by Charli Webb
But instead of trying to avoid the weighted base, she lunges at me again. It catches her under the chin, snapping her head back. She slams into the floor with a room shaking thud, but doesn’t so much as whimper.
I keep my gaze locked on her limp body as I crawl back over Rowdy’s bed, dragging the lamp with me. A pool of blood spreads out from beneath Anna. Oh shit. Did I kill her? I was only trying to defend myself.
I pull my new phone out of my skirt pocket and dial nine-one-one.
~***~
The cut on the back of my hand isn’t as bad as I thought, but it hurts like hell. I run to the main house and bang on the door. “Derek, open up! It’s an emergency.”
He opens the door, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. His mouth and chin are smeared red. At first, I think he’s injured too, but it’s only lipstick.
I rush inside and slam the door behind me. My knees refuse to support my weight. I slide down the door, but Derek grabs me before I hit the floor and guides me to the kitchen.
“What the fuck happened?” He hands me a wad of paper towels.
I press them against the back of my hand. Blood soaks through all of them in a matter of seconds. “Anna.”
Derek’s normally ruddy complexion turns to chalk. He lifts the hem of my tank and scans my bare stomach. “Are you okay? Any other injuries?”
“No. Just this.” I keep pressure on my hand as I lift it above my heart. The throbbing lessens.
“Where’s Anna?”
“In Rowdy’s room.” Tears fill my eyes. “I think I killed her.”
Derek looks over his shoulder and yells, “Call nine-one-one.”
His bedroom door swings open. A girl with smeared makeup and messy, red hair leans her head and shoulders into the hall. It’s obvious she’s naked. “What happened?”
“Just do it!”
“It’s okay. I already called it in.” I lower my bloody hands and drop my new phone on the table. I forgot that I was still holding it. I hope all the blood didn’t ruin it.
Derek closes his eyes for a moment and sighs. “What did you say when you called emergency services?”
“I think I said ‘Anna is trying to kill me, I need help.’”
“That’s all?”
“My phone died. I think some blood got inside it.”
The girl disappears back into Derek’s room then emerges a few minutes later, fully dressed. She pulls her hair into a ponytail as she edges around the kitchen’s perimeter, towards the front door. “I um…need to go.”
“In a minute. Keep an eye on Skylar while I get dressed.”
“Sorry.” She gives me an apologetic glance then darts out the door.
“Shit.” Derek pulls out a chair and sits beside me.
“I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not. Keep pressure on that.” He nods at my hand. “And keep it above heart level.”
He watches me for a couple minutes then goes to the sink and grabs a pair of dish gloves and more paper towels then wipes my phone off.
“What are you doing?” My first thought is that he’s trying to get rid of my fingerprints but that doesn’t make sense.
He shrugs. “Mine’s back in my bedroom and I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“I told you I’m fine.” The tremor in my voice and violent shaking of my body aren’t very convincing.
“Your phone’s not working. I’m going to go grab mine. I’ll be right back.”
“Grab some pants while you’re at it.”
Derek returns with his phone, still wearing nothing but his underwear.
“What’s up, man? I’m at work.”
The sound of Rowdy’s voice, even through the tiny speaker on Derek’s phone, calms me.
“Anna attacked Skylar.”
“What the fuck? Goddamnit. Is she okay?”
“She’s got a nasty cut on the back of her hand, but other than that, she’s fine.”
“Does she need an ambulance?”
I lean in closer to the phone. “I’m fine, Rowdy. But…” My voice cracks. “I think I killed Anna.”
“I’ll be right there, babe. Don’t say a word to the cops. Understand?”
“Yeah.”
Derek lowers his voice. “It went down in your room so the whole thing’s recorded.”
There’s a long, silent pause before Rowdy speaks. “Is that a good thing?”
“Don’t know yet.” Derek puts a gloved hand on my shoulder. “I’ll see that Skylar protects all her rights.”
“Are you asking if it was self-defense?” My voice is shrill with disbelief.
