The Thunder Wolves MC - Jaylee (Book #1)

1. Jaylee

It’s been good for the last few months now. I contribute that to the fact we had gotten a new neighbor, and my father wanted to make a good impression. Or maybe he had just decided to keep his word this time. I wasn’t going to hold my breath on that one, though. It was a cycle with him. He would be nice, sweet, and attentive to my mother and me, and then something would set him off. It would be my mother’s or my fault. He was always good about making sure the bruises were not visible. He also had a way with words that always seemed to make me feel like I was less than human. I believed what he told me. That both my mother and I were pieces of s**t, and we were good for nothing. I was a w***e that nobody would ever want to be with. I didn't deserve to be loved. I would be lucky if any boy ever showed interest in me. I was so ugly. At school, I kept to myself as much as possible. I didn’t have any friends and, well, frankly, didn’t think I deserved any. I believed I would one day end up like my mother, a worthless housewife to a husband who didn’t deserve me but had taken pity on me. I believed I didn’t deserve anything more.

Then it happened. A few days before my eighteenth birthday, I heard it. I had fallen asleep daydreaming of the boy next door and wondered if I would be able to work up the nerve to even talk to him. He was so hot, with his shoulder-length dark brown hair, dark eyes, and muscular body, and when he drove up on his motorcycle, it made my heart skip a beat. My mother told me to stay away from him. Dad wouldn’t like me getting involved with a guy like that. And rumor had it his mother was dating the leader of the local biker club, and they were both bad news. But that didn’t stop me from dreaming about him. I was pulled from my dream about him by my mom’s screams. My father was drunk and pissed off. As the owner of the local bar, he was supposed to have been working behind the bar tonight. It must have been a slow night for him. That was the only time he came home drunk. He most likely spent the evening drinking with the few people that had been in the bar. Probably gambling as well and had lost a good amount of money.

Sitting up in bed, I listened intently to what was going on. They were downstairs. She must have gotten up in an attempt to make sure he had something hot on the table when he got home, and from the sounds of it, he had decided he didn’t like what she had made. Slowly I slipped out of bed, moving across my room. Reaching the wall, I turned the light on and slowly opened the door.

He would either grow tired and pass out on the couch, or one of the neighbors would call the cops. There were a few more screams and a low thud and then quiet. I waited a moment longer, then slowly moved down the steps to check on my mom and make sure she was ok. There were no flashing lights, which meant the cops had not been called this time. Not that it ever made things better for us. He was friends with the whole department, and they always believed him when he said my mom had fallen. It didn't help that she always covered for him as well. Once they would leave, he would always beat her more and tell her to keep her mouth shut. As I reached the bottom step, I froze. He was not on the couch, and he hadn’t gone upstairs. I panicked as I debated on if I should go in and check on my mom or sneak back upstairs and lock myself in the room.

That short moment of panic at the bottom of the steps proved to be the wrong move because, before I could decide what to do, my father rounded the corner to head upstairs and saw me standing there. Moving quicker than you would think he could, he grabbed me by the arm, squeezing hard. “And just what do you think you’re doing out of bed? You think you can save your mom from getting what she deserves, you little cunt?” Spit came from his mouth as he slurred his words. I just shook my head, looking down at my feet. The next thing I know, his fist slammed into my side a couple of times, and I fell to the floor with him falling on top of me. I kicked and shoved him off me and flew back up the stairs with him right behind me. “You little bitch.” His hands grazed the back of my ankles and legs. “It’s about time I showed you how to be a real woman….Show you how to treat a man….You little cunt…Show you how to please a man, unlike those little boys you have been with.”

I fell into my room and kicked the door closed before he could get in, but that didn’t slow him down for long. Before I could get the door locked, he slammed into it, throwing me backward as the door flew open. My head hit the edge of my desk before I fell to the floor. My vision blurred as he leaned over me. His fists found my side again and again. My vision blurred as I tried fighting him off, but he was on me, and pain shot through my side as it became harder to breathe. This was it. I was sure I was going to pass out. His hands pushed my shirt up. I tried fighting him off, a scream leaving me. My vision continued to blur. And then, just like that, my father was no longer on top of me. His body had been pulled off of me. The last thing I heard was him grunt as he fell into the wall. I thought I saw the boy from next door through my blurred vision, but that couldn’t be right. Could it? Why would he be inside my house? Before I could focus my eyes to see who was now between my father and me, and from what it looked like beating the s**t out of him, I lost consensus.

Groaning, I slowly opened my eyes. My whole body hurt. “Oh, Jaylee, my baby girl.” Turning my head, I found my mother sitting in the chair next to my bed. Reaching out, she grabbed my hand, holding onto it. “Mom?” She shook her head. “Shhh, baby, just rest right now.” A nurse walked into the room, giving me a small smile as she checked over the monitors. “I will let the doctor know she is awake. The Chief will also want to talk to her.” My mom nodded her head and watched the nurse walk back out of the room. Her head turned back to me. “Jaylee, you listen to me now before they come in here. You will tell them it was the boy next door that did this to you.” I shook my head. That wasn’t what happened, though. She squeezed my hand harder. “You will tell them the story your father wants you to. You tell the Chief it was that boy next door that did this to you.”

The door to my room opened again. My mom squeezed my hand again, a look of warning in her eyes. My father and the Chief walked into the room. My father walked over to the other side of my bed, taking my other hand. “Jaylee, my baby girl.” I tried to pull my hand away, but he tightened his grip, crushing my hand. “I am so glad you woke up. I was just telling the Chief how it was a good thing I came home when I did. Who knows what all that delinquent from next door would have done to you? And then your mother when he was done with you. As it was, he nearly killed me when I got between the two of you.” Confused, I looked back at my mom, who looked back at me with pleading eyes. Turning back to my dad, I shook my head. “But that's not…” My dad squeezed my hand harder. “See, Ken, I told you she hit her head hard when that boy attacked her. She is confused.” The Chief nodded his understanding. “No worries, sweetheart, that boy won't be able to come after you or your mom again. I will see to it.” Again I shook my head. “But that’s not what happened.” The Chief looked at me with pity before turning back to the door, motioning for my father to follow him.

“Why can’t you just do as your told? All you will accomplish here is making him angry.” I shook my head again. “But that’s not what happened. Why do you always cover for him?” Standing, my mother glared at me. “You will tell the story your father has told us to, or you will keep your mouth shut.” Tears pricked my eyes. My father walked back into the room and shut the door. Anger filled his face as he walked over, grabbing my face, and forcing it up, so I was looking at him. “You are lucky I am here to ensure the Chief knows the real story, you little b***h. From here on out, you will keep your mouth shut and let me and your mother talk for you. You will tell them you don’t remember if asked. Do you understand me?” Sobbing, I nodded the best I could. My father let go of my face as the room door opened again, and the nurse walked back in with who I assumed was my doctor.

“Well now, it is good to see you awake, young lady. Let's get a look at you.” My father gave me a pointed look before moving out of the doctor's way. With my father there in the room, as the doctor looked me over and asked me questions, I did as I was told and kept my mouth shut. The whole time, wondering what happened to the boy next door. What will they do with him? If it wasn’t for him, my father would have either raped me or killed me. I owed him my life, but nobody believed me. No one was listening to me. They believed my father’s story, and my mother was backing it up. I was so useless. There was nothing I could do to help him. I didn’t even know his name.