His fingers wrap around my throat, squeezing until I’m gasping, and his face hovers over mine. “Open your fucking eyes,” he growls. “Let me see how much you like it when I touch you.”
I will my eyes to open, but my vision is blurred and I can’t see anything beyond my tears. Jake lowers his head and presses his lips to mine, forcing his tongue into mouth. I cry into his mouth and recoil when he starts fondling my breasts again. “Please Jake,” I whimper, piteously. “Don’t do this to me.”
“Kiss me back,” he mumbles angrily against my mouth. When I don’t respond, he lands a sickening punch to my ribcage and I scream in pain. I’m still screaming when the second blow lands in the same spot. It feels like my ribs have splintered with the force of his fist and it brings back the memory of the night he pushed me down the stairs. The night he killed my baby. Our baby. His hands fiddle with the button of my jeans, slipping his fingers into my panties. Oh God, no! Please don’t touch me there, God, PLEASE! I will not be able to look at myself in the mirror again if he touches me there, knowing that part of me is sacred and for Grayson only. I will be tarnished. Grayson won’t want me anymore and that possibility has me wishing that Jake would just kill me already. Get it over with. I would rather die than have Grayson not want me.
A strangled sob escapes my mouth and Jakes’ fist makes contact with my face again. Crack… And again… Crack… And again… Crack…
My head rolls and I feel the fight leave my body as I look up into his dead eyes. “I could never love you,” I whisper, struggling for air. “You killed our baby.”
His face falls. I expect him to hit me again but he doesn’t. For a split second I see remorse flash in his eyes. Then it’s gone.
The front door flies open and smashes against the wall. I turn my head and watch as Grayson runs down the hallway in slow motion, followed by Brody and then Demi. Jake jumps up but he’s too slow. Grayson is much bigger than Jake and when his body collides with Jakes’, Jake doesn’t stand a chance. Brody follows and soon they’re both tackling Jake to the ground. Brody pins him to the ground and yells, “Gray, I’ve got this! Call an ambulance!”
Grayson is at my side and I want to smile at him but my face and my body feel like lead. My eye lids flutter and I hear talking but I can’t make out the words. I think I hear Demi crying but I’m not sure. The world around me fades as darkness takes over and blankets me. As I slip further and further into unconsciousness, images of my parents pop into my head.
I see myself waving at them and my heart fills with joy at the sight of them. I feel a little hand slip around mine and look down, only to be met with green eyes that match Graysons’. The brown-haired little boy looks up at me and smiles before running away laughing. I watch, mesmerized, as Grayson appears, running after the little boy.
“No Daddy,” the little boy squeals. He runs towards me and I open my arms for him to jump into. “Mommy!” he squeals again.
I kiss his forehead. “Mommy’s here,” I coo.
Grayson wraps his arms around us and I feel peace in this moment, unaware of what’s real and what’s not.
All I know is that I’m happy, and safe, and home.
Chapter 24
Grayson
Brody stops outside the hospital but I’m already jumping out the car before he has a chance to stop. I run through the emergency room doors where I’m sure they would’ve brought Huntley. I grab the nearest nurse. “Huntley Morgan, where is she?’ I ask impatiently.
“Are you family?”
“She’s my fucking girlfriend! I need to know if she’s ok! Tell me where the fuck she is!” I yell into the nurses’ face.
“Sir, you need to calm down.” She pats my arm and I have to stop myself from slapping it away. I’m breathless, and my mind is sprinting. I am getting really pissed.
“Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down! Just tell me where my girlfriend is!”
Brody comes into the emergency room and grabs both my arms, pulling me toward the waiting room. “You need to calm down Gray,” he breathes into my ear. “They won’t tell you anything if you don’t get your shit together.”
I rip myself from his grasp and run my hands through my disheveled hair, exhaling a deep breathe of pure frustration.