Page 71 of Hate It with You

Frank throws his arms out to his sides. “Surprise,” he says, dragging out the syllables of the word as though I’d be happy to see him. “Miss me?” he asks, his voice hoarse.

“What are you doing here?” My tone is surprisingly sharp despite the shaking that runs deep through my bones.

He squints at me, displeased with my question. “I thought you’d like to see me after all these years of locking my ass up.”

“Get out.” I won’t entertain his conversation. I want him gone. My heart beats against the inside of my chest, the sound of my blood rushing through my veins clear as day in my ears.

“Not until you pay for ruining my life.” He takes a step toward me. As he does, my right foot shifts behind my body, weight going to my toes and my knees softening. An instinct I didn’t have before, kicking in. My body remembers my training with Alex even though my brain can barely remember what day it is.

“Get out, Frank,” I tell him again, keeping my eyes glued to his movements, looking for any signs of an advance.

He takes a step closer still, pacing back and forth in front of me. “You cost me my entire life, Elizabeth. My wife divorced me, my son won’t talk to me, and do you know how hard it’s been to get a job since getting out of prison?”

“Having a hard time finding money to buy your booze, Frank?” I shouldn’t have said it, but the words are out before my brain can catch up.

His face reddens. “You always were a bitch.” He grinds the words out through his yellowing teeth. In only a few short seconds, he advances. My body still frozen in fear as we tumble to the floor. My back hits the edge of the table as we go, books toppling to the floor around us at the hit.

I grab at his shoulders, forcing my hands away from my body, trying to create any distance I can between us. My body reacts in a panic when he grips my shirt, lifting me up to slam me back down again. I only have a second to prepare and tuck my chin to avoid a concussion.

“I’m going to ruin your life, as you fucking ruined mine,” he yells, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes wafting off him.

Something cold hits my ears, and with the way my vision blurs, I know it’s my tears. My useless pushes against his chest do nothing to stop him from holding me to the floor. If the past is any indication, I can expect a punch at any second, but I’m too scared, my mind too jumbled to do any real damage.

When my hand comes to his face, he dodges my hit, the action throwing him off just long enough that I catch sight of the camera mounted high in the corner of the room.

It isn’t until I see it that I recall Alex’s words.

All you have to do is yell my name, and I’ll be there in an instant.

My body begins to thaw, yelling as loud as I can. I scream his name. “Alex!”

A sting radiates across my face when Frank lands a hard slap on my cheek. “Yell his name again, and he’s fucking dead.” He reels his hand back to land another slap to my face, but my brain works overtime, thinking quickly.

The slap enrages me, waking my body up and igniting the memories of my training with Alex. Grabbing at anything in my surroundings that I can use as a weapon, my hand lands on a hardback book on the floor next to me.

With as much force as I can muster from this angle, I slam the spine against his face. A loud crack sounds through the air when the book comes in contact with his nose.

He tumbles off me, grunting in pain. As much as I want to, I don’t stop to admire my damage as I push myself off the floor, getting away from him as fast as possible. My feet move quickly, leading the way to the back room.

Slamming the door behind me, I lock the handle, pressing my body against the door as my heart slams itself against the inside of my chest.

Muffled sounds come from the other side of the door, before there’s a loud bang. The force from Frank hitting the door shakes my entire body as I use all my strength to hold it shut, in case the lock doesn’t work.

He continues to bang on the door. “You fucking bitch, I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”

Sobs escape my lips as my brain begs the universe to send me the one person I desperately need at this moment.

Alex. Please, I need Alex.

31

ALEX

“So she still won’t tell you what’s going on?” Roman asks from his place on the bench. He’s breathing heavily after his last set of bench press. I’ve been standing over him for the last twenty minutes pretending to be his spotter only to vent about my current situation.

My phone is tucked away in my pocket. The last time I checked on Beth, she was beginning to clean up her bookstore for the night.

“All she’s told me is that it’s her stepdad. He went to jail, and she has it handled. I tried to look online, but all the records are sealed. I can’t find any information on him. I’m wondering if I should go over there tonight, see if I can get more information from her. See if there’s a way I can make this stop,” I tell Roman. He sits up on the bench, finally having finished his last set as he grabs his water bottle.