15. 15

15

Ember

I hadn’t expected him to be so angry, and that was me being a ditzy entitled kid, right? Why wouldn’t he be? He’d lost his job over me? He couldn’t afford his home now?

I should be ashamed of myself, and I was. I was definitely ashamed, but I also couldn’t leave him right now. He was injured, hurting, and he needed help. My help.

“Ethan,” I said, making him jump and spin around on the spot, blood and water splattering his kitchen counter.

“Perfect. So you ruin my life, and now you ruin my kitchen. What’s next, Em? Do you just want to stick a knife in me and be done with it? There’s nothing left to take. Do you get it? NOTHING. I have fucking NOTHING NOW!” He roared those last few words, lunging at me across the kitchen, slamming me back against the wall as he towered over me.

It should have terrified me, but it didn’t. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was magnificent. He was magnificent. He was so hot, so strong, and attractive. He hadn’t been shaving recently, and there was a short stubble of beard on his face, darkening his chin and cheeks. His eyes were glaring down at me, but all I saw was the man I wanted. The only man who could touch me.

I wanted him to kiss me, even if he was rough, even if he hurt me or scared me. I just wanted it so much. He was still gripping my upper arms, and I could feel dampness seeping into the white fabric of my sleeve from his injured hand; water or blood soaking in, as he held onto me.

“Why are you here, Ember? I have nothing left to give, or to lose.” He closed his eyes, and I felt the fight drain from him. “Nothing. All I wanted was to teach, to shape young people’s lives. To make a difference.”

I pressed my palms against his chest, feeling the heat of his body through his t-shirt, and finding that it was more arousing than I’d imagined. I wanted to see him without the t-shirt. To touch him, touch his bare skin. His eyes had popped open at my touch, and his gaze dropped to my lips. Kiss me. Please kiss me.

I was moving up as his head lowered, and suddenly our lips were crashing together in my first real kiss, an aggressive battle of lips and tongues. He threaded his fingers into my hair, fisting it as he angled my face and kissed me harder, trapping me tighter against the wall with his body. Yes. Please yes, keep kissing me. Take me. Take me? Yeah, fucking take me. I wanted everything with him.

“What the fuck am I doing?” He gasped, shoving away from me, and leaving me bereft without his touch, without his kiss. My lips felt almost bruised from the brutality of his mouth, but it was all I was getting from him. I could see it in the suddenly closed-off expression on his face. He backed up further, and jerked his head toward the living room.

“Out. I need you out of my house right now, Ember. This isn’t right, and… and it won’t happen again. Leave. Get out of my life. Never return, do you hear me? Never.”

“But-”

“But nothing. Do you know what’d happen if you get seen here? Do you know what your dads will do to me if they catch me with you in my house? How’d you get here? Could you have been followed or tracked?” Oh god. Was there a tracker on mum’s car? Were they already aware of where I was?

“I… please, Ethan, let’s just talk about this,” I protested, even as he grabbed my arm and started hauling me to the front door. He grabbed my coat with his other hand, and shoved it at me, until I hugged it in front of me.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Don’t come back here, Ember. I won’t be here soon anyway, you made sure of that. You destroyed my life, and I want nothing to do with you. Do you get that? Nothing.”

His words were like fists, only worse than that, like fists of burning fire, searing their way through my skin, and into my chest.

“Please,” I begged, trying to block him from pulling the front door open. I needed him to give me a chance. Just one.

He managed to open the door, and unceremoniously deposited me on his doorstep.

“Don’t come back, Ember. There’s nothing for you here.” The door slammed soundly in my face, drowning out the sound of my first sob. He’d rejected me! He’d thrown me out of his house, and he was telling me to never return. How could he do that to me? We were meant for each other, and now there was nothing left to lose! If there was nothing left to lose, why couldn’t we be together?

Tears blurred the path as I stumbled down it, away from his door, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with myself now.

I heard the words ‘oh shit’ from a woman, and that’s when I realised it was his neighbour. She was just getting out of her car, and caught sight of me. I rubbed the tears away from my eyes, as she darted for her front door and hurriedly unlocked it, trying to get inside and away from me as fast as she could.

Suddenly I wondered if she’d done as I’d demanded and stayed away from him. What if he was rejecting me purely because he was already getting what he needed from her? Was this whore taking advantage of him when I’d expressly warned her away?

I ran up her path, catching the door just as it was closing, throwing my whole body weight against it. It crashed open, knocking her onto her carpeted hallway on her ass. With a grim smile, I kicked the door closed behind me, and turned to put the chain across.

“Hi, Suzy the slut. Anything you want to tell me?” She scooted backwards on her ass, as she started begging me to leave, but I was done with people ordering me out of their houses, and left with a ton of anger to let out. Lucky Suzy. She was about to be my outlet for it.

Ethan

I’M ASHAMED TO SAY that I broke down after I kicked her out. I dropped down on my ass with my back to the door and, for the first time since everything had happened, I just fucking cried. I had no idea what to do to get my life back on track, and making Ember leave felt so wrong, even though letting her stay another minute would have been just as wrong, maybe even more so.

