Page 32 of Brutal Titan

Victoria

Moving one arm in front of the other, I glide through the water, diving under before flipping and pushing off the wall, dolphin kicking to the surface as I make my way back across the pool. Gripping the side of the pool, I look to the clock on the wall, realizing that class ends in a few minutes, but I need to keep going. Wearing out my body in the pool has helped me sleep, the exhaustion weighs on me at night, knocking me right out. The few times I’d attempted to swim laps at home, Elliot had been in the adjoining weight room, automatically canceling that option since it’s been my mission to avoid him as much as possible.

Coach calls final warning to get out of the pool as I make one more lap before hopping out, sitting on the pool’s edge before sluggishly standing. By the time I enter the locker room, my classmates have all scattered, gladly clearing out now that the school day is over. It’s the good thing about it being the last class of the day. Only, I’m not ready to go home and I wasn’t intending on heading that way just yet anyway. It’s Wednesday, so I plan to visit Olivia since she’s more than likely still not receiving any other visitors.

Lost in thought, I quickly rinse the chlorine off before heading to the lockers. Drying off, I grab a T-shirt and yoga pants, and after pulling them on, I close the locker, stepping back to twist my hair into a knot on top of my head.

Suddenly, I’m hauled back then flung forward. My hands fail to come up in time to shield my face from slamming into the metal locker. Fingers dig into my arm, yanking me around as I turn to see Grant, anger flashing across his face. His eyes are intent on me as I reach for the tender area on my cheek that crashed into the metal surface.

“It’s time.”

“What?” I shove my hands against his chest but he’s an unrelenting force as panic surges through me.

“It’s time for you to talk to your little friend.”

“Who?”

“Quinn. Tell her that your brother is a piece of shit and convince her to give me another chance.”

“No.” My voice is low but stern. There’s no way in hell I’m sending her back into the grips of this evil monster.

“Then it’s time for your little photo to go public.”

Bile rises in my throat when he drops his hand between us, fingers trailing down my stomach, moving lower between my legs with only the thin layer of material between his vile touch and my body. Struggling against his harsh grip, I scream for him to let me go. His taunting laugh is cut short and his hands are ripped away from me.

Elliot hauls him backwards. A deafening crash fills the room as Grant is slammed into the metal lockers opposite of the one he had me pinned against. Elliot’s hand snakes around Grant’s throat as his other balls into a fist, smashing into Grant’s face repeatedly. Grant fails to shield himself from Elliot’s continuous blows, fueled by a furious rage. Singularly focused on pummeling Grant as he falls to the ground, Elliot rears back, sinking his foot into Grant’s stomach. The gut-wrenching sound springs me into action. I scream for Elliot to stop his assault, not that Grant doesn’t deserve every bit of it, but my bigger concern is that Elliot isn’t going to stop. Yelling his name, I charge forward. Slamming into his back, I wrap my arms around him, pleading with him to stop. He goes completely still except for the rapid rising and falling of his breath. Standing rigid, he stares down at Grant, who moans, rolling onto his side before getting on all fours and attempting to crawl away. I feel Elliot tense, preparing to move forward, so I clutch tighter.

“Please stop,” I plead. And he does, he freezes in place as I cling to him. Emotions overtaking me, a sob escapes my lips.

Elliot’s powerful hand, which was just used to exact ferocious brutality, tenderly clasps my forearm, pulling it away from his body just enough to enable him to rotate to face me. I tuck my face against his chest as his strong arms snake around me, pulling me securely to him.

Grant braces against the lockers, rising to his feet with an exaggerated groan.

Feeling Elliot’s body shift in Grant’s direction, I squeeze my arms tighter. “Please don’t.”

He tenses but doesn’t make a further attempt to escape my grip, and I’m thankful, feeling safe and protected in his embrace. I’m uncertain if Grant would’ve stopped had Elliot not intervened, so I don’t want him to let me go anytime soon.

“If you even think of looking her way, I’ll kill you,” Elliot says to Grant. The threat sends a chill down my spine, still unsure if Elliot had planned to stop on his own.

Shoving off, Grant stumbles towards the exit, mumbling and cussing under his breath. Then the door opens and shuts in quick secession.

Finally, I’m able to take in a deep breath, relief flooding me that Grant is gone and Elliot is here. We stand unmoving for a few minutes before his hands caress up my back. His head dropping, face pressed against my neck, he whispers, “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” The breathless word probably doesn’t convince him any more than it convinces me.

His lips tenderly brush a kiss along my neck. “Why was he in here?”

“He wanted me to get Quinn to give him another chance.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” And now I have even more reason to make sure Quinn and I stay as far away from him as possible. “Why are you here?”

“You,” he whispers, stiffly pulling away to look at me. I don’t further question him. I don’t care why he was here, I’m just thankful he was because Grant caught me off guard yet again.

“Thank you.” My hands reluctantly move away from his torso as embarrassment and anger rise within me. I hate the frightened feeling still pulling at me.

“If he comes near you again, I want to know.”