Sucker Punched (Resilient Hearts Series Book One 1)

by Owen, L

  “Hi Caitlin. I’m Diane, and I’ll be looking after you. How are you feeling?

  “I’m not really sure.”

  “That’s normal after what you have been through. Your injuries are minor, and your vitals are strong. Now that you’re awake and alert, we’ll monitor you a bit longer,” she says with a friendly smile. “A doctor will be here in a couple of hours, and if he gives you the all-clear, you’ll be free to go home. You should have someone to stay with you until you’re feeling more yourself, and be aware, it can sometimes take a while.”

  “What do you mean I’m not badly injured? Wasn’t I slipped a drug and brought here?”

  “You were attacked, but fortunately you came away with only a few scratches and bruises. You’re very lucky from the sounds of it. It could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for your boyfriend stopping the guy. He was frantic when he brought you here.”

  Boyfriend? “You mean Ethan?”

  “Yes, the young man who’s been by your side the entire time, the good looking one. Ah, if only I were younger.” She laughs and gives me a wink.

  Ethan saved me? Why didn’t he say that? He’s saved me twice in one night! Stephen was always an evil aggressor, and I stayed with him for years. Ethan rescues me, and I push him away. What the hell is wrong with me and my awful sense of judgment?

  The simple thought I can’t ignore is that Ethan makes me feel again. For so long I’ve turned away from feelings because they hurt far too much. But not all feelings are bad, and I never gave Ethan a fair shot to prove he wouldn’t be like Stephen and hurt me some day. Sure, there was Nicola the bitch, but I encouraged that. Oh, my gosh! Why would I encourage that?

  The nurse leaves, but I remain still and try to get my jumbled up brain firing on all cylinders again. I suddenly become so emotional that silent tears stream down my face. Someone enters my room, but I don’t move or make a sound.

  “Caitlin, I’m back. I’ve phoned Kiaya, and she’s going to come see you once you’re released.” He’s now noticed my tear-streaked face and starts to sound worried. “Caitlin?” I’m scooped up and snuggled on his lap. Sobs wrack my body, but he remains quiet. We sit for a long time wrapped up in each other. The recent events have tipped my already frayed emotions over the edge. They’ve been slowly accumulating the last two years, and now I feel broken. My tears dry up eventually, but Ethan still holds me firm. I’m not sure how long we’ve been locked like this, but I’m not ready to let go of him yet.

  “Caitlin, you’re worrying me. Are you okay?” My head is against his chest as I nod.

  “You saved me from Clay twice, didn’t you?” I whisper.

  “Yes.”

  That one simple word means everything, and it’s all he has to say. I wrap my arms tighter around his middle, and his only response is to do the same.

  ***

  I’m seated in Ethan’s truck, my head still in a muddle while he drives me home. The doctor checked me over and gave the all clear once I begrudgingly agreed to move from the safety of Ethan’s arms.

  Ethan tells me the police have spoken to him, and Clay is in custody. He explains Clay had warrants out for his arrest, so he’ll be imprisoned regardless of the charges that come from his assault on me. They will want to talk to me, but I don’t know what I can add to what Ethan and Kiaya have told them. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

  Ethan’s been holding my hand, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of mine the whole journey home. I need this connection right now, and I find myself grateful and happy he agreed to stay with me the rest of the day.

  When we arrive at my apartment, I get embarrassed. From what I remember, his place is modern and really nice. Mine looks like an old person’s home. I normally wouldn’t care what people think, but I want to impress Ethan. I care what he thinks of me because I like him, really like him. This fact scares the crap out of me, but I decide here and now I will not push against it. I’ll see where this takes us. After parking, we get out, and he leads me to my apartment door. My hands are shaking, so I pass my keys to Ethan. The noise must’ve alerted Grace that I’m home, as she opens her door.

  “Caitlin, is that you?”

  “Hi, Grace. Yes, it’s me; don’t worry,” I say.

  “I’m so relived. I was beginning to worry. It’s nearly lunchtime, and I didn’t hear you come home last night.” She steps into the hall and notices I’m standing with Ethan.

