Now and Again

by Rothert, Brenda

  “No, not at all. So I take it you’re happy with this decision?”

  “I’m fine, yeah. It’s not like I don’t care about her, Bree. I do. I miss her. But I’m not her dream guy and this is just gonna save us both heartache down the road.”

  “Cut the shit. Tell me what happened.”

  His sister was a lot like Layla. To the point. “She wanted me to meet her parents.”

  “Okay . . . and?”

  “And – that’s it.” He pulled on the tie around his neck with aggravation. “I’m not the parent-meeting type.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you? You dated her for over a month and she wanted you to meet her parents and you ended it with her over that?”

  “Ending things was her decision.”

  “Good for her.” Bree’s voice had risen, and Ben pulled the phone back from his ear a little. “She’ll find someone who’s willing to meet her family and not treat her like a dirty little secret.”

  “What the fuck?” Ben’s voice rose now. “I wasn’t treating her that way! She’s met my friends from work. You’re supposed to be on my side, Bree. You’re making me feel worse instead of better.”

  “I am on your side. If I was in the same country as you I’d kick you in the ass right now. I’ve never heard you nervous and excited about a woman except her. And she wants to introduce you to her family?”

  The silence hung for a few seconds before Ben spoke. “You of all people know how I am about these things.”

  “Yeah, I do. I get it. But still, you have to just let go and try at some point, like I did. I don’t want you to . . . miss out. And you shouldn’t want to, either. How are you feeling right now?”

  “Like shit.”

  Bree sighed. “At least you admit it. Love is a leap of faith, Ben. It’s not always easy or smooth or comfortable. Only you know if your feelings for Layla run deep enough to risk it.”

  Ben’s office phone blinked with a call from his Deputy Chief. “I have to get this call, Bree. I’ll think about things. Thanks.”

  “Stop being an asshole. Think about that.”

  “I love you, too.”

  ***

  Layla couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten home from work before dark. The clock on her dash said 5:05 when she pulled into an open spot in front of her apartment. At her firm, it was like only working a half day. But she was exhausted and felt a headache coming on.

  She’d thrown herself into work over the past couple weeks, outworking all the other junior attorneys and most of the partners. Three days after their fight, Ben had texted an apology and asked if they could talk. She’d composed one pissed off reply after another, but never sent any of them.

  It took blocking his number for her to stop crying several times a day. The first few days she missed him so much she didn’t think she could stand it any longer. She’d even gone out with Lane and considered hooking up with a guy who said she made him want to go jerk off in the bathroom. But then she remembered she had some dignity, so she went home and ate ice cream instead.

  Prince didn’t greet her at the door for his walk, and Layla kicked off her heels with a sigh. He must be with Travis and Jill. Good. She didn’t feel like a walk anyway.

  She was going to change into comfy clothes, take some aspirin and spend the evening watching a movie on the couch. Even dinner sounded like too much effort.

  A muffled noise sounded from inside her coat closet, and Layla stopped in front of it, her brows furrowed. She opened the door and cocked her head when Prince got up from the wood floor of the closet and walked out. Had it been his cry she’d heard?

  “How’d you get yourself in there, baby? Did Mommy leave it open this morning?”

  Prince growled and walked into the bedroom. When Layla followed him, she stopped as soon as she made it through the doorway. Her long white curtains were billowing toward her, a breeze blowing them. Pieces of broken glass littered the floor beneath the curtain, and her chest tightened.

  She almost didn’t want to see what Prince was barking at. Part of her wanted to turn and flee, at least try to make it to the front door. But she turned and locked eyes with Eric Hinshaw, who stood in her closet with a pair of her panties bunched in his hand.

  “Eric?” She gaped at him. “What the fuck is going on?”

  She hadn’t seen him in . . . almost a year. They’d gone out a couple times but it hadn’t been a love connection for her. He owned a gym and she’d been drawn in by his amazing body, but he was always brooding over something.

  “I needed to be closer to you.” His ominous tone sent a chill down Layla’s spine. How was she going to get out of this?

