Chapter 19 The Rescue Squad #2
I heard her take a deep breath. She was quiet for so long, I looked at Sue and Mike, who were staring at the phone attentively. I thought Nelle would hang up, but then I heard her again. “It’s not that easy.”
She was speaking in a soft tone, so different from the excitable, energetic voice I was used to. She sounded as if she were very carefully measuring her words, as if there were things she knew she couldn’t say.
“Trust me, Nelle. It’s not as hard as it seems.”
“Who are you to tell me that?” she asked.
“I was in the same situation as you.”
“No, you weren’t, Jen. You don’t understand. You lived far away, you had a group of friends helping you, you had people who cared about you. I’m here, locking in all day with him. No matter where I go, I can’t make it far before he finds me.”
“He left me alone,” I said.
“Because you’re hours away.”
“Do like Jenna, then,” Sue interrupted us. “Go to school. You can come here. Registration is still open.”
“Who the…?” Nelle asked.
“Or don’t go to school. Just come here,” Mike said. “What have you got to lose?”
Nelle was babbling: who were these people, how dare I let them listen in on our conversation, this was private, and so on.
I told her they were my friends, and even if they were nosy, they were right.
She should come. She’d be safe, and she could build a new life here.
When she protested that it wasn’t that easy, I reminded her that her parents had money running out their ears, and they loved her and were scared of what Monty could do to her.
They’d do whatever it took to get her away from him, I had no doubt about that.
“We’ll come pick you up!” Mike burst in. “We can take my brother’s car. If Jen asks him for it, he’ll definitely say yes.”
Sue didn’t look convinced. “How many hours’ drive are we talking?”
“Five, more or less,” I told her.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you guys,” Nelle called out, “but I never said I was coming. And you’re rushing me.”
“If you’re letting a guy push you around and abuse you, then you should be rushed,” Sue objected.
“Monty’s going to be furious,” Nelle said.
“Let him be,” Mike told her. “You won’t be around to see it.”
After a couple of seconds’ silence, Nelle conceded, “OK, I’m in.”
Convincing Jack to lend us the car was easier than I’d imagined. All I had to do was say the word emergency and he agreed. His only condition was that Mike not drive, which meant for the first time we’d be seeing Sue behind the wheel.
It wasn’t what you’d call an easygoing trip. Sue kept stopping for coffee—she wasn’t tired, I think she was just bored. Mike sat in the back, unable to shut up, literally just singing or making noises when he ran out of things to say. And I couldn’t stop chewing my nails.
It was weird, arriving back in my old neighborhood with those two. Sue had never been there, and Mike couldn’t remember it, so I pointed out the sights. They were surprised at all my stories. I don’t think they imagined so much could happen in such a small town.
“Where’s your friend live?” Sue asked when she stopped at a stop sign.
“Two streets farther down. It’s close to my parents’ place.”
“Are we going to visit them?” Mike asked, sticking his head in between us.
After a moment’s hesitation, I said, “I don’t really know that we should.”
One thing I liked about the two of them was they weren’t pushy: they knew your limits, and even if they liked a good bit of gossip, they never felt the urge to pry.
Sue parked Jack’s car across the street from Nelle’s house. We were all nervous as we got out, but I felt better when I noticed there were no vehicles around. Not Monty’s car or motorcycle, not even Nelle’s parents’ car. She was definitely alone.
It felt strange climbing the porch steps with Mike and Sue on either side of me. I did it as quickly as I could and rang the doorbell. Nelle opened almost immediately. She looked frantic, dragging her rolling bag with a backpack slung over her shoulders. She’d obviously been waiting.
Whatever hostility she’d felt toward me was gone. In her eyes, all I saw was fear and hope.
“Hey,” I said. “This is Mike and Sue, you met them over the phone.” The two of them waved at her.
“Is that the car?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Did you tell your parents?”
“They know everything,” Nelle said, shutting the door. “Can we go now? Please?”
I nodded and bent down to pick up her bag. Nelle was pale as a sheet. I wondered why, but then I saw the same thing she had seen: Monty was standing there on the sidewalk.
He was just as I remembered him, except even more muscular.
I’d heard he’d been kicked off the basketball team and was now working at a gym.