  “Oh!” She looks shocked, glancing from me to him.

  “Hello, I’m Ethan, a friend of Caitlin’s.” Stepping forward he shakes her hand, making Grace giggle.

  “What a nice young man, making sure you get home okay,” she says to me.

  I laugh. “Yes, he’s just wonderful.” I can’t help but roll my eyes. So typical. He says a few words, and she’s succumbed to his charms.

  Ethan smiles while opening my door. “Caitlin, you need to rest.”

  Grace’s face reddens. “I’ll leave you to it then. Goodbye.” She walks into her apartment, shutting the door.

  Looking up at Ethan, I hiss out, “Well great, now she thinks I need rest because we’ve been up all night having sex!”

  Ethan laughs, still holding open the door. “That would have been a nicer way to spend last night. Relax. I doubt that’s what she’s thinking. Come on, in you go.”

  “I really need a shower. Help yourself to some food and drink if you like.” I say, as I step inside.

  “Okay. Look, I promise I won’t come in the bathroom, so please don’t lock the door. You still seem a bit shaky on your feet, and I want to get to you if need be.”

  “Promise you won’t come in?” He’s seen me naked, but the attack has left me feeling self-conscious for some reason.

  He laughs. “Yes, just don’t fall. How about I make us some lunch? You must be hungry.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” I say.

  “I know. I want to do it.” He shrugs.

  “Okay then, thanks. I’ll have some tea and a sandwich. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

  He lightly kisses the top of my head. “Go have your shower. I’ll see you shortly.”

  The warm water feels amazing as it cascades over my aching body and slowly relaxes my tender muscles. Knowing just an unlocked door is between me and Ethan, I’m excited and scared all at the same time. I rush the rest of my shower and get dressed in some shorts and an oversized t-shirt. After towel drying my hair and brushing it through, I make my way to the kitchen. Ethan’s standing at the counter, plating up our food.

  As I enter, he turns towards me and smiles. “Hey, you done? Come sit down and eat with me.”

  Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, I sit down on the only other chair at the table. I take a huge bite of my sandwich, and it tastes so good I moan. Ethan gives a confident, sexy smirk. “How are you feeling after everything?”

  Sighing, I turn away from him. “I’m okay, I guess.”

  He places a finger under my chin, and turns me to face him. “Hey, look at me,” he says.

  “No, I’m okay.” I try to turn away again as a stray tear slips from my eye.

  “Hey,” he says a little louder as he wipes the traitorous tear from my cheek. I shut my eyes.

  “I’m okay, Ethan,” I repeat, looking down at my food.

  “If you say so,” he says, unconvinced. He exhales a long breath.

  We continue to eat in silence for a short time, when I notice Ethan glancing from me then to his plate repeatedly. It seems as if he has something to say, but is unsure how to ask. Leaning back in my chair, I focus my eyes on him. It’s not long before he notices he has my attention. His uncomfortable expression makes me chuckle. “Spit it out. Whatever it is you want to say, just say it.”

  “Okay.” He sighs before placing his sandwich on his plate, and then rests his elbows on the table. “I don’t want to upset you, but since the attack something has been bothering me.”

  “What?”

  “Well, Roman has m
entioned that you’re far more competent than the other students in his class.” He pauses, again seeming reluctant to continue. I think I know where he’s going with the conversation, and it makes me very uncomfortable. Regardless, I gesture for him to continue. “Okay, here goes. I’m pretty sure you could have defended yourself against Clay and gotten you and Kiaya out of trouble without my help.”

  “That’s a statement, not a question,” I snap, certain about what’s coming next.

  Ethan’s posture stiffens, mirroring my own. “Well, why didn’t you?”

  There it is! Am I ready to trust him? The only other people who know my secret are Beth and Stephen. I begin to chew on my lip while considering my options. Our focus remains locked on each other, while my mind races, thinking of what I should say. Ethan remains patient while I decide. Finally I realize I can’t tell him. I’m not ready to share something so personal with him. He’ll either hate me or pity me, and right now I can’t deal with either. “Ethan, I can’t tell you. You’re right, I probably could have defended myself, but something happened that has left me unable to deal with any form of confrontation, physical or emotional. I just can’t handle it. I’m sorry you feel I let Kiaya down by failing to protect her, but I just couldn’t do anything to stop him. I was completely powerless.” I can’t hide my voice cracking with emotion as I talk.

