Chapter 39 #2
He grabs my wrist, eyes narrowed and lip curled in a sneer, and this time his grip is too tight to break free. “You’re making a scene, Theo. That mouth is going to get you in trouble if you don’t stop.”
My eyes dart around the park, searching desperately for an escape.
This can’t be happening. Not again.
“Are you okay over there?” A man and woman step forward, and I twist toward them, wide-eyed. The woman frowns, recognition flickering in her gaze. “Hey… I’ve seen you on the news. You’re in that band, aren’t you?”
I nod frantically before Jesse plants himself between us. “Mind your own business,” he snaps. “My boyfriend and I are just trying to have a peaceful afternoon out without being bothered.”
The distraction is all I need. I refuse to be the idiot in the horror movies who wastes their one chance, so I spin and run.
My short legs are my disadvantage, though, and I only make it a few strides before he snags the back of my shirt and sends me crashing to the ground. My palms burn as they skid across the cement, and pain shoots up my arms. I fight back tears, trying to keep my wits.
A small crowd has started to gather. I lock eyes with the woman who’d spoken, and she’s already pulling out her phone and lifting it to her ear.
Jesse’s irritation is dialed up from the attention, and he grabs my arm and hauls me off the ground.
Pain jolts through my shoulder as he jerks me upright.
“Come on!” he screams, right in my ear.
It hurts. Everything hurts.
This was so stupid.
Why was I so fucking stupid?
I shouldn’t be here. I should be home with Dante, where I’m safe and protected. Where I’m loved. If anything happens to me, he’ll blame himself. He’ll be convinced he could have done more to keep me safe when he’s already done so much more than I ever could have asked.
He taught me to be better than this. To be strong, and to fight.
The words settle slowly, and for a long, suspended moment I just stand there—breath ragged, heart slamming against my ribs, fear still thick in my throat. My body wants to run or shrink. It wants to disappear.
I realize I’m being dragged along, and I push my heels into the ground.
Jesse whips around, so close to me his spit sprays across my lips. “I said come on.”
“No,” I whisper. One long, deliberate breath of cold air fills my lungs, and the trembling in my hands eases. I pull from every lesson Dante ever drilled into me—every hold he taught me to break and each strike he showed me how to land.
Every time he told me I was stronger than I knew.
“No,” I repeat, voice louder as I wrench my arm free and step back. The false sweetness I’d been wearing falls away. There’s no more coaxing, no more playing along.
Jesse’s face twists. “You obviously haven’t learned your lesson, you little fucking bitch,” he spits, lunging forward with a hand outstretched.
I duck under his arm at the last second, and before he can pivot, I sweep my leg behind his knees. They buckle, and he lets out a startled shout as he hits the ground. He’s back on his feet almost instantly, rage contorting his features, but the damage is done.
“I thought you were finally getting it,” he hisses, charging again.
This time I let him get close. When he’s within reach, I drive the heel of my palm straight into his nose.
Pain flares across my cheek as his nails rake deep scratches into my skin, but his head snaps back, blood blooming under his nostrils.
He staggers, eyes watering, but a manic grin splits his face anyway.
“Stop now and walk the fuck away while you still can,” I say, wiping blood from my cheek and holding his stare.
“You think I’m scared of you?” He lunges again.
I dodge, keeping distance as I search the growing crowd for an exit. That split second distraction is enough for his fist to crash into my jaw. Stars burst behind my eyes and tears spring up instantly from the shock.
Something inside me snaps.
“I’m so… fucking… tired of crying!” The words tear out of me, each syllable edged with anger that’s been building for months.
He pulls his fist back again, but before he can swing, I drive my knee up. He dodges, laughing like this is all a game. He doesn’t see me as a threat, and that’s his biggest mistake.
I use his arrogance. When he relaxes enough to taunt me again, I step inside his guard and slam my fist into his throat.
He recoils, gasping, hands flying to his neck as air whistles out of him.
I follow with another punch to his chin that makes my hand scream in protest, but I don’t stop.
A quick kick to his ankle and a hard shove to his chest, and he crashes backward to the ground.
