Coming Home (Only Time Will Tell #1)

by Caroline Spencer

  He removes his hands, spinning me and slamming my back against the tiles. He kisses my mouth harshly and slides his fingers inside of me, rocketing me into outer space.

  We both stay there for a few moments as I try and float back to earth, too scared to move in case I fall. “Well, that was one way to put a smile on my face first thing in the morning.”

  Kyle stands still under the water as it streams down his face. Both of his hands are braced against the wall either side of my head. His mouth tips up as he replies, “I couldn’t lie in bed much longer knowing you were in here naked. I thought I’d come and surprise you.”

  “You certainly did that. What about you though? You look like you enjoyed that as much as I did.” I questioned glancing down at his hard length, questioning whether to grab hold of him and “thank him” for making today a good one.

  “I don’t think that’s wise,” he laughs huskily. “I might just keep you here all day if we carry on. Maybe later though,” he adds with a wink.

  Pushing myself off the wall I tip-toe and wrap my arms around his neck, feeling him twitch between us as our bodies slide against each other as the water continues to beat down on us. “I think we can arrange something,” I whisper, gently placing my mouth against his, kissing him passionately and sucking on his bottom lip, nipping on it as I pull away.

  He closes his eyes as he growls and places his forehead against mine. “Will you please, go and get dressed? Preferably in something that covers you so I’m not dragging you into the office.”

  I smile as I pull away and duck under his arm to get out, shouting, “I don’t know about that, maybe that’s part of my plan.” I walked out the steam filled room, leaving him to deal with his problem himself.

  I can hear him singing along in the shower and I smile at the normality of this, it’s just a shame that we have to head out into the real world and ruin what we’ve had in the last sixteen hours.

  As I wait for my moisturizer to work its magic on my face I head into the closet and begin searching the racks of clothing for something that fits my mood. It’s not even eight and I’m already feeling great, which is a rarity these days.

  In the end I settle on a black, smart tank and a gray high-waisted pencil skirt with a thin black belt. I sit and ponder the shoes, staring at the unorganized mountain that has manifested at the back.

  Life has thrown some crap my way over the years and yet I’m still standing, not only that, but I have the man that I love standing by my side, so to speak, helping me. And we’re overcoming some of those hurdles together. He might not have been there through them all but he is now, and we’ll begin dealing with everything when the time is right for us.

  The world can try and break me, but I’m a fighter and I won’t back down, no matter how many bullets get shot at me. I’ll take them and turn them to dust.

  With that mindset for the day I dig to the bottom of the pile and hunt out a large white box that contains my “I’m showing the world, I mean business” shoes and purse. They’re nothing special but they’re bold and make you stand out. I open the box and take out the bright yellow peep-toe heels and the yellow, Birkin style bag that I purchased to cheer myself up and to give myself some confidence when I went to my first interview.

  Digging into the bag I check to see if I left anything in there before I packed it and find a small, black, velvet box.

  It’s not something I’ve seen before so I’m curious about it. Flipping open the lid a piece of paper that is sat on top of the protective lining falls to my lap. My eyebrows furrow as I open the piece of paper, which winds up being a letter.

  I start reading and let the tears roll down my cheek as I finally look at the necklace. It’s stunning, two white gold wings are hanging from the chain and a simple diamond hangs from them. I quickly clip it around my neck as I continue with the letter.

  Only a mother can think of something like this. She explains in the letter that she had this made and engraved with C.J. and K.C on the back of each wing, when she found out I was leaving and she didn’t want me to have it until I needed it—considering I was using the “I don’t give a shit,” bag, I needed it.

  Although my face is streaked with tears, I have a huge grin on my lips and feel like my Mom is hugging me from all the way over the pond.

  I get up to start on my make-up, just as Kyle enters, the beautiful grin he was wearing dropping from his face. “Cat are you—” Holding my hand up I cut him off as I explain before he gets into a panic. “I’m fine. I just found something my Mom hid from me in my stuff,” pointing to the necklace. “I guess I just miss her, but these are happy tears, not sad ones. I can have those.”

  He gives me a sympathetic smile in acknowledgment as he comes over, wrapped only in a towel and hugs me. It makes me feel content and heightens the feelings I had before, for a split second it feels like one of my Moms.

  He kisses the top of my head as he backs away. Gently, he picks up the pendant in his fingers and inspects it. “She’ll always be close to your heart too, it hangs perfectly for that. There is no greater bond than family.”

  As I’m about to tip toe to give him a kiss, he backs away completely and states. “I have to get going. I got a call from work, they need me to get that stuff sorted on that new build so I’ll have to shoot. I can’t stay for breakfast.”

  I nod and retake my seat at the dressing table to start applying my make up as he flies around the room like a whirlwind getting dressed. Before he leaves, though, he comes over and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. “Do you want me to get the car to pick you up?” he asks as he looks in the mirror from behind me, tweaking his hair.

  “No, I’m good, I can call a cab,” I reply, watching him and smiling as I realize that I love this morning already. Just having him here and being normal, like a normal couple even though we aren’t officially an item.

  “Okay. I’ll get the car to pick you up in half an hour,” he says while quickly kissing me on the cheek again before he darts out the room, knowing that I’d protest and insist on making my own way.

