I walk straight in, dump her and the towel on the bed before turning back around and walking straight back out the door. I flick the light on my way past and close the door behind me.
I have a moment where I want to pat myself on the back for a job well done, only that would make me an obnoxious ass, where I’m clearly just an ass.
I head down to my bedroom and I can’t help but feel bothered by the fact that she thinks I’m an ass. I mean, yeah, I have been, but only because she drives me up the wall. If she wasn’t so stubborn, I’d probably be the perfect neighbor. She just pulls this reaction out of me which half the time, surprises even me.
I pull my phone, keys, and wallet out of my pockets and dump them on my dresser. It’s been a long day and even longer night, all I want to do is crash, and hopefully have a major sleep-in tomorrow morning. Well, that is if the dreams stay at bay, but I doubt it.
I grab the hem of my shirt and tear it over my head before reaching for the button of my jeans.
I hear a gasp behind me and I curse myself for not closing the door. I know exactly what she’s seeing right now and I’m terrified of turning around and seeing her face. Nobody has seen me this way. It’s not pretty. It’s basically a road map of the torture I endured.
I turn around and watch as her eyes widen as she gets a look at the front. The scars are still an angry red and I can only imagine what it would look like to somebody who doesn’t know what happened, hell, seeing it for myself the first time was devastating.
Her eyes roam all over my body as I walk towards her. They grow watery and I can only imagine the things that are going through her mind. “What happened to you?” she whispers.
Her hand lifts and I have to stop myself from flinching.
I can’t handle this. I’m not ready for people to know just how bad it was.
I stand before her and without a word, I reach for the door and close it between us.
Chapter 9
Luke
The sun comes shining through my window and I squint into the light before running my hands down my face. It only takes me two seconds to realize I didn’t see Ben or Jonesy’s face during my dreams.
I let out a breath and roll over to grab my phone. I hit the home button and the screen lights up. “Holy shit,” I grunt to myself as I take in the time. It’s past midday.
I haven’t slept this well since before I left for Iraq.
With half the day wasted, I get up out of bed and head for the bathroom, after locking myself in my room last night, I skipped past the whole showering thing, so I could really use one about now.
Twenty minutes later, I step out of the bathroom feeling like a million bucks.
I don’t need to go into Rebels Advocate today, so I’ve got the day to do whatever the fuck I want, and after throwing all my time into the gym lately, my truck could use a little attention.
I’m nearly in the kitchen when I remember Lexi in my guest bedroom. I double back and gently knock on the door. “Lex?” I say as I wait by the door.
There’s no response, so I push the door open, only she’s not here. The bed is made and her towel is neatly piled on the dresser. I see a slip of paper sitting on top of the towel and curiously walk forward. I pinch the paper off the towel and can’t help but smirk as I read the note.
‘Thanks, asshole.’
I fold the note and find myself sliding it into my pocket. I don’t think any more about it before grabbing the towel, tossing it in the hamper, and heading into the kitchen. I grab a pot, put it on to boil, and say good morning to Gerald while I wait.
I make myself scrambled eggs on toast and head into the living room. I put my plate down and let Gerald out for a stretch while I eat and before I know it, I’m washing up my plate and grabbing my keys.
I head out the front and get everything I need to wash my truck when I hear the music coming from next door. I grin to myself and get on with washing my truck, only yelling cuts through the music and has the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. I look over to Lexi’s place and notice a beat up shit box across her lawn, well... across her mud patch, and can’t help but listen.
I don’t know how I didn’t notice the car when I first walked out. I’m usually a lot more switched on than that, but either way, I don’t like it.
I can’t make out what’s being said through the walls and the music, but I’d recognize Lexi’s high-pitched yell anywhere. After all, I’ve heard it too many times over the past week. The other voice though, it’s a low tone, as if it’s a man yelling at her.
The only man I’ve seen coming in and out of her place is her carpenter and I don’t think he has it in him to yell at her like that, from what I’ve gathered over the past few days, the old guy thinks the sun shines out of her ass.
The only other options are that it’s either a delivery driver of some sort, or it’s her husband… ex-husband. Though, I don’t know why her ex would be here. That was done years ago. I can’t help but wonder about this mystery ex-husband, but like she said, it’s none of my business.
I try my best to ignore the yelling, but the more it goes on the more I realize it couldn’t possibly be a delivery driver. It’s definitely her ex in there, which is one hell of an indicator that I won’t be saving her from this one. They clearly have some unresolved issues and the last thing I want to do is get myself involved in that crap.
The longer the yelling goes on, the worse it gets. The man seems relentless, but she doesn’t have an issue giving it right back to him. It gets louder and I try my best to concentrate on my truck. I actually do a pretty good job on my truck, right up until a pained cry comes from within the house.
I’m running and barging through the door before I even realize that I’ve done it.
I push through the door with such force, it slams against the adjoining wall and the handle leaves a hole in the drywall. I cringe and promise myself that I’ll fix it for her later.
