by Grace, Aria
“You never did anything for me.”
“Oh yeah? That’s not what your sweet omega ass thought.”
“You’re disgusting.” It comes out as a whimper, and I can tell tears must be streaming down Nathan’s face.
Now, he needs me.
“I’ll show you how much you liked it.”
As I’m approaching the doorframe, Joseph’s figure vanishes into the room. I race behind him just as Nathan cries out.
“Hey,” I scream from behind Joseph and place a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn toward me. When the shimmer of the blade comes at me, I shift my weight and twist to avoid contact. The blade misses all but a small piece of flesh at my side. Pain shoots through me, but I ignore it and press forward, ducking as Joseph swings the knife at me.
Nathan screams out again. “Joseph, stop!”
“Just shut the fuck up.” Joseph turns to me, brandishing the knife again. “And how much of that did you hear, you nosy fucker?”
“Enough. Joseph, you need to give yourself up. You can’t take us both down, so it’s time to give up.”
“Watch me.” He lunges again, aiming for my stomach. I’m able to move back and to the left, so I can grab his arm and pull him forward. His momentum face-plants him into the doorjamb, and when he turns around, blood is spewing from his broken nose.
“You’re dead now, Dodge.” Joseph scrambles at me again, but I lunge forward and duck under the blade, grabbing him around his midsection and pushing him out of the room.
“Nathan, call Oliver.” The words are barely past my lips when Joseph hits me against my back, causing me to stumble and release him. The knife drops from his hand as we both tumble onto the floor, and it skitters across the landing toward the top of the stairwell.
Joseph and I glance at each other before we both jump toward the blade. I’m unable to reach it before he grasps the hilt and begins swinging it again. I continue to move, hoping I can find a way to unarm him again before he does serious injury.
Waving the knife around, Joseph is like a madman. Blood is still dripping down his face, and a few other bruises are beginning to show. His eyes are crazed, proving his desperation to get out of the situation he’s found himself in. His mind isn’t right, and now that he has nothing else to lose, he’ll do anything to protect his secret.
Another jab comes flying at me, and as I dunk, he crosses me with a blinding hook from his left hand. The sound of bone against bone rattles my jaw as shooting pain crosses my right eye, and everything becomes blurry.
I continue to dodge and duck, wishing now that I’d taken boxing in high school. A burning sensation shoots up from my left arm as he slices the blade across my skin. Blood seeps from the wound as I try to avoid his next attack.
“Oliver is on his way with backup!” Nathan’s voice distracts me as Joseph comes toward me with the knife, I step backward into nothingness. In the split second it takes me to realize I’m losing my balance, I reach for his hand to keep from falling. Instead, I wind up pulling him with me as we tumble down the stairs.
84
Nathan
Time seems to stand still as Dodge and Joseph begin their descent down the wide staircase toward the hardwood floor below. The look of panic as Dodge loses his footing and begins falling into the empty air is not something I’ll ever forget.
I can’t hear anything but my pounding heartbeat as I watch them fall.
Dodge and Joseph are still struggling as they tumble, each step they hit jolting one or the other into an unnatural position. Their journey seems endless as each flip and bounce causes my body to react to the pain they must be feeling. Moreover, Dodge is being hurt, which is not something I want to ever happen, especially because of me.
I race for the stairs, and they finally hit the floor below with a loud thud. Time resumes as I take two stairs at a time to reach Dodge. The two of them are lying side by side, but neither is moving…or breathing.
Panic strikes as I bend over Dodge, sliding my fingers along his neck and searching for a pulse. I don’t feel anything, and my heart begins to sink. Oh god, he’s dead.
The knife… Where’s the knife? I look around frantically, trying to locate the silver blade that has caused Dodge so much pain. His wounds are covered in matted blood, and one of his eyes is swollen, turning black and blue.
“Dodge, no. Don’t leave me.”
A gasp followed by a sputter of blood comes from Joseph as he sits upright. “You fucker. I’ll kill you!”
Before I realize what’s happening, Joseph lunges at me, knocking me away from Dodge and onto the floor. He straddles my body, pinning me to the hard boards as I scratch and claw at his arms.
Joseph balls up his fist, and I turn my head just in time to avoid damage to my eye as he slams into my head. I feel dizzy and the room spins, but I don’t have time to focus before his hands wrap around my throat. I flail at him again in an attempt to get him off me.
With one quick motion, he picks me up a few inches and then slams me back down. The pain that shoots through my head makes me want to vomit as his fingers press against my flesh again.
“Die, goddammit. You deserve to fucking die. Fuck you for ruining my life, Nathan. Fuck you!”
Air doesn’t come to me when I open my mouth. My hands are searching frantically for anything I can use to injure Joseph so he’ll let me breathe again. Spots form in front of me as the room surrounding us begins fading to black oblivion.
This is it. I’ve lost Dodge, and now, I’m going to die. Joseph wins. He always wins.
Flashes of the life I suffered through with Joseph play out in front of me. Night after night of torture as he came at me are right in front of my eyes as if I’m back in that room and watching from the corner. He loved to use me for his sick and twisted pleasure. Beating me and causing me pain was his only joy. Impregnating me and forcing me to have an unsafe abortion. Depriving me of the ability to ever have a baby with someone I truly love.
