Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (33 page)

              This was it, it was time to make a decision to stay or go. Gavin's words still rung loudly in my ears over and over again and I avoided looking at him, knowing he was waiting to hear my response.

              "You could stay at my house tonight if you need more time to make a decision," Mrs. Dollghen offered a little too cheerily for my liking, but at least it gave me the option, no the opportunity, not to go back to the ranch.

              "I'd like the stay with Mrs. Dollghen for the night before making a decision. I have a lot to think about," I said quietly, so quietly that if everyone else in the room hadn't been awaiting my response I'm sure they would have missed it.

              The judge eyed me as he gathered up his paperwork. "Very well, you have the night to decide. I expect you'll make the right decision, Nova."
 

              I stared blankly out the window, the scenery a blur, not because of how fast we were going, but because my eyes were as unfocused as my mind. It was easier to do this than it was to think about my actions and the decisions I made or had yet to make. If I let thoughts fill my head, I would only hear Gavin's words echoing through my head and Polly's sad eyes when she'd hugged me goodbye. Polly had tried her hardest to make it an option for me to stay at the ranch and I’d let her down by choosing a different option. This was the best option I had though, at least according to Gavin. This was the only way I could hurt them the least, even if it was the option that hurt me the most.

              There I was, thinking about things again, which only caused a stabbing pain in my heart.

              My phone vibrated in my pocket, making me wish that I’d turned my phone off instead of silencing it. Now it was too late. If I moved to turn it off, it would only attract the attention of Mrs. Dollghen in the driver’s seat.

              She had ranted on throughout most of the drive, making it easier for me to shut her out. Now that she had fallen silent, I was unwilling to move and disrupt it.

              A few minutes ticked by painfully slow, before the car turned into a gas station. "I'm going in, if you run then I'll call the police," Mrs. Dollghen warned as she got out of her car and walking off towards the gas station.

              My phone vibrated again, then again. She was gone now, so I could just turn it off so I wouldn't be able feel their texts coming through the phone. I could pick up my phone without reading them right?

              Grabbing the phone, I turned the screen on, seeing that I had four missed calls and nine texts.

              I don't know why clicked to look at the texts they had sent me today. Maybe I wanted to torture myself even more.

              *Starre -  How did it go?

              *Starre - Answer if you're alive!

              *Landon - Jayden keeps stealing my food. U need to come back so u can help me make him behave.

              *Landon - Also wondering if u can graphitti over the posters in Jayden's room, it's getting ridiculous in there.

              *Jayden - I was thinking, we never got to roll in the hay. ;) I'm up for it when you come back.

              *Jayden - I can send you a picture to help you make up your mind...

              *Wyatt - I think Sweetheart will be giving birth tonight. You should be here to see it.

              There was another text from Wyatt, with a picture of Storm in his field at the edge of the fencing, looking off down the road that we took to leave.

              How long would Storm stay there without me? How long would it take before he got hit by a car or caught and sold at an auction to the highest bidder? I may be from the city, but I knew what happened to horses like Storm; they were either sold for meat or glue. Wyatt had promised that he would take care of him until I came back, but what would happen to him if never did? How long would Wyatt be able to keep a horse that wasn't of any use?

              I squeezed my eyes tight, remembering Wyatt telling me to fight for what I wanted. What was it that I really wanted?

              Didn't I want what everyone wanted? A place to call home and people to call my family, who would love me like no one else? Isn't that what I had at the ranch?

              But Gavin was right, if I stayed there, I would only rip them apart and destroy their happiness. With several of the boys having feelings for me, there was no way it could work out where I didn't cause their family to pull apart.

              Gavin had always been an ass to me, so how did I know that he was telling me the truth about what he thought? How did I know that he wasn't just playing my insecurities to get me to leave?

              The phone vibrated in my hand, jerking me from my thoughts. I clicked on it, pulling up the first text I’d received from Dylan.

             
*Dylan - i'm writing another song. what rhymes with love of my life?

              Tears slid down my cheeks as I read his text, knowing that I was hurting Dylan more than anyone else. Who knew how long it would take him to move on from me. He was so shy and socially awkward that this would most likely cause him to withdraw from everyone. I hoped he would find a girl who was sweet and kind to him. I felt jealousy claw at my chest at the thought of him with someone else, but I pushed it aside. If I left for good, then I couldn't be jealous for any of the guys moving on.

              Where was this even coming from anyway? I thought I’d already made up my mind to leave, yet here came all of my emotions bubbling up, making my heart give its opinion.

              I had to use my brain on this, not my heart.

              I would never find anyone who cared for me like they did. I’ve already been looking for seventeen years and if no one else was going to love me at this point, then no one would.

              Except Dylan did.

              They all did.

              Still, Gavin knew them better than I, so I needed to go by what he had said. Didn't I?

              Mrs. Dollghen got back into the car and continued her drive, until she finally pulled up to a house and cut the engine. I barely even noticed, too lost in my own thoughts.

              "Get out, we're here," she snapped, stepping out of the car and striding up the sidewalk to the house.

              I got out, settling the strap of my bag onto my shoulder. I only paused when I noticed her ring the doorbell.

              Who rang the doorbell to their own house? Didn't she have a key? Now that I was alert, I glanced around. The neighborhood wasn't exactly the type that I imagined goody two shoes bitch living in.

              "I received a very important call while I was in the gas station and I can't have you stay at my house as planned. You'll be staying with my boyfriend for the night."

