8. Roman
Chapter 8
Roman
“No Audra tonight?” Beck asks me, throwing me a water from the mini fridge at the back of the shop. We’ve fallen into a bit of a habit of her coming to work with me every time she’s off. I’ve been with Audra almost every day and with every passing day she smiles more and cries a little less.
The days we hang out are my favorite. Even the days she hangs out with Ares are good because when the house goes quiet and everyone falls asleep, she comes wandering out to the kitchen. It’s no longer some attempt to catch a couple minutes with her. It’s a routine she’s a part of now. A couple of times she has even texted me first, asking me to meet her downstairs. I do. Of course I do. We talk, we laugh and I ask her all of her favorite things because it’s what she likes and what I like is seeing her smile.
“She’s at that fair. She went with Ares.” I shrug. He raises a brow at me.
“Jealous?” he teases. Yeah, actually. Of everyone who gets a piece of her that I don’t get. But the thought that there are now pieces of her that only I get, soothes that burn.
“No. It’s good that she’s out having fun,” I assure him, honestly. I know it’s the best thing for her and because of that, there’s no other way I would want it. Seeing her stand a little taller every day and go back to things she thought she had lost forever, has been so fulfilling to watch.
“Are you going to the fair?” he asks. I shrug.
“Probably not, maybe when I get off.”
“We should probably start actually doing our jobs then.” He laughs and I join in with him. We have a bad habit of coming to the shop and just hanging out.
Beck has been my best friend as long as I can remember and every minute with him is fun. Life would be so boring without him in it. Maybe him being my only employee at the shop I own isn’t the wisest business decision, given how much we fuck around. But it’s so much fun, it’s totally worth the money lost. I wouldn’t trade working alongside my best friend for the world.
The next few hours are filled with mind numbing work. I think I might pluck my eyes from my head if I ever have to see another invoice or piece of paperwork.
Usually the smaller tasks fall more on Beck since I spend most of my time at the shop giving surf lessons. The time seems to drag when Audra isn’t around. Which seems silly since it never felt that way before she started coming around more. Just as I’m thinking about her, my phone dings in the corner. I quickly walk over to grab it.
Audra
Tyler’s here.
Roman
The fair?
Audra
Yes.
I don’t think he knows I’m here but I’m scared.
I don’t even take the time to text back. As soon as I read the words I’m shoving my phone in my pocket and grabbing my keys. All I can feel in my entire body is adrenaline burning through my veins.
“I have to go. Like right now,” I call out to Beck. I think I might hear him say something back to me as I’m walking out the door but I’m in too much of a rush to catch it.
I don’t even take the time to make a plan in my head before I’m in the Jeep driving to her. I can barely feel the wheel in my hand with the white hot rage settling in my chest and squeezing at my heart. I’m aware of the fact that I need to calm down before I get there. She’s scared and me coming in there loud and angry won’t help. I don’t have a single clue how to rein in this feeling. I think about how scared she must be and that thought alone sends another wave of rage through me. I really need to not think about that right now.
The drive to the fair is the longest fifteen minutes of my life but finally I’m here parking. I waste no time getting out and walking into the fairgrounds.
As I look around for her I’m mildly aware of the fact that I’m under dressed in my sweatpants and hoodie compared to everyone here. It’s not like I give a damn, especially when I have to find my girl and take her home.
I rake my eyes through the crowds as I walk through and I’m sure I look like some kind of demented caveman the way I stomp through people looking for her. I will flip this place upside down before I leave without her. Finally out of the corner of my eye I see Ares, talking to Katrina, who unlike me, is way over dressed for the occasion. I rush over to him.
“Where is she?” I bark out, it comes out more aggressive than I mean it but why the fuck isn’t he with her? Surely he wouldn’t leave her alone for some girl, right?
“Who? Audra?” he asks, brows pinched together like he really has no idea what I’m on about and I’m sure he doesn’t.
“Yes, who else?” I wave my hands in the air like the only girl I’d ever be looking for is her. Probably because she is.
“She went to go talk to Tyler.” He shrugs, throwing a thumb over his shoulder, pointing toward the pond behind the fairgrounds. My jaw winds itself so tight I think my teeth might shatter. It takes almost superhuman restraint to not call my brother an idiot.
“What the fuck?” I nearly yell at him. “Why in the hell would you let her go with him?” I look up at the sky, blowing out a harsh breath. I don’t know if this is any better than calling him an idiot but it is the best I can do.
“I don’t know what you two have going on but leave me out of it.” He rolls his eyes, turning away from me. You’ve got to be kidding me. I grab his shoulder, yanking him back to face me.
“Nothing is going on with us, you idiot. I’m worried about her. Where did they go?” The words are burning hot with anger and I know I should probably apologize later but I really don’t feel sorry. All I can think about is how scared she must be to be alone with him again . The thought alone causes bile to rise in my throat but I swallow it down because I don’t have time for anything else.
“The old campgrounds,” he admits and his voice has lost it’s edge. The annoyed look on his face fades into what looks more like guilt. I don’t have the time to explain or to make him feel better. I just turn my back to him and go looking for her.
I’m storming through crowds filled with teenagers here to get high and hang out with their friends or parents out with their children. The place is packed but finally I reach the edge of the fairgrounds. I make my way to the opening through the woods that leads to the old campgrounds.
My mind races as I walk. I’m drowning in rage that feels bigger than me. Still, it’s rage that I have to find a way to shove down by the time I get to her. I try deep breaths but all I can think about is when I had to do deep breaths with her because of a text he sent to her. I try going to a happy place in my mind but my happy place is with her and there is no happy place if she isn’t happy.
It has been hard enough over the last couple of months to not go into a rage about Tyler and everything he has done but I always found a way because I knew what she needed was someone calm and someone consistent. It doesn’t feel possible now though. This doesn’t feel like the kind of rage I can swallow down or ignore.
I think about what he might be saying to her. I think about all the things he could say to make her scared, to make her compliant, to make her feel small. I think about what he could be doing to her and I have to shake that thought away because I think I might throw up if I don’t.
Finally after what seems like forever of walking and searching, I see two silhouettes standing by the pond and I know exactly where I need to be. It’s too foggy and too dark to tell it’s them, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is.
Each step I take, the anger builds and the adrenaline rises. All I can hope is that when I’m there standing in front of her I can contain it enough not to make this worse for her. The last thing in the world I want, is to scare her.
Another few minutes and I’m close enough that I can see her. More importantly I can see that she sees me, she knows she isn’t alone.
Silently I’m screaming Do not draw his attention to me. The fear of what he will do to her if he sees me coming prompts me to slow my stride and take my time. I make a conscious effort not to make too much noise or draw attention to myself. Her eyes flick over his shoulder again but I shake my head. Her eyes quickly flick back to him. Good girl.
The last minute or so of the walk is absolute torture. A million scenarios of what I’ll do when I’m standing there in front of him run through my head. How I’ll deal with him without scaring her.
None of it matters though because the second I’m in arms reach of him, I grab him by the shoulder and punch him right in the face. Once, and then twice. My eyes flick briefly to Audra and she looks okay so I go for the third and that one does it. He hits the ground and the second he does, I turn my body to face Audra. A horrible mix of emotions washes over her face before she lets out guttural sob, doubling over.