37. Clover
THIRTY-SEVEN
Clover
I’m not sure if anything exists outside of the door knob gripped so tightly in my hand that it hurts my palm and the man standing in front of me. I must exist because I’m here, but am I?
Is this really happening?
My stomach roils, threatening to send up the meager contents of my breakfast. My stare is wide, tears pooling at the edges.
“How…”
But my words drift away. I can’t find it in me to say the rest. I know Kyle understands when his smirk stretches wider, coating me in its grime.
“Private investigators really can be so useful. And they can do a hell of a lot more than spot some cheating wife.” He takes a step closer, and I retreat instinctively, but my hand is still on the damn knob. “The guy tracked you to Red Lodge right away. I gave you time to get back to the city. But you didn’t.”
My throat is tight as I try to swallow, the lump there getting stuck and nearly choking me.
“I—”
“You what? You were on your way?” Kyle scoffs. “Hardly. You didn’t listen to me, didn’t take me seriously. I’ve had to drag myself halfway across the country to bum-fuck nowhere. And now…”
He’s closing in again. Why aren’t I running?
“You’re going to come back and fix the mess you’ve caused.”
Something about his words finally clicks, and I shake my head. “No, I’m not going back there, especially not with you. You can’t threaten people like it’s nothing, Kyle.”
“Threaten?” He leans in, his stare wide and unhinged. “You ruin my career. You ruin my marriage, my life. You come out here and act like it’s nothing! This isn’t about threatening you, Clover. This is retribution. You owe me.”
Nausea clusters in my gut, growing more and more intense as I see just how far Kyle has fallen. He’s not the man I remember.
Or maybe it’s that Kyle’s true face is showing.
Taking another step backward, tiny and insignificant, I finally let go of the doorknob. I slide my hand to the other side of the door. I can slam it. I just need to slam it closed and lock it.
“I’m sorry, Kyle. But I truly didn’t do what you’re saying. You need to be honest with yourself about how we ended up here. Please take a step back. Think about what you’re doing before?—”
“Don’t condescend to me, bitch.” The words come out in a furious bite, ripping into my nerves. “You will pay for what you did. You’re going to help me land this job, and then you’re done for. You think I’ll let it slide that you ruined me? Huh! Oh no. Your reputation, your career? Done for.”
Self-preservation rings loudly in my mind. Kyle isn’t going to listen to reason. I need him out of here. Gripping the edge of the door, I begin to push it between us before Kyle’s foot stops it.
“You need to leave. I don’t want you here.” I shove harder on the door, which does nothing. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m calling the cops.”
That was apparently not the thing to say because Kyle slams a hand against the panel that’s only slightly separating us. It shoves back out of my grasp.
“Oh, are you now?” Kyle glares, all rage and threats. “You fucking bitch. I’m not letting you take me down. I knew I should have left you in the fucking dust. And this is the thanks I get for bringing you up in this industry, huh? Bah!”
I flinch back, reaching for the door to slam it. “Leave! Stay away from me!”
But Kyle snatches out a hand faster than I’ve ever seen him move, grabbing my wrist. “If you think for one second I’m not willing to drag you out of here, you’re wrong. There is nothing I won’t do to get you to pay for what you did to me.”
Kyle’s fingers squeeze, forcing the bones in my wrist toward each other. I yelp, the pain intense, and I try to tear my hand out of his grasp. I’m thrashing as he tries to pull me through the door, using my other hand to grab onto the frame.
“Help!”
That’s when I hear the heavy thud of boots. In a blur, Brooks rushes up from inside the apartment. Our eyes meet, and I scream for him with both my words and expression.
“Brooks!”
Kyle looks up just as he reaches us, and Brooks shoves his way between me and Kyle, launching his fist forward. It collides with Kyle’s face, and his head jacks backward.
I’m in shock as I fall forward, doing my best to catch myself so I don’t wind up hitting the floor with my face. The sound of fighting finally gets my attention, and I spin around to see Brooks leveling another punch to Kyle’s gut.
He doubles over, coughing, but Kyle recovers quicker than I would have imagined, and he glares at Brooks, his stare wild.
“You think you can protect her? Your fucking whore! She took everything from me.”
I can’t understand what I’m hearing. Kyle has never been like this, but some part of me knows that apparently, after all this time, I really don’t know him.
How could he be like this? Why didn’t I see it?
There’s been a darkness in him for as long as I’ve known him, but this side of Kyle is the worst. He’s never been what I would call “sweet” or “compassionate,” but it’s clear to me now that Kyle’s cruelty, his rash actions, know no bounds.
“Are you okay?”
I look up at Brooks, my brows knitted over my eyes. I begin to nod my head, but I see Kyle rushing forward behind him.
“Look out!”
Brooks turns just in time for Kyle’s fist to connect with his jaw. Flying back, Brooks takes the punch hard, and I can see blood fly through the air.
He collects himself quickly enough—I know nothing about fights—but Kyle is surging forward, intent on delivering more pain.
This time, a fist hits Brooks in the shoulder, and while he releases a grunt, Brooks shakes it off, returning a punch to Kyle’s face so fast. He’s clearly done this before, and I struggle to remember if Brooks mentioned anything about it in the time we’ve been together.
