Holding Out for You

by Anna Paige

He turned the gun on me, no longer holding it idle at his side. “Go ahead. See if any of your friends are faster than a bullet.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He continued trying to pull off my shirt. “Because little bitches like you make me sick. Too good to give a busboy a chance. Stuck-up bunch of cunts running around campus with your six-dollar lattes and your designer clothes, walking all over anyone who doesn’t come from money.”

  I didn’t have a chance to tell him my parents weren’t rich or that I had no designer clothes unless they were purchased at second-hand stores. I didn’t even drink lattes, which was why Charli was the one going to the coffee shop all the time and not me.

  I doubted he would have listened anyway.

  All I could do was try to keep him from getting my clothes off and pray the cops were on their way.

  Unfortunately, he was a lot stronger than me, and before I could fight him off, he’d torn my shirt straight up the center and yanked it off, throwing it in the sand next to Ash’s hoodie.

  As I stood there, shivering, crying, and on the verge of screaming anyway, since being shot now would be much preferable to being shot after he did whatever he planned to do to me, his hand shot up and he grabbed a huge fistful of my hair.

  “Am I gonna have to shred those jeans too or will you take them off like a good little slut?”

  “Please, Tommy, don’t do this,” I pleaded.

  In response, he drew back and hit me in the face with the side of the pistol.

  I saw a flash of blinding white light, which was followed by a gush of blood from my nose. It ran down the back of my throat as well, making me gag.

  “You ain’t gagged on shit yet. Wait until I feed you this cock.”

  I could barely see, my eyes full of tears from being hit—on top of the tears that had already been flowing—but I saw the hate and hunger in his eyes.

  He began dragging me by the hair, headed for the dunes.

  Just before we reached them, I heard something that made my heart seize in my chest.

  “Blair? Blair, where are you?”

  It was Ash.

  “Blair-bear, answer us!”

  Fuck, and Becker.

  And their voices were full of panic.

  Tommy hurried to get us out of sight, dragging me quickly into the dunes and throwing me to the ground, his weight falling on top of me so hard my breath was crushed out of my lungs. His forehead smacked against my cheekbone in the process, triggering another flash of light behind my eyes. The gun was inches from my face.

  “I’ll kill them both, I swear to fuck.”

  I didn’t make a sound.

  While they called out on the beach, Tommy lay on top of me, the gun in one hand and the other roughly fondling my breasts. “Maybe I should start fucking you now. It’s kind of hot thinking about them being right there on the other side of the dunes, calling to you while I’m back here reaming that pussy out. I wonder if you’ll moan for me the way you moaned for him in the car. I bet I can make you.”

  He started fumbling with my jeans with his free hand while he ran his tongue up the side of my neck, seeking my mouth with his. I tried to turn my head away, but he persisted until his stinking breath was in my face, his mouth smashing over mine as he tried to force his tongue inside.

  I gagged again and he returned his attention to my chest, this time skimming his tongue from my throat to the tops of my breasts.

  All I could focus on was their voices. As long as I could hear them out there on the beach, they were safe. I wouldn’t scream, no matter what. I wouldn’t let him hurt them.

  Tommy managed to get my jeans unbuttoned and unzip them, his hand working its way toward my panties as he leaned down and roughly bit my nipple through the lace of my bra.

  I gasped and stifled the urge to cry out.

  He bit down again, harder this time.

  It was like he was trying to make me scream, like he wanted them to find us so he could shoot them.

  No fucking way was that happening.

  I locked down my fear, shutting out the pain as he leaned over and bit the other breast. I refused to respond at all and focused solely on the sound of them calling my name. Becker’s voice seemed farther away than it had.

  Good.

  “Scream for them or moan for me. Either way, I’ll get off on it. Do it, you whore!” he hissed at me, biting me again.

  I didn’t make a sound.

  Just as I realized I hadn’t heard Ash call out in a while, Tommy’s gun hand was suddenly wrenched away, and the air was pierced with an inhuman guttural roar.

