Finally.
Maddox and Zeke, or ‘Locke and Coop’ if you ask the men, went back to visit Brandon Monday. They came back and said that they had no issues and Brandon seemed nice enough, agreeing he needed to sign the papers. Agreeing? What a joke. I don’t know what they did to push this along, but I am thrilled it is over.
Maddox and Beck have become pretty permanent fixtures at Dee’s and my house. Beck is there for obvious reasons, and they all start and end with Dee. Little hussy. Maddox and I have struck up an odd friendship. I can tell he doesn’t let people in often, but for some reason he chose to let me past his stoic exterior. For whatever reason, he seems to need the friendship as much as I do. I am starting to learn all his moods, and he can tell right when I need a good calm-down. Bottom line, he is a good friend and a wonderful distraction. Plus, having him around as the ‘protector’ is the perfect excuse for why I don’t need Axel around.
Greg and I haven’t spoken much since his role in the ‘Axel abduction.’ I miss him but I can’t seem to be in the same room without flipping my shit all over him. He, out of everyone, knew why I was avoiding Axel but decided to take matters into his own hands. Deep down I know he meant well, but I’m not ready to forget how easy he turned on me. Having Maddox around has another plus when it comes to Greg; Maddox doesn’t play well with others, even his ‘brothers.’ If I get upset, Maddox turns into a grizzly. I have been so used to only having Dee and Greg that it is almost refreshing to have another person I can trust in my life.
It is Saturday morning, and November is in full Georgia force, and we have a nice cold, rainy day on our hands. I call Maddox to see if he wants to come over and watch some football, drink some beer, and celebrate my newfound singlehood. Dee has already been to the store and bought a cake, streamers, and freaking balloons. I think she might be more excited than I am. I haven’t heard from Axel since earlier in the week when he called to let me know he was going to be out of town and to let him know if anything happened. No chance in that.
Maddox shows up early in the afternoon with one of his rare smiles in place. Dee lets him in and he wastes no time coming to congratulate me.
“Hey, girl. Happy?” Leave it to him. All it takes is those three words for me to let the water works flow.
“Oh. My. God.” I get out between broken sobs. “It’s over, Mad. Can you believe it? The last eight years of my life are done with just one signature. Freedom. Do you know how long I prayed to be free from Brandon?”
“Yeah, I get you, girl. No more worries.” He wraps his strong arms around me and just lets me let it out. Tears of relief, joy, and maybe a whole lot of shock.
I don’t know how long we just sit there. Words aren’t necessary because he just gets it. He knows I need to let this out in order to move on and completely let the pain of my marriage die. After I am done using his shoulder as a tissue, I look up and meet his normal blank face, expecting to find annoyance but instead get a smirk before he throws his head back and laughs. That is another Maddox moment that doesn’t happen often.
“Girl, you look like a drowned raccoon. All that black shit you chicks use is all over your face. Go clean up before I’m forced to call animal control to come take your ass.”
I throw a pillow off the couch in his face before leaving the living room and going to clean myself up. I hear him click the TV on and the game day broadcast takes over the silence. Walking into the hallway, I almost jump out of my skin when I nearly collide with a damp-faced Dee.
“He really is a big softy under that ‘don’t touch me’ vibe, isn’t he?” she asks.
“Don’t let him hear you say that, but yeah. He’s been great these last few weeks.”
“I’m so happy this is over. I know I haven’t been around much, but you know I’m here if you need me.” She looks so guilty, and even thought I know she means well, it breaks my heart.
“Dee, don’t you dare feel bad about having a life. I’m good, really. I feel good and I haven’t been alone. Mad’s been around and Coop comes sometimes. Plus you’re here…even if it’s holed up in your room shaking the walls with Beck.” I walk away leaving her red faced but laughing.
“Love you, you stupid bitch!” she yells after me.
