Wreck Me - An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

by Lee Mae

  I let out a growl and charged forward, grabbing the asshole around the shoulders and ripping him off Nikki with all of my strength.

  “Fuck off,” he’d yelped, then screamed when I threw him into the wall.

  “You motherfucker! I’m going to fucking kill you.”

  I launched myself at him, fists flying, a red rage filling my vision. Ryan tried to fight back, but I wouldn’t let him. I was like a machine set to destroy.

  At the sound of Nikki’s voice, I froze, realizing that my hands were trembling. Ryan lay before me groaning, his eyes closed in pain.

  “Zack!” Her voice was so weak, I barely heard her.

  My heart breaking, I crawled to where she lay on the mattress. “Are you okay?”

  “No,” she replied, her voice breaking.

  I could hear people down the hallway, their voices drawing nearer. I knew I didn’t have time to waste. As quickly as possible, I pulled her pants back on and picked her up as gently as I could. Ryan was moving around, but he wasn’t able to put up a fight at me taking her. I’d knocked the piss out of him and I figured he’d be having trouble walking the next few days.

  “Out of the way,” I yelled as I pushed my way down the crowded hallway with Nikki in my arms.

  “Oh shit,” I heard from behind me. “He beat Ryan’s ass, cuz.”

  I moved as quickly as I could toward the front door in case anyone decided they wanted to defend Ryan. I was willing to fight every motherfucker at the party if they came at me, gladly, but Nikki needed me right now. Fortunately, everyone left us alone.

  Once we were outside, I was able to breathe again. My car was parked around the corner, and as I walked, I spoke softly to the woman in my arms.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked, full of fear.

  “I…I’m not sure…not really.” She took a deep breath. “Just…tired…and scared.”

  I cradled her close to me. “Don’t be scared. I’ve got you.”

  As gently as I could, I settled her into the passenger seat of my car and fastened her seatbelt over her. “What’s your address?”

  Her voice was so soft, I almost missed it. “12033 Elm Drive. Apartment…B.”

  I got behind the wheel and started in the direction of her place. Nikki’s eyes fluttered closed, her breathing shallow. I debated going straight to the hospital, but thought it best to go to her apartment first. I wanted to inform her mother of what happened and see what she thought we should do.

  The ride to Nikki’s place was quiet, and the whole way I berated myself for hesitating. I couldn’t be sure how far Ryan had gotten in the time I’d stood there, shooting the shit with Dave and debating whether to open the door or not. I would never forgive myself if that bastard had forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do.

  It was clear she was drugged. Any fool could see that. I remembered the bottle she’d been holding in the backyard, the one Ryan had given her. He’d probably filled it with Rohypnol, planning to wait until she’d drank some then get her into his room.

  If I hadn’t been there, no one would have stopped him.

  I felt angry, frustrated, upset. I hated that this had happened to Nicole, and at the same time, I was relieved that I’d shown up when I did.

  Most of all, I wanted to turn around and beat the shit out of Ryan another time. He deserved a vicious stomping for what he did.

  I pulled up in front of her apartment building and parked. Making my way around to her side, I opened the door and crouched beside her, taking off the seat belt.

  “Do you think you can walk inside?”

  Nikki nodded and then did her best to climb out of the car. But, she was still very weak. I had to help her stand, then put my arm around her waist to steady her as we walked. Once we were inside of the building, we made our way slowly toward her apartment door.

  I dug her key out of her handbag and opened the door for her. No lights were on, and her apartment was empty. “Where is your mom?” I asked, concerned.

  “With her boss…boyfriend.”

  “What?” I asked.

  Her head lolled on my shoulder, her face confused.

  I tried another tactic. “Never mind. Do you want to call her? She should come home and look after you.”

  “No…I don’t…want…anyone to know. Especially her.”

  Frowning, I picked her up into my arms again as she was starting to sag. The apartment was small, and it was easy to find the room that was Nicole’s. I carried her inside and set her down carefully on the bed.

  Her eyes were fluttering. “So…tired.”

  “Rest,” I said, taking her hand. “I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

  I stood there, holding her hand, until I heard her breathing even out. There was no way I would leave her alone, not like this. Who knew what effect the drug would have on her system? If there was even a hint of her breathing getting labored or too shallow, we were heading to the hospital immediately.

  Instead, she seemed to rest peacefully, so I let go of her hand and dragged her desk chair over so I could sit next to her bed. The nightstand was beside me, the lamp blazing. I considered turning it off, but I didn’t want to be in the dark. I wanted to keep my eye on her, and the light helped. Besides, it didn’t seem to be bothering her as she continued to sleep peacefully.

  Time passed painfully slowly. I checked my phone for a while, but I hadn’t charged my phone since last night so it was soon low on battery. I turned it off, making sure I had enough charge to call 9-1-1 if need be. I sat there, staring at Nikki, spinning out all sorts of terrible scenarios in my mind about what might have happened before I saved her.

