Chapter 14
∞∞∞
Finn
Sirens blared in the distance, but I could barely hear them over my heart thundering in my ears. They fucking had to be headed to Meryl, like I was. Had to be. My lungs burned as I urged my body to move faster. Panic and desperation swallowed me whole and I hardly felt my bare feet on the pavement as I raced toward her building like a damned lunatic.
She was in danger and I had to help her. I had known that guy was trouble. There had been something off-putting about him from the first time I’d heard his voice. I couldn’t place what had tipped me off, but I should have listened to my instincts. It hadn’t been jealousy, it had been genuine alarm and I should have done something. I should have told Meryl my concerns, and then maybe she would have had her guard up at least. I hadn’t wanted her to think I was some jealous and possessive idiot, threatened by every male in her vicinity. I was a fool.
So many ‘should haves’ echoed in my mind as I finally slid to a stop at the front door to her building. Fucking finally. I took a huge gasping breaths as I threw the door open and lunged for the stairs. The fucking elevator would take too long and I didn’t have seconds to waste. He was in her apartment and doing god only knew what to my girl. My Meryl.
‘That hurts,’ she’d said. I’d heard it all too clearly through her headset before I’d ripped mine off and started sprinting. Now it rang through my head on repeat like a nightmarish alarm.
Meryl was special. I was so into her that it scared me. She was funny and clever. I couldn’t get enough of her lips pressed against mine. I loved the way her eyes shined when she was teasing me and the way she snorted a little when I made her laugh too suddenly. I loved the way her hair always fell into her face and how she’d tentatively tuck one side of it behind her dainty little ears. I loved the way her breath would catch when I kissed her neck in just the right spot.
I was falling hard. And now I might not ever get the chance to tell her. She could be ripped away from me before we’d even really begun. I couldn’t take it. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. The injustice of it all enraged me.
My foot caught the top of the stairs and I almost went sprawling to the ground, but I made it to Meryl’s floor impossibly fast. I swallowed more huge gasping breaths as I tried the doorknob to her apartment and it opened for me. Those stairs were fucking killer. Thank god it’d been unlocked. Furious rage roared within my chest and pushed me onward. I rushed into the apartment ready to fight.
A quick glance around told me the living room was empty, but then Poptart appeared from under the desk and came over with her tail down between her legs. I didn’t have time to pet or comfort her. I needed to find Meryl. Now.
“Don”t come any closer,” I heard Meryl say from down the hall, so I ran toward her. There was so much fear in her voice that the words trembled a little. My whole body went cold. I turned the corner and saw him. He was standing just inside the doorway to the bathroom with his back to me, and he was hunched forward toward her. Meryl’s sweet brown eyes caught mine over his shoulder right before he slapped her across the face. Hard.
I lurched forward, grabbed him from behind, and spun on my feet. I threw him with all of my strengthinto the hallway and away from her. His head hit the wall and he yelped in pain, holding one of his hands to his chest. Meryl had already injured him. Good. He deserved more.
“You,” he snarled up at me. This fucker. I wanted him to hurt.
“Yeah. Me,” I repeated darkly. My first punch was too fast for him and connected with his nose. Blood poured from it, but it wasn’t enough for me. I kicked him hard in the chest and he curled himself into a ball on the floor. Pathetic.
I leaned down to the coward and gave him a hard stare. He wasn’t even looking at me, just cowering with his arms over his head. He seemed terrified. Good. I wanted him to get up and fight me more, but maybe this was better. My anger turned cold and hard. How dare this creep hurt my Meryl.
“Don’t ever even think about her again. I’ll fucking kill you,” I warned him threateningly. He didn’t acknowledge or respond. So I hit him again. And again. The hollow sound of my blows echoed through the apartment and I shook slightly as I backed off to check on Meryl.
Then I heard the police come through the front door. I stepped away from him and held my hands out in front of me as they came barreling into the apartment. I felt Meryl put a shaky hand on my back and lean into me. I deflated. Thank god. She was okay. I pulled her into my arms and held her tight.
“Everybody freeze,” one of the cops commanded as they came down the hall. They took Aiden away and examined him somewhere downstairs while they investigated. A few talked to the other neighbors in the building, I gave someone Saz and Wade’s contact information, and more officers went to Aiden’s apartment to look around.
He’d left it unlocked when he’d rushed in here to attack Meryl. I caught pieces of what they’d found in there and it chilled my blood. He’d been obsessed with Meryl for awhile. I should’ve hurt him so much more. He was as twisted and sick as they come.
