by A. Aubry
My fingers tangled in the back of his hair as he coaxed my lips open for him. I didn’t care that his team was hooting and hollering at our public display of affection. Normally, the thought of people watching me in such a vulnerable state freaked me out. But my feelings for Finn cast over the vulnerable sensation and filled me with a burning desire for him. When Finn pulled on my bottom lip with his teeth I groaned quietly. I was so close against him I could feel his cock twitch against my hip at the sound.
“Okay, McAllister, that’s enough,” an authoritative voice called out from the field.
He pulled back instantly at the sound of that voice. Finn glanced over his shoulder to look towards the voice. A man in a white polo shirt and black pants held a clipboard in his hand but stared right at me and Finn. I flushed and buried my face, completely embarrassed, in Finn’s chest.
“Can’t we take five, Coach?” Finn asked loud enough for everyone to hear.
That’s when the cat-calling began, and I rolled my eyes. He really thought that they wouldn’t respond to that?
“Pretty sure you need more than five minutes,” Bo responded before the whole team erupted in laughter.
And, there it was. The comeback I had been anticipating. What he didn’t know, was that if we were turned on enough…Finn and I didn’t need more than five minutes. And with the dampness between my thighs, I knew I was ready.
“You can walk her to her car then come back,” his coach replied before blowing his whistle at the team.
Finn looked me sadly and took my hand as he walked back to my car. I leaned back against my car and pulled on his jersey to bring him closer to me.
“You gonna miss me?” I asked quietly as I laced our fingers together.
“Of course I’m going to miss you. You’ll be the main thing on my mind,” he leaned his forehead against mine.
“After soccer you mean. Get your head in the game,” I smiled.
“Did you just quote High School Musical to me?”
“Don’t make me start singing the song to you, because I still know it by heart.”
Finn laughed, bringing back my favorite smile.
“Are you going to miss me, Julianna?” He brushed the back of his fingers of his free hand against my cheek.
“Very much so. Who is going to keep me warm at night?” I giggled.
“No one better be keeping you warm at night while I’m gone,” he said, his voice low.
“I guess I will just have to double up on blankets. Or maybe I’ll just go to your place and use your comforter while you’re gone.”
His eyes turned dark with lust, “Now I’m thinking about you in my bed.”
I bit my lip, wanting to beg him to just take me there against the car, “You are just gonna make me want you even more than I already do if you keep looking at me like that.”
“Have you ever had sex on FaceTime?” He blurted out.
Where in the world did that come from?
“Think carefully about that question, Finn, and consider my self-esteem levels,” I rolled my eyes at him.
“I’ll rephrase that, would you ever have sex on FaceTime?”
“You want me to have sex on FaceTime with you is where you are going with this, isn’t it?”
“Please, Julianna. You’re telling a guy to go a whole week without sex. Your body is like my drug.”
I held up a finger, “One time. We will see how it goes from there. If it is terrible, it is never happening again.”
He nodded his head excitedly, “You got it.”
We shared one last kiss before he was forced go to back to practice. Showing up at work with a dampness between your thighs was distracting. Especially when your boyfriend eventually went to the airport and sat around waiting for his plane and texts you naughty messages. He knew what he was doing to me, fucking Finn. Unfortunately, we’d have to wait several hours before we could act on anything.
“See you later, Ang! Drive safe!” I called to my best friend as she walked down the hallway.
My phone rang with its normal text message ringtone and I closed my door, racing to my newest message.
Finn: We still on for our FaceTime session tonight? ;)
Me: You aren’t too tired after your game?
Finn: Too tired for you? Fuck no.
Me: Good ;). I’ll be ready for you in five.
Finn: Wear something sexy ;)
Me: How about…nothing?
I grinned and set my phone down on the coffee table. Finn had been gone for only a day and he could still turn me on from a whole different state. He had the next few days off until his next preseason game, so he was going to travel down to Georgia to visit his brothers and his mom.
