Lucas
Throughout the entire plane ride all I can do is think about how much I miss her and need her. If she can explain to me what really happened, and it’s truly all a misunderstanding, it would make me so happy. I need her in my life, but I need to know that what I saw the other night is a lie. The more I think about it the more my heart convinces me that Becca was telling the truth.
I pull up to her house in the rental car and barely have it in park before I get out. I bang on the door and relief floods my soul when it opens. Jen is standing in the doorway and confused look of confusion crosses her face. “Jen, I need to talk to her.”
“What…”
“No, listen, I know she probably told you that she doesn’t want to see me, but it’s important. She needs to know how I really feel and I need to hear her out.”
“Luke, I don’t…”
“Fine, if you won’t get her I’ll just yell it loud enough for her to hear. Becca, I still love you! Even after everything, I need you in my life! I’m so fucking sorry for the way that I let things happen that night; I should’ve given you the chance to explain what happened. Please, talk to me, because I need to hear you out. I can’t undo what I did that night and the fact that I sent you away, but I’m here now.”
I look back at Jen and now she looks pissed. “What do you mean you sent her away? What the hell is going on?!”
“Wait a second, Becca isn’t here?”
“No, and if you would’ve shut up for a minute I would’ve told you that! Why isn’t she with you?”
Shit. She hasn’t told Jen what happened between us? I checked with the airport and she had been on the flight, so I know she made it here. I pick up my phone and dial Becca’s number but it goes straight to voicemail.
“Luke, I swear to God, you need to tell me what’s going on right now.”
“It’s a long story, but to sum it up I broke up with her on Friday after I was given some shit that looked pretty bad. My sister convinced me last night that maybe it wasn’t what I thought and I should talk to Becca about it. I thought she lived here with you so I came here as soon as I landed.”
She reaches up and smacks me across the back of the head. “You broke up with her and then basically just said ‘screw you’ without ever letting her explain?!”
“Listen, I know I was wrong but can you just help me figure out where the hell she could be?” I need to see her. I can’t move on unless I know for a fact that I had been right about everything. I’m praying I was wrong, though.
“The only other place I can imagine she would be is at her mom’s. Although, I don’t know why the hell she would have gone there and not just come here.”
“Will you tell me how to get there?”
“Screw that. I’m coming, because if she doesn’t want to see you I will take pleasure in personally kicking your ass out.” She moves past me and heads straight for her car.
Rebecca
When I scream for help it only fuels his fire more. Wyatt seems to enjoy the fact that no one will help me; that I’m completely at his mercy. His breath smells of old malt liquor and cigarettes and I feel like I’ll be sick any moment. His fingers brush over me through my yoga pants and I try to lock my knees together.
His hands grip the V of my shirt and in one movement he rips it in half. He lifts himself up so that he can admire his handiwork and then lowers his mouth to my chest. I’m screaming and kicking uncontrollably but it seems like he doesn’t even notice. I can’t move him off of me and my mother is so out of it she probably doesn’t even notice me yelling.
I hear the front door open and close. Wyatt lifts his head off of me. “Who the fuck could that be?”
When I hear Jen’s voice calling my name I start to scream and yell. I tell her to leave and call the cops. The last thing I want is for her to come up here and have Wyatt hurt her, too. Realizing that he may be caught soon, he smacks me across my mouth to halt my screaming, and then he starts to reach for my pants, trying to pull them down.
I have a renewed sense of hope and start to yell and kick even more ferociously now. In less than a minute my door flies open and off of its hinges, landing on the floor. When I look up I see the last thing I thought I would ever see. Luke. He takes a second to survey the scene and then charges at Wyatt. He rips him off of me, throwing him to the ground and landing punch after punch.
Jen races in and when she sees me on the bed, with my shirt ripped in half, it doesn’t take her long to figure out what happened. She runs over to me and pulls me off the bed. “Shit, Becca, are you okay?”
I nod my head and she takes her phone out and dials 911. I hear grunts from behind me and turn back to where Luke is continuing his assault on Wyatt. I have to get him to stop or he’ll kill him. “Luke!”
He lifts his head to meet my eyes and I can see the anger and rage he has coursing through his body. He looks down at Wyatt who’s passed out and then back at me. He stands up and rushes over to me, pulling me into his arms and holding me tight. When he lets go of me he immediately strips off the t-shirt he’s been wearing and puts it on me.
Before I get the chance to even ask Luke what he’s doing here I hear the sirens from the cop cars. Luke walks me downstairs and I talk to the officers for almost an hour. They take Wyatt out of the house in handcuffs and on a stretcher. The officer lets me know that they will probably need to speak to me again, takes my information, and then tells me I’m free to go. After everything that’s happened, my mother has yet to move from her permanent position in her chair.
Luke grabs my hand and leads me out to his car while Jen follows us. Her car was here too, and she looks at me as if to ask if I want to go with her.
I look up at Luke, unsure of what to do. He came here for me and he saved me from something terrible. He hasn’t spoken a word to me yet, though, so I really have no idea why he’s here.
“I’ll have her call you in a little bit, Jen.” I gaze up at him, but he doesn’t meet my eyes.