The last of my air is running out, and I begin succumbing to the darkness. I’m ready. I don’t have to suffer anymore. I can move on and be with Dodge.
Then I feel the edge of something solid. Although I’m not sure what it is, my fingers clasp on to it in one last-ditch effort to save myself. My hand instinctively brings the object upward, and I swing as hard as my fragile and weakened state will let me.
I’m not exactly sure how, but the grip around my neck loosens and a fresh flow of air fills my lungs. I’m gasping for breath when Joseph completely releases me. Warmth returns to my face, and the spots floating around me begin to fade as everything comes back into focus.
That’s when I realize the warmth I feel isn’t just from the flow of blood back through my veins. It’s the spray of blood shooting from the side of Joseph’s neck. The shocked and scared look in his eyes before he drops back onto the floor is priceless. I watch in frozen silence as his hands flop to his sides and the last few spurts of blood pour from the wound in his neck.
The wound I put there. The knife he tried to kill Dodge with.
A second later, the door busts open and Oliver rushes through the entrance. I point at Dodge. “Help him!”
Oliver kneels down beside Dodge and reaches for his hand. “Dodge. Can you hear me? Come on, man.”
Dodge sucks in a huge breath, which is full of wheezing and sputtering.
Thank god!
Oliver yells to the officer next to him. “Get that gurney in here now. And tell the EMTs we need assistance immediately.”
A crew enters within moments, and the entryway becomes a flurry of activity.
“Are you okay?” Oliver is with me now, helping me stand and checking me for injuries.
“I’m okay, just a little banged up. Please tell me Dodge is going to be okay.”
“I need another EMT in here.” Oliver places an arm underneath me and helps me walk toward the front door. “They’re taking Dodge to the emergency room. We’ll know more when the doctors get a lo
ok. Now, let’s get you checked out.”
“I’m fine, I promise.”
Oliver squeezes my shoulder. “No offense, but based on the way you look, I’m inclined not to agree. Besides, Dodge will kill me if I don’t make sure you’re okay.”
I nod, letting Oliver lead me out to a nearby ambulance. “So, what happened in there?”
I give him a brief rundown of what Joseph admitted to and the struggle that took place. Oliver pays close attention and then grabs another officer. “Ride with him to the hospital. Nathan, I want you to tell this man everything you’ve just told me. I’ll meet you at the emergency room once I check on things here. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Just make sure Dodge is okay.” I climb inside the van with the officer right behind me.
Oliver gives me a tight smile as the ambulance doors close, and sirens begin blaring. I recount the story again, forcing myself to share every detail so Officer Phillips doesn’t miss a thing. When I finish, the man looks relieved not to have any more to write.
The next two hours are a combination of being poked and prodded by nurses and doctors. Each time they come in, I ask about Dodge, but no one has any answers. At least, none they’ll share with me.
Finally, Oliver finds me in one of the small rooms. “Dodge is going to be okay. He’s got a broken rib and several lacerations over his body… And one nasty black eye, but he should be just fine.”
I breathe out a soft sob. “I thought he was dead. I couldn’t find a pulse…”
“He probably had the wind knocked out of him from that fall. And in your state of panic, I probably wouldn’t have found his weakened pulse either.” Oliver places a hand gently on my shoulder. “But he’s going to be just fine. You can see him once they have him wrapped and stitched up.”
Tears that I’d been holding back flood like a broken dam at the news. Dodge is going to be okay… “Thank you,” I say, trying to wipe away at the moisture covering my face.
“You’re welcome, kid. Try to get some rest. I’ll let you know when Dodge is ready.”
When Oliver leaves me alone in the small room, I lie back and close my eyes. Joseph is finally gone. I can start fresh… Maybe even with Dodge.
An hour later, Oliver comes back to tell me I can see Dodge. He helps me into a wheelchair and pushes me down to another room where Dodge is lying on a bed. His face is swollen, and gauze is wrapped tightly around his torso. He looks both broken and gorgeous at the same time.
“Hey there,” he says in a raspy voice.
“I’ll leave you two alone for a little while. But just a little while,” Oliver says pointedly. “You both need a lot of rest.”
We ignore him as Oliver steps out of the room and closes the door.
“Dodge…I don’t know what to say.” I get out of the chair and stand beside his bed.
Dodge reaches for my hand. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“But Joseph…”
“Isn’t a problem anymore. Or so I’ve heard.”
“It’s true.” I step closer and my breath hitches. “I killed him.”
“You protected yourself…and me. Do you know how proud I am of you?”
“He almost killed you,” I say with a sob forming at the back of my throat. “You could have been killed.”
“You don’t think I’d let him take me away from you that easily, do you?” Dodge yanks me closer.
“I was scared that I’d lost you.” I fall against him, careful not to put weight on him but desperate to touch him.
“You didn’t lose me. I’m not going anywhere.” Dodge holds me tight against his side and kisses the top of my head.
“Promise?”
