Forbidden Love - Segment 14

[itztigress3]

Segment 14 – Emily’s Family
POV: Emily
Word Count: 4943 (yes, it's long!)
Warnings: Domestic abuse is mentioned, otherwise none.

June 30, 2007; Saturday

I woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon, apparently Zac was not great with dinner items but breakfast was his specialty. I got up and went to the bathroom, washed my hands and then went to the kitchen.

“Good morning.” I said.

“Morning.”

He was plating the pancakes and had even cut mine up for me.

“Baby, you really didn’t have to cut them up.”

“I know, I just wanted too.”

He finished the eggs, always scrambled, and then sat down with me. We had breakfast and talked about what to do for the day although our options were pretty limited. Movies ultimately won out and he selected one from the on demand channel that either of us had seen. I curled up beside him. My mind was elsewhere though, I felt close to him and he’d asked me multiple times about my family. A magazine had printed the picture of all of us, the one picture where I was beside him. They did state that I was not his wife and that I was an employee of the studio, they did not even use my name.

He ran his hand across my cheek. “Honey are you ok?”

I looked at him. “Yeah, why?”

“I’ve asked you twice if you wanted me to find another movie. You never answered.”

“Oh, if you want too sure.”

“Is there something wrong? You’ve been kind of quiet and reserved the last week. Are you worried about the picture?” He sounded and looked concerned.

“No. You said Kate didn’t do anything right? She didn’t do anything did she Zac?”

“I was fortunate that she heard Natalie and Nikki both say Taylor was the reason you were dragged into the picture and that the photographer was the one who put you beside me. I actually love that picture and the one of you alone the most. She was actually elated that your name was not printed.”

I was glad they had not printed it. “I cannot believe they used that one, I should have run.”

“It’s fine. Was that it then, just worried about what she would do?”

I took a deep breath. “Not really, you said she didn’t retaliate and I believed you. It’s not really anything to do with you or her or the event.”

The TV went off and he turned to me. “Then what is it? You know you can talk to me Emily.”

I wondered if he would understand. He sat there patiently waiting on me, he had come home with me Friday night and he had not jumped to sex at all, wanted to just be there. Did that mean that he did care about me? He had never said anything, never said he loved me or even liked me, had not shown any feelings beyond lust, as most of our interactions were sex. Yet, here he was sitting patiently waiting on me to say something, to explain anything. What he wanted though, I was not sure if I could give it.

“Emily, what is wrong? You’ve really been distant since the article come out and even Taylor and Isaac said something to me Thursday about it. I am sure the article is the cause I’m just not sure why. If it’s not Kate is it something else? Did you not like the way they addressed you or lack thereof?”

I moved just a little but his arm remained around my shoulders. I had not let him skate on many questions, always drew the answers out somehow. I guess it was my turn because I needed to explain why and that required explaining more about my family. But, Craig and Amanda both had told me I needed too at some point.

“Honestly, I did not expect them to print that one simply because I am not your wife. I took it yes, but I never thought they would actually pick that one. I guess after we left Isaac gave me higher praise or something. So, yes I was shocked that my picture was there. I am not upset that they did not print my name, I am glad they did not. I am not upset they printed the picture, I would have preferred they had not, but I am not upset about that, really.”

“If it was not the article, if you’re not upset because it was printed, what is the problem?”

I closed my eyes a moment, steadied my nerves. “The day the article came out my brother called me. That’s why I’ve been quite, that’s why I’ve been remote and broody I guess.”

“You have a brother?” He sounded shocked and it was warranted, I had never mentioned siblings before.

I looked at him, straight face and serious. “I have five brothers, Zachary.”

“Five?” Again, that shocked voice and his face mimicked the shock very well.

“Yes.”

He sat quietly for what felt like hours but was more like five minutes. “So, you have five brothers do you have any sisters?”

“No. I’m the only girl.”

“Are they younger brothers?”  That had a hint of fear in it actually.

“No. There all older than me, I’m the youngest one the baby of the family.”

He looked surprised, shocked, maybe even confused and a little lost. All of those were warranted because up until now he had never heard me mention them. I gave him a few minutes to let that sink in good.