  After I’ve finished I slip into my clothes, move all my stuff from one bag to another and grab the shoes. I’m only going to slip into them before I leave; no extra pain is needed.

  I place my bag and shoes on and next to the dining table before making myself a coffee, still having twenty minutes to kill before the driver shows up.

  Part of me wants these next few days to go without a hitch. I want us to have a life that everyone else has so that I can bring up Kody. I want him to know and sooner will always be better than later. I’ve already taken too long to tell him. But, considering everything that’s happened, there has never been the right time. I’m still hell bent on doing it when we’re both “normal.”

  A knock at the door brings me out of my thoughts. I check the time and it’s not even half past yet, so I’m guessing that the driver is early and I was so completely lost in my little world that I didn’t hear the call. I place the half empty mug on the side and go to the door, just to let him know that I’ll be a second as he bangs on it again.

  Opening it, I smile to greet the poor guy who’s running around after me, but that falls as I quickly realize it isn’t him.

  A humongous guy barges into the apartment and grabs me by the throat, pushing me back. I try to scream but he’s squeezing my neck so tightly, only a croaky gargle escapes.

  I try prying his fingers from around me as he knocks me back onto the wall with all the force he has, knocking my head against it, which makes me instantly dizzy.

  “Please,” I beg, “don’t hurt me. You can take what you want, anything!”

  He doesn’t say anything as he rams me into the wall again.

  The door closes after another guy enters, smaller in size but he’s brandishing a baseball bat.

  My eyes bug as I try with every fiber within me to get this guy off of me. I must look like fish bait being dangled in front of a piranha. “Please!” I beg again, “L
et me go, I won’t do anything. I’ll go and leave you to do what you want.”

  Again he ignores me and my eyes follow the smaller guy as he walks around like he owns the place. He wanders to the couches and the back of his head moves like he’s searching something out. Eventually, though, he shifts, raising the bat above his head and slams it onto the coffee table, the sound of glass echoes around me as it shatters into millions of pieces.

  I scream at the sound and my heart starts hammering like a jackhammer. The big burley guy clasps his hand over my mouth and my breathing intensifies.

  I look at him with tears streaming down my face, scared out of my life and hope that he might realize that he’s three times the size of me. He might snap out of this macho man status and realize I’m fucking defenseless against these two.

  The bat hits something else, I hear it crunch and smash, but my eyes never leave this one. I can feel my pulse bulging out of my neck as I continue trying to get him off of me.

  He leans in, his sweaty, smelly body rubbing against mine and I feel on the verge of vomiting into his hand as the sound of my breathing and heart pummels my ears. He gets in my face and says in a menacing, slow voice, “You were told to keep away from Kyle. I don’t take too kindly to people who don’t play by the rules. Next time it won’t be the apartment that gets smashed. It’ll. Be. You.”

  I hear the bat hitting things behind me and I can only assume that he’s destroyed my kitchen, not that I care. I feel a teeny tiny bit better and hopeful that I might walk out of here alive. The apartment can be replaced. I can’t.

  My eyes focus in on baseball guy and watch as the bat flies up in the air, smashing into the dining table before swinging around and starts beating the life out of the computer and desk.

  He’s destroying everything I worked hard for, because of Kyle.

  Burley man releases my mouth. I suck in the fresh air and brace myself as his hand flies up and back down, colliding with my cheek which I know will hurt tomorrow, but as for now I’m numb to the full force of the pain.

  As baseball man starts destroying the walls around him, burley man moves me by the neck and I clutch at his shirt for support. What I notice as I do, is a tattoo that’s around his neck. I look at his arms that’s clutching at me like I’m waste paper and notice the end. It looks like a snake.

  He walks me backwards into the kitchen, my bare feet stepping on all the broken pieces of my apartment and glass. I want to cry and yelp in pain as he launches me on the floor, my body hitting the cupboards like I’m a baseball and I lie limp against them, debris from the apartment strewn all around me.

  They both stand at the opposite end, looking at me and burley guy snickers, “You’ll think twice before you fuck with Kyle, lady. Keep away from him or we’ll be back.”

  “That’s right,” baseball guy confirms. “We don’t give a shit if you’re a woman or not. You’re just disposable scum to us.”

  Burley guy nudges him and nods towards the door. They both leave after that, the door slamming shut behind them.

  I sit there, scared out of my mind to move, unable to get up out of fear. Even if I could, the smashed glass would only hinder me, digging into me further.

  The floor in front of me is stained with bloody footprints and my feet are slowly seeping out more to add to it. What has my life come to when I get attacked in my own home, over a guy, a guy who chased me? I didn’t ask for this or for him, granted I’m glad I have him back, but is my life really worth it?

  Curling into the corner I cry. Cry about everything that has happened today and in the past. I know life was hard back in England at times, but at least my life wasn’t at risk.

  Fists have been pounding at the door for a couple of minutes now and each time they do I want to scream for them to help but I’m petrified that it’ll be them, or someone else who’s come back to finish the job.

  They’re all voices I don’t know. They can claim to be who ever they want, but I don’t know if I trust anything now. Or anyone.

