Breaking Beautiful (Broken Series #2)

by Amanda Bennett

His grip tightened and I could feel hairs being tugged one by one out of the back of my skull. “You worthless bitch. Why couldn’t you have just died? HUH? You should have died that night.” I watched intently as his other hand came up and across my left cheek. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry so I held back my tears. He cocked his hand back one more time, but this time he had a closed fist. My ears began ringing and everything turned blurry. Raylon still had a tight grip on the back of my head, holding it from falling forward.

  Just as I was about to give in and beg him to tell me if Gray was okay, I heard sirens in the far off distance. Raylon’s eyes sought mine out just as I was about to speak.

  “FUCK! Look what you fucking did. Now I have no choice.”

  “Where is Gray, Raylon? I swear to Christ if he is dead, I will kill you myself.” I wiggled trying to break loose from his grip. “You fucking piece of shit. Tell me where he fucking is.”

  “You have quite the mouth on you, don’t ya? I remember all the things you can do with that pretty little thing. Why couldn’t you just give in? I have put in more than enough of my time. Do you even know how long I have been planning this?” His hand loosened from the back of my hair and he was now pacing back and forth in front of me. The sirens were getting closer so I tried to keep him busy.

  “Why me Raylon? I want to know why?”

  “You really want to know why? I’ll tell ya, because you and your piece of shit boyfriend fucked up my little sister. That’s why. Nobody fucks with my little sister and gets away with it.” He was now holding a knife and waving it around in front of me. I sucked in a strangled breath praying that he wouldn’t use it on me. “He was always in love with you, but he never had the balls to tell Bobbi Jo. She deserved so much more than that. My parents found out the hard way, just like you and Gray will.”

  I gasped at the new information he was throwing at me. He killed his parents? “I thought they died in a car accident?” My curiosity was peaked and I found myself wanting to know everything.

  “Shut the fuck up, bitch! Just shut the fuck up! You’re mine that is all that matters now. He can’t have you, not like I will have you. That’s the funny thing about you and me and how this whole thing started. I didn’t give two shits about you in the beginning. My only goal was to hurt you the way you two hurt her. But, no, you just had to go back to him. You just had to take him back. Even after he left you when you got rid of his baby. He treated you like a piece of shit and you went back. Have you always been this fucking stupid? Fuck, I even followed you half way around the world just to get you to be with me.”

  My mind was reeling, I had no idea where all this was coming from. I just wanted to get to Gray. The sirens were pulling up in front of whomevers house we were in and I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Raylon would finally be caught.

  “Raylon?” He turned to face me just as the glass window behind him shattered into a million shards, scattering across the cold tile floor beneath me.

  I was in absolute shock when I lifted my head back up to see Gray and Jason walking through the debris. Gray ran straight for my curled up body and Jason lunged for Raylon. Gray quickly untied my hands that sat motionless in my lap, then in one fluid motion picked me up and sat me over on a couch in the far corner of the room.

  His lips pressed firmly against mine as he spoke, “hey love, how are you two doing?” He pulled away clutching my face in both of his hands, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I. I’m..,” I swallowed past the lump in my throat so I could actually speak. “We’re okay.” My hands flew up quickly grasping his face in my own two hands. “How are you even here?”

  His eyes closed for what felt like minutes before he looked back into my eyes, “all that matters is that I’m here. I’ll explain everything later. STAY HERE! I’m beyond serious Bennett, please stay right here and don’t move, no matter what, okay?”

  I nodded frivolously against his palms as tears began to spill down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure what Gray and Jason were planning on doing, but I knew I didn’t want to witness one minute of it. I watched as Jason’s fist came down repeatedly against Raylon’s jaw.

  The sound of breaking bones drifted through the air like a gunshot. The small game room that I was in began to close in around me. I knew if Gray had a minute alone with Raylon, that he would kill him. And, I mean literally kill him. Jason let go of Raylon’s t-shirt and his body fell limply against the tile. I didn’t know if he was already dead, but I also knew that it didn’t matter.

  I glanced out of the shattered window against the far wall opposite of me, waiting to see other officers come in. When no one appeared, I knew that Gray and Jason had come here all on their own. This was going to end bad, really bad! I absentmindedly rubbed the insides of my wrists where they had been bound together; all the while watching Gray’s every move.

  He kneeled down right next to Raylon’s face and mumbled something I couldn’t hear from that far away. He was instantly on his feet, reaching down to lift Raylon onto his own feet. Jason stood behind Raylon, nodding at Gray. They both glanced over at me, and then dragged Raylon’s half alert body into a room off of the room I was in.

  I don’t know what came over me but I ran, full speed towards the direction they went. The door slammed right into my face as soon as I had reached it. My fists began pounding repeatedly against the flimsy pressed wood door.

  “GRAY! OPEN THE DOOR, NOW!” An ache slowly settled into my knuckles as I kept up the tumultuous pace. “GRAY ANSWER ME GOD DAMN IT!” My fists hit harder and harder every time I made contact, willing the door to open in my face. “GRAY DON’T DO IT! PLEASE BABY, LET THE POLICE TAKE CARE OF IT.”