“No, babe. I know it was without even asking. But sometimes what shows up on a video doesn’t quite match reality.”
Derek says, “I’ll go grab my laptop right now so we can look at the video.”
“Are you okay with that Sky? Or would you rather have Derek stay with you?”
“I’m fine. But I don’t want to watch the video.” I’ve already got the whole thing burned into my brain.
“I understand. But I think it’s important for Derek to see it before the cops get there.”
“I agree.”
Derek gives me a quick dip of his head then jogs down the hall and disappears into his room.
I tell Rowdy everything that happened while Derek’s gone. I’m just wrapping it up when the front door bursts open. My heart stops. Time stands still. My blood runs cold. It’s Anna.
~***~
“Derek? Anna’s here.” My voice sounds amazingly calm as if I’m announcing the arrival of a guest instead of a psycho intent on killing me.
He tears down the hall and darts in front of me, nearly knocking me out of the chair. He takes a wide stance and holds his arms out at a forty-five degree angle, fingers splayed. “Stay back, Anna.”
“Or what?” Her words are slurred and hard to understand.
I stand up and look over Derek’s shoulder.
Anna’s jaw hangs open one side lower than the other. Blood and spit leak out of both corners of her mouth. A trail of bloody footprints stains the floor behind her. And she’s still got that damn broken bottle. She swings it around as she talks like she’s directing an invisible orchestra. “Get out of the way, asshole.”
“I’m not going to let you hurt Skylar.”
She limps forward. “Then I guess I’ll just have to hurt you first.”
Derek reaches behind his back and pushes me towards the hall. “Go lock yourself in my room.”
“No. Two against one are better odds. Besides, the cops will be here any second.” The sound of distant sirens floats through the open door. “Do you hear it?”
Anna holds the broken bottle in front of her and kicks the door shut. Time moves in slow motion as the sirens grow louder. They’re getting closer. Red and blue lights flash through the window, but they don’t stop at the house. They don’t even slow down.
Anna’s grin is horribly lopsided, as if she’s had a stroke. “What’d you do? Give them the wrong address?”
My stomach falls to my feet. I didn’t give them any address at all. The phone died before I got the chance. I was only on the line for a few seconds. That must not have been enough time for them to get my exact location.
“They won’t get here in time.” Blood and spit dribble out of the corner of Anna’s mouth.
“Anna!” Rowdy’s voice blares out of Derek’s phone. “Don’t do anything stupid. I’m almost there.”
She blinks and cocks her head to the side. “Rowdy?”
“If you hurt Skylar or Derek, they’ll put you in jail and we can’t be together. We won’t be able to get married.”
“It’s too late. I’ve already hurt her.”
“No!” His anguished cry breaks my heart.
“I’m okay, Rowdy. She’s just talking about the cut on my hand.”
His ragged breathing is loud and uneven. “Anna, please, I’m begging you. Put down the weapon.”
“You still love h
er.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“I… love you more.” I know he’s lying and only trying to save my life, but it still hurts to hear him say it.
His headlights fill the window, casting long shadows across the floor. Anna drops the bottle then jerks the door open.
Rowdy tackles her and slams her against the wall, pinning her arms to her side.
“What are you doing?” Anna uses her little girl voice.
Derek runs to Rowdy and tries in vain to pry him off Anna. “She’s unarmed. You need to back off before the cops get here.”
I try to turn Rowdy’s head towards me, but he doesn’t budge. It’s as if he’s carved out of stone. His eyes are glassy and dilated. He wraps his fingers around Anna’s neck. “You aren’t ever going to hurt Skylar again.”
I wedge a hand between Rowdy’s and Anna’s bodies as Derek wraps his arms around Rowdy’s waist.
Rowdy screams. It’s a raw, primal sound. “Your father killed my mother. I’m not going to let you kill Skylar.”
“Rowdy, let go.” I dig my fingernails into his bicep. “If you hurt Anna, they’ll put you in jail. I need you.”
