Shattered (22 page)

When we finally untangled ourselves from one another, Jesse pulled my back into his chest and placed a kiss on my neck.  I pulled his arms around me, wanting to remain  as close to him as possible.  Which must have been the same idea he had, as he wrapped his leg over mine.  I sighed as he nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck.  Before I drifted off into a perfectly peaceful sleep, the chiming of Jesse’s cell phone pulled me back from my bliss.

I tugged his arm hoping he would ignore it and stay wrapped around me.  He did for the first three beeps, but by the time the fourth one called out we’d both had enough.

“I’ll just turn it off,” he said as he rolled out of bed and walked over to retrieve his shorts from the floor.  As pissed as I was about us getting interrupted, I thoroughly enjoyed the view of his bare ass walking across the floor.  “Motherfucker,” he said through gritted teeth as he read the messages.  He quickly started getting dressed.

“Who was it?!” I asked nervously as I sat up in bed, wrapping the sheet around my chest.

“It was Hap,” he said as pulled on a black t-shirt he ripped from a hanger in the closet.

“Omigod! What’s wrong?” I jumped up and started to get dressed.

“You’re not coming.  Stay in bed,”  he directed me as he sat on the edge of the bed pulling his tennis shoes on.

I  gave him a defiant stare. “I most certainly am.  Now tell me what is going on!”

He met my eyes with a rival glare and let out a deep huff, “It’s Smolder.  The son of bitch is talking shit about…”  he hesitated. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going over there and kicking his fucking ass!”

I’d just finished pulling on a pair of jeans and a yellow v-neck tee.  I knew that Collin must have been saying something about me.  As much as I wanted to see that piece of shit pay for what he did to me, I was nervous about Jesse going over there.  The last time Jesse got in a fight he held his own, but he had Garrett there for back up.  Now, he was wanting to face a lunatic on his own.

“Please, don’t go.  Can’t you just let it go?”  I begged as I followed him to the front door.

“Let it go!?  Are you kidding me?  So he can just do the same thing to some other girl?”

I understood Jesse’s reasoning.  I didn’t want to see Collin abuse some other girl, either.   I also didn’t want to start a war between the man I loved and Collin’s unpredictable ass.

We were in the Jeep and Jesse hadn’t said a word since we walked out the door of the apartment.  I’d already texted January to make sure that she and Hap were there.  Jesse might need backup and Hap was my only hope.  She assured me that they’d be there.  I watched as Jesse wound his fists back and forth on the steering wheel.  The focused rage on his face started to scare me.  We finally pulled down the dirt road that led back to Collin’s cabin and Jesse jumped out of the Jeep, barely getting it in park.  I started to follow.

“Stay in the Jeep.”  He turned to me and pointed his finger demandingly.

“I…”  I started to protest.  To insist I was coming along.

“Stay in the goddamn Jeep!” he shouted, freezing me in place.  His vengeful eyes covered up any trace of the sweet, gentle person I’d just made love to.  I let him go alone, but only until I saw him pass the timberline that hid the cabin from view.  As soon as I couldn’t see him, I followed his path back to the cabin.  There was no way I was letting him go in there and fight for my honor, while I sat back in the car and worried myself to death.  I watched from a safe distance as Jesse approached Collin.  He was standing around the picnic table I’d performed on just last week, with a group of his delinquent friends.  A cocky smirk crossed Collin’s lips as Jesse closed the distance between them.

“Hey Vaughn! What’s up?” he greeted him with a sarcastic tone.  Jesse responded with a shove.  “What the fuck was that for?!”  Collin regained his footing.  I watched as Collin’s friends began puffing up their chests like a pack of wild gorillas ready to defend their king.

“You know exactly what it is for you piece of shit!”  Jesse’s fists clenched at his sides.

“Oh, I get it.”  Collin laughed, “You’re pissed that you got my sloppy seconds.  Everybody in town is talking about your new roommate.  Her car’s been parked outside your place for a week now.  Sorry I got to her first, man, and you’re welcome.  I’m sure I taught her a thing or two about how to spread her legs right.”  I felt my own cheeks flame in anger as I watched Jesse’s do the same.

Hap approached Jesse’s right side, while January nervously bit her lip behind him.

“You better shut the fuck up, Smolder.” Hap placed his hand on Jesse’s shoulder, trying to calm him down.

