Free Annabella's Oblivion (Hard World Tour #1) by V. F. Mason Page B

couldn’t hold in the scream when the buckle made contact with my spine. Tears ran down my cheeks. I wasn’t as strong as Nick, who never gave him an emotion.
    “ Please,” I whispered, but knew it was useless as the next hit came again, this time to my side, and it was hard for me to breathe. I was probably having a panic attack as well.
    Suddenly, the door crashed open and I opened my eyes to see Nicky in the doorway, holding his backpack and looking at the image before his eyes.
    His face transformed into full-on rage as he threw his bag and stormed toward Dad. The old man just smirked and straightened his back. He was always in a good mood when he inflicted pain on others, especially now. He’d never touched me before; he probably enjoyed my suffering.
    “ You motherfucking piece of shit!” Nicky screamed and shoved at him, knocking him off balance.
    He’d grown quite big over the years with football practices, and knew how to use those muscles.
    Nick punched him in the face and stomach, knocking him to the floor and causing the old man to moan and groan in pain. “I told you to never fucking touch her, you fucking piece of shit!” He grabbed the belt that Dad had been beating me with, and started hitting the old man with all his might. “You fucking want punishment? Then fucking get it!” I knew he would hate himself if he did any permanent damage to him, so I ran to stop him. The look in his eyes scared me.
    “ Nicky, please stop.” But he didn’t listen and it made me cry even harder. “Please stop, I can’t lose you!” If he killed him, they would take him away from me.
    He finally stopped, breathing hard, and let go of the belt. He turned to me and hugged me tight, as I cried into his shoulder.
    “ I’m sorry, baby girl. I’m so sorry for not being here sooner.” I hugged him closer but winced in pain. He noticed it and his expression, which had gone soft, became harsh again. “We need to check your injuries.” We heard the door open and Mom entered the kitchen, holding more booze in her hand, and looked at us with her mouth open.
    “ Clean up the fucking mess, Meredith, and if any of you touch me or her again, you fuckers will wish you were dead. Am I clear?” Nicky emphasized each of his words to Mom, and she finally nodded, but there was fear in her eyes as she quickly went down to help her husband.
    It would always be like this for her. She put Dad above everything---above us and herself. I remember there were pictures of them when they were young. She was a beautiful woman with hopes and dreams, but gave them all up because she fell in love with the wrong guy. She was afraid to lose him, and if that didn’t make her pathetic, I didn’t know what did.
    Was this the love that people talked so much about? Who would want it? It ruined you completely and you lost your sense of identity.
    I never wanted to fall in love. I never wanted to become like my mom.
    And I didn’t want kids, either. What kind of parent would I be to my child if I had this example to go by?
    “ Don’t worry, baby girl. No one will ever hurt you like that again. I’ll always be there.” And I believed him, because Nick would never willingly leave me or bring pain to me.
    I just hoped the social services wouldn’t hear about it, because the foster care system could separate us permanently, and this fear was way stronger than the painful belt.
    He would be the only man in my life whom I would love and trust. There was no place for anyone else.
     
    Annabella
    My palms were getting sweaty, and I tried to rub them off on my sweats. I wished I had the sanitizer I always used on tours, but there was no such thing here.
    I was about to head to my first appointment with Dr. Drake, and the idea didn’t exactly make me feel peachy. I was scared of his questions, but most importantly, I didn’t want to answer them. I had never needed a shrink before, or at least no one provided me with one. But based on movies and books,