Pierce My Heart (Women of Willowbrook Book 1) (4 page)

I heard a not-so-muttered curse from Evan.

She knew.

She would.

She’d plied me with liquor one night when I’d withdrawn on a visit.

Xavier and I had been fighting, he’d gotten physical again, and I told her everything, from the first to the last. There were only two, but that was two
way
too many in her opinion.

I should’ve listened to her.

“Listen to me, Anna, ‘kay?”

I nodded my head before realizing she couldn’t see. “’Kay.”

She spoke quietly, soothing me. “I want you to drive to the farthest hotel; next town if you can make it. I’d keep you on the phone with me, but I want you focusing on driving safe. When you get there you call me, tell me the name and room number and I’ll be up. Remember our special knock?”

“Yes,” I whispered, thinking of the knock we used to use as kids.

“If you don’t hear that, you do not go near the door. Lay down, cool compress on your eyes and forehead. I’ll be there soon.”

I blinked painfully, looked at myself in the rearview mirror and cringed, panic bubbling up inside me. “I can’t go inside, my face, I can’t
—
”

“Right,” she clipped, interrupting me in a voice strained to the max, before she took a beat, to fight back the anger I guessed since her next words were softer. “Okay, you find a hotel and you wait for me. Drive in circles if you have to, but you stay close so when I’m close I can go inside and get a key for us. Drive slow and safe, and please, whatever you do, do not go back. Just wait for me first. Love you, Anna. Wait for me, honey.”

I took another shuddering breath. “M’kay. Love you Evie.” Then I exposed myself even more with an urgent, “Hurry.”

There was a pause before she responded. “I’ll be there, babe. Just hang on.”

I hit end on my phone then I sat there; in my car on the side of my road, in a neighborhood I didn’t recognize, as I tried to get my shit together enough to drive.

What I didn’t know was Evan had spent that time calling Robby. She needed reinforcements and she knew I would never go with it, so she got me handled first.

She’d made it in record time, and by the time I’d found a hotel and let her know, I only had to wait another forty-five minutes before I saw her black Jeep Wrangler pulling in. She immediately spotted me in my pearlescent Lincoln MKZ and slid in next to me. I hadn’t even opened my door before she was out of hers and at mine, pulling it open the rest of way and me into her arms.

I held tight and let a sob break free.

She held tighter.

We stood like that for minutes before I pulled back, but I kept my head down.

Evan wouldn’t have that.

She took one arm from around me and lifted my chin up.

I knew when she saw it by the sharp intake of breath, her body going tight and her heart wrenching whispered, “Anna.”

I tried to shake loose to get away from the emotions welling up inside me, the pain I was feeling, to get away from it all, but she held fast and caught my eyes.

“Not yet, Anna, hold tight. Let me run in, grab a room and then we’ll be good, okay? Five more minutes. Just get in my Jeep and hang tight.”

I didn’t argue.

She was letting me off the hook for the moment, but I knew it wasn’t the end of it.

I nodded my head and waited for her to move away so I could grab my purse, shut my door and beep my locks before I climbed into her passenger seat. She reached in and grabbed her wallet, giving my hand one more squeeze before heading inside.

She must’ve been in bed when I called her, I noted as she walked away.

She was wearing an old high school softball sweatshirt she’d gotten in support of me, her Minnie and Mickey Mouse PJ pants, and flip flops. Her hair had been thrown up in a top knot and she had no makeup on.

Evan didn’t leave the house like that. Ever.

Not because she gave a shit what people thought, she didn’t, but because she was all about statement.

I hiccupped on a sob, one out of love for my best friend.

Leaning my head on the window, I closed my eyes to wait.

It wasn’t five minutes before I was startled by a knock on the window.

Evan must’ve been more worried than I thought, and I knew she was seriously worried.

I opened my eyes, turned to the right to look at her and froze, my face draining of all color.

It wasn’t Evan.

Oh no.

She knew.

She fucking knew I wouldn’t want them to know. She just didn’t care.

Like normal, Evan did whatever Evan wanted.

Fuck the consequences.

Robby and Nate stood outside my window, and to say they looked pissed was an understatement. But when they caught sight of what I’m sure was a swollen black and blue eye they got seriously, fucking pissed.

Even though I knew they’d never hurt me, after what just happened any angry vibe would’ve made me shrink back. And shrink back I did.

Wrong move.

I looked behind Robby to see Nate clench his jaw and squeeze his eyes shut, like he was experiencing a pain beyond belief. My eyes switched back to Robby and he didn’t look much better.

I opened my mouth, to say what, I had no clue, when I saw Evan walk out. I grabbed the handle and threw the door open—nearly hitting Robby but not caring at that moment—and jumped out, storming over to Evan.

“Evangeline, what the fuck? Why did you call them? I didn’t want them to know,” I snapped loudly, throwing my hands up.

Evan’s eyes went wide in shock. “Anna
—
” she began, but I cut her off.

“I mean, seriously? I would’ve called them if I wanted them to come, but I didn’t want them to. Didn’t want them to know. Didn’t want them to see this shit. To see how fucking weak I was that I couldn’t leave him until he fucking hit me and left his mark.”

Not that the evidence wasn’t there, or the pain of that evidence, but blurting it out like that wasn’t good. For anyone.

Robby and Nate closed in at my back, surrounding me and Evan came at me, grabbing my hands.

Hands that I belatedly noticed were shaking.

“He hit me, Evie. I forgave him again and again, loved him with everything and he hit me. I—” I got no further.

My knees went weak and a sob tore through my chest rivalling the pain of my left eye.

Luckily Robby and Nate grabbed hold.

I didn’t catch much of the conversation after that.

I was walked to the room (thankfully we could enter from the outside so I hadn’t had to walk through the place), sat on the bed and told to lay back. With no fight left in me at that point, I listened.