“Oh, you think we’re going to fight, Hap?”  Collin looked around at his buddies laughing, “I think you two are a little outnumbered.”

“I see,” Jesse said in calmer than before, “you only hit women?”

A nervousness crossed Collin’s face when he saw the reaction from the crowd that had gathered.  Even if his friends were a bunch of thugs, they still drew the line at abusing a woman.

“I don’t know what the fuck she told you, but I didn’t lay a hand on that girl.”

“Don’t lie,” January said, “we saw her lip.  She told us exactly what happened.”

“You better shut your bitch up, Hap.”  Add that to the list of mistakes that Collin Smolder had made that night.  Now Hap was shoulder to shoulder with Jesse ready to attack.

Collin’s friends slowly started to pull back from the circle that had formed around him.  When Randi Carver stepped forward, it was all but over.

“He hit me once too,” she quietly added, “then he acted like it was my fault.”  God knows, I didn’t like that girl, but I felt sorry that she had been in the same situation I was in.  I stepped forward and grabbed her hand.

“It’s okay, Randi.”  I turned my eyes to Collin, “This son of bitch is about to get what he has coming.”  Jesse whipped around to see me standing behind him and I gave his a nod letting him know that I was okay with what was about to happen. He let his fist fly at Collin’s face.  The sound of his knuckles cracking across Collin’s jaw sent a chill down my spine.  Collin stumbled backwards as Jesse continued his charge, tackling him to the ground.  Hit after hit, Jesse landed blows to Collin’s face causing blood to pour from his nose and mouth.  Hap finally pulled Jesse off him.  Collin’s nose was slightly off center and his teeth were covered with a pink sheen from the blood in his mouth.

“Let’s go, man,” Hap said as he turned Jesse’s back to Collin’s laid out body. “You’ve done enough.”  The look in Jesse’s eyes when they met mine was pained.  I knew that he’d done what he thought he needed to, but he didn’t feel good about it when it was all said and done.  I was mad at myself for letting the chaos ensue. He continued walking toward me, when I heard a gasp from the crowd.  I saw Collin’s blood-spattered face in a tight clench as he wielded a beer bottle over his head and marched toward Jesse.  My eyes must have alerted Jesse to his presence because just as he was ready to turn around a loud thud came from behind him.  Collin hit the ground and the bottle rolled across the grass.  Jesse turned to see Hap standing beside him shaking his fist in pain.  He’d knocked him out right before he could hit Jesse.

“God damn that hurt!” Hap continued flexing his bloody knuckles as January rushed up to him.

“Omigod, are you okay?”

Jesse stood in shock for a moment before thanking Hap for his interference.  “Thanks man, I owe ya.”

The four of us made our way back to our vehicles.  January gave me a hug.  I was clearly shaken up by the whole event.  We didn’t speak the entire drive home.   When we finally made our way into the apartment, Jesse headed straight for the shower and I headed straight for bed.  I was hoping to fall asleep before he came back, so as to avoid any conversation of what just happened.  The person I saw Jesse become back at that cabin scared me and I wasn’t sure if I could face him yet.  I heard the pipes rattle as Jesse shut the water off in the shower.  His heavy footsteps on the hardwood as he made his way back to the bedroom caused my stomach to turn.  He crawled into bed next me burying his face in my hair and pulling me close to him.

“I’m sorry.“ He whispered.  I could hear the regret in his voice.  I turned to his moonlit face.  “I’m so sorry.”  I saw his eyes glisten and a tear roll down his cheek. “I know you’re pissed. Please don’t hate me.  Please don’t leave me.”

“Leave you?” I was surprised by his confession.  “I’m not going to leave you.”  I pulled his head to my chest and stroked his hair.  “I could never leave you.  I was just… you scared me.”

“Omigod,” he leaned back and took my face in his hands. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’ve never seen you like that.  So angry.”

“I don’t know what came over me.  I was so pissed about what he did to you.  I love you and the idea of him putting his hands on you was too much.  Then he just kept talking and I got madder and madder.  I would never hurt you.  You know that right?”

“I know.”  I did know.  Jesse would never hurt me on purpose.  Sometimes his stubbornness was overwhelming, but I knew he did what he thought was right tonight.  He brought his lips to mine briefly before settling my head on to his chest.  “Jess?” I whispered as I heard his breaths even out.

“Mmmh?” He mumbled.

