Protection

73.

Sam

I'm startled awake up by loud banging. Sidra's sleeping next to me, completely oblivious to the noise coming from downstairs. I climb out of bed and I'm instantly greeted with pain. "Fuck!" I hiss in a whisper. My balls are fucking killing me. Sidra and I spent most of the afternoon and last night having sex. That's a lot of fucking work on my fucking balls and it fucking hurts. Fuck. I place a kiss on my wife's forehead, who's naked and sexy even when she's sleeping, then I hurry downstairs as fast as I can.

Approaching the front door, the noise, something like a seesaw, goes from loud and angry banging to simple knocking then back to the forceful banging.

I unlock the door and yank it open. "What the-Jesus, what the fuck?!" I yell at the two idiots standing in my doorway. Burkhardt and Christian.

Christian averts his eyes. "I've never been shy seeing another man naked but not when that guy is having sex with my daughter."

"Who the fuck speaks like that?!" I snap at him.

"Cut the fucking bullshit," Burkhardt growls in the threatening tone he only uses with me when I've done something to upset Sidra. "Is Sidra awake?"

I want to make a comment about the loud banging but sided against when I take in his irritated scowl. "No."

"Go put on some clothes and come back downstairs."

I jog upstairs to find my wife still sleeping, she hasn't moved an inch. I put on a pair of shorts and kiss Sidra again before going downstairs. Burkhardt and Christian are in the kitchen. Christian's seated at the island, a beer already rooted in his hand, and Burkhardt's pacing back and forth.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. "Was it Adalind?"

He stops dead in his tracks and faces me. "Sort of. She took me back to her place and we talked...and...and..."

"Spit it out!" I yell at him.

Christian roughly places his beer on the counter and answers, "Rita's telling everyone you raped Sidra and-I'm quoting her now, 'kidnapped Sidra to convince her to sell the baby.'"

"I couldn't say it," Burkhardt says in an apologetic voice.

"Rita's done a lot of fucked up shit but this crosses the line," Christian snarls. "If you won't do anything, I will."

It's a lot to take in right now, my boiling rage doesn't fucking help either. But the only thing that's clear in my tangled mind right now is protecting Sidra. If she finds out that her own mother is talking shit, not just about her or me but about our baby too, she'll lose it. I won't allow that to happen. I won't allow her to go through that or put that kind of stress on our baby. Sidra deserves more than this shit.

"Sidra..." I start then crackle my knuckles. "Sidra can't know about this. I'm going to get dressed then we can go."

"Whoa!" Burkhardt steps closer. "You're agreeing to this shit? Christian's fucking insane! What do you think he's going to do to Rita?"

"Nothing she doesn't deserve," Christian chimes in.

"Shut the fuck up!" Burkhardt and I snap at him in unison. "Why did you come here and tell me then?" I question Burkhardt. "What do you expect me to do?!"

"Keep her away from it. Everyone that knows Rita, keep Sidra away from them."

"Pussy," mutters Christian.

"Ignore him," I tell Burkhardt. "But I can't ignore this." And then it dawns on me. "Adalind told you! Adalind, the woman Rita fucking abandoned and ghosted, knows and thinks that shit is true?!"