“Nelson…”
He turned away from me. He threw an entire fresh beer back and ordered another one. At this rate, he was going to be throwing up before ten. This was the side of Nelson nobody really understood. Not that it made anything I did right, but when Nelson felt any sort of threatened, he would drink himself silly drunk. And trust me, the last thing he was when really drunk was silly.
He’d get loud, angry, and he showed no care for anyone or anything.
I had to end the night before it really got started.
I put a hand to his arm. “Come on, why don’t we just leave? We have no business being here.”
“Fuck off, Lindsey,” he growled under his breath.
“That’s nice to say,” I said. “So make me the enemy and throw me away.”
“You threw me away a long time ago,” he said. “You just kept picking at me when it was convenient for you. And I was dumb enough to let you do it. I’m the loser… no, you’re the loser. Not me. I’ll be the winner soon.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m begging you right now, Nelson. Can we just leave? Together. You and me. Why can’t we just talk like a normal couple? You realize we never actually talk.”
“I don’t care what you have to say,” Nelson snapped.
“You just said you care about me,” I said.
“Yeah, whatever.”
I looked around the bar and restaurant. It was pretty busy. People laughing. People talking. People experience something that resembled normal. Something I didn’t have right then and maybe never would. I did feel wrong with how things were with Nelson though. But if he was going to be an asshole about it…
I stood up. I grabbed my bag. “Look, I’m out of here then. I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to have a serious conversation. I wanted to be adults. But you don’t want that. You don’t want the truth. So I’m done here, Nelson.”
I started to walk and Nelson grabbed for me.
I managed to shake him away. I went for the front of the bar and left. I knew Nelson was going to follow me, because that was his nature. I moved along the side of the bar, going toward my car.
That’s when Nelson caught up to me.
“Goddammit, Lindsey,” his voice bellowed as he hurried next to me. “What the fuck is this?”
I stopped and turned to face him. I thought about slapping him. But I reminded myself that I didn’t love him the way he thought he loved me. I was part of the problem. Hell, I was the problem. So I couldn’t just slap him and walk away.
“There’s nothing else here for me… or you,” I said. “It’s just not going to work, ever. I’m sorry, Nelson. I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to hurt myself. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You fucked that up,” Nelson said.
“I see that now. I’m sorry for that. Just walk away, Nelson. I’ll go. You go. We can talk when you’re not drunk.”
“I’m not fucking drunk,” he said. He closed in on me. “Don’t fucking accuse me of anything I’m not. You hear me?”
I slowly stepped back, looking for a chance to escape. This was the side I didn’t want to see of Nelson. My back hit the side of the building and I was stuck. Nelson lifted a finger and put it right to my cheek. He pressed, showing his teeth.
“Stop,” I said. “Don’t do anything stupid right now.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Nelson asked. “Huh? Maybe it’s your turn to feel pain. To hurt a little. You fuck with me? Nobody fucks with me.”
“I didn’t do anything…”
Nelson jabbed his finger to my cheek, snapping my head to the right. He put his mouth almost over my ear. “I’ll hurt you so bad. Don’t think I won’t.”
The smell of alcohol flooded my nose. Nelson loved to talk tough when he was drunk. He’d grabbed me before. He’d pushed me. But he never had hit me.
“I swear I’ll call the police,” I said. “You have two seconds.”
“Then fucking count and call,” Nelson said. “You whore.”
That’s when I made my move. I threw an elbow and hit him in the gut. I pressed at his chest, shoving him back two steps.
Nelson threw a hand forward and I dodged to the side. His hand smacked the building.
“Fuck!” he screamed. “You’re going to pay for that, bitch.”
I swung at Nelson and he blocked me. I then saw his left hand coming at me and I had no chance to get him away again. I felt his hand connect with my cheek, sending a hot pain across my face. My eyes filled with tears and I tried to scream but there was no sound. I was in complete shock that it had just happened.
“No you’ll listen to me,” Nelson growled.
I tried to keep my eyes on his hand, knowing that one slap was usually followed by a second.
Trust me, Aunt Jane’s ex taught me that lesson a long time ago.
Nelson lifted his hand again but this time he didn’t get to slap me. Instead, Nelson flew back away from me. He spun around and there was a sickening thud sound. It was like someone hit Nelson with a bat. Right to the face. Nelson went down to the ground like he’d been put to sleep.