Our previous night’s sexual FaceTime was amazing. Watching him take care of himself while he watched me take care of myself was a whole other level of sexy. What I would give to just visit him for a day already. There was a knocking on the door, Angie probably forgot something.
Swinging open the door without looking, I started laughing, “Did you forget something?”
I was greeted by Michael standing in my doorway. This wasn’t right, I had a restraining order on him. He was blocked on both my phone and all of my social media. What the fuck was he doing here?
“Looking for your boyfriend?” He asked darkly.
“Uh, no. Angie was just here…” I said nervously.
There was a moment I almost told him that Finn was out of town, but I knew that would be a terrible decision.
“Right…” Michael obviously wasn’t believing me.
“You aren’t supposed to be here. I have a restraining order against you, I can call the cops and they will haul your ass to jail,” I actually sounded confident for once when I talked to Michael, it was an amazing feeling.
“Oh yeah, that piece of paper? I got it thrown out yesterday afternoon. Didn’t the courts call you?”
No, they hadn’t. Otherwise I was sure I would have left town with Finn, or even went and stayed at his place where I knew I would be safe. Michael could tell by the look on my face that I knew nothing about this. Now I felt scared and threatened.
“You need to leave, Michael,” I said as sternly as I could and started closing the door quickly.
Michael’s foot got in the doorway, effectively keeping it from closing before he pushed the door open. I screamed and stumbled back.
“We need to talk, Jules,” he stepped menacingly toward me, my front door closing on its own behind him.
“No, we don’t have anything to talk about,” I moved backwards.
“You were cheating on me with that soccer player, weren’t you?”
How did he know Finn was a soccer player? Actually, strike that question. Michael had connections everywhere, when he wanted to know something…he found out pretty quickly.
“No, you were cheating on me with three other girls. Or do you not remember that little tidbit of information?” Even I could hear the sass in my voice. I had never spoken to Michael this way, ever.
The sound of the smack was heard first before the sting burned my cheek. Michael had just slapped me…because I called him out. For the last three years, his temper was obvious, but I always found a way around it. He would periodically throw things or push things like a child throwing a temper tantrum but, up until now, Michael had never hit me.
He was a strong guy, he went to the gym nearly every day of the week to lift weights and box. There was no chance in hell I could defend myself against him. The voice in the back of my head said that I knew the basics in how to get away to go get help. I was in karate when I was in elementary school, after all. As I tried to recall exactly what to do, Michael got in my face.
“What did you say to me, you little bitch?” He growled.
“I didn’t cheat on you. I met Finn after I broke up with you,” I responded quietly.
If I repeated what I had said before, he would hit me again. My answer wasn’t that much better apparently, because he sla
pped my other cheek hard. I cried out on impact, clutching my cheek as it burned.
“You are supposed to be with me, Julianna. You are mine.” He grabbed my arm tightly in his large hand, I could feel the bruises already wanting to form where his fingers were.
As if on cue, my phone began to ring with Ed Sheeran’s song, Perfect, Finn’s assigned ringtone. His contact picture was one of us kissing at the Winter Carnival that took place annually in Saint Paul. That day was perfect, just like every other day with him. Michael picked up my phone and stared at the picture for a second too long.
“Why the fuck is he calling to FaceTime you, Jules?” He gripped my arm tighter as tears welled in my eyes.
When I didn’t answer, he shook me, “Answer me, dammit.”
“We are supposed to talk tonight…” Again, I had almost let it slip that he was out of town.
Michael laughed manically, “Your fucking boyfriend doesn’t even come to see you? Or wait, he’s out of town…isn’t he?”
His eyes lit up when he realized that Finn wasn’t actually in Minnesota.
“Give me my phone,” I screamed as I reached for it with my free arm.
Michael pulled it out of my reach before he threw it against the wall where it broke in two. No…that phone was my only option to call for help if I couldn’t get out of here. Michael’s hand moved up to my neck, putting enough pressure against my throat to make me cough and gasp for air.
