“Baby, what you are thinking about?” Heather asked as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders.
“Nothing, Heather. Aren’t you supposed to be mingling with your friends?” Brandon asked. He didn’t particularly like Heather, but he knew she was his only way into Shay’s life. Sure, Heather had good qualities and it helped that she was good in bed, but it ended there. Brandon didn’t care one bit about Heather. She was just another piece in his game.
“Why are you being so cranky? I just wanted to spend some time with you,” Heather told him with a whine. She cared for him a bit too much. She knew that, but yet she just couldn’t walk away.
“I’m not being fucking cranky. Will you just please give me some space?” Brandon snapped at her, as he watched Shay’s lips touch Brice’s. He watched as Brice touched the string of her pink bikini and he felt envy. Brice had the one thing in this life that he wanted most. Brandon vowed to make sure that he and Shay had their chance. She belonged to him, and no one else. No grease monkey was going to take her from him. He didn’t care what he had to do.
“I’m sorry; I just wanted to spend time with you. Don’t worry though. I won’t bother you again, Brandon. I don’t get why you even came here with me, if you didn’t want to spend any time with me. I mean I am your girlfriend. You could at least act like you care about me,” Heather said.
Sighing, Brandon grabbed her around her waist and pulled her to him. He’d come this far to get what he wanted, he couldn’t get kicked out of his opening now.
“I’m sorry. I’m just really tired; I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Brandon smirked as he remembered him and Heather’s night of sex.
“I didn’t hear you complaining last night,” she cooed as their noses touched.
“I wasn’t. God, you’re so amazing in bed,” he told her.
“You always say that. How come you’re never romantic?” Heather asked, looking at Brice and Shay who were now in the water splashing each other. She was jealous of their relationship. The moment she met Brice, she knew he’d be good for her, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“I told you long ago, I don’t do romance. I like you Heather, and we’re having fun. Isn’t that enough,” he questioned, in hopes that until he got what he wanted that would be enough.
“I know. I just hope sometimes that maybe I can be enough for you to want to be with for the long haul,” Heather said in a whisper. Brandon knew this was the key to end things, but the truth was that he was a selfish man. He could care less about Heather’s feelings and he’d keep stringing her along until he got Shay.
He didn’t care about the cost. He didn’t give a damn about who got caught in the crossfire, or who got hurt. He wanted what he wanted, and he was going to get what he wanted, one way or another. He already had a plan.
***
Shay and Brice went back to their towel after spending time in the water. Shay almost didn’t go; she didn’t want to be in her bikini in front of Brandon, knowing what he did to her. Brice convinced her not to let Brandon have that kind of power over her. Brice reminded her of all the progress she’d made, all the feelings that she worked through, and most of all how beautiful she was. It was in that moment that she couldn’t let Brandon control her life anymore.
“You’re so beautiful when you smile,” Brice murmured against her cheek.
“You make me smile,” she responded, turning just enough to look up at him.
“I’m glad I make you smile, pretty girl.” Brice responded, pressing his lips on hers.
“Well, look at this lovely couple.” Brandon cut in as Brice and Shay were kissing.
“You shouldn’t be over here,” Shay told him as she quickly grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her, just as Brice’s hand tightened around hers.
“Don’t you look lovely, Shay?” Brandon smirked.
“Don’t call me that,” she said, her tone filled with anger.
“But it’s such a beautiful name. Remember, I used to call you that all the time.”
“Shut up,” Brice cut in as he let the anger that built inside him consume him. How was it that Brandon got to roam around free doing whatever the hell he wanted to after everything he’d done?
“Look who’s getting all defensive. Tell me; is she as good for you as she was for me,” he asked, knowing that with how protective Brice was being, he had to know what happened.
