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?I miss my momma. I can't wait to see her for Christmas. That reminds me, I need to speak to Rachael about getting some days off. I need to talk to Miles, as well, and see when will work for him. Since he runs an entire company, I’ll work my days off around his. I love that he said he would come with me. That makes my heart skip a beat. I'm nervous and excited for him to meet my family. I smile as I open our messages and type out one about Christmas.
Lizzie:Hey babe, my mom called earlier and wants to know when I’m coming home for Christmas. Let me know what days work for you, and I will work around those, since your work definitely takes precedence over mine. Also, I miss you. Just want you to know. After hitting Send, I listen to my brother's message.
"Little sis, where are you? You never answer your phone. Anyways, happy birthday. I'll give you your gift when you are in town. Call me back. I need to talk to you. Love ya."
?I know exactly what he wants to talk to me about. He has been pressuring me to go and see my father when I’m in town. I don't think I am ready for that; I'm not sure I ever will be. That reminds me of the letter I wrote him. I haven't decided if I’ll send it to him or not. It felt good to get the words out on paper, so I don't know if I really need to send it and open up all those old wounds. I've wasted enough time not getting dressed for work, so I put my phone down and change into my uniform. Making sure everything is in order, I leave the locker room and clock in.
?True to Rachael's word, the wait staff help me with any needs I have during my shift, and it ends up running smoothly. The parties come and go with smiles on their faces and on mine, too, after all the tips I made tonight. After closing out all my tickets and printing my end of the shift receipt, I clean up my section.
?As I go to take off my apron, I hear a familiar voice behind me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Hey there, beautiful.” That eerie, smoke induced, raspy voice sends shivers over my body, gearing up my fight or flight reflex. I turn around and come face to face with Jacob Mathis. I take a few steps back, but he just takes the same number of steps forward.
?“W-what are you doing here, Jacob?” I stammer nervously. He comes closer, and I realize I can’t back up any further because I’m against the wall.
“Oh, Lizzie. Aren't you happy to see me? I came here for you, little lamb. I want you to come home with me. We need to talk about us,” he proclaims, then puts his palms on the wall beside my head. I try to duck down and move away, but he leans over and blocks my path.
“There is no us, Jacob. Now, will you excuse me, so I can get my work done?” I insist with a bite to my tone. Looking around, I try to see if there is anyone that can see us or come to help me if things escalate. Unfortunately, we are in a corner that’s already cleaned for the night. It's unlikely that anyone will come over here. My palms begin to sweat because he was very possessive when we were together, and he’s acting even more so now that we aren’t. I can smell the alcohol rolling off his breath as he leans down to whisper in my ear.
?“I’m not going anywhere, little lamb. Not until you agree to come with me. You belong to me, Lizzie. You need to get it through that head of yours. I don’t know why you thought Miles Knight would stop me from getting you. Besides, he and his brother never have a girl more than once. I’m sure you know that by now,” he snarls with a twisted smile crossing his lips. Those words hit my heart with a thud, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. He grabs ahold of my arms firmly, when I try to maneuver around him. Suddenly, my nightmare is glaring at me. This is exactly what I saw in my dream. The monster from the night terror is staring down at me, but in the flesh. I’m a lamb being led to slaughter.
?I try again to escape his hold on me, but his grip only tightens. I emit a gasp from the pain. Abruptly, my breath leaves my lungs like I’ve been struck with force; but the onlything that hit me is the knowledge that this isn't going to end well.I can’t breathe. I need air.I must get away from Jacob. He’s drunk and stumbling, but he’s still much larger than I am; I’ve never seen him act this crazy before. Tears begin to form in my eyes, but I look away so he can’t see my fear. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I barely manage to get out words.
“Jacob, I’m not leaving with you. We are over. You made sure of that when you slept with your assistant. That was more than six months ago. Why are you suddenly coming around again?” I grill him. He squeezes me harder, and I can feel the bruises he’s going to leave on my arms.