“Little Mr. Perfect isn’t going to come save you now,” he grinned.
He released my throat and shoved me backwards. Losing my balance, the back of my head cracked against the coffee table and I began to feel light headed. Michael picked me up off the floor and threw me on the couch with an amount of force that took the air out of my lungs. When he crawled on top of me and physically ripped the t-shirt I was wearing open at the front, I began to cry.
This was it, he was going to do what he wanted to me, he was going to rape me and then probably kill me. All because I broke up with him and found a better guy. I silently told Finn that I loved him, more than anything in the world as Michael tore off my pants. My tears burned as they rolled down the side of my face onto the couch, sobs racking my body.
The faces of my family flashed through my mind, with each person that passed I thought about how much I loved them. When the final picture that I saw was Finn, I cried harder. It had only been a few weeks, but he had made me feel strong, beautiful, and loved. Michael shifted up to undo his pants and I could hear Finn’s beautiful voice in my head telling me to take my chance while his guard was down. I wouldn’t go down without a fight, I needed to see Finn again.
My knee lifted hard and fast into Michael’s groin as he straddled over me. He yelled out in pain and fell off the couch, clutching exactly where I had just hit with so much force, I barely believed it had come from me. When I realized he wasn’t getting up, I ran for the door, flinging it open and screamed bloody murder for help until I found a neighbor’s door. I pounded on their door as if my life depended on it, probably because it did.
“Fucking get back in here, Jules,” Michael had regained some of his composure as he limped towards me.
Whosever door I was pounding on, finally opened up. A middle-aged man and woman opened the door, their eyes widening in horror at the sight of me.
“Please, help me,” I begged.
The woman grabbed my hand and pulled me inside as her husband closed the door and locked it, quickly grabbing his phone. I could hear him talking to the 911 dispatcher, but it sounded like it was thousands of miles away. Then everything went black.
Chapter Seven
A faint beeping sound dragged me out of a dead sleep. Why was my alarm going off so early? I tried to lift my arm to turn it off, but my arms felt heavy with exhaustion. Finally giving into the stupid alarm to get ready for my day, I opened my eyes. My vision took a second to adjust before I was staring at stark white walls and my mom sleeping on a couch across the room. What the fuck? This wasn’t my bedroom.
I carefully looked around the room, an IV hooked up to my right hand as it pumped me with some liquids. I wish I knew what they were. The machine to my left beeped with my heart rate. I was able to move my arms and legs, though they felt heavier than normal, probably from lack of blood flow. I saw bruises on my left arm when I looked down at the hospital gown I was wearing. The memories of Michael’s attack rushed back, my head aching a little more than it was when I woke up.
My heart rate spiked quickly before I calmed myself down. I had gotten away, I was alive. Footsteps and a shadow underneath the privacy curtain that blocked the door caught my attention. Then the man that I loved, the man whose belief in me pushed me to fight off Michael, came around the curtain, a white paper cup in his hand. His forehead was creased as he was responding to a message on his phone. He looked as though he hadn’t gotten any sleep, the attack just happened last night…why did he look so worried?
When he looked up, his eyes widened in surprised before he ran to my side, crashing his lips into mine. My mouth felt dirty to me, like I hadn’t brushed my teeth in days. There was no way I was going to let his tongue into my mouth without brushing my teeth first or swishing some mouthwash. He pulled back and I could see the tears in his eyes.
“What…” I cleared my throat, only realizing now it felt very dry, “What are you doing here?”
“I came back to be with you, baby. Do you know why you are here?” He took a seat in a chair that was apparently next to my bed. His hands gently took mine as his eyes fell upon the hand printed bruise on my arm.
“Michael attacked me,” I whispered.
“Yes. He’s in jail now. The police said you ran to a neighbor for help.” His voice was so soft.
