Chapter Sixteen

 

“So, what do you wanna do when we get back to the house, Sara?”

“I don’t know.  Why?”

“Something to talk about.”

“Well what can we do?”

“We could…  I don’t know, sit around, get drunk, and pass out?”

“Right.  You’re an a*s.”

“But you love me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”  She looked up and saw headlights coming from the road.  Hazy points of light that just kept getting bigger.  She poked Mel until she woke just as the car stopped in the middle of the parking lot and Josh got out.

“He’s here, hon.  Do you want us to get out with you or what?”

“Whatever you want to do.”

All of them got out of the car and Mel grabbed Sara’s hand for support as the three of them walked to Josh.

“You have an entourage now, huh, Melanie?”

“Don’t be an a*s, what do you want?”

“I want what I can’t have.”

“You’re right, you can’t have me.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re a f*****g controlling, jealous a*****e.”

 Sara looked at Mel, trying to tell her not to piss him off with her eyes.  She wasn’t paying any attention.

“Whoa now, getting touchy are we baby?”  He came a little closer.

“Don’t, Josh.  What do you want?  The stuff you gave me?  It’s at my house.  I’ll have to give it to you later.”

“Nah, I don’t want that.  I already told you.”

“Well pick something else then.  You can’t and won’t have me.  I don’t want you touching me.”

“Oh that hurts.  Not even one last goodbye kiss, that cuts deep.”  He smiled.

He’s freaking nuts.  Mel’s right for leaving him.  My god.

“Okay, fine Josh.  If you don’t want to say why you’re here, we’re leaving.  I’m not in the mood for your f*****g games.”  Mel looked pissed off.

“My f*****g games?  I never played any games with you.  You played them with me.”

“You’re so lost in yourself it’s not even funny.”  She turned to walk back and get into the car, pulling Sara with, but Josh came forward and grabbed her and spun her around.  Taking her hand from Sara’s.

“Don’t turn your back on me.  Don’t get me wrong, you have a nice a*s, but I want to see your face tonight.”

“Let me go now, Josh.  Leave us alone.”  She was looking into his eyes and the anger was draining away to fear.  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

By this time Sara had stepped forward and, to her surprise, Jared had too.  “Please let her go Josh.  I don’t want your money or anything.  Just let her go.  Everything will be fine.  We’ll all go home and go to bed and forget about this in the morning.”

“No, we f*****g won’t,” he turned to Sara with a look of pure hatred glazed over with craziness, “I will have my time tonight.  Whether you like it or not.”

“Is that a threat?”

He must have forgotten about Jared because he didn’t see him coming.  Jared had punched him in the face so hard he forgot about Mel enough to let her go.  When his fist struck into Josh’s face you heard the bones crunch as blood spurted from his nose.  Josh screamed in a fit of rage and looked at all the blood on his hands from covering his face.

Jared looked to Sara who was holding Mel and said something that was drowned out by Josh’s scream.  By reading his lips and his eyes, she got the point to move away.

Josh came back at Jared swinging at him and hitting him in the shoulder just as he was moving.  Josh hit him again, this time in the face, but he missed his mark and just hit Jared’s cheek.  It was still painful, but nowhere near as distracting as a broken nose.

“I. Will.  Have.  Her.  Or.  No.  One.  Will.”  Sara heard these words in grunts between the two guys fighting.  Josh said it with so much anger that she knew he’d hurt them all if he could.  She locked herself and Mel in the car, ready to go.  Jared swung hard and fast into Josh’s face again, hitting his broken nose and stunning him momentarily.  Jared took the invitation to punch him in the throat and get him on the ground gasping for air.  For a second, Sara thought Jared was going to jump on top of Josh and start hitting him in the face again.  Instead, he dropped down on one knee and grabbed Josh’s throat, squeezing it so he had his attention, said something, and walked back to the car.

When he got in the passenger side, he said one word.  “Go.”  Sara just looked at him.  His voice was thick with whatever had driven him to fight Josh and there was blood running down from his mouth and his cheek.

“S**t.  Are you okay?”

“Yes.  Let’s go.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“I know.  Can we please go before he pulls something stupid again?”

“Yeah.” 

On that note, Sara floored it, swerved around Josh, and was driving down the road to Jared’s house.  Glancing in the rearview, she couldn’t find Josh anywhere.

 S**t.

Jared caught her glance and said two words: “Just drive.”

Something had happened that night that had altered Sara’s perspective of life entirely.  It was worth living.  Jared fought for Mel’s safety and, ultimately, her own.  That didn’t happen every day.  She felt safe for the first time in years.  It was a hole in her that she was exhilarated to have filled.  The only problem was it didn’t last long enough.  You know the old saying… old habits die hard.