issues.”
“Something small, huh?” It’s getting harder to take in air as I try to calm myself down. I know at any second I’m going to say fuck it and run out and kill Cal. I’m teetering on this ledge, one side telling me not to jump, the other side telling me it’ll feel so damn good. My fist collides into the dashboard once. Twice. A third time. “That’s it. You tell Turner that Plan B starts now. ” I hop out of the car despite Tyler’s protests and walk back to Elizabeth.
“WHERE DID YOU go?” she asks quietly when I let myself in through the back door.
“I just went out to get some fresh air.” The fresh air didn’t do shit to calm me down. My jaw starts to tick seeing her bruise again. “Let’s sit down and talk real quick,” I say tightly. She nods and we walk into the living room and have a seat on the couch. “I need you to tell me what happened. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine, just a few bruises here and there, but nothing major.” Bruises? I only see the one on her face, which means he hit her in places that aren’t visible right now. Son of a bitch. I can’t wait to get my hands on that spineless piece of shit.
“Nothing major?” I shout, pissed at her blatant disregard for her safety. She winces from my sudden outburst. “Have you looked in the fucking mirror, Elizabeth?”
She sits up straight, pins her shoulders back, and looks me in the eye. “Yes, I have.” She’s so composed yet firm and it instantly calms me down. Here I am freaking the hell out while she shows nothing but strength. This woman amazes me.
“What happened?” I struggle to maintain a normal tone.
She shrugs while shaking her head. “I don’t even know how it escalated so fast. I was sitting in my room reading. He kept yelling, telling me how worthless I am and I just snapped. I slapped him as hard as I could across the face. He was stunned at first. I guess he expected things to go back to the way they were before you came along. Back then, I’d never in a million years dream of doing something like that to him. Soon, the shock wore off and he made sure to show me who’s in control around here. He punched me in the face and kicked me in the ribs when I fell to the floor.”
The air in my lungs gets trapped as an image of her lying curled up on the floor while he kicks her flashes across my mind. It makes me feel nauseous instantly. I do the only thing I can right now, and that’s love her. Gently grabbing her arm, I pull her into me and carefully hold on to her. After I kiss the top of her head, I say, “God, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.” Fuck! I knew I should have gotten her out of here the day I caught her gulping down a bottle of pills.
“It’s not your fault, Alex. None of this is. As much as it hurt when he hit me, I’d probably do the same thing all over again.” I pull away and look at her like she’s crazy. “I know it sounds insane, but for the first time in a while I feel alive. I knew when he was yelling at me that it was my time to fight. I’ve been slowly dying inside ever since I married that man. Well, no more. I had two choices: fight or die. I chose to fight. And live.”
I stare at her in awe. She has suffered so much but still finds the will to keep going. She may have lost hope briefly, but it’s back stronger than ever. With determination like that, I know we’re going to make it through this. I place a soft kiss to her lips and pull back. “Did you go to the doctor?”
She shakes her head. “No, but I swear I’m fine. Like I said, just a little sore and bruised. Nothing is broken.”
“I thought Cal was gone for a few days.”
“He came home a day early. Said he needed to check on something.”
Shit. “Where is he now?” My adrenaline starts pumping with the fear that he’s still in town.
“He left this morning.”
We don’t have long. He could come home at any moment. “We’ve got to get
“Something small, huh?” It’s getting harder to take in air as I try to calm myself down. I know at any second I’m going to say fuck it and run out and kill Cal. I’m teetering on this ledge, one side telling me not to jump, the other side telling me it’ll feel so damn good. My fist collides into the dashboard once. Twice. A third time. “That’s it. You tell Turner that Plan B starts now. ” I hop out of the car despite Tyler’s protests and walk back to Elizabeth.
“WHERE DID YOU go?” she asks quietly when I let myself in through the back door.
“I just went out to get some fresh air.” The fresh air didn’t do shit to calm me down. My jaw starts to tick seeing her bruise again. “Let’s sit down and talk real quick,” I say tightly. She nods and we walk into the living room and have a seat on the couch. “I need you to tell me what happened. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine, just a few bruises here and there, but nothing major.” Bruises? I only see the one on her face, which means he hit her in places that aren’t visible right now. Son of a bitch. I can’t wait to get my hands on that spineless piece of shit.
“Nothing major?” I shout, pissed at her blatant disregard for her safety. She winces from my sudden outburst. “Have you looked in the fucking mirror, Elizabeth?”
She sits up straight, pins her shoulders back, and looks me in the eye. “Yes, I have.” She’s so composed yet firm and it instantly calms me down. Here I am freaking the hell out while she shows nothing but strength. This woman amazes me.
“What happened?” I struggle to maintain a normal tone.
She shrugs while shaking her head. “I don’t even know how it escalated so fast. I was sitting in my room reading. He kept yelling, telling me how worthless I am and I just snapped. I slapped him as hard as I could across the face. He was stunned at first. I guess he expected things to go back to the way they were before you came along. Back then, I’d never in a million years dream of doing something like that to him. Soon, the shock wore off and he made sure to show me who’s in control around here. He punched me in the face and kicked me in the ribs when I fell to the floor.”
The air in my lungs gets trapped as an image of her lying curled up on the floor while he kicks her flashes across my mind. It makes me feel nauseous instantly. I do the only thing I can right now, and that’s love her. Gently grabbing her arm, I pull her into me and carefully hold on to her. After I kiss the top of her head, I say, “God, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.” Fuck! I knew I should have gotten her out of here the day I caught her gulping down a bottle of pills.
“It’s not your fault, Alex. None of this is. As much as it hurt when he hit me, I’d probably do the same thing all over again.” I pull away and look at her like she’s crazy. “I know it sounds insane, but for the first time in a while I feel alive. I knew when he was yelling at me that it was my time to fight. I’ve been slowly dying inside ever since I married that man. Well, no more. I had two choices: fight or die. I chose to fight. And live.”
I stare at her in awe. She has suffered so much but still finds the will to keep going. She may have lost hope briefly, but it’s back stronger than ever. With determination like that, I know we’re going to make it through this. I place a soft kiss to her lips and pull back. “Did you go to the doctor?”
She shakes her head. “No, but I swear I’m fine. Like I said, just a little sore and bruised. Nothing is broken.”
“I thought Cal was gone for a few days.”
“He came home a day early. Said he needed to check on something.”
Shit. “Where is he now?” My adrenaline starts pumping with the fear that he’s still in town.
“He left this morning.”
We don’t have long. He could come home at any moment. “We’ve got to get
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