Chapter 21
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Warning : Physical Abuse.
Raina shuddered subtly, suddenly finding interest in her bare toes as countless eyes stared at her, accessed her. Bloodshot red eyes. Her father and his friends were in the living room, smoking all sorts of weed and drinking together.
This was a usual ritual for the eight men, this was their own way of hanging out. All divorced or lacking a proper female in their lives, intimately. All struggling with slips and slips of overdue bills. They would drink to oblivion and sometimes, sneak some hard drugs into the house.
They did not need to speak to communicate. This was their own way of having fun, coming together to get high and then part ways after preparing another get-together for themselves.
" Aye’ Foster! Your girl looks so much like your late wife! " She could hear a man slur, followed by a tense silence and then the sound of something smashing. Raina's late mother was a touchy subject.
A no-go area.
With a gasp, she finally stared up and spotted her father holding the man by his neck as he had him pressed against the wall, behind the now broken frame.
" Don't you ever mention her name. Don't you ever speak of her again.." Foster McCoy warned as a lit cigarette hung from his lips.
Greg Davies lifted his hands to show he meant no harm and slowly, the man pulled away from him and snapped his head towards Raina McCoy, causing her to immediately avert her eyes.
" Don't ever stare at me with those eyes, you filth! Those eyes belong to my wife! Not to you " He would tell the child.
Edena McCoy died when Raina was just six and it had been six years since then. Her father blamed her for her mother's death. What he loathed the most was the fact that she looked exactly like her mother.
Foster McCoy was a pure African while Edena, her late mother was Hawaiian which also made Raina Pōpolo.
Raina held in her breath as she heard her father slowly approach her. Her body shook and she let out an inadvertent whimper. She was scared, she feared the man who she was supposed to look up to.
Foster McCoy stopped before his twelve year old daughter and pulled on her hair so she could stare up at him. Taking the cigarette away from his lips, he scanned her face where a faint bruise formed on her jaw from an earlier hit, " Go to your room "
Raina wasted no time as soon as he let go of her hair and dashed up the stairs to the basement where she was given as a room. As soon as she stepped into her once safe haven, she slammed the door shut as tears rolled down her face.
Her eyes immediately caught on to her mother's picture. Her father was right. It was her fault. If she never pestered her mother that night, things would have been alright.
Sniffing, she picked up the fading picture which was the only one she had of Edena McCoy, the rest were destroyed by her father and he had no idea she had stolen this one before he set the valuables of his late wife ablaze. Laying on the floor mat which served as a bed to her, she curled her small body into a ball, clutching the picture to her chest as her eyes drooped.
Hopefully, she could see her mother again soon enough. Wishing it was her end that knocked on her door, she let her eyes close and let sleep in, engulfing her.
The door slamming open had Raina jolting awake from her sleep. She looked around in panic which turned to fear as she saw her father walk into her room clumsily. She scooted backwards in fright since she had no sheets to protect her self from the cold or her own father.
" Go get me more beer, we are all out " The man slurred as he threw a few pennies onto the wooden floor.
" Y-yes sir " Raina nodded her head immediately and scrambled up, which was a huge mistake as her mother's picture fell from her body and dropped on the ground.
Her eyes widened as her father slowly looked down and spotted the fading picture. The tan skin, the curls, the familiar brown eyes, the dimpled smile. Foster McCoy could recognize her even in his drunken state.
Raina's heart pounded as she saw a dark look cross her father's face before he stared up at her with a clenched jaw. The half drunk bottle in his hand shook due to his anger, threatening to snap into half, " You fool! "
Raina flinched at the roaring sound. It was not the first time the man had used such words on her. She could not remember the last time he called her by her name. She was used to it all, sometimes she even forgot her real name.
Raina was snapped out of her thoughts as a sharp pain shot up her back. She realized that her father had slammed her into the wall by her neck, hurting her already sore back the more. He put her in the same position he had put his friend earlier, only this time, he never let her mistakes slip.
He punished her for the littlest things.
" Where did you get that picture from? Answer me! " The larger man yelled in her face as her knees wobbled in fear. The man was a retired bodyguard, one can only imagine how they differed in size and strength. Not getting an answered angered him the more and he pulled on her hair before tossing her harshly against the floor.
" ALL FOR A STUPID TOY, YOU KILLED YOUR OWN MOTHER! "
His feet made repeated contact with her still healing ribs and he pulled her back once she tried to run from him. He did not flinch when the girl began choking up blood. He had broken a rib but that did not stop him from continuing his assault.
" PLEASE FATHER! "
He ignored her plea and after three more kicks, he halted his assault before moving back to pick up his money. The man tilted his head and tossed them towards her, causing it to drop just beside the drops of blood on the wooden floor.
