Dark Realms by Kristen Middleton Read Free Book Online

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    The characters and events portrayed in this
book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or
dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
    Copyright ©2012 by Kristen Middleton
    All rights reserved.
     
    Warning – This book has adult situations and
is intended for mature readers.
     

No part of this book may be reproduced, or
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise without express written permission of the author.
     
     

Prologue
     
     
    “Mom left the door unlocked,” I hollered at
my twin brother as he slammed the door to his ’67 Mustang. It was
the last day of eleventh grade, and we’d stopped off for burgers
and malts at Grannie’s Diner with some friends to celebrate after
school. Nathan and I were officially seniors and neither of us
could wipe the grins from our faces.
    “That’s weird,” he said, brushing a hand
through his sandy-brown hair. “You know how she’s always nagging us
about doing it.”
    I grinned and held the door open for him.
“I’m certainly not going to let her live this one down.”
    Mom was married to a cop once, my father,
and he’d drilled into her head how important it was to keep the
doors locked, even when you’re home.
    Nathan followed me into the kitchen and
opened the refrigerator.
    “Oh, my God,” I teased him. “How can you
still be hungry after eating that monster burger and malt?”
    He flexed a muscle. “I’m growing,” he said.
“Just ‘cause you’re a skinny little twerp doesn’t mean everyone
else has to eat like a bird.”
    I walked over and punched him in the arm.
“Very funny.”
    He smiled and raised the milk carton to take
a swig when we both heard it.
    “What’s that?” I whispered.
    He slammed down the milk and rushed out of
the kitchen.
    “Nathan?” I yelled, chasing him upstairs.
The sobs were coming from somewhere in the upper level of the house
and my stomach twisted in horror.
    Mom?
    “Oh, my God,” he choked, entering her dark
bedroom. She was lying naked on the floor next to the bed, her face
swollen and bleeding, her body badly bruised.
    We rushed to her side and she cracked open
one of her black eyes. “Call the police,” she mumbled, barely
coherent.
    I started to cry as I grabbed the phone and
dialed nine-one-one. I don’t even remember talking to the person
who’d answered. All I know is that I was blubbering and she was
trying to console me with the fact that help was coming.
    I hung up and stared at my broken mother in
shock, feeling helpless and frightened. Thankfully, Nathan handled
stress much better than I did.
    He grabbed a comforter and covered her
gently. “Mom, what happened?” he asked, pushing her dark bangs away
from her eyes.
    The shame on her face was heart-wrenching
and I pretty much knew by her appearance what had happened. She’d
obviously been beaten and raped.
    I brushed the tears from my face, kneeled
down next to her, and lightly touched her hand. “The police and
ambulance are on their way.”
    She nodded and closed her eyes.
    “Mom?” prodded Nathan. “What happened?”
    “Nathan, think about it,” I whispered.
“She’s been raped.”
    His lips trembled as he searched her face.
“Mom, some stranger broke in here and… did this?”
    She opened her eyes and stared at both of us
for a few seconds. “No… no stranger,” she whispered hoarsely. “It
was your father.”

Chapter One
     
     
    “Are we almost there?” I asked, staring
through my sunglasses at the endless rows of cornfields. We’d been
driving for hours through the countryside and I could no longer
tell the difference from one town to the next. More than anything,
I just wanted to get out of the car and stretch my legs, which were
starting to tingle in an uncomfortable way.
    Mom cleared her throat. “Pretty soon.”
    Nathan was following us