by Eunice Hart
Then, just as quickly as it had disappeared, the smile reappeared on her face. She looked around the kitchen and sniffed. “Mm, Justin made cookies? What a man? Let’s see if he’s better at making them than I am…”
With that, she walked to taste the cookies, leaving her daughter standing dumbfounded in her wake.
***
The Sparkling Spout had been closed since Christmas Eve, but it reopened to customers on New Year’s. People trooped in and sat down and drank till they were tipsy and could barely walk home. Elena did some catching up with her friends on everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks. She was surprised and happy to hear that Martha had found herself a boyfriend – a guy named Paulo who was supposedly ripped – and Giselle had a guy in her sights.
“He’s so sweet,” Giselle told her friends, almost theatrically. “I’m just waiting for him to ask me out. God knows I’ll have told him yes before the words even left his mouth.”
All three women laughed. They were sitting at a table close to the counter, each clutching a bottle or a glass of wine.
“What about you, Elena?” Martha wanted to know. “Has anything out of the ordinary happened with Justin lately?”
Elena snorted. “With Justin, nothing is ordinary.” Then she got serious. “I’ve had some issues with my mom, though.”
Both Giselle and Martha exchanged glances.
“What happened?” Giselle asked. “You two didn’t argue, did you?”
How was she to put it? “Well…not exactly.”
Martha drained her glass of the last drop of wine and began pouring herself some more. “Well, spill the beans, girl. We’re all ears.”
And so she did. Elena told them everything her mother had told her about talking to Justin about marriage. When she was done, her friends had looks of amusement on their faces.
“What?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at them.
“Why not just discuss it with him, then?” Giselle said with a slight shrug. “I mean, you guys have been dating for over five months. It’s a bit of a shocker that that topic hasn’t come up once.”
“Actually, it has. On different occasions.” And Elena proceeded to tell them about the different times the idea of them getting married had been brought up. She didn’t spare them the details of how Justin had reacted to it, how stunned and uncomfortable he’d become, how he’d been quick to dismiss the topic.
“Okay, that’s really interesting,” Martha said, sipping her wine. “But, chica, why not try actually talking to him about it? Find out what he has to say about the whole thing, so you know where your relationship is headed.”
Elena thought about it for a moment. It did make a lot of sense.
“Thanks,” she said to her friends. “I’ll try.”
“What was it Yoda said?” said a voice behind her and all three women jumped as a customer staggered by, a smirk on his face. “Oh, yes – do or do not, there is no try.”
And he walked out of the bar, looking pleased with himself.
Elena turned to face her friends, both of whom had looks of confusion on their faces.
“Okay, what just happened?” Giselle said, frowning.
Martha gave a shrug and shifted her gaze down to her wine glass. “I guess someone’s had too much to drink so early in the morning.”
They had a couple more drinks to calm down, but not so much as to render them unfit for work. Elena did her best to keep the thoughts at bay, but they came anyway. Every now and then, she thought about what her friends and mother had advised her to do and instantly got the jitters. How was she supposed to bring up marriage with Justin?
That wasn’t even the most troubling part. It was the fact that she had absolutely no idea what his reaction would be. What if he suddenly changed the subject because he wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet? What if he was never ready to talk about it? What if he laughed at the idea of getting married – or, even worse, got mad all of a sudden? There was so much that could happen, so much that could go wrong. Sod’s Law was the most prominent thought in her mind for nearly the rest of the day.
She was glad when she finally got off work that night. Luckily, Justin hadn’t showed up at the bar. Elena wasn’t sure how she would have reacted to the sight of him. Her friends left the bar before her, Martha in Paulo’s car, Giselle in hers. Elena was left, once again, alone to her thoughts.
She violently pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, then gathered her things and made to lock up the place. She had just turned the key in the lock and was heading to her car when a large hand clamped over her face, covering her mouth completely so when she tried to scream, all she got was a mouthful of grime.
What in the world…?
Acting on instinct, she dropped her bags and began flailing wildly, trying to bite down on the hand of the person that held her. It was a man; she could tell by the size of the hand…and the smell. Obviously, this guy wasn’t a very big fan of hygiene.
What did he want with her? Elena didn’t have enough cash on her for anyone to rob, but she could easily get some at the nearest ATM if that was what this man wanted. But by now he would have told her that was what he wanted. What else could he be after?
Before she could come up with another speculation, the man spoke. His voice broke out, hoarse and horrifying. It sent chills down Elena’s spine, but not because she knew she was in danger.
It was because she recognized that voice. She’d heard it many, many times. Nearly every single day that she had worked at The Sparkling Spout.
“Hello, Elena,” Gary whispered in her ear, his grip on her tightening. “You have absolutely no idea how much I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
***
Holy Christ.
If anyone had told her a couple of hours earlier that this sort of thing could happen to her, she wouldn’t have paid them any notice. Why would anyone want to attack her? There wasn’t anything remotely important about her – at least, not in her opinion. So when her assailant grabbed her and began dragging her away from the Mercedes, she could hardly believe it was truly happening.
