43. Mandy
43
MANDY
P eople are talking, but it sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher, all muffled. I can’t comprehend what they’re saying. I’m consumed by my living nightmare.
Jaxon. Here, in my parents’ house, with my family. Dating my sister.
My stalker wraps an arm around my little sister’s waist, all the while maintaining eye contact with me.
I want to curl up and howl at the glee in his eyes.
“I don’t believe it!” Amy yells. “You’re lying, Lauren. You don’t have any proof.”
“Jaxon and I staked out Kenny.” Lauren is triumphant as Jaxon holds his tablet up.
I recognize the building in the video. It’s near Salinger’s penthouse. Jaxon’s been watching me this whole time.
“It’s amazing what you’ll find when you bother to look.” Jaxon’s grin widens .
“Don’t you think it’s weird that a grown man has time to stake out someone?” Kenny protests desperately.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but go Kenny.
“Jaxon has a trust fund!” Lauren shoots back.
Amy’s lower lip is trembling. “You said you loved me.”
“It was a mistake, Amy,” Kenny assures her. “That woman didn’t mean anything. I do love you—I love the new family we’re creating. I made a mistake. A man can’t make a mistake?”
“A mistake is made once.” Jaxon’s getting bombastic. “But if you do it several times, then it’s not a mistake. It’s a pattern.”
“Hear, hear,” my dad calls.
What the hell? This can’t be happening. Jaxon can’t be manipulating my own family to his side.
Speak up. Say something, I urge myself.
But it’s too late. My mom’s already falling head over heels for Jaxon, her new soon-to-be son-in-law—at which point, he will torment me for the rest of my life.
“I think I speak for all of us in the Miller family, Kenny,” Jaxon says, crossing his arms, “when I say you need to leave. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
“Amy,” Kenny pleads.
“I can’t believe you’d cheat on me.” Amy sobs.
“Karma slapped a bitch fast this time around,” Gran remarks as she pours herself more wine. “Mandy, you look like you’ve had a shock. I don’t know why. We all knew this was coming.”
“Mandy?” Jaxon asks. “It is Mandy, isn’t it? I’ve heard so much about you. I wish we could meet under more auspicious circumstances.”
Bastard .
“Why don’t you fetch your poor sister some water?” Jaxon points me to the kitchen.
The kitchen is warm and smells like home—or what used to be my safe, comfortable home until Jaxon arrived. A back door from the kitchen leads out into the yard, but it might as well have been in China. My purse with my car keys is upstairs in my childhood bedroom. I would have to walk past Jaxon to retrieve them, and he would never let me leave.
Even if I could, where would I go? Back to Salinger? He never actually cared about me—he just wanted to win. Now he has Scarlett, a way more enticing prospect than I ever was. She can even win him the contract he wants. He’s probably already forgotten about me. They’re probably planning her wedding as we speak, drinking wine and shit-talking me. I bet she throws away all the food I made and makes him buy her champagne and caviar.
I’m trapped. Trapped between Jaxon and my own insecurities.
I come back out with a glass of water and hand it to Amy while Kenny and his daughter are putting on their coats.
Just say you want to go with them! No, it’s too late.
“And stay out!” Jaxon declares dramatically as he slams the door behind them.
Gran and my mom applaud.
“Isn’t he great?” My mom elbows me.
I’m going to be sick.
“You look like you need more wine.” Gran waves the box at me.
“I think the casserole is ready,” my mom exclaims. “Mandy, why didn’t you tell me? You were just in the kitchen. ”
Jaxon makes a big show of sitting next to me at dinner. I huddle as far from him as I can on the chair while I choke down the food, trying to pretend that I am anywhere else.
“You don’t want more dessert, Mandy?” my mom asks when I force myself out of the chair.
I wave her away, feeling nauseous.
“You’ve had a hard week, haven’t you?” Jaxon’s face is a mask of sympathy.
I know the truth. “Something like that.”
My legs and back still hurt from running after the animal control van. I crawl into my old bed, even though it’s still early evening. I take another sip of wine and lean back against the headboard. I’m not going to fall asleep. It’s not safe. The bedroom door doesn’t have a lock. I’m going to wait until the rest of the house is asleep, then I’m leaving. I’m not pretending that everything is fine. It’s not fine.
I’ll go… somewhere.
I almost call Salinger, then I hesitate and call Jess.
My friend picks up on the first ring. “Hey, girl! Oh my gosh, you would not believe this meeting. What a shit show!”
“Jess.” My voice cracks. “I’m in trouble. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bring you into this, but I need help.”
I tell her in a hushed tone what’s been going on, finally coming clean.
Jess is furious. “Oh hell no!” My friend is ready to throw hands over the phone. “I’m coming to get you right now.”
“No, I can’t have you involved.”
“Too freaking bad.” I can hear her slamming things in the background. “Oh, Mandy, I wish you’d told me sooner.”
