Текст книги "Protecting Her"

Автор книги: Alexis Noelle

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

Chapter Twenty Five

Samantha

The ride downstairs is quiet. I hate that I have turned us into this. That my stupidity and emotional immaturity caused this separation between us. Aside from that, I am so anxious to sit down with my dad. To see him again, to talk to him, to maybe replace the family that I lost in my mother. I always watched girls with their dads and I was so envious of them. Every Father’s Day, all I wanted was to celebrate with him.

Hunter hasn’t said a word and I know that he is less than happy about my enthusiasm. He is skeptical of my father’s motives and I understand that he is trying to protect me, but right now I just don’t want to hear it. When I give the hostess my name, she walks me back to a booth that is a little more secluded than the others. My dad isn’t here yet so it’s just Hunter and I.

“I don’t want things to be like this between us.” My eyes are trained on the table. I can’t look at him. I am so embarrassed by the way I have been acting this past week.

“Well then, you shouldn’t make them like this.” His tone is cold and dismissive. I can tell that he has no interest in talking to me right now.

I look up to see my dad being led to the table. I can’t help the smile that crosses my face. I feel like the little girl who was waiting for her daddy to come back all those years ago. He smiles at me as he sits down and even though we aren’t close,  I can sense Hunter tense.

“Hey, sweetie. I’m glad that you agreed to meet with me.” His term of endearment doesn’t go unnoticed by Hunter or I. Where I smile at it and feel like it shows he still loves me, I can tell by his scoff that Hunter is less than impressed.

“Me too. I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start.” My mind is racing as I think of how much time we missed together.

“Well, you can ask me anything you want.” The waitress stops by to drop off menus and take our drink orders and it’s not lost on me when Hunter orders a whiskey, and then tells her to make it a double.

“What happened when I was younger? Why did you leave?” My entire body tenses up as I wait for the answers. I want the answer but it terrifies me at the same time.

Shock is evident on his face at my question. “Well, you just go right for the jugular. I regret leaving you every day, Sam. I left because your mother and I couldn’t make it work. She was so volatile most of the time that I just couldn’t be in that house anymore. I had no way of leaving her without leaving you.”

“What about all of the years after?” I want to believe what he says. That he never wanted to leave me.

“I wrote you letters. I lost count how many of them, but I have a feeling your mother never gave them to you. She was hell bent on keeping you away from me. You mother was one to hold grudges and I had wronged her, so she completely cut me out. That’s why I knew now was the right time. She isn’t here to keep us apart anymore. I want to make up for lost time with you, Samantha. I want to prove to you I can be the father that you deserve.” He smiles at me and I am so happy. This is what I had always hoped for, that he would come to me and tell me how important I had always been to him.

We place our orders with the waitress and Hunter orders another drink; he hasn’t said a word this whole time. All he is doing is sitting there stoically. I try to catch up with my dad, talking about all the years we have missed and the few memories I have. This has given me hope. He came back for me. He cared.

“Bullshit.” We both look over at Hunter. “That’s a sorry ass excuse. The fucking story is ridiculous. If you wanted to see your daughter, you damn well could have.” He downs another drink, I’ve lost count of the number, as he stares daggers at my dad.

My eyes go wide in shock. “Hunter, you don’t know—“

“No, Sam. You don’t know him. The guy abandoned you. He has been gone for years and never gave a shit. He wrote you letters? What fucking century are we in? He could have showed up the way he did today at any point in these past years but he didn’t. Using your mother being here as an excuse is convenient, but it’s a damn excuse nonetheless. You really can’t be buying this damn story.” His fist slams down on the table, making us all jump. Right now he is scaring me; I have never seen this side of him.

He looks at me and I don’t know what to say to him. “I have the one thing I have wanted for years and you can’t understand it. Why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“That’s funny, I thought the one thing you wanted for years was a family that loved you. I fucking gave that to you. I fucking loved you.” He gets up and walks out of the restaurant. He said loved, past tense. Does he not feel like that anymore? I know I have been extremely difficult this past week but I have just been going through so much, he has to understand that. His words cut me, each one like a knife digging into my heart.