  About ten minutes after they started I hear a commotion outside and I stop breathing as the pounding turns into full on knock-the-door-down banging. You’d think I’d be happy at the sound of his voice but I’m not. He’s only going to make this worse if they find out and come back.

  “Cat!” he shouts and I open my mouth to shout to him but the words just won’t come out. I don’t know if it’s fear or the fact I can’t after all the crying. “Cat!” he shouts again. “Open the door now! You’re scaring the shit out of me. Cat!”

  I try and stand, intent on letting him in but the pressure on my feet cripples me and I slump back to the floor. I try again, just as the walls start shaking and the loudest bang imaginable ricochets through the apartment.

  I can hear the voices from earlier shouting over the noise that I assume is my door being broken down.

  Hearing it fly open, the door connecting with the wall, I fall to the ground and give in.

  Kyle comes running in, halting at the end of the kitchen, looking around at what’s left of my apartment in bewilderment, until finding me. His eyes lock with mine and the color drains from his face. “Cat?” he whispers before running over to me, him in his suit becoming a wet blur as the tears start falling again.

  He cradles me in his arms as the rest of them talk among themselves from somewhere, talking about what could have happened.

  Kyle pulls back but I grip onto him, just needing some support but he doesn’t agree and peels my hands from around his jacket and taking them in his. “Cat, what happened? I left you a couple of hours ago and I come back to this?”

  Trying to regain some composure I tell him, “I was attacked. Two guys did this, but I need you to go, I can’t see you.”

  He looks at me confused. “I’m not leaving you, did they touch you?” he asks as he starts checking me over, lifting and twisting my limbs in ways that cause more pain than what they did.

  “Not really.” I placate. “I need to deal with them though.” I say, pointing to my feet. He looks at them and his eyes bug as he takes in the shredded skin that once were my soles.

  He doesn’t say much else, not to me any way, it’s all mumbled threats and curses as he gets to his feet and picks me up. Cradling me in his arms he orders the driver to grab my purse, then tells the others to deal with the door and to keep everyone out.

  Lacing my arms around his neck I play with his hair at his nape, making myself feel calmer. But I know the fear will come back when I get through this, unless I can find a way of making him see that for now, the only way to keep me safe, is to keep away.

  Safe in my little sanctuary, I try and compose my thoughts after a quick nap. I wasn’t planning on waking up so soon, but those three think I’m deaf. They must think that because I’m in another room and the door is closed, I can’t hear them.

  After we’d finished at the hospital, my feet bandaged up so much that I don’t think I even have feet anymore, I ended up at Nod’s. Kyle wanted to take me back to his but I protested, crying like a baby until he gave in and let me come here rather than go to his, fearing that Josie would be there. After her first attempt at drugging Kyle, and then finding out that it didn’t deter him, I can’t help thinking this is something she or his Mom has cooked up.

  While I was in the hospital I had a visit from the police. It was a catch twenty two for me. I wasn’t sure what path to take when it came to dealing with all of this. Part of me wanted those guys caught but then the other half of me thought that they’d come back for me one way or another if they either got off or got out. Kyle begged me to press charges, but in the end I dropped them, but not before having him kicked out of the room.

  I know his heart is in the right place, but it’s bad enough going through everything once. It’s worse when you’re reliving it, trying to remember everything to tell the police, and then when you have Kyle by your side, repeating their questions, and picking at your answers trying to drag more out of you. You kind of need space.


  They still took down all the details they could, and gave me their card just in case anything suspicious happened once I was back home.

  Nod kindly gave me some of her clothes so that I could relax and try and get some sleep before she retreated to the kitchen to cook. While she’s at it, by the sounds of it, her, Ryan and Kyle have been having a heated discussion about the day.

  Kyle is getting more irate by the second, screaming at Ryan like it’s his fault, adamant on killing the people that did this but I fear that he’ll just kill Ryan so that he can get it out of his system.

  Getting up from the bed, which I’ve been laying on for the last half an hour trying, “to sleep,” as they told me to, only to be woken an hour later, I plod to the door unsteadily, feeling like I’m walking on the moon. Taking a breath I slowly open the door, hearing those three and not seeing them, as I looked down the hall from the spare bedroom.

  Making my way to them, liking the fact that these bandages muffle any sound I’d make, I prepare to walk into World War Three.

  At the end I peer at the three of them in the kitchen, Kyle and Ryan finally shutting up as they lean against the work surface, breathing heavily as Nadine starts serving up what ever she’s cooking; it smells amazing and a million times better than what I could have concocted.

  On a huff, Nadine turns around and glares at the pair of them, waving a spoon around that’s making the sauce fly everywhere. “Are you two done, now? How is any of this helping, coming up with accusations and tearing in to each other? The only person you should be asking is her. She’s the only one who can tell you what’s happened.” She shouts. “And I swear to God Kyle if you keep talking to either of us like that, you’ll be out of here. We are just as worried and concerned about Cat as you are. We want to help too but we…,” she flings the sauce between her and Ryan, splattering him with some and he looks down at it in disgust. “…care about her just like you do. Yes I know you have history but that doesn’t make you the king worrier.”