Page 26 of Puck Blocked
“Okay, let’s get out of here.” I look at Gray. “What’d you tell your old man?” We’re supposed to fly home with the team, and going our own way isn’t usually accepted.
“The truth.” He shrugs. “Come on. Let’s go pay this asshole a friendly little visit.”
My fingers tap along the top of my thigh. “Think this car can go any faster?”
“Sure, if you want to end up wrapped around one of these pine trees, instead of actually getting to where we’re going. If I die, Aliyah will kill me.” King, who is currently sitting behind the driver’s seat, looks back at me with a satisfied smirk on his face. “And then she’ll kill you.”
“You can’t be killed if you’re already dead, moron.” I roll my eyes at him.
“It’s Aliyah. You think she wouldn’t find a way to bring us all back just so she could kill us again herself?”
“No, she doesn’t like the sight of blood. My sister’s not killing anyone,” Gray chimes in. “Well, not with her hands. She would, however, put you in a coffin full of venomous spiders.”
King visibly squirms in his seat. “That’s just cruel.”
“If you wanted me to be nice, you shouldn’t have married my sister,” Gray counters.
When the car finally pulls onto the main street, I jump out and walk a block up, stopping when I get to the front of Slime’s. A closed, boarded up Slime’s. “What the fuck?”
“Looks like our man’s on the run,” Gray says, pointing out the obvious.
I walk up to the glass door and yank on the handle, surprised when it opens without much force. “Who boards up windows and doesn’t lock a door?” I turn to Gray with a raised brow as I step over the threshold.
“A fucking idiot,” he replies before following me inside.
I glance around at the dilapidated bar. Every piece of furniture has been smashed and glass covers the wooden flooring along with the alcohol that once filled the bottles.
“Huh.” I turn at the sound of Alessandro’s voice, Travis and Liliana standing next to him.
“What huh?” I ask him.
“Either your man’s got some serious anger issues, or you’re not the only one after him.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here. We’ll stop by the apartment the asshole had your girl holed up in. If he ain’t here, my bet is we’ll find him there.” Gray clasps a hand on my shoulder before walking out the door.
Chapter Thirteen
Aliyah left thirty minutes ago. She’s spent the last two days here. I know that Luke must have asked her to stay, but I appreciate the fact that she did. I haven’t had a friend for a really long time. I pushed everyone away, distanced myself. I let Andrew convince me that they weren’t my friends. That they were trying to come between us. Now that I think about it, I should have listened to them. Because they were right. He wasn’t good for me.
There’s still this deep-seated fear that he’s going to come and find me. That he’s not going to just let me go. I know Andrew. He’s not the type to just let things go.
I walk into the bathroom and eye the tub. I’d love nothing more than to soak in a hot bath. But I can’t. I know the moment I try, the memories of Andrew holding me under will overtake me. My chest gets heavy at the thought. So I reach into the shower stall and turn on the water. Luke should be home soon. He said he’d be home later tonight and, honestly, I’m doing everything I can to keep myself busy until he gets here.
I need to get a grip on myself. It’s not healthy to lean on him so much. But right now, I need help. And I’m starting to allow myself to admit that I can’t do this alone. As much as I want to be able to pick myself up, dust off the bruises—the memories—and just start a new life, I can’t. Because if it were up to me, I would have gone home after I left the hospital. I would have gone right back to Andrew because the fear of what he’s going to do when he finds me is too much to handle alone.
Maybe seeing this doctor tomorrow will be a good thing.
I strip off my clothes, step into the stall, and let the hot water wash over me. I know I’m not the first woman to go through what I have with Andrew. I also know a lot of women never escape.
Is that what I’ve done? Escaped him?
I’m not sure. I’m hiding. I want to be strong enough to just go out into the world and say a big fuck you to anyone and anything that tries to stop me from living how I want to live. And hopefully one day I will be. That day isn’t today though.
I turn off the water, grab a towel off the counter, and wrap it around myself. Luke has the softest towels I’ve ever felt. I wonder where he gets them from. I need to remember to ask him.
My palm wraps around the handle, and then I freeze. The sound of footsteps on the other side of the door has my heart pounding. I slowly back up. It’s locked. He can’t get in here.
I drop onto the tile floor and bring my knees up to my chest, burying my head against my thighs. I just need to wait. He doesn’t know I’m here. He can’t find me here. I’m imagining things. I count to six. Three times. And just when I convince myself that there’s no one on the other side of the door, there’s a loud knock.
