Stronger With Him

by JA Hensley

  "I did. Thanks for dragging me out, girls. It was fun." I can't stop the big smile on my face. It was nice to be noticed by a man again.

  "We're glad you're feeling better." Stephanie smiles as we drive away from the club.

  Chapter 2-Rebecca

  I’m awakened by the smell of coffee. This seems strange since I don’t have a coffee maker or a roommate. I drag my sorry ass out of bed and find my two friends sitting in the living room drinking lattes.

  “What are you bitches doing in my house this early on a Saturday morning?” I know I’m being nasty, but my head feels like it’s going to explode and I planned on wallowing in more self-pity today.

  “Fuck you,” Christin says. “We brought your favorite caramel latte and this is how you treat us? Sit your sorry hung-over ass down and get some caffeine in you.”

  Stephanie looks at me over her cup and smiles, but wisely keeps her mouth shut.

  I flop down on the loveseat and slowly drink my latte. It really is the nectar of the gods. I don’t think I could be one of those people who survive in the wilderness with nothing. I must have my coffee or heads would roll.

  “Well, now that you’ve gotten something in your system, are you ready to tell us what happened with Ron?” Stephanie smiles her sweet, best friend smile at me. I know I need to tell them what’s going on, I just didn’t want to do it so soon.

  I take a deep breath and another long drink of coffee before I answer her. She knows I’m stalling but doesn’t push.

  “All right, I’ll tell you. I’m not happy about it because you’ve ruined my plans to stay in my pajamas, not shower, and feel sorry for myself all day. What do you want to know?”

  Christin jumps right in. “What the fuck did he do to you? I’ve never seen you so messed up.”

  I sigh before I answer. “I thought I could change him. I thought if I just did what he wanted, we’d be fine, but nothing was ever good enough, you know?"

  "No, we don't know. What are you talking about?" Stephanie asks.

  I guess they have a right to be confused. I haven’t said anything about any of this to them. I’ve tried to keep up appearances that everything was fine when it wasn’t.

  “I guess I need to start at the beginning. Are you sure you want to know all of this? It may take a while.”

  “Just tell us, Becca. We can take it,” Christin says loudly, making the pounding in my head that much worse.

  “Okay, but you both are going to have to lower your voices. My head is going to explode. I’ll get some aspirin and then I’ll tell you everything.” I get up and walk slowly to the bathroom. I don’t want to have this conversation because I’m not sure if they’re going to be more upset with Ron for hurting me or with me for not telling them.

  "It started a few months back. We'd been dating for several weeks and it had been a whirlwind. He was attentive, loving, and so sweet. We went out to dinner all the time. He sent me flowers, the works. You guys know most of that. Anyway, he started getting jealous of everything. If a guy even looked at me while we were out, he had a fit. If I wanted to spend time with you girls he didn't like it. At first I thought it was amazing that he wanted to spend so much time with me, but then it got to be a little too much. One night I went to the library to study and didn't mention where I was going. When I got back to his apartment, he was furious. He yelled and screamed and told me that if I ever made him worry like that again I would be sorry. I tried to explain that I just forgot to text him, but he was so mad he wouldn't listen. The next morning he apologized like crazy and he asked me to marry him."

  I look up and the girls are both wearing a shocked expression. "You never told us he proposed," Christin said.

  "Well, it seemed too soon to talk about marriage and thankfully he didn't have a ring. But I made him think that I was on board. I didn't want to lose him and he was so happy he seemed to calm down for a little while. Then he started wanting me to spend all my time at his place. Steph had been talking about moving in with her grandmother, to help her out, and I thought that if I moved in with Ron it would fix everything. I was over there more than I was here, so it made sense."

  "Then he started travelling a lot. It was summer break for me and I only had the one class so I had a lot of time on my hands. He wasn't around so I came back here. I would make sure to be at his place when he was home, but there wasn't anything there for me. Steph went ahead and moved out, but I didn't want to give up my own space, you know?"