“You have asked about my family before, if there was any and I kept skating around the subject or changing it or doing other things to distract you.”

He sighed. “Emily, I will not force you to talk about the subject. It’s obvious that the subject is touchy to you. It’s not right for me to try and force you to speak about it. I am admittedly shocked that you have five brothers though.”

I kissed him and got up, went to the kitchen where I got him a soda and I got two wine coolers for me, one I drank there and one I took back. I settled down in his lap, a place that I knew would be ok with him and where I would feel safe.

“I trust you do not mind me being here?”

He smiled. “I will never mind you being in my lap.”

“It’s not always easy for me to explain it and while there really is not anything super bad, it’s still a touchy subject.”

He nodded and waited on me, I think I loved that the most about him. He was patient and was willing to wait for me.

“You know what my middle name is right?” I asked.

“Isabella, I quite like your middle name. You told me that when you showed up in November, when I added you to payroll.”

“Isabella Marie was my mother’s name. I have never met her; she died shortly after I was born. She died of massive hemorrhaging and they couldn’t stop it. I have seen pictures of her and there is a few of her holding me right after I was born. When I was told what happen, I blamed myself for a while, until I was older and was able to research and determine that her death was not my fault. I look a lot like my mother and my father blamed me for her death.”

“You were a baby, how could that have been your fault?”

“In his mind, it was my fault. He never really said why but I assumed it was because I am the only girl, maybe he though because I was it was a bad omen or something. He never said why he blamed me, I just know he did.” He nodded and waited on me to continue.

“Family wise there is my father, David and five brothers David Jr, who we called George, the twins Joshua and Jason, Aaron, and the youngest Christopher. George is eight years older than me, the twins are seven years older, Aaron is six, and Christopher is just over four years older than me. So, they will be 28, 30, 31, and 33 this year. I do not know why my parents chose to have us to close.”

“That is very close together, not even my parents did that.”

“I would never want to have children that close together.”  I then took several sips of the wine cooler. He moved his hand to my back where he gently started rubbing it; his left hand was laying on my leg.

“Because I was the youngest and had all brothers, I was much more a tomboy than a princess. I was very happy playing in mud, climbing trees, riding bikes, and doing more boy things that I was playing with Barbies. I have always been that way since I could crawl. I was use to playing rough but when I was four Aaron and I was wrestling in the living room and he twisted my arm too much and he broke it. He cried more than I did, I always knew it was a mistake and he didn’t mean too. However, that was kind of an eye opening experience for my father.”

“How so?”

“He realized that just because I was his, just because I could hang with them, did not mean that physically I was the same. He also realized because family and children services came out and opened a case. I had older bruises as well from playing and they wondered about that, but after seeing how we played they understood and closed the case. However, it made him worry so he put new rules into effect; they had to knock off on the roughness when they were playing, especially with me. He did it the right way, he explained that I was not going to be as strong as them and the broken arm helped enforce it.”

“Yes, mom had to have the same talk with the three of us when Jessica was born. Although, we kind of knew and understood beforehand.”

I paused, finished the wine cooler. “There were other reasons why he did that.”

He waited a full ten minutes before he kissed my cheek. “It’s ok Emily, I’m right here.”

“Family and children services never asked my brothers where their bruises came from, nor did they ask if all of mine came from playing. My father was abusive to all six of us.”

“Your father hit you?” His face showed concern.

“Normally it was to correct us. He was strict and he demanded we follow the rules and do our chores. But what started out as just his hands, moved to belts or switches. I think that as a girl I got less of the strength behind them because often my bruises weren’t as bad. So, on a whole most of the times he hit me were to correct my behavior.”

He wiped my face off. “Why do I get the feeling there were times when it was not to correct you?”

I sat there a moment. “He blamed me for the death of my mother, as I have said. I believed it was my fault until I was about twelve, then I questioned it. I found her death certificate and researched the cause and learned that it was not my fault. About a month after reading it he came to my room, which I had not cleaned yet, and he yelled at me for not cleaning it. He kept getting angrier and when he told me it was my fault I yelled at him that it was not, that mom died of natural causes and I had nothing to do with it.”

