Protection

Chapter 16: Surprise

Jen Pov:

I eventually fall asleep after my date but not for long because Ainsley wakes up screaming. I run to her bedroom and she grabs on to me crying

"He killed her he killed her" she says through her sobs, I rub my hand on her back

"Shh it's okay, you're safe now" I whisper in her ear

"No no no he killed her, It was so dark!"

"Shhh it's okay"  I turn on the bedside lamp and lay next to her in bed

"He killed her" she keeps repeating through tears

"Want to tell me what happened" I say calmly and kiss her forehead

"I was.....I was in my room and Margret came to give me food but Charlie said no. He shoved her on the ground in front of me and sliced her neck. He forced me to watch then locked me in a dark room with her body. It felt so real"

I pull her close and hug her tight, my poor little girl. I never know what to say when she tells me these things.

"I'm here now, it's okay"  I say and pull her closer to my chest

Ainsley starts screaming loudly again and moves away from my arms. She pulls the covers around herself

"Mommy Kyle hurt you" she says with tears in her eyes

"Baby he didn't hurt me, I'm fine" I try to comfort her

"No! You have dark marks on your neck. He hurt you, he's going to hurt me" Ainsley cries

I wrap my arms around her again and rub her back

"He did leave.......marks on me, but he didn't hurt me I promise"

"I don't understand mommy, Charlie would bite my neck and leave purple spots like that"

"They are called........bruises, but Kyle isn't like Charlie.......He didn't hurt me when he did this"

"Why did he do it"

"Okay well remember when we talked about romantic friends"

"Yeah you said you only have sex with romantic friends, That what Charlie did was wrong"

"Right and Kyle is my romantic friend, he is my........boyfriend. We were kissing and he kissed my neck. That's where the bruises come from"

"But bruises hurt mommy"

"This is incredibly hard for me to explain but I can assure you that Kyle isn't hurting me. He won't hurt you or anyone else"

"He won't cut me or beat me"

"No, that will never happen to you again"  I hug her

"Do you have any scars mommy" she asks as her tears stop flowing

"I do, I have some on my chest. I got some moles removed because they were......sick"

"So scars aren't bad"

"No of course not, they are apart of you. They show what you've overcome"

"So the bruises don't hurt you, how did he give you a bruise that didn't hurt?"

"We can talk about this in the morning okay, let's get some sleep"

I pick her up and take her to my bed. Ava joins us and we all fall asleep. I wake up in the morning when I hear barking. I notice Ainsley isn't in my bed. I walk downstairs and see her on the couch talking on my phone. I let Ava outside then sit next to Ainsley.