Alive (Mended Hearts #1)

by Beth Maria

  Because I didn’t cheat on her, asshole? Or maybe because I didn’t kidnap her? Yeah, that might be why.

  Maisie looks at me, swallowing before turning back to Matt.

  “Well?” he demands, his grip on her hair getting tighter, causing her head to go back further.

  “N-n-nothing,” she cries.

  “You’re damn right, it’s nothing. He’s made for Tiffany, just like you’re made for me.”

  So this is what this is about? Tiffany’s pissed that I blew her off, and Matt’s pissed because Maisie started dating me.

  I give Tiffany the coldest look I can muster up. The smile falls from her face, making her actually look scared for a second, before she covers it up. The smile returns to her face, only bigger.

  She turns around facing Maisie. That’s when I spot her cell phone hanging out her back pocket. I somehow need to reach it so I can ring for help. It’s our only way out.

  “What makes her so special?” Tiffany screeches, copying Matt and pointing at Maisie.

  Maisie’s head swivels around, as does Matt’s. Anger flashes in his eyes.

  A plan to get us out of here forms in my head. I’m sorry for what I’m about to do Maisie. I mentally tell myself that maybe, just maybe, she will be able to hear my thoughts. Or maybe she will hate me for a little while until she realizes why I’m doing what I’m about to do.

  “Nothing at all. I’ve always wanted you, Tiff. I just didn’t know how to tell you. You were never good enough for me.” I put on the charm, giving her my famous panty-melting smile, as women like to call it.

  She spins around, her hair nearly hitting me in the face, with a huge smile plastered on her face. I think she’s happy with that answer. It physically pains me to say those words to her, though.

  “Oh, baby, you have always been good enough for me. Do you know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that to me? I’ve been waiting years.”

  “Well, I’ve said it now. Come here.”

  She slinks toward me provocatively, swinging her hips. I sneak a quick look at Maisie, and find her silently sobbing, but her body gives her away. It’s shaking. Matt doesn’t seem the least bit bothered. He must be happy to hear what I’m telling Tiffany. He probably thinks he can have Maisie for himself now. Stupid fucker.

  Tiffany bends down. I pucker my lips, letting her know that I want a kiss. As soon as I get out of here, I’m washing my lips with bleach. Her lips touch mine, and all I can think about is how they aren’t as soft or as plump as Maisie’s.

  I trail my lips toward her ear and whisper, “Untie me so I can touch you, baby.”

  She shudders, letting me know that I’m affecting her. Let’s hope it’s enough for her to let me go. She nods her head, not actually saying anything, and then moves to untie me.

  Matt is oblivious to what’s going on. Good. He might try and stop her. That guy never did like me. I never liked him either.

  I feel the strings loosen, allowing some feeling to come back into my hands. Thank God. It feels wonderful. I can only imagine how Maisie is feeling with how long she’s been here.

  Finally free, I stand up and stretch. My t-shirt rides up, exposing my V muscles. I hear Tiffany sigh and, looking at Maisie, I see that her head is turned the other way. I’ve really hurt her. I just wish I could tell her that I don’t mean anything I’m saying. I’m doing this so that we can escape.

  I turn back to Tiffany, my smile back in place. I open my arms, which she willingly enters, and wrap them around her like I usually would Maisie. I’m trying to picture that it’s Maisie I’m hugging, but the shape is all wrong. Tiffany doesn’t fit in my arms like Maisie does. I just need to keep reminding myself that I’m doing this for her. It’s my fault she’s in this mess, and I need to fix it.

  I run my hands down her back, settling them on her bottom. I give it a squeeze, letting her know that I’m interested. Then, I gently move my hand toward her pocket and try to gently pull her cell out. I give her other cheek a squeeze too try and disguise what I’m actually doing.

  “That’s it, baby. You squeeze my bottom. I know how much you like it,” she purrs in my ear, getting the totally wrong idea.

  I feel Tiffany run her hands down my back, moving them lower and lower. I need to do this quick, and then I can get her hands off of me.

