Beautifying Bernadette: A BBW Romantic Comedy (The Jackson Tribe Book 1) Read online

  Saul nodded and blushed when she pulled away. The other officer did his sweep of the bedrooms and bathroom and everything seemed in order, so they left.

  Bernie left with the two officers and silently prayed that Saul would stay out of trouble.

  Chapter Eleven

  Three weeks later. . .

  Bernie sighed and sunk down into her office chair. She was relieved and a little sad to drop her last item into her box of things to take home for the summer. It was always a little bittersweet to see the last student out the door for break, but this year she was even happier to see them go than usual. She was ready to really focus on her relationship with Levi, and to start work at The Ranch. She’d found a grant that would pay for her to take a couple classes towards her Master’s over the summer in exchange for twenty hours a week of volunteer work at a non-profit. It was a win-win for everyone. The Ranch could get a dedicated counselor for the summer, Bernie could advance her education, and it didn’t hurt that she would be around Levi’s family—a lot. She spun in the chair and giggled. Everything was working out perfectly. Her cell phone started buzzing in her pocket, so she pulled it out and answered—it was a number she did not recognize.

  “Bernie Douglas.”

  Saul’s frantic whispers came through the phone. “Red! I need you! I need you real bad. They got into some bad shit and they won’t lemme leave the house! The guys’ house—not my place. Ya know, the den? Please hurry!”

  In a more normal voice, she could hear him kind of far away.

  “Nah man, I just had a text from my sidepiece, ya know? Those bitches are always tryin’ to get a piece of this action, you know what I’m saying?” Then the line went dead.

  Bernie grabbed her box and purse and raced out of the school building to her car.

  Speeding out of the parking lot towards the “drug den” she grabbed her phone to call Levi and let him know what was going on, but then remembered that the guys had told her that if Saul was with those felons again he could get taken away from his grandmother. Also, Levi had taken the day off from work to help his parents set up for some event tonight to raise money for The Ranch. She told herself she wouldn’t bother him until she knew something was actually wrong. Even though she knew that something was actually wrong. Besides, she didn’t want to get Saul in trouble.

  Really, a small part of her just wanted to prove to him she could handle this on her own. She didn’t need a man. She was a trained counselor, that was practically a negotiator.

  And really what were the punks gonna do, shoot me? Pshaw!

  She would get them to just let Saul go and it would be fine. She dropped her phone into her bra and sped down the street.

  Bernie got to Saul’s neighborhood in record time, briefly thanking the heavens that there hadn’t been any cops out because her speed had definitely been on the “Way High” end of the spectrum. She jumped out of the car, not locking it, and barely closing the door, and raced up to the house. She banged on the front door and tried Saul’s phone several times. No one answered, so she tried the handle and the door opened right up. She hesitated for just a moment, but decided Saul really needed her, so she went in.

  Stepping inside, she yelled out timidly, “H-hello?”

  And then with more bravado than she was feeling, she called out louder, “Excuse me! Is anyone home? I’m just here to get my friend.”

  She jumped when the punk Ashley’d had the one night stand with from Glitter came down the stairs. He glared at her.

  “You again? Bitch, what are you doing here? Did I invite you into my abode? Did I send you a message saying ‘I want some white ass to fuck today?’ Actually you know what--that ain’t a bad idea.”

  He strode over and leaned into her ear and whispered menacingly, “Is that what you want, cunt? You want my cock, don’t you?”

  Bernie swallowed and shook her head. “N-no! I just want Saul that’s it. I’ll leave. I won’t come back. I just need Saul.”

  Punk shook his head. “That boy ain’t going nowhere. He was a bad boy and we’re going to teach him what happens to snitches in my hood. But, as for you, I think you do want me and I want to hear you say it.”

  Suddenly he grabbed her hair and yanked it so hard she saw stars. “Say it! ‘I want your cock and I want it hard!’”

  Bernie couldn’t even catch her breath she was shaking so hard. “N-n-n-n-no.”