I wipe away the tears, trying to keep my cries muffled. Lauren’s room is right next to mine .
I lower my voice to a whisper. “I just need a place to stay until I figure it out.”
“And poor Pepper! I’m going to the pound as soon as they open Monday morning, and they are going to give me that dog.” Jess is already making plans. “Don’t worry, Mandy. We’re best friends. I got you.”
“Thanks, Jess,” I murmur. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Of course you do! And Jaxon deserves a bedbug infestation. Get a bag together. Meet me at the Five Guys on Eleventh. You need a cheeseburger and fries. We’ll figure it out.”
As quietly as I can, I pack up my belongings, listening for movement in my sister’s room.
Can I really leave Lauren, Amy, my parents, and my grandmother to Jaxon’s devices?
I hesitate, head pounding.
Maybe I shouldn’t. What if Jaxon does something horrible to my family? Even if he does, can I really protect them? I couldn’t protect Pepper or myself.
I need to leave. This could be my last chance. I’ll strategize with Jess and figure out a plan.
My hand pauses on the door handle, then I decide I should go out the window. It’s a split-level home, so it’s not that far of a drop.
Outside, the moon is a half circle, the silvery light shining into my bedroom.
I toss my bag outside, and I’m trying to work up the nerve to squeeze myself through the window when suddenly I’m being yanked backward onto the bed.
I struggle, trying to scream, but a hand is pressed over my mouth. Jaxon twists my wrist as he forces me down on the bed. He’s lost the charming demeanor from earlier in the evening. Now there’s something horrible in his eyes.
I can’t make more than a whimper as I try to fight him off.
“Thought you could run away? You trying to go back to him? What did I say? He doesn’t want you. Look at yourself. I’m doing you a favor, and you disrespect me.” Flecks of spit land on my face. “Don’t you get it, Mandy? Don’t you see? You’ll never escape me. I own you, I—”
A shadow appears in the window, blocking the moonlight.
“What the—” Jaxon doesn’t get the last word out as Salinger’s fist connects with his jaw.
Jaxon screams like he’s being murdered.
Maybe he is.
Shit.
“Salinger, no!” I force myself up.
Salinger’s completely unhinged. His normally perfect hair is in his face. Jaxon elbows him in the nose, and he doesn’t even seem to register the pain.
“Do not fucking touch her.” His knee slams into Jaxon’s ribs, and he brings his foot down on Jaxon’s knee.
“Stop!” I try to grab Salinger’s arm, but it’s like I’m not even there. His arm drags me forward as his fist slams into Jaxon’s nose with a crunch.
“Salinger, please! You’ll kill him!”
“Intruder!” Lauren screams from the door. “Call the police, Mom! He’s killing Jaxon!”
“Lauren, no. Salinger, get off of him,” I plead.
Jaxon is bleeding from his nose and mouth. I try to haul Salinger away, but I might as well be trying to stop a tank .
“Oh shit!” Gran yells from the doorway. “Damn, son, this isn’t even a fight! This is an ass-whoopin’!”
“See?” Amy screeches from the hallway. “You’re the problem, Lauren, not me! Now Jaxon’s cheating on you. He was in Mandy’s room. No man can stand you.”
“Did someone call a stripper?” Gran hoots as heavy bootsteps sound on the stairs.
Several cops push their way into my small bedroom. “Hands behind your head,” they shout.
Salinger gets in one more bone-shattering punch then draws back from Jaxon as the cops position themselves around the room.
The cops are apprehensive. “On your knees.”
Salinger doesn’t obey their orders. In the small room, his huge body is like a monster’s, stalking back and forth in front of me.
“Salinger, please.” I sob. “Just stop.”
He finally lets me push him back against the wall and slowly puts his hands on his head.
“On the ground!” the cops yell. “Get on your knees!”
“He attacked me,” Jaxon groans dramatically from the floor. With his bloody face, he looks every bit the victim.
“Salinger, what did you do?” I whisper.
“On your knees!” the cops yell.
“Me?” I squeak.
“Get down now!”
“Fine,” I gasp. My knees protest when I kneel next to Salinger.
“They plotted this,” Jaxon gurgles. “It was a trap. She did this on purpose to try to get away with murder.”
“Murder?” I gasp. That lying sack of shit.
Salinger doesn’t look at all remorseful .
“Don’t believe them when they tell you I attacked her,” Jaxon adds. “What Mandy and I were doing was completely consensual.”
“You stole my boyfriend? I hate you, Mandy!” Lauren screams.
“I didn’t steal him. I don’t want anything to do with him!”
“I need an ambulance. I think that brute ruptured something,” Jaxon moans, eyelids fluttering for effect.
“You can’t seriously believe him.” I look frantically between my family and the police.
“We were having sex,” Jaxon lies. “I’m sorry, Lauren—I just need to confess this before I die. It’s true that Mandy and I are in a relationship. I will never forgive myself for lying to you.”
