I remained sitting on the floor, tucking my legs upward as I wrapped my arms around them and lay my head upon my knees. I got lost in the memories of my weekend away with Eli, because those thoughts were much better than what had taken place in the last couple of hours.

  Maybe I should have stayed in bed with him.

  I don’t know how long I sat there in that same spot until the sound of my phone ringing got my full attention.

  I should have expected the call to come in. Elijah wasn’t the type of guy to let me be; he was invested and focused. On most days that was an amazing feeling but today I just needed my space. I couldn’t let him find out what took place; it was bad enough that Marcus had somehow figured things out. His reaction was extremely mellow compared with what I assumed Eli’s would be. I pictured a wild beast in search of the enemy to seek and destroy.

  I wouldn’t let him ruin his future over people like my mother or Carl.

  I’d get away soon.

  When I didn’t answer it didn’t surprise me that the phone immediately began to ring again.

  Taking one deep, calming breath, I answered my phone, doing my best to hide the soreness of my lip that was reflected through my voice.

  “Hi.” I chose a hoarse whisper to shadow the pain of my split and swollen lip.

  “Hey babe.” I closed my eyes and focused on his voice alone. It amazed me just how his voice alone gave me a safe feeling inside. “I went to Porter’s to see you, but Morgan said you’d called in sick.”

  His voice was laced with concern.

  “Yeah,” I winced when I realized I’d forgotten to be cautious of my lip. I lowered my voice and focused once again on slow, soft whispers. “I wasn’t feeling well. My throat’s bothering me.”

  “Can I do anything? Maybe bring you something warm or just be there so you can snuggle up close?” My eyes closed as I wished at that moment more than anything he was there to hold me. “Or I can come get you and bring you back to my place. I can take care of my girl for as long as she needs me to.”

  “I don’t want to give you this. I think it’s better if I wait it out.” I heard him let out a deep breath. “I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow.” I knew I’d have to come up with another excuse then, but for now I just needed to get through the night.

  A loud slam echoed through the house and I froze when I heard Carl’s voice in the other room. My breathing picked up when I realized I was still on the phone with Eli.

  “Listen, I’m gonna go.” Carl’s voice got louder like it was getting closer.

  “Who was that?” Eli asked just as my bedroom door burst open.

  “Listen, I’ll call you back.”

  I didn’t wait for him to end the call; I couldn’t. That meant risking he would hear much more than he needed to.

  “Where’s your check?”

  “I didn’t get it yet.” I had intended to get it that night only I couldn’t go in looking the way I did.

  He stood in the open doorway staring at me with an angry look on his face. I figured he was attempting to intimidate me before he’d finally turn to leave, but he didn’t. Instead he began digging through my dresser drawers, my closet, any space he could find.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as I stood from the bed and backed myself against the wall.

  He grabbed the edge of the mattress and with one heaving push, he flipped it up and over. He was breathing heavy, as if the actions had worn him out. “Where is it?”

  “Where’s what?”

  He looked crazed, almost out of control. I’d never seen him like this before, not this bad anyway.

  He focused on something at my feet and I followed his gaze. My heart felt like it stopped. I know I held my breath when I saw the envelope I had just stuffed in my bag only moments ago stuck out of the top of my overturned purse.

  We both moved at the same time and when he reached out to shove me away, I fell into the nightstand. My shoulder took the majority of the impact and for a moment I was sure it had to be broken. The pain was excruciating.

  “You’ve been hiding it.” I looked up, seeing Carl thumb through the money in the envelope with his eyes lit up in excitement. “There has to be close to eight hundred dollars here.”

  “It’s mine,” I stated as I climbed off the floor. I knew squaring off with him would most definitely end worse than it had with my mother, but he was holding my freedom in his hands and I wanted it back.

  I lunged, then everything shifted.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Elijah

  “Tell me where she lives.” I braced my hands on the countertop, staring across at Pete. I should feel bad about how intimidated he looked but at this point the only thing I was focused on was Cat. “Either you tell me, or I’ll look myself.”

  “It’s confidential.”

  “I don’t give a shit.”

  Two seconds from doing just as I told him I would the door behind me came open and I heard Marcus behind me. “Red?”

  “Tell me how to get to Cat’s.”

  He looks at me, torn with what to do. “What’s going on?”

  The last thing I wanted to be doing was standing here rehashing my conversation with her. I wanted to go to her.

  “I was talking to Cat and some guy was yelling in the background. A loud bang echoed through the phone just before she told me she’d call me back.” I watched as Marcus’ expression went from one of questioning to one of concern. “Something’s not right, I can feel it.”

  He nodded, saying nothing.

  “You know something, don’t you?”

  He didn’t answer, just turned around and walked out of the room. I didn’t let him get more than five feet before I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. By this point we’d gained the interest of the guys and even Morgan as they all moved in closer.

  “Tell me.” I was barely hanging onto my anger that I knew was from worry.

  “I’ll take you.”