  Punk, her hair still clenched in his fist, kneed her in the stomach. “Say it, bitch!”

  Bernie threw up all over him.

  “God!” He threw her away from him, and she hit her head on the edge of an end table.

  ***

  The next thing she knew, she was waking up with the worst headache ever, she felt like she had broken a rib, there was something wet on her face. She tried to reach her hand up to feel it, but found herself handcuffed to a bedframe. She yanked at it a few times, but it felt really solid. She tried the other hand and it was free, so she touched her head lightly and it came back sticky and red. Alarmed, she looked down and realized that whoever had tied her up in here had taken her pants. But her panties were still on and intact, so she didn’t think anything untoward had happened. Her mouth tasted like old vomit. She glanced down at her shirt and it was ripped and apparently covered in puke, but still on her body. She felt wildly at her bra with her free hand and sighed in extreme relief when she felt her phone under her boob. She reached in and pulled it out. The battery was flashing “1%” and so she didn’t read any of the twenty texts or voicemails or missed called from Levi, she just sent a message.

  At Saul’s drug den—bring back up.

  She hit send just as her phone went black, praying wildly that it worked. She could hear yelling outside the room.

  “I’m so sorry, man!” It sounded like Saul and his voice sounded weak and strange. “Oomph! No man—please!”

  She could hear obvious sounds of a scuffle and, based on the shouts and cries, she assumed they were holding Saul down and beating him. It didn’t sound like he was giving anything in return other than apologies. She desperately pulled at the handcuffs, but there was no give.

  She started to cry. “God, please send help…”

  ***

  Levi, dressed and ready for the evening, was pacing back and forth in front of the barn where guests were starting to arrive. He checked his phone for the twentieth time that hour, and shot another text.

  Where the hell are you, Bernadette? If you’re “just running late,” I am going to blister your ass so hard you won’t want to sit down for a month.

  Just as he hit send a text came in from her.

  “Thank God!” He opened it up and his blood went cold.

  He wasn’t “Mr. Chill” whose parents were throwing a gala anymore, within seconds he was all business, he didn’t even bother to find his parents. He just shot them a text as he rushed to the truck.

  911—pray hard--gtg

  He hopped in his truck and drove towards the “drug den”. On the way, he called his partner Karl and dispatch, and told them he needed back up and where to go.

  Levi pulled up in front of the house, tossed his tie and suit jacket on the front seat of the truck, made sure his Glock was secure in its holster, and ran onto the porch. He did a quick visual sweep of the porch and the windows. He knew he should wait for backup, he was off duty, but that didn’t mean he could go in half-cocked. But he was too worried about Bernadette to care about protocol at the moment. Without bothering to knock or introduce himself, he just ran in the front door. Doing a quick sweep of the living room and main floor, from what he could gather with a cursory glance it appeared that everyone was upstairs. At that moment, Saul cried out again and Levi started up the stairs. By this point, he had moved his weapon to his hands and was creeping up the stairs pressed against the wall. Once he reached the top floor, he could see one of the doors was partially opened, and that’s where the sounds seemed to be emanating from.

  Peeking through the cracked doo
r, he could see two rough looking men holding Saul’s arms while a third kicked and punched him. He threw the door wide open and shouted, “Police! Hands up, and hit the floor!”

  The two guys holding Saul were so startled they dropped him while they instantly obeyed Levi’s cry and fell prostrate to the floor their hands covering their heads. The Punk beating Saul however, turned, pulling a gun out of his waistband—Levi shot him in the chest. Just as the gunshot rang out, Karl and another officer named Dunkin came around the doorframe guns raised--Dunkin instantly going to cover the two on the ground and Karl knelt to check Punk’s pulse and then, with a somber face, moved on to check on Saul who was curled up in a ball on the ground sobbing by this point.

