Chapter - 25
ELOISE
I felt myself swallow, and something in my brain kept telling me to run as his gaze trailed over my body again. His eyes flicked around the room as he noticed the small space, and that he was blocking my only form of escape.
“I was just grabbing ice,” I lifted both of the glasses in my hands as evidence.
“Me too,” Connor lifted the bucket in his hand, but he took a step into the room as he stared at me. “But I’m actually glad I ran into you.”
I felt my pulse start to spike in my veins and my polite smile drop from my face. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Connor continued, oblivious to or choosing simply not to acknowledge my internal panic. “I guess I just have some questions.”
I didn’t say anything, I just clenched my jaw and stared at him.
I was trapped, I had to stand here and talk to him, and the expression on his face made me realize it wasn’t going to be a friendly conversation. No, Connor was upset. Clearly seen, based on how his shoulders bunched and his grip on his ice bucket tightened.
“Do you have any idea what my questions might be?” Connor asked, his eyebrow raising, his voice patronizing. Like he was a disgruntled parent trying to lead a child to answer. It was gross, and terrifying.
I wanted to say, “Are you going to ask why I blocked your number?” But I just stayed silent. Every muscle in my body was pulled taut, adrenaline coursing through my veins in my panic.
At my silence, Connor stared up at the ceiling and shook his head, his jaw visibly clenching and making a muscle pop in his cheek. I took a quiet step back.
“You’re such a child.”
I blinked at him, my blood cooling a little in my veins at his words. “Pardon?”
“You have acted so immature. Ignoring me, pretending like nothing happened between us. It’s embarrassing,” Connor scolded, glaring at me from his spot in the doorway, leaning an arm against the side. It still didn’t leave enough room on his other side for me to fit by if I needed to run. “But getting Logan to fire me was too far.”
I felt my lips part in surprise at his tone because I wasn’t aware of that at all.
“It’s embarrassing for me that I slept with you, yes,” I snapped, a bit of the new Eloise rising in irritation at this man’s audacity to corner me like this. “Though, I would say that you should be more embarrassed that you can boldly refer to a woman you slept with as a child. That’s gross.”
“You didn’t think I was gross that night,” his tone lowered, no longer trying to hide his anger.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I interrupted, crossing my arms with the ice cups in my hands still. I felt my own anger rising with each word, and a small voice in my head told me to drop it and play nice for the sake of getting out of here safely, but I couldn’t quite listen to it yet. “I didn’t enjoy it. I thought I made that very clear when I blocked your number after you didn’t get the hint and kept calling me.”
I swore I could hear Connor’s teeth grind at my words, his nostrils flaring when I made a blatant hit to his pride.
“You didn’t—”
“Why are we even talking about this?” I interrupted him again, feeling exasperated with it all. “Don’t you have someone waiting for you? I’m sure she’s wondering where you are.”
Connor snapped his arm back and hurled his ice bucket at the wall to the side of us. I gasped and folded my arms over my head as it bounced against the vending machines and clanged on the floor.
I didn’t think, didn’t hesitate, as I used my cups of ice and tossed them both at him as soon as he took a step towards me.
He blinked as he swatted the ice off of his face, staring at all the melting cubes on the ground before looking at me like I was insane. As if I was the one being ridiculous in this situation.
In the back of my mind, I barely acknowledge the sound of a door opening down the hall, followed by a guy’s voice and chuckle.
“Don’t come any closer,” I warned, my voice low. I still had glasses in my hands. I was shaking from the sudden tantrum this grown man was throwing in front of me, but I was sure I could do something with the cups to defend myself if needed.
I then heard heavy footsteps thudding down the hallway the same moment Connor shook his head, and I saw the resolve click in his expression as he took another step and reached out for me. “You little—”
But he was cut off. He was suddenly being ripped backwards, making him stagger against the wall before a large hand wrapped itself around his shoulder and shoved him to the ground in the hallway.
John’s large body loomed over his agent, who tried to grab at the athlete before John caught his wrist and twisted it. Connor cried out in pain as John growled, “Cut the shit.”
Then Logan shoved John out of the way, and suddenly he was in the room with me, his dark eyes scanning my body before noticing the cups I was gripping in my hands, the ice on the floor, the discarded bucket randomly on the ground.
“I’m fine,” I immediately spoke up, but my trembling gave me away. Logan stepped into my space, lifting his hands with a question on his face. “Please hold me,” I whispered. He didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled the glasses from my hands, setting them somewhere, before his large arms wrapped themselves around me.
“I’m calling the police,” John announced from the hallway, still towering over a glowering Connor.
“That’s not necessary,” Connor argued, “You’re overreacting!”
“Shut the fuck up.” John flinched towards Connor, who flinched back as he stared up at the large Thor-looking man.
“Thank you,” I whispered, squeezing against Logan’s chest, “Thank you.”