“I can have whoever I want, whenever I want. But you look better on my arm, and if I’m going to make partner at the firm, then I need you there to look pretty and get me the promotion. I need to be riding on your father’s reputation too. Plus, I saw you and Miles Knight looking extra comfortable together on a red-carpet last night for some gala, and I couldn’t let some other shit swoop in and take you.” He tries to rub his thumb down my cheek, but I flinch on contact.
?“Now, am I going to have to drag you out of here, or are you going to be a good girl and walk out with me? You know, I still have the key to your apartment. I could come get you tonight while you are sleeping. Or I could send someone over there now to check on Sarah. She’s home, isn’t she? I think I watched her walk up the sidewalk to your apartment not too long ago,” he growls dangerously, and I feel a cold shiver run over my body.What would he do? Would he hurt her? How the hell did I ever end up dating this man? Was I blind to his psychotic behavior, or did he just make me see what I wanted? He sure hid it well.
Tears blur my vision, as I look up at his manipulative, calculating eyes. I can’t let anything happen to Sarah. I try to think of a plan, but my mind is eerily blank. I wish I had been able to tell Miles when I was going to be off tonight, because he would already be here waiting.Think Lizzie, think. If I could just get to my phone and call the police or to the bar where I’m sure a manager is.
“Okay, I have to go change before I can leave,” I tell him. “Go have a drink at the bar. Tell Henry I said it’s on thehouse. I’m sure he remembers you. I’ll meet you over there in a minute,” I state with confidence I don’t feel. Holding a shaky smile, I’m hoping he believes me.
“Oh, sweet little Lizzie, do you think I’m that fucking stupid? You aren’t getting away from me. We are leavingnow! And don’t think about yelling. I have a friend waiting to hear from me. He’s parked right outside your apartment. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what that means for your friend.” He yanks my arm, forcing me to walk toward the front door beside him. I’m about to have a full-blown panic attack now. I don’t have a phone, and he’s not going to let me go. I don’t know what he’ll do to me or Sarah if I make a scene here. Shit, I have to go with him. As we start to walk, I look all around, trying to catch anyone’s awareness, but no one is paying us any attention. I can feel my legs about to give way from fear, and I stumble a bit. His grip tightens so hard, I let out a whimper. Afraid, I look at him. The way he gazes at me is something I will not soon forget. Such venom and hatred! I don’t even know this man in front of me anymore. He’s turned into something evil. As we approach the doors, tears fall freely down my face because I know this is it.
?As he goes to push the doors, they suddenly open with a hard swing. Miles stands fiercely in the doorway, his eyes piercing us. Jacob grips me even tighter, and more tears flood down my face. Miles clenches his fists and roars, “I thought I told you to never talk to her again. I’ll fucking kill you for touching her!” Miles shouts, stomping inside and slamming the door behind him.
Jacob holds up his free hand and thunders back, “Look, Knight, Lizzie is mine! You tried to scare me off last time, but I’m here to take what’s mine! Don’t be stupid and get in the way.”
?Before he can say anything else, Jacob is on the floor with blood spilling out of his nose. Miles pushes me to the side and swiftly lunges toward Jacob, beating him beyond recognition. “I warned you not to come around her! Fucking piece of shit is what you are!” Miles continues pounding into him repeatedly. Jacob seems to have lost consciousness, but that doesn’t stop Miles.
“Miles! Stop! You’re going to kill him! He isn’t worth it,” I scream. A crowd begins to form, and I hear someone yell to call 911. At least the police will be here soon. I try to reach out and grab Miles’ hand before it flies back down to hit Jacob, but I get caught in the crossfire. His elbow connects with my eye. I stumble backward, hitting a table before falling to the ground.