  Levi, adrenaline pumping, went on to check the two other closed doors on this floor. The first was an empty bathroom, but the second led him to a petrified Bernadette. She started screaming when he opened the door, which melted to gut-wrenching sobs that shook her whole body when she saw who it was. Levi holstered his pistol and knelt, pulling her into his arms. He gave the handcuffs a yank so hard, that the metal post they’d been connected to on the bed frame snapped in half, and her arm was free. He held her, rocking while she wept so hard that she couldn’t even get out any words. Kissing her head and rocking her gently, his heart still pumping wildly, Levi felt tears falling down his face as well. He had been so terrified that he would lose her. Fury at her for getting herself into this situation started to clench his heart, but he clamped it down and focused solely on the relief he felt at finding her relatively unharmed. As far as he could tell. He wanted to do a full examination of her body, but decided holding her was more important right now.

  Karl came around the corner. “Is she okay, Jackson? Ambulances are on their way. The kid is hurt, but, from what I can tell, nothing major. The lackeys aren’t hurt in any way and Douglas has them cuffed. We’ll move them down later. For now, they are just pleading and putting all the blame on… well, they’re very happy to talk.”

  Levi barely registered Karl’s odd way of wording things, but was too focused on Bernadette to really care. “Thanks, man. Just send the EMTs in here when they arrive. She’s got a nasty head wound, but I haven’t been able to check the rest of her body.”

  He followed Karl’s worried gaze and looked anxiously down at her ripped shirt and pantless state, but shook his head slightly at Karl with a “Don’t talk about it right now” look and returned his focus to Bernadette who was now calmer and just sniffling and shuddering every few moments.

  She looked up at him and spoke with a cracking voice, “Levi, I’m so so—”

  He put his finger over her lips. “Shhh, baby. Not now. Just rest. We will have plenty of time to talk later.” He stroked her hair, careful to avoid the laceration and just held her.

  When the EMTs arrived, Levi had to let her go for them to examine her. They revealed an intense bruise in her upper abdomen and, when she cried out sharply as they massaged it, one of the guys said it seemed like a broken, or at least bruised, rib. The bleeding in her head had clotted, and they said it didn’t appear too deep. They tried to reassure both of them that head wounds tend to bleed a lot and it probably wasn’t as bad as it looked.

  When they tried to attach her to a stretcher, Levi shook his head. “I’ll carry her.” They started to argue, but backed off when Levi practically growled and scooped Bernadette into his arms. They let him know they were going to examine the guys in the next room and to stay here with her until they returned. Levi obeyed.

  They ended up helping Saul down the stairs between the two of them and Levi carried Bernadette. When they reached the ambulance, he let them know in no uncertain terms that he would be riding with her the whole way. They acquiesced.

  An older white haired doctor at the hospital, however, was more firm, and would not allow Levi into the exam room. As he paced the waiting room, he texted his family that Bernadette was safe and they were at the hospital. And he waited. And prayed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Once she was alone with the doctor, Bernie started to run through everything that had happened, and she was again gripped with fear. The doctor and nurses were very gentle, but every touch and question made her feel violated all over again. She couldn’t stop crying. She explained everything she could remember. They hooked her up to an IV, sewed up her head, said she would need a CT and an x-ray to make sure that she didn’t have a concussion or broken rib. Then they came in to perform a rape kit.

  She started screaming. She couldn’t stop. “I’m a virgin! I’ve always been a virgin! Nothing happened to me!”

  She was kicking and shoving the doctor and nurses who tried to calm her. Her whole body started shaking and she dry heaved over the side of the bed. “Levi. I need Levi.”

  The doctor gave a quick nod to the anxious nurse who ran out to find him. Within moments she was back with him.

  The doctor gave Bernie a compassionate look, and turned to talk to Levi.

  “She is refusing a rape kit. And that is her right. But…” He gestured at her torn clothing. “We don’t even need to insert a speculum or swab if there doesn’t appear to be any penetration. I just know from experience that ladies who we serve here often regret not getting the information they needed to put their perpetrators away.”

