Return to Love

by Lynn Hubbard

  “No,” April said shaking her head slowly as if coming out of a trance. She said it again more firmly. “NO!”

  Chris laughed, “Don’t be a tease.” Chris covered her mouth with his and tried to push her back down on the seat. April panicked, reaching out she grabbed the only thing she could reach. Wrapping her flailing hand around the neck of the liquor bottle, she grabbed it and smashed it down on Chris’s head shattering the bottle. Turning the jagged edge towards Al as Chris grabbed his head in agony “Open the door and get out!” She demanded. Her adrenaline flushing the alcohol out of her system she forced Al out of the door as she struggled out of the car on shaky legs.

  “Grab her!” Chris cried climbing out of his side of the car. Al the big linebacker’s body was as slow as his mind and April slipped through his fingers running for the main road.

  Seeing the head lights racing towards her and hearing the shouts behind her, April ran out into the road to flag down the car. She froze in fright as she miss judged, and the last thing she remembered was blinding lights and the screech of tires before her world went black.

  “Shit!” Chris cried as he and Al staggered back to the car and drove away.

  Chapter 16

  Eric’s eyes twinkled as he said “Hey hold on a sec.” He disappeared behind the door and shut it. Immediately Kate moved so that she could press her ear up against the door. She could hear some whispers and clinking of bottles.

  “How cute!” she said looking over at Joanie “I think he’s sprucing up the place for you.” She resumed her pose not wanting to miss anything while Joanie stood restlessly. The door opened quickly a moment later almost knocking Kate off her feet.

  “Come on in.” Eric said stepping back to allow them passage. Joanie took a step forward, and before she knew it, she was standing in Eric’s apartment with the door closed, and locked behind her. She looked around the sparsely furnished apartment. It contained in the main room a well worn sofa two mismatched recliners a coffee table and a floor lamp. To one side of the room there was a connecting kitchen with an eating section. The eating area was filled with unpacked boxes some open some not, she didn’t see a kitchen table anywhere. There were three doors along the left wall, and she wondered what was behind them. Eric saw her looking at them and whispered in her ear. “The one next to the window is my bedroom.”

  Joanie quickly averted her eyes blushing.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Marc asked entering the living area from the closest door to them. Joanie assumed it was another bedroom and that the middle door was the bathroom. Must be nice having two bedrooms she thought of her small one bedroom apartment popped into her mind.

  “We were just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by.” Kate said a little too cheery for Joanie.

  “Ah huh.” Eric said taking Joanie books from her and then helping her with her coat. He laid it on a box next to her books and led her over to the sofa and sat down next to her. “I’m sorry about this mess.” Eric said indicating the entire place with a sweeping jester “We’re still getting settled.”

  “Oh no it’s fine. It’s much bigger than I expected. It could use some curtains though.” She added looking at the old sheet hanging over the window. Eric smoothly shifted, so he could look at the window and slide his arm around her all at the same time.

  “Your right, why don’t we go out Saturday, and you can pick out what I need.” She nodded barely breathing he was so close to her she was having trouble thinking. “How come you’re out so late on a school night?”

  Joanie glanced over at Kate and Marc. She was sitting on his lap on one of the recliners, and they were lost in their own conversation. “Actually we came from the library.” She replied mesmerized by his blue eyes.

  “The library?! And you were walking home at this time of night?”

  Joanie bristled at his tone. She moved back from him a bit as she retorted “I am not a child. I can take care of myself.”

  Kate guffawed “Yeah like you did this morning in the bathroom.” Kate piped in then covered her mouth as she realized her error.

  “What is she talking about?? What happened? Who bothered you?” Eric insisted.

  Joanie forced a smile. “It’s no big deal; I can take care of it.”

  Kate climbed to her feet. “You have to tell him Joanie!”

  Joanie sent Kate a scathing look as she sighed defeated. Kate was right maybe she couldn’t handle it, she had to tell someone. She took a deep breath “Chris Harper.” She said answering Eric’s earlier question.

