Killer Results

Bedtime Stories

MIDNIGHT SNACK

POV David

It didn't take long to whip up a couple of grill cheese sandwiches and we were eating quietly together, both lost in the memories of the day. Lauren broke the silence.

"Are you married?" She took a bite of her grilled cheese and licked the crumbs from her fingers.

"No." I guess she was ready to ask questions. I never turn down an opportunity to learn about the people sitting across from me. "Why do you ask?"

"I once fell in love with a married man. He never told me he was married." She took another bite of her sandwich.

"Is he the father?" I glanced down at the small bump that was barely visible though the shirt she was wearing.

"Yes and no." Confused by that answer, I went to open my mouth to ask, but waited as she took a sip of water and prepared to continue. "I have a daughter. This baby, I don't know the father."

That statement bothered me. Was she admitting to being a loose woman? As if reading my thoughts she clarified. 

"I was taking my baby before they took her from me, and in the process crossed paths with a man who took advantage of my situation. I don't know who he was, but he bought me a bus ticket, gave me some money and this." Lauren lifted her hand and slid a simple gold wedding band off her finger.

"Why?" I picked up the ring. Was he proposing?

"So people would believe I was an honest woman. I had a child and all." She reached over and took the ring back from me.

"Why do you keep it?" I needed to understand how this woman worked. She accepted horrible actions as necessity. Why?

"To remind me to repay the kindness he showed me that night." She put the ring back on and continued to eat.   

 "Do you have someone back home?" I asked, maybe sending her back to family was the best course of action.

"I don't have a home." She took another bite.

"If you're going to avoid the questions then I'm going to bed." I finished my sandwich and waited for her response. 

"No. There's no one looking for me, waiting for me, or coming for me. My family tossed me out after I got pregnant the first time." Lauren stared me down, like she was daring me to challenge her. "Is this your house?"

"Yes." This girl had more fire then she had allowed me to see. I wonder how hard it would be to coax a spark out of her? "How old are you?"

"Old enough." Another bite.

I got up and put my dish in the sink. Then washed my hands. As I was walking out of the kitchen Lauren said, "Twenty two."

"What's that?" I heard her, but I wanted to remind her I was in control of the conversation and if she wasn't going to communicate with me, I could walk away.

"I'm twenty two." Lauren said looking up from her empty plate.

"Are you done?" I asked. She just nodded. I put her plate in the sink and carried her back to the bedroom.

POV Lauren

David sat me down in the window seat of the master bedroom, then went about making the bed. I watched as he made such a trivial task, interesting. Every movement was smooth and slow, corners tightly tucked, sheets stretched and comforter tossed up and laid over. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to make a bed without thinking about this moment. The fact that the man in front of me is only wearing a pair of flannel bottoms and has shown me know ill will makes me jealous of the bedding.

"David?" He looked up as he finished laying the last pillow back on the bed.    

"Yes Lauren?" He looked up at me with those big brown eyes and grinned, his cheeks dimpled and I almost forgot what I was going to say.

"Thank you." I blushed and tried to look away, but he was coming towards me. I caught his scent. Why did he smell so good? 

"Ready for bed?" He asked, leaning over me. My heart was racing.

"Where am I sleeping?" He lifted me up and carried me from the window seat.

"You're the guest, you can have my bed." His smile reached his eyes as he headed for the bathroom. "There is a spare toothbrush in here for you, as well."

"Where are you sleeping?" He set me down on the countertop by the sink and handed me the toothbrush, there was a pause as David finished brushing his teeth.

He grabbed the hand towel and looked at me in the bathroom mirror reflection.

"In my bed, of course." I almost choked on the toothpaste. I quickly finished and he carried me off to his bed. I had to keep it together.

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He tucked me in bed before moving about the house locking up and shutting lights off. I inhaled the clean sheets, the covers smelled of roses. The scent was comforting. I rolled to my side to see David's brown eyes staring back at me. 

"Hello again." He said with a cheesy grin. ''So nice of you to join me, daydreaming in my sheets?"

"Do you talk to all the girls you sleep with like this?" If so he really is a cheesy son of a b***h, but I still couldn't figure him out.

"No. Honestly I can't recall the last time I shared my bed with a woman." 

"Are you gay?" That would explain so much. 

"No." David grinned and leaned towards me. I know I should've moved away but I wanted to know what he was going to say to me. "Can I ask, what happened to you?"

I looked into his eyes, and for the first time I felt like I could tell him anything. I could vent my life and he would accept me. So I took a deep breath and said what I needed to say. The truth, "I was leaving a bar tonight, I thought I was ready to end this pregnancy. I changed my mind, and some men followed me. I tried to escape them by hiding in the woods, but I made a mistake and they caught up to me. I thought I could fight them off." I paused and waited to see if he was going to judge me for my actions, but instead he looked interested.

"Please continue." 

"I knew they were coming, I didn't know how many. I knew the consequences of being caught alone, I had been hurt before." I knew he saw what they did to me. The marks told the story of the r**e, the beating and the abuse. 

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POV David

I wanted to know more. Did she have a plan? Was she setting a trap? What was her exit strategy? Why was she out there alone in the first place? I needed to stay focused as she spoke, she paused after her last sentence and I knew what she wanted me to understand. The damage done to her, she knew it was going to happen. She may not have realized the extent, but she knew that she was coming out battered and beaten when the night was over. 

"Lauren, you don't have to go on, if you don't want to." I knew this had to be taking a toll on her. The sun light was just starting to peek over the horizon telling me that only hours ago she was a victim.

Lauren smiled at me. The early light warmed her face though the sheer curtains. "They hurt me. They wanted to hear me scream." Then she took a deep breath, and said with zero hint of remorse, "So I hurt them, I hurt them all and I made them scream." She leaned into my chest and I wrapped my arms around her. She quickly fell asleep and I laid there lost in thought.

I think I am in love.