Page 31 of Saving Tracey (Finding Hope #1)

Chapter Sixteen

T revor held my hand in his as we walked into his house. His little brother Lucas had called Trevor from Glenda's phone, asking him to come home and keep the bad people away.

I wanted to cry when Trevor told me. The poor little guy shouldn't be having flashbacks and nightmares. He was only five, for fuck’s sake.

I knew Trevor wanted to hurt his parents for doing this to his little brother. Since Lucas had walked through the front door with Dale and Glenda, Trevor had taken a protective role over Lucas—almost like the father Lucas had obviously never had.

Lucas looked up from his position on the couch when we walked into the living room, his red-rimmed eyes meeting Trevor's. He immediately jumped up from the couch, running to Trevor and wrapping his arms around Trevor’s legs.

Trevor let go of my hand, kneeling down to lift him up.

"What bad guys are bothering you this time, Luc?

" Trevor asked him as Lucas laid his head on Trevor’s shoulder.

Trevor had decided to call Lucas, Luc. Lucas hated being called by his real name because he said bad people called him Lucas.

My heart really ached for the kid.

He dug his face into the crook of Trevor’s neck and sniffled. "Mama and Daddy were hurting me, Trev,” he whispered, like telling on them was a bad thing.

I understood his fear. I was always terrified to talk about what happened at home. His five-year-old mind wouldn’t fully grasp yet that he was never going back to his parents again.

Trevor squeezed him gently, giving Lucas that sense of security that he so desperately needed. "Hey, little man, nobody is ever going to hurt you again, okay?"

Luc nodded, tucking his head under Trevor's chin. Trevor gave me a small smile. "Sorry, baby girl," Trevor whispered softly, obviously feeling bad that he had to bail on his plan of us spending the day together.

I shook my head at him. "Don't apologize," I told him with a small smile. "Your brother needs you."

He sighed, leaning down to kiss me. "You're so perfect. I swear, I couldn't ask for a better, more understanding girlfriend."

A small smile tilted my lips, my cheeks heating crimson at his words, which in turn made a small smirk tilt his lips up.

I heard something crash upstairs suddenly, and I flinched, my heart jumping up into my throat.

Paul came running down the stairs and immediately shot me a sheepish look when his eyes landed on me.

"Sorry, Tracey. I accidentally knocked over a lamp. "

I smiled at him, and he walked over, slinging an arm around my shoulders.

I tensed, but slowly relaxed, reminding myself that Paul wasn't a threat.

He was like the big brother I'd never had.

Ever since he found out about my encounter with my dad, he had been hounding Trevor about how I was holding up.

It was nice to have people that cared.

I just had to keep myself out of that dark hole.

Trevor glared at Paul’s arm around my shoulders, making Paul laugh at him. "Relax, Trev, you know I don't want your girl."

Trevor glared at him. "Doesn't mean I like you touching her, either,” he snapped, still holding Lucas in his arms.

Lucas looked up from Trevor's shoulder, giving me a small smile. "Trace," he said to me, cutting off the last part of my name, "will you play with me?" He timidly asked.

I nodded, letting a smile curve my lips. I couldn't help but see myself in this little kid. He was so scared of the world, but I knew Trevor would help him overcome everything as he grew up.

Trevor had a knack for helping people heal.

Trevor set Lucas down on the floor, and Lucas instantly latched onto my hand, pulling me away from Paul and Trevor, over to the living room where he had some cars and a teddy bear that he immediately snatched up.

He sat on the floor, dragging a box from under the coffee table.

It was a race track. He slid it to me. "Will you help me put it together? "

I nodded at him, giving him a small, encouraging smile, noticing the fear in his eyes when he asked me to help him.

I couldn't even begin to imagine the shit he went through before he was taken from his parents. No kid should be scared to ask for help. It was fucking ridiculous.

But I could relate.

His eyes lit up in excitement when I opened the box, pouring the contents onto the floor. Someone took a seat next to me, and I knew without looking that it was Trevor just by the way my body was instantly drawn to him.

I looked over at him once he was settled, and he wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, pulling my lips to his to kiss me softly. I had to force down the moan that wanted to rise in the back of my throat.

I would never get tired of kissing him.

"Paul, what are they doing?" Luc asked, making me and Trevor pull apart. I was blushing red to the roots of my hair, and Trevor was laughing softly—whether at Luc’s question or my blush, I wasn’t sure.

