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“Shit. Stay calm and stay with me, okay? Where are you?”
“Home. He’s banging on the door. I’m scared, Scott.” My voice trembled as I spoke. My whole body did.
“Shhh...It’s okay, Lu. I’ll be there in a few. Do this for me. Go into the kitchen. Grab a knife.”
“W-what?”
“Do it, Lu. Grab a knife, then go into the bedroom and lock yourself in. Then go into the bathroom and do the same. Can you do that for me?”
I nodded before remembering I was on the phone. “Y-Yes.” I followed his order as he stayed on the line, Marcus’s voice growing louder in the background. Once upon a time, his threats would’ve had me scrambling to open the door, but not anymore.
I grabbed the knife from the kitchen counter and picked up Tressa from where she was lounging on the back of the couch. Once I’d locked myself in the bathroom, I let Scott know.
“Good. Now, I’m ending this call to call the cops, but I’ll call you back as soon as I’m done. Try to stay calm, okay?”
“Yeah.” My voice was barely a whisper, and I was finding it hard to breathe.
“Okay, be right back.” Before I could tell him I loved him, he ended the call.
I sank to my knees on the bathroom floor, pressing my back against the wall as shudders racked through my body. I knew a panic attack would be here at any moment, and I’d be able to do nothing but suffer through it. My phone buzzed in my hand just as a voice came from the living room. “Lukey boy, where are you? I just wanna talk.”
The voice was exactly like I remembered, and suddenly, nothing had changed. He’d come into the room and hurt me again, and I’d be able to do nothing to stop him.
My phone buzzed again, and my eyes fell on my phone where I’d dropped it when I'd heard his voice, and I remembered I was wrong. I wasn’t alone anymore. Scott would keep me safe. He’d promised he would.
Crawling forward, I grabbed the phone before pressing myself against the wall. Tressa moved into my lap and gave me a look as if trying to comfort me. I curled myself around her, hoping I could be as calm as her. I pressed the phone to my ear, and tears slipped free when I heard Scott’s voice. “Luke? You okay?”
I couldn’t say anything around the panic clogging my throat and let out a whimper, my breaths getting more and more erratic.
“Hey, it’s gonna be fine, okay? I’m nearly there, and I can see the cop cars. They’ll be there any minute now. I need you to breathe with me, Lu. Can you do that?”
I couldn’t speak, but I forced myself to copy his breathing even as I heard a shout and scuffling sounds outside. I ignored them and focused on Scott’s breathing, my own heart calming as I followed his lead.
“I’m coming up the stairs now. Just a minute, sweetie,” Scott said, and I could hear him rushing up the stairs.
“I’ll be right in,” Scott said in a firm voice before ending the call. I waited for him, breathing deeply in order to stave off another panic attack.
It was a few minutes before I heard the bedroom door click open and then soft footfalls approaching the bathroom door.
“Luke?” Scott’s soft voice was enough to propel me to my feet and have me rushing to open the door. As soon as I had the door open, I fell into Scott’s arms, letting him hold my weight as I clung to him. I pressed my face in the crook of his neck and let the tears flow. I was so tired of holding them in, tired of the pain, tired of the fear. I’d thought I was done, that I was finally safe, that I could finally be happy.
“Shh...you’re okay, babe. You’re safe. The cops have him. Don’t worry.”
I nodded, but before I could say anything in reply, I heard him shout from the living room, “You're mine, Lukey boy! Stop this nonsense right this minute, and I promise I'll forgive you! I'll even let that pretty toy of yours go if you just come back to me. You'remine, don't you know that?”
I froze as I processed his words and pulled away from Scott. “Luke?” Scott’s voice was soft, love, worry, and concern shining through his gaze. I took his hand in mine before walking out of the bedroom.
Marcus was slumped over on the living room floor, hands cuffed behind his back. There was a boot print on his pristine white shirt that didn’t look like something the cops would do. My eyes flicked to my boyfriend, and my heart warmed when I saw the way he was glaring at Marcus. Scott was wearing boots. A small smile appeared on my face as I shook my head and turned back to look at Marcus.
The younger one of the two officers was saying something about violation of a restraining order, but I wasn’t really hearing him. My thoughts were still on what I’d heard Marcus shout. When I looked at him now, all I saw was a pathetic excuse of a being, and suddenly, it was just a bit easier to manage the pain. As if my brain and my heart finally acknowledged the fact that he couldn’t hurt me anymore.
I leaned forward until he met my eyes, and I remembered all the pain, all the fear he’d put me through as I curled my hand into a fist and slammed it against his face. He made a pitiful noise as his nose started to bleed, and I glared at him.
“I'm not yours, you asshole. I never was.” I wanted to say more. I wanted to tell him that I’d found true love, that I was happier than I’d ever been, and if I had to go through all that shit with him again and again to get there, to find Scott, then I would.
But I didn’t say anything because I owed him nothing. I pulled back and let Scott hold me in his arms, safe and warm as always.
“That was a good one, son,” the older cop said with a rough chuckle. I looked up at him, giving him a small smile. He looked kind of familiar to me, though I wasn’t sure if I’d met him before. He was in his early fifties, I guessed, with salt-and-pepper hair, light blue eyes, and a square, stern jaw that was at odds with the sweet smile he was giving me.
