When he caught my arm in a hard, vise-like grip, my warning signals shot sky-high. Alec had never been physically abusive before. But something wasn't right about him today.
Men who found themselves on the edge of desperation usually acted out in terrible ways. I'd learned that the hard way from my father. Well, today Alec looked eerily desperate.
Knowing I had to handle this carefully, even though his presence was ticking me off big time, I tried to take his entire reason to feel desperate away from him.
"This isn't a power play for me to get a pretty toy, Alec," I assured. "The only thing I want is my child."
"Bullshit!" He jabbed his finger accusingly in my direction. "What happened to the girl I met who said kids gave her the willies?"
"You knocked her up," I shot back, fury rising inside me. "So I guess I'm just going to have to learn to adjust."
"Jesus Christ," Alec shouted inside the garage, making me narrow my eyes and set my hand on my hip. "Why can't you just take care of this?"
"I am! I'm going to stay here and take care of my baby, like a mother should."
"A mother? Oh my God." He let out a degrading laugh. "Are you even listening to yourself? This is not you. You're not mother material, Eva. You're a fucking spoiled, rich cunt."
Ouch. That one hurt. I was a single, nineteen-year-old child with no job, no home, and I was about to bring an innocent little human into the world and be totally responsible for her. Sudden dizziness made me sway on my feet. Poor Skylar seemed royally screwed and she wasn't even born yet. With a douchebag for a father and a spoiled, rich cunt for a mother, my baby didn't stand a chance.
But I was still determined give her one. No matter what anyone thought, I would love my girl and I'd find a way to be a damn good mother, if it was the last thing I did.
I squared my shoulders. "Just because I didn't plan on this ever happening, doesn't mean I'm going to brush it aside like a minor inconvenience. I'm keeping my child."
Alec sneered as if he knew a secret. "Well, I can't allow you to do that."
I tried to tug my arm away from him. "Why not? I'm not asking you to do anything. In fact, I don't even want you involved."
Alec jerked me closer. "How stupid do you think I am? I know you'll get the law on your side, and you'll fucking bleed everything from me. You could hold this over me for the rest of my life, suck me dry with some bullshit child support, make me pay for all kinds of shit I want nothing to do with. And I refuse to let you get away with it."
"Alec . . . " I gave a long, tired sigh and even rolled my eyes as dramatically as I could, even though my heart was racing. For some irrational reason, I thought letting him see my fear would cause him to pounce. "Believe me." Please, please believe me. "I will not do that to you. I don't want anything from you. Actually, if I never saw you again, I would be overwhelmed with joy. I'll even sign a piece of paper saying so."
"See, now." Alec shook his head and laughed softly. "I'm having trouble believing that. I know you, remember? I know what a conniving, manipulative bitch you are. And I refuse to let you continue this."
"Well, I've changed." I huffed out a sound of aggravation when I tried to tug my arm free of his grip and he wouldn't release me. "People can change, you know. Now let me go."
"Not until you agree to get rid of it."
Was he on crack? It was way too late for an abortion, even if I'd been on board with the idea. I sniffed and lifted my chin. "Never."
"Then you leave me no other choice."
Oh, shit. I realized I'd made a big mistake by standing up to him, and even egging his temper on, a split second before he shoved me against the wall.
As my back cracked against sheetrock and then my head banged into it, fear seized me. He clutched me by the throat until I was screaming and screaming, and just screaming for all I was worth, hoping I was loud enough to get Mason and Reese's attention.
He was going to try to hurt my baby. I didn't feel the pain at first; I was too scared for Skylar and what Alec was trying to do to her. But then he punched me in the stomach.
I think I kept screaming. I'm not sure. The sound echoed through my ears as I tried to curl my arms around myself and protect my daughter. But he held me by the neck, pinning me in place, loose enough that I could continue to scream, yet tight enough I couldn't get away. I could barely breathe, let alone shield my stomach. My legs flailed, but the splitting feeling inside me was so severe it was hard to concentrate on much of anything past each gushing slice.
Just as abruptly as he attacked, Alec stopped. The pressure on my throat vanished, and I crumpled to the floor. I couldn't stop myself, couldn't catch my fall, could barely gasp for air. It was as if I had no control over my own limbs. I landed with a jarring thud, which hurt even more. But at least the assault was over.
I thought maybe Alec had come to his senses and backed off.