I finished the wine cooler, felt his hand on my back, he’d slipped it under my shirt and he just waited.

“I came to four hours later, lying in the floor of my room with Aaron and Christopher standing over me asking if I was ok. I only remember yelling and waking up, but apparently he had hit me once and knocked me out completely. I never told him it was not my fault again; I just ignored him when he told me it was.”

He wiped my face off again. “Was that the only time he actually hit you?”

“No. But, it wasn’t as much as what he did to the others. His first hit kept me home for over a week, waiting for the bruise to fade.”

“Did your brothers ever try to stop him?”

“No. Zac they were just as afraid of him as I was. When it came to Dad, no one bucked him. There were actually times where the older three held me for him so he could use the belt, because I didn’t stand still for that.”

“That’s really horrible Emily.”

“They did what they had to do Zac, if they didn’t do what he said they would be punished as well. They were not always the best brothers, but I love them and they did sometimes protect me by saying they did it instead. Christopher often did that; he would take the blame for something I did.”

“How were your brothers outside the house? Were they protective of you at all?”

“Oh yeah, Christopher especially. Outside the house they were just like Isaac and Taylor, they were protective and wanted me to be safe. Bullies left me alone because they knew who my brothers were which in good considering. It was just at home that there protectiveness took a backseat.”

He kissed my cheek again and waited. “Want another wine cooler?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it. You want another Pepper?”

“I’m good.”

I got up and went and got another wine cooler and then sat back down in his lap. “The next part may not be something you wish to hear, but it is kind of important. My father refused to allow me to participate in Sex Ed class, he did not want me exposed to anything he did not approve of and learning about sex was one thing he did not approve of. I would say you could ask Joshua but well, let’s just say he didn’t sit down for a while after spilling he had sex.”

I shifted a little bit in his lap; put his right hand back on my back. He smiled at me but started rubbing that area again.

“The problem with not taking any of the classes was I had no idea about puberty either. I was twelve and a half when my periods started and I had no idea what was happening. No one had explained that it was normal or what was going on. Christopher was home that day and I scared the daylights out of him. I came down half naked, with blood on my hands and legs. He freaked out and left me there alone and brought a neighbor back with him, the poor women though I was dying, then again so did I and Christopher. She quickly realized what was happening, directed me to the shower. She called my father while I was showering and then when I got out she explained everything to me.”

“It makes me eternally grateful that our mother apparently explained all that to our sister’s, because I would have probably died or fainted. It was bad enough that mom explained it to us as well.”

I smiled. “Yeah, my brothers knew about it but he just didn’t know that was what was happening. So, he freaked out. Dad sat me down when he got home and apologized, said that my mother was much older and he was not aware that it may change.”

I paused and sipped the wine cooler again. “When my brothers were all older and left, it did not get worse but it did not get better either.”

“When you were older, teenage years, did your brothers continue to protect you even when they moved out?”

“Yes, but it was mostly because dad told them too. I did not have a lot of male friends because of them. Dad was very adamant that I would not be having sex until he felt it was right.”

“Most parents are that way Emily. They want their children protected.”

“Yeah, but if your sister had a guy call her just to talk would you freak out and beat them up?”

“No. Not unless he hurt her somehow, emotionally or physically.”

“Yeah, Dad didn’t see a distinction there. Craig was the only male friend I was allowed, I met him in 6^th grade and he knew then he was gay and he wanted men. Because of that he was allowed to be around me and he kind of bonded with some of my brothers, Christopher and Aaron the two youngest. The three oldest didn’t much like him. Amanda moved in down the road from me when I was thirteen, so they were my friends.”

“The teasing you helped him with was from being gay?”

“Yes. Craig knew some of the men that got taught lessons by one or more brothers; they usually only had to talk but sometimes the guy didn’t listen. The one that was super brave and super stupid came up to me with all of them around me and slapped my ass fairly hard. He got knocked out quick by Christopher.”

“So, dad was adamant I wouldn’t be sleeping with anyone, not that I really wanted too. I mean, I was focused on school and while Amanda was not innocent she actually told me to wait. Even Craig did, so I had the right idea with friends and no peer pressure. I think it also helps that because no boy would look at me by the time I was 16, it helped a lot.”

