Saving Us

by Ashley Johnson

  Cory: No way babe, pie beats shoes any day.

  Me: Yeah, ok.

  I laugh as I tuck the phone back into my pocket. I walk through the mall a little more and end up with a few pairs of pants and some cute tops for when I start student teaching. My hands are so full of bags, I decide that I can now head back home. I stuff everything into the backseat of my car and climb in. There’s a paper on my windshield. Memories, no nightmares, of the night I found the note demanding the money Caleb owed hit me and I’m scared to get out and grab it. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I tell myself, it’s probably just some sort of advertisement Sybil. Get a grip!

  I sigh, open my door, and step out to grab the paper before getting back into the car. Staring at the folded piece of paper, I’m terrified to see what it has to say. One, two, three…slowly unfolding the paper, hitting the lock button on my doors, I know I have to get out of here, now. I start the car and back up a little too quickly. Thankfully, no one is around me. Peeling out of the parking lot, I don’t stop until I am back inside the apartment.

  I don’t even bother bringing the bags inside, they can wait until later…when Cory is here. Cory, dammit why did he leave for the day and why didn’t I just go with him? I’m scared as hell and suddenly I don’t feel as safe as I did before. I grab the note from my pocket and open it again with trembling hands. This isn’t happening.

  I’m trying to stay away from you, but I can’t Sybil. Please.

  Blaine was inside the mall. Blaine has been everywhere, watching me. He knows what I drive now and the idea is extremely unsettling. I want to call Cory or at least text him but he hasn’t seen his mom and dad in a while and I don’t want him thinking he has to run back to take care of me. It’s just a note. It’s not like I saw Blaine, although he saw me.

  Holding the note in my hand, I grab a box of matches before walking over to the sink. With one quick strike on the matchbox, I set the note on fire and then put it out with water. It’s probably for the best pretending this never happened.

  I spend the rest of the day lying on the couch thinking about that stupid note. I think about it until my eyes can no longer stay open and I fall asleep. In my sleep, I’m plagued by Blaine’s memory. Every fucked up thing he did, every lie he told. They all come back to me clear as day and I hate that. I hate him. He came into my life with his stupid looks and his stupid lies and I fell for it all. Every. Single. Bit.

  There’s a knock at the door and my eyes open darting towards it. Who the hell could it be? Maybe Cory’s back already and his hands are full. Smiling, I stand and walk to the door. After unlocking it, I pull the doorknob and I feel the color drain from my face. In a quick attempt to slam the door shut, Blaine’s hand stops it and practically rips it from my grip. Once he’s inside, he closes and locks the door. Whimpering, I step back and look for the closest object to throw at him. He moves quickly seeing the look on my face. He knows I’m getting ready to scream. His hand suddenly covers my mouth as tears begin to stream down my face.

  “Sybil, don’t scream. I won’t hurt you.” He whispers into my ear. Won’t hurt me? He already has so his words mean nothing to me. There is no trust there at all to make any of this ok.

  His breath smells of stale liquor as he pushes his body against mine. Please God, make this stop. Please make this all a nightmare. My eyes close and when they reopen, sadly I’m brought back to this fucked up reality.

  “You got my note, I saw you get it. Why won’t you talk to me?” He won’t remove his hand so I can answer him. He wouldn’t get an answer though, he’d get nothing but an earful of my blood-curling scream. “I see you and Cory have wasted no time getting cozy. I’ll admit, I’m pretty damn jealous. I thought we had something going, Sybil. I wanted to make you see I wasn’t the bad guy, but you wouldn’t give me the chance. I kept you safe from everything. I helped buy you time to make sure you were ok when I could have just come in and did the job I was supposed to do. I risked my life too you know? But you didn’t care. In the end, you ran back into Cory’s arms. That must have been nice to finally do with his girlfriend out of the way. I saved your life though, Sybil. I saved you taking you away for that night so you wouldn’t be the one who died. None of that means shit to you. You won’t even acknowledge me and now look what you’ve done to me.”

