Blow

by Fall, Lucy

  Hunter leaned forward, his lips pressed tight together. “Stop making a spectacle of yourself.”

  “A spectacle?” Hurt shone in her eyes as she pressed her hand to her chest. “How am I supposed to act? We were days from reconciling and suddenly she comes in and snatches you from me.”

  “We were never getting back together.”

  I edged up to the table. Sophie whipped her head around, glaring daggers at me. She was on her feet in an instant, her palm slapping my cheek for the second time that day.

  “Fuck no,” Hunter roared in the background.

  It took everything in me not to jump her ass. Instead, I fisted my hands and, between, clenched teeth said, “If you hit me one more time—”

  “You’ll what? You’ve already turned the man I love against me. You used our friendship to get to him.”

  “I did no such thing, Sophie.”

  Her eyes were bright with tears, her chin wobbling. “He’s mine, Eliza. He’s always been mine. Everyone here knows it. And look what you’ve turned him into. I don’t even know him anymore.”

  Mumbles of agreement filled the room. That was when I noticed the entire restaurants, waiters, bartenders and even some kitchen staff included, were watching the drama unfold with abject fascination.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered as I realized exactly what was going on.

  The audience hadn’t been large enough at the coffee shop. The word hadn’t spread fast enough. She needed more eyes, more tongues to help feed the fire. This spectacle would combust into an uncontrollable inferno of gossip.

  “I never believed you would turn on me like this. I trusted you.” She covered her face, sobbing, then ran out of the restaurant.

  Stunned, I stood there for a moment, trying to grasp everything that just happened, then glanced at Hunter, who was clenching and unclenching his hands. The muscle was going to town in his cheek. I needed to get him out of here. He was close to snapping and one wrong word from someone could push him over the edge.

  I stepped over to him and touched his arm, like I did countless times now to calm him. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

  His gaze shot to me and he blinked, like he didn’t know where he was, and then his body relaxed. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

  I took his hand this time. Scowls bored into me as we started toward the exit. Heat crept up my neck and pooled in my cheeks. A balding man around Hunter’s age I wasn’t familiar with stepped in front of us, disapproval oozing off him.

  “Some friendly advice, Hunter. Keep to your own kind.” His gaze racked over me nastily. “Not the trash from the other side of the tracks.”

  Gasping at the insult, I clasped a hand over my mouth.

  Hunter rushed forward as if he was going to hit the man and I grabbed him by the arm to stop him. Thankfully, he froze.

  Breathing heavily, chest heaving to control his anger, he said, “Get the fuck out of my face, J.T.”

  “Just keeping it real dude.” Then the guy walked off. Hunter took me by the arm and turned me toward the exit. Placing his hand at the small of my back, he guided me forward until we were outside. Sophie was standing on the sidewalk, crying, while a group gathered to console her.

  “Fucking hell,” Hunter muttered, then steered me in the opposite direction. He shoved his hands through his hair, anger residing in the rigid set of his jaw.

  “Who was that man?” I asked.

  “A guy I used to hang out with. Haven’t seen him in years. This goddamn town drives me fucking crazy. Can’t get past their own expectations to mind their own goddamn business.”

  I needed to get him home and away from this, so he could calm down. Sophie had definitely done what she’d set out to do. My road to ruin had officially started.

  Chapter 9

  Wiping my hand across the fogged up mirror, I stared at my reflection. For someone who finally had everything she’d wanted, I sure looked beat down. I opened my makeup bag, quickly dabbing make-up on dark circles under my eyes before Hunter walked in and saw it. I was trying so hard to now let him see how the last four days had taken its toll on me.

  Sophie’s spectacle at the restaurant the other night had finally produced the results she had wanted. The entire town had rallied to together to protest and sneer at me.

  Home wrecker seemed to be the favorite verbal grenade they liked to throw at me. A fucking homewrecker, as if Sophie and Hunter had already been married.