“Um yeah, that would totally help. I do have a question though. If you were not having sex before you met me, why were you taking birth control already?”

“I started them when I was thirteen because I had a lot of cramping and pain associated with my periods. After several months of curled up crying pain Dad took me to the doctor. They didn’t find any problems but the doctor said they could help, so Dad tried them. They helped greatly and it gave him piece of mind that I couldn’t get knocked up. I did stop them once for a while but the cramping got bad again.”

“I’ve just wondered why but never felt it was appropriate to ask. I did assume it was something similar or close to that.” He smiled and I kissed him.

I laid my head down on his shoulder, knowing the next part wasn’t usually any easier. He moved his left hand and kind of hugged me closer.

“For my 16^th birthday we had a party at the house with my brothers, Craig, and Amanda. There really was no one else that I wanted there. The party was normal in every sense until after Amanda and Craig left. He sat me down to talk about my future.”

He leaned his head onto mine. “Talking about your future sounds good, what did he want you to do? Attend college or pick a career?”

“I wish it were that. My father was friends with Adam Campbell and he is an ex-con who was sent to prison at 18 for raping and killing a woman, I was 8 when he went to jail but I had been around him all my life. He had started coming over when he got out which was about four months prior to my birthday. My father and brothers sat me down because he wanted to tell me I was marrying Adam by the end of the year. That he was going to sign the papers for me, because I was under 18.”

Zac sat very quietly letting that sink in; he kept his hand gently rubbing my back though in a steady but smooth rhythm.

“I told him I was not getting married until I was finished with high school. He did not like my answer, slapped me pretty hard on the left side and told me I would do what he tells me to do. We had a very loud argument and for the only time in my life, Christopher stopped him from hitting me again. He talked him down, told him to give me time to understand that it wasn’t an option. I was furious and mad and went to my room. My brother’s left and went to their homes and he came to the door, told me Adam would pick me up the next morning to apply for the license and that I better comply or he would ensure I did, gave me no time to reply before he left.”

“Did he not care about your opinion or desires?”

“No.”

He wiped my face off, removing the tears on my cheek, added the pressure on my back increased just a bit. “I knew Adam and I did not want to be his wife. He did show up the next morning but I refused to go with him, not that he expected me to really. He stayed at the house and he made me uncomfortable while he was there, watched me cook and clean. He came to my room and just walked in and started going through my drawers. He actually took a pair of underwear to keep. He was creepy and scared me, so when Dad got home I tried to explain why I did not want to be his wife. He told me I had no choice in the matter, so when he went to bed that night I left. I went to Craig’s house and it took me all night to reach his house.”

“You walked all night to Craig’s house?”

“Yes. I would have gone to Amanda’s, but it was too close to him. Craig’s mom is a lawyer and I knew I would need help. I think some of it was also because Craig’s father passed away when he was younger, so it was just him, his mom, and his older sister who is tqo years older than me. His mom opened the door and took one look at me with my tear streaked face and bruises and got me inside, then made me talk to her. I told her everything from the hitting to the wedding thing, she called the police and they filed charges. They were going to take me to foster care, but she convinced the judge to give her custody of me.”

“What occurred after that?”
“Well, family services came out and they removed me officially, at the time my brothers were over 18 so none of them were affected. My father plead no lo because it was a first offense and in order for the judge to accept it he signed me over to Craig’s mom. I changed schools because Craig was in a different one. That is when he helped me with teasing because no one there knew my brothers so I got to be around boys and girls without fearing for them.”

“When was the last time you actually saw your dad and brothers?”

“The court house for my father when he plead no lo and the judge gave him three years’ probation and the signing of the guardianship papers.  I have not seen him since I was 16. My brothers came to Craig’s house a few days later to get me to come back, but I refused too. They could not force me because she had custody of me. Joshua came back two months later and tried to drag me out of the yard and Craig snapped, he did what Taylor would have done he hit him. He literally beat his ass in the front yard. Craig might be gay, but he is no pansy.”

“So, my vision of Craig of being some short pudgy guy wearing spandex and suspenders is wrong?”