Pulling myself up off the ground, I look around the apartment for something I can use to get Kyle to back off. Even if I can just get him outside, that would be enough to shut the door and then call the police.
My eyes scan all the boxes. There’s the roll of paper towels, a duster…but then I see it—the bottle of soapy water.
Brooks blocks several blows from Kyle, who’s throwing them wildly, seemingly with no focus or aim. I can tell that Kyle is just furious and violent, whereas Brooks is planning how to end this quickly.
Well, every little bit helps, right? Right.
I surge forward, rushing to the counter where I wrap my hand around the spray bottle and then turn on my heel. Sprinting back toward the fight, I try to find the best angle of attack when Brooks shoves Kyle back before gripping his ribs.
There’s no blood, thank God, so I assume that Kyle punched Brooks hard. But that doesn’t matter right this second. What matters is that he’s open.
With all the courage I can muster, I step up to Kyle, holding the bottle level with his face. I tightened the nozzle before, putting it on direct stream mode, and now, when I squeeze the handle, the soapy water flies out and right into Kyle’s face.
The cleaner is concentrated and goes right into my ex-boss’s eyes. He screams, his head yanking away as he wipes at his face.
“Brooks! Now!” I glance over as Kyle reels from the liquid burning in his eyes.
I’m not sure what he’s going to do, but now is the time to do it. Kyle is distracted and is swinging his hands out in front of him blindly.
Shaking his head, Brooks straightens, which looks like it hurts, and then rushes for Kyle. When he’s there, Brooks wastes no time grabbing him by the head with both hands and then driving it backward into the wall.
One, twice, and then Kyle collapses to the floor, unconscious.
Everything in the room is silent, and I’m breathing so fucking hard. I can’t move either, standing there frozen as I watch for Kyle to jump up and attack again like in the movies.
“He’s out.” Brooks is standing in front of me, his hands coming to the sides of my face. “Clover, Kyle is down. It’s okay.”
It takes me a moment to meet Brooks’s eyes, and when I do, I see the concern and care in them. I fall apart, unable to keep it together a moment longer, and I plaster myself to Brooks’s chest.
“If you weren’t here…I…I…”
“But I was here. I am here.” Brooks strokes the back of my head, holding me close. “Shh, it’s going to be okay, Lucky. I’m right here.”
I feel Brooks shift under me and I look up from his chest, the tears staining my face and cooling on my skin as they dry.
“What are you doing?”
He reaches into his pocket, holding up his cell phone. “Calling the police. It shouldn’t take them long to get here.”
It doesn’t. Before I realize it, the cops are flooding into the apartment. Kyle regains consciousness and is in handcuffs in seconds, and as they take him to their patrol cars, he shouts at me.
“Fucking bitch! You did this to me! You ruined my life! I’ll fucking kill you for this!”
Even as the police remind him that he has the right to remain silent, Kyle spews his hateful words in my direction. They fade into nothingness as he’s pulled away from the apartment building and out of sight.
“We’ll have more questions for you, but for now, you’re free to go. Just be around for questions as matters progress, yeah?”
Shaking my head, I refocus on the officer in front of me. I’ve seen him around before, but I don’t remember his name. I glance at his badge, quickly reading it as I nod.
“Of course, Officer Millard. I’ll be here.” The man walks away after giving his own nod, and I scan the apartment. “It’s like nothing happened.”
There are a few signs of the scuffle, but it’s hard to wreck anything in an empty apartment. The only thing I notice are those few specks of blood on the floor.
I need to clean them. I need to get Dad’s security deposit.
“Hey, are you alright?”
I spin around at Brooks’s words, looking up at him. He’s sporting a few reddening bruises, and he’s got his hand on his ribs again.
“Are you?” I gesture at him with my head, and Brooks smirks, waving me off.
“I’m fine. Just a few bruised ribs. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”
“I meant to ask about that. You seemed to know how to fight.”
I’m not sure why I really care right now, and my energy feels utterly sapped as I stand there. I think Brooks notices because he guides me over to a box and has me sit down on it.
“I was in the army when I was young. Haven’t been for years. I’m as surprised as you that I still remembered how to do that.”
Shrugging, I bob my head, my stare going to the floor. “He’s actually being arrested. They’re…they’re really taking Kyle away. I…he was going to hurt me. Hurt you.”
Brooks is in my eyeline in a moment, sinking down on the balls of his feet. “He was. But he’ll be in jail for a long time. You don’t have to worry about him anymore. Okay?”
I flick my stare up to his, my eyes burning with unshed tears. “You saved me, Brooks. You stepped in and fought him off. I…there’s no good way to say thank you for that.”
His hands come to my face, holding me there as Brooks’s stare blazes, the light drilling into me.
“I will always protect you, Lucky. I would do anything to keep you safe. Anything.”
“I…” The tears fall again, and I try to suck in air as the sobs wrack through me.
And then Brooks is kissing me. The feeling of his lips on mine quiets the inferno in my head, and I squeeze my arms around his neck, holding him so fucking tight.
It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.
There’s the sound of heavy steps again, and then I hear, “Clover! Baby!”
Brooks and I stand up abruptly as my dad comes flying into the room. But he’s seen it. It’s too late. My dad saw Brooks and I kissing.