Page 21 of Intertwined Hearts

“Hi, Hunter. I’d like to see you tonight. Are you able to come by?”

“What time?” I was so frustrated. I hoped this wasn’t another invitation to dinner where we would just make awkward small talk about a television show.

“An hour? I really think it’s time we talk.” I was stunned silent.

“Hunter, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. Um, yeah, I’ll be over in an hour.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, see ya.”

I stripped and got in the shower. When I stepped out, I grabbed a T-shirt and jeans, sprayed some of my cologne, and ran my fingers through my wet hair. After a quick brush and gargle, I picked up my wallet and keys, and headed out the door.

Chapter 17

Jackie

I paced relentlessly while I waited for Hunter to arrive. I wished I hadn’t mentioned we needed to talk. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go through with this. I didn’t know how much, or even what, I was going to tell him. I thought about starting in the beginning, when things began to go horribly wrong between Landon and me. I just didn’t want to say too much or the wrong thing.

The doorbell rang and I jumped. My heart felt like it was falling inches farther down my chest with each step. When I pulled the door open, I felt lightheaded, and sighed, releasing the breath I had been holding.

“Come in,” I said. “How have you been?”

“Getting by. And you?”

“Not good, Hunter. I missed you so much this week. I really did.”

“I missed you too.” Hunter’s voice was emotionless. He was agitated, and I couldn’t blame him. I knew this wasn’t easy for him. None of it. It was worse for me, but he just didn’t understand. Hopefully I could help him understand what I was going through and close some of the distance between us.

“Look, Hunter.” I inhaled through my nose, then exhaled through my mouth. “Let’s go sit on the couch. I want to tell you some stuff and get this off my chest.”

I walked over to the couch and sat down, and he quietly followed. I pulled my bent legs up onto the couch, and held them tight to my chest. He sat with his body angled toward me, and his muscled arm outstretched across the back of the sofa.

I lowered my head and began to talk. “It’s taken me over eight years to be able to talk about this, so please don’t stop me. No matter what, promise me you’ll just stay and listen. Promise me you won’t leave me.” I kept my head against my knees, but turned to face him. I was on the verge of breaking down.

“I promise, Chipmunk. I’m not going anywhere.”

I turned and was facing away from him, staring at the floor. “I dated Landon in college, for a year. We started seeing each other during the summer right after our junior year. I was a virgin when I met him. We had a normal relationship and got along fine for the first nine months. That was about the time rumors began to swirl that he’d been cheating on me. I was pissed, but I was willing to look past it. I know, that was stupid, but I was stupid back then. The thought of being an NFL player’s wife was motivation enough for me to overlook what he was doing. At least, at that time it was.

“Eventually, I confronted him about the rumors, hoping he’d say it was a lie. But he didn’t. He told me names and places of his conquests and told me my lack of experience left him unsatisfied. That was his excuse.” I sat and shook my head. I was angry. I was so mad at myself for staying with him.

“The next three months slowly got worse for me, until I finally left him. I didn’t leave because I found the strength to go. I left because he beat the crap out of me. He got me good too. I ended up with two black eyes, a broken nose, a busted lip, two broken ribs, a bruised liver, surface bruises, and scratches everywhere. And the names he called me were a lot worse than what you heard come from his mouth the other week. He did some more damage, but I can’t … I’m just not ready to talk about that yet.” My body shivered at the memory of the worst beating he’d ever given me.

“He put me in the hospital then too. It was kind of hard to make a random excuse for everything he’d done to me. I was so distraught. I’d lost –.” I was digging my nails into my upper arms as I squeezed myself tighter and tighter. Tears flowed down my cheeks and I was straining to talk. “Anyway, the doctor called the police because they suspected I was a domestic violence victim, and I told them everything. Every fucking thing he did to me, I told it. And I had to testify against him.

“When he showed up at my door, I thought it was you. I never looked. And when I let him in –.” I dropped my head and bawled. I was scared to look to see if Hunter was still sitting there. I couldn’t believe I told him as much as I had.

Hunter

I felt dizzy. I dropped my head into my hands shortly after she began to tell this god-awful story. Landon wasn’t a man, he was a no good piece of shit. On several occasions, I glanced over at Jackie with eyes full of tears, some that toppled over and fell down my face. She had been surviving a horrible nightmare most people could never fathom. I had no idea the depths of hell she’d seen.

She sat there, crying her eyes out, and I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to hold her close to me and never let her go. I wanted her to know how much I cherished her, and her strength. I couldn’t touch her for fear she’d push me away again, though.

I swiped my hands down my face, wiping the tears away. I knew if I ever saw that sorry sonofabitch again, I’d kill him for sure. Fuck the consequences. I’d kill him for Jackie. I wished I had done it that night now. I should have stomped my boot clean through his worthless body. My fists were tightly clenched at my sides. I could have punched a hole through a brick wall.

“Hunter,” Jackie whispered.

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