“Fuck!” I hear Miles’s shout. Gasps sound all around, and before I can open my eyes, I’m being lifted from the ground. The sudden change in elevation makes me dizzy. I look up to see that I’m in Miles’ arms. He has a hard expression on his face. I want to reach out and stroke that expression away, but the shock of everything has me frozen in place. I take a deep breath as he sets me on the nearest table. His bloodied hands are shaking as he cups my face. His thumb caresses my eye where I got hit. I whimper at his touch, and his face quickly turns pain stricken.
?“Lizzie, please forgive me! When I saw his hands on you and the tears in your eyes, I couldn’t stand it. I had to get him off you. The things he was saying made the anger rise up in me, until I snapped. Forgive me, please, baby! I didn’t know you were behind me, and now I’ve hurt you.” He pauses for a moment. Unshed tears start falling from his beautiful blue eyes.
?I grasp his wrists, since his hands are still holding my face. “Shh,” I whisper as I rub his forearms up and down, trying to get him to calm down. “It was an accident. You saved me from him. He said I couldn’t get away from him; if I did, then he had someone waiting at my apartment to do something to Sarah. Shit, I have to get to her!” I go to stand up and almost fall over from lightheadedness. Miles’s strong arms wrap around me tightly, keeping me close to his body.
?“Calm down, Lizzie, he is unconscious. I’m sure Sarah is fine.”
I look up at him with anger radiating through my body. He doesn’t know she’s okay. He doesn’t know if Jacob had some sort of agreement with his friend, that if he didn’t call by a certain time, or something, he was to go into our apartment. I saw a whole new side to Jacob tonight, and I am terrified. I go to push Miles’ body away from me because I need to get to myphone. I hear the sirens in the distance and know the police are going to be asking a million questions. All I care about right now is Sarah. I have to know if she’s okay. I push harder and back away from his embrace.
?“You don’t know that she’s okay! Don’t try and placate me. I must get to her!” Once I’m free, I run to the back of the restaurant to the lockers, but I feel Miles right behind me. I open my locker with shaking hands and pull out my phone. My stomach drops when I see all the messages and calls from Sarah. Panic taking over, I fall to the floor and dial her number. Tears streaming down my face, I let out a huge breath when she answers the phone and sounds okay. That’s all it takes for me to turn into a mess on the floor.
?“Lizzie, where are you? You should have been home by now. I was getting worried!” she exclaims. Her voice sounds anxious, but she doesn’t sound hurt. I’m such a mess I’m unable to tell her what happened. I think everything from the nightmare this morning, to the shit show tonight, has come crashing down on me. I’m inconsolable by the time Miles joins me in the back room. He leans down and pulls me into his lap. He takes the phone from my hands and calmly recounts tonight’s events to Sarah. Before I realize it, he’s off the phone and holding me tightly against his warm body. He kisses my forehead and rubs his hand up and down my back to calm my nerves. After a few moments, I look up at him, resting on his chest.
? “Lizzie, I’ll always do anything to protect you. You are mine. Mine to adore, mine to hold, mine to love,” he murmurs softly into my ear. He brushes his nose against my temple, and I melt even more into him. I don’t have words to respond to him, but I don’t think he meant for me to. He continues to caress my body, and I can feel the tension and anxiety begin to fade away.
?A few minutes pass in silence, before the door opens. In walks my manager and a police officer. My heart begins to hammer out of my chest again, because I’m not looking forward to having to recount everything. I especially don’t want Miles to get in trouble over this. He picks me up from his lap, helping me stand, then he does as well. Before I can speak, Miles pulls me to his side and addresses the officer, “I wanta restraining order in place. Jacob Mathis is to come nowhere near Elizabeth, or he will look worse than he already does.” I’m stunned, and just look up at him. He seems taller and more masculine than I’ve ever seen. Not that he ever lacked that, in any way, but he’s standing his ground, protecting me. It feels good having someone in my corner. It makes me feel like he might really be able to keep me safe. After tonight, I feel like I’ll need it. The officer nods and looks at me.