He was dressed in his work clothes—a tight, stretchy shirt and gym pants—and had on a pair of headphones, which he removed when he saw us. I guessed his shift had just ended.
“What the…?” he started, looking at Mike and Sue. Then he saw me, dropped his bag next to him, and said, “Oh, OK, I get it.”
That was enough to terrify Nelle, and I started asking myself what we should do.
Nothing occurred to me at first, but I knew one thing: even if Monty did scare me, I wasn’t like her.
I wasn’t going to panic. I would never let him have that power over me again.
My hands weren’t sweating, and my brain was working fine.
My fear was just something rational, I told myself, but that didn’t mean I had to let it control me.
I looked straight at him and saw the fear burning in his eyes.
Before he could speak, I said, “You can’t be here.
I’ve got a restraining order against you. ”
At first, Monty didn’t respond. Then he laughed sarcastically and, calm as could be, wrapped the cable of his earbuds around his phone, slipping it into his pocket.
“What kind of shit have you been telling her, Jenny?” he asked, making my name sound like an insult. “Did you tell her to leave me? Is that it?”
“I told her the truth,” I said. “That’s all.”
Monty tipped his head to one side. “You know what I think? I think you can’t stand for people to be happy without you. And it gets under your skin that things are so great with Nelle and me. Because that means the problem wasn’t me, it was you.”
I could have laughed as he went on, “What brought you back here? Aren’t things good with your new boyfriend? It’s ironic that you were so desperate for me to leave you alone, and now here you are again…”
“Oh, please, Monty. I had to change my number to get you to leave me alone. You even used my grandmother’s death as an excuse to get back in touch with me. You literally still go hang out at my parents’ house!”
“What am I supposed to do?” he asked. “We live in the same town. I have reasons to go over there. Plus, I may as well remind you, you moved halfway across the country and refuse to talk to them. What’s weird is that you don’t understand how that might bother them.”
Before I could open my mouth again, Mike grabbed my wrist and said, “We’re going. This conversation is pointless, and you don’t owe him an explanation.” I had never seen Mike so serious before.
Sue agreed. “He’s right. Let’s get out of here.”
Nelle grabbed her backpack, which she’d dropped in a moment of panic.
Mike picked up her rolling bag, and the four of us walked down the stairs.
I was surprised that Monty didn’t move at first. He just stared, and when Nelle made it to the sidewalk, he asked, “Are you for real? You’re not even going to bother to say goodbye? ”
He was staring daggers into her, but I told her, “Just ignore him.”
Nelle moved quickly. She was clearly desperate to reach the car. But Monty stopped her, grabbing her arm and saying slowly and coldly, “I’m talking to you. The least you can do is look me in the face.”
Nelle turned. Her lips were pale, and her hand was squeezing the strap of her backpack so tight her knuckles had turned white. I charged forward before Sue and Mike could stop me and grabbed his wrist, pulling it away. Surprised, he asked, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Let her go,” I warned him.
“Stay out of this,” he said.
“Don’t order me around. I’ll do what I want,” I responded.
I was surprised at the firmness in my voice and my posture. Nelle stepped back while Monty scowled at me. This was the first time since I’d known him that I’d seen hesitation in his eyes.
“Let her go,” I repeated, softly but sternly.
I remembered how Jack had confronted his father. He hadn’t been violent. He had made it clear that he didn’t need to put on a show to get his way. And that inspired me to do the same with Monty.
“She’s my girlfriend, Jennifer,” he told me. “She’s none of your concern.”
“She’s my best friend, and she is my concern. Especially when I see the guy who nearly ruined my life trying to do the same to hers. It’s over, Monty. Let her go.”
To everyone’s disbelief, he did. Nelle stepped back, and Sue caught her so she wouldn’t fall. Monty turned to me and came so close I had to look up to see his eyes. But I didn’t let him intimidate me. I didn’t move, didn’t flinch, didn’t blink. I just stared back and waited.
“You think you’re brave, huh?” he asked, one eyebrow arched.
“Well, let me tell you something, Jenny. You’re the same insecure chick you were back in high school.
The only thing that’s changed is you’ve found a couple of morons to defend you.
I’ll tell you what’s really sad, though.
I can tell you’re still in love with me.
Not with Jack-off Ross. With me. That’s the only real reason you’re here. It’s pathetic.”