Running Into Love - The Complete Box Set

by Annalisa Nicole

  “That sounds like a great idea. I’ll text him and let you know. You know, I took your advice and on our hike, I told him about Roger. I didn’t think I’d be telling him so soon, but we just kind of both opened up to each other. He was furious with what Roger did.”

  “I’m proud of you for telling him. Now we can get working on getting you a, you-know-what.”

  “Are you sure you want to be going out so soon? You did just push a human being out of your body, just a few days ago,” I ask concerned.

  “Trust me, I still remember, but I feel great. It’ll only be for an hour or two. Don’t you worry about me, I’ll shove a little extra here and a little more there,” she says pointing to her boobs and crotch.

  I seriously didn’t need to know any of that.

  “Oh, he just texted, he said he’s free tomorrow night after seven. He said he’ll pick me up and I can tell him where we’re going then.”

  “Sweet, I can’t wait to have a night out. And more importantly, I can’t wait to see the two of you together,” she says in a hushed voice.

  “What are the two of you whispering about over there?” Asher says with that knowing grin.

  It’s like he knows we’re up to no good or at least he knows Willow is up to no good.

  “We have a double date tomorrow night with Amelia and Dr. Peters,” she announces rather loudly.

  It’s just loud enough for the entire room to hear. I think she did that on purpose.

  Now my whole family is up in my business wanting to know all about Kyle. Good job, Willow. I can’t be too mad at her, though. She’s definitely one in a million.

  Kyle

  Work breezed by and I’m getting ready to pick up Amelia for a double date with her brother and her sister-in-law. I’m surprised Willow wants to go out so soon after having a baby, but she did have a fairly easy delivery. Amelia texted earlier and said it’s a casual Italian place, that Willow had made reservations for at seven-thirty.

  I buzz her building at a quarter after seven and wait anxiously. She buzzes me up and I take the elevator to her floor. She opens the door wearing a pair of cropped black pants, with a stunning white low cut blouse, and the cherry on top . . . a pair of yellow spiked heels. This woman has a thing for shoes and I can’t help but think that I’d love to give her, her first orgasm wearing nothing but those shoes. She leans in, kisses me on the cheek and she smells amazing.

  “Hi, I’m all ready if you are,” she says with a killer smile.

  “I am.”

  I give her my arm and she locks her apartment. It’s only a ten minute drive to the restaurant and once inside we give the hostess our name. We’re the first ones here, but she shows us to our table.

  “I’ve never been here. Have you?” I ask Amelia.

  “Just a few times, Asher really likes this place,” she answers.

  A few minutes later Asher and Willow arrive, and by the worried look on Willow’s face, I can tell this was a little harder on her to be away from the baby than she expected.

  “I’m so sorry we’re late; Abbey was fussing. I just couldn’t leave until I knew she was going to be alright,” Willow says, as she leans in and kisses Amelia, then me on the cheek.

  “Sweetheart, Abbey will be just fine with your mom and step-dad,” Asher reassures her.

  “I know. It was just harder than I thought it would be leaving her. Asher, you remember Dr. Peters, right?” Willow indicates in my direction.

  “Please, you can all call me Kyle,” I tell them both.

  I stand and shake Asher’s hand. He looks hard into my eyes and squeezes my hand with a little bit more force than I think is necessary.

  “I remember him, how could I forget. It was one of the happiest days of my life,” Asher says.

  Amelia stands and places her hand on the two of ours and looks into Asher’s eyes. I can tell he’s protective of his little sister. As he should be, I know exactly how he feels. I was just as protective of Chloe, growing up. They seem to have some secret eye conversation, thankfully Asher lets go of my hand, then everyone takes their seat.

  The conversation is going great. Amelia and Willow are chatting away, Asher is talking to me about Abbey, when Amelia stops talking mid-sentence. She places her hand on mine on top of the table, the other goes in her hair and she immediately starts twirling it.

