47. Ivy Thompson
IVY THOMPSON
T he hazelnut and strawberry ice cream combo is unbeatable.
JJ doesn’t agree as we sit on the wall, facing the sea as we munch on our sweet treat. “This is wrong on so many levels,” he grunts.
I roll my eyes. “It’s good.”
“I promise you, princess, it’s not.”
I gently nudge my shoulder into him, and a dark splatter of ice cream hits his white T-shirt. I open my mouth in horror as I clap a hand over it to muffle my words.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” I say with a chuckle.
JJ glances down and shakes his head with a growing smile. “You are a menace.” He laughs playfully.
His ice cream begins to melt in his hands, dripping down the curve of his fingers. He releases a grunt. “I’m going to get cleaned up. Never order those two flavours together again.”
“Spoil sport.” I grin as he walks towards the bathrooms.
I finish my ice cream before wiping my hands down with a napkin. I stretch my arms above my head and turn around to the beach shop behind me. The sunglasses display snags my attention as I try a pair on and look at myself in the mirror.
“Ivy?”
My entire body freezes at the sound of my name.
I don’t tear my eyes away from the mirror as a presence behind me sends alarm bells ringing in my head. I snatch the glasses from my face, and I turn around to face the person I’ve been dreading seeing.
Slowly, I begin to back away from him. I doubt he’d try something in public, but at the same time, he drove us off a bridge with the intent of killing us. How can I trust him at all?
“You shouldn’t be here, Ben,” I rasp. “You’re not allowed to talk to me.”
Ben’s dark eyes soften towards me as he takes another step forward. “You think I’m going to hurt you?”
I say nothing as I watch him cautiously, and every movement he makes until my back hits the wall of the shop.
“Ah, come on,” he grunts. “I’ve been away for two years. Don’t you think that’s enough punishment?”
Hell no. He deserves life for trying to take mine away.
“Leave me alone, Ben,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’re breaking your restraining order.”
Ben scoffs. “I live here, Ivy. It’s not my fault you’re here too.”
My hands grip onto the wall as he takes another step, and my stomach flips with dread. He towers over me, and I prepare my knee, knowing if he takes another step, I’ll drive it straight into his balls for thinking he can try and intimidate me.
“Come on, just talk to me,” he exhales. “Please. I thought about you almost every day, and I’m sorry?—”
“Everything okay here?”
The relief that washes over me as I hear JJ’s voice is instant. I glance up at him, standing behind Ben. JJ steps forward with his arms folded over his chest and a face like thunder.
“Yeah, everything’s?—”
“I wasn’t talking to you.” JJ scowls at Ben, pushing him back by the shoulder to step between us. “You okay?”
My mouth opens, but my tongue feels heavy and numb. “Can we go?”
JJ doesn’t hesitate to lean down and take my hand, wrapping an arm around my front protectively before he leads us out of the shop, making sure I’m not left at the back. He stares at Ben with narrowed eyes but thankfully says nothing more.
“Ivy, wait?—”
My eyes clamp shut, and JJ tenses at the same time I do.
“Leave me alone, Ben,” I spit. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
JJ’s eyes almost bulge out of his head as he looks down at me. “This is Ben?”
I nod wordlessly.
JJ’s hand swipes across his jaw as he tucks me behind him and steps towards Ben. “I suggest you get the hell out of here and never come near Ivy again. Do you fucking understand me?”
Ben flinches but then laughs. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Her boyfriend,” he grumbles. “And you’re about to be in a casket if you don’t leave her alone. You’ve broken your restraining order, you can go back to prison for this, and you know what? I’m fucking glad about it.”
“I ain’t going back to prison.” He rolls his eyes as if it’s the most ludicrous thing he’s ever heard. God, he’s more delusional than I remember. “I didn’t even touch you.”
My jaw clenches. “You don’t need to touch me to break it.”
JJ steps towards him, fists clenched. I tug on his arm, desperately needing him not to fuck this up for me. “Please, let’s just go.”
“You come near her again,” JJ threatens. “And you’ll fucking regret it.”
Ben laughs, and the sound irks me. I won’t let him win. I won’t let him bring me down for a second more.
“Are you okay?” JJ asks as he checks over his shoulder to make sure we’re not being followed.
Our eyes meet, and I flash him a wobbly smile. “I didn’t think he was going to do anything, but there is always this little thought in the back of my mind that he might. He did it once before, he can do it again.”
“I won’t let him hurt you,” JJ says adamantly.
“I know.”
JJ practically vibrates as we walk home, neither of us says anything more, and I’m not sure what there is to say. He doesn’t remove his hand from mine; he holds me tight. I know he’d protect me in a heartbeat.
When we reach my front door, I slump against it.
“We should call the police, or your old case handler, or someone, so we can get the CCTV from the shop and send it off.” JJ drops my hand to brush a few strands of hair from my face.
“He can’t be breaking his restraining order and getting away with it.
It’s not fair, Ivy. I’ll end up killing the man if he tries to talk to you again. ”
My throat tenses at the thought. From the venom in his eyes, it looks like he’s being deadly serious.
“Okay,” I whisper.
The second we step into the house, I’m greeted by my parents. We tell them what happened with Ben on the beachfront, and soon the police are over to take my statement, along with JJ’s.
My dad has been pacing with fury, telling the officers that this is unacceptable and that my safety comes first. JJ is right beside him, agreeing that it’s not fair that I’m the one to suffer from it.
I wish I could lose this chapter of my life and move on, but little things always have to draw me back.
My mother pulls me into a hug. “I knew this was going to happen,” I murmur. “It’s a small town. His parents still live here.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to live with it, honey,” my mum mumbles into my hair before pulling away. “Are you okay?”
I tremble at the thought of how it could have ended, but JJ was there. He never fails to make me feel safe.
“Just a bit shaken up from it,” I admit, my hand trembling.
“Do you want some dinner?” my father offers, now somewhat calmer.
“Not hungry,” I admit. “Gonna take a bath instead.”
“Okay, we’re here if you need anything. Alright?”
My lips curl into a forced smile. “Yeah, I know.”
I glance at JJ as I pass, and he stands back as I mount the stairs and walk to the bathroom before filling the tub. The second I slip beneath the scalding water, I release a low groan along with the tension in my muscles.
I lay here for what feels like hours, until the water goes cold and I’m numb again.