraid that he’d snap at any second and subject her to another round of his special punishment.

Kyle watched Abby scurry away from him like a scared squirrel and attempted to grin, but it was too painful. Abby’s fearfulness would have been more enjoyable to him if it hadn’t been for the massive headache splitting his head. He realized he had overdone his drinking the night before. He wanted to stay in and sleep his hangover off but couldn’t take the day off. He was already in hot water with his boss for coming to work late a couple of times.

With the stench of alcohol still all over him and looking disheveled, Kyle staggered out of the apartment and took the train to his internship. After Kyle was gone, Abby changed into clean clothes and went to her job at the bookstore.

****

“Jesus, Abby! What happened to you?” Jeremy blurted when he saw Abby walk through the door hunched over and limping. The pain in Abby’s face and the huge dark circles around her puffy eyes told Jeremy things between Abby and Kyle were a lot worse than he had suspected. Jeremy could barely recognize the sweet girl who had been working for him for about two years. Abby looked like a ghost of her former self. It killed Jeremy to see her like that and not be able to help her.

“I’m fine,” Abby insisted, grimacing and making an effort to walk straight.

Jeremy stepped from behind the register and blocked Abby’s path. “You’re not okay. You need to see a doctor. What happened? Did Kyle did this to you?”

“No. I bumped into a table and now I’m a little sore. That’s all. It’s no big deal.”

“I don’t believe you. Kyle did something to you. I’m calling the police. You have to report it.”

Abby’s face turned ghost-like when she heard the word “police”. “Don’t! Please Jeremy. Just let it go. Don’t make my life more complicated that it already is. Just leave it alone, okay?” Abby was attempting to walk past Jeremy to get to the register when the doors of the bookstore flung open. She and Jeremy turned around to see who had walked in.

Abby’s heart dropped to her stomach when she saw Brianna step inside the store. She remembered Kyle’s threats and feared he could be watching the store or show up at any second. She could only imagine what he’d do if he walked in and found Brianna there. With sharp pain in her ribs that felt like she was being stabbed, Abby limped towards Brianna.

“What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here. Please go and stay away from me.” Abby grabbed Brianna’s forearm and tried to shove her out the door.

Brianna ignored Abby’s pleas and refused to move. She stared at Abby from head to toe, stunned and concerned over Abby’s battered appearance and labored breathing. “What happened to you, Abby? Why are you limping?” Brianna asked, cradling Abby’s face with her hands.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Abby pushed Brianna’s hands off her face. “Please leave. I’m begging you.”

“Her boyfriend did this to her,” Jeremy blurted out.

“Shut up, Jeremy,” Abby snapped at her boss standing behind her but without turning around to look at him.

Brianna’s eyes widened and flew to Jeremy for a second before returning to Abby. Brianna searched Abby’s face, looking for confirmation of what Jeremy had just said.

Jeremy stared at the back of Abby’s head. “I’m sorry Abby, but I had to tell someone since you won’t.” Jeremy returned his gaze to Brianna. “Her boyfriend was here yesterday. He yelled at her and shook her around in front of everyone. Abby won’t tell me what happened to her last night, but I believe he’s the reason she is in pain and limping now. He’s dangerous, and Abby needs to get away from him. Could you please talk some sense into her?”

Brianna’s eyes kept darting from Abby to Jeremy and back to Abby. “Oh my God, Abby. Is what he’s saying true? Did Kyle do this to you?”

Abby did not respond. She dropped her gaze to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably. Abby’s tears told Brianna Jeremy was telling the truth. She wrapped her arms around Abby, whose sobs had turned into heart wrenching wails.

“We need to talk,” Brianna demanded while tightening her arms around Abby.

“You can use the backroom,” Jeremy suggested.

Brianna swung Abby’s arm behind her neck and helped her wobble towards the backroom. Once there, Brianna dragged a chair from the back of the room and helped Abby sit down. She found a stool nearby and dragged it so she could sit on it facing Abby.

“Okay, Abby. What happened? Tell me exactly what Kyle did to you.”

