by M. E. Carter
“Well, I have never been treated so poorly in my life,” mom says, using a carefully calculated tone. “You better believe I’ll be speaking with your boss.”
“You mean my live-in boyfriend?” Kiersten sneers. “Don’t worry. I’ll be talking to him first since he helped me pick up the pieces last time you let that monster hurt her.”
Mom stands abruptly and smooths down her clothing, head held high. “I am so disappointed. In the both of you.” She says that last part holding my gaze and I know in that moment, my relationship with my mother is officially over.
They both turn, but not before Jeremy is able to make eye contact one final time, ensuring I know this isn’t over. Then I watch their backs as they head out the door.
It’s only when it latches shut that I lose my ability to stand up. The corkscrew clatters to the floor and I slide down the wall, landing on my rear. I can hear my gasps of breath as I try to get some oxygen in my lungs. It doesn’t seem to be working.
Jeremy is back.
Jeremy is back.
Jeremy is never going to leave me alone.
Kiersten is immediately at my side. “Nicole. I got you. They’re gone. Can you breathe with me?”
I shake my head, eyes wide with terror.
“Yes, you can. Follow me. Breathe in, two, three, four… hold, two, three, four… breathe out, two, three, four… hold, two, three, four.”
We do the breathing sequence my therapist taught me a few times and I finally feel like I’m getting some oxygen again.
Kade slides behind the bar and squats down, joining us. “That was him wasn’t it?”
Kiersten nods but keeps her eyes on me. “Yep. Can you please call Paul? Tell him it’s an emergency. He can just bring Carson and we’ll figure that part out when they get here.”
I grab my sister’s hand and squeeze tightly, hoping her touch will anchor me to myself. I feel like I’m floating or having some sort of out of body experience. This can’t be real. But it is.
“Kiersten.” My words come out slow and quiet. “What do I do?”
She cups my cheek in her hand, making eye contact with me. It helps more than I expect it to—just to know she’s right here with me. “Nothing. You wait until Paul gets here, okay? We’ll figure this out. Just breathe.”
Tucker’s head pops over the counter. His eyebrows shoot up as he takes in the scene. I’m sure we look like a mess back here—me sitting on the floor trying not to pass out and Kiersten squatting next to me keeping me grounded.
For whatever reason, I suddenly decide I need to wait on my customer. It’s like my brain is trying to find any bit of normal it can, so it goes on autopilot. As I try to stand, though, Kiersten pushes me back down to the floor.
“No. Stay sitting.”
“But Tucker needs something,” I argue flatly, unsure why it suddenly seems important to get back to work. “I need to… to… um, drink or something.”
“They’ll be fine without drinks for a bit, okay?”
I nod, still not completely sure I’m grasping the reality of the situation, but my legs are too wobbly to stand anyway.
Jeremy is back.
He came for me.
He’s never going to leave me alone.
“Are you guys okay?” Tucker asks, concern written all over his face. “Who was that?”
“That,” Kiersten says, her tone full of venom, “was her ex-boyfriend. The one who used to beat her. If you happen to see him walk into the bar again, feel free to kick him out. Or punch him out. Whatever.”
I know that making him leave won’t work though. I know it deep down.
Jeremy is back. He’s never going to leave me alone. And I have no idea how I’m ever going to be okay again.
Chapter Eight
Kade
I’m working triple-duty now but the customers don’t seem to mind. They may not have understood what exactly was happening, but they knew just by looking at Nicole and Kiersten that something bad was going down. It completely changed the laid-back vibe we had going.
Several people left shortly after the asshole ex did. The rest are uncharacteristically quiet and not giving me any shit for how long it’s taking me to do the job of three people. Even Dwayne put away the pool cue for the night and is quietly chatting with another regular.
I, on the other hand, am still trying to calm down. When I saw that asshole’s face, I wanted to punch him for every time he laid a hand on Nicole. I didn’t. That’s just not me. But if I was a bigger man, I would have beat him to a pulp and called it justice for her. Even now, I’m still seeing red. It makes it hard to concentrate on mixing drinks. Thank God almost everyone here is a beer drinker.
The door opens and I’m unsurprised when Heath and Jaxon walk in. They make a beeline straight for me. Heath doesn’t even say hello before the questions start.
“What happened?”
“Her mom and ex-boyfriend showed up.”
“Together?”
“Yep.”
“Holy shit.” Heath rubs his hand down his face. He’s pissed. The anger is written all over him.
“It was rough,” I continue giving more detail than is probably necessary but I need to get some of this out before I explode. “I’m surprised she stayed upright as long as she did. I’ve never seen that look on her face before. She was terrified.”
“What happens now?” Jaxon slides onto the stool. Heath, on the other hand, is still pacing.
“I don’t know. Paul is here and they’ve been holed up in the office ever since.”
“I’ll be right back.” Heath heads to the back, presumably to find out what he can do to help. He’s good like that.
Jaxon on the other hand stays put, drumming his fingers on the bar.
Sliding out from behind the counter, I grab the tray full of booze. “I’ll be right back to get your drink.”
He raises a hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just here for moral support.”