  When I still got no answer, I went in search of a phone. The place we were in was small. I would guess a small apartment. There was just the room I was in, the room they were in, a kitchen and a small living room. There was barely any furniture and it dawned on me that this is where Raylon must have been hiding out all this time.

  I had just rounded the corner into the small kitchen when I heard it. It was deafening and I had to cover my ears to stop the ringing. My face and hands fell along with my body onto the kitchen floor. Tears that had since dried began rolling free again. I couldn’t tell you exactly why I was crying but I was. My small sobbing soon turned into full-blown hysterics and I was finding it hard to catch my breath. One thing I knew for sure, I couldn’t stay to find out what had happened, let alone who did it.

  So I ran!

  Twenty-Five

  Gray

  I was just about to reach for the brass knob to open the door when I heard the gun shot behind me. I turned and ran straight for Jason. I body checked him into the wall and then ran to Raylon. I stopped inches away from him as I noticed where the bullet had hit. I sighed in relief knowing that my gut instinct was correct. Jason could never kill anybody. Hell, as much as I hated this man for everything, I don’t even think I could kill him.

  “Jason, what the fuck?” I pressed two fingers against Raylon’s neck, checking for a pulse. I found a very faint one and reached for my cell phone in my back pocket.

  “Yes, this is Officer Weston. I need an ambulance at 4964 Eliod Dr. Apartment 22. Yes, both officers are fine. Thanks.” I hung up and walked slowly over to Jason.

  “I just wanted to scare him, that’s all bro. I aimed a little high.” He was running his hands down his face and I knew he was worried.

  “It’s fine. We’ll just say he lunged at you and you had no choice. It was self defense.”

  “Gray, I was aiming for his heart. I wanted to kill him, for you, for Bennett, hell for every woman out there.”

  I slowly began pacing as I thought about the current predicament that my partner and I were in. I should have called for back up the minute I was away from the house. Damn it! My mind instantly went to Bennett and I ran out the door in search of her. She had to have heard the gun shot. FUCK!

  I searched every nook and cran
ny in the shitty apartment, coming up empty handed every time. I rushed back to Jason, “have you seen Bennett? I can’t find her anywhere. Fuck Jason, she’s gone.”

  “Stay here until the ambulance comes. I’ll go outside and see if I can find her. It’s too cold for her to have gone too far.”

  I watched his retreating figure disappear through the doorway. My heart was aching. She was gone. What was I going to do now? I looked over at Raylon’s lifeless form slouched down in the chair in front of me. He started to stir and I made my way over to him in two strides.

  “You fucking did this, you piece of shit.” I was holding his face to mine, our noses almost touching. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

  He mustered up enough energy to spit blood into my face and I cocked back ready to rearrange his face, worse than it already was but something stopped me. I dropped my fist and his face, choking back the tears threatening to spill over. How can one person make you lose everything you ever wanted in life?

  “She was never yours.” He gurgled before he passed back out.

  I pushed my fingers back through my unruly hair. I shook my head in disbelief, knowing that I only had myself to blame. This was my entire fault. No matter what he had put her through, I had done just the same. Instead of physical abuse, I bestowed upon her emotional distress. What had I turned into?

  My hand slipped into my back pocket, grasping the thin phone between my trembling fingers. I dialed the only person I knew would listen to me. She answered on the second ring, terror strangling her voice.

  “Gray?”

  “Yeah Han, its me.”

  “What the hell is going on? I just got a phone call from Bennett, asking me to come pick her up from some apartment. Where the fuck are you and what the FUCK did you do?”

  I could tell she was going to hang up if she didn’t give her the answer she wanted. “There was a fire, then he took her, we found her, Jason hit him, he shot him.” I was having one hell of a time putting together a coherent sentence. My frustration got the best of me and I lashed out. “Where the hell is she Hannah? Tell me now. I need to know she is okay.” I started pacing yet again, wanting to reach through the phone and strangle it out of her.

  “I’m not telling you Gray.” Her voice wavered then became quiet. “I’m sorry, Gray. You don’t deserve to know.”

  “Han-“ It was too late, the line went dead. I stared down at my phone, sorrow and loss humming through my body. She was gone. I threw the phone across the room, shattering it into tiny pieces. I slid my back down the wall, catching my tear-ridden face in my hands.

  I heard the ambulance sirens inching closer through the open front door. Theo and his partner came rushing into the open space. I felt Theo’s hand squeeze my shoulder just before he spoke. “Gray? Bennett is okay.”

  My head shot up with my mouth hanging wide open. “Please Theo, can I see her?” I was now standing next to him, practically ripping his shoulder off.

  “I’m sorry, Gray. She’s not here anymore. She’s okay though and so is the baby. She’ll find you when she is ready.”