  Both my friends nod at me but don't say anything.

  “Things were fine until about a month ago. He started acting really strange. He would text me all through the day and night wanting to know where I was and who I was with. At first I thought he was being sweet, you know, checking in. Then it got to be too much. If I didn't text him every hour or so he would blow up my phone. He insisted that we have dinner together every night at his place when he was in town. Then if I didn't want to have sex he would throw a fit and make me feel guilty until I gave in. Of course it was all about him, as usual, and he didn't care if I had an orgasm or not.

  “Two weeks ago he kind of lost it. I had changed the toilet paper roll, but I guess I didn't do it right. He came out of the bathroom yelling about how stupid I was and that he was tired of cleaning up my mess. Next thing I know, he throws the toilet paper at me." I shake my head as my cheeks heat up. This is so embarrassing. "I was so confused. I did everything I could to calm him down. It took about an hour but he finally stopped pacing. The next day he called and apologized, saying that he had been really stressed with work and he didn’t mean to take it out on me. Things went back to normal, he was sweet, attentive, and like the Ron I fell in love with.”

  “Monday was the last straw. We had just finished dinner and I was loading the dishwasher. He brought in the last dishes and dropped them in the sink. I don't mean he put them there; he dropped them, breaking a plate. I looked up to see what was wrong and his face was a shade of red I've never seen. He grabbed me by my left arm and yanked me hard. He pushed me away from the dishwasher and started throwing dishes at me. He kept yelling about how I can't do anything right. The more I tried to calm him down the worse it got. I found my purse and ran out of the condo. He chased me into the parking lot and threw a cup at me. It missed hitting me but it really freaked me out. He came by here on Tuesday night, but I didn't answer the door. Thankfully, he had to go out of town for work on Wednesday so I haven't had to deal with him."

  When I was done with my story, I look up at the shocked expressions on my friends’ faces. It’s not like them to be speechless, but they don’t say anything for several minutes. Stephanie is the first one to speak.

  “Did he ever hit you?”

  "No, he didn't punch me or anything, if that's what you mean." She nods but doesn't say anything else.

  "I knew he was a dick, but I had no idea he could be violent. Are you sure you're okay, Becca? Do you need me to look at your arm?" Christin is a nurse so her offer didn't surprise me.

  "It was bruised, but it's going away." I lift my sleeve and show her the handprint on my upper arm. It is mostly green and yellow.

  “You know, we could use this against him. We could get revenge.” I can always count on Christin to think of ways to get even.

  “No, I don’t want to get even. I want him to go away. I’ve packed up all the shit he left here and I’m going to send it to him."

  “Sell it,” Christin says. “You can use the money to buy some new clothes. You seriously need to update your wardrobe.”

  I look at Stephanie because she’s the most level-headed of all of us. She’s nodding. “Yes, I think you should sell it. Fuck him. He gave up the right to have it back when he threw dishes at you.” We all laugh at that, and for the first time I can see just how crazy this whole thing is.

  “I’m glad I told you girls. I know I probably should have told you sooner, but I was in such shock, I couldn’t process any of it. I just never saw this coming. We were together for s
ix months and never did I think he would be capable of something like this."

  “Stupid fucker. You’re better off without that kind of crazy, babe. We’ll help you through this.” Christin smiles at me. "Wait, does he know it's over?"

  "You would think he'd get the hint, since I haven't answered any of his calls or texts."

  "I don't know, girl. I think he's just that stupid. Text him right now and tell him you're done. That way we can celebrate your freedom."

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea," I say nervously.

  “You know we’ve always got your back, Becca. I think Christin's right. If you text him today, you know he's out of town so he can't come and confront you. Plus, you'll feel better that you've officially ended it."

  "Okay, where's my phone?" Christin hands it to me and I type out the text. My finger hovers over send because I really don't want to deal with this shit right now.

  "Just fucking hit send already," Christin says. I look at both my friends and then back down at my phone. After taking a deep breath, I hit the button and send the message.

