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I swallow back the tears but I can feel my anger overriding my fear. “Don’t you call him that,” I say spitting mad. “You’re a grown man, not a child.”
He yanks me away from the wall before slamming me back into it again. The shock and pain knock my breath out of me.
“I’m going.” He releases me, and glares as I slide down the wall to the floor. “If I stay, I’m going to seriously hurt you.” He takes a step back, and then another before he turns and leaves.
Within seconds, I hear his car engine start before he tears out of the drive.
What the hell just happened? I guess I knew he harbored a lot of anger but to be confronted with it scared the shit
out of me.
Frozen to the floor, I realize that I have tears rolling down my face and, reaching up to wipe them away with my fingers, I gasp in pain. My upper arms, where Richard held me, hurt when I move.
Feeling sorry for myself, I get to my knees, pull myself up with the back of the sofa, and wince. Not only are my arms throbbing, but my shoulders feel tender.
Moving slowly to my bedroom, I struggle to get my T-shirt off and when I do, my tears are back with a vengeance. My legs give out as I collapse against the bed and let them fall. I bury my face in the comforter as I push myself further onto the bed and curl up while I sob.
I wish Jace were here to hold me. To tell me everything would be okay, and that he wouldn’t let Richard near me again. But I’m seeing Jace soon and he’ll know something happened. He’ll only need to take one look at me to know there’s something wrong. I wish I could hide my feelings. My uncle once told me that I have the most expressive face he’s ever seen.
Gently turning onto my other side, I roll from the bed and head into the bathroom to clean myself up and to survey the damage to my body. With how I’m aching, I know there is going to be bruising. I bruise easily, so I guess after what Richard has just done, it goes without saying that I’m going to be wearing a few new shades for a while.
Turning the faucet on, I splash the cool water onto my face a few times before grabbing a towel to pat myself dry. It takes a lot, but I finally face myself in the mirror and look at my forearms. My heart sinks. Richard’s fingers are imprinted in my arms in great big ugly bruises that are quickly turning darker as I watch. Closing my eyes, I slowly turn and look back over my shoulder and see the bruising spreading along my shoulder blades.
Inhaling, I refuse to cry again. He hurt me and I need to deal with it. The first thing I do toward dealing with it is to remove the ring he gave me. I’d love nothing more than to flush it down the toilet, but no matter how tempted I am to do that, I place it in the top cupboard and close it inside. I also need to find someone to replace the locks throughout the house. Richard has keys and I’m assuming he took them with him.
At least it’s over, and I really hope that Richard stays away because as far as I’m concerned, I’ve said what I needed to say and ended our relationship, or whatever else you could have called it. He needs to deal with that and I hope he deals with it without visiting me again.
I’ve no wish to ever see him again after what he’s just done, which is why a courier to return his ring is sounding good right now.
Opening my closet, I pull my softball shirt out and grit my teeth while slipping my arms inside the soft fabric. I love this shirt and it’s a bit tatty around the edges, but it’s comfortable and kind of a security blanket.
Taking a deep breath, I think my first stop will be the children’s home on my way to see Jace. I’ve found that I’ve been unable to stay away from Golden Circle ever since I met Tammy. My heart fills with love for her every time I see the sweet, little girl. The children there will help settle me a lot more than I am now.
Sighing, I slip my feet into my purple ballerina pumps and make my way outside.
Everything is going to be okay.
It has to be.
Chapter Nine
Jace
“Will you settle down…? Geez man, where the fuck are your balls?” Ryder sits opposite, shaking his head.
I grin when Dahlia comes up behind him and smacks him upside the head. “You mean to tell me that you’ve never acted like your brother is right now?”
He glares at her while she waits for his answer with her hands on her hips.
“Damn straight, I’ve never acted, um, maybe,” he finishes sheepishly as he pulls Dahlia down onto his lap.
“Ignore him, Jace. He just likes ribbing you.”
“Hey, now. It’s a brother’s right to screw with his brother¸ and I’ve waited a long time to witness him fall.”
Dahlia straddles my brother and I have a feeling that I have minutes before they’re getting it on.
“I think you need to stop screwing with your brother, and screw your wife instead.”
