Page 21 of F*ck You

As he hovered over me, I pulled a knee up to my chest and unleashed the full force of my kick straight into his groin. He howled with pain as he keeled over, and I took the opportunity to crawl toward the nearby cabinet and grab the nearest bottle, which was much closer than the knife block on the far counter.

He was shouting at me as he wrapped a hand around my ankle and pulled me toward him. I tried to scream, but my voice was caught in my throat. All I could do was fold my fingers around the neck of the bottle without even a moment to spare, and reach back for a swing. I heard the telltale crack when the bottle met his skull, then glass shards and amber liquid rained down upon him. Blood trickled from his forehead and, with sluggish steps, he tried to move forward again, but then a loud bang sounded from what seemed like another world, and he was pulled off me. I heard shouts ring out, several different voices, as two newcomers shoved the man outside.

Getting my breathing under control, I followed them through the door. I needed to understand what was going on, and maybe even finish the job. My attacker took a punch to the face that knocked him down so hard he didn’t get back up. Blood leaked from his head, coating the sand a cherry red. Just like the bitch’s lipstick who was all over Todd.

Dammit, Lee, why did you have to go there? I have issues.

“Are you alright?”

“Fuck off, Lee,” I mumbled in response.

“What?”

I realized the voice was coming from someone else, not stuck in my head chiding me, and I shook my head at myself. “Oh, uh, nothing. I was talking to myself.”

Someone placed a hand against my forearm, and I pulled away. The touch made me jumpy. Even though I knew it wasn’t threatening, I couldn’t help it. Larsen pulled his hand back and took a step away in response.

“Sorry, just too soon,” I told him, as my hand rubbed against the goosebumps forming on my arms.

“Cops are on their way.” As soon as the words were out of Chase’s mouth, I heard sirens off in the distance, and my heart pounded against my chest.

I had technically committed a crime when I left by setting shit on fire. While I didn’t know if I was actually a criminal who could be arrested on the spot if Todd was pissed enough to make it happen, I would have to tell them who I was now and where I came from before here. Would they arrest me? Would I be left to rot in a jail cell, waiting for Todd to come and save the fucking day? If he got mad…

“No, I can’t. I can’t be here,” I stammered, turning around to try and find some place to hide.

“Natalee—”

“It’s Lee,” I corrected Larsen, before I realized the words were even out of my mouth.

“Lee, what’s wrong? What are you hiding from?”

“Someone,” I choked out, and rubbed my arms faster. The other two were silent and it made me freak out even more.

“Here, she can stay over at my house. We can tell them the woman was spooked and ran off when she got the chance.” There was mumbled agreement before Larsen’s hand appeared at my back and he guided me away. Away from the encroaching sirens and away from my fear of the past.

I didn’t pay much attention to where I was being led, I only knew that I was with Larsen and I felt as though he was trying to help me. It wasn’t much longer before I was sitting in a chair at a kitchen table and a glass of water was placed in front of me.

“You don’t have to tell me everything right now, but if there’s something you’re hiding from, or someone, we can help you to the best of our ability. You don’t have to be alone in this.”

Tilting my head up, I looked at him and met his sincere amber eyes. I so badly wanted to believe him, to fall into every word he said and wrap them around me like a blanket. To let someone else fight my battles for me.

I was tired of being angry and hating the world, it was really taxing. The exhaustion that threatened to break through every day was finally catching up with me. I no longer wanted to find freedom at the bottom of a bottle, or to feel my phone vibrate again.

The question was, could I trust them? For all I knew, they would send me back to my old life the moment they find out what I’d done to get away.

I barely knew either of them, except they took care of me when I was drunk, when I was locked out of my home, and punched out an attacker and hid me from the cops because I was freaking out. If I couldn’t trust them with this piece of information about myself that would connect all the dots, then who could I trust? Certainly not some random guy in a bar.

Blowing out a breath, I answered, “First off, I hate the name Natalee. I go by Lee, and only Lee. But” —I held up a finger— “that’s only for people who don’t piss me off, so don’t piss me off.”

He nodded and remained silent while I continued. I explained about Todd, how he’d been cheating on me for so long, and how he was finally exposed thanks to social media. Larsen’s eyes darkened with something I normally would have been afraid to see, but I knew it wasn’t directed toward me, and I felt no fear with him. He clenched his jaw hard as I carried on, listening to every word with his hands clasped in front of him on the table. I told him about the last few years, everything I’d suspected and things I feared. Why I didn’t want to be around Todd when he was angry.

I laid my past out on the kitchen table for him to see. Whether it was accepted or rejected was up to him. No more secrets and no more lies. This was the life of Lee. He didn’t need to like it, he only needed to accept it, and if not, he could fuck off with the others I left behind in the ash.

It felt so good to get it all out, especially to someone who didn’t know me so I didn’t feel the judgment I would have normally received from back home. Rather, he waited for me to finish with the utmost patience despite the raging storm that billowed in his eyes, and not once did he interrupt me to ask how my abrupt exit from my old life was going to affect the wedding planning.

Granted I did still need to call and cancel everything, but that was the last thing on my mind right now. I’d been drinking to forget a past I didn’t want to have, and all anyone in that past cared about was money.

“Can I see your phone?”

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