Her eyes moved wildly, taking in her surroundings. Gary was pulling her into an alley, ignoring her muffled cries. Elena felt tears spring to her eyes. What was he going to do to her? As he dragged her, grunting with each heave, images of her loved ones flashed across her mind – Madison, Justin, Giselle, Martha…was she going to be killed? If so, would they ever find out who did it? What would happen to little Madison and Justin? And Granny Pat?
She couldn’t let this happen. Whatever it was that Gary wanted with her, it couldn’t be good. Elena wasn’t just going to remain silent and let him have his way. She began thrashing about again, and accidentally but unapologetically stomped his foot, causing his grip on her to loosen. That was all the time she needed. While he was still wincing, she batted his hand away and shouted at the top of her lungs. She only had a second’s worth of screeching before Gary regained his senses and shut her up again.
“Don’t try to scream, it won’t do you any good,” Gary growled, shooting her a sharp look. “The boys are around. One more peep from you and you’ll get a lot more than just me.”
Elena had a feeling he was bluffing, but she couldn’t be sure. She kept her lips pressed together, trying to get a good look at Gary, her entire body quivering with terror. This was a man she’d served drinks for years. She hadn’t exactly trusted him, but she’d never once expected him to go as far as assaulting her at night and dragging her into an alley! What was this all about?
It was so weird how up until now she’d always thought about Gary as a harmless drunk who merely ogled at women but wouldn’t even have the balls to assault anyone. This man had a wife at home, for goodness sake!
Elena gave a soft gasp as he released her, giving her a not-so-slight shove that sent her sprawling to the ground. She didn’t even dare to yell, just gazed up at him in terror.
“You know, Elena,” he said, his voice m
enacing, “I really like you. I just don’t like some of the things you do sometimes.”
She tried to frown, but her eyebrows wouldn’t stop quivering. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you know what I’m talking about, you bitch.” Gary gave a snort. “You’ve been ignoring me for years, and then some rich asshole comes around and you jump into his arms? You think you can get away from me so easily?”
“What are you going to do to me?” she stammered.
But she already knew the answer to that question. It hit her like a sledgehammer blow to the head, causing her heart to beat faster and faster until she thought it might explode.
Gary was going to rape her.
No! No! This couldn’t be happening!
But it was. Elena watched, nearly completely frozen with fear, as Gary began unbuttoning his jeans and shoving them down his legs, cursing when they pooled around his ankles. In a matter of seconds, he would be on top of her jerking away for all he was worth. Elena wasn’t sure which was more horrifying: the idea that she was about to be raped or the fact that the rapist in question was Gary.
“Gary, you don’t have to do this.” Her voice quivered as she spoke.
“Oh, I know I don’t have to.” He let out a creepy chuckle. “But I want to do it, bitch. Now be quiet and lie spread them legs like a good little slut.”
Elena’s breath hitched in her throat.
She could not afford to let this happen to her, no matter what.
She would not let it happen.
As Gary struggled to get his jeans off, Elena struck, shooting to her feet and swinging her fist. It wasn’t until her knuckles connected with Gary’s groin with a sickening crunch. He doubled over, filling the alley with a howl like a wolf’s, and Elena heard voices rise in the distance, followed by rapid footsteps. Thinking quickly, she fled from the spot, darting past Gary, and made out of the alley, unlocking her car and wrenching it open. She slid into the driver seat and glanced into the rearview mirror just in time to see several men appear around the corner. Before they could reach the car, she slammed her foot on the accelerator and sped out of there like she was being chased by demons.
***
“He did what?”
“He – he tried to rape me,” Elena repeated, doing her best to keep her eyes on the road. The last thing she wanted was to crash into another vehicle or a streetlamp. But Justin sounded so livid over the phone, it was hard to concentrate on her present surroundings. She took a hard left, swerving just in time to avoid colliding into a startled pedestrian.
Justin was silent for a couple of seconds. Then he said, “Run that by me again. I want to hear the full story.”
Elena was already starting to wonder if telling him now had been such a good idea. Perhaps she should have called him after she was safe and sound at home. But, less than ten minutes after she’d darted into the car, she’d dialed him and told him what Gary had tried to do to her in the alley.
“Justin, I already told you what happened,” she told him. But she proceeded to give him yet another blow-by-blow account of the incident. By the time she was done, she could hear his harsh breathing over the phone. Under different circumstances, that would have been really sexy, but now it was downright terrifying.
There was another pause, a longer one this time. Then Justin said, “I’ll make sure that that man is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Nobody touches you and gets away with it.”
That didn’t sound like much, Elena thought as she rounded the corner. Gary deserved a lot worse than jail time. That sick bastard needed to be whipped within an inch of his life. Elena didn’t say anything, though. Whatever Justin’s verdict was, it was final, as long as it meant Gary would face the music.
