Chapter 10

"Why are you calling me Bill?"

John felt the hairs on his neck begin to rise. He could hear the fear in Kathy's voice and he didn't like it one bit. Instead of leaving the room and giving her the privacy she deserved, John decided to stay. If he had to apologize later then he would, but he wanted to be close in case Kathy needed him.

Kathy could not believe it was Bill. Just hearing his voice was enough to make her knees go weak. She could feel the knot of fear cold and hard in her belly.

"I knew it! I knew you had hooked up with some guy. This is your phone! Well missy, I'm telling you to give your boyfriend his phone back and get your ass home." Even though he didn't shout, the heat of Bills anger could almost be felt through the phone.

"I told you Bill, I'm not coming back there ever again. I meant it then and I mean it now." Kathy struggled to keep calm. She didn't want Bill to know how much he frightened her.

"Girl, you are trying my patience. I don't give a shit about what you and your new boyfriend want. I am telling you to get your ass home." Bill's words were slightly slurred so it was obvious he was drinking.

"Bill, please calm down and listen. I have found..." Kathy was cut off by another tirade, his voice getting louder and louder the angrier he became.

As hard as she tried she could not stop the tears from coming. She felt them well up inside her and devour her insides. When the first tear left her eyes, it seemed to breach the dam and the rest rushed to join it. She felt so small inside, so very alone. Then when she knew she must give in to Bill's demands or be swallowed whole and left in a deep dark place, she felt warm, strong arms wrap themselves around her. They took her weight and more, they uplifted her soul. The arms around her told her she was not alone, she had someone to help her, someone who was stronger than her fear, stronger than Bill.

John stood to the side listening to her try and calm Bill down. He could also hear Bill for the man was beginning to shout. John was very proud of the way Kathy was handling the situation. She was acting like the adult while Bill ranted and raved like a child.

As soon as the first tear fell, it broke John's heart. He had made a vow to make her life better and not allow sadness to hurt her again. He knew it was an impossible vow, for in every life some tears must fall, but by damn he could do something about these tears. He wrapped his arms around her to help comfort and give her the support she needed.

When he gently tried to take the phone from her she offered no resistance, but spun around in his embrace and buried her face in his chest. Throwing her arms around his neck and holding on for dear life, she allowed her tears to flow freely.

John spoke quietly into the phone, "Bill, you can stop shouting now. She's not listening to you anymore."

"Who is this, her boyfriend?" Bill demanded, his voice dripping with sarcasm and contemp.

John told him in a voice that was cold and hard "Who I am really doesn't matter, now does it. What does matter is you calling here and getting her all upset. I don't like it when Little Bit gets upset and you won't like it when I get upset."

"Oh I'm scared, big bad man on the other side of a phone is so scary. Listen asshole, I don't give a shit if you're upset or not. I've told Kathy and now I'm telling you. She better get her ass home and I mean yesterday!" Bill was shouting so loud John had to hold the phone away from his head.

"Kathy made her decision and you just have to learn to live with it Bill. She told you she's not coming back and now I'm telling you to stop calling her. Harassing phone calls are illegal and I don't think you want that kind of trouble." John tried to reason with Bill, knowing it was impossible to reason with a drunk.

"Asshole, I will call her when I want and you can't stop me. I am her stepfather and what I say goes. So if YOU don't want law trouble you best get her ass home where it belongs." With that final threat Bill hung up before John could respond.

John turned the phone off in case Bill decided to harass Kathy again. He then turned his full attention to the girl crying in his arms.

"Hush Little Bit, hush, he's gone and you're safe."

The words had just the opposite effect from how they were intended. Kathy just sobbed harder and held on tighter. John for the first time since Patty died found himself in a situation he didn't know how to handle, so he did what came natural. He continued to hold her and rock her gently.

As Kathy slowly regained control over her emotions, she became aware of John's arms tightly wrapped around her and the gentle swaying of their bodies. It almost felt like they were dancing, slowly her feelings of despair were replaced with contentment. She could hear him whispering over and over, "You're safe now, it's okay. You're safe."

"See," Her inner voice told her "I told you that John would take care of you. This is where you belong."

Although her grip loosened ever so slightly, neither one wanted to separate. They both felt the warmth of their feelings for each other surround them and flow over them as they slowly swayed to the silent music of their souls.

Kathy could hear John's heart beat within his chest. It was a sound that reached deep inside her. She could hear her own heartbeat also and very quickly she realized both were beating at the same rhythm. She sighed in comfort. As long as John was near, she knew in her heart that nothing could hurt her. In a whisper so low that she could barely hear it herself, "I Love you."

John was fuming inside. His anger threatened to burst forth in a fit of rage against the asshole, but that would only upset his Kathy. Exercising all the control at his disposal, John made himself calm down. Kathy needed him to remain calm, she needed him to be strong for her and guide her. If he allowed himself to vent his rage it would only scare her. She was vulnerable and scared enough without him becoming another Bill.

John was a man of action, and like all men of action, he felt uncomfortable when he couldn't confront a problem head on and John knew that Bill would continue to be a problem. People like Bill always continued to be a problem until something or someone convinced them to stop being a problem, usually with force.

John didn't know what tomorrow was going to bring, but he knew he would do everything in his power to make the girl in his arms safe and happy again.

After a few minutes of silence spent just holding each other

Kathy spoke as she gently pulled away from John, somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't let him get to me like that."

"You have nothing to apologize for Little Bit. You were wonderful. I'm proud of the way you conducted yourself. You were polite but firm. You didn't give him any information that could be used against you. And above all you remained calm when he lost control."

"But you had to take the phone from me. I wasn't strong enough to fight with him." Kathy responded in a dejected tone.

"As I should have, I have dealt with bullies before, you shouldn't have to."

"Do you think he will call again?" the fear was evident in her voice as she asked the question.

"More than likely, he will. It will take a bit more than me talking to him to make him stop. But don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Just from now on, or until we get this settled, look at the caller id before you answer. If you don't know the number hit ignore." John's tone was confidant and that confidence bolstered Kathy's. "As soon as we can we will get the number changed, that should solve the problem."

With all the conviction she could muster Kathy looked him in the eye and proclaimed, "I will, I refuse to be bullied by him anymore."

John was glad to see her spirit return. She deserved so much better. But, he wondered if she was strong enough to pull through her past, would she ever really feel safe.

Kissing her on her forehead he told her, "Enough excitement for one evening for this old man. I'm hitting the shower then heading to Troy's for BBQ. It's some of the best BBQ in the South. You coming?"

"Gosh yes, I'm starved! Just give me a second." Kathy turned from him and bounded up the stairs with Lucy on hot on her heels.

John took a moment to enjoy the view then turned to his own room to shower and change.

Bill was pissed when he hung up the phone. Nobody talked to him like that. If he knew where they were he would go kick some ass. But that was the problem; he didn't know where they were. After a few more beers, a lone thought struggled to swim through the alcohol soaked brain cells to the fore of Bill's fairly pickled mind. He might not know where they were, but he did have the bitch's phone number and he knew someone who was good on a computer. Maybe he could find where she was from that.

That's what he would do, contact his buddy and find the bitch. She might not have her cherry for him to pick anymore but he would bet money it was still tighter than any pussy he had ever been in.

She owed him that cherry. He had married that worn out cunt of a mother just to get closer to her daughter. Then the old cow had to go and get sick and die on him. The insurance money had run out a long time ago and now the hospital was hounding him to pay the balances. By Damn if he was going to have to pay all that money out, he was going to get some teenage pussy for it.