He used the time to calm his inner killer. It took a massive effort on his part to not get up and leave for New York right then, just so he could end the fucker.
After giving them both a few minutes to collect their thoughts, he slowly made his way down the same path. His bare feet dug into the dry sand as he walked toward her.
Charlie was standing at the water’s edge, looking out into the sea as though she wished she could jump in and disappear.
Not happening, darlin’.
“You want to know the worst part?” she asked rhetorically, not bothering to look at him. “At one point, I remember thinking I wished he’d just hit me and get it over with. The physical bruises healed, but the things he’d say to me...”
She ran a hand through her long, blonde hair. Humiliation and grief crossing over her. “One minute, he could be so sweet and loving. The next, he’d cut me down with the most hateful, hurtful words. Within seconds I could go from thinking everything was okay to feeling as though I was the most worthless human being alive.”
Turning to him, Charlie said, “The crazy part? I always ended up apologizing tohim. Even though I knew I’d done nothing wrong, he always managed to twist things around and blame me for the entire argument. I’d walk on eggshells, terrified of saying or doing something to set him off again. Sometimes, it worked. Other days, it seemed as though there wasn’t anything I could do that was right.”
She paused, and Derek waited, praying she was done. He’d never felt so much hatred for a human being as he did for Caleb Porter.
Just when he thought she was through, Charlie stared out at the tiny waves and finished her twisted, horrifying tale.
“I’d work all day on the apartment, making sure everything was spotless and in its place. I’d pick up his dry cleaning and run all his errands. I’d even make him his favorite meal for supper. But Caleb always managed to find the one thing I’d neglected to do. Or...” She shrugged. “Sometimes he’d just make shit up that I should’ve gotten done but didn’t.”
A look of disgust blanketed her. “He did that sometimes, just so we’d argue, and I’d end up offering to—”
She cut herself off, and Derek was so fucking thankful. He didn’t think he could stand to hear the rest.
“How does that happen, Derek?” Her eyes pleaded with him to explain the unexplainable. “How does someone like me who grew up with a father like mine end up here? I knew the signs. All the red flags. I should’ve seen it coming. I should’ve known what was happening and left before it got so bad. Why didn’t I see it?”
“Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon. Statistically, women who grow up in abusive households are more likely to find themselves in those same types of relationships later on down the road.”
“It makes no sense. I didn’t want this.” She looked away again. “I always swore I wouldn’t turn into my mother. Yet, here I am.” Charlie’s face nearly crumbled. “I’m exactly like her.”
“No, you’re not.” Derek turned her to look at him.
“Really?” She swiped angrily at her damp cheeks. “How am I any different than she was?”
“For one, she didn’t have me in her corner.”
Charlie shook her head. “I can’t just sit back and let you protect me from the big bad wolf, Derek. This isn’t your fight. It’s mine.”
“You’re wrong,” he growled. “The minute that bastard laid a hand on you in anger, this became my fight, too.”
“Why?” she whispered sadly.
He locked eyes with hers. Tucking some hair behind her ear, he told her softly, “Because you’re mine, Charlie. And I’m yours.”
Fresh tears fell from her eyes. “I’ve waited eleven years to hear you say that.”
Wiping her skin dry with his thumbs, he said, “Then, we’d better not waste any more time. If you’re sure you’re ready to do this, to go up against Caleb, I may know a way to get him to agree to a divorce.”
“I’m sure. What can I do to help?”
Derek grinned. Though he’d protect her with everything he had, a part of him loved that she wasn’t one to just sit back and play the damsel in distress.
This woman was willing to fight beside him, rather than hide behind him.
“First thing I’ll need from you is as much documentation as you can give me. Pretty sure there’s a notebook inside the house. You need to try to remember as much as you can about what he’s done over the years. Dates, if you can think of them.”
“I don’t need to do that, Derek.”
“Darlin’, I know this isn’t going to be easy, but—”