  Got it!

  I step back, staring into her confused eyes. “Come on. Let’s go find a quiet room.” I wink, causing her to cackle. Yeah, she thinks she’s going to get lucky. She’s going to get a shock when she finds out what I plan on doing.

  She grabs my hand, and I quickly put her cell in my pocket. Then I’m being dragged out of the room. I turn one last time, getting a look at my beautiful woman, who I plan on getting back as soon as we’ve been rescued. She looks like she’s given up. I need to get that beautiful smile back on her face. I just need to do this one last thing first.

  Chapter 26

  Maisie

  Watching Jesse walk out of the room, holding hands with Tiffany, guts me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt soul crushing pain like I’m feeling now. Even when Jesse broke up with me, it didn’t hurt as much as seeing him flirting with Tiffany. This is the girl that he claimed to despise more than life itself.

  It doesn’t help that I have Matt kissing my neck and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. It’s not even like I can get him off of me. If I tell him to stop, he’ll just hit me, and I don’t want to be in anymore pain. So I just let him do it because that’s all I can do.

  “I told you he didn’t deserve you. He’s just gone to fuck another girl, leaving you here,” Matt reminds me.

  “Drop it, Matt,” I tell him dejectedly. I’m not in the mood for his snide comments, especially when he’s right.

  “Just remember that I’m not the one who left you to sleep with another girl.”

  Did he really just say that?

  My temper flies through the roof. “If I remember correctly, you did. That’s why we aren’t together anymore.”

  His face changes, anger returning and reminding me that I need to just keep my mouth shut. I know this isn’t going to end well. He’s right. I will never learn, it seems. “You just had to bring that up, didn’t you? If you have nothing good to say, then keep your mouth shut. You’re ruining my mood, and I don’t want you to have to make me teach you a lesson again.”

  “Matt, you can’t keep me here forever. Please, just let me go. We aren’t going to work anymore,” I plead, even though I know it won’t help the matter. But I have to try, since Jesse’s left me to defend myself.

  “I’ll never give up on you, Maisie. I’d rather die than never have you again, and if you decide that you don’t want me, then I’ll end us both. I can’t stand to see you with anybody else. Do you know how hard it was to see you with him?”

  My eyes widen. I’m shocked that he said he would kill us both. I can’t have heard that right. “Did you just say that you would kill us both?” I ask, making sure that I heard him correctly.

  He nods his head adamantly. Oh shit. “Yes, I did. If I can’t have you, then nobody else can. The only way I can make sure that happens is if I take you with me.”

  “That won’t be happening, son,” a voice interrupts.

  My head snaps in the direction of the new voice. I release a sob. It’s the police. I’m going to be free. Thank you, God.

  “Who are you?” Matt asks, standing in front of me and blocking my view. His body goes rigid, his hands balling into fists.

  “Son, move away from her, please.” Two men walk forward, slowly coming toward us. The one talking is tall and stocky and has a moustache. He looks scary. I wouldn’t want to mess with him. The man with him is just as tall, but not as stocky. He looks even scarier, if that’s possible.

  “Stay away!” Matt raises his fists. Come on. Don’t tell me he’s going to be stupid enough to start a fight with them. He will lose.

  I stay quiet. I know they will get me out of here eventually.

&nbs
p; “That’s not possible. I’m going to have to ask you to move out of the way please,” the first one tells him calmly, as they continue slowly making their way toward us.

  “TIFFANY?” Matt shouts, panicking. He’s looking past them and out the door. He shouts so loud, I think my ear drums just burst.

  “She won’t be coming to help you. My partners have a hold of her, I’m afraid. Now, we can either do this the easy way, where you come with us willingly, or we use force. Choose wisely.” They stop moving, waiting for his answer. The leaner cop looks over toward me, giving me a little smile. I give him the best smile that I can muster up in return.

  “You can’t do this. You have no right. You’re ruining everything! She’s supposed to be mine!” Matt screams in hysterics, pointing at me. I’ve never seen him like this before.

