Page 79 of Falling With a Spin

“Sorry, I’ll walk. I left my bag and phone somewhere, so I don't have anything to pay you.” An embarrassed flush comes across me as I open the door to leave.

“Don’t go. It's freezing out there, and it’s New Year's Eve. This trip is on me.”

Relief washes over me, and I give him my address. I hold back the tears the whole drive to the apartment because how can I still have any? Once he drops me off, he tips his hat at me, and I look up at the night sky as snow starts to fall.

Happy New Year's Eve to me.

I walk through the doors and into my bathroom, turning the shower on and making sure it’s at the hottest temperature, needing to get the stench of him off of me. Needing to feel anything but what he makes me feel. I curl myself in a ball in the shower, letting the water pelt me down as I stay there. Peeling myself off the shower floor once the water begins to run cold. I have zero energy to grab the towel that hangs a few inches for me, and instead, I walk out of the bathroom, leaving a trail of water behind me. Reaching for the robe that hangs next to my bed, I wrap it around me before crawling under the covers. It has to be about an hour since I left the club, maybe even less than that, before I hear banging on the front door of the apartment and then keys jingling in the lock. Walking out of my room, I see Hunter and Taylor stroll in.

“Emma, what the fuck?” Hunter says, striding across the room towards me. He takes my face in his hands, and I avert my gaze from him.

“I have been calling and texting you. When you didn’t come back, I went to find you at the bar and you weren’t there. Taylor ended up finding out from the bouncer that you just walked out in a daze. ” He continues to look at me to see if I’m okay. But I’m so far from being okay.

I swallow and blink back the tears that start to spill. One slips down my cheek, and Hunter wipes it away with the pad of his finger. I’m so sick of crying over everything lately. It’s as if the tears won’t stop, and I have this endless amount that continues to overflow.

I pull away from his touch and walk back into my room. Taking a shaking breath in, I turn around to see him closing the door and leaning against it. His hair is messy as if he’s running his hands through it all night, either from my own doing or from the worry of looking for me. Guilt fills me at what it must have felt like for him not to find me anywhere but here, in a robe, physically fine, surely not mentally. Taking a step towards him and only stopping when he holds up his hand.

“Hunter, I can explain,” I whisper, my head hanging.

I hear him take a deep breath, “I better hope so.” Running his hands over his face, squinting his eyes at me. “I was worried sick looking for you. I just kept thinking that you were in the bathroom and you’d be back, but when I looked, you weren’t there. Then I thought, oh, she went outside to get a pause and then you weren’t there either. Then I was like,” he points to his temple, “she wouldn’t leave without telling me. She wouldn’t scare me like that.” I want to crumble under the weight of his stare.

“Hunter, please let me explain.” I pleaded with him. But I’m afraid that once I tell him what happened, that Chad cornered me and threatened me, that he will go cold and make a mistake.

Not a mistake to hurt me, but a mistake that will hurt him and his future.

“Okay, start talking.” He waves his hand in the air.

Sighing and sitting back down on the bed, explaining to him what happened. I feel the bed dip next to me, and arms wrap around me, holding me and apologizing through my hair over and over again.

Chapter 30

Emma

I stare out the passenger side window, watching the snowfall as Hunter drives down the highway to his parent's house. It’s a two-hour drive, and Taylor Swift plays through the speakers while he drums his fingers against the steering wheel to Lover. I look over at him, smiling, and he reaches across towards me, taking my hand in his. Turning back towards the window, I see how peaceful it is out there and wonder if I will ever know peace.

After I calmed down and explained to Hunter about what happened at the bar, we fell asleep, and I would have loved to have had the best night's sleep with the amount of crying I did. But that wasn’t the case. The nightmares that plagued me after the assault returned. It started like they always have, with me lying down tied to the bed and waking up in a dark room. Then, a figure walks in, their face becoming clearer with each step they take towards me until I recognize it’s Chad. That's when I usually wake up in a cold sweat, but not last night. It continued with him touching my face and moving down between my legs to rip my underwear off. Any time I close my eyes, it’s as if I'm back in the dream, and I can hear and feel everything all over again.

“Emma?” Hunter's voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I look towards him.

“Yeah?”

“I asked if you’re doing okay?” He squeezes my hand, and worry crosses his face.

“Oh, um yeah, I’m doing okay. Just was doing some thinking, that’s all.” I give him the best smile I can muster up.

“You’re thinking about the nightmares.” He doesn’t ask. He just knows

“Yeah, I was,” Looking away from him and back out the window.

“I can call my parents and let them know that we can’t make it if you want to do anything else?” He asks.

As good as it sounds actually to have a day to relax. To not have to worry about the little things that plague my mind, I can’t keep running from my problems or hiding from them either. I won’t be able to be the person I want to be if I continue this way, letting people control my emotions.

“No, I’m not going to let Chad win this. If he wants to act like an asshole, then that’s on him. Let’s go to your parent’s house, introduce them to me and have some fun.” \He brings my hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss on my knuckles.

“I don’t know about the fun part.” He mumbles under his breath.

Rolling my eyes, I turn back to look out the window when my phone vibrates from the center console. Reaching for it, I see an email notification pop up. When I open it, I almost throw the phone when I see who it’s from.

---