Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SASHA

2 WEEKS LATER

Today is the first day that I've felt brave enough to walk by myself to school, and when I arrived safe and sound, a large portion of my anxiety faded away. If Lux was actually going to hunt me down, he would have done it by now, right?

Since there were two soccer games this week, finding a time to fit Carter into my schedule was a little harder than usual, but we're both free today, and we made a plan to meet up after classes.

"Ready to show me your Fouetté?" I ask Carter when he gets to the room we're using for the next hour.

He groans, and I can't help but smile. "Do I really have to?" he asks, and I nod.

"Absolutely, and we are going to keep practicing it this entire hour until you get it right."

"You're a sadist, aren't you?" he questions with a fake glare.

I shrug. "Maybe."

He sighs, and I laugh before pressing play on my phone, filling the room with music that's set up to play through my Bluetooth speaker.

By the time we're done with our lesson, we are both sweaty messes because, of course, I allowed him to coax me into dancing a few songs with him like I do every time we get together.

"Now I'm tired and sore," I murmur as we walk down the hall.

"Welcome to my world," Carter retorts.

"Yes, but you pay me to teach you how to dance. Teach being the keyword. I shouldn't have to dance that hard too."

"I didn't tell you to go as hard as you did. That's all on you," he replies with a smirk, and I roll my eyes.

When we get to my exit, I tell him goodnight, and I start my journey home. The air has a chill to it, which is to be expected since it's already November, but it's not unbearable. Although it does make me miss the warmer weather I grew up with, a gust of wind rushes past me, sending a shiver down my spine, making me zip my coat up all the way and pull the collar up to protect my neck. Stupid Michigan weather.

As I walk, I keep my senses on high alert, paying attention to my surroundings. Even though I am feeling braver, that small underlying anxiety is still there and won't let me relax.

The streets are quiet tonight, like they usually are, since we don't live on a main street, and I've barely seen any cars or people walking about. That should put my mind at ease, but it does the exact opposite for some reason.

I'm only about a block away from my house when my phone vibrates in my pocket, pulling my attention away from my anxiety. When I pull it out, a sense of calm and peace rushes over me, and a giant smile spreads across my face as I see Rio's name on the screen.

Rio: Are you home yet? I'm on my way to your place now.

Me: Almost! I'm about a block away.

Rio: Taking the same path as always?

Me: You know it!

Rio: Perfect. We'll probably arrive at the same time then.

Me: Sounds good to me. Carter convinced me to show him a routine I haven't done in YEARS. Think you can give me a massage and work out some of these knots.

Rio: An excuse to get my hands all over your body? Yes, please!

I smile even wider, and a warm sash wraps around my heart squeezing it gently as butterflies dance in my stomach. Rio is the best man I've ever met, and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with him. That has to be what this feeling is.

"Hello, Nathaniel," an all too familiar voice says, causing the smile to slip from my face and my entire body to freeze.

It's like my veins are filled with ice water. My brain is screaming for me to run but I physically can't move.

"You shouldn't be here," I whisper to Lux. He finally comes into my path of vision, holding a gun with a shaky hand, which causes my stomach to drop and my breath to catch. How the hell did he get a gun, and is he unhinged enough to use it?

He looks like shit. Nothing like the man he was when we were together. But it has been seven years, and I know I've changed too.

His clothes are wrinkled like he's been sleeping in the same outfit for a couple of days. His hair is on the longer side and a complete mess. His skin, which used to have a warm sun-kissed glow, is now almost grey. And even though he was always on the slimmer side, he now looks frail, like he could break in half at any moment. The years have not been good to him, and that has me even more terrified.

"You're wrong about that," he says with a venomous tone. "I'm exactly where I should be. I made a promise to you years ago, and I'm here to follow through on it."

I take a shaky breath and a few tears trickle down my face.

"You don't have to do that," I say with a soft soothing voice I used to use when we fought.

Lux cackles at my words and shakes his. "Again, you're wrong." He sneers, taking a step toward me, causing me to shake. "You ruined my fucking life. I have nothing thanks to you. You took away my money, my job, and all the joy I had in life. And here you are, living a happy little life with your soccer boyfriend. You don't deserve to be happy. You don't deserve to live. You knew what would happen if you left me. It might have taken me seven years to find you, but I'm here now, and I'm going to make good on that promise I made when we were together."

He moves his finger to the trigger, and I close my eyes, thinking about Rio and everything that Lux could take away from me right now if he so chose to.

"Looks like somethings never change," Lux says as tears stream down my face. "Here, I thought that you might have actually gained a backbone over the years. I was expecting a fight, but I should have known you'd still be the spineless pussy you always were."

You can't give up. A voice in my head tells me. You aren't alone anymore. You have so much to live for. This isn't how you go. You need to fight. You never fought back before because you believed you deserved what he was doing to you. He was also bigger and stronger than you, but he isn't anymore. And you know your worth. You have people who love you. Fight for them. DON'T GIVE UP!

I open my eyes and glare at Lux. I took everything he did to me and never once stood up for myself. If I'm going to die today, then I'm not going down without a fight.

"Oh, there is some fire in you," he says with a sinister grin.

"The reason your life is pathetic is because of you," I spit the words out at him. My voice is loud and a lot steadier than I thought it would be. "You got what you deserved, and so did I. The life I have now is one I should have always had. You preyed on a young, troubled boy. You exploited my weaknesses and broke me even more than I already was. You turned me into your little puppet. But I'm not a little boy anymore, and I will not let you win this time."