At eighteen, she’d been through more than most people her age, and that left her vulnerable, impressionable. She was fragile, and needed to be protected, and anything I wanted to do would have been an abuse of my age and power, not that I really had any anymore. That kiss though? As wrong as it was, it felt so fucking right. If only things had been different, if only she’d been anyone else, or I had been.

If only-

A scream distracted me from my maudlin thoughts and I lifted my head, rubbing a forearm over my eyes, as I practically strained my ears to listen out. Was Ember in trouble? Had I thrown her out into the night for her to be attacked, or hurt by someone?

No. The scream came from next door, from Suzy’s house, and I knew that because it just happened again. Suzy was in trouble, and even though my life was pretty much over, I’d never forgive myself if she needed me and I dithered like an idiot over what to do. I threw the door open and slammed it as I ran down my path, hopping over her short fence a few feet down from her door, and started slamming my fist against it, calling out her name.

It had fallen silent inside the house, which could be a good thing, or could be a really bad thing. Her door was closed and locked, and short of vandalising it, I wasn’t getting in. The curtains were closed and lights were on inside, but nobody was answering the door.

Finally I smashed the glass pane and reached in, fumbling for the lock, and twisting it to open the door, which crashed against the chain a moment later. Fuck! I took a risk and threw my weight against the door, tearing the chain from its housing, and slamming the door wide open. There was nobody in the small hallway, but the living room door was closed, and something thudded behind it.

I threw the door open, preparing myself for either a mouthful from her if I’d got this all wrong, or a face-off with some guy I could hopefully overpower to protect her. I didn’t expect what I saw, and I was struck dumb for a moment as I took in the scene.

Suzy was on the floor, clutching her face, and with blood pouring from a cut on her head. Standing over her like a vengeful goddess was Ember . Ember, of all people, and she wasn’t backing down now that I was here.

“Come to protect your little slut, have you, Ethan?” What the fuck? I stepped into the room and moved around the prone woman on the floor, keeping my eyes on Ember.

“Em, what’s going on here?” She scoffed at me, aiming a sharp kick in Suzy’s direction, making me wince as Suzy let out a squeal of pain.

“Jesus, Em, stop that, what’s going on?”

Ember lifted a small knife she’d concealed by her side when I entered, and pointed at me with it.

“Your little whore didn’t do what I told her, so she’s paying the price.”

What the hell was she talking about? I reached for Ember, and backed up when she hissed and jabbed the knife at my hand.

“Ember, please.” She scowled at my use of her full name, but I was losing my mind here. What was going on? How did they even know each other?

“What, Ethan? You came over here to fuck her, after you were kissing the hell out of me? You think you can have both of us? You men are all the same, aren’t you? It’s all about taking what you want. It’s all about using women to satisfy your own selfish needs!” Suzy was staying quiet, and watching us with wide, horrified eyes. Suddenly I was starting to realise why she’d been avoiding me.

“Wait… have you made threats against Suzy before, Ember? Is that what’s going on here? You need to explain this to me, please.”

Ember glared in my direction, her usually white painted face streaked with lines of her natural skin tone, because of tears she’d cried after I rejected her. I sent her away heartbroken, and now another woman was paying the price.

“She was making moves on you, but you’re mine, Ethan. All she had to do was stay away from you!”

Fuck me. She was more obsessed than I’d even realised. It was one thing to message me, draw suggestive drawings, and flirt, but she’d assaulted my neighbour too? I had to do something to end this, but I had no idea what.

“Em, please, look at me. Suzy is just my neighbour and nothing more-”

“You were kissing that night!”

I held up my hands again. “That was a mistake, but since then, there’s only been you. Em, Suzy has been avoiding me for weeks, so if that’s what you told her to do, she’s been doing it. I swear. Come home with me, and leave Suzy in peace, please.” Come home with me? What the fuck was I doing? Wait, was that the answer to get her away from her?

Braving the knife, I grabbed Ember and dragged her to me, slamming my lips against hers, and feeling some of her fight dissipate, as she started to kiss me back. I devoured her, putting every ounce of myself into this kiss, while my hand started to feel around for the knife. Just as I locked my fingers around it, she hissed at me, and pulled back, slicing my fingers with the blade as she retreated.

“You’re playing me. This isn’t real! You’re playing me, for her!” She spun to face Suzy, but I caught the savage look on her face as she turned, and I realised I had to act fast, or she could do something she couldn’t take back.

In a panic, I looped my arm around her throat and pulled her back against me, and as she started to fight back, I just held on tight, praying she’d pass out before I did her any real harm. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I had to save her from doing something she’d regret forever. She finally sagged in my arms and nearly pulled me over, the knife dropping onto the carpet with a soft thud.

Suzy stared up at me in horror, scooting back from me as if I was the monster here, when all I’d done was take action to save her. Lifting Ember up onto my shoulder, I backed toward Suzy’s living room door.

“I’m so sorry about this. She’s… she’s had a rough time, but you won’t see her again. Or me, I guess. Get some ice on that,” I nodded at her head, and turned to leave, wondering where the fuck I was supposed to go from here.