Khloe's POV"He's always following me!" Peyton groaned.
"He's your brother Peyton and he loves you." I told her.
"I know, but I do need my privacy."
I looked at her and gave her a small smile.
"He's worried you won't want to spend time with him. Maybe take some time out of the week to hang out with him and if that doesn't help then I will talk to him about giving you some space."
"Thank you mom."
She hugged me.
"He's waiting for me in the room to help with homework, so I better go."
I smiled as she walked away. I could not believe that she was in high school already.
Spencer's POVI sat on the bed and looked through picture on my phone. Khloe and I never got married, but I didn't need a piece of paper to tell me that I loved her. I asked her if she wanted to get married several times and she insisted that she was happy with how things were. I didn't take offense to that, because I felt the same way as she did. A piece of paper and a ring weren't going to make me love her more and it wasn't going to make me more faithful to her because truthfully I couldn't imagine ever wanting to cheat on her. I smiled at a picture of Khloe, it was a picture of when she was pregnant with Peyton. She looked so happy and she was absolutely glowing. My heart skipped a beat every time she smiled and I hoped that it would never stop.
The doorbell rang and I almost forgot that I was the only one home. Everyone went out to the park and I decided to hang back and get some work done. I walked to the front door and opened it. There was some guy and woman standing in front of me. He looked like the typical drunk and she looked so small and fragile.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Does Khloe live here?" The man asked.
I was taken back for a moment.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"We just want to know if Khloe lives here."
"I understand that, but I don't recognize you." I told him.
"May we come in?" The woman asked.
I thought about it for a moment before stepping aside and letting them into the house. We went into the living room and sat down.
"So she does live here." The woman said, noticing a picture of her on the table.
Crap.
"I'll ask again, who are you?"
"We were her foster parents, before she ran away." The guy said.
The blood started boiling under my skin and it took every ounce of me not to rip him into pieces.
"Why?"
"Excuse me?"
"Why are you here after all these years?"
The man took the picture and looked at her. That picture was a picture of her after we went on our first date. She looked absolutely wonderful and that day was a blast, if I recalled we went to a dance club. I was so nervous that night that I couldn't stop shaking and hoping that she didn't notice.
"She is beautiful." He said.
"Yes." I said with hate dripping from my tongue.
"We just want to know she is alright." The woman said.
I looked at her.
"You want to know if she's
alright? Where was that compassion when your husband beat her?!"
No answer.
"Funny, it's funny that after all these years you come looking for her now. Where were you when she was scared? Huh? Or when she finally decided that enough was enough? She ran away and she lived under a bridge! During winter! Where the heck were you then?! HUH?!"
The door opened before they had a chance to answer me. I was standing up at this point as I screamed at them. I looked over to see Khloe, she froze in her tracks when she recognized them. I could feel the fear coming from her and that was not okay with me.
"Peyton get you-your brother. Take him upstairs." Khloe said.
"Mom?" She questioned.
"Now." I yelled.
Peyton grabbed Carter's hand and they went upstairs.
Khloe's POV"Khloe." Mark, my ex-foster dad, said.
Anne stood up with him and I took a step back.
"Don't be afraid." Anne said.
"We just wanted to see how you were." Mark said, smiling.
I knew that smile. It was the one he wore to fake that everything was fine and then hours later I was laying on my bedroom floor crying in pain. My mind went blank and I could barely register what was going on or that Spencer was next to me now. I could feel my lungs giving up and my chest tightening and I felt the urge to throw up. The room was spinning as my past was standing in the living room, in my safe place. They came back for me.
"You came back- back for me." I muttered.
"Yes dear, to see how you were doing." Anne said.
"I-I need to- I need-"
I couldn't speak. My body went into shut down mode, something it hasn't done in years.
"I think it's time to leave." Brianna said.
"We didn't mean any harm." Mark said.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I screamed out of no where.
I was on the floor at this point, and I scared everyone by my sudden outburst. I sobbed and rocked myself back and forth.
"Get out." Spencer said.
Mark and Anne looked at him, but nodded.
"Never come back." Brianna scolded before slamming the door.
The slamming of the door reminded me of the sound of him hitting me and I screamed out.
"I'm sorry." I said.
"Baby, it's okay." Spencer said.
"I'm sorry."
All I remember from that night was repeating the word sorry a million times.
...
"Dad?" Khloe said.
Spencer was walking up to her on the balcony.
"I just wanted to see what my high schooler was up too." He said.
She smiled.
"You know, I'm proud of you. You're growing up to be an amazing young woman."
"Thank you dad."
"I mean it. I love you."
They broke the hug a few moments later. I was watching from the doorway.
"Is mom going to be okay?" She asked.
"She'll be fine. Those people were very bad people who didn't treat your mother very well."
"Her foster parents?"
"Yes. They won't be coming around anymore."
"They messed her up pretty bad, I heard the screaming."
"Sometimes when someone's past is brought up again it can cause them to have a panic attack and their body shuts down."
"That's what happened to mom?"
"Yes, but she will be fine."
She smiled.
It took a couple days but things finally got back to normal. I wasn't proud that I let them have enough control over me to get that reaction, but I didn't know how to handle it. They kept their word though and haven't been back since. I was focused on forgetting about it and moving on with my life and my children. I was thankful that neither of them would know how I felt and they would never experience any kind of physical or emotional abuse. It was a crazy feeling, but I looked at Peyton one day and realized that she looked a lot like me. It was the first time I really thought about it or even noticed it.
Carter would be a teenager soon. I was torn between being thankful that both my kids were around the same age and being sad that I was watching them both grow up so quickly. Life was forever changing, but one thing stayed the same.
The dryer would forever try to take out our family line, one clothes load at a time.
Okay, the next chapter may be the last. I didn't realize that Carter was a teenager already. I already have the next story in mind though and I am preparing the house as well.