  Ash was on Tommy’s back, the added weight of them both crushing me to the point that I couldn’t stifle my scream of pain.

  Tommy was fighting to hold on to the gun even as Ash twisted his arm back at an unnatural angle. There was a sickening popping sound punctuated by Tommy’s screams and Ash throwing the gun aside, farther into the dunes.

  They rolled off of me in their struggle and I sat up, now unable to stop screaming as I watched Tommy start to crawl in the direction Ash had thrown the gun. Ash flipped him onto his back and punched him hard in the face. “You put your fucking hands on her, you sorry son of a bitch? You fucking touched her? Hit her? Tried to force yourself on her? I’ll break your goddamn neck! She’s mine, do you hear me? Mine!” He punched him again, and again, and again . . . he just kept going.

  Becker came running in, my torn shirt and Ash’s hoodie both clutched in his hand, and froze for a beat, taking in my near-naked torso and the blood on my face. Before I could call out to him, he shoved Ash off Tommy—not an easy feat—and began choking my would-be rapist, swearing the entire time.

  “You fucking piece of shit! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you! You’re dead!”

  I was able to get to my feet, my legs like rubber as I stumbled over to help Ash stop Becker. There were sirens in the distance and a commotion on the beach, but none of the voices were close.

  Yet.

  “Beck, please! Please stop! The police are here. Let them take him.” I was bawling and beating on his back. Blood from my nose dripped onto his shirt as I struggled to get him to listen.

  “Beck, let him go. He’s not getting away with this shit. I saw what he was . . .” His eyes grew hard and I thought for a second he was going to join in instead of helping me stop my brother from killing someone. “Blair needs you. Look at her.”

  Beck kept right on squeezing. Tommy was beyond blue and not fighting back. I was worried it was too late.

  Ash tried again. “Beck, look at your sister. Please. She needs you right now. She’s going to need you to help her with this. You can’t do that from a jail cell. Don’t leave her on her own.”

  That did the trick. Becker let go and spun, pulling me off his back and setting me in his lap.

  Tommy was unconscious, but Ash nodded when he checked the pulse in his neck. “He’s alive.” His eyes darted over to me. “Hang on, sweetheart.” He looked on the verge of tears—and murder—as he strode over to the heap of fabric Beck dropped when he went after Tommy.

  My ruined shirt and his hoodie.

  He used the torn shirt to wipe my face, watching for more blood to seep out before seeming satisfied that it had stopped. Then he offered the sweatshirt and practically had to peel Beck from around me to help me tug it on.

  He stood me up and tugged the hoodie over my head before crushing me to his chest. “You must be freezing.”

  My teeth were chattering and my whole body shook like a leaf in a windstorm, but we both knew it wasn’t from the chill in the air.

  “Someone needs to signal the cops where to go,” I muttered into his chest. “Before Tommy wakes up.”

  “If he wakes up, I’ll put him down. Permanently this time,” Beck bit out, standing and kicking a fine layer of sand over Tommy’s face.

  “Go show the police where to find him,” I told my brother, feeling guilty for not wanting to give up Ash’s embrace.


  “I . . .” he stammered, torn. “You sure? Ash can . . .”

  “You need to get away from here before you do something to land you in handcuffs.” I sounded a lot calmer than I felt. From the way Ash tightened his hold on my shivering body, I was sure he knew the truth of it.

  I needed Beck to go because I was about two seconds from losing my shit and I didn’t want him to see it. He’d end up finishing what he started.

  Becker rubbed my back for a moment, still hesitant to leave.

  Ash took one arm from around me and patted my brother’s shoulder. “Go on, man. I’ve got her. And you have my word that I won’t let go. Not for a second.”

  Beck nodded, looking thankful for the reassurance. He cast one last look at Tommy lying there between the dunes. “If he moves, stomp his fucking throat. I’ll be back in just a minute.”

  As soon as I was sure Beck was gone, I grabbed onto Ash hard enough to leave bruises on his back, buried my face in his chest, and let out a wail so long and deep that my whole body ached with the sorrow of it.