The alarm has beeped a few times while I was in the bathroom getting cleaned up, signaling that someone has opened and shut the front door a few times. Assuming that it is either Beck or Coop, I just brush it off and continue to get ready. I throw off my yoga pants and tank, switching them out for some worn jeans and my favorite University of Georgia tee—game day gear, a must for any Georgia fan. My face is clear of all black tracks under my eyes and down my cheeks from my crying fit earlier. I am just pulling up my long hair in a ponytail when a deep voice clears his throat behind me, causing me to jump about a mile out of my body.
“Baby girl, can we please talk?”
“Not if you plan on dragging me down, Greg. Today is not the day to do this. We’re celebrating.”
“Izzy, you know how much it hurt to hear the asshole finally signed from Locke? He’s known you a few months and you tell him first? Every step of the way, Izzy, I’ve been here for everything and you didn’t even call me.”
“Okay, you want to do this? Fine. I am pissed, Greg. You went behind my back and called him. You not only called him but you might as well have thrown a fucking bat signal into the air and beamed his ass right into the shop. How could you? How fucking could you?”
He bows his head and lets out a long sigh. “Do you know what it’s like to sit back and watch someone you love turn into themself? You were headed back to that fucked-up hole you always push yourself in. Don’t think I did that lightly, Izzy. Not for one second. You avoided talking about shit to me and Dee and ran around God’s green earth to stay busy enough so you didn’t have to deal with the shit in your life. We were worried. Worried about that shit Brandon was pulling, but mostly worried about how you were handling Axel showing back up. Don’t think I didn’t know the real reason you ran. And you know as well as I do, if I hadn’t forced your hand, you would still be running today.”
“It wasn’t your decision to make, G. It was mine, and by forcing my hand, you took my control, the one thing I have fought to regain in my life. If that wasn’t enough, you forced him on me. I just don’t know if I can forget that so easily. I can forgive you because, even pissed as hell, I know you wouldn’t hurt me, but you knew—you fucking knew—how hard that was going to be on me. I wanted that meeting on my terms when I was ready.” It’s hard to keep eye contact with him because he has started pacing around my room. Surefire sign that Greg is frustrated and worried.
“I’m sorry. I’m fucking sorry. I don’t know what to say other than that. You’re my family, and given the chance, I would do it all over again if it were the best move to help you. Axel aside, that shit with Brandon was fucked up and you needed all the power behind you that you could get if he tried something else. The only thing I regret was upsetting you.”
I hate fighting with Greg. This is by far the worst, and to be honest, not having him around is hard. He is my rock. Maddox is becoming just as important, but no one can replace what Greg means to me.
“I get it, I do. It hurts, but I can see where you were coming from.” I get up and walk into his open arms. “No more fighting, okay? But don’t pull that shit again.”
“Alright, baby girl. No more fighting.”
“Come on. Kickoff should be soon and if you make me miss that you’re watching the game somewhere else.”
Laughing, he follows me out of the room, almost knocking me to the ground when I reach the living room and stop dead in my tracks.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask the man relaxing on my couch, feet propped up on the coffee table with a beer in hand.
“Well, hello to you too, Princess. Coop called, said he would be over here watching the game with Locke. Joined along. Didn’t think you would mind.” Cocky, arrogant asshole. He is just daring me
to throw a fit and kick him out.
“You’re a dick, you know that, Axel Reid? Shut up and get your feet off my table.” I kick his feet off the table when I walk past, only earning me a deep laugh before he props them right back up. “Get them down, asshole,” I grumble under my breath as I continue my way into the kitchen to grab the food and a beer.
Coop and Maddox are standing around the island when I walk in. I get a small smirk from Maddox before walking over to Coop and smacking him on the side of the head. “Ass. You do not invite him here.”
Maddox gives a boom of laughter before grabbing the tray of taco dip and walking back into the living room. “Girl, he probably didn’t even feel that with his hard head.”
“Shut up, Mad.” I smile at his retreating back before throwing another scowl at Coop. “Jerk.”