“You slimy little worm. I should have just slit your throat.” Salinger’s completely lost it. He leaps up and lunges at Jaxon.
The police shout at him and reach for their batons. I grab the leg of his suit pants and am dragged cross the floor.
“You orchestrated all of this!” Salinger roars. “You’ve been stalking my girlfriend for months!”
One of the cops pulls out a Taser.
“On the ground,” the other cop yells to Salinger.
“Salinger, please just cooperate,” I beg.
He looks to the window.
“Don’t even think about it, big guy,” a female cop demands. “On your knees. Hands behind your head.”
Through the blood, Jaxon is smirking.
I’m not afraid anymore, just freaking furious. “Jaxon is lying.” I’m so upset I can barely talk. “He’s ruining my life.”
“We’re going to sort this all out at the station,” the lead cop says, taking out his handcuffs.
“I can’t go to the station. I need to go to the hospital.” Jaxon writhes on the floor.
“Ambulance is on its way,” the cop assures him. “You two.” He points to Salinger and me. “Let’s go.”
The cops force my hands behind my back, snap the cuffs around my wrist, then march me down the stairs.
My mother has her hands pressed over her mouth. “You’re going to jail, Mandy? You were supposed to be the reliable one. Patrick, hold up a blanket. I can’t have the neighbors seeing this.”
Unfortunately for my mother, the sirens and flashing lights have already attracted nosy neighbors. Nancy stands in her front door, narrating my arrest to her fellow neighborhood gossips. Other residents peer out of windows as Salinger and I are led outside, followed by my upset parents.
Jess’s car screeches up. “Mandy!” The cops yell at her as she runs to me.
Jess changes direction and rushes to my mother. “Gale, what happened? Why are they arresting Mandy? Why aren’t they arresting her stalker?”
“Mandy has a stalker?” My mother sobs while Jess comforts her.
My father looks so frail and old. “My baby girl.”
It kills me that he had to find out like this because Salinger made everything spiral out of control.
“Don’t worry,” Salinger calls to my parents while the police pat him down. “I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. ”
“This is why I didn’t tell you about the stalker!” I shriek at him. “I knew you wouldn’t help—I knew you’d just make it worse!”
He has no remorse. “The only reason it’s bad right now is because you didn’t tell me sooner.”
“You can’t have a stalker, Mandy.” My mom runs after me. “Jaxon’s such a nice boy—it’s not really him, is it?”
“He’s not nice. He’s evil!”
“That’s libra!” Lauren cries.
“Libel, Lauren!” I shout at my sister. “It’s called libel, and I’m not spreading falsehoods because he has been stalking me for months, and he attacked me in my own room.”
“And of course,” Salinger spits, “there’s no thank-you to me for saving you.”
“Saving me? Saving me? ” I try to throw myself over to head-butt him, but the cops hold me back. “I’m getting arrested! I’m in handcuffs in my pajamas! You didn’t save me.”
“You’re alive and unharmed.” Salinger’s infuriatingly stubborn.
“You don’t get a cookie!” I holler.
“And you don’t get to play the victim,” he snarls. “You refused to trust me, rejected my help again and again, and put people you care about in danger.”
“Why would I trust you, Salinger? You told me you were going to trap me on your island. You locked me up in your penthouse! I knew you’d act like a lunatic, I knew you’d go nuclear, I knew you’d do something stupid, and lo and behold, I was right. You not only got yourself arrested—you got me arrested too.”
“I threw away everything for you because I love you,” Salinger insists, “and I’d do it again. ”
Amy and Gran swoon.
“Don’t fall for it,” I warn them. “I saw you with Scarlett, Salinger. You don’t love me. You’re just doing this for your own gain.”
He’s fuming, his gray eyes slate-black. “You’re so stubborn. You almost got yourself killed because you wanted to play strong, independent woman—and also got your dog thrown in the pound.”
“Wait…” Lauren’s eyes narrow. “My Pepperoni is in doggie prison? Why?”
“Ask your fucking boyfriend, Lauren!” I yell at my sister.
The ambulance has arrived, and the EMTs are loading Jaxon into it like he’s the victim.
“You’re controlling and condescending, Salinger.” My hair is snarled in my face. “At least if I’m in jail, I’ll never have to see you again. I hate you, and I wish I’d never met you.”
“No, you don’t. You need me. I saved you. You know it—you just refuse to admit it.”
“No, I don’t. I am in my midthirties and have a dog and student-loan debt. I am a grown-ass woman and do not need you. I already had one crazy man in my life. I’m not trading him for a new one.”
“You selfish—”
“What? Bitch? Damn right. I am a bitch. I’m a basic-ass bitch who is not impressed by your speech.”
“You’re going to regret that.”
The cop opens the door to the nearest cop car and shoves me inside.
“Asshole!” I continue to hurl curse words at Salinger through the reinforced glass, my confused and shocked parents watching in the background as the squad car pulls away.