  What made him think there was ever anything between us? So what we worked together and shared a few kisses and he fucked me, literally and figuratively. He made me smile. But now, he does nothing but makes me cringe. He was and will always be the enemy.

  There’s enough room where I can breathe between his hand and my mouth. I need to do something, I have to get him away from me so I can get help. My mouth opens a little more as I pretend to take a deep breath. In one quick movement, my mouth latches down on his hand and he yells as he rips it away. His hand retaliates as it meets my cheek harshly.

  “You stupid bitch, you really don’t think do you? I came here to make everything up to you and this is what you do to me?”

  “Get the hell out of here, Blaine. Cory will be here soon and he-he will..”

  “He’ll what? There’s nothing he can do because you’ll be gone. You’re coming with me and we’re going to get back to where we were before everything got all fucked up. So run along and be a good little girl and pack your bags. Don’t even bother leaving that fucker a note, he deserves it for taking what’s mine.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you. There’s nothing between us and never will be. I can never trust you again, ever. I’m not yours. You-you lied to me and you used me.” I say with a wavering voice. “And by the way, you smell like a drunk.”

  “Yeah, well I’m not the only one that’s lying so remember that.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You’re lying about how you felt about me.” He says with a fucked up grin on his face. I close my eyes trying to get his image out of my mind. I never want to go back to reliving what my body once felt for him. Never again.

  His hand grabs onto my arm tightly as he jerks me closer to him. Wincing in pain, my eyes close. Please let someone save me.

  Chapter 32

  Cory

  I’m a grown man and I can’t lie to my mom to save my life. She knew somewhat of Megan, although Megan’s parents didn’t know about me. She did the motherly thing and asked how everything was going and I had to come clean about Sybil. She looked shocked at first but then sat me down and gave me a talk. The talk pretty much consisted of her asking why I didn’t bring her with me. Mom fixed a few pieces of pie and two plates of food for me to bring home. Dad made me promise I’ll bring her next time and not to wait as long to come back home again. There really is no excuse, seeing as how they live so close. Things just have been so crazy and all I want is to be around Sybil. It completely sucked being away from her today. Things are finally moving in the right direction for us and I couldn’t be happier. I’m like a damn kid again. I hug them both before I climb into my truck to head home. I try to call Sybil but she doesn’t answer. My first instinct is to be worried but I’m sure she’s busy right now.

  When I finally get back to the apartment, I see her car and I admit I’m relieved. I worry too much sometimes. I can’t help it though, not with everything we’ve been through in the past few months. I unlock the door and I can faintly hear the TV. As the door closes, the sound of whimpering fills my ears. Cautiously, I turn around and look. Alarms go off in my head, something is wrong. I turn to look towards the living room and there is Sybil crying while Blaine holds her against him. How the fuck did he get in here?

  The plates of food fall from my hands and crash to the floor. Blaine turns to see me running towards him and his bloodshot eyes widen. “What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?”

  “I came to get back what’s mine.” He says.

  My fist connects with his face and his grip on Sybil loosens. She sinks to the floor automatically clenching her chest as she tries to regain contro
l of her breathing. I want so badly to hold her right now but this asshole is inside my apartment and if he hurt her, then he’s a dead man.

  “She isn’t yours. She never was. She’s mine. Now I’m going to give you two seconds to get out of my fucking apartment.” I say through gritted teeth.

  He tries to swing at me but one quick step to the side is all it takes for him to miss. I get ready to hit him again when Sybil’s cries fill my ears. “He isn’t worth it Cory, please.”

  She’s right. This motherfucker isn’t worth any of our time. He’s already ruined so much for the two of us. “Get the fuck out, Blaine. You’re lucky she’s here or you wouldn’t be alive. Get out of town and never contact her again. I mean it.”

  Blaine looks down at her and she quickly puts her head down. “Have it your way, Sybil. You’ll regret this.”

  “I already do,” she says. “I regret everything with you. You’re the worst mistake I’ve ever made.”

  He tries to step towards her but I push him back. “You don’t get to touch her. You don’t get to talk to her. This is your last chance to get out of my apartment.”