I grab the chips and a few beers before walking back in, just in time for kickoff. Dee and Beck are cozied up on the loveseat against the far wall. Greg and Coop have taken the recliners, leaving Maddox and Axel sitting on the couch with one empty spot between the two of them.
“You have got to be kidding me. Sit on the floor, asshat.” I try to give Axel the mean, hard look Maddox is always sporting, but apparently I lack the conviction.
“You look like you need to take a shit, Princess. I won’t bite…unless you want me to.” His evil, arrogant smirk and that cocky twinkle light his emerald eyes up.
I can play this game. I can act like being in the same room with his handsome self isn’t ripping me apart. Easy, right?
“Don’t you know? I prefer it hard and rough now, Axel. But you keep your teeth and everything else to yourself.”
That wipes his face clear. No more look of male giant ego and arrogant pride. Nope, he wasn’t going to get the upper hand on me.
Dee and Beck are too into each other to notice the tension in the room. Greg looks concerned, Coop looks like he might laugh at any moment, and Maddox is just looking at the TV but I can tell he wants to speak up. I just plop down as close as I can to Maddox without sitting in his lap and ignore Axel as long as I can.
The third quarter is just wrapping up when the doorbell rings. I wave off Dee and head off to the door, noticing a little too late how lightheaded I am. I have been throwing back beer after beer for the last hour, not eating much because I am still holding on to my snit about Axel being in the house. Walking around the corner of the living room and down the short entryway, I can hear the loud cheers and male grunting signaling another touchdown as I reach the door. This better be good.
As I swing open the door, it takes my beer-filled mind a second to register who is standing on my porch. When I do, my first reaction is to shut the door. Serves me right not checking the peephole. But when I go to shut it, I’m met with the resistance of his foot.
Before I can even get a shout or scream past my terrified lips, he reaches in and pulls me outside, closes the door, and pushes me back. My back meets the frame of the door hard, causing me to let out a small grunt of pain. He closes his hand around my neck and squeezes, cutting off my air supply and keeping my cries for help from escaping.
“Hello, Isabelle. You think you can get rid of me that easily? Look at what your boyfriend did to my face!”
His nose has a bandage over the bridge, clearly holding the broken bone together. His eyes are both bruised and blackened and his lip has a small cut in the corner. If I weren’t so scared I would smile. Finally Brandon has had a taste of his own medicine.
“Don’t think I don’t know who he is either, Isabelle. You talked about him enough for me to know exactly who he was when I opened the door. You think you can threaten me? Tell my father and the board about my little extracurricular activities? I don’t think so, Isabelle. And if you know what’s good for you, you will call off the trashy animals sniffing around in my business. You got your papers signed, but hear me, you will always be mine. Call them off. Now.” He looks raging mad, so close to my face that the spit from his whispered words hits my face. I have no idea what he is talking about. “Answer me, bitch. You will be telling them to leave me alone, you understand?” he forces out, again spraying me with his spit.
I claw at his hand, trying to get him to loosen up his hold; I can feel my lungs burning, demanding oxygen. My nails are clawing his hands and wrist, trying desperately to get some air. My lack of being able to breathe must have missed the mark with Brandon, his rage blinding him from his actions. My vision is getting black around the edges, but not before I see him pull his arm back and bring his fist racing forward, meeting my right eye with unbearable pain. My head hits the doorframe, sending another wave of stomach-rolling pain shooting through my head. He releases my neck and throws me down onto the porch, standing over my body with his feet on either side of my stomach. He leans down and whispers in my ear, “I will be in touch, Isabelle, but you tell those motherfuckers to stop fucking coming around and asking questions. I did what your boyfriend said and signed those papers, but I don’t need those fucking papers to prove who you belong to. You fucking hear me, bitch? You are mine. I will fucking kill him if he touches you. Got that? I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Isabelle.” He gets off another punch to my right eye, finally releasing the scream that was trapped moments ago. Then he’s gone. The amount of pain my body feels is the only think keeping me from thinking I just dreamt this whole thing.
I can feel them from my position on the porch floor running inside the house. The front door is pulled open and strong hands lift me up. I wince in pain when my back meets a solid arm.