The first stop I make is to Tucker Hayes to deliver his IPA. Tucker is a relative newcomer but he’s a nice guy, good tipper, maybe a little too flirty with Nicole but it goes with the job. As soon as I set it down in front of him, he stops whatever conversation he’s having with his teammates and turns to me.
“I don’t know what all happened, but when you see Nicole, let her know I have a bunch of guys at my disposal who would love nothing more than to track this guy down and show him what it feels like to be beaten on by someone bigger than you.”
I almost want to laugh at how ridiculous he sounds, but to be honest, I want to give him the greenlight myself. I also want to know why he’s so worried. He’s new. He wasn’t here when it happened. So why does it seem like he has a vested interest in making this right for Nicole?
I don’t really want to know the answer to that and I’m a little bit exhausted from the last conflict to have any more today. “Sounds good, man. I’ll let her know.”
He gives me one solid nod and turns back to his friends.
Making my way around the room, I continue to field multiple questions about how Nicole is doing and what can be done to help her out, although none have quite the same violent solution as Tucker does. I give the same answer I’ve been using since the first time I made rounds without Nicole and Kiersten here—“She’s hanging in there. We’ll let you know if there’s anything you can do.” I don’t know how true my answer is but I don’t know what else to say either. I assume “She’s terrified so if you can bring his head back on a platter, that would be helpful” is not the way to go. Besides, seems like Tucker has that covered anyway.
Once everything is delivered and everyone seems satisfied with their drinks, I go right back to work at the bar.
“Sorry about that.” I store the tray out of the way but close enough to still load it up as I need to. Hopefully, I have a few minutes to talk to Jaxon. “Do you know what you want?”
“Just a longneck is good.”
The request is easy enough and
I’m thankful it gives me a bit of a reprieve from the pace I’ve been keeping for the last hour or so.
I place the drink in front of Jax and he immediately takes a long swig, then puts it down and asks the question I wasn’t expecting. “How are you holding up?”
“Me?” I furrow my brow in confusion. “I’m fine. It wasn’t my ex-boyfriend.”
“That’s not what I mean. You just watched the girl you love have the worst shock of her life.”
I scoff and grab a clean towel to begin wiping off the bar, but Jaxon keeps talking.
“Before you deny anything, I’ve been there. You don’t know how Annika and I met but it was literally the worst night of her life. I’m not even exaggerating a little bit. It sucked and was gut-wrenching being there and watching how hard she worked to heal. So, I’m asking again, how are you holding up?”
I stop wiping and take a deep breath. “I’m angry,” I say quietly.
“Understandable.”
“He’s big, man.”
Jaxon glances up from his beer. “Bigger than Heath?”
That makes me smirk. “No one is bigger than Heath.”
“Then this asshole isn’t big enough to get through the entire Steer football team is he?”
I shake my head, hoping Jaxon is saying what I think he’s saying. “No way.”
“That’s good. Because I have a feeling there’s about to be some rotating patrons who spend their off nights here, drinking water.”
“That’ll really help, but what about when the bar is closed?” I sigh deeply, thinking about the shit show this is and the logistics of making sure Nicole is protected all the time. It’s not my responsibility but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be part of the solution. “She still lives here, which means he knows where her apartment is. I know Paul has that place locked up with all kinds of security, but it still makes me nervous.”
“Well, what can you do about it?” he asks, as if I haven’t been wondering that same thing all night.
“I don’t know. I want to move in or…or take her home with me so I know she’s safe and he doesn’t know where she is.” I can hear the frantic hysteria in my voice. This is why I didn’t want to talk about it and how I’m feeling. I’m feeling too much and I’m not sure what to do with it. I get back to wiping, my hands moving at a frantic pace.
“So why don’t you?”
“Don’t I what?”
“Take her home with you.” He says it slowly like I’m missing the very obvious point. But I think he’s missing the fact that we don’t know each other that well.
“What? She wouldn’t go for that.”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
I toss the towel on the counter and cross my arms. “Because I’m not an athlete and would have gotten pummeled if he’d thrown a punch tonight.”
“Wait.” Jaxon rears back. “Did you get in between them?”
He says it like it’s some big gesture. As if he wouldn’t have done the same thing. “She looked really scared. He didn’t need to be looking at her and making her nervous. I just got in his line of sight.”
A low whistle sounds from between his teeth. I narrow my eyes, not sure what conclusion he’s come to.
“What?”
Pointing at me, he huffs a laugh. “You, my friend, have it bad. Even worse than I thought.”
I roll my eyes and grab the towel again. “And here we go.”
“Nope. Not again. This is new.” He slides off the stool. “I’ll be right back.”
Confused, I watch as Jaxon walks right to the office and goes in without knocking.
“What the fuck is going on around here?” I mutter to myself but take the reprieve to check on all the tables again. When I’m confident everyone is still happy, I go back to my hiding spot behind the bar and keep busy with menial tasks. Just in time for Jaxon to return with Heath in tow.
Jaxon gestures to me. “Come to the back office.”
“Um, I can’t leave the bar unattended.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he reassures, or tries to anyway. “Just come on.”
“This is my job Jaxon,” I say firmly. “I can’t just leave. I’m the only one still here.”