Within minutes, she was at her home. She paid Kelsie and checked on Madison and was just making sure all the doors and windows were locked when a car pulled up in her driveway. She peeped out one of the front windows and spotted Justin climbing out of the vehicle, a grim expression on his face. When he caught sight of her stepping out of the house, he rushed forward and wrapped her in a hug.
“Are you alright?” he asked, releasing her.
Elena nodded, staring up at him. He looked tired. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I couldn’t stay at home and sleep knowing that the love of my life was in potential danger,” he told her. “I’m staying here with you tonight. Tomorrow, you and Madison are moving to my place.”
She gave him a wide-eyed look. “What? Why?”
“Because it’s not very safe for you here. That Gary person might decide to attack you again. From now on, you and your daughter are going to live with me.”
“But –”
“That is final.”
Elena stared at him for a couple of seconds. Then she stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his lips. Justin stiffened at first, then relaxed and pulled her closer to him. His hands began sliding up and down her body, feeling her curves. Their kiss deepened, and the temperature around them seemed to rise rapidly. They made their way into the house and upstairs into her bedroom, the world around them dissolving into nothing as they made love.
Afterwards, they lay entwined in the afterglow of their lovemaking. It fleetingly occurred to Elena that there was a chance that Madison had heard them from her bedroom, but she didn’t latch onto that thought. There was a more pressing issue on her mind, and it had absolutely nothing to do with what had happened tonight. Well, except the sex, of course.
“Now would be a perfect time to smoke a cigarette,” Justin said into the silence. Elena frowned and turned her head to look at him.
“What?” she said. “You smoke?”
He gave a chuckle. “Of course not. You know I don’t. I was making a joke.”
She rolled her eyes at him and gave him a playful smack on the chest. And then the thoughts returned.
So did the fear. Because she knew what the possible consequences of bringing up this topic were. There was a chance that things would go smoothly, but every time she tried to latch on to that possibility, Sod’s law made its way to the forefront of her mind. So much could go wrong. She could end up ruining her relationship with a single question.
She suddenly jerked into a sitting position. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
He sat up slowly. “Is it anything that can’t be discussed in the morning?”
“No, we need to talk now.”
She heard him heave a sigh, and then he said, “Okay. Shoot.”
“It’s about us.”
Even in the semi-darkness, she could sense him stiffen, and she knew that she had made him uncomfortable. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“No.” She almost smiled at him. “Do you want to get married?”
Justin gave a nervous laugh. “Should you really be asking that question right now?”
“What? You don’t want to marry me?” I knew I shouldn’t have asked this stupid question. Thanks a lot, Mom.
“No!” Her eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. “No, that’s not what I meant. What I mean to say is that it isn’t that I don’t want to marry you. I just – this is a surprise, you are asking all of a sudden.”
She tilted her head and looked at him. “Really?”
“Well, yeah!” A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. “Look, why don’t you give me some time to think about this? It’s all muddling. I promise I’ll give you an answer when I’m ready.”
“Okay.” That sounded fair.
She just wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stomach his answer.
Chapter 8
Queen Elsa, the Slut
The view from his office on the thirty-sixth floor of the Chin Enterprises HQ was not awesome. Not this afternoon, at least. Today, Justin had way too much on his mind to even register most details. He stood at the big window and stared out at the city below, but although his eyes saw, he just wasn’t really into sightseeing. There was too much on his
mind. Too much keeping him from being calm.
A lot – no, too much – had been going on recently. First, Elena nearly got raped by some chronic drunk customer of hers a couple of weeks ago. That had been especially horrifying. The moment Justin heard the news, it had taken every ounce of willpower in him to keep from hunting that man down and doing something he would most definitely regret later. At least now he had the guy thrown in jail. He’d be coming back out in the next fifty years, if he was lucky; Justin had made sure of that.
The second shocker had been much worse. The moment the word “marriage” left Elena’s mouth, Justin had nearly been struck into complete silence. It was odd that she would bring it up so suddenly – and right when they’d just had mind-blowing sex?
He remembered his promise to her and felt his stomach sink. What was he going to tell her? That he couldn’t marry her because he had issues with commitment? She’d dump him on the spot without giving him a chance to explain himself.
Come on, Justin, he told himself, leaving the window and pacing back and forth in front of his desk. You’ve been in a relationship with this woman for five good months already. You want to mess that up now?
But what was he supposed to tell her? That he was ready to marry her? That he was ready to officially become a part of her family? It didn’t sound like a bad thing, but for him, it was definitely a bad idea. And a terrible one, for that matter. He could practically see the red flags being waved at him. If they ever got married, there was no doubt things would turn out crappy. It would all end with Justin hurting Elena and making Madison cry. That was the last thing he wanted to happen. Besides that disgusting man called Gary leaving prison early, that is.
He was in a huge dilemma – even a blind man could see that. He had two options, and neither of them seemed totally promising or damning. If he agreed to marry Elena, he’d end up hurting her. If he didn’t, he’d end up hurting her. But then, he’d be doing her a favor by not marrying her. And there was no doubt that becoming her husband would be the best thing ever to happen to him.