Page 16 of Jax

Psycho pauses with his fist outstretched again, like he’s seconds away from showing me another reason why I’m better off doing exactly as he says.

I blink, tears obscuring my view until three different forms move into frame. “Get the fuck off her.”

I recognize the voice. I turn my head, obscuring my face from their view. I’m afraid if they know it’s me, they’ll let Psycho continue, even though I know I’ll only be putting off the inevitable. When I have to crawl back to the storage facility, I’ll only get it worse.

Psycho steps back, hands raised. I watch his dirty shoes retreat with a deep-seated wariness. I gaze up at him to find him smirking. Then, he peeks back at me and winks. At the mouth of the alleyway, our group calls for him, and he ambles away like he didn’t just beat the shit out of me.

As soon as he’s far enough away, Leenie crouches next to me. She keeps trying to pull my hair out of my face, but I shrug it back. All I need is for Psycho to leave, Jax not to see me like this, and then I can crawl back to the storage facility on my own terms.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jax states, a softer hint to his tone. All three of them are next to me now, and my stomach drops. “Do you want us to get the police?”

I shudder at that. The police have never done anything for me.

“Do you know who that guy was?” Leenie asks.

Finn huffs. “It’s the same fucker who started the fight inside.”

“Really?” She blows out a breath. “Damn.” She attempts to move my hair away again, but I cringe back. It’s the only thing helping me hide.

“Come on.” Jax’s rich voice drifts away with his warm palm on my shoulder. A tear runs down my face, and I finally peer up at him. He flinches back when he recognizes me, pulling his hand away like he’s about to get burned.

“Christ,” Finn swears from behind him.

“Shit,” Leenie echoes their sentiments. She’s the only one who stays kneeling next to me in the dirty alley after that.

I watch as Jax gets to his feet, turning to run his fingers through his cropped black hair. “Fuck!” he bellows. The growl reverberates around the alley, bouncing off the buildings all the way down the end of the street. I flinch, shaking. The anger in his voice is so potent that it rings in my ears like a warning siren.

I struggle to my feet, my knees quaking. Leenie stays with me, making sure I can stand on my own. “Thanks,” I whisper, keeping one eye on Jax and trying to make my escape at the same time. “For stopping him.”

Jax whirls, murder in his gaze. “Who the fuck was that? Jesus Christ, Sadie, he was fucking beating you.”

I press my fingertips to my lips gingerly and pull away. They’re bloody. “Thanks. I hadn’t noticed.”

“Is that who you’re hanging out with now?”

The accusation is clear in his eyes. Like he can’t believe that I’m dumb enough to stay with someone who physically abuses me. “I haven’t been as fortunate as you,” I retort.

A growl grows from deep in his stomach, and I admit, that was a pretty shitty thing to say. He’s definitely had his struggles because of me.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say and attempt to walk away again. My knees give out, and Leenie shoots her hand out to steady me.

“Okay, okay,” she says like she’s trying to think. She darts her gaze between Jax and me.

“I’m fine,” I say, pulling my arm from her grip. I stumble with the momentum and end up against the brick wall of the building again. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d given me a concussion.

“Yeah, you’re fucking fine alright,” Jax spits.

The ire in his voice hurts worse than Psycho’s physical blows. I lean my head against the wall as tears stream down my face. Jax seeing me at one of my worst moments is overwhelming. I’m fragile, scared. When I imagined seeing him again, it was far better than this. Sure, I had to stretch my imagination to not make him hate me so much, but I dreamed I was stronger. A fighter like him. I imagined I’d come in confidently, purely, wholly, telling him how badly I fucked up but that I was better now.

None of that is true. I’m still broken. I’m still being used. And I’m still here to make his life a living hell.

“We can’t leave her like this,” Leenie hedges.

The three of them are fractured as I look through tear-filled eyes but I see a mix of disgust and sorrow. They feel bad for me which only makes it worse.

“I can handle him,” I say. “It’s nothing.”

“Says every abused woman,” Finn snarls.

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