“What the fuck!” Greg, I think, says from somewhere behind me.
“Oh my God, Izzy! She’s bleeding, oh my God!” Dee screeches from the same direction.
My vision is blurry. I can only make out that the person holding me is male. If it weren’t for the deep scent of leather and cinnamon, I wouldn’t have known it is Axel who is holding me so tenderly.
“Coop, Locke, go fucking find that motherfucker before he gets away,” he grates out, his tone lethal. “Someone call the god damn police. Now! Princess, are you hurt anywhere else other than your head?”
“Neck.” Gasp. “Back.” Wheeze. “It was… Brandon…was here.” I can’t make out his expression, my right eye is throbbing and swollen shut. I can’t even open my left eye because the movement causes more excruciating pain to blast through my skull like lightning. Belatedly, I feel what must be warm blood running down the back of my neck.
The arms holding me go rock hard at the mention of Brandon. Not what he was expecting to hear. But then again, he wasn’t exactly planning on football Saturday turning into this mess.
“Here, hold this,” Greg says, placing something over the back of my head.
Axel adjusts his hold on me and stands from his crouched position on the porch. I can feel him walking through the house to the living room. I can hear the sounds of people moving around the room. Axel sits down on the couch but doesn’t release me.
“Sit up, Princess. Let’s take a look at your back, yeah?”
He helps me lean forward, making my stomach lurch, and I feel warm hands moving up my shirt.
“Fuck!” Greg yells. “How the fuck did this happen? You’ve got welts all the way up your spine, Iz!”
I don’t answer, because really, what’s the point? I think it’s pretty obvious how I got like this.
I can hear the sirens approaching, making me snuggle closer to the safety Axel’s strong arms are providing. Just when I think I am finally free… What a joke that was. I’m beginning to think I won’t ever be free of Brandon’s reach.
Dee is directing the police officers and the paramedics into the living room. I can hear Greg off to the side somewhere talking in low tones with Maddox answering back. I can’t tell where anyone else is, and I’m in no hurry to open my eyes and check.
“Ma’am.” A new voice joins the group. “Ma’am can you open your eyes?” Axel shifts and moves me away from his warmth, placing my body in a way that allows
this person to start touching my face. Immediately, I draw back into his body.
“Shhh, Izzy, let them look at you.” His warm breath tickles my ear and his arm tightens around my shoulders, reminding me that he is here and I’m safe. His head turns from my ear and he addresses the new voice. “I don’t think she can open her eyes without pain. She tried a second after I reached her but they snapped shut quickly. Hasn’t opened since. Her breathing sounds raspy and her voice seemed hoarse when she was able to talk. Hasn’t spoken since. Her back has what looks like a welt-like bruise from tailbone to shoulder blades. I haven’t been able to take a good look at it. Neck injury, and the source of the blood is from the back of her head. Again, I haven’t taken a good look.” He must be speaking to the paramedic, because when he finishes, I feel soft gloved hands start pressing into my face, around my neck, and up my throat.
“Ma’am, I need to lean you forward a bit so that I can look over your back and head slowly, and let me know if you feel like you’re—” He doesn’t get a chance to finish before I empty the contents of my stomach all over the floor.
“Okay, that’s okay. Do you feel nauseated?”
“Y-yes,” I answer back, again not recognizing my own voice. I sound like I’ve spent the last few hours screaming.
“Did you hit your head?”
“No…yes,” I whisper my reply, “I don’t remember. I was pushed into the doorframe before he grabbed my neck, I don’t remember much after that.”
“That’s okay. Let’s check you out right now, okay?”
His soft hands spend a few minutes taking my blood pressure before they continue to press and poke around my tender skin, earning a few hisses of pain from me and growls from Axel. They have me lean forward again, moving my hair around to check out the source of the bleeding, and then he checks my back. I can feel the torn skin on my back stretching and pulling tight with every small movement of my body.
Exposed: An Anthology Page 203