  "Good for you. Now, why don’t we go shopping today? We can get you some new clothes and I need a new purse. What do you say?” Stephanie always uses retail therapy to get through a crisis.

  “I don't know, you guys. I really don't feel like it."

  "You know that we're not leaving here until you agree to come with us. Are we going to do this the easy way or the Christin way?" she asks with a smirk.

  "Okay, fine, I'll go. I have to shower first. Are you going to wait here or should I meet you somewhere? I assume you slept here last night.”

  “We did, and we’ll meet you at Cheddar’s for lunch in an hour. After that we can shop,” Christin says as she gets off the floor.

  "I’ll see you there.” I give both of them a hug as I walk them to the door.

  As I stand in the shower, it's like I'm washing away my secret as I watch the suds go down the drain. I still feel like shit that Ron treated me like he did, but now that my girls know, they'll help me get through this. I thought we were going to live happily ever after. Maybe I wasn't enough for him. Fuck. I've got to get over this.

  Once I've gotten myself presentable, I check my Facebook profile. It still says "in a relationship." No time like the present to change that. I edit it to say "single" and save it. I know some people will have comments about it, but I don't care. I don't owe anybody an explanation about what happened. That's on him. Asshole.

  I check on some of my favorite pages, enter a giveaway, and send a quick email to my mother. As I'm getting my purse, I hear my phone beep with a text message. Of course it's Christin.

  You better be on your way. Don't make me come and drag your ass out.

  I roll my eyes as I respond. Calm your tits. I'm on my way.

  I'm locking my door when my neighbor comes out of his apartment. I’ve been shy around him, but I don't know why. Maybe it's the fact that he’s huge and he looks like a bodybuilder. He has a lot of friends that helped him move in and they're just as big as him. He's been polite but not overly friendly. I give a small wave as I walk by and he smiles back. Fuck, he’s so hot.

  I see Christin's car when I pull into the parking lot at Cheddar's. Glancing at the clock on my dash, I notice that I'm five minutes late. She's probably pissed that I'm not in there yet.

  When I walk in, the hostess greets me and I see Christin waving like a lunatic so I thank her and walk over to the table.

  "About time, Becca. Where the fuck have you been?" Christin has such a way with words.

  "I'm only five minutes late, for the love of Pete. I had to change my Facebook status before I left. Something about making my singleness public seemed appropriate for today. Don't you agree?" I smile sweetly at her and she rolls her eyes.

  "Yes, you need to let everyone know that you’re available. Time to get over that asshat and move on." Now I roll my eyes at her.

  Stephanie comes up to the table and plops down next to Christin.

  "Don't you have something to say to Steph about being late, Christin?"

  "No, I don't. She's much more trustworthy than you are. I knew she'd be here." Stephanie smiles at her and then looks back at me with one eyebrow raised.

  "Did I miss something? You both are very tense." Stephanie is so cute sometimes.

  "Yes, Bitch-face here had her panties in a bunch because I was a few minutes late. She's acting like I'm still in my pajamas in the fetal position."

  "I know how you are, Becca. You’ll dig yourself a hole and drown in self-pity for weeks. I love you too much to let you do that to yourself. He's not worth it and you know it."

  "I know you care, sweetie, and I love you for it. It's just that it's going to be hard to move on after having him be such a big part of my life for the past six months. It may not seem like it to you, but it was the longest and most intense relationship I've ever had."

  We plan our shopping while we eat lunch. Afterward we head to the mall, apparently to make over my wardrobe and improve my life.

  * * * * *

  It's been two hours of torture. Stephanie and Christin have dragged me from store to store trying to find some things that "are not made for your grandmother." We have such different taste that I don't really like anything they pick out. Now I'm in the dressing room in Victoria's Secret with what seems like the store’s entire collection of lace bras. Since the girls are still out looking for more things to throw at me, I take a moment to sit down and rest.

