“Strep? Sounds nasty.”
Not when you say it, she thought, but aloud she said, “Yeah. So it was out of the kindness of my heart that I didn’t come to school. I didn’t want to give it to you.”
“Oh, that was terribly nice of you,” he smirked.
“I know. I’m just that sweet.” Her grin widened.
“Yes, now that I’ll believe.” Before the blush could inflame her cheeks, their teacher demanded their attention and she had to look away. She let the hair fall over her face, shielding her — and her bright red cheeks — from view.
After class, Drew followed her out the door and into the hallway. “Where are you heading now?” he asked.
She glanced at him over her shoulder, pausing until he caught up. “I’m done for the day. Heading to the top of the hill to get my car.”
He fell into step beside her, shouldering his backpack. “I have tennis practice. I’m heading that way as well.” He looked pleased, and his accent sent shivers up her spine.
“Well. Isn’t that convenient,” she teased.
“Can I walk you?” She could feel him watching her face, but when she looked up to meet his eyes, he flushed and looked away.
“Of course.” They talked about the play and Greek History — the class, not the actual history, and the fact that they both liked tennis. Ivy had told him, while they waited for the play to start, that she was getting divorced and had a baby, and he’d asked how things were going. By the time they’d made it to the top of the hill, she was out of breath and out of conversation starters.
“Ivy, can I ask you something?” She stopped and nodded, trying to discreetly suck in air because he didn’t seem to be winded at all. “Would you allow me to take you to dinner on Friday?”
All too aware of the students swarming around them, most of whom watched them both with open curiosity like they were caught in a train wreck, Ivy blinked stupidly at him. “Di — dinner?” she stuttered.
“Yes, I’d like very much to take you to dinner.”
“I — I would, too. Yes, of course,” she said. Now what? her panicked mind asked.
When she still only stared at him, he snickered. “I’ll need your phone number, then.”
She closed her eyes, briefly. “Right. Sorry, I’m not great at this.” Hello, blush. I haven’t missed you at all, you know.
“It’s alright. You make up for it by simply being beautiful.” If she hadn’t been blushing before, she was the color of a fire truck now. She tried not to stutter as she gave him her phone number. He texted her, just to make sure they connected. She held up her phone. “Got it.”
Chapter Seven
I need to talk to you. Call ASAP. Ivy glanced down at her phone with a frown. She’d been ignoring Vick’s calls for two days, so he’d given up calling and started texting. She glanced at Archer on one side of her and then checked Austin on the other. Gunner was behind her. All three had spent the last hour trying to explain the rules of hockey to her while she’d froze and tried not to shiver.
But for the second, none of them were paying attention. She wrote back, No. Her heart pounded and her palms were sweaty, but she also felt like she should pat herself on the back. Her phone instantly starting buzzing — like it was trying hard to show her how angry the caller was.
Archer looked over, raising an eyebrow. “You okay?”
She grimaced and stuffed her phone in her pocket, trying to ignore it. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
“Okay, so that move right there, that’s illegal. That’s why they’re putting him in that box.” Austin pointed out on the ice.
“Also known as the penalty box?” Ivy quipped, grinning mischievously.
“Ha ha. Funny girl.” Gunner tugged on a strand of her pony tail and she giggled. Some country song blared over the speakers, one that Ivy thought wildly inappropriate and had always changed the station as soon as it came on. Behind her, Gunner started singing it, and then Austin joined him and Archer too, and Ivy was certain it was the hottest song she’d ever heard. She wanted to freeze the moment and block out everything else but these boys and their enthusiastic singing. For the rest of her life, she was going to love that song.
But her phone had other plans, and when it kept ringing, she finally excused herself and went to find Gigi. “I have to leave. Are you ready?” Ivy yelled when she found her. Hockey games were loud. Gigi had friends everywhere, and she had disappeared as soon as they’d gotten to the rink. Finding her was tricky, getting her to leave was even trickier.
“Yeah, just one sec,” Gigi said.
“I’ll wait for you outside.”
