“Dangerous?” His voice rose. “They were going to be champions! Those kids had potential, Rachel. Real potential. And all they needed was a little help to get there.”
“You could have killed them!” Her own anger was rising. “Terrance is in the hospital!”
“Terrance is fine!” David shouted. “It wasn’t bad. He could have handled it. He understood what it took to be the best.”
Rachel stared at him, horror and disgust warring in her chest. “It's not bad?” she asked, incredulity filling her. “David, you were giving teenage boys illegal steroids!”
“Just something that helps a champion maintain what they need to be a champion.” David's voice took on an almost defensive, pleading quality. “I've used them before. I know what they do. They work. Those kids were going to win.”
He was swaying more noticeably now, his words slightly slurred. She realized with a jolt of fear that he wasn't just drunk… he was unstable. Unpredictable. And she was alone with him in her apartment.
“Look,” Rachel said, trying to keep her voice calm and reasonable, “sit down and let me get you something to eat. You’ll feel better once you’ve eaten.”
David stopped, his expression falling. For a moment, the anger drained from his face, and something else took its place. Something sadder, more pathetic. “I liked you, Rachel. We could have been something together.”
Her stomach clenched. “No, it wouldn’t have worked between us.”
“Yes.” He took a step toward her, his hand reaching out. “We had chemistry. I felt it. You felt it too. I know you did.”
“No.” Backing away, Rachel kept the small coffee table between them. “You and I were always just friends.”
“Because of that old boyfriend you dumped me for. The second he came back, I heard about him. Like some goddamn hero walked back into town, taking you before we had a chance.” David's face hardened again, the anger snapping back into place like a mask.
“David, listen to me.” Rachel’s words came out firm and clear. “Even if Jack had never come back to the Shore, you and I were never going to be more than friends. And if I’d ever found out you were using or providing any substances, you and I wouldn’t even be friends.”
He stared at her, his jaw working. Rachel could see him processing, then finally seeing the rejection settling over him like a weight. She kept talking, kept him engaged, knowing that every second she stalled was another second closer to Jack arriving.
“You need help. This has gotten out of control. But if you leave my place now and turn yourself in, it’ll be better for you. They'll take into account that you cooperated?—”
“Cooperated?” David laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Rachel, I'm done. It's over. I have to get out of here, but you're coming with me.”
Rachel's blood went cold. “What?”
“I have a contact in Baltimore.” David’s words came faster now, more desperate. “Someone who can help me disappear. But I need insurance. I need to make sure the cops don't follow me.”
“I'm not going with you, David.” She kept her voice firm even as terror clawed at her throat. “You can leave or stay, but I'm not going with you.”
David's expression twisted with rage. He lunged toward her, and Rachel stumbled backward, her hip hitting the edge of the counter. Her phone clattered to the floor.
“You don't have a choice!” he shouted. “You've got to help me get away!”
Rachel's hand closed around the first thing she could reach, a mug with hot tea sitting on the table. She threw it at his head with all the strength she could muster, but her aim sucked, and he ducked. It hit the wall and shattered, scattering ceramic shards across the wood.
David stopped, shock registering on his face. Then the anger came back, hotter and more dangerous than before. “You bitch,” he snarled.
Rachel ran.
She made it three steps before David caught her arm and yanked her back. Rachel screamed, kicking and twisting, fighting with everything she had. The past rushed into her mind, back when Isaiah tried to take her. But this time was different. This time, she wasn't a scared teenager. This time, she would fight.
Rachel drove her elbow into David's stomach and heard him grunt with pain. His grip loosened just enough for her to wrench free. She scrambled toward the door.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back so hard she cried out, her hand landing on the shards of the broken cup. Rachel's scalp burned, and tears sprang to her eyes, but she kept fighting.
“Stop!” David was shouting now, his voice ragged. “Stop fighting me! You're just making this worse!”
“Let me go!” Rachel twisted, her hands clawing at his arms. “David, let me go!”
From somewhere far away, Rachel heard sirens. The sound cut through the chaos, through the fear and the adrenaline, and for a moment, both she and David froze.
