Chapter 10 #2
“Okay, you can have one.” I grab a pretzel from the bowl and hold it in front of her nose. The couch cushion shakes from her wagging tail, which turns into an entire butt wiggle. She looks at the pretzel, then at me, and then back to the salty snack, waiting for permission.
“Good girl.” She leaves no crumb behind when she takes the pretzel from my hand. I pat her on her head, and she rests it on crossed paws while I return to my book.
I am deeply invested into a sex scene involving a knife and mask, when I hear Tyler’s keys in the door.
A cold prickle runs up the back of my neck.
Do I tell him about what happened last night?
I mean, we’ve barely spoken in days. And he didn’t respond to my texts last night.
Which is what he wanted me to do in the first place.
You know what? Fuck him.
I am in a great mood. Albeit hungover, but great mood, and I’m not going to let him spoil it.
He walks in the front door and hangs his jacket up on the coat hanger by the door. I look up and he looks fucking exhausted. Dark circles line his eyes, his cheeks hollow, and his hair completely disheveled.
My previous concerns were quickly replaced with curiosity. Where the hell has he been?
Tyler walks over and leans down to kiss my cheek and I hold back a gag. He reeks of alcohol and he looks like complete hell.
“Hi, honey. Rough night?” I ask him.
He stiffens. “Just a long night with the boys. I’m going to go make some food. Hungry?”
My stomach churns at the thought of putting anything in my mouth right now. I don’t want to be rude though, so I just nod my head in approval.
“How was your night? I never got a text that you made it home, so I wasn’t sure.” He pulls out a pan from the cupboard, placing it on the stove.
My stomach sinks to my asshole. I thought I texted him this morning, but I guess not.
“It was fun.” Running my hand across Belle’s back, I try and come up with something to tell him.
“Jules, Keirsten and I went dancing and then came here for a movie and snacks. I’m sorry I forgot to let you know we were home, we were just having so much fun I forgot.
” Lies. I doubt he’s going to buy that bullshit. I barely do.
He looks over his shoulder at me from the stove. “No worries baby. I’m just glad you had fun.” He smiles and turns back to the potatoes he is frying.
That’s it? I guess I should be thankful there wasn’t more to it, but I don’t like the feeling it gave me. Like something is wrong, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I stared at his back another thirty seconds before deciding to let it go and continue reading.
The smell of bacon fills the room and my mouth starts watering. I don’t think I have had anything to eat since last night and my stomach growls. Hangovers are the worst because you can simultaneously be starving and not want to eat at the same time. But now, I could absolutely eat.
And a big fat greasy breakfast could be just what I need right now.
Tyler is plating up our breakfast and my phone chimes. I pat the blanket and couch around me. It’s probably just Jules checking on me so it’s not urgent. But I don’t want her to worry.
Where is it?
“Who the fuck is Isaac, and why does he want to know how you’re feeling after last night?” Tyler’s voice is low and eerily calm, his jaw tight as he stares me down.
Fuck. My phone was on the counter.
“I asked you a fucking question Serena. Is he the one who sent you those beautiful flowers? ” He stresses the last words, sarcasm laced underneath a threat.
No. This isn’t happening. How did he even get my number?
What do I say? I am completely frozen. The words are there, but I can’t get my mouth to move.
I could lie and tell him that he’s Jules’ new boyfriend. That he joined us later on. But then he would want to know why he was texting me and why I was hanging out with another guy last night.
No, that wouldn’t work.
I have to say something soon or it’s only going to get worse. Fuck it. I’ll just bite the bullet and tell him the truth.
He should be happy I’m safe.
I take a deep breath and prepare to tell him what happened, but the words get stuck behind the lump forming in my throat. My pulse is racing, and I feel like I’m going to shit my pants.
“Serena! Answer me dammit!” Tyler’s voice cuts through the fog and fear and I finally find my voice.
“He’s nobody babe. He’s just the bartender at the club we went to last night. I got drugged somehow and he helped me and the girls out and made sure I was ok.” I put my E-reader in my lap and give Tyler a look of sincerity and pray that it satisfies him.
“Bullshit.” He glares at me from across the room.