“What, Vick?” Ivy asked as soon as he answered.
“When are you coming up?” The arrogance in his voice grated her nerves, even as the fear made her teeth ache.
“I’m not.”
Silence. He wasn’t used to her defying him. “I told you, you have to come back.” The way he said it was a demand, not a reminder. She could hear the threat threading through the undercurrent of his words.
“According to that restraining order, I don’t have to do what you say.” Ivy tried to sound brave.
“You. Are. My. Wife.” His voice was deadly cold now, and Ivy could feel herself start to shake. She wanted to blame the cold — it was November, after all, but the night was mild. Would she ever not be terrified of him? She jumped as he continued. “If I tell you to get back here, you get back here.”
“No.” The word was out before she had a chance to think, and she felt an exuberant pride in herself. He swore, calling her all sorts of horrible names, and it hurt. It shouldn’t have hurt. She shouldn’t care what he thought or what he said, but it hurt anyway. She felt her knees giving just as the phone was plucked from her hand. She blinked up at Archer through tears she hadn’t even realized she was crying. “You don’t have to listen to that, you know,” he said quietly, handing her the phone back.
She hit End and shoved it in her coat pocket. She shook her head. “I should know. But I’m too afraid to hang up.”
Archer stared down at her for a long time before he gently brushed the tears from her cheek with his knuckle. “I’ll help you be brave.”
Gigi came bounding down the stairs behind them, and Archer turned, shielding Ivy as she scrubbed frantically at her soaked face. “Sorry. Sorry! I couldn’t get away —” Gigi started, but Archer interrupted. “Hey, I’ll take Ivy home. I’m heading out myself. That way you don’t have to leave.”
Ivy hiccupped, reaching around Archer. “Here’s my keys. Will you bring my car home?”
“Are you sure? I feel bad making you leave your car for me. What if I wreck it?”
Ivy strangled on a laugh. Archer shook his head. “Ivy’s house is on my way. It’s not a problem.”
Ivy hiccupped again. “Ivy? Are you okay?” Gigi asked.
Ivy peeked around Archer’s broad shoulders. “Yeah, just freezing. I’m fine, go play. Have fun.” She tried for an encouraging smile, and in the darkness Gigi bought it and waved before bounding back up the stairs.
“Thank you,” Ivy whispered.
Archer turned back to her. “No problem.” He led the way to the gigantic green truck that she had been dying to ride in. She wished she wasn’t so miserable, or she’d be way more excited. Archer swung open her door, and she tried to figure out how to climb in without looking like an uncoordinated little monkey. He slid his hands around her waist and hoisted her up like she weighed no more than an uncoordinated little monkey. They rode in silence as he pulled out of the parking lot, but when Archer turned down the back roads away from the hockey rink, she frowned, fighting rising panic. “My house is —”
“I know where your house is. We’ll get there. For now, talk, Ivy.”
Ivy shook her head. She should have known he wouldn’t let her keep it holed up forever. But she tried to play dumb anyway. “Talk? What about? The weather is warm for November. Or maybe it just seems that way because I spent the last two winters in Alask
a. But still, not even needing a jacket —”
“Ivy.”
She stopped chattering and sighed, dropping her head to her chest. “He was abusive. I tried to leave, several times. He’d make threats against my family to me so I’d go back.” She felt Archer tense next to her and risked a glance up to see his knuckles, white on the steering wheel. But he said nothing. “My dad must have suspected, because he told me once that he could take care of himself. But I was still scared.” Ivy’s voice wavered. This was the part that haunted her nightmares. “I was worried about leaving him with Desee. But she was a baby and so good. One day I had to go to work, and my regular babysitter was sick. I left her with Vick…”
Before she even got her key in the front door, she could hear Desee crying. Frantic, pained cries, but with a hoarseness that meant she’d been crying for a while. Ivy struggled with the lock; it was always sticking, finally jerking it hard and shoving the door open with her shoulder.
