Let It Be Me Read online

  I instantly freeze.

  “Violet? What’s wrong?”

  I don’t move and watch as Rob slowly shakes his head before speeding out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Oh god. How long had he been sitting there? Why was he here? Oh, my God.

  Quickly I grab my things and reach for the door handle but Tucker stops me. “Was that Rob?”

  “Yes,” I say, scrambling out the car and rushing to my SUV but Tucker stops me again.

  “Whoa, whoa, no way. You can’t go home,” he says.

  I pull my arm out of his hand as I say, “I have to, or he will know something is going on. I have to act as if it isn’t a big deal. That we went out to dinner with the office or something. Fuck.”

  I’m shaking and my heart is thrashing wildly in my chest while I feel like I’m going to puke. What am I going to do? Why was he here? Maybe I shouldn’t go home but then I know he’ll come after Tucker because I was with him last. When Tucker’s arms go around me, I close my eyes tight and lean into him as the tears start to slowly fall down my face.

  “Come home with me. I’ll put you on the first plane out, please don’t go there.”

  “I have to, he saw me with you. He’ll know you’re a part of this.”

  “I don’t care, Violet, because I am a part of this and I’m going to do everything I can to help you.”

  I slowly pull away and move my hands along my face, wiping away my tears. I have to act as if everything is fine or he’s never going to let me leave. I have to protect him. He has done so much for me. I have to do everything I can to make sure he’s safe.

  “Everything is going to be fine. We didn’t do anything wrong and I will tell him that. It’s nothing. I’m overreacting,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s no big deal. I promise. I’ll go home and tell him that we all went out to dinner and that I didn’t call him because I thought he would be at work.”

  Tucker eyes me and I know he doesn’t want to let me go but slowly his shoulders fall and he looks away. “You’ll call me if something happens?”

  “Yes, but you can’t do anything if it does.”

  He shakes his head. “Now, Violet-”

  “Tucker, you promised.”

  Letting me go, he threads his fingers through his hair before kicking the side of his tire. Looking back at me with concern and frustration all over his face, he says, “I don’t know if I can stand here and let this happen. I can’t let him hurt you!”

  Slowly taking in a breath, I look away as I say, “I’m sorry, Tucker. You have to let me do this. This is my fight. I don’t want you to have to save me. I want to be able to come into your arms free and clear once this is all over. I want to be the woman you will be proud to have on your arm. The one you will love because I love you with all of me, but I can’t give you all of me yet.”

  “I will love you always,” he proclaims.

  My heart stops and my breath hitch as I look up into this man’s face. “You have to let me do this,” I strain.

  “So what? I’m supposed to watch you get in that car and leave? And just pray you’ll come to work tomorrow?”

  We stand, staring into each other’s eyes for a long time before I whisper, “yes.”

  “This is fucking insane,” he says turning from me and walking to his car. I watch as he yanks his car door open before looking over at me. “I know you don’t want me to save you, Violet, but I don’t know if I can just stand by and hope this all works out. You have my heart and I can’t let something happen to you. It would break me.”

  I pause before asking, “you believe in me right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then believe that I can handle this.”

  He looks up at the sky and I can tell he is about to lose it. Looking back over at me, pleading with his eyes, he says, “text me so I know you are okay.”

  “I will.”

  “Alright, talk to you soon,” he says before he reluctantly gets in the car. I get into my SUV and I know he’s watching me leave just like he has for the last three weeks. Once on the road, the calmness I exhibited in front of Tucker is gone and I’m shaking with fear. I tried to be confident and reassure Tucker that I would be fine, but I know Rob and I know he is pissed. I still don’t know what he was doing there though. It doesn’t make sense because it is nowhere near the hospital or anything else that would bring him to this side of town. It’s almost as if he was checking up on me and I don’t understand why? He hasn’t spoken to me at all. It’s like he has been ignoring my existence for the last three weeks, so why was he checking in on me? Was he looking for Tucker? Was he going to say something to him about my job? He saw us together and I know it was innocent but Rob won’t see it that way.

  It doesn’t take long for me to get home and soon I’m parking the car behind Rob’s. I get out and make my way up to the porch before entering the house. The first thing I see is Rob at the counter, a beer in his hand and his face twisted in anger. I lay down my purse, hoping like hell that he can’t tell I scared shitless. Because I am. So scared that it takes everything out of me to take steps towards the counter and act as if everything is fine in the world.

  “Why aren’t you at work tonight? I thought you had to work that’s why I didn’t call to invite you to dinner with the office. It was Mrs. Yolanda’s birthday.”

  His eyes are dark. His voice menacing as he says, “I got sent home tonight and I came by the office to pick you up because we needed a new washer but you weren’t there and so I waited and waited until finally you pull up with that asshole,” he says before coming out from behind the counter. His steps are feral as he stalks toward me. “I thought what the hell is she doing with him? I watched as you laughed and giggled and flirted with him until finally I had enough and had to drive away but then you saw me, and I saw your face. And I knew that you knew. You were caught. You’re fucking around on me.”

  He reaches for me, but I move quickly out of the way, batting his hands away, but I can tell that only makes him madder. His eyes narrow before he goes for me again but this time, I go for the door, reaching for my keys as I pull the door open but he is quicker, slamming me face first into the door. I scream out as he turns me around, and I swing the keys, hard into his face. He yells out, smacking the keys out of my hand before holding me by my throat up against the wall. I try to remember the class. Eyes, throat, groin, anything, but all I am doing is thrashing, trying to get away but it only causing him to squeeze my throat harder, until I stop struggling.

  My eyes are clouding with tears as I look up into his threatening eyes. Where I hit him with the keys is a spot and it’s bleeding, maybe even bruising. I want to be proud of myself but then I can’t be because he still has me in his grips. He is still controlling me and I can’t get away.

  “I’m gonna ask you once. Are you fucking him?”

  I quickly shake my head. “No, I promise, I’m not.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he instantly says, squeezing my neck, making me dizzy.

  “I’m not,” I cry as I try to gasp for breath.

  “Maybe I’ll pay him a visit. He’s a fucking pretty boy, I’ll scare him straight and teach him to stay away from what’s mine.”

  “No,” I cry. “Please, nothing is going on. We went to dinner for Mrs. Yolanda’s birthday.”

  “SHUT UP!” he screams. I start to swing my fists, hoping to connect with his face. When I do, he growls at me and then his fist comes slamming into my nose. Lights go off, and I feel dizzy as I reach up to cover my face. I can taste the salty, metallic taste of blood as it runs down the back of my throat and over my mouth. He lets go of my throat and I fall to the floor, where he promptly kicks me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. He then punches me in the back of the head, screaming that I’m nothing but a whore. I try to kick him away but his kicks are harder and when one connects with the middle of my chest, I gasp before completely stopping and balling up.

  I give up. I’m fucking giving up.