“Oh no,” she says softly, picking up an old book. Half the pages have been ripped out and are scattered over the ground. “I’ve had this copy since high school.”
When I get a look at the spine, that uncontrollable anger comes back full-force. It’s A Tale of Two Cities.
I’m going to rip that motherfucker to shreds.
“Where’s your broom, Wren?” Oliver says.
She looks up, glancing between the three of us. Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “No, don’t. It’s my mess to clean up, and it’ll take hours. I’m not destroying your weekend like this.”
I almost tell her that sending us away is the thing that actually would destroy our weekend, but I hold my tongue.
Thankfully, Elliot steps in. He pulls her close, taking the book from her hands and kissing her nose. “It won’t take that long with all four of us. Let us do this for you, love. And then let us take you home so we can help you forget that this ever happened.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and he wipes them away as they fall. When she nods, the three of us let out a collective sigh of relief.
We get to work, Oliver with the broom and Elliot helping Wren put everything back on her bookshelf. I work on getting all the broken dishes off the counters, careful not to cut myself.
After fifteen minutes, the apartment is already looking much better. Except, I notice, now there’s blood on the floor by the bookshelf. For a moment, I’m not sure where it’s from, but then Wren steps into my view.
She’s limping, and when she moves forward, she leaves a little pool of blood behind.
“Wren.” I’m moving toward her before I even realize it, sweeping her into my arms. “Why did you take your shoes off, sweetheart? There’s glass everywhere.”
“What?” She tries to squirm out of my arms, but I nod to the floor. When she sees the blood, she frowns. “I didn’t even realize I was bleeding.” She raises her foot in the air, watching in surprise as blood trickles down her heel.
Both Elliot and Oliver turn at her words, but they get back to work when they see that I have her.
“Your foot was hurting you, and you didn’t even—” I stop before I say something I’ll regret. Her ex just trashed her apartment. She’s flustered and exhausted. Don’t scold her. “Let’s just get you cleaned up.”
I head down a narrow hallway, assuming the bathroom is at the end. But I only take a half-step in before freezing.
Adam wrecked it in here, too. But even worse than that is the red lipstick he smeared onto her mirror, writing out dum bitch.
The irony of the spelling error isn’t lost on me.
“What?” Wren tries to get a peek, but I step outside.
“Elliot,” I say down the hallway, gesturing with my head to the bathroom.
He stalks inside, swearing under his breath when he sees the mirror.
“What?” Wren tries to wiggle free from my arms, but I clamp down on her. With a groan, she gives up, flopping dramatically and letting her head fall back.
“Do you have makeup wipes, love?” Elliot begins searching through all the shit that’s scattered on the floor, careful not to step on anything.
“Yeah, they’re on the shelf above the toilet. Well—they should be, anyway.”
Elliot turns, scratching his head, before leaning down and snatching a package from the floor. “Found them.”
He gets to work wiping at the mirrors. Wren glares impatiently at me, but I ignore her. I’m too focused on taking deep breaths and too scared that if I look at her, she’ll think the anger strangling my entire body is directed at her.
Elliot steps back from the mirror with a nod. He passes us, giving Wren a quick kiss on her forehead before crossing the hall and switching on the light to the bedroom. As I set Wren on the bathroom counter, I glance inside.
It’s as much of a wreck as the rest of the apartment, with pretty sundresses strewn everywhere, her lamp knocked over, and her laptop smashed to pieces on the floor.
God, that bastard.
“Is it bad?” She looks up at me, her impatience from earlier gone.
I take a look at her foot, gently wiping away the blood with some toilet paper. Breathing a sigh of relief, I say, “No. Just a cut. I don’t think you even have a piece of glass stuck in there.” I cut her a hard look. “Which means you’re lucky. It could’ve been worse.”
Her shoulders sag, and she looks down. “I’m sorry. I really don’t know what I was thinking.”
It’s not your fault, I want to say. Because, really, it’s mine. I never should’ve let her walk in here alone. If I hadn’t, Adam wouldn’t’ve thrown a mug at her, and she wouldn’t be nearly as shaken.
Apparently, my thoughts are displayed right on my face, because Wren shakes her head. “Don’t blame yourself, Rhett. He’s never been violent like that before.”
My heart stutters at her words. “Like that? What do you mean?”
She just shrugs, staring at my chest.
“Wren.” My voice is harsh as I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me.
The color drains from her face, and she stops breathing. One look in the mirror tells me that I’ve finally snapped. The anger that should be safely tucked away is on full display, and it’s probably terrifying for her to see.
“Fuck,” I mutter, releasing her. I place my hands on either side of her, bowing my head until it hits her shoulder. “Breathe, sweetheart.”
She does, even if it’s a bit shaky. “He just throws things when he’s angry with me sometimes. But he’s never aimed at me before. That’s all.” Her voice is small, almost afraid, and I hate that I’m the reason why.
“Did he scare you?”
I feel her nod.
“Then he shouldn’t’ve fucking done it.” I raise my head until I’m looking into her soft eyes. “I’m sorry, Wren. I shouldn’t have been that harsh with you.”
“You’re not angry with me?” she whispers.
“God, no.” I kiss her lightly. “I don’t think I could ever be angry at you, sweetheart.”
She lets out a sigh, wrapping her arms around my neck, and I let her hold me for a minute. Then, when my back can’t take the awkward position any longer, I pull away.
It only takes a minute to clean and bandage her foot. We finish cleaning up, refusing to let Wren stay on her feet and almost tying her down to the couch when she won’t listen. Then, once she’s packed a bag, we head out.
On our way to the car, I snap a picture of the back of Adam’s car and send it to a friend. I’ve already got one hellish night planned out for that asshole, and I can’t wait to get started.
WHEN WE GET back home, it’s almost time to eat again. We order pizza at Wren’s request, and then we all shower.
I drag her into my bathroom and take my time washing her hair and soaping her up. She does the same to me, giving every part of my body a kiss after she cleans it. It’s weird being completely naked in front of someone other than Elliot or Oliver, but I shove the feeling aside and try to enjoy myself.
By the time we’re done, I’m surprised we’ve both managed to control ourselves and not go at it in the shower.