Page 38 of Hunt You Down

He emphasized every other word by shoving me harder against the counter, drilling the sharp edge into my spine.

A lot of words were tossed around, words I’d rather not repeat, but they weren’t anything I hadn’t heard before. With one last firm thrust, my back cracked against the counter and I crumpled to the floor. Regan continued to mumble insults under his breath, snatching his keys and walking out the door.

My wet clothes clung to me. My back ached and my stomach burned. I tried to keep my composure as I went to my room. I’d let myself cry it out in the shower.

I grabbed a towel, then ducked into the bottom drawer of my dresser. I didn’t hear the front door, nor his usual thundering footsteps down the hall. The next thing I knew, I lurched forward and smashed my head against the handle of the antique drawer.

“Baby, wake up!”

My eyes shot open. I bolted upright in bed, grasping at my throat. I swore I felt hands around my neck again. My chest burned, desperate for oxygen. I jolted, a hand grabbing me—but it didn’t let go. The mattress dipped behind me.

Tears won out in the end, pouring down my cheeks in hot rivers.

I broke down into inconsolable sobs, thrashing against the arms holding me, but the man was that much stronger. The only thing I could do was surrender. My whole body shook. I couldn’t breathe.

Slowly, my lungs remembered how to function. I took in a deep breath, and my heart rate began to slow. When the thundering in my ears subsided, a soft voice whispered in my ear.

André.

He combed through my hair, holding me tight. Trying to focus on my breathing, I worked on bringing myself back down to earth. It was a nightmare—nothing more than a bad dream.

Vision clearing, I took in the room. André’s long legs were covered by expensive trousers. He even had on his Italian leather shoes. The clock on the nightstand read 9:25. “I’m making you late for work,” I said, throat raspy.

“Work can wait; you’re more important.”

I tossed the blanket aside and jumped out of bed, grabbing a stray pair of sweats off the floor.

“Do you want to talk about it?” André asked, getting to his feet.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Will you be okay here by yourself?”

André put his arm around my waist, but I wiggled out of his grasp. I kept my head down to avoid seeing the hurt in his eyes. All he wanted was to hold me. Hell, that’s the only thing I wanted, but my body wouldn’t let it happen.

“I’ll be okay. I promise. I think I just need to be alone.”

Confused, André accepted my request. I allowed a quick goodbye kiss to my cheek, and he left. After that, I locked myself in the bathroom. We had André’s work event that night, and the last thing I wanted to do was dress up and play arm candy.

I spent most of the day sitting there on the cold tile floor. I didn’t have my phone with me, so I stared into space. The only pictures flashing through my mind were from that day.

A neighbor had been making an early morning bottle for her baby. She heard the crashing and banging, and called the police. They didn’t wait for the building manager before kicking in the door.

According to the police reports and medical records, I wasn’t breathing when they found me. I had a pulse, but barely. I was intubated, and immediately sedated in the emergency room. My jaw was broken, along with my nose. One eardrum was ruptured, the other dangerously close.

There was a hairline fracture in one of my lumbar vertebrae, and I’d need extensive physical therapy. I was in intensive care for five days, and regular admission for another two weeks.

I was dehydrated, malnourished, and had multiple vitamin deficiencies. By the end of it all, I was so ready to go home that they discharged me with IV fluids and vitamins to continue there.

With nothing else to do, I did an inventory of all my injuries. My jaw still ached from time to time. I’ll never forget the pain of having to have it wired shut. I couldn’t eat, so I got my nutrition from a feeding tube. One of my ribs was pulverized, and had to be removed.

My right arm had been broken in two places, and my left shoulder dislocated so many times that I taught myself how to fix it.

My eardrum repaired itself, but it took a while for me to be able to hear properly again.

Eventually, my stomach was growling so loudly that it reverberated off the walls. I had to gather up the courage to leave the bathroom.

I had to apologize to André.