Unbeautifully Loved (Breathe Again) (39 page)

My eyes slowly opened.

Then snapped shut as the soft light blinded me.

Where am I?

I tried again, with only one eye, but everything was fuzzy. Dizziness swept through me and my body bucked and pain swept through me. I stifled a moan; moving was next to impossible, keeping my eyes open was hopeless.

Oh, God. What happened to me?

My eyes flickered again, and I turned my head slightly seeing him in the driver’s side, but before I could make out his face, a warmth enveloped me, blurring my vision and everything faded to black.

My eyes opened.

I felt groggy and dizzy but somewhat alert. The car was still moving as I tried to move, pain shooting in every direction still and I tried to swallow a cry that wanted out. My head felt fuzzy as what happened back at the house came rushing back. A man attacked me in my house; possibly drugging my water, making me powerless to escape before I blacked out.

I painfully turned my head in the direction of the front seat as the car came to a complete stop and I knew what I had to do it. I closed my eyes and listened. I heard him turn off the ignition then move in his seat as I felt his eyes land on me for a brief moment then I heard his door open and slam close.

One.

Shit, I can’t do this.

Two.

Fuck, yes I can. I have to.

Three.

My heart pounded uncontrollably in my chest as I waited.

Four.

The door opened, his hand wrapped around my ankle and he dragged me towards him.

Five.

My free leg shot out and kicked him as hard as I could manage. He grunted, and stumbled back, falling to the ground, groaning in agony.

I shot up, ignoring the pain expanding through my body, only thinking of getting away from him as I scrambled out of the car and ran in the direction we had come from.

I didn’t get far when suddenly I felt myself falling forward onto the hard cement. I put my hands out to break the fall and as I hit the ground, a loud crack sounded in one wrist and I screamed out in pain knowing something was broken.

“You
fucking
bitch,” he seethed as he gave me a swift kick in the stomach, knocking the air out of me. “Why did you have to go and do that, look at what you made me do?”

I looked up at him through my hazy tears; his mask was off and I knew who it was, even if I could just barely make him out through the fuzziness.

“Dex,” I cried, “Stop, please you’re hurting me.” I cried out again as pain ran through me, pulsating in every fucking part of my body, including the hair on my head.

He laughed.

I swallowed the sobs, as the tears slid down my cheeks.

His laugh became louder.

My body somehow froze even more.

Oh, God, no.

I knew Dex’s laugh better than anyone, I had heard it in my head so many times and I knew what it did to me and I also knew what it would do to me when and if I were to hear it again. But hearing this laugh didn’t bring that feeling, it brought something else, something new yet familiar, very familiar.

Blinking the tears away quickly, I looked up at him. My eyes finally became less blurry and as he came into focus two things happened.

One, I felt my veins turn to ice like someone had injected me with arctic water.

And two, the bile that had rose and sat in the back of my throat from the pain, came sputtering out all over the ground, more tears filled my eyes and a scream built in my chest.

“
No. No. No
,” I screamed through the tears and agony. “Nooo,” I whimpered, my forehead resting on the rocky ground.

This can’t be happening.

“Oh Lexie, you stupid,
sexy
little bitch,” the familiar voice laughed. “Of course it’s
me
, you were expecting who,
Bradley Cooper
?”

“This can’t be happening,” I said through a broken sob that wrecked my body. I looked up into the once familiar, now unknown eyes. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it baby.” He winked and a wicked smile spread across his features and he crouched down closer, inches away from me.

“Erik,” I whimpered.

Erik.

Before I could say anymore, the last thing I saw was Erik’s solid fist come flying towards my face turning everything dark.

“Lexie baby, wake up,” Lukas’ soft, calming voice sung in my ear.

I stirred, rolling over into his open arms
and nuzzled into his always warm, solid chest. “Home,” I muttered in his chest.

“What’d you say, Peaches?” Lukas said as he stroked my hair, sending waves of warm tingles over my body.

“You’re my home Lukas, being with you just feels complete; it feels right like there’s nowhere else I’m supposed to be.” My lips brushed against his right peck before I moved in closer, his arms tightening around me.

“Then please don’t leave me baby.” Lukas said, his voice no longer soft or calm but rough and worried, sounding far away.

I laughed thinking he was kidding, “Baby, I’m right here, in your arms, I’m not going anywhere,” I said. I Pulled away to look up at him only to find the bed empty. “Lukas? Lukas where are you?” I called sitting up and looking around.

“Lukas is gone Lex, and you’ll never see him again,” a voice said from behind me. I turned, my body becoming rigid as I came face to face with Erik.

A scream rose in my throat as a hideous grin spread across his face as he lunged towards me.