Lexi startles as I step into the room, but my eyes aren’t for her right now, they’re focused on the man who smells as though he’s been at a run-down old bar for the past week.
Lexi’s eyes flick to me before she turns them back towards the man who stands before her. “I’m not going to tell you again,” she says to him. “You need to leave.”
“And I told you,” he slurs, making me realize he’s so drunk he hasn’t even noticed me barging my way into the room. “I’m not leaving without my money.”
“Ha,” she scoffs. “I don’t owe you a damn thing and all the courts would agree with me.”
“That’s bullshit,” he cries, taking a big step forward towards her.
She instantly steps back out of his reach, but it puts her right up against the wall, giving her nowhere to go if he were to step forward again. She holds her hands up in a sign that she’s done with the conversation. “Please, just go. I was done with you four years ago and I refuse to allow you to come in here and take away the life I’ve built for myself.”
“Baby,” he says, taking that last step to close the distance. “Don’t be like that. I’ve missed you.
She cringes as she turns her head away from him in disgust. Her eyes meet mine across the room and it’s almost as though she’s begging me to make it stop. She presses her hand against his chest and tries to push him away, only he doesn’t budge. “Go,” she says.
His hand flies up and he grabs her by the wrist before yanking her hard. Her body falls into his and she cries out by the pain pulsing through her wrist. She tries to pull away and I know from her blood condition that this would probably cause significant amounts of bruising.
I can’t stand back any longer. It’s not morally right.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” I demand. The man spins and looks at me as though I’ve just appeared out of thin air. “Let her go.”
“Who the fuck are you?” he demands as he shoves her arm back into her chest, making her flinch with the pain.
“That’s none of your godd
amn business,” I tell him.
“You fucking bet it is,” he spits. “She’s my wife. I have the right to know if some loser is trying to get his dick wet.”
“Jeremy,” Lex demands. “Get out of here.”
He turns on her. “I asked a fucking question,” he yells. “Who the fuck is this guy?”
“He’s my neighbor,” she yells back at him. “Now, get out.”
“So, what’s he doing here?”
“Probably wondering what the fuck is going on.” He goes to say something else, but Lex has decided she’s finally had enough. “Jeremy, get the fuck out of my house.”
“And I told you,” he starts, as he tries to go for her again.
I shake my head. This guy isn’t getting it. “For fuck’s sake, man,” I say stepping forward and reaching for him. I grab him by the back of his shirt and hoist him back away from her before physically placing him on my other side. “She asked you to leave. What aren’t you understanding?”
“She’s my fucking wife.”
“The way I heard it, you guys were over four years ago,” I remind him. “Get the fuck over it and get out before I have to make you leave.”
“Make me leave?” he scoffs as though there isn’t even a slight possibility that I could take him. I mean, the guy is a fucking twig. I could blow him down like the big bad wolf. “Fucking try it.”
“Look at yourself, man. I’m not going to fight you. You’re a fucking drunk and you’re pathetic. Who the fuck shows up at a woman’s house and harasses her like this?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I take a step towards him. “I know that it’s the middle of the day and you’re drunk.”
Another step.
He narrows his eyes on me.
“I know that the way you just grabbed her, she’s going to be seeing your mark for the next week.”
Another step.
He steps back.
“I know that you’re the kind of man who allows his marriage to fall apart.”
One more step.
His jaw sets as he takes another step back, placing him right outside the open doorway.
“And I know that you’re a coward. You’d prefer to come and take everything away from a woman who’s working her ass off, rather than man up and make a decent living for yourself.”
With that, I step through and close the door behind me so Lex remains safely inside while I deal with this fucker out here. “Now, like I said, you need to leave. Or would you rather take your chances with me?”
At that, he looks me up and down and must see the promise in my eyes. If it comes down to it, I’m not going to back down and I’m not a man who loses.
He takes a step back. “This isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is,” I tell him. “You come back here and I promise you, you’ll have me to deal with.”
He narrows his eyes on me one last time before turning and walking back to his shit box car. I know the moral thing to do would be to call a taxi as he’s simply in no state to drive, but he’s an adult and he’s not my problem. If he chooses to drive while under the influence of alcohol, then he can deal with the risks that come with that. Right now, my only priority is checking on Lex. Though, I guess there are other drivers on the road.
A moment before I step back through the door, I pull my phone out of my pocket and decide I should probably do the responsible thing. After all, those other drivers are entitled to some protection from this dickhead and if he had hurt one of them and I didn’t do anything, I’d feel like the worst kind of ass.
I text a friend that I used to serve with who now works as a cop a let him know there’s a drunk driver on the road. He replies with a thanks and I slide my phone back into my pocket.
I push back through the door to find her leaning up against the wall, rubbing her wrist as she watches her ex through the window. “You ok?” I ask as I look back through the window to watch the bastard attempt a burn out on the mud and spit it all over the front of Lexi’s house before slipping off the lawn and fishtailing down the road.
Her eyes swivel from the window to me for only a second before looking away. “Yeah, thanks,” she murmurs with a tight smile.
