Protective Love (Hidden Secrets) (2 page)

CHAPTER ONE

~KAYLA~

Present day…

Pulling up in front of my childhood home, I shut the car off and took a few moments before I entered the mayhem that is my family.  My family is big.  My parents love kids, and they proved it by having eleven.  I was the infamous middle child, though I don’t share the typical traits that many associate with a middle child.  The Williams clan consisted of seven boys and four girls; that meant for me five older brothers, two younger brothers and three younger sisters.

I was the first girl in the family, but unlike my outgoing siblings, I was shy and preferred not to draw attention to myself. 
Whenever possible, I preferred to stay in the background, and because of my large family, I found that fairly easy to do. Out of all my siblings, I had the simple job.  I was a veterinarian, who owned and ran a shelter and clinic.  It was a goal I’d had since I was a little girl to save the battered and abused animals, finding them happy forever homes - a place they could forget what their previous home was like and move toward the happy future before them.

Dogs were my saving grace with issues of my own in my past that I kept secret from everyone
, including my family- especially my family. I could talk to them and know that they did not judge me or run and tell everyone my secrets. 

I started the shelter to repay that help I
’d received.  I had no room in my life for romance - not just because of my busy schedule, but because I had lost all faith in men years ago.  There was no way I would ever let anyone near me again. I couldn’t.  I spent my teenage and adult years, ensuring that romance never entered into my life by staying as busy as possible through school, work, and after school activities.

Several factors over time had caused me to take such drastic measures.  No one could possibly know what I
had gone through to make sure my family did not know about what happened when I was twelve. That was when it all started.  A shiver ran down my spine, as I stared at my childhood home and drifted back to that night when I was twelve years old, and my life changed forever.

“Kayla, your brothers are watching you while your dad and I attend this banquet dinner.  Your sisters are at Aunt Lucy’s for the weekend.  Keep an eye on things, please.  All the boys are together, you know how messy that can get.  Jake and Carson should be calling to let us know when they will be home.  Can you please write the message down and leave it on the fridge?” my mom said to me.
 

Jane Williams was a beautiful woman.  Many say she could pass for a model even now.  I could remember hearing several of
my brothers’ friends saying those words when they met our mom for the first time.   

“Yes, ma’am.”  I
said, rolling my eyes. Nothing I hated more than being told how to do the obvious things.  I knew how to answer the phone and take a message, as well as where to put it.

“You’re sure you don’t want to go to Aunt Lucy’s?  We could drop you off on our way.”

“Yes, mom.  I would rather stay here.  I have a project to work on anyway.”

I didn’t like going to Aunt Lucy’s.  She was a little out there in an odd way
, and I much preferred to stay at home when my sisters went over there.  They did all the girlie things; I was happier just getting muddy and climbing trees.

“Okay
, love you guys! Behave yourselves, boys, and keep an eye on your sister, please,” Jane yelled as she headed out the door on my father’s arm.

“Eli, do you have some time to help me with a school project?”  

I loved all my siblings, but I had bonded most with Elijah and Jake.  They were overprotective, but I still loved them. 

“Can we work on it tomorrow, Kay? We’re going to have some friends over and play some pool.” 

I forced a smile, trying hard to hide my disappointment at not being able to spend time with my brothers, who were home on break

“Sure
,” I said. “I will stay in my room and out of the way.”  He hugged me and I headed to my room. 

My room was simple.  I had a daybed up against one wall
. Across from the bed was a built-in entertainment center with shelves for all my favorite books and movies. There was a built-in desk at the far end of my room, and a walk in closet that had more than enough room for all my clothes and shoes. I even had my own bathroom.  It wasn’t huge, but it was big enough for a bathtub/shower, a sink with vanity, and a toilet.  I didn’t have to share it with my brothers or sisters, and that was all I cared about.  There was nothing about my room that screamed ‘girlie;’ the walls were beige and the carpet was white.  The linens were lilac, as were the curtains.  I loved my room; it was peaceful, relaxing, and easy to stay focused on my studies.  I sat down at my desk and started working on my homework assignment. 

Music started playing loudly from downstairs.   I slowly made my way to the top of the grand staircase.  When I got to the banister, I saw a room full of people.  My brothers were hamming it up big time for the girls there.  I sighed heavily and shook my head at my brothers’ actions.  Judging by the amount of people and their laughter and music, I knew it was going to be loud for a while.  So I made my way back to my room, turned on the radio, put my headphones on and went back to work on the project.

A few hours later, it was late and I was tired, so I decided to call it a night.  The music was still going downstairs, so I knew the only way I was going to get any sleep was if I switched to my wireless headphones and wore them to bed.  After changing for bed and brushing my teeth, I crawled in bed and fell asleep in no time. 

Unsure of how long I was sleeping when my bedroom light came on.  I sat up and tried to get my eyes to adjust to the light.  Through the
blur, I thought I saw my brother in the doorway. 

“Jeez
, Nick! I was sleeping, you know?”

I rubbed my eyes
, and when I looked back the door was being locked.  It was not my brother after all.  Instead, it was a man about the height of my brother, with a buzzed head and average frame, though it was apparent that he worked out.  He wore a tank top with a vest over it, revealing several tattoos lining his arms and neck.  His jeans were baggy and sagged from his waist.  He had three piercings - two silver hoops in his ears that caught the light from my room when he walked, and the other in his lip.  He moved closer to me, and I noticed that his eyes were dark - almost black.  He walked with the confidence that he owned the world and had a smile on his face that sent chills down my spine.

