AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"How dare you," he mutters angrily in a low voice. "I've never been so disrespected in my life."
He takes a step towards me, my body jolting back as he stalks towards me. I shake my head, holding my hands up in front of my body. "If you just tell me the truth, we can talk about it. People make mistakes. It's okay if you messed up."
I don't even see it coming. I couldn't even have predicted it.
The sound of his hand slapping me across the face takes me by surprise at first, that I don't even register the pain that follows. My head snaps to the side, my own hand reaching up to nurse my stinging cheek.
My eyes widen in fear as I stare at him. I'm cornered between him and the bedside drawer, my body tense as I start to shake. Aaron has never hit me before. I don't think he's even hit anyone in his life. Then again, maybe I don't know him at all.
We lock eyes for a few seconds before his face finally drops back to a blank canvas. He relaxes before nodding to himself.
"You're right. We will talk about it later. I won't forgive you for cheating on me, but I love you. I'm sure we can figure this out and find some way for you to make up for it."
Turning around, he exits the room, leaving me stunned. My legs finally give out, my knees hitting the floor as I crumple like a piece of paper into a heap. Tears spill down my cheeks but I force myself to stay quiet, utter terror ripping through me.
I need to get out of here but I'm so scared to just leave, worried he will try to stop me. Eventually, I crawl over to the bathroom, pushing the door closed and leaning against it with my back. Aaron doesn't come looking for me and I lose track just how long I sit there for.
Time doesn't exist as I just sit there, crying as I try to figure out how to get myself out of this mess.
Somehourslater,Ihear the apartment door open and close. I listen for further sounds, but am only met with silence.
Carefully, I collect myself together and stand. In the mirror, I stare at my reflection. I don't recognize myself right now, one cheek bright red in the shape of a hand while my eyes are puffy.
I open the bathroom door, poking my head out first. When I still hear nothing but silence, I creep out of the bathroom into the bedroom, stopping at the bedroom door as I peer out into the empty apartment.
Aaron has gone, but his stuff is still thrown around as normal so I know he'll be back. I quickly get changed into a fresh set of clothes and grab my cell and keys before heading out the door. The corridor is empty and I let out a sigh of relief.
The window across from our apartment door overlooks the parking lot, so I peek out, searching for Aaron's car. Noticing its absence, I continue on my path to the outside world.
I inhale fresh air as I step outside the complex doors, calming myself before realizing I don't have a plan. I didn't think this far so I grab my cell, hitting dial on the only number I can focus on.
The call rings and rings until Max's voice mail message reaches my ears. I hang up instead of leaving a message, already feeling defeated.
I'm not sure who else I can even call. The two people on this planet I would normally turn to and one is ignoring me and the other I am running from.
I scroll my contacts list, trying to figure out what to do next when I spot an unusual name in my phone.
Beau (Guy you assaulted with a drink and said smelled good)
My eyes widen as I stare at the name on the screen. I quickly ponder the possibility that perhaps I have met another Beau sometime in my life, but the added description kind of narrows it down. And what the hell does it mean that I said smelled good?
My finger hovers over the call button. Do I really want to call this complete stranger? What do I even say?
A car backfires somewhere in the street, making me jump. My heart races until I spot a group of college guys in the old Ford driving past.
My nerves are an absolute mess and I hit call, taking long, deep breaths. I suck in a breath and stop when I hear the call click as a deep voice answers.
"Hello?"
"Erm… hi. It's Addison," I start, not sure what else to say.
"Oh, hey. How's your head?"
I wrap my free arm around my ribcage, looking at the ground. "It's okay. Did you put your number in my cell?"
Beau laughs softly at the other end of the phone. "I did. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting a call so soon."
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "This is really random but are you free?"