Logan shook his head, a movement I could only feel on the top of my head where his chin rested, and we didn’t need to say any more. I stayed there, trembling in Logan’s arms while John ensured that his agent stayed on the ground until the police came.
Logan walked me out into the hallway, carefully placing his body between me and Connor so I didn’t have to look at him. He had pulled out his phone with one hand, reassuring his grip on me with a comforting squeeze with his other, and typed out a message. A few minutes later, I heard the elevator ding and suddenly, Courtney and Taylor were both running into the hallway towards where Logan and I had slumped onto the ground, my trembling and heart rate felt out of control.
“Are you okay?” Taylor asked before shaking their head. “Stupid question, how can I help?”
“Do you need anything?” Courtney asked. They both had fallen to their knees on either side of Logan and me, and a relieved sob broke from my lips as tears started to slowly fall from my cheeks.
“I’m okay,” I shook my head, “I mean, I’m not. But I’m okay.”
Courtney’s expression turned thunderous as she sat taller on her knees to look around Logan and John, probably making eye contact with the worst mistake of my life before declaring in a calm but furious tone, “I am so relieved that you lost the custody battle.” I hadn’t known that had happened, but I felt a weird amount of relief expand in my chest as well, knowing that Connor’s ex-wife had the good sense to both leave him and fight for their child.
“Fucking bitch,” Connor spat back, making me wince.
“I’d stop talking until you have a lawyer present, asshole,” John threatened. A couple doors opened down the hall and the faces of Logan’s teammates were starting to poke their heads out to see what the commotion was.
I faded in and out of what was happening around me then, the shock of the situation starting to kick in as it kept me from processing my surroundings fully. I didn’t even remember the police showing up, they were just suddenly there, shooing the rest of Logan’s team back into their rooms unless they had useful statements to give them regarding what happened.
I did catch a few details though, like how Logan had fired Connor as his agent weeks ago. How Connor clearly thought that I had pressured or convinced Logan to do so because of our history. How John, who had no idea what was going on between his agent and I, was more than happy to fire Connor as well.
I didn’t convince those men to do anything, but I had slumped against Logan even more knowing that I wouldn’t have to face him anymore.
I did hear the police mention video footage in the vending machine area, and I hid my face against his button-up shirt. His large hands made soothing passes down my back, my arms, my legs, my neck, whatever part of me he could touch. As if he was both trying to reassure me and himself that I was okay. That I was here, and that he had me.
After giving my statement to the police, I didn’t want to stick around to wait for John and Connor to give their official statements. The police did ask if Logan would stick around to give his, and Courtney volunteered to interpret for him.
With that, Taylor pulled me to my feet and led me back to Logan’s room.
“I’m so sorry, Lo,” Taylor helped me dress down into just the jersey I was still wearing, pulling the covers on the bed back and tucking me in nice and tight, before sitting on the other side of the bed above the covers and reaching for the TV remote.
“Courtney and I couldn’t find much on the TV in our room,” they shrugged, snuggling in so that even though they sat above the covers, they pressed the entirety of their body against my side. I didn’t realize that I would appreciate that contact after an event like this, but I rested my head on their arm that held the remote as they flipped through the channels.
“Thanks.” My voice was small, but my trembling was slowly being replaced with what felt like pure exhaustion.
“Don’t mention it,” they replied, “I’m just glad Logan found you.”
We sat in silence as Taylor flipped through channels, adrenaline leaving my body with each channel that they snubbed without explanation. My eyes were staring at the TV, but I wasn’t seeing what was on it. I wasn’t even thinking about what had just happened to me moments before this.
Instead, I was thinking about Logan. How he held me tight just now, and almost every other moment I shared with him.
How he tried to talk to me at the townhouse the second time we met, clearly trying to be less of a socially repressed asshole even though I was too stubborn to see it. How Logan was ready to tease me and act like the rest of our friends, and I responded by attacking him with pie. How he checked in with me after showing up at my workplace, how he showed up outside my bedroom window when he realized he hurt my feelings again and didn’t want me to go to bed before he could apologize.
How he slammed up against the plexiglass at the first hockey game of his I attended.
How he rested his hand against the plexiglass earlier tonight, as if he would take what he could in that moment.
It was wild, how a relationship with a person could change so dramatically over time. How even though Taylor’s presence was nothing but comfort right now, I still longed for the man outside talking to the police with Courtney. How I wanted him beside me. How I wanted to feel his arms wrap around me as I fell asleep, like so many nights before this one. Before we even decided to claim each other from anyone else. How even just his physical presence was soothing to me.
I grinned a little, snuggling under the covers some more before releasing a heavy breath in exhaustion. “I’m glad that Logan and I found each other,” I said in response to Taylor’s earlier statement.
They paused their channel surfing to look at me for a solid moment before saying, “Well, that was cheesy as hell.”
I shoved them away from me, and they laughed before settling back in while we waited for our friends.