He shakes his head in rapid, jerky movements then blinks and looks at me.
I heave a huge sigh of relief. “Let go of Anna and hold me.”
He drops her like a sack of potatoes then wraps his arms around my waist and jerks me against his chest.
Anna slides to the floor and whimpers. Her eyes roll into the back of her head as she falls over sideways.
Rowdy and I hold each other as the sirens get closer. Derek puts a hand on my back. “Go ahead and give your statement tonight but don’t answer any questions about the original attack. And don’t say anything about the surveillance in Rowdy’s room.”
“Why not?” I went to a lot of trouble, not to mention personal risk, to get Anna’s confession on video.
“I don’t think we’ll need the extra evidence. You mentioned the knife Anna’s using for blackmail.”
“So?”
“Instead of reporting the attack after it happened, you claimed amnesia. It’s just simpler if we focus on what happened tonight. If we need the videos, we’ll use them.”
Blue and red lights flash through the window and open door. The sirens stop.
Derek leans in closer. “Anna left a trail of blood from the garage to the house so expect them to come in with guns drawn. Don’t make any sudden moves.”
Rowdy clings to me when they try to separate us. The sheriff and his deputies call him by name and treat him gently, but it’s obvious they’re losing patience with him. I tell him the only thing I can think of that might convince him to let go. “My hand needs stitches.”
Works like a charm. He loosens his grip then slides his hands down my arms. I take half a step back and am immediately escorted outside to an ambulance where I once again refuse treatment and transport. Rowdy can take me when we’re done.
The sheriff takes my statement. He doesn’t mention the original attack and neither do I.
The EMTs roll Anna— arms flailing, legs kicking, head thrashing— past me on the way to the ambulance. It’s a good thing she’s secured to the sides of the gurney with restraints. She lifts her head and screams at me. Her words are nearly unintelligible but I can fill in the gaps. “Stay away from Rowdy or I’m going to kill you.”
~***~
Rowdy’s chest presses against my butt as we climb the rope ladder to the tree house. It’s the only way for me to do it one handed. He keeps his arms locked on either side of me as an extra safety measure. It took fourteen stitches to close the gash on the back of my hand but there was no damage to tendons or nerves. It’s a small price to pay for getting rid of Anna.
“Are you sure this can’t wait until you have full use of both hands?” He’s such a worrier.
“Nope.” I’m done waiting.
Rowdy and I were so exhausted last night when we got home from the ER that we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit my pillow. Rowdy hit the snooze icon on his phone alarm twice this morning before rolling out of bed. He gave me a pain pill and a kiss then left for work without breakfast.
While he was gone, Boone helped me set up the tree house so that it looked just the same as it had the night Rowdy and I gave ourselves to each other four years ago.
After work, Rowdy and I took Wade, Cherri, Derek and Boone out for dinner to thank them for their help and to celebrate our victory. But now, it’s time for us to enjoy a private celebration.
He gives my butt a gentle push to help me get through the trap door. I spin around so I can watch his face.
His eyes widen then drift to half-mast as his lips curve up in a slow, seductive smile. “If I check The Hole, will I find a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling cider?”
“Maybe.” I’d considered buying a bottle of champagne, but decided to keep everything exactly the same, as much as possible. Besides, mixing pain meds and alcohol is never a good idea. “But you aren’t allowed to check. Not yet.”
I scoot onto the sleeping bag so Rowdy has enough room to squeeze through the trap door. I take the necklace out of my back pocket. “I have something for you.”
He arches his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? What is it?”
“It’s nothing really.” My cheeks heat up as I drop the necklace into his palm. “It’s just those old glass beads I made with Aunt Lori. The ones she gave you after I disappeared?”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he strokes each bead.
“I filed down the sharp edges and added some spacer beads between them to protect the string. But you don’t have to wear it or anything.”