  The last time she did that is when she was talking about her ex-boyfriend. I trace the direction she’s looking and I see a man walking up to our table. I pull my hand out from under hers and protectively place it over the top of hers.

  “Well well, if it isn’t Amelia,” the man says with a condescending grin on his face.

  Willow has an angry look on her face, she must sense Amelia’s distress as well. Asher places his napkin on top of the table and looks at Amelia with concern.

  “Roger, what are you doing here?” Amelia says in barely a whisper.

  Instantly Willow is out of her chair sending it crashing to the ground. Asher is next out of his chair and takes a stand next to Willow.

  “What’s going on here?” Asher demands.

  “Of all the nerve. How dare you come up to Amelia? How dare you even show your face around her? If I were you, I’d turn that fucking skinny ass back around and leave before I do something that will land me in jail. And I just had a baby, I really don’t want to end up there, but trust me I have no problem with it,” Willow says, pointing in his face.

  “Willow, what’s going on?” Asher demands a little louder.

  Willow is up in this man’s face now and pushes him backward a step. I glance at Amelia and she looks like a child who was just yelled at. She nervously twists her hair so tight, I wonder how the whole bunch doesn’t rip out of her head. Waiters and waitresses are making their way to our table, because we’re now creating a scene.

  “What kind of man are you anyway? Don’t answer that, allow me . . . none. You can’t speak to a woman that way. Ever!” she says, enunciates every letter rather loudly. “And, if that weren’t bad enough. You had to take it so far as to spray paint graffiti on her bedroom walls. You are a fucking monster,” she shrieks at him.

  Amelia gasps, pulls her hand out from under mine and covers her mouth. Tears are streaming down her cheeks.

  Wait. What? I didn’t know anything about spray paint. I’m quickly losing my temper. I look at Roger, then back to Amelia, and she looks completely devastated, like she’s ready to hide under the table. I stand and place both my hands on her shoulders for support. I try to shield her from the stares coming from everyone in the restaurant. Asher grabs Willow by the waist and pulls her back into his body, away from Roger.

  “What way did he talk to Amelia? What’s this about spray paint? Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Asher says, looking from Amelia to Willow for some answers, and neither of them are offering any.

  The restaurant manager makes it to our table and picks up Willow’s chair and asks us what the problem is. Amelia hangs her head and can’t look anyone in the eye anymore. She’s twirling a large strand of hair with both hands now.

  “You need to leave and if I ever find out you came within a mile of Amelia again, we will have problems. Do I make myself clear?” I tell Roger.

  Roger places his hands up in surrender and backs away, while the manager escorts him from the restaurant. But not before he catches Amelia’s eyes and winks at her. I move to go after him, to get just one good punch in, but Amelia has let go of her hair and takes my hand in hers. She looks up at me with those devastated eyes and I know the best place for me is to stay right here with Amelia. I take my seat next to her and look at her with serious concern.

  “Amelia, are you alright?” I ask her.

  She looks at me with her pale blue eyes, as fresh tears spill down her cheeks. I grab her hand and stand.

  “If you guys can excuse us for a few minutes, we’ll be right back,” I tell Asher and Willow.

  Amelia stands, then I guide her outside the re
staurant. She’s plastered to the side of me with her head resting on my chest. Once outside, I wrap her in a tight, warm hug and hold her for the longest time not saying anything.

  “Amelia, look at me, please. It’s over, he won’t bother you again. I promise you that.”

  I take her hands away from her hair and hold them each in mine. She slowly looks up at me and the look in her eyes just kills me. How can another human being have so much control over another person’s emotions like this? How could a man break a woman like this? I let go of her hands and gently wipe the tears away. She still hasn’t said a word and it’s totally scaring me.

  “Amelia, say something please. Do you just want to go? I can take you home if that’s what you need.”

  She sniffs and takes a deep breath.

  “I, uh, just need a minute to get myself under control,” she says with a shaky voice.

  “Take as long as you need,” I say, wrapping her in another tight hug.