Robby grabbed a couple hand towels from the bathroom, soaking them and then ringing out the cool water before sitting next to my hip on the bed, laying one on my forehead and another on my eye.

It wasn’t until I felt the weight of it that I realized one of them managed to get ice without my noticing. I jumped a little at the cold feeling and focused on him.

I blinked, regretted the decision, then opened my mouth to apologize.

Robby shook his head, likely knowing what I was going to do.

“Don’t, Anna. I swear to God if you apologize for this I’m gonna put my fist through the wall.” He thrust his hand through his hair in frustration. “Christ, why didn’t you call me? I get why you called Evan, but you know I would’ve come. Hell, Nate would’ve biked his ass up here,” he said.

My eyes flew to Nate and Evan. Evan rubbing Nate’s arms, trying to calm the storm rolling inside of him.

They both were looking at me with a whole lot of sadness, and not a small amount of anger (at Xavier, not me).

I took a breath before looking between the three of them. “I was embarrassed,” I admitted quietly.

Robby looked upset.

Well, a different upset than he was before.

“Anna
—
”

I interrupted him with a slight shake of my head. “No, Robby, please listen. I called Evan automatically. I didn’t even know I had until I was talking to her. It was like my mind knew I couldn’t hide it any longer, but it took the less volatile choice. And I was embarrassed. I
am
embarrassed. I’d heard of those women, even saw some, and could never understand why they stayed with those men. Why they voluntarily put themselves through that. You remember Dad’s secretary before Mom took over? The excuses she’d make for all the bruises she’d come in with. The looks of pity we all gave her. Dad tried to help and she just quit. He tried to find her, but they’d only been around a few months and then they were gone. It ate him up for months that he couldn’t help her; still does whenever some domestic abuse case hits the news. There was no way I could let you know I’d become her. Dad would never forgive himself and Mom would be heartbroken. They’d find a way to blame themselves for my mistake.” My gaze hit Nate’s before I looked away and continued. “Nate’s way too young to have this put on his shoulders, no way I would ever do that to him. And you just got married, you guys are settling in. This was my fault, Robby.
Mine.
I learned long ago he had a temper and I should’ve gotten out or at least stayed away, but I didn’t. He’d only been physical a couple times, but he’d never hit me before. A part of me thought he never would…” my words died on my tongue when I took in the looks on their faces.

Evan was silently crying, her hand covering her mouth.

Nate looked like he was ready to cry, or kill someone, but was clenching his fists to hold it in.

And Robby?

Robby looked like Dad.

Guilt ridden.

Heartbroken.

And so damn angry, but he was keeping a lid on it.

“Robby, stop it. This isn’t your fault,” I half demanded, half pleaded.

This was not his burden, it was mine. It was the reason I didn’t want him to know.

He shook his head and adjusted the ice on my eye that had shifted with my jerky head movements.

“Honey, I’m your big brother. It’s my job to protect you when Dad can’t, and even when he can. I knew that guy was slime when I met him at the wedding. You and I had words over it, harsh words, but I let it go because you seemed happy. That was my mistake. I shouldn’t have fucking let it go. I should’ve kept at it. At you.”

A sad smile crossed my lips.

“I wouldn’t have listened. I wasn’t blind, but I was turning my head away from it. I didn’t want to recognize that I’d wasted two years of my life. I just thought… I thought if I could love him more, be more, do more, that he’d be happy with me. That I’d stop making him so angry, but it never worked. Things would be great, fantastic even, and then a mood would hit and we’d start to fight. I finally realized it was him purposely picking a fight that would end with one of us storming out, giving him ample opportunity to cheat. That’s what this fight was about,” I said, pointing to my eye. “I saw a text on his phone from some girl talking about their night a week ago. A night we fought and he left. I wasn’t ready to confront him so I took a screenshot and sent it to myself, deleting all evidence that I’d even been on his phone. I hoped and prayed that I was wrong, but deep down I knew I wasn’t.”

The bed dipped, taking me from my thoughts, and I saw Evan perched on the end.

I felt a little awkward laying there with everyone sitting or standing around me, so I put my hands to the bed to scoot up and sit against the headboard. Robby handed the ice over once I’d finished and I tried to avoid their eyes by looking down and picking at my jeans, but Evan grabbed ahold of my hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze to continue.

To get it all out.

Not for them, but for me.

“I shouldn’t have confronted him. I knew his temper, but it’d been so long since he’d gone over the edge and I was so mad. Madder than I’d ever been. Even when you cut all my Barbie dolls’ hair off and colored on their faces,” I said to Nate with a slight, watery chuckle.

I saw, and felt, the room relax slightly as everyone expressed their amusement in their own ways.

Robby, a lip tip.

Nate, a small smirk.

And Evan, a snort.

“When he got home from work I showed him the screenshot, calling him out on it. And when he started to deny it, I completely lost it; so into my rant, I didn’t really see the look on his face. The next thing I knew he’d grabbed me by my throat and yanked my hair back, holding me in that position. I’d stopped talking, but I was too pissed off to realize the situation and get scared. I’d slapped at his chest, yelling at him to get his hands off me or I’d scream the roof down. He let me go and I stupidly thought I’d won. I even had a fucking smirk,” I explained, my voice full of disgust for my actions. “I never saw it coming. The fury on his face gave it away, but I didn’t know what ‘it’ was until I felt his hand connect with my face. Felt the pain radiating through my left side from temple to cheek. I was so caught off guard, I fell back. My head cracked against the wall before I slid down onto my ass. Luckily, he didn’t continue. Just told me to get my shit together and stop being such a bitch before he got out of the shower, but I didn’t listen. I ran. I grabbed nothing but my purse, phone, and keys and I was gone.”