  Eric looked puzzled until he realized what she was saying. “The football player? He’s been bothering you?” Joanie nodded sadly. He shook his head slowly “Alright start from the beginning.” Joanie sighed and watched as Kate and Marc left the room leaving her and Eric alone. She heard giggles coming from Marc’s bedroom and blushed. Eric noticed nothing; he was staring at her intently.

  She took a deep breath and told him everything from their first encounter at her locker to tonight. Eric seemed to grow angrier by the moment. Joanie nervously reached up to push her hair out of her face, and Eric for the first time, noticed the bruises on her arms. He gently grabbed her arms to look at them closely. He slid her sweater up over her arms revealing the extent of the blue and purple smudges covering her wrists. “He did this to you?” Eric asked angrily. Joanie looked frightened by his tone, and Eric cursed himself for putting her through more discomfort.

  Sensing her vulnerability he pulled her onto his lap and the tears she had fought so hard to control came forth. She cried against his shoulder as he gently rocked her as if she were a child. He kept murmuring to her as he held her. That it wasn’t her fault and that he would take care of her. She eventually stopped crying and looked up at this gentleman, her man. And she felt a quaking inside of her. He wiped away her tears. “I was so scared.” She whispered and forced Eric to bend over to hear her.

  “Shh its ok sweetheart you never have to be afraid again. I’ll take care of you.” Eric sat her back on the sofa as he hopped up to get her some toilet paper. She smiled gratefully and blew her nose. Wanting to believe it, she stared at him. He leaned closer and kissed her gently on the lips. Panicky she moved to sit on the edge of the couch as if she would bolt any second.

  Eric chuckled. “I don’t bit Joanie.”

  Joanie blushed. “It’s not you I’m worried about.” Eric moved forward so that he was sitting in a similar position and took her dainty hands in his. “I would never do anything to hurt you.” He said softly gazing into her eyes. “I would like to get to know you better though. Let’s play a game. You ask me a question then I ask you a question. Deal?”

  Joanie smiled she was pretty good at games. “Okay but you have to tell the truth and if you don’t answer you get tickled. Okay?”

  Eric’s blue eyes twinkled. “Alright but I get to go first. How come you didn‘t tell me about Chris before?” Eric said softly as he gently massaged her wrists.

  Joanie shrugged, “I was embarrassed and I thought I could handle it. I guess I was wrong.” She said sadly looking down at her wrists realizing how very wrong she had been. She forced a smile never one to dwell on her own problems. “My turn now, when you gave me your jacket to wear that day you picked me and Kate up did you really want me to keep it?”

  Eric smiled remembering that day. “Yes I did.” He rumbled softly in his low voice the voice that sent shivers down Joanie’s spine. “How many boyfriends have you had?” He asked jumping ahead to his next question.

  “Well,” Joanie said thoughtfully as she pretended to count on her fingers, “If I include you that makes one.”

  “One? Only me.” He asked surprised. “Why is that?”

  “Sorry that’s two questions, and it’s my turn. I’m sure you’ve had loads of girlfriends, so I’m gonna skip that part, how old were you when first did it?”

  Eric looked down and tried to hide his red face as he shook his head. “Fourteen.” He said watching her cl
osely as she mouthed the word in surprise. “Alright how come you never had a boyfriend before?”

  She shrugged still thinking about his last response. “When I moved away my dad sent me to an all girl’s school. Where’d you get that scar?”

  He smiled. “Which one of I’ve got lots of them wanna see?” He asked as he started to lift his shirt. Joanie caught sight of his tight stomach and her eyes got huge.

  “Yes. I mean no! I mean the one by your eye.” She said embarrassed as she felt her face getting hot. She lifted her hand to trace the thin white line, and Eric swallowed hard.

  “I was in a knife fight a couple of years ago.” He said like it was no big deal. “How far have you gotten with a boy?” He asked daringly.

  “Not very far.” She replied looking down.