Heath cuts off our conversation when he puts his lips between his teeth and lets out a shrill whistle. The entire bar goes quiet.
“Hey, y’all. We have an urgent bar issue happening right now so I’m going to take over pouring drinks for a while. I’ve got…” he turns to look on the shelf behind me, “whiskey and whatever the hell is on tap. Those are your choices and you have to come ask for it because I’m not waiting on your sorry asses until this issue is resolved. Can you guys deal with that?”
There’s a low rumble from the crowd, most everyone shrugging their shoulders and getting back to their conversations.
“Problem solved,” Jaxon says. “Now come with me.”
Heath and I trade places and I follow Jaxon into the back office, not sure if I’m about to get fired for that random changing of the guard, but I go with it. Call it curiosity and a strong need to make sure Nicole isn’t still panicking.
The room feels tense, probably because Paul is pacing and looks like he wants to punch something. Kiersten is obviously still pissed. And Nicole is sitting on the couch, eyes blank like she’s still in shock, rocking her nephew who is sound asleep on her lap. But her breathing is steady now, so that’s good news.
When Paul finally notices me, his steps stop. “What’s up. Everything okay out there?”
“Yeah,” I answer, knowing he really doesn’t care. His mind is on other more important things. “It’s fine.”
Jaxon immediately cuts in and gets to the point. “Kade has an idea and I think it’s worth hearing him out.”
I turn to look at him because, I do?
Oh right, I do.
I clench my hands into fists a couple of times to quell my nerves. One look at Nicole’s face, though, and the anger surges again and I want to help this beautiful woman however I can.
“I was just thinking about how you live here. At the bar. And now that shithead knows where to find you. I don’t like the idea of you being alone so I’m offering up the spare bedroom at my place. My roommate hasn’t moved in yet, something about living with his girlfriend for a while, I don’t know, I wasn’t paying that much attention. But anyway, the room is free if you need it and it already has a bed and stuff.”
Realizing I’m rambling, I stop abruptly.
Nicole gives me a small smile and I know Jaxon was right. This is the right thing to do. A way that I can protect her without getting either of us hurt in the process. I like this idea a lot better than trying to beat up anyone.
Paul turns tail and walks over to Nicole. “He’s right. You can’t stay here. You need to move in with us.”
I deflate a little. I know I’m not family but it took a lot of courage for me to offer her a place to stay. I should know better than to get my hopes up.
“I’m not moving in with you Paul,” Nicole says quietly as she strokes Carson’s hair. “The offer is appreciated but we’ve had this conversation a hundred times and my answer hasn’t changed.”
“The hell it hasn’t,” Paul roars and Kiersten immediately shushes him. “That douchebag criminal wasn’t in town before.”
“I know. But I can’t let that douchebag criminal rearrange my life. I don’t want to let him control me anymore. I’m staying here. Kade,” she says turning back to me. “That was so nice of you. Like, the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Pride fills my chest at her words. My offer may not have had the outcome I preferred, but I at least like her knowing she can come to me if she needs to.
“Ahem,” Paul interjects making Nicole roll her eyes.
“The nicest thing by someone who isn’t family or an overbearing alpha half the time.”
I’m not sure if being alpha is a good or bad thing right now. From the look on Paul’s face, I’m not sure if he does
either.
“Truly,” she continues, staring right at me. “I’ll be okay.”
“I just don’t want you to be afraid,” I admit in this room full of people who I’d rather not know my true feelings, but there it is.
“I don’t either.” Nicole shifts her nephew a bit and resettles. “But I have to do this. I can’t let him manipulate me, or any of us, just by walking in here. That’s what he wants.”
“Fuck,” Paul mutters with a huff. He’s obviously unhappy that Nicole would rather stay and fight than run and hide. I don’t like it much either, but I get it. I understand that she doesn’t want to take back all the progress she’s made and I respect that.
“Okay,” I finally say. “I get it. But just know, the offer is still open if you change your mind.”
The smile she gives me is the first one I’ve seen since the ex-douche showed up. It gives me hope that she really is going to be okay and that’s all I can really ask for.
“You’ll be the first to know.”
“Really?” Paul complains loudly.
“After Paul,” she corrects with an amused grin that almost forces me to smile right back at her.
“Okay, well I’m gonna head back out there then.” I gesture over my shoulder at the door. “Never know what’s happening with Heath in charge.”
“Jesus Christ,” Paul grumbles. “What the hell is happening around here.”
I suppress my chuckle as I get back to work. I’m still worried, but I feel better now. This is going to be difficult to power through, but at least Nicole seems up to the challenge. Even if Paul isn’t.
Chapter Nine
Nicole
“Is that good enough Paul?” I yell through the door. “Did you hear the locks click and the alarm go on?”
“I didn’t hear the chain yet,” he yells back.
“Well, it’s on.”
“I didn’t hear it. Do it again.”
I sigh and roll my eyes but comply for his peace of mind. It’s the least I can do considering how upset he is. I love that about him. He really is like the big brother I never had, all the way down to how overbearing he can be.
“I heard it that time,” he hollers again. “You sure you’re staying here?”