  After a few minutes, she’s composed herself and says she’s ready to go back in now. We stop at the bathroom and she asks me to go back to the table and send Willow to the bathroom.

  “Sure, I’ll just wait for you at the table. You’re sure you’re OK now?” I ask, still concerned.

  “I’ll be alright, I promise. I’ll just be a few minutes,” she says and attempts a small smile.

  I head back to the table and catch the look on Asher’s face. I’d guess that he had no clue about Roger at all. By the look of murder on his face, I’m guessing it’s a good thing. Willow must have filled him in on all of the details though, while we were outside.

  “Willow, Amelia’s in the bathroom. She says she’s doing better, but she’d like you to join her for a few minutes,” I tell her.

  Asher grabs her hand and stands as she stands, then gives her a nod before she heads to the bathroom.

  “Did you know about all this?” Asher asks me angrily.

  “I knew about all of it except for the spray paint. I think she kept that from me knowing I’d want to rip his head off if I ever saw him.”

  “Amelia’s lucky I didn’t know about this. I would’ve taken his head off just now myself. He’s lucky he only got the wrath of Willow.” Changing the subject, Asher asks with concern for his little sister, “Is she going to be alright?”

  “I don’t know, she only just told Willow and me the other day. She’s kept this bottled up for two years. I’m not sure how she’s going to feel about you knowing all the gory details either. She was pretty embarrassed to tell me. I don’t know if you noticed, but she started twirling her hair the second she saw him. I took some psych classes in college, that can indicate depression. I want you to know that I care a lot about Amelia and I’d never hurt her like that. I’m just as upset about all of this as you are,” I tell him, trying to reassure him that I’d never treat Amelia or any woman like that.

  “I appreciate how you protected her. I can see you really care about her. Just know though, that if I ever hear otherwise, you and I will have words. And by words, I don’t mean words,” he says and gives me another taste of that murderous look.

  “I respect that and I understand,” I tell him sincerely.

  Willow and Amelia walk up to the table, and both Asher and I stand. I take Amelia’s hand and help her in her seat. Willow whispers something in Asher’s ear and his face changes to a less murderous look. Amelia grabs her hair, then I place my hand on hers, gently remove it, and move it to my lap. A single tear rolls down her cheek, Asher notices and stands, startling both Amelia and Willow.

  “Son of a bitch, where is he? I’m going to kill him,” he says and begins to walk away.

  Willow grabs his hand and pulls him back into his seat. She again whispers in his ear and I can see him visibly trying to calm himself. Amelia wipes her tears with the back of her other hand and clears her throat.

  “Asher, I know Willow told you everything, but can we just please not talk about it anymore. I’ll be fine. It’s over now. I’m sorry if I ruined the evening,” she says in a shaky voice.

  “Amelia, honey you didn’t ruin the evening. You have nothing to be sorry for. I need to say just one thing, and then I’ll drop this. If I ever see Roger near you again, I’ll tear his motherfucking head off with my bare hands,” Asher says, looking deep into Amelia’s eyes as his eyebrows disappear in his hairline.

  We place our orders, then the table is uncomfortably silent. I’m at a loss for the right words to say to her in a restaurant. All I can do is hold her hand. Willow is still trying to calm down Asher and avoid another scene.

  Our food arrives and it seems like Amelia’s put herself back together. She remains quiet the rest of the evening, but everyone understands and tries to cheer her up. She doesn’t touch her food and a few times I have to pull her hand away from her hair. I have great respect for her for sticking out the evening and trying to put on a brave face. I am, however, very concerned how she’s holding up inside. She tries to throw out a few weak smiles, but I can see right through her. It’s written in her eyes.

  Chapter 6

  Amelia

  I’m so embarrassed about the scene in the restaurant. Everyone keeps looking at me with these looks that make me want to crawl inside my own skin. Everyone is trying to cheer me up and I love them all for it. I guess what Roger did has had a bigger effect on me than I realized.

