Page 101 of Hitting the Goal Line
That’s when everything shifts. That’s when everything gets worse.
One second, I’m on the couch looking up at him. The next, another slap lands against my face and I’m falling to the floorwhere I start crying hysterically as Elijah drags me up his body so that I can look him in the eyes. All the while I beg him to stop.
Everything happens so fast but somehow when he swings his hand back to slap me again, I’m able to escape him just for a few second. Enough to run to the bedroom and get away from him.
Enough for me to reach for my phone and call the first person that I can think of. Blake.
He may be in Chicago, but maybe he can still help in some way. Maybe he can call his brother, who can call the police here in San Francisco. Maybe he will be able to come up with something that I can’t, to get me out of here.
As Elijah starts to kick at the bathroom door, I drop the phone and make myself as small as possible, my right hand instantly wrapping itself around my locket, all the while I wrap myself into a ball and let out a sob.
I should have walked away sooner. I should have left him a long time ago.
I only have one person to blame for being in this situation, and that person is me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
BLAKE
I’mjerked awake by a sound. It takes me a second to figure out that it’s my phone vibrating on the nightstand next to the bed.
I look over at the alarm clock that is also sitting on the table and see that it’s just after eight in the morning. I was watching a movie last night, and I must have fallen asleep.
Grabbing my phone, I look at the caller ID and sit up right away when I see Sophia’s picture looking back at me.
Not another second is wasted as I slide the icon to answer the call, getting up from the bed in the process.
“Hey, Soph,” I say into the phone, trying to keep my voice calm and not freak out that she is calling me.
I wait for a response from Sophia, but she doesn’t say anything. The only thing that I’m able to hear is muffled crying and what sounds like banging in the background.
“Sophia.” I say, a little more sternly, a little louder, hoping that she will hear me, because it sounds like the phone isn’t anywhere near her.
But she doesn’t say anything. The bangs just continue to get louder and so do her cries.
“Sophia!” I yell out, but still, she doesn’t respond. I don’t think she can hear me.
“Fuck this,” I say to myself, putting the phone on speaker, throwing it on the nightstand, and quickly moving through my brother’s guest room and throwing on the first shirt that I can grab from by bag and sliding on the first pair of shoes that I can find. Thank fuck I slept in fucking shorts.
I couldn’t give two shits what I’m wearing right now. The quicker I get to wherever Sophia is, the better.
I quickly grab my phone again and run out of the room, straight to Hunter’s garage. He and Lennie are in Montana this week, since his team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. I was supposed to join them, but when this whole thing with Sophia came up, I bailed on those plans and came here.
My brother doesn’t know the whole reason why I had to come to San Francisco or why I asked to stay at his house, he just told me to make myself at home and gave me liberty to use any of his cars if I needed.
I grab the first set of keys that I’m able to find and walk over to the designated car, the whole time, I’m listen to Sophia cry as the bangs get louder and more frequent.
“Soph, I need you to tell me that you’re okay.” No response. “Sophia! Please tell me that you can hear me and you’re okay,” I say into the phone as I get into my brother’s SUV.
Still no response from Sophia but the bangs and her cries continue to sound out and eventually are accompanied by muffled yells.
“Stop being a bitch, Sophia and open the fucking door. I’m done playing games. Get the fuck out there. Now!” I hear Elijah yell out right before a loud bang comes through.
Motherfucker.
I hear his voice and Sophia’s cries and all I see is red. So much fucking red. This bastard is going to pay for what he is putting her through and he won’t even see it coming.
Keeping myself on the call, I open up the location app on my phone. From the second that we got phones when we were kids, Soph and I have shared our locations with one another. Sort of a piece of mind that is used occasionally and it’s coming in handy tonight.
