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Each night, Jaxon walks me to my apartment door and gives me another lingering kiss. He never asks to come in, needing to get back to the bar. I want to ask him to come in, even if it’s just to watch a movie with me, but I don’t know how to approach it. I don’t want him to think I want more right now, but I love spending time with him. I see him in the mornings and then again at night during work, but it doesn’t seem enough. I hate to hear him on the other side of the door walking away. I’m so confused, and I don’t know what to do.
So, that is my daily routine. Currently, I’m lounging on my couch watching The Big Bang Theory. It’s a show I discovered the other night when I got off work and couldn’t get to sleep. Every night since then, I try to catch an episode whenever I can. Sheldon is a hoot, and I love to see what crazy idea he comes up with next.
I’m sitting here debating on whether or not to go to bed or watch another episode, when my phone rings. The only people who have my number are Chris, Jaxon, Mia, Anna, and Andrew. Knowing that it has to be one of them, I snatch up my phone and answer it without looking at the screen.
“Hello.”
There’s nothing but silence. Thinking that maybe they didn’t hear me, I repeat myself. “Hello?”
Just as I’m about to hang up, I hear one of the most chilling sounds I’ve ever heard. I go completely still, and I’m frozen in place. My heart stops for a second before it starts slamming in my chest like it’s trying to escape. My mouth goes dry, and I begin to hyperventilate, breathing in and out heavily. What I hear crushes me. It’s a sound that I used to long to hear, but now terrifies me.
On the other end of the phone is a baby wailing at top of its lungs. It’s excruciating to hear, and it breaks my heart into a million pieces. The baby cries and cries and cries. The sound seems like it goes on for hours, but I know that it’s only been a couple of minutes. I come undone and let out my own sobs. Clutching the phone to my ear, I drop to my knees as my other hand comes to my mouth, and I fall apart.
Abruptly, just as quickly as it started, the wailing stops and then silence. I’m still crying into the phone when I hear a click of someone hanging up.
I drop the phone into my lap and grab at my hair on either side of my head. I scream so hard that I wouldn’t be surprised if I popped a blood vessel in my eyes. I know I’m losing it, but I’m helpless to stop it.
It’s obvious that Steven has figured out my phone number, but I wonder if he knows where I am. I’m thinking he doesn’t, because if he knew where I was, then he would be here right now, instead of terrorizing me from afar. He may not know where I am yet, but it won’t be long before he does.
I squeeze my eyes shut at the thought. I don’t want to leave this place. I’m finally happy where I am. I have friends, I have a job, I’m sort of living on my own, and I have a guy—I’m not really sure what Jaxon is—who seems to genuinely care about me.
I don’t want to leave, but I also don’t want Steven to find me here either. There’s no telling what he’ll do if he sees that I’m happy and that there are people who care about me. It terrifies me to think about Steven’s reaction if he finds out about Jaxon. I know Jaxon can hold his own in a fight, but Steven fights dirty and unfairly. He’s a big time lawyer and has many contacts, some who work on the right side of the law and some who don’t. I need to leave.
Just then, my phone starts ringing in my lap, and I jump. I can’t deal with another phone call like the one I just received. I pick it up with every intention of throwing it against the wall, when I see Jaxon’s name on the screen. I frantically push the talk button and bring it to my ear.
“Jaxon,” I say hoarsely into the receiver. My throat is dry from screaming and crying.
He knows immediately that something is not right.
“Angel, what is it? What’s wrong?” he hurriedly asks.
“He… he has my number. He’s going to find me.” I start crying harder. Oh God, this can’t be happening. Not now.
“Bailey, listen to me. I’m headed out the door of the bar right now. I’m coming your way, okay? Don’t hang up. I’m almost there, angel.”
I hear his rapid breathing at the same time I hear him pounding up the stairs. A couple seconds later, there’s pounding at the door. I know it’s Jaxon, but I still give off a little yelp at the pounding.
“It’s okay, angel. It’s just me. Come to the door and let me in. Hurry.” He’s out of breath and straining to stay calm.
I immediately get up and run over to the door to unlock it. As soon as it’s open, I rush into Jaxon’s arms and push my face into his hard chest. Finally feeling safe again, I burst into more uncontrollable sobs. He walks me backwards with his arms around me and then kicks the door closed, blindly reaching back to lock it.
He scoops me up and goes to the couch, taking a seat with me still cradled against his chest. While he strokes my back and hair, soothing me, I try and calm my crying. I clutch his shirt and breathe him in. He feels so warm and smells so good and refreshing. I wish I could stay there forever, in the protection of his arms, and forget about all my worries.
“Shhh… I’ve got you,” he whispers in my ear.
I sniffle into his shirt and reluctantly lift my head from the safe haven of his chest. His hands move from my back to my cheeks and wipes away my tears. I must look a mess, but he doesn’t seem to care.
“What the hell happened?” The vehemence in his voice takes me by surprise, but I know it’s out of concern for me.
I stare into his beautiful eyes and debate with myself on how much to tell him. I need to give him something, but I don’t want to reveal the whole story. First, it’s too painful to revisit. I already live with it every day. Second, I don’t want Jaxon to look at me with pity, or God forbid, think less of me because I stayed in the situation for as long as I did. And third, I know Jaxon cares about me, but I also know he has a temper. I worry about his reaction if he were to learn everything Steven’s done to me. I take a deep, encouraging breath and decide to give him a little.
“I had some trouble back home and decided that I needed to leave. I received a phone call right before you called that brought it all back.” I glance down at my hands to avoid his gaze.
He grips my chin and tilts it back up to him, forcing me to look in his eyes. “What kind of problems, Bailey?”
“I can’t—I can’t tell you. It’ll only make them worse,” I whisper back to him.
His eyes fill with disappointment and frustration. As much as it pains me to see the two emotions, I can’t take the chance and tell him. I know that if he were to ever learn the truth, he would interfere and inadvertently make the situation worse by unknowingly letting Steven know where I am. It would not only bring the wrath of hell down on me, but worse, bring it down on Jaxon and those I’m starting to care for. No matter what, I can’t let anything happen to them, especially Jaxon.