  I can’t eat anything. I think if I did I might throw it all back up. Kyle has been so amazing, I can’t imagine what I ever did that was so good to deserve to have this man in my life. He hasn’t let go of my hand all night. Asher keeps going back and forth between looking like he wants to kill someone and like he just has no clue how to make this better for me.

  Thank God for Willow. I’m mortified that my brother knows, but Willow being here helps. I’m not at all mad at her for telling Asher. I know after what happened there was no way she could keep it from him. I’m truly thankful that I have someone like Willow in my life. She would really go to the ends of the earth for me. I know for a fact that I would do the same for her.

  Asher pays for the meal and shakes Kyle’s hand, this time though, he does it with a smile on his face. Kyle leads me back to the car, holding me close the whole time. On the drive back to my apartment, he keeps glancing at me every few minutes. I wonder if he’s waiting for me to break down or something. He parks in the garage and shuts off the engine. He removes the keys and plays with them in his lap.

  “Amelia, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone right now.”

  “If it’s alright with you, can you come up with me for a little while? I really don’t want to be alone either,” I say to him.

  “Sure, I don’t have to be at the hospital until noon tomorrow. I can stay as long as you need me to,” he says, exhaling in relief.

  He comes around the car, opens the door and takes my hand. He doesn’t let go until we’re at my apartment door. I open the door, then he leads me to the couch, where we sit side by side.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the spray paint?” he asks in a quiet voice.

  “I saw the look in your eyes when I told you the things he said to me. I knew you wouldn’t take it well if I told you the whole story,” I confess.

  “Honey, I know we’ve only known each other a little while, but I wish you felt like you could tell me everything. You’re right though, I probably would’ve wanted to kill him. I’m not here to judge you. I hope you believe me when I say that you can trust me with anything. I know you had a bad experience with Roger, but I’m nothing like him. I hope you can see that when you look at me. I’m here for you, Amelia. I’m not going anywhere either. I can tell this has had a deep psychological effect on you. Do you know that you twirl your hair every time we talk about Roger?”

  “I do?” I ask shocked.

  I had no idea I twirled my hair.

  “I’m not an expert or anything, but I have a friend from college who you can talk to if you want to.”

  “
I don’t know about that. I don’t think I need to talk to a professional or anything about it. It’s just stupid and I think I’m making a bigger deal about it than it really is. It’s done and over with, I just need to let it go now. I still haven’t digested the fact that so many people know already. I don’t even know if Asher plans on keeping this to himself or telling my whole family. I do feel better now that I’ve told people.”

  “Honey, it is a big deal and it’s not stupid. Your family will want to be there for you too. You need to give them more credit. They won’t judge you either, they all love you. If the rest of your family is anything like your brother and sister-in-law, they’ll walk on fire for you.”

  “What about your family? I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it before, but you know my deepest darkest secret now. I think it’s only fair you tell me yours.”

  I know it is a cheap shot, but I do completely trust him and I want him to feel that he can trust me with whatever it is that is weighing him down.

  “Alright, I will. I told you that my sister and I lost a patient and her baby in the beginning. That it almost caused me to walk away from it all. It affected my sister even worse. She was even closer to dropping out than I was. She was having such a hard time with it that she completely shut down and wouldn’t talk to anyone.

  “Three days after the deaths, she disappeared. We reported it to the police, they did their investigation and said they couldn’t find any reason to believe foul play. They said that she had run away on her own accord. I didn’t believe them, not for one second. My sister used to say that we had wonder twin powers and we could always sense when the other one was hurting, or happy, or any emotion really.

  “I just feel it deep down in my soul, that something bad happened to her. It tore my parents apart. My dad believed she ran away. My mom just couldn’t accept that and she thinks something bad happened to her too. Her apartment wasn’t broken into, there was a little bit of a mess, but the police said she did it because she left in a hurry, only grabbing a few clothes and personal items.