Striker’s Claim by Lila Fox

Chapter Three

Later that night, Kristina looked at herself in the bathroom mirror after her shower. She turned one way and then the other.

She would never be thin. Because of the way she enjoyed food, her body type was thick thighs, ass, and an abundance of breasts. Most of the time, she was happy with it, but she also knew very few men liked her body type.

She wrapped a towel around herself because she didn’t want to look at her body anymore.

Her waist-length hair was a light brown and thick. She loved it but always had to wear it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way.

It was her eyes she loved the most. They were a very light blue, and she’d always gotten compliments about them. It drove her sister nuts when someone commented on them, and then she spent the next hour putting her down and telling her she was nothing special.

Kristina already knew that, but she still liked her eyes. She often thought Casey didn’t like them because her eyes were brown, and she never got compliments on them.

The bathroom door sprang open, making her jump and scream. She tightened her hold on her towel when her sister stood in the doorway, sneering at her.

“God, I think you’ve gotten fatter.”

Kristina sighed. Wonderful, her sister was in one of her moods.

“I thought you were going out?” Kristina asked.

“I am. But the fun doesn’t start until after ten. You’re staying home, right?”

“Of course, where would I go? Besides, I have to work early tomorrow.”

“Good. Don’t fucking wake me up this time.”

“I try my best.”

Kristina turned back to the mirror to brush her teeth when her sister grabbed her arm, dug her nails in, and squeezed until she cried out.

“What are you doing, Casey?”

“I just want to make sure you listened to me earlier. You stay away from the MC clubs.”

“I do.” She tried jerking away, but her sister just tightened her grip.

Casey finally released her and stepped back. A shiver raced down Kristina’s spine at the look that came into her sister’s eyes. It was something she’d never seen before and scared the hell out of her.

“You’re still a virgin, aren’t you?” Casey asked her.

“Why?”

“Just fucking tell me,” she screamed.

“Yes! You know I don’t have time to date.”

Casey sneered. “Jesus, you’re pathetic. You don’t need to date a guy to fuck him.”

Kristina cringed. She wasn’t the type to sleep around and never could.

“Why do you want to know?”

Her sister chuckled. “Oh, I think I can make your little cherry work for me.”

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Casey, I want to know what you’re thinking.”

Her sister slapped her hard across the face. Kristina pressed her hand against it and stared at her sister in shock. Casey was a bitch to her, but she’d never been as violent as she had that day.

“You’re about to earn your keep, sister.”

“I’m the only one who works, so I think I’m doing that already.”

“Oh, there’s more you could be doing.”

Kristina narrowed her eyes. “If you do something bad to me, I’m leaving.”

Her heart dropped, and she gasped for breath when her sister grabbed her around the neck and squeezed before getting in her face.

“You’ll do whatever I want you to do, and for as long as I want you to do it, you fucking bitch. You owe me.”

Kristina clawed at Casey’s hands and struggled to push her away. Tiny black dots appeared, and she knew she was suffocating.

She gasped for breath and covered her neck with her hands when her sister finally released her.

Casey turned and walked out. Kristina waited until she heard the back door slam closed and the car started before she took a deep breath. Then tears began to roll down her face.

What in the hell was she going to do? She knew in her gut that her sister was planning on her getting raped because it would never be willing on her part. But why was she so desperate that she’d hurt her only living relative, her sister?

Kristina hurriedly dressed and then made sure all the windows and doors were locked. Not that it would keep her sister out, but it made her feel safer for the moment.

She paced back and forth in her bedroom but couldn’t come up with a solution. Panic slowly built. She thought about calling Tammy, but she had a family of her own to take care of. Her sister had made sure she didn’t have friends, and now she knew why.

Kristina was awake, dressed, and by the window when her sister came home. She had the window up and was ready to climb out if anyone came through the locked bedroom door. She’d even pushed a chair in front of it to give her a few extra seconds.

Her stomach tightened when her doorknob rattled, but all she could hear was her sister cussing.

The rest of the night, she stayed in the corner by the window, too scared to sleep. When the sun started rising, she grabbed a few things, put them in a bag, and headed out for the bus that would take her to her first job stocking shelves at the grocery store.

By the time she got to the diner later that day for the lunch and dinner crowd, she felt like she was about ready to jump out of her skin. The stress of an unknown threat and the lack of sleep were taking their toll on her.

The lunch group had left, leaving only a few customers. Tammy grasped her wrist as she walked by, and Kristina cried out. There were bruises up and down her arms and around her neck. She’d done her best to hide them with makeup and clothing, but she didn’t think she did that very well.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Kristina shook her head and looked away.

“Your fucking sister did this to you?” Tammy whispered.

“Yes.”

“She actually put these marks on you?”

Kristina nodded.

Tammy studied her. “What’s going on, hun?”

She didn’t know if she should tell her, but she was her only hope.

Kristina told Tammy about the abuse and the conversation she had with her sister, and the more she talked, the madder Tammy got. “No fucking way is she going to get away with that.”

“What can I do? She takes my checks. I try to save my tips and hide them, but it’s not enough to leave or get my own place.”

Tammy shook her head. “She’d just come to get you anyway. Let me think about this, but there is no way you’re going back there.”

Kristina exhaled. “Thank you.”

Tammy hugged her. “That’s what friends are for.”

Kristina hugged her almost desperately before releasing her.

“Let’s get back to work. Plan on coming home with me tonight because we have some planning to do.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. We’re going to get you away from your sister once and for all.”

Kristina started cleaning the counter, feeling more light-hearted since … she couldn’t remember, and she was sad she’d let it get this out of control. But now, she’d do whatever she needed to do to get away from her sister.