I watched her retreating figure for a moment with anxiety bubbling in my stomach, and Sebastian squeezed my hip.
“I’m not sure about this,” he said.
“Me either.” I took his hand and followed Annika.
Once we were inside, she disappeared into her room without a word. Sebastian grabbed his keys off the side table and gave me a quick kiss.
“I’m gonna go out. Go to the gym. Give you two some space.”
“Thank you.” I dragged him to me for a second goodbye kiss before he could disappear out the door.
“I got a bad feeling about this.” He jerked his head in the direction of Annika’s room. “She doesn’t seem okay.”
I sighed. “She’s not. But it’s not my place to tell her she can’t be here.”
“I get that. I just… I don’t know.” He squeezed my hand, leaned in for another kiss, and then closed the door behind him.
When I turned around, Annika was in the entry to the hallway with her bag slung over her shoulder. “I have to be on campus. I’m meeting with an academic advisor to look over my courses to figure out how I stay on track to graduate.”
“Before you go.” I pointed to the pepper spray and Taser on the side table. “Can I show you how these work? Maybe you should take one with you?”
Annika stared at me in silence and then dropped her bag. “He’s not going to come after me. He’d be dumb to do that.”
I picked up both items, letting their weight settle in the palm of my hand. “If there’s one thing I can say about Johnny, his only concern is him. If he thinks he can convince you to change your statement...”
“Show me.” She stepped forward.
I took her through what my dad had shown me and then let her get the feel for both herself. “Which one do you want to take with you?”
“Taser,” she said. “If he approaches me, I’ll get immense satisfaction in watching him writhe on the floor.”
“You can do that?” I didn’t make eye contact.
“Yeah.” She shoved the Taser in the front pocket of her bag. “You weren’t there. You don’t understand.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She snorted. “All I’ve done is talk about it.” Shaking her head, she put her bag on her shoulder. “You know what discussing it has taught me?”
I stared at her, not saying anything.
“None of what happened was my fault. Whenever I remember any of the episodes of abuse—any of them—I can’t figure out what I did wrong that other people wouldn’t have done.” She shrugs. “There’s only so much talking you can do when the answer is stupidly simple. I had too much faith in someone. That was my problem. I was too trusting, convinced he wasn’t the person he was showing me.”
“I wish—” But I wasn’t sure how to finish.
“Me too. So many things.” Annika gave me a small smile. “But I don’t want this event to ruin me. I said that to Clay the other night when we were talking. What happened with Johnny can’t set the tone for the rest of my life.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “I’m glad you’re figuring this out.”
“You know what was different that night? You know what I’ve realized made his rage worse?”
I shook my head.
“I fought back. He didn’t understand I was just starting. I’m going to keep fighting, forever.” Tears pooled in her dark eyes, and she turned away from me.
I hugged her from behind. “I love you, Annika, and I’m proud of you. You’ll get there.”
She squeezed my hands and sniffed before releasing me. “I’ll be home later. I have the Taser.”
“Hopefully you don’t need it.” I walked with her to the door.
“Thanks.” She gave me a half hug before heading out. She walked down the path to her car in the parking lot, and then I closed the door, flipping the lock.
After consulting the clock on the wall, I realized I had a while before Sebastian returned. He’d been spending hours in the gym as off-season conditioning for football. I grabbed my laptop out of my bag and set it up at the kitchen table, my back to the front door.
Unable to resist, I searched for any recent articles on Johnny’s arrest. The headlines bothered me. Almost every single one led with “Star Football Player” or “Quarterback Prodigy” and then followed with his crimes. I’d never understand why his ability to throw a football trumped his incapacity to be a decent human being.
When the front door rattled, I checked the time. Annika had been gone an hour, and Sebastian would be at the gym for at least two hours. Frowning, I twisted toward the entrance. Annika’s meeting was quick.
The door popped open, and when I saw who was there, I stood so quickly my chair clattered to the ground. “You shouldn’t be here.”
