For the Love of Gracie (13 page)

He held the door for me. When we approached the ticket counter, I stopped him as he pulled out his wallet. 

"I've got this one," I stated. 

He argued, "No, Gracie, I'll get it. You're a student."  I pointed at a sign that said "student discount with ID."  I paid for both tickets and he led the way inside. 

We soon discovered that one of the many things Ashton and I had in common was our love of art. Most of the time, I ended up at museums alone because my friends weren't really that into them.  It was refreshing to be able to share this with someone. 

We visited their current exhibit of
Artists of Impressionism
which contained many of my favorite artists. The works of Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Renoir, and my favorite of all, Van Gogh were displayed. 

The reason most people wouldn't go to these exhibits with me, was Van Gogh.  When I came to one of his paintings, I mulled over it forever. Once I came across
Starry Night
, you might as well have left me for at least an hour.  It captivated my curiosity like no other. 

I'd excused myself to the restroom for a moment.  When I returned, I found Ashton staring intently at a painting. As I approached, I noticed it was
Starry Night
. I glanced at his face and saw the same amazement in his eyes that I always felt when I saw it. 

"This is my favorite painting of all, always has been," he said to me, never taking his eyes off the painting on the wall in front of us. 

"It's mine too; I could stare at it all day."

And we did just that. We stood in awe, losing all track of time. We were brought out of our dream-like states by the security guard tapping our shoulders. "Hey guys, we close in five minutes." 

I smiled. "Ok, thanks. We'll head out now."  Ashton grabbed my hand, leading the way. "I've had so much fun today. I never have anyone to go to art exhibits with, and it was so nice to be able to talk to someone instead of keeping to myself in headphones." 

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'll go anytime you want. I try to come at least once for each exhibit. Impressionism usually gets me here three or four times." 

I moved my arm around his waist and looked up at him. "Me too! I happened to check the dates on this one; it's here for another month. What do you say we make plans to come back at least one more time before it ends?" 

He squeezed my shoulder. "I say, it’s a date." 

A date? If only.

"You taking me home now?" He seemed a bit disappointed that I asked, so I added, "Because I'm up for more fun if you are." 

His face lit up again. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?  There is a great place called, The Flying Saucer within walking distance."

Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with him.

"This place is pretty cool. You know I've lived here all my life. I used to tell people it was so boring and there's nothing to do. Whenever we go out though, I feel like a tourist because you introduce me to all these awesome places and it makes me feel excited to live in such a great city." 

Ashton smiled. "Nashville is a fantastic town, I'm glad I can broaden your horizons on it." 

I had a few beers; Ashton refrained since he was driving. I became giggly when I drank.  After my fourth, and a serious case of the giggles, he decided we should head home. He held my arm to steady me as we walked.

When we made it to the bike, I leaned against him and said, "You're so sexy, Ash." 

He laughed. "You're drunk, Gracie." 

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I think you're sexy even when I'm not drunk. I told you that earlier, too," I slurred. He kissed my forehead and moved my arms. I exhaled loudly with disappointment. 

I had left my phone in the satchel attached to his bike while we were in the museum. I pulled it out and checked my messages. I groaned: eight texts from Hudson and two voicemails. 

Ashton looked up when I groaned. "What happened to the giggles?"

I showed him the number of texts and his eyebrows lifted. "Wow, someone missed you today." 

I laughed. "More like someone stalked me today." I laughed it off as though it was nothing. 

The texts he sent though, gave me the creeps. The first couple was him telling me he missed me and that he hoped I came back over tonight after class.  They began to get demanding, asking where I was and why I wasn’t returning his calls. I listened to the voicemail and his voice had so much anger in it that I jumped in shock. 

Ash looked over again with concern. "You okay? What did he say?" 

I shrugged it off. "Nothing, he was just loud because he was at a club or something and it startled me."

"Want me to drop you off at his place?" he asked. 

I answered quickly. "No, I wanna go home." 

This worried him, I could tell. 

He reached for my hand. "You sure you're alright, bug?" 

No, I'm pretty sure my boyfriend is crazy and I'm in love with a man I can never have
.  That was what I thought to myself at least. To him, I responded, "I'm great. I'm supposed to hang with Cameron tonight." 

He didn't ask again. 

When we arrived at the house, the whole gang was there, ready to go out. "Ash!" they yelled as they saw us come in. 

"Where's the love for me?" I said, pretending to be offended. Angel, Cameron and Mary Jane all hugged me at once and planted kisses on my cheek. I laughed at them as they assaulted me with
their love. 

Cameron pulled me to the side. "I need to talk to you." 

I turned and kissed Ash's cheek. "Thanks for today. It was truly awesome." 

He nodded his head. "I agree." 

I followed Cameron upstairs to my room and we plopped on the bed together.  "Gracie, you need to ditch Hudson." 

I sighed, "I know." 

He lit up with excitement, "You do?  That was easier than I thought.  He called today while you were out and was really rude to Angel. He called her some pretty crappy things."

I felt terrible and angry at the same time. 

"He told me he loves me. I never thought hearing someone finally say those words to me would scare me to death. And not like a fear of commitment thing, more like a fear that I will never get him out of my life. The words actually made me feel ill when I heard them."  I placed my head on Cam's shoulder. "I'm an idiot, Cam. I stayed with Hudson for the wrong reasons and now I'm scared of what he'll do when I break up with him." 

Cameron kissed my forehead, "Baby girl, I'll protect you. You tell me the time and place and I'll be there."  We determined tomorrow would be the day and we would meet at Hudson's at noon. 