  “Well, you’re here now. We can talk if you want. In the living room?”

  Where my phone is.

  Eric scoffed. “You never wanted to talk to me all those times I called, why would you want to now? I thought we had a nice time together. Why didn’t you call me back?”

  “Eric . . .” She tried to think fast, but it was hard with her heart pounding. “We did have a nice time. I’m sorry I didn’t call back.”

  “You left me no choice but to start watching you.” He took a few steps toward her, and she tasted bile. “And I know you’re not so shy in front of the other guy. Where’s he at, anyway? The tall one? He’s been gone a couple weeks. Did you dump him, too?”

  “Uh . . . we’re not seeing each other anymore, no.”

  “I want what he had.” Eric’s eyes were dark and Layla sized him up as he approached. He was about six feet tall, his frame filled out with muscle. But it was his expression that scared her more than his physical advantage.

  She stepped back, Prince moving to stand at her feet. “Let’s talk first.”

  “Take your clothes off and get on the bed. You like being told what to do, right? It turns you on.”

  “No!”

  “I saw you with him. You liked it then.”

  “That was different. I can’t do this right now. Let’s go have a drink and catch up first.”

  She backed another step toward the door and Eric lunged, his hand closing tightly around her throat. Layla made a choking sound as he jerked her whole body forward. As soon as he let go, she sucked in a breath, but it was knocked out of her when he shoved her to the floor.

  Though she didn’t have the breath for a full scream, she cried out as she struggled against him. She clawed, kicked and twisted herself beneath him. But he straddled her hips and pressed her to the floor, holding down her elbows.

  Prince was barking and growling, the hair on his back standing up.

  “Shut the fucking dog up,” Eric said. “I’ll hurt you if you don’t.”

  “Prince, it’s okay, baby.” Her voice was frantic, filled with tears, and her dog knew she wasn’t okay. He latched on to Eric’s pant leg, growling as he shook it in his jaws.

  Eric pushed Layla’s hands above her head and restrained them with one hand, using the other to fumble with the button on the suit pants she’d worn to work. It was a nightmare, and she wanted to fight, knew she should, but he was so much stronger. She was pushing her wrists against his hand as hard as she could, and they burned from the effort, but wouldn’t move.

  At the sound of her pants ripping, the feeling of violation that flooded her was almost paralyzing. Tears escaped her eyes and she flailed beneath him desperately.

  “Hold still,” he growled. The hand that wasn’t restraining her hands raised above her face, and when he made contact with her cheek, she cried out from the flash of pain.

  Prince was still growling, and he sounded more vicious than a hound dog. His rumble stopped and Eric shot into the air.

  “Fucking dog! He bit me!” He smacked Prince’s body across the room and Layla heard a loud thump, a wail, and then silence.

  She reached up for Eric -- slapping, punching, and scratching. She was fueled by fury now. Somehow she worked herself from under him and crawled toward the door, but his hand wrapped around her ankle a
nd pulled her back toward him.

  “That’s fine,” he said, panting with exertion. “We can do it this way.” He pressed a knee into her back and she screamed as she heard him unzipping his pants. She tried with every muscle in her body and every ounce of her will to move, but she was trapped.

  “Ben,” she whimpered. He wouldn’t come, but thoughts of his strong, protective presence flooded her mind. She pressed her face to the thin rug on her floor, trying to think only of Ben. If only they hadn’t fought. If only he was here.

  Her body tensed and another strangled cry escaped into the rug as she felt Eric struggling above her to get his pants down. But then she heard a powerful thud and his weight fell away as he slumped into a motionless pile beside her.

  She looked up, wondering if her prayer had been answered. Had Ben known, somehow? But it was Jill, her neighbor from across the hall, who stood wielding a metal baseball bat in both hands, her eyes on Eric.

  “I called 911,” Jill said, her voice calm and level. “Get up and find a weapon so we can fight him off if he wakes up.

