What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas Until it Doesn't- Burgstead

Chapter 5

Jay's P.O.V.

Something was up with Kim. She was up when I woke which never happens when we have a day off. As soon as she saw that I was awake she got up almost immediately to go to the bathroom. She took an hour shower which she never does, and she doesn't shower in the morning. She prefers to get as much sleep as possible. After her shower went straight to get coffee. She was tired. Even with having a shower, and already downing half a cup of coffee she was still tired. She didn't sleep at all last night. That's why she was up before me. Alright new mission "Make sure Kim gets a nap", but why was she awake all night? I'll ask her after I get her to calm down some.
"Hey do you want to maybe watch a movie today. We could lay on the bed. It would probably be more comfortable." She just nodded and darted to our bedroom. Before I follow her I go and make some popcorn.
When I got to our room she was already in what seemed to be my sweatshirt, and was under the covers. I looked to see if she was awake, and her eyes were still open. Just staring off into space. I set the popcorn down on the bedside table as I get under the covers. I place my arm above the pillows hopefully encouraging her to let me in. Surprisingly she came right next to me and put her head on my chest. We hadn't really done this at all, probably because we were just at the getting comfortable living together stage. This just proved something was wrong.
"What's up, Kim" I try to say softly. I didn't want to start off by using the word wrong because sometimes people can take that the wrong way. She just looked up at me, and her eyes were slightly watery.
"I want to let you in because I want this to work, but I..." I waited for her to continue for a good two minutes before she finally found the words.
"I...I don't know how to start." What was she talking about?
"Start from the beginning." She put her head back on my chest, and I couldn't see the tears but I could feel them. She wasn't gonna look back up so I just ran my hand through her hair.
"My mom left the year that Nicole graduated high school. She was having an affair with some man for a while before she decided she wanted to leave. She left a note saying that it wasn't our fault, but my dad didn't take it like that. For most of my life my dad was either at work, or drunk. Growing up the only time that Nicole and I were under the same roof as him was when we were asleep. Mom always kept us in after school stuff so that we wouldn't have to deal with him. When we were there she would tell us to go in our rooms while she kept him distracted. When mom left Nicole was going to college so I was the one stuck with him. He blamed me and Nicole for mom leaving. He would still go to work, but when he got home it would only take him 30 minutes to get fully drunk. He's a mean drunk too. He would yell and hit. It lasted for a year before it really escalated. He came home one day, and you could tell he was drinking. He started to yell, and hit me. That was normal, but then he started to drag me up the stairs. That was when I started to fight back, and then I was thrown down the stairs. The stairs were right in front of a window, and our neighbor saw and called 911. That was when Nicole finally found out. At the hospital the cops interviewed me. My dad was sentenced to 4 years in jail. For the rest of the time I was in highschool I stayed with our neighbor. She was the one that called, and was like my grandma." I just felt anger. How could someone do that to Kim, to my wife. She deserved to be protected.
"Kim..." I didn't know what to say. How was I supposed to respond to this?
"That's why I became a flight attendant. I was so scared that he would find me, and being in the air all the time ment that I was never in one place for long. Then, our neighbor, Rose, had gotten sick right before she died. She told me to stop hiding. After her funeral I quit my job, and signed up for the academy." She looked up at me, and that was the first time that I saw the tears in her eyes. I took my thumb, and brushed them away. I rested my hand on her face. She just rested her head back onto my chest.
"Kim, I promise to protect you." She looked up at me, and smiled. She then pressed her lips to mine. This was our first kiss. I'm glad she trusted me with this.
"Come on, let's spend the rest of the afternoon here so you can catch up on some sleep, and then I'm finally taking you on a date."