You Found Me

Chapter 9 - Carter

A/N: READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM, I'm starting something new. I'm hoping it works out!

“Carter, may I ask you something?” Liam asked, pausing the movie and rolling onto his side so he could look at me.

“Sure,” I nodded and rolled onto my side as well.

“You said you’re scared every guy you meet is going to hurt you because of your father. What exactly did your father do? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Once he asked that, memories of all the pain I was put through rushed into my head, causing me to wince. Liam’s eyes widened and he instantly laced his fingers with mine, a comforting gesture he knew would help. I closed my eyes and sighed before opening my mouth to speak.

“My father abused me, mentally and physically. He didn’t use to though. Up until I was 13, he was the perfect father. But, 13 is the age when my mother died in a terrible car accident. It was like a switch was flipped at the time of her death. He went from being the perfect, loving father every little girl dreams of having, to being the monster of a father every little girl has nightmares about. The first year or so, all he would do is yell. He would yell at me as I cowered into a corner, telling me that I’m worthless and that my mother died because of me. Because I was ungrateful, selfish, annoying. He told me that he wished I was never born.” I paused to look at Liam; his face was filled with sadness. It gave him even more of a puppy look. “Everything got worse around my 15th birthday because he had started drinking. The verbal abuse continued, but physical abuse soon came into the picture. He would hit me every time I didn’t do something right, every time I got a low grade in school, and every time I would speak without being spoken to. The hitting lasted for a few months, then one night he drank more than usual. I had come home late from Jade’s house. He did the usual yelling and punches but when I tried to run off to my room, he grabbed a knife from the counter. Rather than stabbing me, he would give torturous cuts up and down my arms. At one point he cut so deep that I couldn’t go to school for a few days because the cuts wouldn’t stop bleeding. I was rushed to the hospital when I finally decided to show up to school because I had lost so much blood. Rather than telling the doctors my father had done it, I told them it was an act of self-harm.  They all believed it and told me I needed to get help once I was dismissed from the hospital. The same stuff went on for the next year and then my father got a girlfriend, a trashy one at that. She joined in on the abuse. Every time she was over, she and my dad would have their own fun by abusing me.” Once I stopped talking, I noticed the tears rushing down my face and I realized how bad I was shaking.

“I’m so sorry” Liam whispered, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest. “No one should ever have to go through that. I wish I could take away all the memories.” I continued sobbing into his chest as he comforted me by rubbing my back. I wish he could take away all the memories as well. I don’t want to remember anything about my life in Codsall. I want to forget everyone and everything from my past and start new here in London with Liam. Maybe he can take my mind off of all the painful memories, fill my head with pleasant ones.

“Maybe you can take the memories away” I murmured, curling up into his chest.

“How do you want me to do that? I will do anything to help you forget.”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing. Keep being the sweet boy that offered to let a stranger stay with him, the boy who has made me happier in 5 days than I’ve been in 5 years, just keep being you and I’ll eventually forget my past.” I weakly smiled up at him and placed a hand on his face, brushing his cheek with my thumb.

“I’ll do that, all for you.” he leant down and placed a soft kiss on my lips before getting up out of the bed.

“What’re you doing?” I sat up in the bed and looked at him.