  Sometime while it was happening, my legs gave out, but Ash held me up, pressed me to him, and kissed the top of my head over and over.

  Just as he promised, he didn’t let go.

  Blair

  Three cops accompanied Beck when he returned, along with two EMTs one of which headed my way while the other went to assess Tommy. Two of the cops I recognized, the other cop and EMTs I didn’t know.

  “Please help my sister. She was bleeding when we found them,” Beck said before returning his attention to the officer next to him. It was Jake Warner, who we’d grown up with.

  “Let’s take a look at you, shall we?” the paramedic said as he walked over. When he attempted to reach for me, I jerked away and spun, putting Ash’s body between us as I fought the urge to run.

  What the hell is wrong with me? He’s here to help.

  The guy held up a gloved hand in surrender. “It’s okay, miss. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. Can you tell me where you’re hurt? There’s a lot of blood on that shirt in your hand, and there’s more on your boyfriend’s shirt where your face just was.” I didn’t correct him in his assumption, I was too busy making damn sure he didn’t touch me. “Is the blood from your mouth? Your nose maybe? There’s a big lump on your cheek and bruising under your eye.”

  “He hit me in the face,” I muttered, still tracking the paramedic’s every movement with my eyes as I pointed Tommy’s way. The idea of anyone else touching me made me want to crawl out of my skin.

  “He punched you?” the guy asked, looking down at a notepad in his hand.

  I shook my head and felt a stab of pain that ran up the entire left side of my face. It had been numb before, all of me had, but sensation was starting to return with a vengeance. “He used the gun. It was in his hand and he hit me with it.”

  Ash’s body tensed against me and for a moment I wasn’t sure if I was shaking or it was him. It was likely both. “Okay. It looks like the blood is from your nose, is that right?” I nodded faintly. “Do you think it’s broken?”

  “I don’t think so.” I scrunched up my face and hissed in pain. “It just hurts. My whole face does.”

  “What about the rest of you? Any other wounds or injuries?” I watched him as he glanced up at Ash. There was a sadness in his eyes as he added, “Was there assault of a sexual nature?”

  I didn’t mean to cry, had been rather proud of myself for not allowing the strangers to see me fall apart, but when he clarified, telling me the hospital could provide a rape kit if necessary, I couldn’t help myself. I shook my head, something I was incredibly fortunate to be able to do, refusing the test and telling him between sobs, “He tried. He . . . he . . .” I couldn’t breathe and my stomach roiled with the memory.

  I pulled away from Ash and rushed off into the dunes, as far from people as possible before emptying the contents of my stomach between racking sobs that only made me heave harder.

  “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Ash said, putting a tentative hand on my back as I continued to retch. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

  I nodded as best I could given the situation.

  Not only did his touch not frighten me, it was the only thing keeping me from breaking down completely.

  When I was done, when the beer and the blood had all been purged from my stomach, I straightened and almost smiled when Ash handed me my crumpled shirt to wipe my mouth. That thing had really been through the wringer tonight.

  I looked down at his hoodie and couldn’t believe it somehow managed to make it unscathed. Not a drop of blood, nothing. Just the scent of him and maybe a few dried tears.

  “You ready to head back?” His hand was on my lower back.

  “I’m not leaving here in an ambulance.” I stared up at him, my expression pleading for his understanding. “I’ll go to the hospital, if that’ll make everyone happy, but I’m not going in that thing.”

  “Sweetheart, no one here is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

  I shuddered again, leaning into his side and hating that I felt so fucking weak and helpless all of a sudden. I hated that I needed him to stay close to my side, holding me, to feel safe right now.

  “I know. I’ll get checked out. I’d just rather have you guys bring me. And Charli, she has to come with us.” My lip trembled when I thought of her, how upset and afraid she must be. “Where is she, anyway?”

  “Beck had Rafe and some of the other guys from the team keep her from following us down here. Last I saw, she was taking a swing at Rafe for holding her back. That girl has an impressive arsenal of swear words.”