In the doorway, with the spare key in his hand, was Johnny. “I’m looking for Annika.”
Panic gripped my chest. How did we forget about the spare key outside? So stupid. The pepper spray sat on the side table, closer to him than to me.
Oh, God.
“Most people knock, call ahead, or, when they’re accused of raping and beating someone, don’t show up at all.” The words tumbled out of my mouth. Being calm and quiet was a skill I hadn’t mastered.
He closed the door behind him. “I want to talk to her. Where is she? I heard she was coming back today.”
“Why would you need to talk to her?” My brain searched for a way to grab the pepper spray or run to my phone in my room. Why had I left it so far away?
“Her memory of that night is… Well, it’s wrong. She can’t torpedo my life like this.”
“She’s not the one doing that.” I slid a pen off the table beside me. How hard would I have to stab him for it to be useful?
“You’re right about that.” Johnny came closer. “I don’t blame Annika. I blame you. If you hadn’t kept pushing, she’d have been fine with our arrangement.”
“The one where you did whatever you wanted to her or with others and she took it without complaint?” I gripped the pen harder.
He grinned, his dimple on full display. His face had been on the front of countless newspapers. Touted to be a first-round draft pick, strong GPA, a wealthy family, and looks to kill—his arrest baffled people. He was candy for the tabloids.
“Our relationship worked fine. Your snide comments, and Sebastian giving in to your irrational demands were the problem. I mean, why?” He examined me. “It’s not your personality or your appearance. So, you must be awfully skilled in other areas.”
Bile rose in my throat. “You’ll never find out.” I stared him down.
Casually, he swiped the pepper spray off the side table and moved forward. “Is that so?”
He wouldn’t touch me without a hell of a fight on his hands. My grip on the pen was so tight my sweat would cause it to slip when I needed it the most. I forced myself to relax and focus, pretend like this was a kickboxing match. I could do this. I scanned our townhouse layout, trying to figure out where to go, what to do.
“Your dad give you this?” Johnny waggled it in his hand. “Where is he now? Or Sebastian? Or Clay? Or Troy?” He smirked. “It’s just you and me, Nattie.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
I stepped to the side of the kitchen table. He could pin me against it or on it. There was still hope he was too dumb to use the pepper spray. Maybe he’d stay too far away for it to work well.
“You don’t want to touch me. Any of them will come after you, laws or no laws.” If I could get past him and dash along the hall, I might be able to reach my room and lock the door before he got there. Or I could race to the kitchen and grab a knife from the block on the counter.
“I’m going to lose everything anyway,” he said. “Might as well go out swinging.”
“You don’t know that.” I tried to keep the edge of desperation out of my voice. I needed to make a decision soon—kitchen or bedroom. “You could get off. If you hurt me, you’ll have no chance.”
> When he glanced at me, his blue eyes were hollow. “She remembers. Who in their right mind won’t believe her?”
“You could get help. Take a plea. A shorter sentence.” I threw out ideas.
Johnny shook his head. “There’s no plea for me. Jail kills my career. There’s football or there’s nothing.”
When he stepped forward again, I sprinted to the hallway, running to my bedroom. Behind me, Johnny chuckled.
“The thrill of the chase,” he called out, laughing. “At least you’ll make this interesting.”
My heart raced, painful in my chest. I hit the door with my shoulder to get in faster. As it sprung open, Johnny grabbed me, yanking me back.
Closing my eyes, I let my self-defense and kickboxing classes take over. I brought my heel down on the top of his foot hard, twisted and elbowed him in the side at the same time.
His grip slackened, and I surged forward into my room. Throwing my weight against the door, I didn’t have a chance to get it locked. He pushed back, his shoulder against the wood. He’d had far more practice at this than I had. While he put pressure on the door, his arm came around, spraying. I ducked my head, and the pepper shot across the room, missing me.