  How did this happen? I was happy. I was dating the man of my dreams. Well, not really the man of my dreams, but he was good to me. I was such an idiot. All that fairy tale bullshit that we're fed as little girls is just that. How did I not see this coming? What did I do wrong?

  "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I look up to a pissed off Christin holding a black lacy thing in her hands. "I know you're not sitting there feeling sorry for yourself. This is not your fault and you didn't do anything wrong." I must have a look on my face because she continues, "I can tell what you're thinking, so stop it. Try this on and let's see how sexy you can be."

  I shake my head and laugh. Only Christin could think I would look sexy in this. I'm not fat, but I'm not thin like her and Steph. I've got curves and D-cup breasts. I know there’s no point in arguing with her, so I take the lacy bustier and shoo her out. After I get it hooked up in the back, I face the mirror. I hate to admit it, but I do look sexy. My breasts are lifted and my waist looks small. It pushes my hips out giving me an hourglass shape. Stephanie knocks on the door and I happily let her in. Christin is right behind her.

  "Wow, Becca. You look amazing in that," Stephanie says with a smile.

  "You have to get it and wear out tonight. We can find a skirt and blouse to show off a little of the lace on top."

  "All right, I'll get it. It does look good. But if we're going out again tonight I'm going to need a nap."

  "Let's find you an outfit and shoes and then you can go home." Christin smiles knowing she's won this battle.

  Once we find just the right skirt, a little mini, leather-like thing that I think is too short, a V-neck top with sequins on it and a pair of heels that we could all agree on, we headed back to our cars. I said I'd be ready for hair and makeup by eight since Christin wants to hit the bars around ten.

  As I'm taking my purchases out of the trunk, my neighbor pulls into the spot next to me. He drives one of those big trucks that just screams testosterone. You know, the kind that’s really high off the ground with a rumbling engine. It fits him perfectly. I sneak a peek at his ass as he gets out of the truck. Damn, he is fine. He turns and looks at me and now I wonder if I said that out loud. I feel my face get hot as I blush and he smiles as he walks toward me. Oh, shit. Now what do I do?

  "Hi, neighbor. Do you need any help?" he asks looking into my trunk.

  I just stare at him and I know I look stupid. My brain won't make words come out of my mouth. Mr. Sex God just stands there waiting for me to
respond. I finally blink and shake my head.

  "I think I've got it, but thanks." Wait, what? He's asking to help me and I'm turning him down? Snap out of it, Becca!

  "I'm Colin, by the way. I've seen you in the hall but I've never introduced myself." He holds out his right hand and thankfully my manners are still intact. I reach out to return the handshake and immediately drop my stuff on the ground.

  "Well, fuck me," I mutter. Way to look like a klutz in front of the hot guy.

  "I'd like to, but it seems a bit public here," Colin says as he bends down to pick up the shopping bags I dropped.

  What did he say? I'm trying to figure out what's going on when Colin hands me my purchases and says, "See you around, Rebecca." He turns and walks into the building.

  What the fuck just happened? The hot guy next door introduced himself to me. I acted like a complete moron and dropped my stuff. He picked it up and said something about being in public and walked away. And he knows my name. This weekend just keeps getting stranger. I finally shake myself out of my stupor and make my way into my apartment.

  Chapter 3-Colin

  As I walk away from Rebecca, my heart beats a little faster. When I moved into this building a week ago, I never imagined a suspect's girlfriend could be so sexy. She's got a way about her that says she's completely unaware of her body, how it moves, and what it does to men around her. I've seen some of the other guys checking her out in the parking lot. She's got curves that just beg to be caressed. She's not that skinny, sickly, all bones kind of girl and I have got to get to know her.

  Moving to this town, I promised myself that I would be focused on my job. I didn't plan on meeting anyone. I’m here for one thing only, to complete this task and move on. That may not be as easy as I thought at the beginning. Something about this woman calls to me. I want to get to know here better and I've never felt this before. It's so wrong since she's involved with our main suspect. I really want to see her underneath me, but I also get a feeing of waning to protect her. What the fuck is wrong with me?