  I watched his forlorn expression morph into something different, something I have never seen in him before. I watched as he inched his way closer to Raylon’s body. It hit me the moment his fingers pressed against Raylon’s neck. The look he had now was, loss. I had forgotten how close him and Raylon had been before Bennett and me. A part of my heart hurt for him losing his friend, the other part just wished it all away.

  ****

  Theo and his partner had shown up a few minutes too late. The bullet went into his left shoulder, with no exit wound. Apparently, he had bled out. I half hugged Theo telling him I was sorry for his loss. He was still working so he shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

  I knew Theo well enough now to know that this was hitting him hard. I don’t know for sure how long him and Raylon had been friends but I knew it was awhile. I knew Theo felt awful for the things that Raylon had done to Bennett, but I couldn’t imagine losing someone you thought you knew as something else.

  I walked out of the apartment right behind Theo, his partner Justin and the gurney holding Raylon’s body. A huge part of me was relieved that Raylon had died from Jason’s gun shot wound. The other part of me knew the cost of what had happened tonight. Jason walked up beside me as I watched the ambulance drive away, no sirens or lights needed at this point.

  Jason’s hand came up, clutching my shoulder in his hands. “I’m sorry, bro. I know this isn’t how you wanted things to go. I take full blame for this. Do you want me to talk to Bennett for you?”

  I knew Jason was being sincere, I could see it in his eyes. He truly felt bad, but I didn’t. I was grateful that Raylon was dead, what I wasn’t grateful for was the guilt that my partner was going to feel, for taking another man’s life.

  “I’m sorry this is what it came down to, Jay. I just need my girl back.” I started to walk towards my car, suddenly realizing that I had nowhere to go. I nodded in Jason’s direction, for him to get in the car too. “We have to go back to the house, see what’s left.”

  We drove the twenty minutes it took for me to drive back to my house in silence. Really, what was there to be said at this point? We were expected back at the station to give our statements just as soon as we were done here.

  Embers and soot lay in heaps as I made my way over to the firemen, still dousing the flicker of flames threatening to go up again. I stood in front of the fire chief as he started to explain the extensiveness of the damage. I heard maybe every third word, as I stood emotionless, staring at our beautiful house in shambles. Before I could respond, he was patting me on the back and walking away.

  “Wait.” I shouted after him. “Is it salvageable?” I sighed.

  He nodded, “it will take some work, but fortunately it only got the very front of the house. It only hit in the places the gasoline was poured.” He waved goodbye as I made my way up to what used to be our front door.

  The front porch, front room and foyer were completely gone. It sat as ashes at my feet. I kicked at the smoldering ash before walking into the kitchen. I turned around, surveying the damage from the inside. I guess we got lucky, it was only the front of the house and I could easily rebuild, but would I have her to bring back to it? Would I have the only family I had left?

  Twenty-Six

  Bennett

  I ran out the front door of the apartment, leaving it all behind me. I was determined to leave him, to get away from all the violence that seemed to follow me. I got as far as the first carport when I felt a sharp pain in my belly. I looked down at my growing baby, second-guessing everything I thought I knew.

  My pace slowed to a crawl as I turned around, heading back to the apartments. I knew I couldn’t face Gray or what had happened, so I opted for knocking on a stranger’s door. I wasn’t appropriately dressed for the current weather conditions and a chill quickly crept through my body.

  I decided to go to an apartment further away from where I was. People were starting to open their doors out of curiosity, I’m assuming over hearing a gun go off. I found an elderly woman standing out on her front step as I made my way to her building. She didn’t shy away when she saw me approaching. I don’t know if it was my lack of clothing or the fact that you could faintly see my baby bump but she welcomed me inside regardless.

  “Would you like something to drink, dear?” Her voice was soothing and I couldn’t help but be hypnotized by it. “Dear?”

  “Yes please. Some water, maybe?” I didn’t want to be a burden.

  “Would you like to use the phone to call somebody?” I would have questioned her motives had I not needed exactly what she was asking.

  “Please.” I mumbled, as I made my way over to the phone hanging on her wall. Hannah and Gray’s numbers were the only ones I knew by heart. I couldn’t bring myself to call Gray or even speak to him, so I called Hannah.

  “Hello?” Her questioning tone frightened me, but then I rem
embered that I had called from a number she didn’t know.

  “Han-“ I cleared my throat trying to speak in a normal tone. “Hannah, its me. I need you to come get me please.”

  “Bennett? Where are you?” I could hear the worry in her voice spike when I didn’t answer right away.

  “Just come get me please.” I quickly gave her the address and made my way over to the old woman’s couch to look out the window. When I had picked her place to go for comfort, I hadn’t noticed that she had a clear view of what was going on outside. I watched as the ambulance pulled up, parking right outside of the stairs in front of Raylon’s place. When I saw Theo jump out of the ambulance, I ran to him without a second thought.

  My body crashed into his, sending him back a couple inches trying to plant his feet so he or I wouldn’t fall. “Oh my god Theo.” My grip around his neck tightened as he tried to pull me back to get a better look at me.

  “Bennett, what the hell are you doing here?” His eyes searched mine for an answer but came up empty.