I was glad for my bare feet, which were gripping well on the hardwood floor, but I wasn’t sure how long I could sustain the pressure. My phone mocked me on the nightstand. Letting go would mean I wouldn’t get to it, but if I kept up this losing game, I was a goner anyway. Either way, I was screwed.
“You don’t want to do this.” I leaned harder, digging my feet into the floorboards.
“I’ve wanted to do this for months.” His voice was hard. “Now, I have no reason not to.” He eased the pressure on his side, throwing me off balance. I stumbled. He slammed the door with a blast of power, knocking me off my feet, and sending me sprawling across the floor.
He stalked toward me, and I crab crawled backward, searching for some distance so I could stand up, scanning for anything I could use as a weapon. Somewhere, I’d dropped the pen.
In the corner, one of Sebastian’s helmets sat. I lunged for it, and Johnny snagged my foot. Using my momentum, I swung around, trying to smash the helmet into Johnny’s head. I hit him, but only in the shoulder.
He chuckled and sprayed me square in the face. My eyes lit up, and everything went black. Through a haze of pain, I was aware of him tugging at my clothes. I tried to keep moving, squirming, kicking, anything I could do while my eyes burned. Touching my eyes would make the burning worse, but I wanted to press the heels of my hands into them.
Twisting and grunting, I scratched at him. Any part of his body near my face, I tried to snap, bite, wound.
“Nat!” Annika called from the front door. “I’m back!”
Johnny stilled over me.
“Annika!” I screamed while squirming underneath him. “Get out of here! Johnny’s here!”
He rose off me, and his footsteps retreated. I prayed he didn’t take the pepper spray with him.
Crawling on my hands and knees, I tried to make my way to the door. My eyes hurt so much. They wouldn’t open.
“Anni,” Johnny said, his voice calm. “I was hoping we could chat.”
“Where’s Natalie?” Her voice was full of tension.
“In her room, I think. I’m not sure. I was waiting for you.”
“Annika, he has the pepper spray,” I called. Hopefully, he wasn’t close enough to use it. If we were lucky, he left it in here somewhere.
“I don’t have the pepper spray.” I pictured him holding up his hands.
“Good,” Annika said.
The sharp staccato of the Taser as it made contact with Johnny filled the silence. His body thumped to the ground, and his deep groans reached my ears as I stumbled toward the doorway.
“Call 911,” I said to Annika. “I can’t see. My eyes…” I trailed off.
The sharp staccato sounded again.
“Annika, are you okay?”
“You bet,” she said. “Johnny’s body parts might be burnt. I want to do it again and again.”
His groans filled the hallway, and Annika’s footsteps approached me. The beep-beep-beep of her phone hit my ears before she crouched beside me.
Thank God, she’s calling 911.
“Hi, yes, we have an intruder, an armed break-in in progress.” Annika helped me stand while rattling off our address.
“Grab the pepper spray,” I said, bracing myself against the door. “The Taser might not keep him down.”
She raced into the room, footsteps brisk across the floor, while talking to the 911 operator. “Got it.” She took my arm and led us down the hall.
“We need to get out of here.” I groped for her in the darkness.
She latched onto me and guided us around Johnny, who was groaning and banging his heels. I understood his pain but had no sympathy.
I stumbled a few times on the way out the door, and I was glad for Annika’s tight grip, even if her guidance was terrible.
In the distance, sirens blared.
“Are you okay?” Her voice was unsteady.
“Other than wanting to rip my eyes out of my head, I’m okay.” I clutched her arm. Judging by the route we’d walked, we should be standing in the parking lot. “I’m not sure I would have been if you hadn’t come home when you did.”
She squeezed me tighter. “I know it’s not my fault. But I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I brought him into our lives.”
“His choices aren’t yours to apologize for. I mean that. He can’t stand losing on or off the field.”
She hugged me and nodded against my shoulder as a police car pulled up, sirens blaring, followed by another set of sirens, identical to the first.
“Ms. Babu?”
