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“Stay the fuck away from me!” I yell and jump back.
“I’m not done with you!” Colby snarls, his eyes bloodshot and his hair a sweaty mess. He comes at me again but my arm shoots out—fist closed and knuckles tightening with the impending impact.
Chase did say I have a mean left hook when he was teaching me some defensive moves not that long ago. He’s right. My punch hits Colby square in the jaw. It’s not enough to break anything, but it is definitely enough to ring his bell and confuse him.
“You bitch!” he cries out, dizzy and wobbling.
“I told you to stay the fuck away from me!”
I run as fast as I can, forgetting the groceries scattered all over the sidewalk, not caring about my torn blouse. I am wheezing and crying at the same time yet all I can do is run. Up the road. Left, right.
I need to get home before Colby catches up.
He knows where we live but there are cops stationed outside the house in a squad car, he’d be stupid to try anything there. I’m almost home. Images flash before my eyes as the Danson residence rises ahead. I glance back, feeling a sense of relief when I realize he’s not chasing me. But I don’t stop running.
“Ms. Harrison, are you alright?” one of the police officers asks as he steps out of the squad car upon seeing my approach.
“I’m anything but,” I reply and quickly explain what happened.
Without skipping a beat, he and his partner start the emergency protection procedure. One of them liaises with the police station through the radio while the other does a perimeter check, then an in-house sweep before escorting me inside, one hand glued to his holstered weapon. I’m inside and safely huddled by the living room window when two more black-and-white cars pull up. I don’t know who ordered the extra security, but I admit I feel better knowing they’re here.
Once I’m alone in the house and able to breathe again, the water works come rushing forward. I cry my heart out, thankful that I was able to hit Colby the way I did. My knuckles may be red and rapidly bruising, and my hand hurts like hell, but I don’t regret it. I defended myself. For the first time in my life, I stood up to the bully.
And I survived.
I thought that once he’d see there was a cop car stationed outside the house and the daycare, he’d back off. I’d hoped he’d be too busy dodging the law knowing they were looking for him. Clearly, I was wrong. Colby won’t stop until I’m dead or worse—back under his control. Except now the stakes are infinitely higher. There’s a baby growing in my womb, a baby that isn’t his. He can never know.
“I’m so tired,” I whisper, sinking into the sofa. “So fucking tired.”
It’s been the year from hell but at the same time, it’s been the most amazing year of my life. Had there not been flames, I would’ve never ended up here. From every tragedy, something great has emerged to give me hope.
I just have to hold onto it with both hands and refuse to let go.
24
Halle
I’m still shaking, my feet soaking in the cool water as I sit on the pool’s edge. The house is quiet. Darkness settles over the sky with its sparkling shades of navy and grey, stars splashing across in white dots. It looks so quiet and peaceful up there, unlike the storm brewing in my heart.
All I want is to see Eric, Chase, and Wyatt. In this precise moment, as I’m still gathering my nerve and working through each conflicting emotion, I just want to see them, to be around them, to forget that the world itself exists if only for a moment.
As if summoned, the Danson brothers come onto the patio. Slowly, I turn my head to greet them. “Hey,” I manage, my voice trembling.
“How are you feeling?” Eric asks. He’s the first to reach me, already out of his boots and workwear as he sits next to me. “We spoke to the officers outside.”
“You didn’t call or text,” Chase says, frowning as he comes closer, measuring me from head to toe. The flimsy yellow summer dress I’m wearing feels even flimsier under his cool, blue gaze. “Are you hurt?”
“No, he never got the chance to hurt me,” I say, clearing my throat. “I fought him off.”
“Attagirl,” Wyatt sighs and sits to my right. I am flanked by two Danson brothers while the third slowly prowls around the pool, watching me intently, analyzing my expression, searching my face for any clue of how I’m truly feeling. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Wyatt adds, giving me a half-smile. “I’m sorry we weren’t there to protect you.”
“You can’t be my shadows twenty-four-seven,” I scoff, shaking my head. “It’s absurd. I should’ve taken the car, especially since I was by myself.”
“It would’ve been wiser though you should have waited for one of us,” Eric says. “But I can’t blame you for wanting to take a walk once in a while. It’s not fair for you to live in constant fear hiding from that bastard. That’s not living.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I’m okay. I got away from him. The officers know to be on the lookout. It’s all we can do.”
As I look around, as I take each of them in, I notice an underlying shadow in their eyes. Tension in their expressions. They’re on edge. Exhausted, but on edge.