I couldn't help but smile at Lucas, though. He looked so curious, obviously not used to seeing two people be affectionate.

It was heartbreaking.

"They're kissing each other," Paul informed him, ruffling his hair. Lucas scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion at Paul’s explanation.

"Kissing?" Lucas asked, his confusion clouding his question.

"Yeah, kiddo," Trevor said, turning Lucas's attention to him. Trevor turned to look at me, his hand coming up to caress my cheek, his thumb rubbing my bottom lip, making me close my eyes at his touch as my lips parted softly on a soft sigh. "I kiss Trace because I love her."

My heart swelled in my chest. I opened my eyes to meet Trevor's. He was smiling down at me softly, his eyes radiating love, adoration, and warmth for me. This man was so fucking amazing that it honestly blew my mind.

I also didn't miss how he called me Trace for his brother.

This guy sitting beside me could not be any more perfect.

Lucas muttered an 'oh' before leaning up on his knees to grab the instructions that came with the race track, obviously not caring about what kissing was anymore. "Trace, can we put my race track together now?"

I nodded, giving him a bigger smile than I normally did, and I knew it was because Trevor’s words had affected me. He had a habit of doing that.

I scooted forward to sit next to him as we read the instructions together. I helped him read the words he didn't completely understand, and while we were working on the racetrack together, I realized just how smart this kid was.

He was basically an exact replica of his older brother.

Once we had the track put together, Glenda called everyone into the dining room for lunch.

Trevor stopped me when I went to follow Lucas into the kitchen.

I turned around, looking up at him. A grim look tensed his features, and he clutched his phone tightly in his hand.

My stomach twisted uneasily, and my body tensed.

"Gabriel got back in touch with me," Trevor informed me quietly.

The breath was knocked from my lungs. The color drained from my face. I was going to be sick.

Trevor squeezed my hand gently in his own. "He got out on bail. One of his friends posted it. Your mother is still very much locked up behind bars, but unfortunately, he's out. He'll be out until his court date on the thirtieth of this month."

That was two weeks from now. Two weeks he could find me and hurt me. I swallowed down nausea.

"He can skip his court date, Tracey," Trevor informed me as if I didn’t realize that already.

My throat closed up, and my stomach began churning uncontrollably.

I felt like I was either going to pass out or be sick.

"If he skips his court date, there will be a warrant out for his arrest, but until he's back in prison, you're in danger,” Trevor finally stated, bringing to life the elephant in the room.

Bile rose in the back of my throat. Tears made my vision blurry. I covered my mouth, running toward his bathroom. I fell to my knees in front of the toilet, emptying my stomach as tears ran down my face.

Two steps forward—a thousand steps back .

Trevor held my hair back for me until I was finished throwing up.

He flushed the toilet for me afterward, and I collapsed back into his chest. Sobs wracked my chest, making it hard to breathe.

He wrapped his arms around me, rocking me gently on his lap, whispering comforting words in my ears.

"Tracey, he will never get his hands on you again. I swear on my fucking life, I will kill him with my bare hands before he ever touches you.”

I clutched his shirt in my hands, my tears soaking his shirt. I wanted to believe Trevor so badly, but I just couldn't find comfort in his words. Not while he was out on bail. Not when he could so easily take me back into that hell.

All I could picture was him finding me. I could only picture the pain he would inflict upon me when he finally got his hands on me.

"Don't let him hurt me,” I sobbed. I struggled to push back the flashbacks, the painful memories.

Trevor gripped my face in his hands, his eyes meeting mine. "Baby, don't you go to that part of your mind. I'm right here, okay? Look at me,” he ordered right when I felt myself losing focus. I forced my eyes to lock on his. "He will never fucking hurt you again."

I nodded, keeping my eyes locked on his. He crushed me to his chest, kissing the top of my head over and over as I sobbed against his chest. He looked up when someone came to the bathroom, but I kept my face buried in his chest. "Is she alright?" I heard Dale ask him quietly.

"She'll be fine," Trevor informed him gruffly. "I'll talk to you about it later, but I'm either moving in with her, or she's moving in here," Trevor stated bluntly, not seeming to give his adopted father much of a choice in the decision.

"Trevor, that's not a decision for you to make—" Dale started, but Trevor cut him off. I could feel his muscles tensing. He was ready to go to war over me.