“
Um, you need to leave my room,” I said, trying to keep the fear from my voice.

“My name is Alex.  I am a friend of your brother
, Carson.  I take it he is not coming home tonight?”  His voice was low and had a menacing tone as he spoke.

It
puts me on edge.  The look in his eyes wasn’t making me any less nervous.  I wasn’t sure what the look was or why he was in my room, but my gut was telling me to stay alert.

“No, he made it farther than he thought and will be gone for an extra couple of days, but I will tell him you stopped by.  Please shut my light off on your way out, Alex.” 

Carson was a kick boxer, and a good one.  He was fighting in some tournament in New York. 

I forced a
smile, but Alex moved closer to me.  He was staring at me with cold eyes that held no hint of light or warmth. 

“I like the way my name sounds coming from your lips.” 

I tensed up immediately.  He was much bigger than I was.  As he reached my bed, I scooted as far away from him as I could get.

I should have listened to my gut.  If I would have
listened, I might be in a better position than I am in right now. My mind was frantically trying to figure out how to get away.  I tried to move toward the end of my bed.

He grabbed me immediately and held me down with his body
.

“Your brother cost me money
, so to pay him back, I am going to have some fun with his pretty little sister.” 

I screamed.  I screamed as loud as I could.
 

“No one can hear you, princess.  Just relax.  You will enjoy it, I promise.” 

I started crying as he started pulling up my nightgown. 

“Please don’t! Please leave me alone.” 

But, he didn’t care, he began to—

Shaking my head, I tried to rid the thoughts
... the memories of that day, but they seemed to always come back when I came home.  It was why I didn't come home often.  It was still, even after all of these years, too painful to come back around.  I no longer viewed that house as my family home anymore. I saw a place that was tainted and haunted with bad—

KNOCK... KNOCK... KNOCK...

A knock on the car door jolted me from one of the scariest moments in my life and brought me back to the present.  I screamed.  I couldn’t help it; it was the memory.  It took longer than it should have for me to recover.  Trying to calm myself, I knew that the fear I felt must still be on my face, but I slowly turned to see who knocked. 

It was Carson.  I let out a slow
, deep breath of relief. 

Carson
was a handsome man, with dusty brown crew cut hair.  He would always joke, saying keeping it short helped with his game.  He was fairly muscular, with bright green eyes.  Many people would not believe by looking at my brother that he was a champion kick boxer, but he was amazing to watch.  The skill and precision that he showed in his fighting… I wished I could fight like him.

The intensity in my brother’s stare made me worry that he could see my thoughts.  There was nothing I hoped for more than for no one to ever find out about m
y secrets.  I planned to take it to my grave.  Carson opened the door, unbuckled my seatbelt, and pulled me into his arms.  Because of everything that has happened, I didn’t like being this close to anyone; even my brothers.  I fought against his hold until he finally let me go.

“What’s wrong, Kay?”

With confusion plain on my face, I stared at my brother not understanding why he would think something was wrong.  Panic built slowly as I wondered if he knew.  I went to respond when he reached up and wiped a tear from my face.

“Something’s wrong.  You never cry.”

He was right.  I made sure that no one saw me cry.  I saved all of that for when I laid my head on my pillow.  It seemed to be the only way I could fall asleep anymore.  The nightmares still got the best of me, and because of that I never slept through the night, but I was able to fall asleep. And that was a big thing.

“Nothing, I’m fine.” 

I put on my best smile, hoping my brother didn’t see through it.  Honestly, it was a miracle I had been able to keep my secret from my family as long as I had.  The Williams are a very tight knit and close crew.  Well, they were all close except for me.  I had turned away from many of them when I was twelve.  Elijah and Carson were the main ones I’d been pushing out of my life, but honestly, I’d pushed away my whole family.  I didn’t open up or - as hard as it was to say - trust them.  How could I?  Everything I knew was gone in an instant.  I was used to pay a debt for Carson.  Even though I did not blame my family for any of it, I just stuck to myself and depended only on what I knew and could do, nothing more.

I shook my head and smiled at my brother again.  With that last smile, I turned and started walking toward the house.  I had just made it into the backyard when Carson caused everyone to stare.

“Kay, you never cry.  What the hell is going on?”

“Carson, drop it!  I’m fine
,” I said through clenched teeth.

“I’
m not dropping anything until you tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing…” I whispered with my back still to him.

Every eye at the party was on us and I knew it.  I didn’t have to look around to see, I could feel them all on me.  Much to my dislike my eyes began to fill with tears.

“Damn it, Kayla!”
he screamed.

Now I knew for certain every eye was on us.  Being
the center of attention was never a place I wanted to be.  I didn’t want to be when I was little and I sure as hell didn’t want to be at that moment.  I whirled around, anger taking over and tears in my eyes.  I pushed his chest.

“I told you nothing was wrong!  Leave me alone!” 

Tears slipped down my cheeks and I quickly brushed them away.

“Kay…”

“Don’t ‘Kay’ me!  I told you I was fine.  Just accept it and move on.”  My resolve slowly breaking, I lowered my voice “Please Carson.  Just leave it be.”

He wrapped his arms around me and I stiffened.  The touch, the contact
… I couldn’t handle it.  With my hands against his chest, I tried to push away from him, but it was like trying to get a wall to move.  He held me tighter. 

“Kay, I know
something is wrong.  When you’re ready to talk I’m here.  I’m sorry for upsetting you more,” he whispered in my ear, then kissed my cheek and let me go.