  They don’t say anything; just move forward a little more. Matt turns and grabs me, squeezing the life out of me.

  “I’m sorry. I love you so much, Maisie. I love you. I love you. I love you,” he keeps repeating in my ear.

  I don’t feel anything. How can I, after what he’s just done to me? He’s ruined me in ways that he will never realize, and for that, I despise him.

  “NOOO!” Matt screams as he’s dragged off of me. I watch him leave the room, kicking and screaming. His eyes are pleading with me to do something. I don’t do anything, though.

  Two other officers take over, dragging Matt out of my view. I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s over. I’m finally free.

  “Are you okay, sweetie?” the stockier officer asks, crouching down next to the bed.

  The tears come hard and fast now. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

  “It’s okay. We’ve got you now.”

  The other officer comes over to me with a key. I’m guessing all handcuffs use the same type. He doesn’t say anything, but just looks at me with pity in his eyes. Usually, that would bother me, but right now, I’m just so relieved that I’m being saved.

  Finally, a few moments later, my hands are free, and I’m shaking them to get some feeling back into my arms. I sit up, welcoming the feeling of my feet touching solid ground.

  “Thank you,” I tell the officers, giving them a grateful smile.

  “It’s our job. Come on. Let’s get you checked out to make sure you’re okay.” I stand up, swaying from not walking for a few days.

  Wait. How did they know that I was here? I never called anyone. “How did you find me?” I ask.

  “We had a call from Jesse. He’s outside waiting for you.”

  I stand still, shocked. He didn’t leave me. He called for help. But how? I’ll have to ask him when I see him.

  The sunlight feels good as it beats down on my face. You miss simple things like sunlight when you’re locked up, not knowing when you will next see it. I just wish I could see the sunlight properly, but my eyes are swollen, making it hard to see.

  “MAISIE! HELP ME!” Matt screams. I turn in the direction of his voice and watch as he’s shoved into a police car. The door shuts on his face, silencing his screams. Thank God. I can’t deal with that right now.

  I see Jesse standing there staring into the distance. He doesn’t notice that I’m watching him, but I can see that his face is all swollen from where Matt hit him. I just want to run over there and make sure he’s okay, but that isn’t my place anymore, and I don’t think my body would allow me to after the abuse it’s been put through.

  I should say thank you to him for rescuing me, except I don’t know what to say. After everything we’ve been through, we’re in an awkward place right now. He’s not my Jesse anymore, not the person who I could talk to when something was wrong, and not the person who can comfort me when I need to be hugged. Those days are over. I just need to remember that.

  “We’ll go deal with him. My colleagues will take you both to the hospital, and we’ll come and collect a statement from you later,” one of the officers tells me as he hands me a card. I look down at the card. Detective Jones. I completely forgot that I didn’t ask him his name.

  “Thank you, sir,” I tell him.

  Then he’s gone, walking over toward his partner.

  ****

  On the ride to the hospital, the events of the last few days replay in my mind. Jesse and I don’t talk. I guess both of us don’t know where to start.

  I’m seen straight away, and Jesse is being seen in another room. Thankfully, nothing is broken. I have a few bruises and am seriously dehydrated, so they put me on a drip to get some fluids back in me.

  The door bursts open, and a head of blonde hair comes bundling toward me, wrapping me in a tight hug.

  “Chloe, you’re hurting me,” I hiss through the pain shooting through my body.

  “Oh shit, sorry,” she says, letting go of me. “What did that asshole do to you?” she asks, her eyes watering up when she takes in my appearance.

  Tears fall from mine too. “Everything apart from kill me. There were a few times when I wished he would. It was horrible.”

  “If I ever get my hands on him…” She leaves her sentence hanging. She would kill him, I know.

  “I’m okay now,” I try reassuring her.

  “I didn’t know what had happened to you. Then, when Jesse called me, I came straight here. I was expecting the worst. He didn’t give me any details, just told me to get here straight away. I’ve been going out my mind!”

  “Well, as you can see, I’m still alive, so you can stop worrying now.”

