The Art Of Listening

Chapter 7

I have been here for almost a month now and I have never been happier. I have friends, my house is looking great, work is going well, and I am free from all the pain and suffering that Brad gifted me with. Lorilee comes over about once a week and we have a girls night, wine, dinner, movies, gossip, you know what I mean. Jax is over all the time, teaching me to cook. I was horrible, but I am getting so much better. Trevor and the guys are working hard on the house and have dinner there almost every night. The General has been helping me speak with ghosts that need closure and together we have been giving them peace. 

I am just getting home, and like every evening, I grab the mail before heading inside. I see Jax, Trevor, Adam, Justin, Blaine, and Ian all sitting at the kitchen table laughing and talking. The sight warms my heart. I am flipping through my mail when I come across the one I have been waiting for. The check from the sale of my Father's house. It had sold a couple weeks ago and the new owners closed, finally. It had been sold to a club at Harvard, so I fetched a nice price for it. I set it with the rest of the bills to be taken care of and joined the conversation. This was pretty much my daily routine and I was happy with it. Jax caught my eye and winked at me. 

That was something else, my feelings for Jax. Brad was my only romantic experience, but I knew I was quickly developing feelings for Jax. I didn't know if I was ready for that, but Jax didn't push me. Maybe he didn't feel that way about me and I wasn't about to ruin a precious friendship to find out. The next day was Friday and pretty much everyone in town was busy, including my friends. They each had things to do, so I was on my own tonight. I didn't mind it, sometimes peace and quiet are needed. In fact, I know just what  I was doing tonight. Ian had installed my new bathtub and I was going to use it. 

I stripped the whole way from my front door to my bathroom. As soon as I got there, I turned on the water, making it hot and dumped in some bath oils that Lorilee gave me. I grabbed my robe and darted downstairs to grab a glass and bottle of sweet red wine before heading back to my tub. I inhaled the scent of vanilla and jasmine and sighed as I sunk into the hot water. When the water began to grow cold, I climbed out and wrapped myself in a towel before heading into my room for jammies. The night air was warm and my windows were open, letting the sweet breeze blow through. I slipped into a white satin nightgown that stopped just above my knees. It was a beautiful piece given to me by Lorilee and it felt great against my skin.

I was just about to climb into bed when I heard a noise downstairs. Thinking it maybe the General, I headed to the kitchen, but it was empty. "There you are, you slut!" A voice boomed and I spun around to face the man I never wanted to see again, Brad. "What the fuck are you doing here, Brad?" His face was pinched in anger, "You are mine, Artemis and you ran away. That's bad and bad girls get punished." He sneered."How did you even know where I am?" I yelled and he laughed. "You are so stupid. I tracked the sale of your Father's house and found your address here."  He is way bigger and stronger than I am and yeah, I was scared. He lunged for me and I screamed as he tackled me to the floor. It knocked the wind out of me and as he sat up, he punched me, right in the eye. I bucked him off of me and my eyes frantically searched for a weapon. I saw the new cast iron skillet that Jax had bought me and wrapped my hand around the handle, just as Brad grabbed me. He spun me aroud and swung that skillet as hard as I could, craking him right in the face.

 He hit the floor, screaming and holding his head and I took off running. I didn't have a chance to grab my keys, so I took off through the cemetery. I knew it well because I walked through it when I couldn't sleep. I heard Brad roar my name and his feet pounding the ground in pursuit. I ran for all I was worth before he tackled me to the ground and hit me again. I looked up and saw the General, anger on his face. "Go get help." I whispered and he nodded and disappeared. I wiggled loose and kicked Brad in the balls, hard before running again. This time when he tackled me, my head hit a headstone. My vision was blurry and my head spun, but I kept kicking and punching. I was not going down without a fight. I felt the blood running down my face, but I ignored it. He grabbed my throat and squeezed. 

"Although, you are a real pain in the ass, Artemis, you were the best fuck I ever had, so before I kill you, I am going to have you one more time." He squeezed harder and blackness began to creep across my vision. My limbs felt heavy and I could barley move. "That's it, Baby, you know what I like. Scream for me." He whispered as bile crept up my throat. Before darkness completely over took me, Brad was ripped away. I gasped for air and pulled myself up, leaning against the headstone. I was trying to clear my vision when I heard Brad scream and Jax laugh. "You can't kill him, they will be missing him." Jax looked at me and then back at Brad. "Lorilee, bind him for a moment." He asked and then when he was sure that Brad would go anywhere, he knelt down in front of me.

"Sweetheart, what do you mean?" He asked gently. I sighed, "His family is very important, that is how he got away with all the abuse before. If he goes missing there will be people sniffing around. He needs to go back to where ever he came from." Jax nodded and Lorilee called out, "I got this, take her home." He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, "I have to pick you up, it's gonna hurt." I nodded and when he lifted me into his arms, I nearly screamed, but only whimpered. He carried me back home and into my bathroom. "We need to get you cleaned up, you are covered in dirt and blood." I nodded, "I hope I didn't hurt my new skillet." I moaned as he set me on the toliet to run the water. He turned and looked at me with a raised eyebrown and I shrugged, "I hit him in the head with it." He shook his head, "How very Repunzel of you."