  The truth, that they hadn’t been an item in years, seemed to escape everyone’s notice somehow.

  What Hunter wanted didn’t matter either, not to them.

  I tried my best to ignore it. Every night Hunter took me out somewhere very public, kissed me, held my hand and was open about the fact he was with me and everyone else needed to get the hell over it.

  I came back to the present as strong arms slid around my waist and Hunter buried his head in my neck, trailing his lips across my throat. I reached up and threaded my fingers into his hair, tilting my head to the side. Sighing, I closed my eyes. God, I loved this man, wanted so desperately to say it out loud, but I was terrified of saying something that serious to him too soon.

  “You ready?” he asked between nips.

  I turned in his arms and wrapped mine around his neck. “Why don’t we stay in tonight?”

  As much as I appreciated how determined Hunter was to not cower, the constant prying of the public into our relationship was getting seriously exhausting.

  He placed his forehead against mine. I loved when he did that. It was so intimate and sweet. “Not a chance in hell. This town is going to fucking get used to us and move on.”

  I sighed. “Fine. What’s on the agenda tonight?”

  “No more restaurants. I’m getting burned out.”

  “I can cook,” I offered.

  One side of his lips crooked up. “Nice try.”

  “How about we go do something fun?”

  “Like?” he said, skeptical.

  “Are you in the mood for putt-putt?” I loved the idea of dressing down and being outside for the night.

  He studied me for a long moment, his eyes boring into mine when he’s trying to see past my words. I smiled up at him, trying to hide how desperately I needed this.

  He sighed. “Putt-putt it is. I don’t think I’ve played since I was a kid.”

  “Get prepared to get your ass whooped.”

  Twenty minutes later, we’d parked his truck at a local grocery store, opting to walk down to the golf course since it was such a beautiful night. Hunter had always mentioned getting ice cream on our way back.

  Hunter’s fingers were twined with mine as we walked down the sidewalk. I tilted my head back, closing my eyes. I had needed to get some fresh air. We’d pretty much spent the days in the apartment and the night out in some popular restaurant. This was the first time in awhile that I really felt like me and Hunter were on a real date, not just for show.

  Not just trying to prove something.

  “Hey, Hunter, how much for an hour with her?”

  A man’s cruel voice slurred from behind us. Heat instantly scorched my cheeks at the implication of the man’s words. Hunter froze, his entire body going rigid and that muscle jumped in his cheek.

  “I’ve got to have a piece of the ass that has you forgetting Sophie Stedman.”

  There was chorus of agreements. There was more than just one drunken fool.

  My stomach knotted with fear and anxiety.

  Rage contorting his face, Hunter spun. Seeing there was three of them starting to close in on us, I grabbed his arm. “Don’t. There’s three of them, and they’re drunk. It’s not worth it.”

  He stilled, but he barely had himself controlled. I could not let raunchy words about me be what he finally sent him over the edge.

  “I bet she’s a freak in bed.” All the three guys seemed oblivious to Hunter’s fury. The guy wearing a red baseball hat pinned me with his drunken, lustful stare. “You like it from behind, sugar. I
’ve got a dick that’ll make you scream.”

  “How about a threesome,” the idiot wearing overalls added. “You can suck my cock while he fucks you.”

  That was it. I lost what little control I had at keeping Hunter calm.

  He yanked from my grasp. Before I even had time to register what was happening, he had punched the guy wearing the hat in the face. Blood squirted from his nose and he bent over, groaning. The man in the overalls sucker punched Hunter in the jaw. Not that it did a damn bit of good other than to piss him off more. His body heaved from his fury as he spun around and tackled the guy. Their bodies thudded to the pavement and Hunter pounded the guy with relentless blows to the head. The third backed away, fumbling with his phone.

  Panic squeezed my throat as I watched in horror. A part of me felt like it wasn’t really happening, that I was watching it through someone else’s eyes. But it was real. Hunter had finally snapped and all that rage he barely kept contained poured out of him.