  He pushes me back with a grin on his face. There’s never been a grin I’ve wanted to slap off someone’s face like I do his. My hands wrap around his neck and his body hits the wall with a thud. “Is this funny to you? Is what you did to her a game?” He doesn’t respond but then my grip is tight enough he probably can’t breathe. I don’t feel bad about that at all. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect her from you and if that means taking every fucking useless breath from your body, then I will.”

  The sound of footsteps fill my ears and I look back to see a taller, huskier man enter my apartment. Sybil’s eyes fill with fear and she scrambles to hide behind the couch.

  “Who the hell are you?” I ask still holding onto Blaine’s neck.

  He eyes shift like he doesn’t want to exactly tell me but his face suddenly pops into my mind. He’s another one of the goons who works with Blaine.

  “I’m here for this asshole.” He says pointing at Blaine. “I don’t want any trouble.”

  My eyes roam over the big guy as my grip loosens on Blaine and he begins coughing to catch his breath.

  “Get your stupid ass up. You fucking knew better than to come here.” The guy tells Blaine. He hardly gives him time to stand before he yanks him by the arm. “He won’t be bothering ya’ll anymore.”

  And just like that, they leave.

  My blood is boiling, pure adrenaline still running through my veins. I run over to the door and lock every damn lock there is. Sybil is still whimpering behind the couch. In an instant, I’m beside her pulling her close to me.

  “Shh, it’s ok. I’ve got you babe. He’s gone. Are you ok?”

  Her eyes meet mine and my heart breaks into two. Her eyes are bloodshot from crying and her cheeks are soaked from the tears. “I was so scared, Cory. He-he said he was going to take me away.”

  Dammit. What the fuck was I thinking leaving her alone? I know what I was thinking. He hasn’t been around and I thought we were safe but she wasn’t. She needed me and I wasn’t there.

  “I shouldn’t have left you. This is my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault Cory,” she whispers.

  My eyes grow wide as the hand mark on her cheek comes into view. “Did he do this to you?”

  She nods her head yes as her eyes close. When she reopens them, she whispers, “His hand was over my mouth and I bit him. He got mad and he-he slapped me.”

  “Fuck,” I growl. If I had seen this sooner, he would have definitely been a dead man. “It’s ok now, Sybil. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

  Carefully picking her up, I sit her on the couch. She immediately clings to me, holding onto me for dear life.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. That-that other guy, I saw him in the cemetery once. He scared me. He was part of it wasn’t he?” She whispers.

  “He was.” I say with a lump in my throat.

  Sybil quietly sobs against my chest. My eyes close and I silently pray for this day to end and almost be erased from our memory.

  Gently, I stroke her hair and hold her tight. This isn’t how the hell I planned this day to go. I thought once Blaine was gone that would be the end but hopefully now this is finally it. She doesn’t know but having her here means everything to me right now. Seeing people who caused us both nothing but hurt, opened all kinds of wounds we still aren’t ready to deal with, but at least we have each other.

  ***

  Sybil

  I cling to Cory for what seems like forever. When I finally feel I can peel myself away, I do so slowly. My heart is still racing from earlier and this sinking feeling hits that I may not get over this as quickly as I hoped I would. This moment quickly reminds me just how much we need each other. We each have our own demons and we have to stick together because if we don’t, then we are doomed.

  My eyes meet the mess in the kitchen and a frown immediately forms. “Oh, no. Cory let me clean that.”

  “I got it,” he says giving me a small smile. “You just sit here and relax.”

  He knows I’m stubborn. The minute he stands, I’m right behind him helping. He doesn’t fuss at me or say anything at all. With the two of us cleaning, it takes no time and the kitchen is soon good as new.

  “I’m so sorry.” I mutter.

  Cory turns and cups my chin as he leans in planting a soft kiss on my lips. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t you dare let him make you feel like any of this was your fault. Promise me, you won’t.”

  “I promise.” And I fully intend to keep that promise.

  Cory grabs one of my chocolates off the counter and grabs us each a beer. Because of little things like this, he is beginning to steal my heart. He hands me both the beer and the chocolate and I smile accepting them.

