more for us | grayson dolan (book two)

eighteen

"I am so fucking sick of seeing your ugly face everyday." He practically spits in my face. "You are nasty and disrespectful, just like your mother."

"She's the lucky one around here, she got the fuck away from you. You are a disgusting piece of trash and I countdown the days until you rot in hell."

Before he can say anything else, he lifts his hand and slaps me right across the face. The sound is so loud that it bounces off the walls of the house. The left side of my face stings with pain and it immediately turns red. My jaw hangs low as tears form in my eyes.

"That's it." Jake goes to rush toward me, but my father turns around and aggressively punches him in the face. Jake falls down to the ground as his nose starts to bleed. I watch my father bend down and hit him again and again, until he passes out.

"Jake!" I scream as I jolt my body forward.

My father stands back up with bloody knuckles, turning to face me. I quickly move toward the door, but his large hands grab my shoulders and push me back against the wall. My body hits the hard material, causing me to fall over. The contact of his shoes hitting my stomach stings through my body as I scream out in pain.

"Where's your smartass comments now?" He yells with hatred as he kicks me again.

"Stop." I say through my screams. My stomach is throbbing with excruciating pain.

He drops to his knees and pulls on my hair. His strong force slams my head back against the hard wooden floor.

"You aren't so tough now." He yells as he moves his fist up, hitting me in the face. The pain is unbearable as I try to lift myself up.

"Stop!!" I loudly scream as I open my eyes, heavily panting. Beads of sweat drip down my face as I try to catch my breath.

"Stella, baby. It's okay." Grayson rushes to my side from across the room.

My entire body is shaking while I hyperventilate. Tears burst out of my eyes as I shake my head back and forth.

"He punched me in the face." I cry as hard as I can, moving my hand to my cheek. The pain he caused me two years ago comes rushing back.

"Shhh, it's okay. He's not here to hurt you anymore." Grayson engulfs me into a hug, wrapping his arms around my fragile body.

"It hurts, Grayson. Everything fucking hurts." I say through my sobs as I cry out in pain. I will never get that night out of my brain. It's permanently tattooed onto me.

"I'm so fucking sorry he did this to you." My boyfriend's voice cracks as he rubs soft circles on my back.

"What time is it?" I gasp while opening my eyes.

"It's almost eleven, you fell asleep when we got home." He cups my face and dries some of my tears.

"I had the nightmare again." I sniffle while looking up at him.

"I know." He frowns while placing a kiss on my forehead.

"That night was so horrifying. I'll never be able to get over it." I try to slow my breathing in order to calm myself down. I press my body against Grayson's as I hug onto him.

"Try not to think about it. You aren't on the south side with him anymore. You're here, with me." He whispers while holding me close.

"Everything is my fault. I should have never tried to have a relationship with Laura." I shake my head back and forth. "I just wanted to feel normal for once, you know? Have a somewhat normal relationship with a parent. I knew it was a risk to trust her, but I couldn't help it. My whole life I wondered about my her. God, I'm so stupid."