I pursed my lips, “He got so angry when you called. I hadn’t told him you weren’t even in the state, Finn. He figured it out, he said you weren’t coming to save me.”
My tears that I didn’t even realize I was holding back fell onto my cheeks. Finn quickly sat on the edge of my bed and pulled me into a hug, his hand running up and down my back.
“I thought about you,” I sobbed into his chest, “When he was trying to rip off my clothes, I was telling you in my head how much I loved you.”
His hold on me tightened as he let me cry, soft kisses being placed on the top of my head. When my sobs finally ran out, Finn still never let me go. I raised my head, reluctantly, to look at him. I probably looked like a red blotchy mess, but I had to be sure this wasn’t a dream.
“When did you get here?” I asked softly.
“Angie called me late Saturday night and I took the next flight that I could,” he whispered, moving one hand to brush some hair from my face.
“So you just got in today?” Dang, talk about a quick turnaround.
“Julianna, you’ve been in here for almost three days. It’s Tuesday.”
My eyes widened, “No, you’re lying.”
His fingers ran over my cheeks, wiping away the trail that my tears had made, “I wish I was. You wouldn’t wake up when they brought you in the ambulance. The doctors said we had to leave it up to you. You had hit your head pretty hard, it sent your body into shock.”
I had hit my head on the coffee table. Yes, it had hurt, and I felt dizzy, but I didn’t think there was any damage that was done.
“But, you have a game tomorrow. You need to be with your team.”
Finn chuckled, “There you go again, putting others before yourself.”
“I told you to deal with it the last time,” I smiled shyly.
He kissed the tip of my nose before he hugged me again. My mom stirred on the couch before she sat up. When she realized that I was awake, she screamed and joined Finn at my side.
“Juli, honey. How are you feeling?” She asked after Finn finally released me to let me hug her.
“I feel like I need a shower, and a toothbrush,” I answered honestly.
They both chuckled before Finn said he would go find the nur
se.
“You never told me about this boy, Julianna,” my mother quietly scolded me as she took the chair next to me.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t know what you’d think because Finn and I started dating only a few days after me and Michael broke up,” I nervously twisted the blanket that laid on my lap.
“I don’t think anything about it, sweetheart. You need to do whatever makes you happy. Michael hadn’t made you happy for most of your relationship. Even I knew you were only with him in the end because he wouldn’t let you go,” she gave me a small smile.
“Have you and Finn talked?”
She nodded, “He is a wonderful man who really cares about you. Somehow, he beat me here and I was only a four-and-a-half-hour drive away. Told me he was in South Carolina for work.”
“Yeah, he plays soccer. His season just started, and I feel terrible that I’m tearing him away from that. He should be out there with his friends and teammates, not cooped up in a hospital with me.” Just thinking about Finn was making me smile, even though I was mad that he left his work obligations.
“If Finn wants to be here with you, then don’t push him away. He hasn’t left your side for three days except to use the bathroom or when the nurses or myself forced him to get food. Let him decide if he wants to go to the game…it’s not your burden to bear if he chooses to skip it.”
My mother was like fucking Yoda sometimes with her advice. I nodded and agreed before Finn returned with my nurse, a peppy young girl named Erica. After her checkups and the doctors did theirs, I was told I could go home in the morning if everything stayed the same. When they told me I could eat whatever I wanted, I begged someone to get me a Culver’s burger. Now that I was awake and alert, Finn willingly offered to run down the street and get me my food. While he was gone, the nurses led me to an in-suite bathroom where I could take a quick shower and brush my teeth.
I wasted no time jumping under the hot water that flowed from the showerhead. Somehow, I could still feel Michael and his grimy hands all over me and I needed to wash it off. Using the shampoo and conditioner that the nurse had provided for me, I felt good as new…until I got out of the shower. With a towel wrapped around me, I crossed to the sink and the mirror that hadn’t fogged all the way yet. Bruises dotted my neck from where Michael had choked me, and a cut was visible on my cheek from one of his slaps.