“Officer Bradley,” Annika said, relief in her voice. “Johnny. Johnny’s in the house. He—he attacked Natalie.” Her hands gripping my arm shook.
“He’s armed?” The snap of his gun being released was loud to my ears.
“Maybe a Taser or pepper spray.” Annika turned away from me.
His footsteps raced up the path, along with another set from an officer who hadn’t spoken. I missed being able to see. With some hesitation, I tried to open them. The sun was too bright, and I had to close them again.
“Nattie?”
Sebastian’s voice caused me to whip my head in his direction. “Sebastian?” His name caught on a sob.
“Oh, Lord, Nattie. What happened?”
In a heartbeat, his arms came around me. He prodded my face.
“I don’t know if you should touch it. It’s pepper spray.” My voice wavered with unshed tears.
“How’d that happen?”
“Johnny,” I whispered.
With that, the officers pounded along the path. Chancing a look, I squinted in their direction and could make out the three forms. Sebastian blocked me from Johnny with his body.
“I told you to stay the hell away from her.” His rage was palpable.
Johnny scoffed. “She ruined my life. I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.”
“Nah, man. You ruined your life. My girl smelled your rotten soul before the rest of us.” Sebastian held me tight against his side. “You’re not worth anyone’s time anymore. You’re done.”
We watched them stuff Johnny into the rear of the police car.
I squeezed Sebastian tight. “I have to call my dad. My eyes hurt so much.”
“I’ll call your dad to tell him what happened,” Annika said. “I searched pepper spray treatment. Soapy water. Maybe use the dish soap? Isn’t it supposed to clean oil spills off animals?”
“Are you okay?” With my head pressed to Sebastian’s shoulder, I couldn’t see her face in enough detail to be sure.
“I want this to be over. I’m so tired.” Annika tucked her phone against her ear.
“Can someone tell me how the hell this happened?” Sebastian swept me up into his arms.
“I can walk,” I protested.
“You were attacked and pepper sprayed. I’m gonna take care of you. If I’d gotten here before the cops, I would’ve killed him.”
I wanted to press my face into the hollow of his neck, but I didn’t want pepper spray on him. “Annika saved me,” I said. “She saved us.”
Epilogue
I took the photo from Sebastian and placed it on the mantle. “I think it should go there.” We’d moved into our apartment two weeks ago, and we were still unpacking boxes. Sebastian’s stuff might fit into the rear of an SUV, but mine had taken a couple of trucks. Finding a place for each of my things was starting to make me feel guilty.
“I don’t need my family picture on the mantle.” He shook his head and snatched it back. “A spare room or back in the box…or anywhere but there.”
“But my stuff is everywhere. You’ll make me seem like a space hog.”
“I’m glad your stuff is everywhere. It makes me happy every time I realize we’re doing this.”
I grabbed his shirt and yanked him closer. “So, roomie, when is practice?”
“You haven’t memorized my schedule?” He feigned hurt and kissed me.
“Well, the new coach set up a different routine. I learned the last one under protest.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again, deeper.
When we broke apart, he said, “I’m glad Annika has Kristy. I would’ve felt bad moving in together otherwise.”
“It all worked out.”
Sebastian frowned. “Johnny’s sentence still pisses me off.”
I shrugged and grimaced. At the closest box, I grabbed more things for our shelves. “He got lucky with his judge. A good old boy who still believes sports figures are gods. Someone who figures a coach can make a player do something he doesn’t want to do.”
“We’ve talked about it before, but anyone who heard Annika’s testimony and didn’t crucify him—”
“I know.” I shook my head. “Trust me, I know.”
“Out in six months,” Sebastian said.
We’d gone to the courtroom every day in solidarity for Annika. He’d pleaded down his assault on me to a misdemeanor. He’d had a spare key, and I hadn’t been seriously injured. Mentioning the plea only sent Sebastian into a ranting tailspin. I hoped the two of them never met in a dark alley.
Saving Us: A novel of love and friendship (Northern University Book 1) Page 30