  “Hunter!” I yelled. “Stop.”

  But my words didn’t reach him. He continued pummeling. Blood ran down the man’s face, but thankfully, he was still holding his arms up in defense. Hunter wasn’t beating an unconscious man—yet.

  Sirens sounded in the distance. Desperate to get through to him, I rushed closer, screaming his name now. Nothing was reaching him. I knew better than to touch him when he was out of his mind like he was. If he ended up hurting me while in a blind rage, he’d never forgive himself.

  A cruiser screeched to a halt and a police officer jumped out, hand on his gun. “Soldier. Stand down.”

  I don’t know if it was the use of word soldier or being commanded to stand down by a deep voice full of authority, but Hunter finally froze with his arm pulled back ready to land another hit.

  Lowering his arm, he sat back. He glanced down at his knuckles staring at them as if they were not part of him. Then he looked around, blinking, and I realized I was right. He’d completely blacked out.

  Shakenly, he rose to his feet and thrust his bloody hands through his hair. When I laid my hand on his arm, trying to comfort him in some small way, he whipped his head around to stare at me. His eyes were wild, confused.

  My heart hurt for him and I wanted to cry, but I refused to show that weakness right now. Hunter needed me at my strongest right now, because when he realized how far he’d gone, he was going to beat himself up.

  The cop approached cautiously, one hand raised, the other still on gun. “Hunter, I need you to turn around.”

  Without hesitation, he complied and brought his arms behind his back. The cop tugged the handcuffs free from his belt, slapped on metal cuffs on his wrists then read Hunter his Miranda rights. It hurt me deeply to see him in cuffs.

  “I’ll bail you out,” I assured him.

  He shook his head. “No. I’ll cover my own bail. Don’t come down there.”

  “Hunter—”

  “I mean it, Eliza. I’ll handle it.”

  The cop led Hunter to the cruiser as paramedics rushed past to tend to the victims of Hunter’s outburst.

  All kinds of emotions waged a war inside me as Hunter was placed in the back of the squad car. He wouldn’t look at me. Just stared down.

  A few moments later, the patrol car sped off and I was left alone on the sidewalk. Left with the group of people that had gathered, some actually videoing the incident on their cell phones.

  It sickened me to my core. Everyone in this town sickened me.

  * * *

  Curling my arms under my pillow, I watched Hunter sleep. His face was finally relaxed for the first time in hours. When he’d gotten home from the jailhouse, he’d been a caged animal. Agitated, distracted. I’d kept silent, knowing he was still processing everything that had happened.

  I was still trying to process it.

  I let him take the lead for the night. And for a change, he didn’t want to venture back out in the public, so we’d stayed in. I did everything I could to make him feel better, but he just seemed like he was in an odd place. I was thankful he was finally getting some peace through sleep.

  His face contorted into a grimace and I tensed. Or maybe not. Damn it.

  The incoherent mumbles followed next as his body jerked.

  God, hadn’t the man been through enough today? Why did his mind have to torture him too? Desperate to rouse him before the nightmare took him too deep, I whispered his name.

  He thrashed his head on the pillow. I’d seen him in the throes of a nightmare before and it hadn’t been easy to watch, this time was no different.

  “Hunter,” I said a little more forcefully.

  But the calling of his name didn’t bring him out of it this time. His body shook, broke out in sweat, thrashed. He swiped the air with his arms, narrowly missing my head. I backed off the bed, tears blurring my eyes. The muttering intensified. There was a panic to his movements, a terror that broke my heart.

  His eyes popped up and he gasped in a deep breath as he gazed ricocheted around the room. A few moments later, all the tension left his body in a rush and he relaxed into the mattress. He turned his head on the pillow. Then he shoved himself up when he saw me by the bed.

  “Goddammit, I must’ve been really bad if you’re standing.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

  I slowly sank back on the mattress. “Maybe you should talk to someone.”

