Things Change

Chapter Fifteen

***Beau***

I groaned as I felt my body regain consciousness. I opened my eyes and realized I was in a pitch-black room. I bolted straight up, but I immediately began to wince at the sharp pain that ripped through my body. Suddenly, I remembered Colby hitting me in the head with the silver pole.

"Where am I?" I thought aloud.

I listened carefully as I heard the sound of voices. I tried to focus on what they were saying, but it was indecipherable. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I began to look around my surroundings. I quickly realized that the room was practically empty except for the cot that I was sitting on and another cot across the room. There was also what appeared to be a small lamp next to the other cot. Suddenly, the voices became closer.

"I can't believe you really thought that you could get away from me." cackled Colby's gruff voice.

I heard the sound of a quiet whimper, but I couldn't make out what it was.

"What have I told you about talking back to me?" He barked. I heard what sounded like someone being slapped. "You're going to have to pay for that—" He began, but was interrupted by a voice calling his name.

I heard the squeak of the door opening and a little bit of light streamed in.

"I'll deal with you later, bitch." He spat as he shoved a small feminine figure into the room. "Maybe a little quality time with Mr. Pitiful over there will put you in a better mood." He pushed her again with a force that caused her to fall to the ground. He chuckled as he slammed the door. I gulped as I climbed off the cot and walked over to the small figure.

"Kayleigh?" I whispered quietly. Half of me hoped it wasn't her. I didn't want to believe that Colby had her. The other half of me hoped that it was her, because that way I could watch out for her. She slowly lifted her face and looked up at me with a shocked expression.

"Beau?" she gasped.

I nodded slowly as I felt tears fill my eyes. I tried hard to swallow them back. It wasn't manly to cry.

"Oh, baby," I pulled her close to me in a tight hug and she began to sob. It felt good to feel her warm body against mine as I held her in my arms. I never wanted to let her go. "What has he done to you?"

She didn't answer my question, "It's really dark in here." She said as she pulled away. She slowly fumbled through the room until she found the lamp I spotted earlier.

She turned it on and a soft glow filled the room. It wasn't strong enough for me to get a good look at her, but it was enough for me to quickly spot the black and blue bruises and the red handprint mark on the side of her face. She bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. She shivered slightly and I cautiously moved towards her again.

"Are you cold?" I asked as I pulled my jacket off and draped it over her shoulder.

"What about you?" She questioned shyly.

"I'm alright," I lied. I was freezing. It felt like Antarctica, but I'd failed at taking care of her once and I wasn't going to do it again.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. I noticed she had a terrible limp as she struggled to sit on the small cot.

I shrugged as I sat next to her. "I don't really know."

"Don't lie, Beau." she said. "You're here because of me, aren't you?"

I nodded reluctantly. "I was so worried about you and seemed like no one was doing anything, so I just came after you." I said.

Kayleigh stared at me. "That was stupid." She finally spoke.