Ashton was walking out the door when I came back downstairs. "Wait!" I ran and threw my arms around him. 

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me.  "Thanks again for everything." 

He patted my hair. "Anytime, Gracie." 

Chapter Nine

The next morning, I woke up ready to face the day and end things with Hudson. I was in a surprisingly good mood, considering what I had to do.  Angel was in the kitchen and she smiled as I walked in. 

"Hey chica, you look happy?"  

I shrugged, and with a smile, I made my coffee. I sat at the table with her.  As I blew on my coffee to cool it down, she pointed at a gift box at the end of the table. 

"That was brought over for you this morning." 

I glared at it, afraid of what Hudson had sent me.  "Hudson? He didn’t ask to see me?" 

She shook her head. "No, it wasn’t Hudson. Ash dropped it off." I lifted it up, excited now. 

I ripped it opened and stared in awe; it was a painting that resembled
Starry Night
. In cursive, at the top, was written,
"When I look at the stars, I'll always think of you now."

There was a card attached. It read, "I've seen
Starry Night
before, but it never looked more beautiful than it did yesterday. Everything is better when you're around." 

A tear fell
. This was how love should feel. When someone told me something good about myself, I should feel happy and filled with hope like I did at this moment. Why did I have to feel that with someone I couldn’t be with?

I glanced at my watch, it was only ten o'clock. I couldn’t wait two more hours to tell Hudson. I needed to get this over with so I could thank Ashton. Once I saw Ash, I was going to tell him how I felt.  I was going to come out and ask him point blank if he felt anything for me. I had to get this off my chest before it drove me insane. 

I texted Cameron
, asking him to meet me earlier than what we had agreed on.  He said he was in the middle of an errand with Gavin and he would be there as soon as he could. He asked me to wait for him. I pulled on some baggy jeans and a button down blouse. I wanted to look as unwelcoming to Hudson as possible. 

Ashton had brought my car by when he dropped off his gift this morning. I slid behind the wheel and nervously began my trip to Hudson's.

When I arrived, I sent a text to Cameron and he said he was just a few minutes away. I decided to go on in. I knocked on the door. Hudson pulled it open. He looked me over and waved me in.

When I stepped in the door, he pushed me against the wall and pressed his mouth against mine. His hand moved to my pants and I pushed him back from me.  I wiped my mouth clean.

"I came here to talk, not have sex." 

He slid his finger across my cheek. "I just missed my girl." He leaned forward, flicking his tongue against my earlobe. Normally this would have driven me insane with passion. Today, it made me cringe. I pushed him away again.

"I'm not your girl." 

He huffed. "What? I told you yesterday that I love you, what do you want?"

I shivered at his sudden change in persona. I kept my cool and tried to be as kind as I could considering his temperament. "That’s the problem, I
don’t
love you. I came here to tell you: it's over." 

I moved away from him. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me back roughly, slamming my head into the wall. I put my hand up in reflex to feel my head.  He tried to soothe it over. "I'm sorry
. I didn’t mean to do that."

I shoved him off me, "Stop it! I'm not falling for that crap. This is why I'm ending it now. You're an abusive asshole and I'm tired of pretending you would never hurt me. I'm ending it before it gets worse." 

He grabbed my arm again, harder this time. Darkness seeped into his eyes. He pulled me against him and pressed his mouth against mine, hard. His teeth bit into my lips and I screamed. My mouth filled with the taste of blood as he tore it.

His face became unrecognizable with the sudden
fury that it displayed. This was not the Hudson I had known for the past few months. This was a monster in front of me. I'd seen him get upset before, but nothing to this extent.

I shoved him away as hard as I could.  He stumbled back only a few steps. He stepped forward again. His left hand made contact with my cheek, knocking me backwards onto the floor. My head hit the hardwood floor with a resounding smack. I closed my eyes and begged Cameron to hurry, while Hudson took his anger out on me. 

Turning my head, I saw the bracelet Ashton had given me and I let my mind drift into happy memories that I had made with him. I stared at the ladybug charm as the tears fell down my cheeks. 

It seemed like the pain would never end. He was so angry. I feared, if Cameron didn't get here soon, Hudson would kill me. I only hoped he would kill me soon so the agonizing pain would stop. 

The door flew open. Cameron tore into the room and shoved Hudson away from me. Hudson stepped forward and threw a punch at Cam, knocking him backwards.

Cameron stood his ground. He rushed forward, shoving Hudson into the wall.
Painfully, I made my way to the phone to call for help.  Cameron had the upper hand and Hudson wasn't moving. I tugged on Cam's arm to pull him away. 

He turned to me and grabbed my face. "Damn it, Gracie. Are you ok?" 

I held my right arm in front of my chest, "My arm hurts pretty bad."

He tilted my face to the side staring at the marks I knew would turn to bruises soon. 

"Has he done this before?" 

I shook my head. "No. You know I wouldn’t have stayed with him if he had."

He noticed a rip in my shirt. "Did he?"

I shook my head, no.  Cameron embraced me with ease, paying attention not to hurt my arm.

His body felt heavy on mine as we fell to the ground a moment later. Hudson had hit him over the head with something. Hudson jerked Cameron off of me. He began to kick him repeatedly. 

I screamed, "Leave him alone!"

I wrapped my good arm around his waist trying to pull him away. He shoved me clear across the room. With all my strength, I ran at him and shoved him to the ground with my weight to keep him from getting to Cameron again.