  Ethan wraps his hand around mine, edging closer. “Caitlin, I never thought or meant to imply that you let Kiaya down, not for one moment.”

  Sharply, I say, “Please Ethan, can we just drop this now. If the time ever comes when I feel I can open up to you, I will. But for now, can we just talk about something else? Please.”

  He looks deeply into my eyes for a long moment before relenting. “Okay, I’m sorry I brought it up. My intention was never to upset you.”

  I am so relived he’s decided to let it go; however, my stomach is still in knots. All I can manage is a small smile before taking another bite of my sandwich.

  THIRTEEN

  Caitlin

  We finish eating, and Ethan insists I relax in the living room while he washes the dirty dishes. There’s a knock on the door, and I make a move to answer it.

  “Nope, you stay put,” Ethan insists as I huff.

  “Catlin!” is shrieked from the doorway, and Kiaya rushes towards me with Roman and Asher in tow. “I’m so, so sorry. Please, don’t hate me.”

  I’m confused again. “What? Why would I hate you?”

  “It’s my fault we went into that bar in the first place.” She shakes her head, and her eyes well with unshed tears.

  “Kiaya.” I sigh, beginning to tear up again myself. “I don’t blame you at all. If it wasn’t for you, it could have been a whole lot worse. You were amazing in the bar, and I owe you one.” I try to reassure her.

  “No.” She begins to shake her head at me, but I’m having none of it.

  I hold my hand up. “I don’t want to hear it. This is Clay’s doing, not yours at all. I don’t want to hear it anymore.” Squeezing her hand I say, “Please.” I want to forget Clay ever happened.

  She smiles a sad smile, but relents. “Okay.”

  There’s a clearing of throats. “Guys, you okay to stay with Caitlin while I go back to my apartment and grab a change of clothes for tomorrow? I’m going to stay the night.”

  “What?” I ask. “Why would you do that?”

  Asher and Roman laugh, but Ethan only sighs. “Do you seriously need to ask? Don’t you dare argue. I promised the doctor I’d stay until tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” I repeat.

  “Yes, tomorrow.” That’s all he says, and the look he gives tells me he’s done talking about it.

  Kiaya glances back and forth between us. “Um, I would stay, but I should get back to my mom. She’s not too good at being left on her own for long periods of time, and I was at Asher’s last night.” Her face turns red, and the pleading look I get says not to ask.

  Raising my brows, I smile. “Don’t worry about it. Thanks anyway. Although, even if you could’ve stayed, I don’t think he would let you.” I gesture behind me.

  “Damn right I wouldn’t,” Ethan quips. He looks toward Roman and Asher. “I’ll be an hour tops.” He leaves without saying anything else.

  “Hey,” Roman says a while later. “How are you holding up?”

  “You know, if people would stop asking me that, I would be a lot better,” I reply with a raised brow.

  “Is your moodiness because you’d prefer I stay with you instead of Ethan?” he asks with a smirk. “You’re devastated, aren’t you, Caitlin? Look, all you need to do is ask me nicely, and your wish will be my command.” I laugh heartily. Trust Roman to make me feel better. He changes the subject. “Caitlin, as we are not allowed to discuss the last twenty-four hours, can I talk to you about something else?”

  “Yes, please.” I sound a little too eager for the topic shift.

  “Good. Okay, look. My kick boxing class, you can’t come to it anymore. It’s not fair to the other people because you’re at a much higher level than they are. I hope you understand.”

  “Oh okay,” I understand, but I’m really disappointed. I loved training again, and I loved Roman teaching me. He really knows his stuff.

  “No, I don’t think you understand.”

  “What’s not to understand? I can’t go to your class anymore.”

