| |
Kayden drove east on the freeway, out of Brighton, until I saw the water’s edge on our right side. It gleamed, like liquid silver under the moon. Even though it was not very late, being this close to the ocean with all the lights on the left side made it seem like it was. We took a slight turn onto a little freeway until I saw lights, lots of them off in the distance. When we got closer, I realized where he was taking me. I grew excited as we pulled up to the entrance and I saw the sign for the Seabreeze Amusement. Grinning, I looked towards him, practically bouncing in my seat.
"This is what I would expect in a Kayden date!" I said excitedly. I could not wait to go in.
We found a parking spot and quickly went to get our tickets. I could hear the park music, along with the screams of people riding rides. When we got in, Kayden pulled me towards an eating place that was close to the entrance. We ordered and ate at the open picnic tables they had, then we headed to our first ride of the night. The merry-go-round.
"Really?" Kayden asked, hesitating about going on the childish ride. "You sure you don't want to try something a little bit... faster?"
I grabbed his hand, hauling him along to stand in line, grinning. Ok, maybe I wasn't 'hauling' him. It wasn't as if I could anyway. It was more like a reluctant dragging of sorts, but never mind that. "Come on. It'll be fun. Plus, we just ate. Let's build up to the faster rides."
When we both got on the ride, I zeroed in on the stationary bench seat towards the outside. We both sat down, and Kayden wrapped his arm around me, bringing his hand to my head to pull me in for a brief kiss. He was my fun, happy go lucky Kayden, and I loved that we skipped the restaurant to do this.
"Eww!" a child voiced, not too far away from us. "They're kissing!"
"Shh. Let them be. They're in love," A woman answered.
"Like Snow White?"
I giggled against Kayden's lips, hearing the child's question and resorted to snuggling into his arms until the ride ended. From there we went to the teacups, followed by a more adventurous ride called 'The Spring.' I think if any ride could have made me lose my dinner, it would have been that one. From there we worked our way to a ride that looked like a boat that swung from side to side, then to a roller coaster and finally to a ride called The Bobsleds. Talk about fast! We worked our way around the park to the Bumper Cars and Kayden coaxed me into going on a ride called The Screamers Edge. That was going to be added to the list of never-again-to-ride. I think I left fingernail prints in Kayden's arm. It was at another large roller coaster called the Jack Rabbit that things got to be uncomfortable. Kayden got a brief phone call and stepped to the side. It was someone asking if he had a phone number and Kayden had to look it up on his phone to find it. When he was done, he gave me a tentative smile as he put his phone away. "All Tyler does is bug me." He was just joking, but I could see that the phone called had bothered him.
I smiled as we head toward the next ride. "What did he need?"
He waved his hand in the air dismissively, as we walked. "Just a number." He grabbed hold of my hand and started to pull me along, grinning like a fool. "Come on. Forget about Tyler! We have more rides to ride!"
***
We were standing in line for another ride, and I wasn’t sure what time it was. We had already been at the park for a few hours. I knew the park closed at ten, so I knew it wasn't that late yet. A couple of guys playing around in front of us were pushing and shoving each other. There were four of them. The one with red hair pushed the guy with a black jacket while another one of his buddies smoked off to the side of the stretchy black band that held our line. The fourth one that had a lip ring and tattoos shoved the redhead along with the guy in the jacket.
At first, it looked like they were playing as if they had too many sweets and were burning off extra energy by being guys, but then they got more aggressive. Their friend put his smoke out and stepped over to the redhead, pushing him away from the other two. That's when things escalated.
Kayden tucked me into his chest with an arm around my waist, keeping me close when they got carried away. Then he spoke up. "Can you guys settle down a bit? We're in line too, you know."
I heard murmurs of agreements from behind us and in front of our line. Others were upset with them also. Kayden just voiced what the rest of the people in line were thinking. These guys were being rude.
The four of them stopped, turned towards us after Kayden spoke and my heart froze when the smoker guy stepped forward. I reassured myself that everything would be ok because this guy seemed older and more mature, despite his overall scary attire. Maybe he would be more reasonable about our request.
