Conquer (Control) by M.S. Willis Read Free Book Online

us.  I had problems growing up.  I wasn’t flipped from home to home because of my foster parents.  It was because of me.  I would fight against them, fight the other kids.  It got to the point where they just gave up on me.  The counseling didn’t help.  I was screwed up.”  His head dropped following his confession and it was obvious he was ashamed of his behavior as a child.  My heart instantly went out to him.  I knew he had a hard life growing up. 
    I slowly approached him and took his hands into mine.  When he looked up at me, I could see pain and guilt swirling within the blue of his eyes and I wanted nothing more than to ease his apprehension.  “Let’s get in the bath, Daemon.  We can keep talking, but it’s best that we get cleaned up and relax some as well.”
    Daemon climbed into the water and pulled me in to sit between his legs.  I leaned back against his chest and my head fell against his shoulder.  The water instantly soothed away the tension in my muscles and I sighed when Daemon reached up and started massaging my neck and shoulders.  I wanted to just sit there quietly and enjoy our shared bath, but too many questions assaulted my mind and I knew that they wouldn’t let up until I had the answers I needed.
    “So, all that happened was that one time you hit me? That was not bad enough that you needed to be sent away.  If that’s the worst thing, then I think my parents overreacted a bit.”
    Daemon sighed behind me.  “How far did you get in that dream, Paige?  There was another incident that day that I believe was the trigger for your parents’ concern.”
    I thought back to the dream I’d had about that day with Buddy.  As usual, parts had become fuzzy over the past couple of days, but I tried to focus on the last part that I could remember. “I went into the library.  I was reading a book, I think, and Bud…you…came in.”
    “Do you remember what happened in the library?”
    “Obviously not.  I think you woke me up before it finished playing out.”
    Daemon wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his chest.  Resting his head against mine, he said, “You wouldn’t talk to me when I went in to apologize to you.  I felt horrible after hitting you and I wanted to mend things.  When you wouldn’t listen to me, I got angry.  I pulled you out of the chair you were in and sat on top of you, pinning you to the ground.  You kept looking away as I tried to talk, so I grabbed you to force you to look at me.  That’s when you screamed.  Your mom came in and….it looked bad, I guess.  She thought I was attempting to do other things to you, but I wasn’t.  Looking back, I would have reacted the same way if I’d seen a boy laying on top of my daughter like that.”
    I tried to think back to the incident he was describing, but the memory was just out of my reach.  “I don’t understand why I don’t remember that.  I mean, I do remember you pushing me around, but it was never anything more than normal kid stuff…or at least I thought it was normal.  All these years, I just thought you were trying to teach me to stick up for myself.  I never imagined, you were actually trying to hurt me. What else happened?”
    He was quiet for a moment and I waited patiently for his response.  “Nothing.  Well, except your mom catching me fighting the other kids a lot.”
    “Why?  Were you angry with them as well?”
    “Most of the other kids were jealous of you, like I was.  They would say mean things about you when you weren’t around.  I ended up fighting most of them to defend you and I never told your parents why I was fighting them.  I was afraid you would find out.  But, there were times when I hurt you too.   I didn’t think your mom knew, but after talking to her at the hospital, she explained everything.” He paused before saying, “I never intended to hurt you, Paige.  I just didn’t want you to be like her…like my mom.”
    If my heart