Jen looks over at me and I give her a reassuring nod then climb into Luke’s car. Once we’re both in the car he calls the local hotel and has them get a room ready for him. It only takes us about five minutes to get there but it’s the longest five minutes of my life. He still hasn’t said a word to me; I peer over at him as we pull up to the valet. “Thank you.”
He glances at me, nods his head and then gets out of the car. What the hell did he bring me here for if he’s not even going to talk to me? He walks to the desk, gets the key, and leads me to the elevator. There’s another couple in there with us and I can tell they recognize Luke right away. I think they can tell by his demeanor that he doesn’t want to be approached right now. When we get to our floor I follow him to the room.
Once we’re both in the room he shuts the door, and for the first time he turns to me and looks me in the eye. He lifts his hand and slowly brushes it across my cheek. “Are you okay?”
I look at him and I’m not going to lie. “Not really.” My voice is so unsteady from trying to hold back the tears. He pulls me into his arms and I let go. His hold tightens on me as he picks me up, carries me to the bed, and sits down with me in his lap. He lets me cry until I have nothing left in me. I glance back up at him and see a flicker of the man that I love. I need to know why he’s here, because every part of me is hoping that he came back because he still loves me. “Why did you come back here, Luke?”
I lower my head, because if he didn’t actually come back here for me I’ll be crushed. I think about what my life has been like these past few days without him, and I know that I need him. When he’s around everything is different; I’m happier and I feel loved. He’s one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life. My stupidity cost me him once but I don’t think I can handle losing him again.
His hand cups my face, lifting it so I’ll meet his gaze. “I came back here for you, Becca. I never gave you the chance to explain; to tell me that what I saw wasn’t what I thought it was. I cannot t
ake you lying to me again, but I’m hoping to God that you’ll tell me that I was wrong.”
My breath catches in my chest. I know that I need to tell him everything, and if he can’t accept the explanation, there’s still a big chance that I’ll lose him. However, there’s still a chance I can keep him and I’m going to take full advantage of it. I tell him the entire story from the beginning, making sure not to leave anything out. He doesn’t react at all the entire time; he just listens. When I’m finished I look back up at him.
He lowers his head, resting his forehead against mine. “I want you to know how miserable I’ve been without you, Becca. I feel like a part of me is missing, and it’s tearing me apart. I love you so much, baby, and I should’ve given you the chance to talk to me that night. It took Lex waking my dumb ass up to realize that I fucked it all up.”
Before I can reply to him he slams his mouth into mine, letting me feel every emotion that he just expressed to me. I can’t believe that this is really happening. He’s here and he wants me back. I run my hands up and down his chest, trying to convince myself that he’s really here with me.
“I wasn’t sure that you were here because you wanted me back at first, Luke, and it scared me. I’ve missed you so much and I don’t know what I would have done if I would’ve had to say goodbye to you again.”
“What else would I have been here for, Becca?”
“I don’t know. You wouldn’t even look at me and it made me feel like maybe I had been wrong about why you’d come.”
He kisses me again, almost as if to try to reassure me without words. “When I walked into your room and saw that animal on top of you, Becca, I snapped. Then I had to stand there and listen to you tell the cops what happened and answer their questions. I was so mad at myself the entire ride over here because it’s my fault. If I hadn’t broken up with you the way that I did—if I had just listened to you—that asshole would’ve never been able to fucking touch you. I am so goddamn sorry.”
I adjust myself so I’m now face to face with him. “I don’t blame you for it, Luke.”
“I promise you that no one will ever touch you again. Not only that, but know that I will never let anyone manipulate me and come between us again. I love you, Rebecca Chase, and I am never letting you go again.”
Lucas and Becca’s story will be continued…
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all of my family and friends who have believed in me and supported me. Especially my husband who has been constantly encouraging me throughout this whole process. I couldn’t have done it without your love and support.
I would also like to say thank you to my friends who endured me constantly talking about this book and its characters as if they were real. You gave me advice and listened when I was frustrated and just needed to vent.
I would also like to thank the bloggers that read and gave me advice on the book. I really needed to hear what you said, even if I didn’t like it at times. I am not naïve and I know that I would not be able to do this without the support of all of the lovely ladies who do this everyday.
I would also like to thank my Street Team for all of their support. Thank you girls for taking the time to talk with me, give me advice, read different parts of the book I sent you, and definitely thank you for helping me get my name out there! I appreciate each and every one of you so much!
I also want to thank the readers. I love being able to interact with you and talk with you about the books. I never thought that I would be able to have one book published, much less three and I appreciate the support of every single one of you.
If you liked this book please consider leaving a review for it!
About The Author
Ashley Piscitelli lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. On top of starting a writing career, she is a full-time student and a full-time mom. She loves to spend her free time with her kids, although she has to hide the computer from them when she is writing!
She loves to read romance books! The books she likes to read and write are be ones that make you feel for the characters. She believes you should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.
She has always thought that the most important critic is the reader, so she would love to hear from you. If you read the book and loved it or hated it, let her know. As long as it is in a constructive way, she will always answer and interact with you. She wants fans to feel free to tell her what they want for the characters in the story, and what they want to see happen.
Please visit Ashley’s facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAshleyPiscitelli
You can also email me your thoughts or questions at:
[email protected]
You can also follow Ashley on twitter at:
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