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“Not a chance. Today he learns.” His strong chest flexed with a deep breath; his body prepared at all costs to fight.
A chair screeched in the distance, and a couple workers approached us.
“Please, trust me.” I pleaded, bringing his gaze back to me. “If you cared about me, you’d give me a moment to sort my mess out.”
“Ok.” His eyes were still stern, as he stared back at Robbie, “But I will do what I need to, whatever it takes to protect you.”
Robbie walked ahead of me, and he busted out the front entrance. Everyone stared with gaping mouths, appalled by our intrusion. I didn’t blame them, this was humiliating. And poor Nathan. Fuck. He lived here, not me. I couldn’t ruin his reputation, the one that still remained a mystery. Whatever kind of hero he was, I certainly believed it. Especially now. He stood close by, just inside the door with a scowl on his face as he watched Robbie carefully.
I was glad he was nearby to protect me, although, I couldn’t imagine Robbie ever getting physical with me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I challenged Robbie. He seemed thoroughly confused with my question.
“Funny you should ask because I caught you out with another man. So, why don’t you give me an answer…now?” He scoffed out. The back of his hand slapped in his palms with each spoken word, as if it were time to pay up. A wave of guilt rushed over me, but not for being caught, but for Nathan. How I’d been leading him on these last few days.
Me? A practically married woman. I’m no better than Robbie, a cheater, looking to play with another man. How could I have been so selfish, to seek out the ‘freedom’ that Eve dangled before me? That wasn’t me, it shouldn’t have been me. Nathan was only meant to be a one-night experiment, not my savior. I was afraid of what I may have done, who I may have hurt.
As I opened my mouth to answer, Robbie interrupted me. “And to think that Eve was covering for you. I should have known. Tramps like to stick together, right?” He glared at me.
Eve, covering for me? For a moment, I wanted her here, to take all of this away, to get rid of Robbie. To slap me toward the right decision I should make, but she wasn’t here. Nor would she be, I’d been ignoring her every attempt to reach me.
The thought struck my throat into a fisted ball, as I recalled the other day and remembered how alone I truly was without her in my life. There was not a minute that escaped me where I mulled over the entirety of the situation.
Anger sunk right into my empty stomach at his words. I clenched my fists so hard, my nails pierced into the palm of my hands. “Speaking of, I know about you and Eve… You think you could have kept the abortion a secret? That I wouldn’t find out?” Robbie’s angry expression quickly halted, emitting a loud sigh. He took a step back, confused at what hit him.
“She told you?”
“Yeah, you asshole. This entire time… The whole fucking time you made me out to be this cheating whore and…”
Robbie interrupted and tried to swipe the jacket off of me. “Which you clearly are, you’re even wearing his fucking jacket.” I tugged the jacket, but Robbie’s grip tightened on it. He yanked harder, my feet almost leaving the group. His firm grip caught my burning wrist, twisting it in pain. But soon I felt nothing, as the large dash of Nathan's body came into view tackling Robbie without hesitation.
Everything spun so fast and out of control, the moment felt surreal. Robbie gasped for air, his body defenseless against the power of Nathan’s falling fists.
“Nathan, what are you doing?” I shouted, gripping his bicep pulling him up off the floor. And without much convincing, Nathan moved away and stood by my side. He looked between the two of us, stuck in the middle of a fight he didn’t ask for, but made it his problem.
“Are you ok?” Nathan asked sincerely as he took my face into his hands, softly brushing my cheek with his thumb. I placed my hand over his. This felt like goodbye, but I wasn’t ready. I swallowed the tight knot that formed in my throat, wishing this was over.
“I’m ok,” I said. I looked into his beautiful eyes, they glistened with hope for me.
Robbie’s wide eyed expression locked onto mine as I glanced over. “Julia, you’re going to regret being with him. I’ll fucking take it all away,” Robbie threatened, a bloody smile appeared. “You can kiss everything goodbye, you know I can with the snap of a finger. Fuck it, I’m calling Mitchell now.” Robbie stood back up on his feet as he swiped away at his bloody nose. I swallowed as I watched Robbie pull out his phone. I couldn’t think, everything was happening so quickly. Something took over, I reached out, thoughtless and numb.
“No,” I stepped toward him, taking Robbie’s hand. “Don’t call Mitchell, it’s not necessary.” I couldn’t even bare to meet Nathan’s eyes. What must he have thought of me? A weak, idiotic, selfish puppet who would do anything to keep her miserable life in the city.
I stood at Robbie’s side now, he took me into his arms like an injured bird. “There, there, baby. I’ll forgive you for your mistakes. I know you didn’t mean it, just like I didn’t mean my past mistakes.”
Forgive me?That fucker had the guts to call me out like that. It was sickening, yet I had no choice. I had gone too far, too many sleepless nights, too many deadlines and years of dedication. I couldn’t let one call ruin it. I hated it, I hated myself. A fucking prisoner.
Nathan interjected. His angry eyes were now washed with sadness. “Julia, you’re really going back to this guy?” He asked confused, shifting his weight behind him. How could I explain, how could I make sense of this? It would never make sense, unless you lived it. All I could do was hope, hope that someday he would forgive me.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Nathan,” my eyes stung as they glossed over. “He’s my fiancé, and I love him. Whatever you and I had… it ends now.” Robbie tugged at my hand like a child as we walked away from Nathan’s sight.
I glanced back. Nathan’s sunken head tore my heart into literal pieces. I felt sick. My stomach twisted at my own decision and the thought of leaving Nathan behind. A potential life that I could have pictured, vanished. Robbie destroyed everything he touched. Only one thing remained.
Dread.
The only feeling that coursed through my veins was the heavy burden of dread in my chest.
In our Uber, the tension was so thick. Our driver would glance in the mirror, seemingly aware of the vibe of my physical hate.