I was wrong.
I stiffened when I heard him say, "Whaddya gonna do about it, pussy boy?" Definitely not mature. Kayden pushed me behind him when he realized things were about to hit the fan.
"Hey," Kayden said, standing his ground, "We just want to ride. If you guys would—"
That's when smoker guy swung at Kayden, but Kayden leaned to the right missing it.
"What the—” he started to say, but smoker guy wasn't stopping for a small chat. Smoker guy went for Kayden's stomach, but he swiftly stepped back pushing into me, making me stumble back. I moved away from him over to the side, not wanting to get in the way, but what I really wanted to do was grab Kayden and just leave. I was afraid that if I stepped in I would cause more damage than good. That guy just kept coming at him.
"Come on, Brad!" the guy with the jacket called out, as he stood towards the side. "Don't let Pussy Boy get away!"
"Leave him alone," I defended, as I glared at the remaining three. "We just wanted to ride the ride."
"Whoa, feisty little thing, aren't you?" the redhead said, coming my way.
"You leave her alone!" Kayden yelled as he pushed the smoker guy aside, but then the guy actually got a hit in, and I panicked.
"Kayden!"
"Hey!" another dude in line joined us. He was huge like a football player would be. "Leave them alone!" he defended us.
Kayden was bleeding from his nose, but still fighting the smoker guy while his friends egged them on. The football player went in to break it up, and that’s when the guy with the lip ring busted in, hitting the football guy straight on.
I felt an arm go around my waist and freaked as I twisted to get away. I elbowed whoever it was behind me, and they grunted. I turned my head to catch a glimpse of red hair. "Want to come over and rock my bed—" I lifted my elbow higher jabbing it into his jaw. I felt a small sense of pride when I saw his surprised expression.
This guy was going down.
"You jerk!" I yelled, going in for another hit. Someone tried to pull him away as the guy pulled me backwards until we both tumbled to the ground, but I keep hitting him.
"You need to grow up!" I kicked him as we both struggled on the cement. "Find some manners!" I wasn't letting this guy take me down. I briefly saw what was going on around us before I started swinging again. It seemed like everyone was fighting someone.
Another set of hands grabbed me as jacket guy swung, smacking me in the face. I went ballistic. I didn't know when I’d lost reality, but suddenly I was back to that horrible night years ago. All I could see was my dad's fist hitting me once again.
The hits came and people were screaming. It hurt just like before, but this time, I wasn't backing down. "You won't win this time!" I growled from the ground with two other guys wrestling me. My ribs were on fire, and my face hurt, but I got my hands free and hit anyone I could. "I refuse!"
By the time Kayden got to me, my voice was raw from screaming. He pulled me away from the guys I was fighting with as others helped to keep them back.
"Hey, Hey, it’s over. Daniels, Daniels. Faith! Look at me."
I looked up into Kayden's blue eyes. One was swelling and the sight brought me back to the present. I was a mess and scared. Security was called, but it didn't matter. The fight was over, but my body still hurt.
"Oh, Kayden, your eye." I put my hand up to touch it as tears gathered, but he pulled back. I wasn't sure who won, but I gave as much to the fight as they delivered. I just hoped that their baby-making machines were permanently damaged.
Statements were taken, but no one pressed charges. I guess the other guys had a history of violence and the other people in line vouched for us. I didn't want Brady to know, and honestly, I knew I lost it there. I was disappointed in my behavior. I didn't usually resort to violence. When we got back to Kayden's truck with ice packs from one of the restaurants, I was quiet.
He demanded to look me over in the bathrooms before we left, and I refused, but somehow we ended up in a family bathroom anyways. He made me strip down to my underwear so he could see the damage those pieces of sh—well, you get the idea. Bruises marred my skin as my face tightened with swelling.
"Jeez, Daniels," he exclaimed, seeing it.
"I didn't like that guy calling you that, and the guy came after me," I told him as if that made perfect sense. I think I was always waiting for a fight. One that I could sink into. Get some anger out.