My eyes snapped open, seeing nothing but darkness.

I was flat on my back, the surface under me hard and uncomfortable, and my body shivering and in pain. My left arm was at my side, the other above my head, almost numb to the point of no feeling. I jerked my hand, and I heard the clang as something cool and solid pulled against my wrist.

“Shit, what the fuck?” I rasped out, my throat dry and scratchy. I pulled on my wrist again, hissing in pain as a jolt shot down my arm. I was cuffed to the metal head board of a bed.

I turned as best as I could on my side. I slid my legs up into the fetal position as m
y body vibrated from the cold. I pulled the thin blanket I had wrapped around myself closer, wincing with the movement; shooting pain licked my body in every direction. I knew I had broken bones in my ribs, my face and my wrist that was cuffed to the bed. Pain swept over my face and into my head.

I raised my free arm up slowly, painfully, feeling my damp face as my fingers found their way to the gash on the side of my head. Unable to hold my arm any longer, it fell to the side and dangled off the edge of the bed.
 
I could feel myself slipping away from my body again, it was beaten and bruised, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

Sleep was the last thing I wanted.

My mind was disoriented. I had no idea what day it was or how long I had been locked in this cold, dark place. Time was frozen, becoming nonexistent, and I was sure the days were just bleeding together. I thought about Finn and Mollie, hoping and praying they were safe because I didn’t know if I was ever going to see them again; the thought of that was unbearable. My eyes watered, nose burned and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Pull it together
. Think.

I had no idea what caused Erik to do this to me. I had questions swimming in my head, questions I wanted answered and he was the only one who could answer them.

I knew he couldn’t have been the one who attacked me, I’ve seen him without a shirt and he doesn’t bear the tattoo my attacker had.

But was he the one behind all the flowers and gifts I’d received?

Was he the one who took my things? Who was in my bed?

Did he use Mollie to get to me? Payback for not going on a date with him?

Or I somehow befriended an escaped crazy mental patient and now I was paying the price?

My mind shifted to Lukas, who I knew would have known something happened and was out looking for me, not stopping until I was back with him and Finn; safe and sound. I had to hold on to that thought of returning home to them. I didn’t want to start believing that meeting Lukas was for nothing.

It wasn’t for nothing.

Meeting him changed my life, even if it took longer than it should have to finally realize what we had and just how flawless it really was. I never thought I’d meet someone like him, who would finally complete me like he did or love me as much as he did. But the void Dex had made was gone and I was in love. The kind of love that only comes to you once in a lifetime and when it does you grab on and never let it go, because it will never come to you again.

It was the kind you didn’t wanna live without.

And Lukas didn’t even know how I felt, I’d waited too long.

The door creaking open brought me out from my thoughts. My swollen eyes closed as light followed behind him. I wanted to pull my blanket up to hide myself and hope it would make me disappear but I couldn’t and there was no point in trying.

My eyes opened as best as they could, the right more swollen than the other. “Erik,” I croaked out. “Why are you doing this?” my voice cracked.

He smiled at me and I don’t know how I never noticed just how ugly his smile was, “I knew I had to have you the moment I saw you,” he said, his voice sounding nothing like it usually did. It was whinier and high pitched.

And it sent horrible chills over my body.

Looking at him you wouldn’t think this kind of maliciousness would come from him and consume him, but it did. It was written over his face, in the grin he wore and burning in his cold, dead blue eyes. Another shiver ran over me as I thought of them, looking back at me, blank, and filled with nothing but coldness and the brightness of those eyes forever gone. I’d never seen a pair of eyes so cold or so dark, not even the pair I looked into years before.

“So you drugged me, attacked me and beat the shit outta me?” I asked in disbelief.

Erik leaned against the door jam and crossed his arms over his chest. “Had to, you left me no choice. I tried everything else but it was still fucking Lukas who won out, even after everything I did; you always went running to him.” His eyes narrowed, looking at me with his icy stare.

“Tried everything? You mean asking me out and me telling you politely no,” I said in a snarky tone, ignoring the pulsating ache running wild through me.

A grin played on his lips as he dropped his arms to his sides.

“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?” he said harshly. “Come on Lex, you can’t be that fucking stupid.”

Closing my eyes, I tried to breathe through the hurt as well as the broken ribs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said honestly jerking my body and wincing.

“I guess I’ll just have to show you,” he snarled.

He turned and stalked out of the room, leaving the door wide open. I couldn’t tell anything of where we were, if it was a house or some kind of warehouse. He returned moments later carrying a small square box and flicked on the lights in the room. My eyes were meant to snap shut at the light going on but seeing what he was carrying, that wasn’t happening.