Page 20 of Rescued By My Best Friend's Brother

My eyes widen as I glance down at my appearance. I had dressed cutely but casually. “Um. Sure.” I search the store, looking for any customers. There aren’t any. “Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt you.”

She chuckles and waves the thought away. “It’s a slow day. Might as well get this out of the way to see if we are a good fit.”

“Then that would be great,” I answer before she can change her mind, or a customer comes in, interrupting us.

The interview went longer than I had expected. Kim and I had a lot of things in common, and she almost felt like an old friend. Our conversation finally came to an end when a customer walked in, asking questions about different dresses. I thanked her, and she informed me she would call me in a few days to let me know if I got the job.

When I walk outside, my phone begins to ring. I grab it and peer at the name. It is Bradley once again. I have to tell him to leave me alone and hope that will make him stop.

“Bradley, you need to stop calling me. We’re over,” I answer, skipping any cordial hello’s.

He sniffles as if he is crying. I know those tears all too well. They are the same tears that lured me into staying for so long. Elena, babe, please come home. I’m sorry. I’m telling you, I’m changing for you, Elena. I’m not throwing away the years we spent together. This doesn’t have to ruin our future,” he rambles on.

His words tug at my heart, and hope tries to take hold. I have done this for years though, listening to these broken words followed by no action. I gulp down the sliver of hope, knowing what will come after I return home,hishome. It hasn’t been ours for such a long time, it feels awkward calling it mine.

“No, we’re done,” I say firmly. “So, I’d appreciate it if you don’t contact me, or I will have to block you.” I should have already done it, but something had stopped me. Like my addiction to him keeps me from cutting him off completely.

“No. No. No. Elena,” he cries. “I’ve just been struggling with so much. I think I can change for you. I think we can make this work again. I just need a little time.”

“I’m not doing this again.” I surprise myself. Normally, I would start crying and give into this facade. No. The tears had dried the night I showed up at Jasper’s door. “Good-bye, Bradley.” I hang up before he can convince me to accept his apology and do another round of this cycle that we repeat ear after year.

I open his contact information and edit it so that his number is blocked. I know he will call a few more times, and this is the best way to break free from him. I don’t even want to fight him anymore. I just want to leave and start a new life. I stuff it into my purse and walk towards the next shop, a small cafe.

“Elena!” Someone calls. I look up just as I grab the handle of the door. Bradley stands on the sidewalk several yards away, his phone still in his hand. My heart freezes, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. My first instinct is to run, but I can’t. How did he find me? Was he watching me?

The memory of him grabbing me as I tried to leave the house comes back to me. He’d grabbed me so hard, I thought he had left bruises. Then he threw me on the couch and told me I had to forgive him, forgive the infidelity, forgive the fuck ups he’d made, forgive the fact that he’d ‘accidentally’ busted my nose the night before.

He told me he was only human, that I just didn’t understand, and that, if I loved him, I would stay when he is in his darkest moments. It was then I realized that I had to escape, leave when he wasn’t home so he couldn’t stop me. So, he couldn’t promise me he would change or remind me of how I made him feel. I wanted to see the good in him. I wanted to believe him, but I realized then that things would only get worse. That once he finally laid hands on me, if I stayed, I would be another name on the long list of domestic violence victims. My mother had been on that list, and I had sworn I would never be like her.

Yet, here I am, staring at my ex, who’d made me believe love was real before reminding me that it isn’t.

“Elena! C’mon, babe!” He has a distraught expression on his face. “Talk to me!”

I look around to find a few onlookers turning to see who is shouting. I gulp down my fear and hurry to my ex. Hopefully, the onlookers will keep him from getting too handsy.

“How in the hell did you find me?” I say lowly, hoping I sound mad instead of fearful.

He grabs my shoulders and leans in to kiss my cheek. I step back before his lips can touch me, the same lips that had touched so many other women while the only thing that touched me where his fist. “Stop Bradley! I am not afraid of you anymore. You can’t control me. I told you I don’t want to talk to you. That means in person, too.”

His grip tightens as he continues to look the part of a broken-hearted man. “Baby. Babe.” He gives me an easy-going smile, one that had charmed me in the past. “I love you. I love you so much. No one has ever meant to me what you do, no one will ever compare. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me”.

He squeezes even more. I try to break away, to flee, but he doesn’t let me go. “Bradley, it wasn’t just that. Now, let me go,” I beg, my heartbeat racing in my ears. My chest wrenches as the panic begins to set in. I remember the nights he got drunk; the way his fists became heavy with all the things that had gone wrong in his life. How they met with the walls and the furniture, broke things that I had loved. I grimace at the thought of one of his fists hitting my face. If only I had made that my last straw, but I hadn’t. Even though I’d tried to leave, he had convinced me to stay, that I had deserved this, that no one would love me the way he did. I had been a terrible friend, and no one ever seemed to stick around, except Bradley. That’s what I had told myself. But no more.

Even if I am alone, I know the relationship I’d had with Bradley was not love. It was far from it. It was an addiction, one inherited from my mother. She’d shown me this was what love looked like, and I believed it to be true. I’d believed I could work through the difficult times as long as I loved Bradley and he wanted me too. He didn’t though. His affairs and lies told me that he didn’t really care me.

“C’mon, Elena. You know this is just a little hiccup. We’ll get through this.”

I shake my head and attempt to peel his fingers off of me. His grip only clamps down harder, causing pain to burn through my arms. “Please, Bradley. You’re hurting me.” Tears fill my eyes, ready to fall at any moment. I refuse to cry in front of him ever again. He deserves to think I am done without a second thought.

“What is your problem, Elena? Why are you being like this? Are you seeing someone else?” His face gets close to mine, so close, I feel spit hit me as he speaks.

I turn away from him, wincing, certain I’ll have bruises beneath his fingers. More marks to add to a long list of others. I don’t even have time to answer him before he continues with his accusations. “I bet you are. Is this to get back at me? You know I was in a dark place, why would you do this to me? You’re supposed to be my rock.”

Numbness begins to wash over me like a tidal wave. Am I going to have to go with him? Would it get him to stop hurting me? It would be easier to just obey, but I don’t want to go back. I hate that place. I hate the home he made for us. I felt suffocated there. I firmly reject the idea of ever going back there. No. Never. Not again.

Suddenly, Jasper appears out of nowhere. He wraps his large hand around Bradley’s wrist and glares down at him. Jasper clearly wins when it comes to height, while Bradley is only a few inches taller than me.

“Let go of her,” he growls through clenched teeth.

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