Page 88 of You Were Invited
Still sobbing, Chris hugged her tighter. His whole body shook.
“You’re the person you’re going to be. There’s somebody waiting to be with you fully. But I’m not that person, Chris. We can’t make each other into the people we need each other to be.”
“I can change, though… We can work together…”
She shook her head and reluctantly patted his head. “No... I’m... no. You have to change on you own. For yourself. I’m not coming back, Christopher. We’re done.”
Sobs wracked his shoulders even harder. In reply to her words, his thick arms constricted around her.
Annie winced.
“I’m nothing without you.”
“Chris, let go. You’re–”
Letting out a strangled, feral groan, her ex suddenly went down into a crouch and lifted her up and over his shoulder.
“No!” Annie’s soft-hearted grief erupted into black terror. “C-Chris– No, stop—please!” Her voice was caught somewhere between a command and a scream. Her fists pounded against his back.
He staggered forward. “Shoulda done this the night you ran away.”
Julian rushed forward, catching one of her arms with two hands. Both men stumbled. Chris cursed loudly, spun, and reared his fist back.
A solid thwack broke the silence of the night. Julian fell away from Annie.
Shit!Annie’s vision swung as Chris moved again. She wriggled and tried to kick, but he held onto her legs with an iron grip. They went down the deck stairs, his ragged breath against her bare skin.
“Christopher, please—” she begged. Some part of her wanted to believe he really wouldn’t hurt her, but he’d just punched out Julian. “You’re not thinking. This isn’t— you can’t kidnap—”
It was a short distance to his car, but Chris panted like he’d sprinted a mile. “Not kidnapping. We’re going home!” Unsteadily, he yanked open the rear passenger, pulled her off his shoulder, and set her next to the car. His bruising grip locked onto her bicep. She tugged her arm and reared back, disgusted, and shoved his other hand away, but he caught hold of her dress. He picked her up.
“No!” Her hands scrambled to grab the door and door frame. She braced her legs against the car seat.
He grabbed a fistful of her short hair and shook her soundly. Tears erupted in her eyes, blurring her vision, and her hands slipped. When she fell face forward on the seat, legs out of the car, she gasped for air.
“I deserve better than someone like you,” he spat, “but I won’t give up on us.” He grabbed her legs and pushed her inside.
“Don’t move!”
“The fu–”
“I said,” came Julian’s voice, “Don’t. Move.”
Dizzy, Annie twisted around. Julian stood beside the car, arm extended, gun pointed at her ex’s head.
thirty-four
Julian glared at Chris. The man had gone white as snow, hands above his head. Julian hardly recognized his own voice as he barked, “Walk backwards, a couple yards, and stand there. Slowly.”
Eyes down on the ground, Chris lifted a foot. He nearly stumbled. Even as he walked away, Julian smelled the stench of alcohol coming off Chris in waves. It had been unlucky for all of them that no stater had stopped Chris for intoxicated driving– or perhaps, Julian imagined, Chris had started drinking not that long ago in order to goad himself into throwing himself upon Annie’s mercy.
I shoulda pulled my gun the second he grabbed Annie.But that was neither here nor there. They’d both underestimated this piece of excrement.
Julian stepped forward and extended his arm into the car. He kept his focus on Chris, finger poised over the trigger, and held his breath until Annie grabbed onto him and scrambled out into the night air. She tried latching onto his chest.
“No,behindme.”
Obeying, Annie scrambled. Her quaking body rocked violently against his.