  “You have to be more specific.” He complained moving closer to her. His leg was touching her knee and she was having a hard time concentrating. She grunted. “Well, the farthest I ever got with a boy was what Chris did this morning.” There you said it! She thought to herself, and you didn’t even cry this time! She noticed Eric tense up at her answer. He reached over and felt her smooth cheek.

  “I’m sorry Joanie I wasn’t even thinking what a stupid question.” Eric said angry at himself.

  Joanie laughed. “It’s all right, but I would like to block it out.” Eric’s eyes darkened at her meaning, and he gently leaned over and kissed her on her mouth. He sighed contentedly when she kissed him back.

  “How’s that?” He asked.

  “Umm that was real good but Chris made it to second base.” Joanie said teasingly.

  Eric growled as he picked her up and sat her on his lap again he turned her so that she was facing him and gently took her face in his. He gently covered her mouth with his and gave her luscious lips a tiny lick with his tongue. Joanie’s sighed opening her mouth slightly. He took advantage of this and very gently sucked in her bottom lip caressing it with his tongue he then moved up to her top one repeating the process. Joanie felt weak and leaned into his body for support.

  He moved his hands from around her face and put an arm around her shoulders gently leaning her head back against the arm rest of the couch. With his free hand, he put it under her head in her glorious hair as he gently massaged her scalp. He then bent down and gently kissed her again. Joanie lifted her hand and ran it over his muscular shoulders. She moaned with pleasure as his tongue slowly entered her mouth. He gently caressed her tongue with his and when she responded he delved deeper into her mouth smiling as he heard her moan. He then pulled away very gently staring at her.

  “How was that?” He asked smiling down at her.

  “Wow.” She breathed. “You’re really good at that.”

  “You’re not too bad yourself.” He chuckled at her amazement. “You could use a little more practice though. I’d be glad to give you some lessons.” He teased.

  “You have a lot of students?” She asked feeling the haze lifting from her brain.

  “Nope just one.” He said kissing her again this time a little more passionately if that was possible. Joanie felt herself floating as she returned his kiss. She felt his arms wrap around her, and she relaxed in his embrace. She ran her hand through his wavy hair and sighed. She pulled away to look at him her finger lightly tracing the scar near his eye and trailed her finger down to his chin. She felt the roughness of his cheek and ran her hand over it.

  “What?” He asked looking down at her his eyes languid.

  “You’re so scratchy.” She mumbled. She was surprised at the how dense his facial hair was. He must shave every day. Brad only shaved a couple of times a week.

  “Um.” He sighed resting his rough cheek against her smooth one. “And you’re silky.” He slid a finger underneath the back of her sweater and felt her satiny skin. She squealed and wiggled to move his hand. “Ticklish?” He asked removing his hand to her side where it belonged. She grabbed his hand from behind her and held it up in front of them. She placed her hand against his heel to heel and marveled at how much larger his hand was than hers. She bent her fingers, so they were intertwined with his.

  Eric was watching her intently. He was having a very hard time controlling his emotions. He cared about her so much. He in no way wanted to scare her or force her to do anything she wasn’t ready for. Since she had grabbed his hand that he had under her sweater he decided to back off a little, for now. He took her hand that was now in his and brought it slowly to his face. Gently he kissed every finger. He looked at her intently, how did he get so lucky? He wondered silently. She was drop dead gorgeous. He thought of Chris putting his hands on her, and his hand tightened unconsciously.

  “Ow!” She said quickly pulling her hand away. “You certainly know how to show a girl a good time.”

  “I’m so sorry Joanie.” Eric said cursing himself, he tried to grab her hand again to make up for it, but giggling, she hid them behind her back. Which she soon found out was a mistake. Eric taking advantage of the situation gently lowered himself on top of her trapping her arms underneath. Ignoring her threats he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. He slowly moved down her face to her neck where he found a really sensitive spot behind her ear. He suckled gently for a moment on her earlobe and smiled as she giggled.

  He leaned up releasing her hands and placing them around his neck. Joanie slide them over his broad shoulders and smiling moved them to his chest. She felt something hard pressing against her leg. She looked up seeing the desire in his eyes, and she became uneasy. Eric noticed the change in her emotions and quickly sat up.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said embarrassed by his lack of control.