“No problem,” I tell her. “I had a feeling he wasn’t going to leave until someone made him.”
“Yeah,” she agrees before trying to make herself busy. She walks into the kitchen and starts running the water in the sink to do the dishes.
This would be my cue to leave, but once again, I find myself hovering. “So, what’s the deal?” I ask. “Has he ever been rough with you like that before?”
“I thought I told you it wasn’t your business,” she says with a little smirk as she looks down at the sink.
“Well, seeing as though I just threatened the guy, I just made it my business.”
She lets out a breath before looking up at me. She searches my eyes and presses her lips together. She must like what she sees as she dries her hands on the towel and gives in.
Lex walks around the front of the counter and pushes herself up on top of it. She crosses her legs and makes herself comfortable. “It’s not that exciting,” she warns me.
“Stop stalling, Lex,” I tell her.
She rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she grunts. “We were right out of high school when we decided to get married. Well, he decided and I was just along for the ride. I was stupid and stubborn. My father had always told me that we weren’t good together and well… when someone tells me I can’t do something, I tend to run in the opposite direction.”
“Yeah,” I grunt. “I’ve worked that out.”
She rolls her eyes and continues. “So, we were eighteen, had just got married, and I basically started resenting him straight away. Our life instantly became about bills, working, and him. Thinking about it now, I was probably way too young to have married, hell, I’m not even sure I was really in love with him. I missed out on being a wild teenager and I hated that I suddenly had all these responsibilities.”
“Anyway,” she says. “As the years went on, Jeremy discovered his love for drinking and it wasn’t long before he became a drunk. I’d sit at home every night by myself while he partied each night. There was nothing I could do to convince him to just spend one night at home with me, so I resented him more. He’d drain my bank account the second I was paid and we got further and further behind with the bills.”
“We eventually lost our home and I was ready to leave and start a new life when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Shit,” I murmur.
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I had a miscarriage at ten weeks. It was awful, but those ten weeks were enough to show me just how badly I had wanted it, so, when I lost the baby, I was ruined.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “That couldn’t be easy.”
“It wasn’t,” she admits with a sad smile. “I stayed with him after that,” she tells me. “I wanted to try for another one, but my hemophilia makes it hard. I had another two miscarriages after that.”
“Jesus,” I grunt, seeing the heartache in her eyes. “You don’t need to tell me the rest,” I say. “I can see it’s hard to talk about.”
“No, it’s alright,” she says. “I, um… my next pregnancy made it to fifteen weeks, which is just past the scary stage, so I could allow myself to get excited about it. Jeremy had come home, drunk as usual and I’d waited up for him because I’d felt the baby moving. I wanted to tell him. Anyway, we were walking up the stairs when he tripped. He fell right into me and I went down with him on top of me.”
“I lost the baby, and due to the internal bleeding, I nearly went right along with her.”
“Her?” I question.
She gives me a sad smile. “I don’t know,” she admits. “I always pictured her as a her.”
“I could see you with a little girl,” I tell her.
She nods her head. “I guess I’ll never know.”
“It’ll happen for you one day,” I
tell her.
“You think?” she questions.
At that, I nod my head. Unsure where this is all coming from, but seeing the look on her face as she talked about her lost baby girl, I couldn’t picture her without it. In that moment, there was nothing but complete joy on her face, followed by the most intense heartache.
This woman needs to have a baby. She craves it and I fear she’ll never be whole without it.
I step closer to her and reach out. I take her chin in my fingers and lift her eyes to meet mine. “Chin up, Lex,” I tell her. “It’ll happen.”
Hope starts to shine in her eyes. “I hope so,” she murmurs.
I give her a nod and take a step towards the door as I release my hold on her chin. “Let me know if he comes back,” I tell her.
“I will,” she says as I walk across to the door. “And thanks,” she adds. “You know, for letting me crash at your place last night. It was kind of nice being able to use a clean bathroom.”
“No problem,” I laugh. “You can use it anytime.”
With that, I duck out the door and get myself out of there before I find another reason to stay.
Chapter 10
Lexi
It’s been two days since Jeremy showed up here. Two days since my wrists have made me look like a victim. Two days since Luke came and saved the day, again. And two days since I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the little girl that I lost.
She was going to be my world. Had she been born, like she was supposed to, she would have been just shy of her fifth birthday. She would have been beautiful. I can just picture it, she’d have my golden hair, but her father’s loose ringlets with these big blue eyes that would have taken my breath away.
She would have stolen my heart.
I let out a sigh, as I dip my paintbrush back in the bucket. I usually really enjoy painting. I find it soothing and relaxing, but not today. My heart is still hurting from the influx of memories.
The second Jeremy walked in here, it was like being smacked in the face with the past. It’s not the first time he’s come to find me. He knows that what I’m doing now is making me a bit of money, so no matter how many times I send him the divorce paper papers, they always get returned to me with no signature.
Luke: Rebels Advocate (Book 3) Page 7