  “Jill! Thank God!” Layla sobbed, overcome with how close she’d come to living a nightmare. “Where’s Travis?”

  “He’s at work. Where’s Prince?”

  Layla flew across the room to her dog. He was still, but alive, his brown eyes pleading.

  “Mommy’s here, Prince,” she said, her tears falling onto his back.

  “Stay with him,” Jill ordered. “If this fucker moves a muscle I’ll bash his brains in.”

  ***

  The trip to Creighton Hospital in the back of an ambulance was surreal. Layla was still in a fog. Her body hurt all over, but she could only think of the horror she’d felt in her apartment. She clamped a hand over her mouth and sobbed, overcome with emotion for all the women who hadn’t been saved at the last minute.

  “You’re okay now,” a bald paramedic said, patting her hand. Layla texted Emma to meet her at the hospital. She was unable to talk to anyone.

  By the time she was wheeled into an exam room, she’d stopped crying and was just replaying the scene in her apartment in her head. Jill had taken Prince to an emergency animal hospital, and Layla wished she was there, too.

  “Hi, I’m Nancy,” a nurse with a blonde ponytail said, pulling back the curtain. The rhythmic pounding of running footsteps sounded outside the curtain, and Nancy turned to look.

  “Layla?” Ben whipped the curtain aside, his eyes wide and frantic. “Holy fuck! Are you okay?”

  “Ben? How did you know?”

  “The 911 call. The officer who took it recognized your name and called me.”

  Nancy reached up a hand to stop his approach. “I need to—”

  He blew past her and stood next to the bed, his lips pressed tight. Layla wanted to feel nothing, to tell him to leave, but when she saw the shine of tears in his eyes, a loud sob burst forth from her.

  “What should I do?” he asked helplessly. “I want to touch you, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Layla leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek to his chest. She wasn’t out of tears after all. They wouldn’t stop now. Ben stroked her hair and laid a hand on her back.

  “Sir, I need to check her vitals,” the nurse said.

  “You’ll just have to wait. I need to be with her right now.” He pulled back and crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with Layla.

  “Ben.” She wiped her tears away. “I’ll be okay.”

  “What the fuck happened?” His eyes were still wide, his voice still panicked.

  “It was Eric, this guy I hardly know who I went out with like a year ago.”

  “What happened?”

  “He broke a window and came in my bedroom. We fought, and—” She paused, her voice thick with emotion. “—Prince bit him and he threw him across the room and hurt him. Can you call the animal hospital and see how he is?”

  “I will, yeah, in just a minute. Did he hurt you?” Layla hadn’t changed into a gown yet, and Ben’s face twisted with anguish as he looked at her torn pants.

  “He hit me, but that’s all. Jill knocked him out with a baseball bat. But another few seconds, and—”

  “Fuck, Layla!” Ben covered his face with his hands. “I can’t stand to see you like this.”

  Nancy the nurse approached Ben and touched his shoulder. “Sir, why don’t you take a minute? You can go out in the hall?”

  He glared at her and she drew back. He pulled his badge from his pocket and shoved it at her. “I’m talking to her. Why don’t you go out in the hall?”

  “Can you just give us a minute?” Layla asked. Nancy nodded, pulled the curtain closed and walked out.

  “I thought of you,” Layla said, wiping her fingers across her cheeks. “When I thought there was no way out and I was desperate, I wanted you so bad.”

  Ben grimaced and shook his head. “You’re killing me. If I’d known you needed me—”

  “No, I don’t mean it like that. I just mean . . . you came to my mind. It was comforting.” She smiled weakly.

  “Layla, I’ve called you so many times and left so many messages. I’ve been trying to give you space and not just show up on your doorstep, but this can’t be it for us. It can’t. I’m so—”

  The curtain flew open and they both turned to see Emma, panting as she eyed them frantically.

  “Layla! My God! What happened to you?” She ran to the bedside and reached for Layla’s shoulders.

  “Ow, no! Don’t touch me,” Layla said.

  “Were you attacked?”