“I love you too.”  He pressed his lips to the top of my head and squeezed his arms around me.  I closed my eyes and tried to forget what had happened.  I did love Jesse.  More than anything. But I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that what happened between him and Collin was just beginning.

Jesse

I’m not really sure what happened to me last night.  I guess my emotions were running on high after an incredible night with Alyssa, but they quickly turned from elated to psychotic.  I was in a such a blind rage that I didn’t even remember yelling at her to stay in the Jeep.  I had one focus and that was kicking the crap out of that piece of shit.  Even after I did it, I still didn’t feel better.  Although, I will say, watching Hap knock his ass out was pretty awesome.

The next morning I was surprised to wake up alone.  I immediately went into panic mode thinking that she’d left me in the middle of the night but learned to breathe again when I found her in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Good morning,” she cheerfully greeted me.  I thought for a second I was dreaming.  The girl bouncing around the kitchen in the tiny white cotton shorts and my oversized blue t-shirt was not the same girl that refused to speak to me last night on the ride home.  Either that or she’d been taken over by an alien.  I wasn’t going to push it.  I kinda like the cute little extra-terrestrial with the spatula.

“Pancakes?” She pointed the cooking utensil in my direction.

“Absolutely.”  I smiled leaning against the counter and watched her make my plate before taking it to the dining room.  She followed with her own stack of the delicious looking creations.  I carefully watched her as she poured the syrup and filled her glass with milk.  All the while smiling from ear to ear.

“Okay.” I couldn’t take it anymore.  I’d expected to get an earful about my erratic behavior last night, not wake up to Mary freakin’ Poppins.  “What gives?  I thought you’d be pissed at me.”  I shoveled a bite of pancakes in my mouth while waiting for her to respond.

A sly smile crossed her lips, “I am.”  She took a drink of her milk and slowly set the glass back on the table.  “I poisoned your breakfast.”

I felt my eyes widen and my throat and tongue threatened to expel the deadly morsels I was devouring, until she broke out in hysterical laughter.

“I’m kidding!”

“Oh, thank god,” I mumbled before swallowing.

“I was pissed when you got out of bed last night and hulked out about the whole situation, but lucky for you… all I did last night was dream about how perfect the night was up until that point,” she smiled.

I can’t believe we hadn’t even talked about it.  Before the fight Alyssa and I had, well, you know.  It was unbelievable.  I can’t believe I let the night end the way it did.  It was stupid and reckless.

“It was pretty great,” she added.

“Yeah, it was awesome.” I kept my eyes on hers, still not fully believing that she was just going to let the whole fight thing go.

“We’ve spent way too much time apart to let that ruin what we’ve started.  I’m still upset with the way you acted last night, but I get it.  It’s sweet that you were sticking up for me, but I need you to promise me that you’re done with Collin.  As great as it was to see him get his ass kicked, he’s not worth it.  I can’t worry about what will happen to you the next time.  What if his friends would have jumped in?  What if Hap hadn’t been there to stop him from hitting you with that bottle?  I’ve already lost one best friend.  I don’t need to add my other best friend,” she rephrased, “my boyfriend, to the list.  Collin Smolder is a freakin’ nut job, he might not just stop with a fist fight next time.”

I started to feel worse than I already did.  Of course she was worried about me.  Why wouldn’t she be after what happened to Garrett?  

“I promise,” I held up my fork, “I’m done with Collin Smolder.  I will not go after him again.”

“Good!  Now let’s finish eating breakfast,” the contentment on her face told me that I was forgiven.  I really hoped I could keep her this happy all the time.

I leaned over the table and tapped my syrup covered fork on her neck, coating her skin with the sticky substance.

“How about breakfast in bed?” I quickly got up from my chair and made my way around the table.  I lowered my lips to the syrup on her neck and gently licked away the mess I’d made.  I chuckled as a quiet purr escaped her. She turned her head and caught my mouth with hers.

“Let me grab the syrup,” she playfully responded before I threw her up over my shoulder and carried her back to the bedroom.  Breakfast ended up taking a little longer than usual.  I was late for work.  Lucky for me, her dad didn’t notice.

A couple weeks had passed and the summer heat quickly took over our tiny town.  The weather in the Midwest never ceased to amaze me.  One second it’s hot, the next raining, the next snowstorms.  It was crazy.  You could have all four seasons in one month.