  I didn’t fucking want him to take me, I wanted to go to her, and I wanted to do it alone. I also knew if I had any hope of finding out how to get there I would have to concede to his offer.

  With a nod he began moving toward the door again and I started to follow.

  “Red.” I looked back and saw Clayton step forward. “You need me to come along?”

  “No, I got this.”

  Once I was inside Marcus’ car and buckled in I reached out and turned the radio down, looking over at him. “I know you know something. I can see it in your eyes. So just tell me, what am I gonna find when we get there?”

  “I don’t know.” I tried not to get pissed that he was holding back. “I know you think I’m lying but I really don’t know. I just know her home life is really fucked up. I’ve questioned her about a few things but I truly don’t know because she is so secretive when it comes down to talking about it.”

  The remainder of the ride was spent in silence; even the radio was still off.

  When Marcus turned into the driveway of a rundown house with a board over a space I assumed was once a window my heart felt as if it slammed forward. The front porch had fallen apart, the remnants still littering the area. In its place was what looked like a Rubbermaid step stool, much like the one my aunt used to get into the upper cabinets of her pantry. Boards lay against the porch, an old iron railing hanging off the side.

  “She hates anyone seeing this.”

  I said nothing because I felt like I couldn’t fucking speak. I only nodded.

  Hanging my head, I ran my hand over my face a few times as if that would somehow wipe away the disgust I felt. Not for where she’d come from but for making her feel as if she couldn’t share this part of her life with me. Like somehow I’d managed to make her feel as if this would change how I feel about her.

  “She gonna be pissed I’m here,” I finally said.

  “She’ll be pissed I brought you here, but if it means making sure she’s all right then I’ll deal with the backlash.” Marcus opened his door and climbed out. I did the same and just as I was about to shut the door I heard someone scream.

  It all unfolded quickly. Marcus looked at me, I looked at him, and almost simultaneously we both took off sprinting toward the house.

  I thought about knocking, then I heard someone scream again and reached for the handle to find the door was ajar.

  “No,” a woman cried, “that’s mine.”

  The inside wasn’t much better than the outside. Garbage littered the area and dishes were scattered throughout. I had to step over a few things just inside the door to keep from falling flat on my face.

  The roaring sound of a man yelling angrily spilled from the end of the hall. At that point I wasn’t even sure where Marcus was but the moment I heard Catherine’s voice something snapped inside me.

  “Please stop, you’re hurting me.”

  The urge to protect, the desire to save took over.

  I stepped into the room where the commotion was taking place and saw fucking red. A man, large but not quite as big as me, had Catherine by the neck, pinning her to the far wall. Her arms were flying out as she tried to break free.

  There were tears pooling in her eyes and they locked on me, her lowering lip trembling.

  The moment the man noticed me standing in the doorway he released his hold on her. She sagged back just before moving to the side. I was thankful she chose that option because I couldn’t keep myself from reacting. I charged, and when my body collided with his he slammed into the wall and I heard the sheetrock crack.

  I could hear the sounds of screaming, but in all honesty none of it phased me. My temper ignited and the only thing I kept picturing was that sorry sack of shit holding my girl pinned to the fucking wall.

  The sound of my fists colliding with his face was satisfying. It was like I’d become someone I didn’t know, someone I couldn’t control.

  Fisting the man’s shirt in my hands, I lifted his almost lifeless body from beneath me. A deep groan of pain escaped him and I fucking laughed at the sound. He’d hurt Cat, now I’d hurt him.

  “You’re a tough man, right?” I shook him again, finding satisfaction in knowing what the movement did to him.

  “Elijah, please.” I looked behind me to see Cat hovered near the door, Marcus standing next to her. His arms were wrapped over her shoulders and for the first time I really saw her.

  Her lip was split, her left eye was swollen, and the red marks around her neck were almost like bruises. The sight managed to ignite my anger all over again and I heard a growl escape me. “Get her out of here.”

  Marcus jumped at the sound of my voice before practically dragging her from the room.

  Maybe it was wrong of me, but I swear I couldn’t control it. I was crazed.

  Spinning around, I charged the woman I assumed was Cat’s mother. She stood with her back to the closet, staring ahead with her mouth hanging open, maybe in shock. I only stopped when we were practically nose to nose. “What kind of mother allows this to happen? Allows a sorry ass piece of shit like that to hurt her daughter?”

  “You don’t know anything.”

  “I know that you managed to make your daughter feel shameful of the life she lives, and that lies on you. Your job as a mother is to fucking protect her, not hurt her. You failed.”

  She squared her shoulders and for a flicker of a moment I saw Catherine within her. They shared the same color of eyes, but then I realized that was all they shared. My Cat would and could never be this heartless.

  “She asked for it, it was her fault.”

  This woman managed to take all the anger I had felt for years, all the built-up frustrations I had for the things my own mother chose, and spun them around on herself. I fucking snapped, even further than I had before.

