Page 77 of Wrapped in Red
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ezra
Iwas so good at runningaway from the men who claimed they loved me. I was starting to think it was all I would ever truly win at. CC, Ty—wait, we weren’t supposed to mention his name. It had to be the wine I was drinking. Ugh! I sucked so bad. Maybe I was just terrible at picking boyfriends. At least CC didn’t smack me around until I ended up in the hospital. Treat me like some deep, dark secret he was ashamed of.
I didn’t believe for one minute CC loved me. Not the way he just blurted it out.“Fine, I love you.”I mean, who does that? It sounded so forced and so not like him. Had he been playing me this entire time, too? Was I just a hole for him? A way to get off because he thought I was just that easy? I mean, I was. I just thought CC was better than that. Maybe it was a good thing I had picked that fight with him.
Stupid, needy, clingy Ezra. Always thinking you found the right man who only wants to use you for one thing. Only CC texted me. A lot. Called me, too. I refused to answer and sent him straight to voicemail. Left him on read. He even had the nerve to DM Seth, which, honestly, surprised me. Was it possible he really did love me?
The sound of my front door opening had me sitting up on the couch, and my phone slid off my stomach, landing on the floor with a soft thud. I knew he was supposed to be coming by, but that didn’t make this any easier. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“Hello? Identify yourself.”
Three people had a key to my apartment. As far as I knew, one of them was still in North Carolina, and I hadn’t thought he would be bold enough to just show up here. Not without letting me know first.
“CC, if that’s you, I want you to go back to your parents right now. I’m not ready to face you.”
“It’s me.”
I felt sick to my stomach. “Ty, please, don’t.”
I reached for my phone, but he was faster and kicked it under the couch with the toe of his shoe.
“Who do you think you’re going to call, baby? Your precious CC? You already broke up with him. Why would he come save you now?” Ty Graham growled at me with pure hate in his voice. “He can’t have you.”
I felt hot tears prick my eyes. “No, of course he can’t.”
“Say it.” Ty’s blue eyes flashed angrily before he grabbed me by the neck and pushed me back down onto the couch. “Tell me who you belong to, Ezra.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. “You, Ty, I belong to you.”
“That’s right, baby.” He smirked. “Did he fuck you? I bet he doesn’t fuck as good as I do. Doesn’t make you come like I can. Doesn’t make you scream when you come.”
I pinched my lips together. Ty had texted me when I was in North Carolina. He had threatened to send the video that we had made together to CC if I didn’t break up with him. I had thought Ty was in jail, where he belonged, but his grandfather had posted his bail. No amount of money would be too much for his sweet, innocent Ty, and now here he was. In my apartment, putting his hands on me again, making me feel disgusting, worthless, and small, like only he could.
“You’re a good boy, though, aren’t you, baby?” Ty’s breath fanned over my face. “You did exactly as I asked you to. You broke it off with him. You came home, and you were waiting for me. I know it wasn’t you the called the cops that night. You would never do that to me.”
I nodded. “No, never.” I stared up at Ty in the darkness of my living room as my body prepared for whatever he was going to do. Would he hit me or fuck me first? Sometimes he did both. That was his favorite.
“What in the actual fuck is going on here?” The sound of CC’s voice made me cry out in relief. Even if I was mad at him. Hurt about everything that had happened. “Really? Jesus Christ, this is great. Is this why you broke up with me?”
An ugly smile spread over Ty’s face. “Tell him, baby. Tell him who I am to you.” He hadn’t turned around yet, so that meant CC hadn’t seen his face. Couldn’t see the fear on mine or the tears that were brewing in my eyes again. He probably couldn’t see the way my body had started to shake at how terrified I was.
“CC, please, this isn’t what it looks like.”
I didn’t see Ty’s hand coming up to smack me across the face so hard that I saw stars when he made contact. I raised my palm to touch where he hit me, and I winced. It wasn’t the hardest hit I’d taken, but it was going to leave another mark.
“It was you!” CC hissed and sprang forward to grab Ty by the shoulder. He spun him around. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Ty?”
The Christmas lights bounced off their faces in the dark. I sat up and wrapped my arms around my legs, trying to make myself as small as possible. That’s usually how I avoided hits to my body. Unlike the last time, when I failed to protect myself, but that was only because we were outside, and I was standing up.
“What, you thought Ezra walked into a door? That he was just clumsy? You’re smarter than that, aren’t you Carey?” Ty sneered.
CC shoved at his chest. “You put your hands on my boyfriend? You’re the one who did that to him?”
“To be fair, he was my boyfriend first. Oh wait, you didn’t know that, did you?” A loud laugh filled the room. “Well, he was. He likes it when I slap him around, don’t you, baby? It’s foreplay.”
I buried my face against my knees.
