Save Me (31 page)

“
Hey, it’s okay,” Claire says, reaching across and pulling my hands from my face. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“
I just don’t know,” I say, tears filling my eyes so that everything goes blurry. “Jack wants me to move in with him and we’ve only been together a month. Then Nick pulled his fucking trick. I can’t keep answering questions that I don’t have answers to.” I thought I was handling the stress better than I am, but clearly, I’m not. “His mom even asked me to be in her wedding.”

“
What’d you tell her?”

“
What else could I say,” I wipe at my eyes. “She’s been so sweet, so supportive of Jack and me. I’m just stressed out and I want to hide from all of it. Everything except Jack.”

“
You can’t hide, Carly. This is what relationships are. They’re full of family and drama and unexpected things. Welcome to love, little lady.”

Jack and I have so much together, so many good things and what he’s brought out in me is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. I just wish our relationship was in a bubble. An indestructible bubble that nothing could rupture.

“
I know and he’s worth it, a million times over, but I feel like everything is happening so fast.” I rub underneath my eyes and come away with smeared mascara.

“
That’s how it goes,” Claire says, taking a drink of her bottled water. “Fast.”

§

I leave Claire’s feeling no better or more at ease than I did when I got there. Jack’s attempting to handle Nick, so that leaves the big question of whether or not to move in with him. Why is this such a big deal? I should be jumping at the chance to live with the man. I’m fucking crazy about him and I know he’s crazy over me, so why the hesitance?

My phone rings, Jack’s name and sexy picture popping up on the screen. Suddenly, nothing else matters but hearing his voice.

“
Hey babe,” I say.

“
Hey, sexy lady.” I can hear the grin in his voice.

“
I’m just leaving Claire’s,” I say, waiting until we finish the call before I get on the road.

“
I’m still at the mill,” he says, sounding tired.

“
Have you heard from your lawyer?” I ask, holding my breath.

“
Yeah, he said he called Nick’s father’s office, but he was out. He said he sent him an email, too, so hopefully we’ll know what’s going on tomorrow.”

The first tiny misleading snowflake lands on my windshield. “Uh-oh,” I say.

“
What is it?” Jack asks.

“
The snow’s starting.” I was hoping the storm would pass us by, but it looks like it’s going to at least pay us a visit.

“
Not here yet,” Jack says. “I wouldn’t mind it, to be honest. We’d be snowed in together.”

The thought of Jack and me with nowhere to be other than with each other makes the snow seem like a great thing.

“
What time do you think you’ll be at the house?” Jack asks.

I look at the clock. “Maybe 6:30. I’m gonna stop by my apartment and grab a few things.”

“
You should let me come get you. That way, your car is still at your apartment and you won’t be out driving in this shit.”

“
Alright, just come on when you’re finished,” I say.

“
Sure thing, love you,” Jack says, and the words still hit me right in the gut.

“
Love you, too,” I answer.

I end the call and pull out of Claire’s driveway. The snow is picking up and swirling around in the beam of my headlights.

Once I get to my apartment, I notice the grass is already getting covered in places. I bound up the steps to my door, eager to get out of the cold. I stick my key in the lock and make my way inside as fast as I can.

I grab my overnight bag, which has been getting a lot of use lately, and start to throw some stuff inside it. I know I won’t have class tomorrow if the snow comes, so I find warm, comfortable clothes to just lie around in. And the black lace panty and bra set I bought with the red one. I grin and get excited at the thought.

My apartment looks so deserted, so foreign as I finish packing. The pictures and memories are all here, but I don’t feel like
I’m
here. I feel like I’m going home when I pull in Jack’s driveway. I guess I’d made my mind up long before now, or at least my heart had decided. I turn off my bedroom light and carry my bag into the living room.

Knock, knock.

I smile to myself, glad that he's early and anxious to tell him that I want to live with him. I leap from the couch, unlock the locks and open the door. The smile dies on my face.

“
Hey, Carly. Can I come in?”

I hesitate. Not only do I not
want
to invite Nick in, I know Jack would go ape shit.

“
What do you want?” I hold the door open only as much as I need to to hear what he has to say.

He looks at me and I wonder again why I ever let him treat me the way he did. Why did I ever let this person make me feel like I wasn’t worth being loved?

“
I’m sorry about last night,” Nick says. His long face looks even thinner than usual.

“
Yeah right,” I say.

“
No, really,” he says. He fiddles with his car keys.

“
Why did you come here?” I ask.

“
I thought if I could talk to you face to face, you’d get it.” His pale gray eyes look weird, like he’s on something.

“
There’s nothing to get, Nick,” I say. “We were never even a couple, so what’s with all the drama? You never acted like I meant anything to you.”

“
I know and that was my fault. I didn’t realize what I had, not until you broke it off.”