I bare my teeth at him, and I'm pretty sure I surprise both of us when I charge toward him. Even though I was tired from my dance lesson with Carter, the adrenaline that shoots through my veins gives me a speed I didn't even know I had. With a grunt, I slam into his torso, throwing him to the ground and smiling as he loses his grip on the gun. I've never been a fighter, but it's like natural instincts take over, and I start landing blow after blow to his face.

A car screeches to a stop on the street beside us, but I barely pay it any attention, refusing to stop. Because if I do, that will give Lux the chance to grab his gun again, and then I really might lose this fight.

"Sasha!" Rio shouts, sounding beyond panicked, but I still don't stop.

My fists sting as I drive them into Lux's face over and over again, and I don't even think I realize that he's not moving until Rio is shaking my shoulder.

"Stop," he tells me in a firm but soft voice.

I shake my head with tears streaming down my face. "He has a gun. If I stop, he'll kill me."

"He's out cold, baby. He won't hurt you," he tells me, and I finally stop my punches but don't move off Lux just yet.

Rio moves toward the gun and kicks it out into the street so that even if Lux woke up, he wouldn't be able to reach it. When he returns to my side, he wraps his arms around me and slowly lifts me up. I immediately turn in his hold and bury my face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

A siren blares in the night air, and I jump at the sound.

"You called the cops?" I ask him, but he shakes his head.

"Hands in the air," the cop yells, and Rio lets me go so we can obey the orders.

"That boy there is the victim," an older lady says, running out of her home in a house coat and curlers. "I'm the one who called you. I was about to shut my curtains when I saw that man." She points towards Lux's lifeless body. "Pull a gun on this sweet boy. I witnessed the entire thing."

An ambulance pulls up at that moment and the paramedics rush to Lux's aid.

"Okay, I'm going to need all of your statements," the police officer tells us, and I nod.

"I can go first," the woman offers. "Give that poor boy a moment to collect his thoughts."

I mouth thank you at her, and when Rio once again wraps his arms around me, I melt into his embrace.

"Let's sit," he suggests, guiding me to the curb.

"I thought I was going to die," I tell him, watching the paramedics load Lux into the ambulance and drive off. My body is shaking violently as the adrenaline starts to wear off, and my stomach rolls, threatening to empty its contents.

"But you didn't," Rio reminds me. "You fought, and you won. I'm so fucking proud of you, baby."

"I never fought back before," I tell him. "He used to be so much stronger than me, but he wasn't this time. I was ready to give up, but there was this voice in my head that begged me not to. It reminded me that I'm no longer the weak boy I once was." I pause and stare at the night sky for a moment. "I think it was my mom."

"I've heard stories of people swearing their loved ones talked to them from beyond the grave in times of need, so I believe you."

There he goes being the perfect man again.

"I love you," I tell him, knowing that now is the perfect time to get those words off my chest.

He beams at me, then presses his lips to mine. "I love you too, baby… so fucking much."

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him like my life depends on it. I could have died tonight, but I didn't, and now I get to live out the happily ever after I wasn't sure I deserved.

The clearing of a throat causes us to pull away and look up at the police officer. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to take your statements now."

I nod and grab Rio's hand. "Is it okay if we stay together while giving our statements?" I request.

"I don't see why not," the officer says as we stand up.

I thank him and take a deep breath before telling the entire story. By the time I'm done, the adrenaline has almost completely left my body, and I'm exhausted.

"I didn't see much," Rio admits when it's his turn to give his statement. "When I arrived, Sasha was on top of Lux, punching him. I got him to stop, then kicked the gun away just in case Lux woke up."

The cop nods while making notes.

"I'm going to head to the hospital now and see how Mr. Vanderbilt is doing and get his statement if possible. I'll be in touch with you tomorrow to see how we are going to progress," he tells us once he's done writing everything down.

"Am I going to be in trouble?" I ask a new fear causing me to shake.

The officer shakes his head. "I highly doubt that, son. With the statements I received today, it's evident you were acting in self-defense. The man had a gun, and had you not acted, you very well could have ended up dead tonight. But I'll have more information for you in the morning."

"Thank you," I reply, then turn toward the old lady's house and walk up the path to her door. She answers quickly after I knock and smiles at me in that sweet grandma way. "Thank you for calling the police and for being a witness for me," I tell her.

She waves her hand at me. "I'm just glad I was at the right place at the right time. I was in an abusive relationship once, so I know how hard it is to get out. When I saw the gun, I opened my window, so I heard everything both of you said. That man is foul, and I hope he dies," she says firmly, catching me off guard. You don't expect old ladies to say things like that. "But you're not like him. I've lived in this house for fifty years, and I've seen you walk by countless times. I've seen you help children who have fallen off their bikes or kicked a ball into the street and you retrieve it for them without them asking. I saw you help my neighbor with her garden last year, and you mowed Mr. Hunter's lawn every week this summer while he was recovering from hip surgery. You are a good man, and I'm so glad you stood your ground."

Her words have me tearing up again, and I rush forward to wrap my arms around her. "Thank you," I whisper into her ear.

She rubs my back and shushes me. "No thanks is needed. It's what neighbors do for each other."

"Well, I appreciate it more than you'll ever know," I tell her.

"Have a good night, boys. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

We agree and wave at her as we leave.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," Rio says, helping me into his car.

I smile at him and nod. I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass out the second my head hits the pillow. Which is fine by me, I'm ready to put this day behind me.

When we get to my house, we strip out of our clothing and climb into my bed. As predicted, I'm asleep almost instantly, in the arms of the man who loves me.