  I stood up, repressing a string of swearwords. Starting to pace, I tried to drive those horrible thoughts from my mind, but no matter what I did, they wouldn’t go. Then my eyes landed on a journal sitting on her nightstand.

  I’d picked it up before I realized it. One look inside and it became clear that it was Nicole’s diary.

  I should put this down, I thought, even as I started flipping through pages. The sentence “My dad got arrested today” jumped out at me, and I was hooked. I settled back into my chair and started to read.

  26

  NIKKI

  MY HEAD FEELS weird.

  That was the first thing I thought of when I woke up. The second thought was: Did I sleep in my clothes last night?

  I opened my eyes, blinking up at my ceiling when I realized I’d fallen asleep with the light on. Turning my head to the side, my mouth fell open when I saw Zack sitting in a chair next to my bed.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, confused.

  “Watching you sleep.” His brow furrowed. “You don’t remember what happened last night?”

  I sat up, putting a hand on my forehead. “I…uh, I went to Ryan’s party.”

  “And do you remember what happened there?”

  Trying to think, I started to frown. “He…gave me a bottle. He said it was a special liquor his friend made. Then…then you showed up and it didn’t go well.” I scraped at my mind, trying to dig up anything that made sense. “Ryan made a toast and…and it was a big swallow…and…nothing.”

  That was all I could remember. Which made me fearful of what had happened after that.

  “It certainly was a special liquor,” Zack said, looking angry. “That asshole Ryan drugged you with it. When I found you, he had your pants down and was touching you.”

  “Oh my God.” I felt immediately terrified, nausea buffeting me. Slapping a hand over my mouth, I jumped up and rushed out of the room. I barely made it to the toilet before I started heaving.

  Zack found me and held my hair back for me as I threw up everything in my stomach. When I was done, I rinsed out my mouth and he helped me back to bed. Once I was tucked in, I turned to him, grabbing his hand.

  “Did he…did we…was I…?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word.

  “I don’t think so. I caught him before he could… go all the way.”r />
  Tears started to fall from my eyes. “Thank you,” I said, my voice breaking.

  Zack shook his head and crawled into bed beside me, pulling me into him. “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” he whispered. “I should have gotten to him before he had a chance to touch you at all.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I told him. “You saved me, not once but twice. It’s my fault for being an idiot. I never should have trusted Ryan, nor should I have been trying to score booze in the first place. You went above and beyond, kept me safe even when I tried to push you away. And I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” I cupped his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

  “No,” he said, putting his hand over mine. “I’m the one who is sorry. I… I have a confession to make: I read your diary.”

  “What?” My stomach dropped. “Why?”

  “I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help myself. When I saw you had written about what happened with your dad, I felt like I needed to know what happened from your perspective. And it made me realize that I was blaming you for things you had no control over.”

  I listened as Zack told me about what he read. “Your father fucked you over, and you did the best you could to weather that. I’d focused on my own grief at losing a father, but you dealt with the same thing. Not only was your dad gone, but you had to move to a new house, lose most of your possessions, and all of your old friends.”

  Zack looked at me with such understanding in his eyes that my whole body felt warm.

  He continued, staring at me tenderly. “Then I read the part about our breakup, and it made me realize what an utter asshole I was being.”

  “I was an asshole too,” I said, sniffling. “I should have told you about my father. You had every right to be upset.”

  “I shouldn’t have thought that you’d be like your dad, always keeping things from me, hiding some kind of secret life,” he said. “That was wrong of me.”

  “It looks like we both screwed up,” I said with a little laugh.

  “Yeah,” he said, a half grin on his face.

  “So where do we go from here?” I asked, half-wanting to hear his answer, and half-fearing what it would be. Being back in Zack’s arms was the most wonderful feeling in the world, and I wanted it to last forever. But if he still didn’t think we were meant for each other, I might not survive his leaving.

  “I’m not sure.” His gaze was pensive. “I’m only positive about one thing: I love you.”

  My eyes widened as the words sunk in. “You…you love me?”

  Zack nodded. “I think I loved you the first day I saw you. I’d never met anyone like you before, which made me wary, and started us off on the wrong foot. Then I realized that you being unique wasn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it was the best thing.”

  My heart overflowed with emotion. I grinned. “I love you too. I haven’t stopped loving you. The time spent apart from you has been agony.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” he said. “When you told me you missed me, you have no idea how hard it was for me not to pull you into my lap and kiss you breathless.”

  “I wish you would have,” I said, snuggling closer. “In fact, you could make up for that missed opportunity now.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, then lowered his head to mine. The kiss was slow and steamy and everything a make-up kiss should be. When we finally came up for air, he looked deeply into my eyes. “You’re everything to me, Nicole Easton. You’re my entire world.”

  His words made me melt. “Do you think we should try again?”

  “I think so, but we’ll have to agree to some stipulations.”

  I was eager to hear his requirements for our relationship. “Shoot.”

  “First, we have to have open, honest communication. I want you to feel like you could tell me anything. And I want to be able to tell you anything too. If we keep hiding the things that make us sad or afraid or annoyed, we won’t be able to fully trust one another because we’ll always be wondering what’s being left unsaid.”