“
Too little, too late,” I say, making to close the door. He puts his hand on it and pushes a little.

“
I know why you feel that way, Carly. I get it now.” He shuffles his feet nervously. “I’m sorry I never realized that you deserved to be treated better than I treated you. It wasn’t right.”

Nick has never been one for having a conscience, at least not while I’ve known him and last night proved just how cruel he can be.

“
You pull that shit last night, threaten to put a man
in jail
, and then come here expecting me to want to see your face?”

“
Please, Carly. I need to talk to you. Just a few more minutes.”

“
You’re not coming in,” I warn. “Take your fucking hand off my door.” He pulls his arm back and I wait. My heart starts hammering in my chest and I want to claw his eyes out.

“
Or what?” Nick says, his face hardening in the pale yellow glow of my porch light.

“
Jack’s on his way,” I start, “that’s what.”

“
No he’s not,” Nick says, putting his hand back on my door. He has no way of knowing that he won’t be here for almost an hour.

“
Yes, he is,” I argue. Nick pushes harder on the door, but I hold it. “As a matter of fact,” I say, pulling my phone from my pocket, “I’m going to tell him you’re here.”

Nick reaches out and grabs my phone.

“
Hey!” I shout and reach for it. It gives him the opportunity to push the door all the way open. He shoves me hard on the shoulder and I topple back into the living room. He tosses my phone out the door and onto my porch. I watch as he turns the locks.

“
What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I ask, getting to my feet.

“
Your boyfriend was wrong,” he says, his voice is guttural and foreign. “I’m gonna put more than a finger on you.”

I draw back to punch him, but he dodges it and catches my arm. He bends it backward and I cry out in pain.

“
Don’t even think about it,” he mutters. Nick jerks me toward him and he’s at my neck. I yank my arm, but he won’t let go.

“
Nick, why are you doing this?”

“
Because I can,” he whispers. I can smell something strong on his breath, some awful whiskey mixed with something else.

I struggle against him and manage to free my arm. I round on my toes and catch him in the side of the head. He stumbles against the wall and manages to right himself as I sprint toward my bedroom door.

Nick’s fingers suddenly twist in my hair and he wrenches me backward and punches me in the stomach. All the breath in me goes out in a whoosh and I struggle to cry out.

“
You fucking bitch,” he groans. I whimper as he clamps his fingers down on both my arms. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

“
That’s what you think,” I say, gaining the breath to fight back. My head makes contact with his nose as I throw back into his face. The sound is like wood splintering underneath a heavy boot.

I run to my bedroom and struggle to close the door, but Nick’s long, strong arm reaches through and it won’t close. My heart threatens to burst from the crazy beat it’s in.

“
Stop it, Nick!” I scream. I beat at his arm and sink my fingernails in, bringing blood out on his skin.

“
I’m going to make you pay for that,” Nick howls.

He shoves the door open and I fall hard into the chest of drawers. Bottles and random junk falls down around me as my head makes contact with the edge of the hard wood with a heavy thud. Silver and pink swirls erupt in my vision and I go woozy.

Nick kicks my now useless legs and I struggle to get control of my head again. Splitting pain radiates from my temple and my vision fogs over and then clears only to fog over again. Nick leans down and wipes at something on my forehead.

“
Ugh,” I groan as nausea settles heavy in my stomach. I look up at him and notice blood trickling from his nose. He wipes at it and then smiles at me.

“
We’re gonna have us a good time,” Nick says, unbuckling his belt buckle.

I finally start to feel my body again, but moving is slow and disconnected. I pull my legs up, but he reaches down and jerks them toward where he stands. My already aching head hits the floor and I see nothing but colors again.

“
Took the fight right outta you, didn’t it?” he sneers. The swirling stars before my eyes are starting to fade, but the dull ache in my temple throbs in time with my frantic heartbeat.

“
This is rape,” I mutter. “You’re gonna be the one who goes to jail. That is if Jack doesn’t kill you first.”

Nick’s jaw tenses and he pulls his belt free from his pants. “That piece of shit can’t do anything to me. Who’s a judge going to believe? Me? Or you?”

He twists the belt back and forth between his hands as I try to clear my muddled brain. I shakily push myself up on my hands and the room spins.

“
Get up,” Nick says.

“
I’m fucking trying to,” I groan. He kicks my legs again and I wince, but manage to get to a half leaning, half standing position. The whole world is spinning, blurry and out of focus. Blood is running down my cheek and into the corner of my mouth.

“
Get on the bed,” Nick says.

“
Fuck you,” I say, spitting a mouthful of blood in his face. He punches me so hard my jaw feels like it dislocates from my skull and the pain in my head blossoms into a full scale riot. I feel my lip split open and taste the coppery blood in my mouth.