  Levi climbed into the cramped bed behind her and held her against his chest and stroked her back. Rubbing in a calming motion, he shushed her soothingly. “It’s okay, baby… it’s all right. Let it out. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you again. Ever.”

  He held her so tightly her rib sent a sharp pain, but she didn’t even care. Just being held by Levi was making all of the panic melt away. Once she was calmer, he cradled her chin and looked into her eyes. “Can you let the doctors examine you now, sweetie? I’ll be right here. We just want to see if those bastards—if anything bad happened to you that we don’t know about yet.”

  Bernie shuddered again, but nodded her head slightly and laid on her back with her head in Levi’s lap.

  The doctor gently put her feet into stirrups at the end of the bed, and slowly slid her panties off. Bernie whimpered and burrowed her face into Levi’s thighs and he rubbed her head. The doctor dropped her panties into a clear plastic bag and then pulled a bright light over and started carefully poking and prodding her vagina. He asked periodically if anything hurt and she just shook her head. He stuck his fingers inside her vaginal opening and she gasped and squeezed Levi’s hand. She had had pap smears in the past, but this just felt so much more invasive.

  The doctor looked up at her surprised and asked carefully, “Are you a virgin, Bernie?”

  She nodded and said indignantly, “That’s what I said like twenty times already.”

  He gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, from a biological standpoint you still are. And I see no evidence that anyone violated you sexually. I’ll still send your undergarments to the lab for trace evidence, but I think you can both rest assured that you were not raped.”

  Bernie started sobbing even harder than she had been before. The relief was so intense she almost couldn’t breathe for a moment. Levi just held her. The doctor silently ushered himself and the nurse out and closed the door, giving them some privacy.

  “Oh, baby, I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I love you so much and I would take away every second of fear and agony that you’ve gone through today if I could,” Levi said with a hitch to his voice. “I just don’t understand why you were—you know what. Not now. I just… I’m sorry.” He held her even tighter, trying to temper down his reaction and just give her the comfort that she so desperately needed.

  At that moment, Ash threw open the door. Bernie didn’t know who had called her, but boy was she happy to see her. Ashley came over and pulled her into a fierce embrace. “God woman, a simple phone call or text! I was at the Jacksons’ event and someone asked me if I’d talked with you since Levi found you. I did not appreciate having some random stranger know more about my
bestie then I did! What the hell happened?”

  Bernie started to answer, but Levi interjected. “I am sure she will tell you all about it later, Ashley. But right now Bernadette needs to rest. What would be most helpful is if you could bring her some clothes. I expect they will discharge us before long, and she obviously can’t leave in her current state.”

  Ashley nodded in a daze, gave Bernie another kiss and ran out the door.

  Bernie looked at Levi through swollen eyes. “You didn’t have to send her away. It was okay. I am okay.”

  He shook his head slightly. “First off, you are not “okay” and secondly, she needed something to do so she could feel useful. That is something you actually need and a way to keep her busy. Got it?”

  Bernie nodded and burrowed into him again.

  After a few minutes, the doctor came back into the room and wheeled her to CT and x-ray. They allowed Levi to stand right outside the room and immediately let him back in with her when the tests were completed.

  Thankfully, the doctor was back almost immediately with her chart and x-rays. “Well, the good news, young lady is that you did not break anything. The bad news is that you have some pretty intense bruising and a fairly significant concussion. That is why your head has been hurting so badly and you keep getting disoriented. We can allow you to go home if you have someone to stay with you, but you will need to give yourself at least a week to rest and heal.”

  Levi interrupted. “That will not be hard. Today was her last day of the school year, so I’ll make sure she rests and will stay with her all week. Does she need to stay bedridden?”

  The doctor shook his head. “Not necessarily, but no exercise or strenuous activity.” He grinned at the two of them. “I’d stick with gentle snuggles for the time being.”

  Levi nodded and thanked him. Bernie felt too out of it to really register anything except gratefulness that Levi was handling it all.