Page 31 of Unexpected

But that didn’t happen.

“Do you want to make me happy?” he asked but didn’t give me time to respond before he stood. He kicked the coffee table away to give more room between it and the couch. He fisted the back of my hair, still loosely held together at the top of my head by a hair band and forced me to my knees in front of him. My knees hit the unforgiving floor with a thud that vibrated through my body. My face, my head, and my knees were all in pain.

I couldn’t wrap my head around his intention until I heard the telltale sign of his belt unfastening. My eyes were on the ground, but I immediately jerked my gaze up to him.

The grin was still plastered to his face as he fumbled with his belt. As he yanked it from the belt loops and tossed it behind me, he said, “Oh, baby, you look scared. Don’t be scared of me. You want to make me happy? This is how.”

I couldn’t make my body move. Fear kept me frozen to the spot as his face contorted in pleasure, and each word he spoke pushed me further to an edge I didn’t think I’d ever find. The sound of his zipper slowly descending and the understanding of what he was about to do made me move.

His phone buzzed from where it lay on the coffee table. He cursed under his breath at the interruption, but he couldn’t let it go unanswered. While he was distracted, I took the opportunity to run.

I scrambled to my feet and ran. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing, but I let my newfound strength propel my legs forward and away from Michael. Somewhere in the distance—he sounded so far away—I could hear him yelling and fumbling with his pants as he pursued me. His steps were loud on our hardwood floors, but I only focused on where I was going instead of where he was.

I took a sharp right into my office and slammed the door shut just before I felt him run into it. I flipped the lock and backed away from the door as he rammed against it. The solid wood door bowed inward on impact. One sob broke free and instinctively, my hands flew to my mouth to cover the sound of my weakness.

“What the fuck, Hazel? Get the fuck out here NOW!” he bellowed as he continued to beat against the door.

“No!” I found my voice and strength knowing it would take more effort than he could probably put forth to get through the door. For more assurance, I pushed a dresser in front of it.

At the sound of the scraping of a large piece of furniture against the floor, Michael paused his attack.

“I don’t know what the fuck has gotten into you, but it’s not wise to deny your future husband when he wants a fucking blow job!”

“That isn’t going to help anything!” I yelled back.

“Yes, it will. You want to make me happy?” His voice was eerily calm. “This is the beginning of making me happy. It would also make me happy if I had a fiancé that was faithful and didn’t go behind my back with our neighbor. Is that why you won’t suck my dick? You've been too busy sucking his while I’ve been gone?”

I shook my head as an aggravated yell bubbled up from my chest. “I have always been faithful to you! Can you say the same thing about me?” My newfound confidence felt good pulsing through my veins, although I was frustrated that it took a locked door and heavy furniture between us to find it. Nevertheless, I wanted it to stay.

Michael continued pounding on the door. I covered my ears, trying to hide from the noise in the far corner of the room, when suddenly, with a frustrated growl, he stopped.

“You know what, fine! You’re right, baby. I’ve been with plenty of other women. But don’t think for a fucking second that you aren’t mine. You will always be mine, and you eventually have to come out of that fucking room. And when you do come out, I’ll be right here.”

I slipped down the wall on the far side of the room and let the tears finally fall as he confirmed what, deep in my soul, I already knew was true. He thought I was the root of our issues when he was the one that couldn’t keep it in his pants. Each tear was silent yet heavy against my skin.

Not more than a minute later, I heard the door slamming. I crawled to the window and peered over my desk. Michael had his suit jacket in one hand with his phone pressed to his ear. He unlocked his car and got in hastily. In another second, he peeled out of the driveway and sped off.

He was gone. I waited for relief to wash over me, but it didn’t. He was right, after all, and he would be back eventually. With the sinking feeling returning, I sank to the floor, curled up and cried myself to sleep on my multicolored rug.

FOURTEEN

Luke

“Areyou sure there’s nothing else I need to do before I leave? You look stressed and I’m happy to stay and help as long as you need,” Crystal said as she waved goodbye to our last client of the day. She was standing too close to me, and I wasn’t in the mood to try to fight off her advances.

“No, I’m fine. You can go,” I said dismissively. For the millionth time that day, I reached into my pocket and checked my phone. Still nothing from Hazel.

“Okay, if you say so. But let me know if anything changes and—”

“It won’t change. Enjoy your evening.” I knew my tone was too harsh, but she was barking up the wrong damn tree.

I hadn’t been able to keep my mind from Hazel for too long since she disappeared the morning before and popped up on her front porch with her fiancé. A fiancé that looked like he wanted to kill me for nothing more than looking at Hazel.

She might have told me that they only had a fight, but I didn’t believe her, especially after she skipped out while I was in the shower. She wouldn’t have run if she didn’t have something to hide.

I’d texted her a few times and called twice when I got out of the shower and couldn’t find her. Like the fucking creep Iturned into, when I heard a car door shut outside, I hurried out to the porch and found her cowering in front of fuckface. He looked all high and mighty on his porch, looking over her. I couldn’t imagine Hazel had done anything to warrant the kind of look he gave her.

The dumbfuck didn’t even flinch when I returned the look he gave her with my own murderous glare.

---