That was it for Brice. They were on the beach with all the people that mingled in the water and on the sand, but Brice didn’t care. Brandon didn’t see it coming as Brice balled his hand into a fist and decked Brandon. He didn’t care anymore, his only concern was Shay. Brandon fell to the ground as the second punch came around, and before anyone could stop it, Brice was on top of Brandon throwing his fist into his face, the world lost around him as he lost control.
He thought about all the times he held Shay as she cried because of him. He thought about how much pain he’d caused her, and about the fear that stuck with her every day. It ended today, Brandon was finally going to get what he deserved and Shay was finally going to get the one thing that she never got before. Justice.
“Brice stop,” Shay screamed as everyone on the beach gathered around the two men. She could care less about Brandon, but she didn’t want Brice to have to deal with the consequences of what he was doing.
“What the hell is he doing,” Heather asked in an angry but worried cry.
“Brice, stop!” Shay yelled again, as he pounded into Brandon’s face even harder.
After what felt like a century of waiting, Chris and David pulled Brice off of Brandon. His face was bloody and he looked as if he was going to pass out. Trying to get free from their hold, Brice finally locked eyes with Shay who just stared at him. He couldn’t see any clue as to how she was feeling, she was just emotionless.
“You okay buddy?” Chris asked, still not letting go of Brice, as David attended to his brother.
“I’m fine. Just let me go. I promise I won’t go near that sleazebag again.”
“What did he do to you?” Chris asked.
Brice would love nothing more than to tell Chris what he really was, which was a lowlife rapist, but he knew exposing him would mean telling him something that Shay trusted him with, and he wouldn’t do that. No matter how much he hated him.
“It’s a long story, not something I want to talk about either. Will you just let me go?”
“Go with Shay. Go get cleaned up. It’s better if you stay away from him right now. I’m going to take him to the hospital, Bell. I’ll call you later.”
“Alright.”
***
“Are you upset with me? “ Brice asked as he and Shay satin his room after she patched up his hand hours later. They’d heard from Chris, and Brandon was going to be just fine. He had cuts and bruises on his face but he was expected to make a full recovery.
Shay stared at him with worried eyes. She wanted to be upset with him. She wanted to yell at him and tell him that violence was never the answer. She couldn’t though because no matter how she looked at it, she only saw one thing, Brice was protecting her. And she couldn’t be mad at him for that.
“I’m not angry. I want to be. I wish I could be. Brice, you shouldn’t have done what you did, but I’m not angry. You were just trying to protect me, and I love you for that,” she told him honestly. “You did something that I’ve always wanted to do. You showed him how it feels to be physically hurt. You stood up to him. Something I’ll never be able to do. “
“Why don’t you just tell them the truth? “
“I can’t Brice, it would ruin their entire lives, and I won’t be the person to do that. I know that you love me and you’re just trying to help, but I’m not anywhere close to ready to tell them .Can you just support that,” she questioned.
“I can. Of course.”
“I have to go home,” Shay said.
“You can’t go back there with him.”
“It’s for a little while, I have some things I need to get. I’ll be back. I’d ask you to come with me, but I don’t think they’d want to see you right now.”
“It’s okay. Call me if you need anything at all, do you got that?” Brice told her in a worried voice.
”Okay. I love you Brice.”
“I love you too.”
***
Walking into her room, Shay froze in her tracks. A beaten Brandon sat on her bed with her journal. All her inner feelings exposed. Everything she’d become because of him, all the hurt, every pain, all the lies that she kept so deep inside, he knew it all. She thought about leaving the room, but it wouldn’t have mattered. They were the only two people left in the house. Everyone else went down to the diner to pick up some food to bring back to the house. Had she known that, she’d have never come here alone.
“Why do you have that?” Shay asked, not moving from her spot near the door.
“I’ve been thinking for quite some time now,” he started, throwing the journal on her bed. “I’ve missed you. And we should have some fun, for old times’ sake.”
“Leave me alone,” she yelled, feeling the air leaving her lungs as it did the first time he walked into her house.
“Shay,” he whispered, moving towards her.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged, feeling history repeat itself.