“It was all a lie,” Abby sobbed, wiping tears from her cheeks with the back of her hands.

“What was a lie?” Brianna asked.

“After he found out about us, he said he wanted to work things out with me. But he had no intention of forgiving me. He just wanted to have me around so he could punish me and keep me away from you. He loathes me. He told me so himself the day I found him in our bed with another woman.”

Brianna stared at Abby, shaking her head and with her mouth hanging open. “I can’t believe this. You look like you’ve been through a lot. What happened last night, Abby? What exactly did he do to you?”

“The last four weeks have been a nightmare. He’s become a mean, cruel, condescending monster. He humiliates me in front of everyone and controls my every move. Yesterday, he figured out I had gone to see you and went berserk. He had forbidden me to see you, and I disobeyed him. He was so angry, he almost strangled me. I begged him to forgive me for going to see you, but he just threw me across the room. I crashed on a chair, fell to the ground, and hurt my ribs. That’s why I’m limping.”

Brianna gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Her ears couldn’t believe the horror they were hearing. Brianna had a taste of Kyle’s anger the night he grabbed her throat at Ryan’s party a few weeks back. But she thought that level of anger was only reserved for her. Brianna couldn’t believe Kyle could be so vicious to Abby, the woman he allegedly loved more than anything.

For a moment, Abby hesitated to share with Brianna the rest of the previous night’s events, but she needed to tell someone or she was going to go crazy. “That’s not all. Last night… Kyle…he…forced himself on me…”

“Son of a bitch!” Brianna snapped, shooting to her feet. “I’m going to kill him.”

Abby’s eyes widened with panic. She attempted to get on her feet, but the pain didn’t let her. “Please don’t get involved. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have disobeyed him. I shouldn’t have gone to see you.”

Brianna sat back down. “Why are you defending him? Why are you letting him do this to you?”

“I want to leave him, get as far away from him as possible, but I can’t.”

“Why not? What’s stopping you?”

“You are.”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

“When I found Kyle in our bed with another woman two days ago, I told him I had enough and began to pack my things. I was determined to leave him that day. Then he told me the whole story about you and the fifteen-year-old girl you supposedly seduced. Kyle threatened to go to the press and tell them about your arrest if I left him or got back together with you. He said he’d ruin your career and reputation if I didn’t do as he said. I don’t want you to lose your career because I know how much it means to you. That’s why I put up with his abuse.”

Brianna’s gaze bounced around the small room. She was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that her brother had become a monster. She returned her gaze to the broken girl in front of her. “I can’t believe Kyle would stoop so low. He’s using that bullshit arrest to coerce you into letting him abuse you?”

“He said you forced yourself on that girl. Is it true?” Abby asked.

Brianna shook her head furiously and reached over to grab Abby’s hands. “No. Of course not. Those charges were bullshit. Holly and I were in love. Her parents didn’t want us to be together so they went to the police and accused me of raping her. When she and I started dating, she was fifteen and I was seventeen. Then I turned eighteen and she was still fifteen. Technically, what we were doing was illegal, but it was consensual, always was. That’s why the charges were dropped.”

“Kyle said the charges were dropped because your father paid off the girl’s parents and greased a few hands in the local court system.”

“What?”

“He said your father lost his business paying people off to keep you out of prison.”

Brianna stared at Abby with a blank look on her face. “He what? I didn’t know that. I thought the D.A. dropped the charges because it was a bogus case. My father never mentioned anything about paying off Holly’s parents, and when I ran away, he still had his business.”

“Kyle also said your father got your arrest record taken off the system but kept a copy of it. Kyle has access to it and said he is going to leak it to the tabloids if I didn’t let him punish me for what you and I did to him.”

With a lump forming in her throat and tears threatening to flood her eyes, Brianna dropped to her knees in front of Abby. She reached up to caress Abby’s damp cheek. “You’re letting my brother treat you like garbage to protect me? Why, Abby?”