"They were just beating up on you. Even when I got to you-you were fighting me," he continued, "What happened? You were just gone. It took me a few seconds to get you back."
My head fell in shame as I let out a long breath. "This is not the first time I've been beaten like this," I stated gesturing to all of me. "It's not that bad really."
"What do you mean not the first time, Faith?" he started bringing a finger up to my chin to lift my head, but I pulled away. My head ached as the adrenaline began to wear off.
"Not now," I told him as I grabbed my shirt, trying to avoid the pounding in my head.
"You bet it's going to be right now! Who's been beating you? Was it your old foster parents? Was it..."
I snap my head up to glare at him. "It was once, Kayden. My father beat me one time and almost killed me."
"What?" he stumbled, almost disbelieving, "Raina always said Austin's parents were nice."
"They were, before. Just not after." I finished putting my clothes on and folded my arms across my body, protecting myself.
Would this information make a difference in how the guys viewed me? Would they not want someone so... broken? My worries were plain as day as I tried to hold my tears again. I was stronger than this. I proved that, but it always kept going back to those two nights. I had emotional triggers like my earlier therapists had said. I needed to be careful.
Kayden came towards me and folded me into a hug as his hand went up to my head, drawing it into his shoulder. He smelled spicy and masculine, and I felt grounded, more centered now that I was surrounded by him.
"Shh, Faith. It's ok. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he broke. He leaned back, kissing me to give me comfort, holding me as if his arms could keep me safe. We left the amusement park emotionally drained with ice packs on our faces as we drove back.
To lighten the mood, in a soft teasing voice, I said, "Epic date night, Kayden. Next time, let’s just skip the fight and settle our sexual frustrations another way."
He snorted and carefully took a hold of my bruised hand that held an ice pack to his face. "We still have time." He was silent for a moment, glancing over towards me then back to the road again before he whispered, "Brady's gonna kill me."
"Maybe we can cover it somehow," I suggested, leaning on Kayden to ease some of the aches in my ribs.
"I can see if Raina has something that will do that before you go back." I lifted my hand to touch the right side of my face, cringing when it stung. "Hey! Hey, don't touch it."
"Maybe we should stop at a corner store for pain medication. I'm starting to feel it," I whined.
"Hang on. I think we should see my Uncles. One of them is a vet. He could look us over to make sure nothing's seriously wrong."
"Being a Veterinarian is vastly different than a doctor, Kayden."
"Yes, but, at least, it's a start."
"I don't have udders."
Kayden busted out a laughing. "I beg to differ, Sweetcheeks."
I pulled away from him, cupping my size C mounds. "These are breasts, not udders and—wait, what kind of animals does your uncle work with?"
"Horses."
I dropped my hands and folded them across my chest. "Point. Made."
"What would you have us do then, hmm? Want to go back to the hospital?"
I wrinkled up my nose. "It's smells there."
"Want Brady to find out you've been in a fight?"
I made a noise of displeasure. That was the last thing I wanted. "Shoot, no. I lasted all of two months without throwing a punch. He'd burn me if he knew."
"Two months, huh? Why?"
I sat back on the bench seat and chuckled. "A guy copped a feel, and I retaliated. He wasn't expecting it. That's probably why I got him good. Brady was the officer that showed up at the school. He knew me and after taking statements, he gave me one of his own lectures. I think some of it stuck."
"Like what?"
I shrugged, "Something like, 'tighten your fists more when you take a swing, it maximizes the force of the hit on your attacker."
Kayden laughed. "Really? Officer Brady, condoning violence. Never thought I'd see the day."
"He didn't 'condone' it in the beginning, but after my statement, he wanted to sign me up for self-defense classes. I refused, but now I'm currently rethinking that idea." I closed my eyes taking in the ride, willing my body to stop its throbbing pain. "Which uncle are we going to see?"
"Uncle Jake, but we'll most likely see Uncle Denny and my Aunt too. Raina talked to you about them, remember?"
"Yeah," I yawned, the fight going out of me. "How did your family come to be like that anyways? It's definitely not something people did back then, and that lifestyle is still quite taboo."