  “I won’t stop worrying until that sick fucker is behind bars. Has anyone told your parents?”

  I really don’t need them worrying about this. They will be down here before I know it, babysitting me. I don’t need that right now. I need to recover in peace.

  “No, and I don’t want them to know yet. You know what they are like. They will be down here and won’t let me out of their sights. Or worse, they will take me back home. I just need time, Chloe. Promise me you won’t tell them?” I plead.

  She looks torn. I need her to be on my side for this one.

  “Please?” I ask again.

  She sighs, obviously not happy with my decision. “Fine, but you will have to tell them eventually.”

  “I will in a few days. I promise.”

  Knock, knock.

  Detective Jones pokes his head around the side of the door.

  “Come in,” I tell him.

  This is it. Time to spill my guts.

  “Hello again. How are you feeling, Miss?” he asks, now standing in front of my bed.

  “Please, call me Maisie.”

  “Okay, Maisie. I need to take your statement, if that’s okay? Do you want your friend with you?” He looks toward Chloe.

  “She can stay,” I tell him. He just nods.

  “Okay, first of all, how do you know Matt Davis?” he asks, pen and paper at the ready.

  “He was my boyfriend in high school.”

  “And did you break up on good or bad terms?” I can’t exactly tell him that I walked in on him having sex with another girl. Embarrassing.

  “Bad terms.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to him?”

  “When I went home three weeks after Thanksgiving, Jesse and I bumped into him in the store parking lot.”

  “How did he seem?” How am I supposed to answer that? We weren’t friends anymore.

  “I don’t know. He was trying to rile Jesse. He took a disliking to him,” I tell him, remembering that he tried to punch Jesse that day.

  “So, can you tell me how you ended up in that building?”

  I tell him how I was on the beach late at night, and that Matt randomly turned up. I go on and tell him everything else and all that happened over the last few days.

  Chloe looks shocked once I’m done. I haven’t had time to tell her what happened, so this is all new for her.

  “And how do you know Tiffany Dawson?”

  “She knew Jesse. She took a disliking to me when we
became friends. She’s always made it known that she didn’t like me, and she even threatened to ruin me,” I tell him. She definitely succeeded.

  “Did she help Matt kidnap you?

  “No, but they planned it together. Matt was to get me, and Tiffany was to get Jesse,” I tell him what I know.

  “Okay. I may need to ask more questions later, but for now, that will do. You have my card if you need anything, don’t you?” he asks as he closes his notepad.

  “Yes, I do. Thank you for all your help.” I smile as best as I can at him, which he returns. Then he’s gone, leaving the room in silence. Chloe probably realizes that I need a few minutes.

  The door opens again, and this time Jesse enters. Chloe sees him, turns to me, and says, “I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be back later. Call me if you need anything.” Before I can protest, she’s leaving the room.

  Jesse stands awkwardly at the door. It’s nerve wracking.

  “Are you coming in or what?” I ask, breaking the silence. He doesn’t reply, just comes and sits in the chair next to my bed.

  “I’m sorry you had to be involved in all of that,” I tell him, staring at the wall opposite me. I can’t bear to look at him after what I caused him to go through. I know Tiffany was the one to take Jesse, but if they hadn’t have met me, then she wouldn’t have got in touch with Matt.

  “It’s not your fault. I’m glad I was there, to be honest. I don’t want to think what could have happened to you if I wasn’t,” he says, his voice sad.

  “I’m not your problem anymore.”

  I feel him looking at me, though I don’t turn around.

  “Maisie, you will always be my problem, for as long as I live. I shouldn’t have thrown you out, and I will regret that for the rest of my life. You probably wouldn’t have been in that position if I had’ve let you stay. And then I also wouldn’t have had to pretend to want Tiffany, but you have to understand that I did that so that I could get help. Unfortunately, I can’t turn back time, though. All we can do is move forward, and I want to move forward with you. I understand if you can’t forgive me and never want to see me again. I just want you to know that I love you so much, and I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through.”