  “You were fucking given the gift of motherhood, a gift you didn’t deserve. How could you be such a heartless bitch? How can you be so selfish? You deserve to be alone, you deserve to suffer.” Spittle flew from my mouth and in that moment I scared myself.

  With one swing I put my fist through the closet door without a second thought, then someone gripped my shoulder from behind. I turned around in a hurry, fully intending to defend myself only to pause when I found Clayton and Xavier only a few feet behind the man who now lay crumbled on the floor.

  My chest heaved as I fought against the rage inside of me. It was crippling, my chest tight with anxiety.

  “Breathe, brother.” I wanted to tell him to fuck off, only I couldn’t. “It’s over.” I shook my head and he repeated himself. “It’s over.”

  “All he wanted was for her to pay him the money she owed.”

  I looked back at Cat’s mom and felt my anger threaten to take over once again.

  “She always gives him her check only this week she didn’t. Then he found money she’d been stealing from him.”

  “Stealing her own fucking money?” I laughed at the audacity of this woman. “You were the ones stealing.”

  “Is this the money?” I saw Xavier bend down next to the man who was still moaning and pick up an envelope as he peeked inside.

  “That is ours.” I fought the urge to shut her up. I’d never hit a woman and I never would but taping her mouth shut was beginning to appeal to me.

  “No, you’re wrong, it’s hers.” I reached out to take the envelope from X and tucked it under the band of my jeans. Glaring at her mother, I dared her to protest.

  I knew Cat’s life wasn’t sunshine and roses, but never had I ever imagined she lived like this.

  ***

  “I think you need to talk to her.” I stood outside the frat house, forming one fist after another before slowly releasing them. I’d tried to calm down, but the more I tried the angrier I got.

  There were so many emotions running through me all at once.

  Anger for what she’d gone through and also for not being able to protect her. I knew she hid it from me but I should have known. How could I miss the signs? Marcus saw them, and I was with her more often than he was.

  “She’s upset and I just think—”

  I interrupted Clayton. “If I go in there now, I’m gonna say shit from the wrong place.” I could tell he was confused. “I’m fucking angry,” I shouted, “pissed that she kept this from me.”

  “She needs to hear from you. Fuck man, the last thing she saw was you pulverizing her step dad.”

  “Bastard deserved every hit.”

  “I’m not denying it.” I could tell he was treading lightly but at this point I couldn’t trust myself in anyone’s presence. “But seeing you would be enough to soothe her.”

  I got what he was saying, damn I wanted to see her too, but now? I wasn’t sure if I could.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Catherine

  I sat in the window sill of Eli’s room staring down at the yard beneath. Tears stained my cheeks as I remembered what had taken place. Every little word spoken and every little action taken since the moment I left this very room this morning.

  Had I stayed, things might have been different.

  I knew I was lying to myself, because the only difference would have been it taking place on a different day. I couldn’t have stopped it, but I could have been honest with those around me, those friends I’d made. I could have been honest with Eli.

  “Why wouldn’t you tell me this shit was going on?” I spun around to see Elijah standing in his open doorway, like he was worried about entering. “Not just that, but when I fucking asked you what was going on you lied. You said nothing.”

  I was stunned with how angry he seemed. No, I take that back; I knew he was angry. I was surprised he was so very angry at me.

  “I couldn’t say anything.”

  “You could, you just chose not to.” I could sense how he was fighting to control himself.

  He spun around, gripping the back of his neck, and I gave him a moment. I could sense he needed it to regroup. When he spun around again he looked less irritated than a few minutes before. He looked torn and confused, almost like he wasn’t sure what to do next.

  “Did he touch you?” I knew he meant more than just the violence he had witnessed and my throat felt tight as I imagined the things that must have been running through his mind.

  “No,” I said quickly. “It was never like that.”

  “Ever?”

  “No. He was angry often but it never became more than words. Not with him, but there was one time before when—”

  He didn’t let me finish before taking a step further into the room. “What time before?”

  I thought of talking my way out of this, making it out to be nothing. But then I thought of the fact that me hiding things from those who cared was what got me into this predicament in the first place. “The mark on my cheek.”

  “You mean the one you said was from a door?”

  I nodded.

  His anger only seemed to grow.

  Taking a step forward, I reached out for him and he quickly moved back out of my reach. I’d felt heartache before, that crippling moment when you feel as if everything was falling apart. Like each breath you took in burned. But watching a man who had been so physical with me pull away to keep me from touching him was devastating. I felt like my heart was literally split in half inside my chest.

  One deep breath after another, he looked toward the floor, placing his hands on his sides. I watched as his shoulders tensed, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

  I was just about to give it another attempt when he turned and left the room, leaving me standing there without a word. I stared at the open space thinking he would reappear, only he didn’t, and with each passing moment I could feel myself fall apart even more.

  I slowly moved toward his bed and crawled atop the comforter, grabbing his pillow and pulling it in close to my nose, breathing him in. The wetness of my tears soaking into the fabric of his pillowcase felt cool against my cheek.