  “No, I want to train you. You’re at a pretty high standard, but I can make you better,” he boasts. “There’s another girl I train, and she’s really good, too. I was thinking of training you together, although it would be more sessions a week. To start, I’ll train you for a week solo just to be sure you are up to her level. What do you think?”

  “What do I think?” I say tapping my chin attempting to hide my eagerness. “I’m in!” I shout making him jump. That makes me laugh harder.

  “Very funny,” he says dryly. “So you want to do it?”

  “Yes, but how many sessions?”

  “The other girl trains for three one-hour sessions during the week and two hours on Sunday afternoon.”

  “I don’t want to fight professionally or anything like that. I just do it for fun. I’m not sure I want to train that much.”

  “That’s fine,” he says. “She does want to do it professionally, so that’s why we train so much. So how about we skip it this week as I’m already booked up and you need time to recuperate. We’ll start it the week after. Three evenings, just us. Then if I think you should train with her, you can attend one session in the week and Sunday afternoons. You can always do more if you want.”

  It doesn’t take long for me to think it over. With a smile I say, “That sounds great.”

  “Okay then, we’ll start in a week.”

  “Great, I’m really looking forward to it!”

  Ethan

  I paced the floor like a caged tiger the moment Caitlin went to take her shower. How I had the will power not to strip and get in with her, I’ll never know. It’s because she asked me not to do it. Caitlin’s been through enough right now, and her confidence is shaken. She needs to be able to depend on me, not have me grope her in the shower. Hearing my phone ring, I see it’s Nicola again. This is the fifth time since I left Caitlin’s apartment. Fuck, I knew leading her on last night was a bad idea. Pulling up outside the gym and rubbing my temple, I answer the phone. “What?” I bark down the receiver.

  “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, Ethan Kendricks. Who the hell do you think you are walking out on me last night?” she screams into the phone so loudly my ears ring.

  “Caitlin needed help, so I helped,” I state, still rubbing at my temples.

  “Caitlin,” she spits.

  “Nicola, for fuck’s sake. Don’t start with me; I’m busy,” I interrupt.

  “Are you replacing me with her? That’s a fucking insult. I’m worth ten of her.” That’s it; I’ve had enough.

  “Nicola,” I warn. “I disagree, and there’s nothing to rep
lace. You never had me. We fucked once. You need to get a grip on reality. We were never a couple. Even if I’d never met Catlin, we still would never be a couple. Get over it, Nicola.” I shut the call down, and my phone beeps almost immediately.

  N: Don’t think you are getting rid of me that easily!

  I rest my head on the steering wheel and sigh.

  Not long after, I grab a quick shower, a change of clothes, and head back to Caitlin’s. I text her.

  Me: On my way back. Do you need me to get anything for dinner, or do you want to get take out later?

  C: Take out sounds great. My treat as a thank you.

  Me: Thank me? I don’t need any thanks.

  C: Please!

  I don’t want to upset her anymore, so I’ll let her have her way this time.

  Me: Just this once. I’ll be there soon.

  C: Ok x

  I can’t get that woman out of my head! It’s been that way since the first time I saw her. I need this girl in my life, and I’ll do all I can to get her, and keep her for good.

  I still have the key to her apartment door, so I let myself in.

  “Hello,” I call as I enter.

  “Hi,” I hear Caitlin call back. Walking into the living room, I drop my bag on the table. Asher and Kiaya are seated on one sofa with Caitlin and my pain in the ass brother on the other. When Roman notices me, he slides his arm around Caitlin.

  “Hey, bro.” He grins up at me. I know he’s trying to get a rise from me, and it’s working.

  “You need to get back to the gym, Roman,” I insist.

  Laughing, he says, “Okay, see you later, guys.” He leans over, kissing Caitlin on the cheek.

  “Roman,” I bark. He’s really pissing me off now, and I’m fast losing my patience with him.

  He ignores me, and I hear him say, “I’m glad you’re doing okay. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

  “Thanks,” she says. She looks happy and I know they’re building a good friendship, so I let it go.

  Kiaya’s next to speak. “We better get going, too. I need to get back to my mom, and you should rest. Asher’s going to drop me home. What do you want me to tell Len?”