Most of the next hour or so was a blur. Two officers questioned Meryl and I on the couch and Meryl held my hand as she told them everything. Her little knuckles were white as she trapped my hand in her own. She held on so tightly that my heart lurched for her painfully. It took far too long and only fueled my simmering frustration. We were almost done when Meryl suddenly sat up straight in alarm.
“What about Poptart?” she asked them worriedly.
“Poptart?” One of them repeated in confusion. He had a stereotypical cop mustache that he”d stroked absently when he talked.
“The dog,” I clarified, gesturing to where PT had curled up against Meryl’s leg on the couch, her head in her lap this whole time. The two officers looked at each other knowingly before one of them turned back to us.
“Your dog?” he said with a shrug.
“I told you-” Meryl began shakily.
“And you showed me the documentation that proves the dog belongs to you,” he told her slowly. We definitely hadn’t. She’d told them about Aiden’s claim to have gotten the dog to get closer to her and how she’d been dog sitting for him. We had witnesses who”d heard him too.
“Um…” Meryl bit her lip worriedly.
“He gave you the dog as a gift. That’s your dog,” The other officer confirmed with a nod.
“O-okay,” she agreed and I could see the relief in her face.
“Thank you,” I told them sincerely. It was obvious she loved PT, but I couldn’t believe they were going to let her keep her. Just like that. I’d expected more of a fight, and a lot of paperwork. It seemed completely ridiculous and incredibly kind.
“Here’s my card. I’ll be in touch to help with the restraining order, but just in case you need something before then,” the first one said and put a business card in Meryl’s hand.
“Thank you,” she sighed and sank back into the couch as they wrapped things up and finally left.
Then it was quiet. Eerily quiet. Exhaustion seeped in as the last of the adrenaline faded completely. I rubbed a hand over my face and turned to check on Meryl. She was exhausted too. She’d been through so much.
“Oh Finn, you’re not wearing any shoes,” she muttered distractedly. Her eyes were unfocused and she seemed kind of out of it as she looked at me with a distant expression on her sweet face.
“Let’s go home to my place, you can stay with me for a few days. You’re okay, I’ve got you,” I told her gently. I didn’t care about shoes right now. I didn’t care about anything but her.
“And PT too?” she asked hopefully. Her bottom lip trembled and her brown eyes were red and watery. I hated this. I bit back my inner fury and tried to smile at her.
“Of course,” I assured soothingly. There was nothing she could ask for in this moment that I wouldn’t give her or do for her. I’d do absolutely anything. The realization was a little scary. It was a little shocking how far I’d fallen so fast. Today had been a catalyst for how I was already feeling. A terrible and horrific one.
“O-okay,” she nodded slowly.
She was still sniffling lightly as I helped her pack a bag for herself and gather PT’s stuff together too. I stayed close and noted every wince of pain, every hesitation in her movements. He was going to pay for this and more. Meryl’s hands shook slightly as she finally locked the door behind us, but once we were in the elevator, she leaned into me and relaxed a little.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told her again and winced inwardly at how much I’d been repeating myself. I didn’t know what else to say. I just wanted to help. I wanted to make everything better somehow. The whole situation was a disaster. It could have been even worse. That thought made me shudder and I had to shake it off so I could focus completely on Meryl.
Poptart wagged her tail excitedly as we got in Meryl’s car. I drove us the short distance to my apartment and carefully guided all of us inside. She sighed heavily as she sat on the couch and PT settled on it beside her. She looked up at me and gave me such a sad look that my heart broke for her all over again.
“Let me put on some coffee and we can watch something together,” I offered as I pulled a blanket over her.
“That sounds nice,” she agreed absently and stroked Poptart’s back with shaky fingers.
I took an extra minute in the kitchen to pull myself together. I was so angry inside. This shouldn’t have happened. She didn’t deserve this. No one did.
I should have insisted that she stay here longer instead of letting her go home. We should be laughing and lounging naked in my bed like before. I hated the fear in her face, the haunted look in her eyes. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths while the coffee brewed.
I brought her the coffee when it was ready and joined her on the couch. I wrapped myself around her tight and breathed her in. I”d do anything it took to make her smile again and soothe all of her fears.
She was here and she was safe. It helped me to have her in my arms again. I squeezed her gently and she squeezed my arm back. I could’ve lost this. I could’ve lost her.