“I swear baby! There’s nothing going on other than that.” The tension radiates off from him. His hands are clenched by his side, and I am desperate for him to believe me.
“I don’t fucking believe you. You’ve been whoring around behind my back, haven’t you?!” His accusations slice through me like a knife.
“What are you talking about? I would nev-.” My phone flies through the air and I barely move my head out of the way in time before it smashes against the wall behind me. Belle jumps up from my lap and off the couch, barking.
“Don’t fucking lie to me Serena. If that’s all it was, why would he bother texting you at all. You have friends and you have me. What would Jules think knowing you’re fucking her boyfriend behind her back?”
I’m still stunned from dodging my phone that I barely make out what he is saying. When have I ever given him the idea that I would be cheating on him? If anything, I should be accusing him.
What’s that saying? If your partner is accusing you of cheating, most of the time it is because they are themselves?
If I wasn’t already debating breaking up with him, this just set my decision in motion. The audacity he has to say shit like that to me after the way he has been treating me lately? I don’t know who he thinks he is, but I know one thing. He is no longer going to be my boyfriend after today.
I pull the blanket from my lap and stand up, my heart starting to pound.
“I’m not sure what gave you the impression that I was cheating on you, but I can promise you I’m not.
” Crossing my arms in front of me, I narrow my eyes.
“You’ve barely talked to me in the last month, and you’re always gone at night lately. Where are you going?”
Tyler’s eyes flare and he steps around the kitchen island, stalking towards me. Belles barking increasing in volume. I have never seen him like this before. Panic grips my chest and I back away on instinct.
Stopping inches from my face, he leans in. “What the fuck did you just say to me?” His sour breath washes over me with each word.
Time freezes around me. My palms start to sweat, and I don’t know what comes over me, but I stiffen my spine and look up at him.
Swallowing the hard lump in my throat, I manage to find my voice.
“I said, ever since we fought last time about me not texting you, you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder.
You’re always out. I’ve seen you maybe five or six times in the last four weeks.
It feels like you’re just tossing me to the side. ”
Before I can back out, I spill what’s been on my mind for weeks. “I thought you were just busy with work or something, but the way you’re acting right now, I’m starting to think my suspicions of you cheating were true.” My voice trembles, but I manage to get the last sentence out.
Before I know what is happening, his hand is around my throat, and I am being pinned up against the wall. He squeezes harder and lifts me, so my feet are off the floor, his fingers like a vice cutting off my air supply. Each breath a struggle against his grip.
Belle’s barking reverberates off the walls and fills the room, adding to the chaos.
“You fucking bitch. I’ve been working my ass off trying to protect you, and this is how you repay me?
” I feel his lips brush against my face as he whispers in my ear.
“You’re just a filthy little whore who I come to when I need a release.
I don’t love you. I love your pussy and the fact that you’re stupid enough to feed me and let me stay here. ”
I hear my heart pound in my chest as it shatters into a million pieces. My hands grip the one around my neck, trying with every ounce of my being to get away. The edges of my vision blurs and I begin to see spots as my vision begins to go black.
Belle’s barking fading around me.
This is it. I’m dying. The man who I loved, thought loved me back, is going to kill me.
My lungs burn, and tears run down my face.
Just as I am about to lose consciousness, I feel the pressure leave my throat, and my lungs burn as they fill back up with the air, they were so desperately searching for.
I fall to my hands and knees and instantly feel an intense jolt of pain radiate up my arm.
Between my gasps for air, I hear Tyler shouting in pain. I look up and I see Belle with her mouth clamped onto his calf. Good girl.
She is violently shaking her head back and forth, tearing into the meaty flesh of the back of his leg. Her muzzle is colored crimson and blood seeps through his jeans and onto the floor.
Tyler struggles to kick her off his leg. The more he struggles, the harder she bites down. He reaches into his back pocket, and a flash of silver catches my eye before I hear the most Earth-shattering sound in my life come from my baby.
“NOOOO!” I barely recognize my own voice as it leaves my body.
The rest happens in slow motion as I watch him pull the knife with a squelching sound out of her side. He slams his foot into her side, sending her flying across the living room and crashing into the entertainment center. Pictures fall and glass shatters on the floor around her.