Sadi was cowering in the far back room. Ivy could just see her shadow. “Sadi?” Ivy whispered, shutting the door behind her with a quiet click. Her German shepherd slithered on her belly toward Ivy. Her snout was bloody, and blood trailed behind her from a large gash across her nose. Her back left leg also dragged awkwardly, although she didn’t make a sound.
Ivy scanned as much of the house as she could see, but Vick wasn’t in sight. If Ivy had to guess, she’d say he was passed out in the man cave he’d built in the basement — one he’d insisted she keep, even after she’d made him move out.
“Stay, Sadi. I’ll be right back,” she whispered, sounding fierce even to her own ears, but it was a lie. She didn’t feel fierce at all.
The look in Sadi’s eyes nearly broke Ivy’s heart, but she had to find Desee. She sprinted up the stairs, taking them three at a time, almost smashing into the wall as she rounded the corner and flung open the door to Desee’s room. Her baby, her tiny, beautiful baby, was naked except for a diaper. Her face was red and mottled from crying, but blood still leaked from her right ear, and dried blood covered her right jawline and arm.
Ivy rushed into the room and scooped her up, carrying her downstairs, back to Sadi. Desee sobbed as she lay her blood-crusted curls against Ivy’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Let me look, it’s okay.” Blood still oozed from Desee’s ear;, she needed medical attention, as did Sadi. Ivy didn’t hesitate. She didn’t know where Vick was, but she wasn’t going to wait to find out. Holding Ivy close, she slid out the door, tucked the baby in her car seat, and wrapped her baby blanket around her.
Then she sprinted back across the gravel lot to the house. Sadi still lay on the floor, her eyes begging for help, and Ivy sent a grateful prayer heavenward that Vick was still MIA.
For a German shepherd, Sadi was small, but she still weighed at least sixty pounds, and Ivy only weighed a hundred herself. Somehow she hoisted Sadi to her chest and carried her out to the car, too. She set Sadi gently in the back seat just as the house door slammed. “Ivy! Get in here. Now.” Vick was in his boxers as he stumbled down the porch steps.
Ivy squeaked in horror and dove in the front seat. She hit the lock button just as Vick reached the car. He pounded on the window, swearing and screaming, spittle slapping the glass.
Desee screamed and Sadi whimpered. “I am not going to let you hurt them ever again!” Ivy slammed the car into drive just as his fist smashed through the window.
“You drive away from here and I’ll kill you, Ivy. Do you hear me? I’ll kill you and everyone you love.”
She drove anyway, shaking, sobbing; she drove as fast as she could to the emergency room on the army base where she lived. “Please help me!”
“I left a video camera on. It was a sneaky thing to do but I… didn’t trust him.” Ivy couldn’t get the images out of her head; they haunted her every time she closed her eyes. She was surprised now when her voice sounded so cold, dislocated almost. “I watched the video later… I saw him punch my baby in the side of the head, and when she cried and tried to get him to hold her, he put her in her crib and left her there for five hours. And then he took his anger out on my dog.” Inside, Ivy was dying. But she felt like she was watching herself tell Archer these horrible things, like it was someone else, not her. Not her baby. Not her dog.
“You saw the whole thing. On the video.”
It wasn’t a question, but Ivy nodded. “I got a restraining order after that. Promises from the military to keep us safe. They couldn’t keep him away. I fought him for six months.” Literally fought. Ivy shuddered. “And one time they — they caught him violating the restraining order…”
Ivy was sure both cheekbones were broken, and most of her ribs. But she could hear the sirens. They were coming, and he was passed out on her couch. They’d stop him this time. Please, please stop him this time.
The flashbacks were almost too much for Ivy. She felt blackness slipping across the edges of her vision and she swallowed hard. “They took him to jail. I packed as much as my car would hold and got out of there,” she finished.
“Ivy,” Archer started. His voice failed, and he tried again. “I’m so sorry. If I ever see him…”
“Don’t say that. He’s… unstoppable. He never gets caught, never gets punished. You can’t lock him out — he always gets in.” She realized she was babbling and stopped before she told him she was trying to persuade her parents to put bars on the windows and doors. Archer opened his mouth but Ivy shook her head. “I haven’t told anyone. Not my parents. Not anyone. Please don’t say anything.”