Abby closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against Brianna’s palm before answering. It had been so long since she felt the caring, loving touch of someone, anyone, she wanted to savor the moment for as long as she could. “Because I care about you,” she finally answered. “Because you’ve already suffered enough. Because I didn’t believe you were capable of forcing yourself on an innocent girl. I knew there was more to that story than what Kyle told me. And lastly, because I broke your heart by telling you I loved you just to run back to Kyle the next day. I guess this is my way of making up for that.”

 Abby’s words took Brianna back to that fateful afternoon in her apartment. Brianna remembered the pain she felt that day when Abby said she was going to try to work things out with Kyle. That pain was still with her every single day. But her own suffering did not matter to Brianna that morning. All she cared about was protecting Abby from her deranged brother. “You’re not going back to that monster, Abby. Let him leak whatever the hell he wants to the press. I don’t care. I’m not going to let you suffer anymore.”

“But what about your reputation? Your career? You could get blacklisted…”

“I don’t care. Your well-being is more important to me than my career.”

“But what would you do if you can’t get work as an actress anymore?”

Brianna shrugged. “I’ll figure something out. I’m a decent cook. I’ll open a restaurant and become a chef or something. Hollywood can kiss my ass if they choose to believe the lies.”

Abby covered her mouth with her hand and began to sob again. Guilt and regret consumed her. She felt she had made a big mess out of everyone’s lives, and she hated herself for it.

Brianna’s heart broke for Abby. She had been on the other end of Kyle’s hatred for years and knew exactly how much it hurt. But what Kyle was doing to Abby was worse-a lot worse-than anything he had ever done to her. Guilt and regret consumed her too. If she had stayed away from Abby like Kyle had told her to back at that party, Abby wouldn’t be in so much pain now. Brianna was determined to make things right no matter how much she had to sacrifice.

Shooting to her feet, Brianna dragged the stool she had been sitting on closer to Abby’s chair. “Come here, sweetheart,” she whispered as she sat back down and pulled Abby into her arms.

“I don’t know what happened to him,” Abby slurred after taking her hand off her mouth and resting her head on the curve of Brianna’s neck. “He used to be so sweet and loving. I’m so sorry I chose him over you. You must hate me so much right now. I hope you can forgive me one day.”

“I won’t lie to you. I was devastated when you told me you were staying with Kyle. I cried for days. I almost got fired from
Chicago
because I was drinking so much and showing up to rehearsals hungover. But I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. I love you. I’m in love with you and will always be.”

“I’m such an idiot. I let my guilt and my obsession with doing the right thing overrule my feelings. I had fallen out of love with Kyle and didn’t realize it until I was too far into our bullshit reconciliation.” Abby raised her head and stared into Brianna’s eyes. “I love you, and I want to be with you if you’d still have me. I’d understand if you say no, but would you forgive me and give me another chance?”

Brianna did not need time to think about her answer. She couldn’t fault Abby for going back to Kyle out of guilt. She was familiar with that type of guilt because she had felt it herself. But now that Kyle had proven himself unworthy of that guilt, there was nothing standing in the way of hers and Abby’s happiness.

“Of course I will give you another chance. I never stopped loving you in spite of everything that happened. I went out on a date last night, and it was awful because I couldn’t get you out of my head. I love you, and I want to be with you and no one else.” With those words, she cradled Abby’s damp cheeks with both hands, leaned in and took Abby’s lips into hers.

They both were tired of making sacrifices for Kyle and were not going to take any more abuse from him. They were finally free to be with each other and love each other without feeling shame, guilt, or regret. The tender, tear-soaked kiss they shared in that backroom was the perfect exclamation point to the fact that, from that day on, they were going to put their happiness before anyone else’s and let the chips fall where they may.

“What are we going to do about Kyle?” Abby asked after Brianna’s lips abandoned hers.

“I’m going to take you to a hospital first. You could have broken ribs. From the hospital, we’ll call the police and report everything he did to you so you can get a restraining order against him. After you get the restraining order, we’ll get your things out of your apartment and bring them to mine. You’re staying with me, and there’s nothing Kyle or anyone else can do about that.”