              Ah, how wonderful. I'm sure that this was going to be fun. Though you never know, maybe her boyfriend is a really nice guy that's just stuck in a relationship with her.

              A man's voice called out from inside, and Mrs. Dollghen opened the door on her own before stepping inside.

              The man's voice sent chills down my spine.

              No, it couldn't be him. It was just my mind playing tricks on me, maybe it was someone who sounded kind of like him.

              The looming feeling of dread washed over me and I hesitated to step foot in the house.

              "Get in here," Mrs. Dollghen snapped at me, grabbing my arm to pull me inside. "Roger dear, I brought her!" she called out, the tone of her voice changing to be cheery. She walked deeper into the house and I followed her slowly, resisting the urge to run out the door as she peaked into the living room.

              It had to be another coincidence that it was his name. Roger was a common name. Practically everyone was called Roger.

              She turned and a smile spread across her face as she looked over my shoulder, "Ah, there you are. Here she is, keep a close eye on her and don't feel shy about giving out punishment if you need to." She strode past me.

              I slowly turned, my breath coming out in panicked pants as I realized it was him.

              The monster who haunted my nightmares at night.

              The man who was the cause of my panic attack with Landon. He had been my foster parent at one time, only he had been married to someone else.

              A part of me wondered what had happened to his wife. Had she found out how horrible he was and finally left? Or had he beaten her to death? I brushed the thought quickly aside, I had more things to worry about right now.

              "I changed my mind, I'd like to go back," I said, hoping there was an ounce of goodness in this woman.

              "I don't have time to drive you," Mrs. Dollghen snapped, glaring at me.

              "I'll take a bus."

              "You'll do no such thing. We can't have a delinquent like you on the streets. You'll probably rob the first place you see." She turned to Roger, whispering low enough that she thought I couldn't hear, "You might want to put her somewhere that she can't get out. I don't want to waste time tracking her down."

              "I know exactly how to deal with her," Roger assured her, his eyes never leaving my face. "You go ahead, I've got this." He took the case of beer from her and kissed her cheek.

              My breath came out in panicked rushes as I watched her march out the door, not looking back.

              I couldn't stay here with this monster. I had to at least try and escape before he could get his hands on me.

              So I ran.

              I made it a few steps past him before he caught me around the waist, yanking me against him. I fought, throwing my elbow back into his face as I struggled against his hold. Pain shot through my side as he landed a punch, knocking the air out of me. He started walking backwards, ignoring the kicks to his shin and dodging my attempted head-butts.

              He pulled a door open and I struggled harder, watching as Mrs. Dollghen watched us from the doorway. I thought maybe she would come back and help me, but I’d been at the ranch for far too long. These people weren't anything like them. They were horrible with no mercy or kindness of any kind. I was reminded of that like a bucket of ice water over my head as I watched her smile and leave, closing the door behind her.

              I felt myself be heaved around in his arms like a rag-doll, right before I was thrown through the doorway. My hip and ribs hit the steps first, then I tumbled the rest of the way down, only stopping when I reached the cold concrete at the bottom.

              Blinking the pain away, I sat up. I tried to prepare for another attack, but he didn't follow me down the steps. He just watched me from the top. "I'll see you in a few beers, you worthless shit," he held up his case of beer, then slammed the basement door. The sound of a lock being turned echoed throughout the basement.

              I tried to look on the bright side. At least I had some time to prepare for when he came back down. I slowly stood up, cringing at the stiffness in my hip as I looked around me. It was pitch black, too dark to see the anything. I wished I had a light.

              Wait a minute, I’d had the phone in my pocket.

              Mentally crossing my fingers, I pulled out the phone and pressed the power button. The light from the screen was almost blinding against the dark. I could see a small crack on the screen, but it worked!

              Using the phone, I explored the tiny basement, finding absolutely nothing.

              The basement was completely empty aside from me, leaving me with no weapons or even anything to keep me warm against the cold. I had lost my bag in the struggle, but at least I still had my phone. Not that it would do me much good, I didn't have any service down here.

              I heard the sound of the TV being turned on with the volume blasting a football game. Because why not watch sports and drink beer before you go beat a girl to death?

              There was nothing I could do to prepare for what was coming, nothing I could do to stop it.

              I was on my own.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

              It had been over an hour of me waiting in the darkness for him to come back, and he still hadn't. I hoped that he had passed out drunk. Or died.

              Maybe things had changed. Maybe he wouldn't beat me so badly with Mrs. Dollghen coming back to get me.

              I sighed, pulling my knees to my chest and hugging them. A man like that would never change his ways, it was just a matter of time before he came down those stairs and took out his anger on me. There was no escaping him tonight.

              I pulled out my phone, ignoring the tears that had found their way to my cheeks. Or maybe it was water dripping from the ceiling, the basement was really damp.

              I was so stupid to have left the ranch, insisting that I would be fine with her. Just because Gavin didn't want me to come back, didn't mean I should've turned my back on the others.

              But isn't this what I deserved? This was my life, going from home to home, dealing with people like Roger. Did I really want to drag the guys back into my life? If I could save them all the hurt that I would cause them by going back, then didn't I owe them that after all they had done for me? Yes.

              It still didn't stop me from looking through the phone at all the pictures they had taken. I didn't know why I was doing it. Wasn't my heart already breaking and bleeding pain enough? Hadn't I already hurt them enough? Hurt myself enough?

              Apparently not, because I turned on my phone and stared into the seemingly blinding light coming from the screen of the phone.