“Of course not,” Archer murmured. Somehow, they had, in a roundabout way, made it to her house, and now they sat in his truck, neither making a move to get out. “Ivy, if I ever see him…” Archer trailed off at her stricken look.
“He’s not worth going to jail over.” She tried to smirk but failed. She couldn’t tell him all of it. Not the flashbacks in her head. Not the pain. She’d told him enough. He understood.
“I want to help,” he whispered.
Ivy stifled a sob. “I know. Just letting me talk has been a tremendous help. Thank you, Archer.” Time to go, Ivy, before you lose it completely. She gave a little wave before jumping out of his truck and speed-walking to the house. Her parents were already in bed, and Desee had been sleeping for hours. Sadi jogged in to meet her, still limping, just a bit. Ivy sank to the floor, burying her face in Sadi’s fur, and sobbed.
Chapter Eight
What could she do, but get up and face the rest of her life? So she did. The next day as she got ready for school, trying to hide her swollen, puffy eyelids under eyeliner and her still-red nose with foundation, she shoved the memories way down deep, in a strong place in her heart and left them there.
She hoped her face would un-swell and un-redden before she had to see Drew in Greek History, but since she didn’t have a mirror handy, she could only hope. “Hey.” She smiled as she sat down next to him. This will be awkward.
But it wasn’t. He grinned. “Are we still set for tonight?”
“I am if you are,” she said, sounding more shy than she intended.
“Of course. Haven’t slept since I asked you.” He winked at her and she giggled. The professor, just striding to the front of the room, gave her an evil glare and Ivy clapped a hand over her mouth. She could hear Drew chuckling quietly next to her.
He walked her up to the top of the hill again, even though he didn’t have tennis practice that day and his car was at the bottom. He was easy to talk to and he made her laugh, even if she was wheezing as she did so. Clearly, she needed to add some cardio to her routine just so she could hike around campus without passing out. “I’ll see you tonight then?” he asked as he paused by her car.
“Yep. See you then.”
****
Her hands shook so badly that it took her three tries to get her eyeliner on straight. That was after she’d stabbed herself in the eye with the mascara wand.
Her first date in seven years. She glanced at Desee, who playe
d happily on the counter beside her, rubbing blush all over her chubby little cheeks. “What am I doing, Desee-girl? I don’t want to date.”
Except she did, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. Just not the guy she was going out with tonight. Archer... It wasn’t his fault though. It’s not like he could help being so sweet and so gorgeous and so tough and so…
“Ugh. I give up,” she muttered, tossing her makeup brush into her bag. Desee giggled and snatched it up, rubbing it all over her face like Mama. “And you, missy, are way too young for makeup. Give it thirty or so years.” She scrubbed Desee’s face clean despite Desee’s loud objections. “Pretty! Desee pretty!” Ivy leaned her forehead to Desee’s forehead, staring her in the eyes. “Yes, Desee is very, very pretty.” Desee gave her a triumphant smile and reached again for the brush. “But, you’re still too young.” Ivy scooped her up and swung her away from the makeup, bounding down the stairs and making Desee laugh. Problem solved, makeup forgotten.
“Mom, are you sure you’re okay to watch her? You had her all morning. I can call him quick…” Bev gave her a look, the look mothers somehow master without even trying, and Ivy smiled sheepishly. “Thank you.”
****
Drew had offered to pick her up, but she still panicked a bit at the thought of not having her own transportation and suggested they meet at the restaurant. He was standing out front watching for her when she pulled in, late, of course. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized as soon as she came within hearing distance.
“You look amazing,” he said, pulling her into a hug.
She tried not to stiffen. “Thanks. So do you.”
“Shall we go in?” He swept his arm grandly toward the door and took her hand. It felt wrong. His hands weren’t rough enough… She frowned, trying to figure out where her brain was going with that thought, but he was talking again and she tried hard to focus on what he said. Especially with the accent, hot as it was.
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