Page 2 of Somewhere Without You
This was the kind of drunk I feared.
My pulse stuttered. The air around me thickened, heavy with dread.
“Sit,” he ordered.
I obeyed, lowering myself into the leather chair like a prisoner before the judge.
“Where have you been?”
I swallowed hard.“I—I’m sorry. There was an accident on the Five. Traffic was backed up for miles.”The words were tumbling out faster than I could catch them, and I knew better than to offer him excuses.
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Emily.”He took another sip, the ice in his glass rattling like bone.“Where have you been?”heaskedagain.
I forced myself to meet his eyes. “I told you. I swear I wasn’t—”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!”His voice exploded across the room, followed by the crack of glass smashing against wood. I jumped as it shattered into a dozen tiny pieces, whiskey bleeding between them like an open wound. Jackson rose, his towering figure casting a long, ominous shadow as he came to stand over me. “You know the rules,”hesaid, his voice a sharp knife against my throat.
The rules. The unspoken, suffocating rules embedded into every corner of our marriage.
Curfew. Obedience. Silence.
They wrapped around me like a noose, binding me to a man whose love shifted like the tides.
“I didn’t. . . I wasn’t. . . I’m sorry,”Istammered, the words breaking apart in fragments.
My knees pressed together instinctively, hands clenched tight in my lap to stop them from shaking.
Jackson circled like a predator. The broken glass crunched faintly beneath his shoes, and I flinched at the sound. Even in the dark, I could see the blaze in his bloodshot eyes. I used to think they were the most beautiful shade of blue—bright and coastal, and inviting. But now? Now they were a raging storm, full of destruction and malevolent intent.
“Sorry?”helaughed. The rasping sound of it scraped down my spine.“Sorry doesn’t buy back my time, Emily. It doesn’t undo what’s already been done.”
I kept my gaze fixed on the shattered glass scattered across the desk, its jagged edges catching the light like tiny warning signs.
“I won’t ask again,”hesaid, his voice deadly calm.
I blinked hard, forcing the tears to retreat. “I did tell you,” I whispered. “It was the truth.”
There was a long pause—too long. I knew what came next. I braced for it. But the strike still hit like lightning.
His knuckles cracked across my cheek with brutal force. The world reeled, spinning as my head snapped back and I barely caught myself before slipping from the chair. Stars swam across my vision, and for a moment, everything blurred. Jackson towered over me, rage carved into every line of his face.
“Clean this shit up,” he snapped.
I nodded, the ringing in my ears drowning out everything but the thud of my own heartbeat.
When he was gone, I let out a shaky breath. Silent tears slipped down my face, tracing the raw, throbbing ache blooming across my cheek.
Across the room, the window creaked open, the wind slipping through like a whisper. And for just a moment, I swore I heard my mother’s voice riding the breeze.
Be brave.
Two
Athinsliveroflight cut through the closed curtains, slicing across the bed in a sharp, golden line. But the pounding in my temples had dragged me from sleep long before the sun had a chance.
With a groan, I rolled onto my back, wincing at the stiffness in my jaw. My fingers brushed over the swollen skin, and a quiet, breathless whimper escaped my lips.
Fuck.