  “Agreed.” I ran my thumb over his cheek. “I promise to tell you how I’m feeling, what I’m thinking, and what I need.”

  Zack smiled. “We’ve also got to promise to put the past behind us if we want to have any hope of a future together. We aren’t our fathers, and we don’t need to pay for their sins. All of that is over and done with.”

  I bit my lip. “Does your mother feel the same way?”

  “We actually talked about this. She’s the one who gave me hope to think that maybe a relationship could work out between us.”

  I felt a burst of anticipation at his words. I didn’t know how we could work things out if his mother still hated me. But there was one group that could still potentially stand in our way. “And what about your friends? Leigh? Nate? Chris?”

  Taking both my hands into his, he kissed me on the tip of my nose. “We have to vow to one another that we won’t let other people come between us. It’s you and me, together. Nobody, not friends, not relatives, not the ghost of our past, can pull us apart.”

  I hugged him tight, his words like a balm that was making me feel better by the minute. He seized my mouth again, this time the kiss overwhelming me until I was limp in his arms and almost mindless.

  Then I had a thought. “There’s one more stipulation.”

  “Name it,” Zack said as he nibbled at my neck.

  “No more reading my diary. Unless I give you permission.” I had nothing to hide but thinking about some of the things I’d written, especially about our sex life, was a little embarrassing.

  Zack chuckled against my skin, making me shiver. “Deal.”

  Epilogue

  NIKKI

  One Year Later

  “TELL ME YOU saw the story on Bloomberg about that solar panel company.” I was at the small table in our tiny kitchen, trying to finish a cup of tea before I had to split for class. “If not, I’ll send you the link.”

  “Saw it,” he said, sticking his head out of the bathroom, his toothbrush in his hand and suds around his mouth.

  “So what did you think? Buy?”

  He continued brushing, holding up a finger and ducking back into the bathroom. A minute later, Zack strolled out, nothing on but a towel around his waist. “Definitely buy,” he said as he approached.

  “That’s what I thought.” Even though it was hard to think when I was staring at that perfect chest.

  Zack leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my mouth. I put my hands on his shoulders to keep him there, deepening the kiss until he was growling against my lips.

  I had to admit, mornings with Zack Modine had their perks.

  He straightened, heading over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. “You wanna go check out that new horror movie tonight? I’ll buy the popcorn.”

  “Can’t,” I said, frowning. “I’ve got to study for my midterm.”

  “Damn. Guess it’s just Call of Duty all night.”

  “Nice try,” I said with a laugh. “You’ve got that essay due at the end of the week.”

  Zack groaned, then sat down next to me. He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. “Are you sure we can’t procrastinate for just one night?”

  “That’s what you asked me last night, remember? When you tried to convince me to binge watch the new season of that cartel show.”

  “It was a good show! And if I didn’t watch it right away, someone was going to toss out spoilers and ruin it.”

  I laughed. “There are always going to be excuses, but think of it this way: College is an investment in our future. Putting things off to the last minute is like putting all your money into high-risk stocks. Eventually, you’re going to lose big.”

  “Mmmm…I love it when you get all financial with me, baby,” he said, leaning in to kiss me again.

  I laughed and passed him the stock section of today’s paper. Then I concentrated on finishing my tea, a smile on my face. Every day, I thought again about how
lucky I was. We were crammed in a small apartment about a mile off campus, with even less amenities than the apartment I’d shared with my mother. But I was happier here than any place I’d ever been before, including my childhood mansion.

  Zack made all the difference.

  A year ago, I wasn’t even sure I could afford college. Or if I should bother to go. Part of me was planning to just crawl inside a bottle and never come out. My mom was ignoring me for her new boyfriend, my dad was in prison, and the man I loved hated me.

  But that was then. Now I was halfway through my first year in college, taking a full load of classes while working part-time and sharing an apartment with the man I love. And it was all thanks to Zack. He saved me, over and over. Not only did he keep me physically safe, but he showed me that he was my safety net. He helped me get to where I was, and without him, I’d be lost.

  And I’d also be broke.

  On the night we graduated, he took me out to dinner and told me that he had a surprise to me. He knew that I was worried about being able to afford college, since I had no college savings after my father went to prison.

  Zack’s father might have lost all his money, but he’d socked away Zack’s college savings in a special investment vehicle where it had remained, safe and sound. He was lucky, unlike me.

  But my luck was about to change. Zack said that the investment portfolio project at school had shown him that we could make money investing, so he’d sunk all the money in his savings account, every penny from mowing lawns over the summer and Christmas and birthday checks from elderly relatives, into the same tech stock we’d “bought” in class.

  In a matter of six months, two thousand dollars became twelve thousand dollars. And he was going to share it with me.

  My eyes had gone wide. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I want you to come to college with me.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  “This will cover some of it, at least,” he’d told me. “I mean, you’ll probably have to get a part-time job to help cover expenses, but then, so will I. We’ll rent an apartment near the campus and live together.”