  I walk back towards the couch with him right behind me. He sits and I sit right beside him snuggling close like before. There is no TV noise, just the sound of us breathing. Carefully, I unwrap the chocolate and bring it to my lips. Cory looks at me just smiling. I take the rest of the chocolate and offer it to him. His lips part slightly as my hand moves closer to his mouth. He bites into the chocolate, barely nipping my fingers. Sparks ignite with the small touch but I push them aside. I’m not wanting to initiate anything, especially after this day. There’s nothing more I want than for him to touch me but this doesn’t seem right.

  “Those things get better every time.” He says. “Not as good as mom’s pie but it’ll have to do.”

  “I’m kinda bummed I didn’t get the pie.” I frown.

  “There’s always next time. Mom and Dad both said you should come over next time.”

  “You talked about me?” I ask curiously.

  “All good things, I promise. Mom was just asking questions, so I answered her.” He says.

  Pressing the beer bottle to my lips, I let the liquid slide down. Exhaustion overtakes me and I find myself yawning. Cory looks at me and pulls me closer. I could definitely get used to this.

  “If you’re tired, go lie down Syb. I know today was a lot.”

  “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

  I don’t want to be alone. I’m scared when I close my eyes that I’ll see Blaine and have to relive the whole afternoon. Just thinking of it brings tears to my eyes. Never in my life have I been so scared. I would have fought him kicking and screaming if he seriously dared to try and take me from this apartment. I never belonged to him and I never will. Hearing Cory say I was his, brought little flutters to my stomach but I was too scared in the moment to truly accept them. It’s true though, I am Cory’s and he is mine.

  “I understand.” He says.

  I sit beside him for what seems like forever before I finally fall asleep. When I wake in the morning, I’m in my bed and Cory is lying beside me on top of the covers holding onto me. In this moment, I’ve never felt safer in the arms of someone. Never have I ever thought
I’d truly feel safe in Cory’s arms, but I do. Maybe that’s right, maybe it’s wrong. He looks so peaceful in his sleep and when I attempt to move, he pulls me closer. My body relaxes a little more as I lean into him. I lie there silently in his arms not wanting to be anywhere else.

  ***

  Blaine

  My head is spinning as Dante drags me to his truck. With ease he tosses my body onto the seat and my shoulder immediately slump forward. The contents of my stomach move around in an unforgiving manner and I cough before beginning to dry heave.

  “Cut that shit out, don’t fucking puke in my truck.” He says in a menacing tone.

  My eyes dart to him, glaring. “Fuck you.”

  “You were a hard man to find, Blaine. I knew you were around here somewhere.”

  “I came to get what was mine.”

  “You’re fucking sick in the head. You’re lucky I don’t just blow your brains out now and end your pathetic life.”

  “Thanks for the encouraging words,” I say resting my head in my hands.

  “You need a damn psychiatrist. We’re getting out of town for the second time in case you haven’t noticed. Once again, I’m stuck babysitting you which royally pisses me off.”

  He points at his waist and give me a sadistic smile. His gun sits in a holster attached to his jeans. I run my hands through my hair and stare out the window.

  “Look, I fucked up ok? I’m over it. I had too much to drink and I’m thinking a little clearer now. No more disappearing acts. Did Landon put you up to this?”

  He laughs and turns to face me for a split second. “He just sent me to get you. It’s my decision whether you live or not. You fucked this up all the way around for everyone but for some fucking reason unknown to man, I’m feeling generous but I promise you this is the last time.”

  His words drip with truth and I begin to thank my lucky stars that he hasn’t reached for the gun and ended my life as he casually drives down the road. I don’t know what I expected Sybil to do when she saw me. I know I fucked it all up, I don’t need Dante to tell me that. She looked scared to death to see me, guess I really can’t blame her. Maybe I should have never come back. I should have stayed in Arkansas where we were but I couldn’t help myself. She’s moved on. She’s happy and it’s time for me to do the same thing. All I will ever have left of her is a memory.