For the first time, the fear in my chest feels smaller than the fire behind it. I stand over him, breathing hard and blood trickling from the scratches on my cheek, but ready for whatever happens next.
Two men from the crowd are rushing forward, and they seize his arms and haul him back as he struggles and snarls. The distant wail of sirens cuts through the haze of adrenaline, growing louder as the ringing in my ears matches them.
The entire thing lasted no more than thirty seconds, but it felt like it stretched across hours.
The woman from earlier hurries over, cupping my face gently in both hands and tilting it side to side as she inspects the damage. The cuts from his fingernails are bleeding freely now, and my jaw is throbbing in time with my heartbeat, but it could’ve been much worse.
“Thank you for helping me,” I manage, voice quivering as the adrenaline crashes and leaves me trembling.
She wraps her arms around me, and I sink into the embrace, desperate for the steady warmth she offers. One tear rolls down my cheek, then another. I’m crying openly now, soaking her shirt, but she doesn’t pull away.
“I feel like I should introduce myself,” she says with a gentle laugh. “My name’s Kat.”
“Theo,” I sniffle.
She nods, her hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. “I called the police, and it sounds like they’re almost here. We’ll stay and give statements. Whatever you need from us, okay?”
I nod, not trusting my voice enough to speak. The sirens are close now, while red and blue lights flash across the grass.
“Theo!” A panicked voice—one I’d recognize anywhere—booms across the park.
I lift my head to find Dante sprinting toward me, face pale and eyes wild.
The moment he spots the blood on my cheek and the swelling blooming along my jaw, a raw, pained whine escapes him.
I let go of Kat and collapse into his arms, legs finally giving out.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” he whispers into my hair, voice thick. “Do you hear me? Promise me you’ll never leave like that.”
“I’m sorry,” I choke out, hugging him tighter as emotion clogs my throat. “I’m so fucking sorry for worrying you. Don’t be mad at me, okay? Please?”
He pulls back just enough to tilt my chin up, eyes sweeping over my face with a tenderness that hurts. “Fuck, I’ve never been so scared.”
“I had to handle it myself,” I insist.
His brown eyes are heavy, conflicted and fighting the instinct to be furious.
“You said it yourself when you told me about Trent. You needed to walk away on your own two feet, and this was my version of that. It had to be me, Dante. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I understand it,” he says quietly, pressing the gentlest kiss to my lips. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He tugs me back against his chest, squeezing so hard it’s difficult to breathe, like he’s trying to fuse us together so I can’t slip away again.
Jesse’s voice rings out from behind us, slinging every insult known to mankind. Dante releases me and whips around, his fists clenched as he glares at Jesse thrashing against the two men pinning his arms. But before Dante can take a single step, two police officers rush onto the scene.
After a conversation with me and the witnesses, they cuff Jesse and guide him into the back of their cruiser. He never stops glaring, even through the window—eyes locked on me like he can still reach through the glass.
I wave one of the officers back over, and she jogs to my side. “There’s a restraining order in place against him. There’s a, uh, recording on my phone of him admitting to stalking me and…” I swallow hard, forcing the words out. “And confessing to an attempted sexual assault.”
Dante’s head snaps toward me, but he stays silent as the officer gives me instructions on how to deliver the recording to the station. After a few follow-up questions, the cruiser pulls away, taking Jesse out of my life for good.
Kat pulls me in for another hug. Dante passes her a business card, inviting her to call if she ever wants to come to a show, then does the same for each person in the crowd who stepped in to help.
Eventually the excitement fades. People drift away, returning to their own lives.
When it’s just the two of us, I slump against him, every ounce of energy drained. As my brain slowly clears, a thought strikes me. “How did you figure out where I was?”
“I was already driving this way to see if you might be at the coffee shop. Someone in the crowd started livestreaming once they recognized you. They tagged the band in it, so I got an alert.”
My eyes widen. “So you’re telling me…”
“That the whole fucking world just watched you kick his ass?” He nods, a small, proud smile tugging at his mouth. “Yeah, sunshine. Everyone saw.”