  His eyes connected with mine. “I don’t need therapy.”

  I thought he did, but I kept the comment to myself. The man had had one hell of a day. “Come on, I’ll brew some coffee.”

  I slipped on my robe and walked out of the room, giving him a chance to gather his thoughts. He didn’t join me until the coffee pot was almost full. I hadn’t expected him to. I wanted so badly to help him, but I didn’t know how. This was far outside my understanding.

  I handed him a cup of coffee as he passed by on his way outside to get the paper.

  A few moments later, a very angry, “What the fuck?” shattered the early morning air followed by the something shattering against the pavement.

  Concerned, I ran to the door. Hunter was standing on the sidewalk, the remnants of his coffee mug at his feet as he stared down at the newspaper. I didn’t even want to know what he was reading. For that type of reaction, it had to be bad.

  Crumbling the paper in his fist, he stormed past me into the house without saying a word. A few seconds later the bedroom door slammed. I walked back into house. Hunter had tossed the newspaper on the floor. I bent down, picked it up and unfolded it.

  A black and white picture of Hunter straddling that guy with his fist raised was on the front page. I pressed my hand over my mouth.

  The headline read: Soldier Returning From Overseas Attacks Civilian

  And I was standing in the background of the picture. The look on my face was in complete contrast to what I had felt at the time.

  In the picture I somehow looked smug, almost giddy about what I was seeing.

  I looked downright evil.

  Chapter 10

  All I’d needed was to run a few errands this morning. Should’ve been pretty damn easy. But of course not in this godforsaken town.

  If I’d thought things were bad before Hunter had gone ballistic on that guy, nothing compared to post-newspaper bad. I felt like I needed a large hat, sunglasses and trench coat so no one could tell who I was. Never in my life had I been as sneered at as I had been the last two hours.

  I just wanted to go home. If my cupboards weren’t bare, I would’ve skipped this entire trip to the store. Besides I had wanted to do something to cheer Hunter up. I was really starting to worry about him. Nothing I did seemed to shake him out of the dark mood he was in. I hoped making homemade French dips would at least get him to try and smile.

  I placed my basket down and then started unloading the bread, roast beef, lettuce and tomatoes onto the conveyer belt at the checkout counter of the supermarket.

  “That’s her.”
r />   At the loud whisper, I stiffened. I had no doubt the busybodies behind me wanted me to hear them.

  Ignoring the comment, I waited for the cashier to start scanning the items.

  “She’s not much to look at is she?”

  Another woman giggled. “She never has been. Remember high school? I don’t see what Hunter sees in her.”

  I bit my tongue, refusing to feed the trolls. There was no reason to add fuel to the fire. Engaging would do just that and make everything worse.

  “Can you believe the bad influence she’s had on him? Hunter would’ve never attacked anyone before her.”

  “What do you think she has that Sophie doesn’t?”

  “A love potion?”

  The women peeled into laughter together. I got a pitying look from the cashier that only increased my anger. I guess anger was a nice change. I was so tired of feeling humiliated. From day one of my relationship with Hunter, it had been one humiliating encounter after another.

  Having to face up to a letter I had written years before, having Hunter ignore me in public, and, even now, I was still being humiliated. It was bullshit.

  “He’ll get bored and straighten up. Nasty women rarely make good wives.”

  I paid the cashier and lifted up my bags. I started to walk away, but my dignity just wouldn’t let me. I wanted to be shocking. I wanted this town gossiping about me for something I had actually done.

  I was going to feed the trolls.

  I turned back around and walked right up to them. Both women’s eyes widened as they realized I was approaching them.

  I smiled sweetly at them then leaned in, whispering, “F.Y.I, men love nasty woman. You should try it, you make just get the fucking of your life.”

  Both women gasped audibly and pressed their hands to their chest. I winked at them, then spun around and strode out of the store.

  That had felt amazing.

  If this damn town wanted to tag me as a seductress, then that was fine with me.