  I managed a genuine smile, which made my face throb, but I couldn’t help it. “That’s my bestie.”

  When we got back, Tommy was awake but cuffed to a backboard. There was no getting a stretcher to roll on this sand, so they were improvising.

  Jake was standing over him, several items in his hands as he finished reading him his rights. Tommy was sullen, staring straight ahead as Jake spoke.

  Until he realized I was there.

  His eyes locked on mine, hard and angry as he smirked and spat in my direction. Becker lunged toward the backboard, but one of the other officers, Luther who we also knew from school, grabbed him before he could get too close.

  “Easy, Martell. Don’t let him goad you into catching a charge tonight.”

  The third cop, the only one I didn’t recognize, stepped over and spoke to me. “Miss Martell, we’re going to need to get a written statement from you. Now, it doesn’t have to be done tonight, but we’re going to need you to come in as soon as possible to take care of that, okay?”

  He was nice enough but detached, which I kind of understood. Unlike Jake and Luther, he didn’t know me or Beck or Ash. To him, we were just another Friday night call. “Also, I’m told that you’d prefer not to be touched by our EMTs. That’s fine and completely within your rights, but if you seek medical attention, please see that all injuries are photographed and that we are informed of any tests done that could provide forensic evidence, such as a rape kit.”

  “She wasn’t raped,” Ash told him unsteadily, stammering over the word and hugging me to his side.

  “What about saliva? Can you get evidence from that? Like on skin that was licked or bitten?” I asked. I felt Ash turn to look at me, but I stared at the officer instead.

  The policeman’s expression softened then, and I decided he wasn’t as jaded as I’d originally thought. “Yes, miss. If he kissed, licked, or bit you, it’s possible to collect DNA from the dried saliva. Same with scratches whether given or received, so go straight to the hospital. Don’t shower or wash your hands.”

  I nodded, offering a weak smile as thanks for his understanding.

  Becker came over then, pulling me from Ash’s arms and wrapping me in his own. “Blair-bear, I’m so fucking sorry. Are you sure you won’t let the paramedics check you out?”

  “She’s going to go
to the ER, but she wants us to take her,” Ash answered for me.

  “Us?” Beck asked, still practically crushing me in his grip. My chest was on fire, pain from the bite wounds, but I didn’t utter a word. I couldn’t explain that to my brother, I just couldn’t.

  “Yeah, us. You, me, and Charli.”

  I felt Beck nod against the top of my head. “From what Rafe has been texting me, she’s throwing a fucking fit. Jake went down to clear the beach and bring her back with him before she kicks the hell out of our entire defensive line.”

  “She’s going to be so mad at me,” I mumbled into his chest.

  “Why would she be mad at you?” Ash asked from behind me, his hand coming to rest on my lower back.

  I was able to pull away from Beck’s chest far enough to address them both. “I made her leave. I didn’t want to, but he showed me the gun, and I knew he’d shoot her if she got in the way, so I lied and told her it was fine.”

  “She knew it wasn’t fine, sweetheart. She knew why you had her leave. She came flying down that beach in a full-on panic, demanding that we go help you before . . .” Ash’s voice cracked then and he looked away, his jaw working.

  Beck cleared his throat, swallowing hard before saying, “I’ve never seen Ash take off so fast in my life, and trust me, I’ve witnessed some hasty departures from him over the years.” He was trying to joke, but his voice was strained.

  “Hey, that was one time and it wasn’t my fault. She wasn’t wearing her wedding ring. But would her old man listen? Hell no. It was all, ‘if I catch you, I’m gon’ kick your ass.’”

  “You outran him, though.” Beck snorted, nudging me and dropping his voice, “He didn’t even spill his beer on the way out. Tonight? He tossed a full one halfway across the beach.”

  I knew their little routine was to try and get a smile out of me. They needed me to smile, needed that assurance that I was still in here somewhere, so I gave it to them. “That’s alcohol abuse, you know?” I shook my head at Ash, forcing a wide, sassy grin.

  They both beamed back at me. Beck even chuckled a bit.