" You have fifteen minutes "
A scream tore from Raina McCoy's throat as someone shook her awake. Her body was covered in sweat as tears rolled down her cheeks.
" Raina! It was just a nightmare " Roux Addington assured her as he knelt before her body but she could not hear him.
Her breaths were ragged as she wiped the snot off her nose with the sleeve of her sweater. More tears escaped her already swollen eyes and she cowered away in fear once she spotted a hand approaching her.
" No please! I came just a minute late! I am sorry! " She pleaded in fear as she covered her face, blocking a hit which was not intended.
Rouxs' heart broke at the sight of the woman before him. Behind him, Theodore and the twins stood outside the door as they silently watched the scene. The children had come after he did but Theodore kept them outside the room. They were frightened, they had never seen Raina McCoy break down before.
She was different.
Roux had finished his work at his private office later than usual and approaching his room for some sleep when he heard her groaning and whimpering loudly.
She kept on muttering pleas in her sleep and as soon as he opened the door and saw she was having a nightmare, he approached her without shutting it. Once he touched her was when she started screaming in her sleep and it had woken up the children from their sleep.
" You can take them back, Theodore " Roux ordered, not taking his eyes off her and the man nodded before shutting the door before him and escorting the sniffing children back to their rooms.
Roux stared at Raina who had curled herself into a ball on her bed, letting out sniffles once in a while. He did not need to ask to know she had been abused in some way as a child.
It was obvious.
His hand reached out to brush away her hair and she tensed and shut her eyes in fear. He shook his head at her broken state and muttered sweet nothings in her ear to calm her down, occasionally rubbing on her back.
Her body tensed, ready to go into panic mode as she spotted him get up and stand above her. She tried to scoot away from him as his hands neared her and he shook his head and scooped up her smaller body.
" You're okay now, Raina " He begrudgingly placed a kiss on her slightly sweaty temple and silently took her out of the room, heading towards his.
He did not complain about the grip she had on his sweatshirt as her eyes cautiously roamed around the environment she was being taken to.
Roux shut his door with his leg as soon as he stepped into his room and walked towards his bed before placing her down and slipping in with her. He pulled her body closer to his and she immediately buried her face into his chest, calming slightly at his comforting musky scent.
Silently, Roux brushed back her soft curls to get her to calm down. She was safe and he needed her to know that. Albeit, questions were held at the tip of his tongue but he tamed them and waited for her to get back to normal and when she did, he finally spoke.
" Do you want to talk about it? "
He nodded to himself when she stayed silent and after some minutes of an internal debate with herself, she finally spoke when he thought she was asleep.
" My mother's name was Edena McCoy... " She started.
" She was Hawaiian and my father met her on a vacation on his first time there, as a private bodyguard. After some years, they decided to get married. They were madly in love with each other. Three years later, they had me, " she sniffed, " They loved me also. Always giving me whatever I wanted even if we weren't the richest "
" When I turned six, I wanted a particular toy. It was the newest type and there was one last one which would have been sold out the next morning since all the kids wanted it. I pestered her to take me there. It was just three miles away and father was not around. He was with my grandmother who was ill at the time. She agreed, that was her biggest mistake "
She paused.
" She drove me there. It was already dark and raining on top of that. I kept pestering her to drive faster before another kid got the toy before us. I kept tugging on her sleeves from the backseat and in the process, I fell. She panicked and looked back to see if I was okay. There was another car, the driver and his wife were in an argument " A lump formed in her throat and some tears spilled from her eyes which Roux did not hesitate to wipe away.
" I understand, you do not have to finish it " He rubbed on her back as he pursed his lips. Her tears soaked a spot on his chest but he did not care.
" Mother and the man's wife died, along with the woman's unborn child. Father blamed me for everything and he was not wrong. I took three lives that midnight " she cried out and he shook his head.
" You did no such thing, Raina. You were a child an you had no idea that would happen. Don't blame yourself, Raina " He spoke as he gripped her tighter.
" Father said I took away his love. He called me a monster. I was a murderer. He started taking his pain and anger out on me for years and once I grew older, I ran away. I left New Jersey after the police found out. I was just seventeen, they were going to take me to an orphanage and I did not want to go there " She gripped onto his shirt as she cried harder.
" You are safe now, Raina. No one would ever hurt you again from now on. I would always protect you, Raina. You just have to trust me " He assured her and she stared up at him.
Raina opened her mouth to speak but she could not form any words as Roux Addington pulled her head towards his chest protectively, placing a kiss on the crown of her head as he tried to ignore the pang in his chest.
He would protect her, no matter what.