“Are you kidding me?” He slips it on, fastening the bead and loop closure in front then sliding it around to the back. “I’ll never take it off.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.” He crawls over me on his hands and knees. “You fixed these beads the way you’re fixing me.”
“You don’t need fixing.” I lie back as he kisses a trail up my body. My legs fall open.
Rowdy settles between them, the hard ridge of his erection pressing against my thigh. “I still have a few rough edges that need softening.”
He runs his hand up my ribcage, his thumb sweeping across my nipple. He kisses my neck, just below my ear. “How’s your hand?”
My arm’s bent at a ninety degree angle, propping my hand up off the floor. It’s throbbing but he doesn’t need to know that. I rock my hips. “As long as I keep it above my heart, it’s fine.”
“God, Skylar.” Rowdy groans and lets a little more of his weight press down on me. He claims my mouth, sucking and nipping at my bottom lip. His tongue sweeps over mine then retreats. He pulls back and rests his forehead on mine as tremors rock both our bodies. “Are you sure?”
The question takes me back in time. We were so sure of our future, of each other and of ourselves. We had our whole lives planned out. Rowdy was going to start working for Uncle Will full-time as soon as he graduated from high school. Then when I graduated a year later, we were going to get an apartment together. He’d continue to work while I went to CU on my grandfather’s grant. Then I’d get a job so he could go to college. After that, we’d start a family. It all sounds so simplistic and naive now.
I have no idea what the future holds for either of us. No one does, really. But I know what I want. And it’s right here in front of me. Or more accurately, on top of me.
“I’m sure, Rowdy.”
He rocks back on his knees and pulls his shirt off then slides his hand under the hem of my light pink tank, skimming the bare skin next to my waistband. “You wore a shirt just like this last time.”
“It’s the same shirt.” I never wore it again, but I kept it. I kept the black denim shorts I’d worn too, but they, unlike my top, are not made out of extremely stretchy fabric.
He slips the front clasp of my bra between his thumb and index finger but lets go without undoing it. He adjusts himself in his jeans then lies d
own, half-on half-off my body, keeping one knee tucked between mine.
Tears fill my eyes when I realize he’s also recreating the past.
He kisses my breast, over my bra. I trail my fingers over his bare chest, gradually working my way lower. Rowdy takes my wrist and moves my hand to his shoulder. I smile. He’s got a lot more control now, but this is how we were before. One step back for every two steps forward.
He slides down and takes one of my lace-covered nipples into his mouth. Gently at first, then sucking and tugging with increasing vigor as he kneads my other breast. His stubbled cheek raises goose bumps as he drags it across my upper chest to take my other breast in his mouth.
I slide my hand down his torso again. This time he lets me caress him over his jeans. He murmurs, “God, Skylar. I want you so bad,” then thrusts against my palm.
“I can tell.”
He fingers the front clasp of my bra again. “May I?”
“Please.”
My nipples are already hard and aching for his touch. He licks a circle around one before flicking it with his tongue. My back arches.
He lifts his head, breaking contact as he moves his fingers to the button on my waistband. “Is this okay?”
I nod.
He flicks it open. “Are you sure?”
“Wait.”
He freezes then lifts his chest and frowns at me. “Wait?”
“If you touch me now, I’ll come and that didn’t happen the first time.”
“Babe, I’m all for being sentimental, but there’s no way I’m letting you out of this tree house without giving you at least one orgasm.”
“Okay.” Our reenactment is over. And it really is okay. It’s better than okay. I’ll always treasure the memory of our early years together, but what we have now is so much better. I’ll always love the shy, awkward boy that I first fell in love with, but I love the strong, confident man that he’s become even more.
Rowdy tugs on my shorts. “Lift up.”
I raise my hips.
He slides my shorts and panties down my legs then kisses his way back up.
He rises to his knees and pulls a condom out of his pocket then tosses it on the floor, next to the sleeping bag.
My heart skips more than just one beat when he flicks the button on his jeans open. I sit up and cup my palm over his bulging fly. “Let me.”