I had to laugh. “Yes unfortunately. He’s rather built. But, you don’t have to worry about him. I am more inclined to like softer guys. I like to cuddle and if there’s nothing soft to lay my head on then I’m just not happy.”

“Exactly how many guys have you cuddled with?”

I giggled. “Two, you and Craig. I much prefer you.”

“Ok. So, which brother called you?”

“It was Christopher who called me the day the article came out.”

“Did he say what he wanted?” I detected the protective tone in his voice.

“He left a voicemail, told me he knew where I was and that he wanted to talk to me. He left a number that is close to Tulsa.”

“Are you going to call?”

“I don’t know honestly. I’m not sure I forgive them yet for agreeing with our father.”

“What happen to this Adam guy?”

“He came to Craig’s about two months after I moved there, but Craig stomped his ass in the front yard and told him never to come near me again. He hasn’t been around me at all.”

He kissed my neck. “Have you talked to your father since then?”

“No. The article did kind of scare me it’s national and I wasn’t sure if he ever read that one and I wasn’t sure how he would handle it.”

“How did you come to be in Tulsa anyway? You attended college in Georgia and you listed a Georgia address before.”

“Well, I came out when I was 18 to see the city you lived in. Craig came with me and so did Amanda, we explored some and I fell in love with the city, I was here for the M&G which was awesome and then we had to go home. I decided I was moving out before I finished school and I did move back in October of last year, right before your birthday. I saw the AD and applied, Craig moved out in November when he accepted his job. His mom helped us both for a few months.”

“Should I be concerned that you have five older brothers who apparently don’t mind beating up men who touch you? I mean, surely they’ll have major issues with me, I have done a lot more than just touch you.” I felt him nuzzle my neck a bit.

“I would not worry about it. I know their secrets and their weaknesses.”

“How many people know about what happen?”

“Amanda knows, Craig and his mom, and you. Everyone else just gets told that I don’t speak to them or I never even mention them. I haven’t spoken with them in a long time and I am not sure I can ever trust them.”

“I won’t tell anyone about them, unless they show up at the studio and then I may have too.”

“They will not be showing up at the studio, they hated Hanson.”

He raised me up, looked concerned for sure. “Seriously?”

“Yep, I actually tortured Aaron one afternoon by playing middle of nowhere non-stop for like six hours. He pissed me off.  George and the twins thought you were all girls, so his first comment was wanting to get a piece and when I asked if he was gay he tried to hit me and I moved, pointed out that you were all boys. Christopher kind of liked the band, but not much.”

“So…you have five overprotective brothers who beat people down for touching you, which I’ve done more and to top that off they all hate me too?!” he mocked anguish and fear until I kissed him.

“I’ll protect you from the big bad brothers, but you have to do the same to me. I cannot image how they’ll feel when and if they ever find out about what we’re doing.”

“Deal. Any aunts or uncles?”

“Two, both on Dad’s side and they are Uncle Markus and Aunt Sheila and Aunt Mary and Uncle Bart. Unless they’ve had more, which is unlikely they each have three kids. I believe Uncle Markus had four sons and Aunt Mary had three daughters. I haven’t spoken to them since I left Georgia and we rarely keep in contact.”

He kissed me. “Thank you for telling me. I know it’s not something you really wanted to say.”

“No, but Craig and Amanda are right. You deserve to know and maybe it’s better if you do because I noticed on the tour stop Atlanta but I doubt they’ll show up.”

He smiled at me. “Do you have any pictures of them? Of you?”

“Yes. Did you want to see them?”

“I would like too, I’ll even borrow mine the next time I come over and share with you.”

“Baby Zac, I think I would like to see that.” I kissed him and got up, retrieved the box of albums and pictures and we spend several hours sitting on the couch and looking through them.

Going back through them made me wonder exactly why Christopher had called and why his number was close by, he had never shown a tendency to leave Georgia. I wondered if I should call him back, if I should see him. Once the albums were put back up we fixed dinner and then found a few more movies. Part of me expected sex for the weekend, but he made no effort and neither did I. If he wanted to simple watch movies and talk that was fine.  Yet, I wondered if he loved me or if this was just to get away from Kate?