Page 17 of Embers in the Dark

“Fuck,” I cry out.

“Don’t be a little bitch, Baylee!” he yells in my face, caging me in with his arms. “You walk in that restaurant, in that dress, showing off your body, hoping to be treated like a dirty whore, so I’ll treat you like you should be tossed around a little bit. You know you like it rough,” he throws at me.

It’s hard to focus on his face with the instant tears forming. What the fuck is he saying to me? And all this from a simple dress I wore?

He grips my arm again and the sting is instant. I can’t move, frozen in place. My head is pounding and all I want to do is fall to the ground and curl into a ball. My phone fell out of my hand when he slammed me against the wall, and I feel completely helpless right now. The old Baylee never would’ve been this helpless. Where is she now?

“You think I’m going to let you walk away from me after I wasted all this time on us? No fucking way, Baylee. I groomed you to be mine. There’s no way you’re getting rid of me that easily. But it seems you need a little reminder that I’m as good as you’ll get,” he whispers into my ear.

I can’t help the whimper that escapes my lips and I turn my face away from him. I hate how scared I am right now, because I want to show him he doesn’t affect me. Somewhere deep down I find my last resolve and turn my eyes to meet his. I won’t let him feel my fear, he doesn’t deserve it.

My eyes connect with his and I steel my spine and stand as straight as I can.

“Myles, maybe it’s time for you to clean your fucking ears because like I said before—we’re fucking done. I’m not your fucking girlfriend anymore. FUCK. YOU.”

If I thought Myles was pissed before, I was wrong. His eyes become lifeless orbs before me and things move faster than I could’ve imagined. He lets go of my arm, but I can’t react fast enough to move out of the way. Before I can register what’s happening, he balls his hand into a fist and punches me in the stomach.

The last thing I remember is the wind being knocked out of me and I fall to the ground. I cough a few times and blink heavily. The exhaustion takes over and I can’t fight it any longer. I try so hard to keep my eyes open while Myles breathes heavily over me. I finally relent and let my eyelids close. Maybe this was all a nightmare, and when I wake up I can go back to a life where I never dated this monster.

CHAPTER 6

Tucker

It’s been a long day,but I can’t complain about it because it’s the closest thing to normal I’ve had with Rios in a long time. He came over tonight and we hung out like old times. Slowly, I think we’ll finally get our friendship to what it once was. I can only hope he’ll start to see his sister and I had nothing going on between us.

I’ve known Rios most of my life. We grew up together as neighbors, going through our biggest moments together, and he has been my ride or die for as long as I can remember.

We went through so much, from little league, flag football, high school dances, and then starting at the fire academy together. He was the first call after I heard about my mom’s diagnosis. Spending these last few months feeling like our friendship wasn’t going to survive this hardship felt like my body was missing a limb.

Abby talks about Baylee and I needing to explore this thing between us, but she doesn’t realize that I can’t envision my life without my best friend. I know so many see Rios as this terrible person, but he’s been the guy I call when I hear the worst news in my life. I just don’t understand my life without him in it.

Much like my shadow, he’s been by my side, no matter what. There’s loyalty between us. I may have been curious about where things could’ve gone between Baylee and I, but I’ve only known my life with Rios in it.

I walk through my apartment, still finding boxes in corners because I have yet to fully unpack. I’ve been here a few months, but life has been busy between shifts at the firehouse and taking my mom to appointments, so unpacking boxes is the last thing on my mind. Plus, if I have extra time, I’d much rather soak up the nice weather while Boston hasn’t frozen over yet.

I’m brushing my teeth when I hear the faint sound of my phone. I rush to grab it, concerned it might be my mother with an emergency. I finally find it in the living room and see it’s from the last person I’d expect. I press accept and put the phone to my ear.

“Hey, you okay?” I ask into the phone.

At first, I think she dialed it by accident because she never calls me, until I hear a hoarse, faint version of her voice.

“Tucker? I need you.” Her voice cracks at the end as if she’s holding back a sob.

“Where are you?”

“My place,” she croaks.

“Stay right where you are. I’m leaving right now.” In a rush, I grab my things, not even turning off any lights.

Luckily, it’s summer, and it’s the middle of the night because there’s no traffic. I make it to Connecticut in record time. I pull up to her apartment complex, and her light is dim but on. She’s lived here for the past two years. Thank goodness she hasn’t moved. I helped her get settled here when she and a few of her friends found this place after moving from the dorms.

I park my truck and lock up, running to her apartment. I’m getting ready to call her to come unlock the door when I see it’s already open. It’s then I realize the lock is broken.

I walk frantically into the apartment, my heart pounding, the whoosh of the blood flowing through my ears all I can hear.

“Baylee, it’s Tucker. Where are you?” I call, taking in the scene in front of me.

The apartment is in shambles. The living room light is knocked down, and some of the chairs are tossed. She hasn’t called out to me in response, but I hear a slight sniffle coming from the back room.

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