“I don’t want to hurt you; I never want to hurt you. I never wanted that. I’ve loved you from the moment I first saw you. I know it’s wrong but I can’t help the way I feel about you,” he told her, touching her face.
“Stop it,” she said just as she pushed him away and fled to the other side of the room.
“Don’t run sweetheart, I’ll always catch you,” he told her, standing on the other side of the bed that separated them.
Shay felt her hands start to shake as he took another step. She tried to run away and get out of the room, but he pinned her to the bed, and covered her mouth. She tried to scream, but nothing came out, not that it would matter. She felt her past memories collide with her present.
How could this be happening after everything she tried to do to move on from that night? All the time that passed and she’d finally begun to heal, only to wind up in the same position as she was that night. She felt his hands begin to go for the buttons on her shirt and gave up. She closed her eyes to wait for it to be over, but then she felt him being yanked off her.
Looking up, she was in shock to see Brice pinning him against the wall. She thought he’d be home playing guitar or drums right now. But here he was with her. After one last punch, he knocked him to the ground, sending him to whimper. Brice rushed to Shay without a second thought.
“Baby, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Brice, why are you here,” she asked, unable to control her emotions as the tears ran down her face.
“You’re not fine,” he said, wiping her tears. “I came because I called you a million times and you didn’t answer. I got worried. God, this is a feeling I’m not familiar with,” Brice told her as he buttoned up the buttons that Brandon had undone. He promised her weeks ago that he’d never let her be hurt by her rapist, and that was a promise he’d keep.
“Brice,” Shay said with wide, fearful eyes. He followed her gaze, which led to Brandon pointing a gun at them. Acting on instinct, Brice stood with Shay behind him. If he didn’t know how much he loved Shay, he knew now. If Brandon was going to shoot anyone with that gun, it was going to be him.
“Leave her out of this. You want someone to shoot, I’m right here.”
“As tempting as that sounds, boy, I don’t want you, I want her,” Brandon said, his voice cold as ice.
“You can’t have her.”
“You can make this really easy, or really hard, Miss Shay. You come out from behind him, or your boyfriend gets a bullet in his chest.”
Shay knew what she had to do. She couldn’t let Brice take a bullet for something that he wasn’t a part of. He’d been telling her to stop running from her past for so long, and now it was time to finally start listening.
“Fine, you win, Brandon. You leave him alone, and I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Then come with me,” he said to her as he held out a hand.
“Except that,” she said. She was done being afraid of him.
“Don’t go near him, Shay. No matter what he says,” Brice demanded.
“I’m not going to be afraid of you, not anymore. You’re a coward. You’re a rapist and I hope you rot in hell,” Shay said. She finally had the courage to stand up to the man that took everything from her. “I hate you!”
“No you don’t,” Brandon challenged. He’d come this far. He wasn’t giving up yet.
“Yes I do. You ruined my life,” she screamed. “I love Brice, not you. I’ll never love you!”
In that moment it dawned on Brandon just what he had to do. “If I can’t have you, then nobody can.” He lifted the gun and shot it before Shay could even blink.
“You didn’t think I’d really shoot you, did you?” Brandon asked as Shay let out a scream.
“I couldn’t hurt you… Just him,” Brandon said, nodding towards Brice, who had red blood dripping down his white tank top.
Shay ran to Brice. “Brice,” she screamed.
“I… I’m sorry,” he managed to wheeze out. Agony dripped from his voice.
“Shhh, don’t talk. You’re going to be okay.”
“This will be your punishment,” Brandon said as he exited the room. Shay didn’t care about going after him. She only cared about the man she loved who was bleeding out in front of her. She read somewhere that you had to keep pressure on the wound. Reaching for a shirt that laid on the floor, she applied it to the wound. “Brice,” she asked. “Are you with me?” All she got was silence. Dead silence.
And then Shay finally Broke…
Break Me Down Page 20