  Cole came in on Emma’s heels, also breathless. He sighed and turned away when he saw Layla’s face.

  “Yeah, in my apartment by a guy who I went out with a year ago. He’s been following me for a while.”

  Emma’s hand clamped over her mouth. “Did you know? Why didn’t you say anything? Was Ben there?”

  “No, it was just me and—” Layla’s voice wavered as she spoke. “—Prince.”

  “Who’s at the hospital with him?” Ben asked.

  “Jill took him. It’s the one a couple blocks from my place.”

  Ben looked at Cole, who stood by the curtain with his arms across his chest. “Will you drive there and check on him? He was hurt, and she wants to know how he is.”

  “Yeah, we can do that,” Cole said.

  Emma pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. “I’m staying with Layla.”

  “Go be with Prince for me,” Layla said. “Ben’s here. And call Mom and Dad, okay?”

  “I already did, they’re on their way here.”

  “Tell Prince I love him, okay?” Layla tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “Tell him I’ve loved him since the first time I saw him.”

  Emma blinked and tears fell down her cheeks. “I will. I love you, Layla.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Emma leaned forward and kissed her sister’s forehead gently. “We’ll be back soon.”

  They left, and Nancy poked her head around the curtain.

  “Not yet,” Ben said, raising a hand.

  “This is a hospital.” She arched her brows with annoyance. “We have other patients waiting.”

  “Just five minutes, that’s all,” he said. “I promise.”

  Nancy gave him the evil eye but left again, and Ben turned back to Layla.

  “I was an asshole and I’m so sorry. I’ve replayed that morning in my head so many times and imagined myself saying yes instead. Meeting your parents.”

  Layla shook her head and looked at her hands in her lap. “It’s okay, Ben. You’re not ready, and that’s okay. If I’ve learned anything over the past year or so it’s that you can’t force things, no matter how badly you want them.”

  “I do want it.” His bright blue eyes seemed to be pleading with her.

  “Ben.” She shook her head and refused to look at him. “I cried every day for more than a week after our fight. I still cry about it, off and on. I’ve
rarely liked a guy enough to ask him to meet my parents, and the few times I have . . . I’ve never had the guts to ask anyone but you. You really hurt me.”

  “I’m sorry.” He reached for her fingers and held them lightly. “I want a chance to explain. It might be too late, but give me a chance to tell you why I said no.”

  “Okay.” She turned to him expectantly.

  “Not here. I need to show you something. When you get finished here, if you feel like it, I’ll take you then.”

  “Okay.” She touched her swollen eye gingerly. “I had no idea it hurt so bad to be punched like that.”

  “From what I heard, your neighbor got the guy pretty good with her bat. He’s here getting treatment, but he’ll get a special visit when he makes it to jail.”

  “From you?”

  “No, some other guys I know.”

  “Thank God Jill was there.” Layla squeezed her eyes shut, the memories still fresh.

  “How did he have a key if you only went out a couple times?” Ben asked.

  “I don’t even remember. I must’ve given him one.”

  Nancy wheeled a cart of supplies in, not even looking at Ben.

  “Sorry I was rude earlier,” he said. “Thanks for letting us talk.”

  The nurse’s face softened and she nodded. She checked Layla’s temperature and blood pressure and asked about her injuries, typing into a small computer as she answered. When she wheeled her cart out and left them alone, Ben reached for Layla’s fingers again and they sat in silence.

  It was only a few minutes later when Shawn and Eliza Carson came bursting through the curtain. Layla smiled at her parents. Her mother’s blonde bob didn’t have a hair out of place, though her face was lined with worry. Her father wore his trademark khaki shorts, white tennis shoes and golf polo.

  “Honey!” her mom cried. “Emma called and told us what happened! Are you okay?”

  She sank into the chair next to the bed and reached up to push the hair up from Layla’s forehead.

  “I’m okay. My neighbor came and saved the day.”

  “Is this your neighbor?” Her father nodded at Ben. Layla looked down at his hand in her lap, wrapped around her fingers.