“Promise. Besides, don’t you know you’re obligated to be with me now? In the movies, the two surviving characters always get together.”
I can’t help but chuckle at his analogy. “That’s true. We should probably get married or something.”
“Yep.”
Laughing again, I squeeze his hand. “Even if we hadn’t escaped our own real-life horror movie, I’d still marry you… If it was a real proposal.”
“Who says it’s not?”
Dodge’s words have me stunned. After everything that’s happened today, I don’t even have the words to formulate an answer to what I think he’s asking.
I’m silent for a moment but find myself smiling broadly.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he says before a coughing fit takes over his ability to speak.
“Yes,” I reply enthusiastically. “One hundred percent yes!”
85
Dodge
I’ve never been so nervous. After everything I’ve done in my life, getting married isn’t something I thought I’d ever do. My work has always encompassed a major part of my life. And it always felt like enough. The challenge and rush of meeting goals and impressing clients was enough to keep me going…and content.
But after I met Nathan, all that changed.
Suddenly work and my humdrum life weren’t good enough. I needed more to satisfy the urges inside me that made me feel alive. Work is still something I enjoy. And I’ll always love meeting deadlines and wowing people with my architectural savvy. But now, that isn’t enough.
The love Nathan gives me is incomparable to anything I’ve ever felt before. And I crave it more than life itself. Being with him is like riding a wave that never crashes to shore. Every part of my being is firing on all cylinders, and the rush is indescribable.
Oliver is standing next to me, give me a side glance. “You okay?”
I take a deep breath. “I think so.”
We’re standing in front of all the guests, waiting for the music to start and for Nathan to join me at the altar. “You think so?” I hear the slight chuckle in his voice as he attempts to keep from busting out laughing in front of everyone. “Dude, I’ve never seen you this nervous.”
I swallow the lump forming in my throat as the first notes from a piano begin to play a soft melody. “I just don’t want to screw this up.”
“Trust me,” Oliver says. “You’re gonna do just fine.”
A few more chords play before the back doors open, and Nathan comes into view. He’s dressed sharply in a white tux that forms to his frame, making him even more handsome than usual.
When Nathan’s eyes finally settle on mine, the nervous energy I felt just seconds ago fades away. That’s what makes him so perfect.
He centers me.
He makes me whole.
Finding him is like finding the part of myself I never realized was missing. And now that I’ve found him, I can’t possibly live without him.
Nathan walks down the aisle as our friends and family stand. Even though I know he’s trying to hold them back, I catch the glistening of a few stray tears flowing softly down his cheeks. A huge grin bursts from me as the love of my life—my world—moves toward me in steady rhythm with the melodious tune filling the small atrium.
After he joins me at the front, I take Nathan’s hand, gripping it tightly in mine before we turn toward Christine.
The joy in her eyes is sincere as she opens the small binder in her hand. “Family, friends, and loved ones. We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Dodge Trimble and Nathan Greenly in matrimony.” She pauses for a moment to let her words sink in.
Excitement builds in my chest as the realization of becoming Nathan’s husband comes nearer to fruition.
I give Nathan’s hand a squeeze as she continues.
“Marriage combines the best of two souls while allowing each person to support the other, providing for a strength to match a weakness, a truth to overcome doubt, and above all, love to carry each other through. As Dodge and Nathan join their lives together, if there is anyone here who believes these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
The tremble in Nathan’s grip on my hand is unmistakable. I’m sure he’s expecting someone to interrupt our perfect day, but that’s not going
to happen. I’ll never let anything keep him from finding happiness again. With a quick glance, he nods and gives me a smile to confirm he’s present and with me. And when no one speaks, he exhales the breath he was nervously holding.
“I understand that these two beautiful souls have written their own vows.” Christine looks at me encouragingly. “Dodge.”
My hands shake as I pull the small notecard from my jacket pocket. It takes a second for my eyes to clear and focus on the words I finalized last night. “Nathan.” His name comes out of my mouth dry, so I clear my throat and start again. “Nathan, before I met you, I thought my life was happy. In my mind, I believed I had everything I needed. But as soon as you stepped into my world, I realized how wrong I was. Before you, I had nothing… Now, I have more than I ever dreamed possible. I love you more than you’ll ever know. Will you be my husband?”
“I will.” By the time I finish, tears are streaming down Nathan’s face, but he manages to say the two words I care most about today before Christine turns to him.
Just as I did earlier, Nathan clears his throat. “Dodge.”
As soon as his soft, sweet voice says my name, moisture begins building behind my lids, threatening to spill. “All my life, I’ve struggled to feel like I was wanted…like I belonged. And through all the ups and downs in my past, each chapter ended with a cliffhanger, never letting me know if I would be okay or not. But you’ve changed all that, and I’ll always be grateful to you. You’re my Prince Charming…my knight in shining armor…my protector. Will you be my husband?”
I flick a drop of moisture off my cheek, trying to stay as strong for him as he needs me to be. “I will. Forever.”
The words he said to me mean more than he’ll ever know. The fact that he looks to me as his protector fills me with joy and pride. I’ve barely even cared for a pet in my lifetime, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure Nathan always feels safe and secure.