  Joanie sat up also; she ran her hands through her disheveled hair and straightened her sweater. “No. I’m sorry I’ve just never… we’ll you know. I shouldn‘t have let it go that far.” Eric excused himself and quickly headed to the room in the middle. She heard water running and smiled despite herself. He soon reappeared his hair was wet and still dripping. He smiled wryly at her as he came back and sat down in the chair next to the couch.

  “You alright?”

  Joanie nodded imagining him shoving his head into the sink. She wished she could do that to clear her mind but she would freeze to death on the way home. Home. She completely lost track of time she glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and was aghast to see it was after midnight. And she had school tomorrow, err.. today. “Oh my gosh! I didn’t realize how late it was I’ve gotta get home.” She started over to Marc’s room to get Kate but stopped mid way. She was afraid what she might be interrupting. She looked over at Eric her face again red.

  Eric chuckled at her discomfort “Don’t worry, I’ll get her.” Joanie smiled gratefully as Eric crossed the room quickly with his long strides and knocked briskly on the door. It opened a couple of seconds later by Marc. Eric whispered to him, and a slightly ruffled Kate appeared soon after. She glanced at Joanie who was waiting by the door and winked. Eric came over and helped her put her coat on. He quickly put on his leather jacket and grabbed her books. She looked at him surprised.

  “You don’t think I’m letting you walk home do you?”

  Joanie smiled gratefully. She hadn‘t been looking forward to that. “You coming too Marc?” She asked as he put on his coat. He glanced at Kate before answering.

  “Yeah, Kate said we can stay over there since no one’s home. We’re gonna give you a ride.” He saw Eric give him a dirty look and quickly added “To school in the morning. If it‘s ok with you?”

  Joanie hesitated as Kate grabbed her and pulled her aside. “Come on Joanie, no one’s gonna know. It’ll be fun! We’ll even give you the bedroom. We’ll take the couch.”

  Joanie’s eyes got huge. “No! Absolutely not!”

  Thirty minutes later Joanie sat on her bed staring at her hands. Kate and Marc were in the living room and Eric was standing by the door watching her. “If it’ll make you more comfortable I’ll go home.” He said soft
ly.

  “No, Marc’s obviously staying you might as well stay too.” He came up to her and pulled back the cover on her bed. She climbed in fully clothed. She lay on her back nervously as Eric leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight.” He whispered as he grabbed a blanket off her mother’s bed and lay down in the floor next to her. Surprised, she leaned over the bed to look down at him. “You’re gonna sleep on the floor?” She asked remembering their similar conversation not so long ago.

  He leaned up on his elbow and shrugged “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Goodnight Joanie.”

  Joanie smiled down at him. “’Night.” She leaned over and turned off the lamp on the night stand. In the darkness, she snuggled back down in the covers. Kate was right, she did feel more secure knowing that Eric was there. Chris’s face flashed through her mind, and she shuddered.

  Eric lay awake listening to her steady breathing; it was going to be a long night.

  He awoke suddenly at the sound of her cry. She was thrashing around in the covers crying out softly. “No, leave me alone.” He quickly turned on the light and shook her to gently wake her up. As soon as he touched her shoulder, her eyes flew open, and they were filled with her terror. She quickly looked around and realized where she was and who she was with.

  “Shh, you’re okay Joanie I’m here.” He said soothingly over and over again. She quickly relaxed and was embarrassed, she never had nightmares. She had been dreaming that Chris had broken into her house and was attacking her again. Hearing Eric’s calming voice she looked over at him. He was sitting on the side of her bed, the light from the table lamp illuminated him, and he seemed to glow like an angel. Her angel. “You alright? You scared me. I thought someone was in the room.”

  “Just a stupid dream.” She whispered shuddering as it still hung in the back of her mind it had seemed so real. “Would…” her voice cracked from her nervousness “would you lay down with me?” She asked not looking at him.