I look back over to my dad, swallowing back the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry about all of that. We have been going through a rough patch and I think you just got the backlash of it. I am so glad that you came and that we had this chance to talk. Are you going to be in town for a while?”

“I will be here as long as you’ll have me, Sam.” He smiles and his eyes crinkle. I can’t help but smile back at him.

I settle the check with my waitress and then walk out to the lobby with my dad. I give him a hug, trying to memorize the feeling of it. I have missed him so much that I want to engrain every memory from now on into my brain. He gets into a cab and I walk back to the elevator, knowing that when I get upstairs I will most likely need to deal with a very pissed off Hunter.

I need to try to maintain control and not fight with him. It’s been my actions that have put him in the state he is in now. As I stand in front of the hotel room, I take a deep breath, readying myself to swallow my pride. I walk into the room and he isn’t in the living room. I check the bathroom and it’s empty too. Maybe he went to lay down, he did end up drinking a lot.

When I open the door to the bedroom bile rises up my throat.

No.

Hunter is lying in the bed naked, while a woman I have never seen before is on top of him, riding him. My hand goes to my mouth as my eyes well up with tears. “Oh my God.”

Hunter looks up at me with a smile on his face. “Hey doll, you wanna join?”

“Who is she?” the blonde asks, although my presence doesn’t deter her from continuing to fuck him.

Hunter laughs before looking at the blonde. “She’s no one, babe.” His hands go to her hips and he is now pretending like I’m not even standing here. I run away from the room and into the next bedroom, not knowing what to do. There is press everywhere downstairs; if I try to leave in this condition it will be the front page story. I lock the door to my bedroom and curl into the fetal position on the bed.

My heart feels like it has shattered into a million pieces. He made me trust him. He said he was different. He made me feel safe. He told me he loved me.

I let out a scream as sobs wrack my body.

I lost him for real this time.

The sound of them having sex echoes into my room. I can’t stay here and listen to this. I pull out my phone but most of the numbers in it are no one that I can trust. That’s when I pass Jules’ number. She is the only person I feel like I can reach out to. If she even answers my call.

“Hello?”

“Jules? It’s Sam.” I choke out the words, barely able to say them.

“Sam? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Her voice is worried and she is talking quickly.

“I need somewhere to go.” I don’t want to get into all of this on the phone but I can’t stay here.

“Okay, do you want to come here? Is Hunter with you?” His name drives a knife straight through my chest.

“Would you mind? It’s just me.” I almost whisper the last sentence.

“Come on over. I’ll be here when you get here.”

I thank her and then hang up. I text Joe and ask him to get the car but it takes a little while because I can barely see the phone screen through my tears. Trying to hide myself from the waiting cameras, I pull on a hoodie and grab the biggest pair of sunglasses I own.

***

The ride to Jules’ house is a blur. Joe doesn’t ask me what is wrong but my hysterical crying and Hunter’s absence probably gives him a good idea. Once we pull up to her house, I race up the steps and the door opens without me even needing to knock.

“Oh my God. Sam? What happened?” Her face is full of concern as she takes in my obvious disheveled appearance.

I step into the house and head straight for the couch. I recount the events of the last week. How I pushed Hunter and everyone else away. How my dad showed up. The fight. The scene in the room.

“I can’t believe this. I mean, I know his history babe, but I never thought he would cheat on you. I’ve never seen him love someone like he does you.” Her words get to me, only causing the tears I stopped to return. “What are you going to do?”

I just shake my head.

I know what I need to do. It’s just a question of if I can do it.

Chapter Twenty Six

Samantha

My phone rings for the third time. I see his name flash across the screen and the only thing I feel is hurt. I can’t believe he even has the nerve to call me right now.

“You know he isn’t going to stop calling.” I look over and Brian is standing on the other side of the kitchen counter.

I take a sip of my coffee. “I can’t talk to him. I can’t face him after what he did.” Every time I close my eyes, I see him and that girl. I see the smirk on his face when he saw me in the doorway.

“Well, you’re gonna have to face him, because there is no way that he will walk away from you without at least coming to see ya.” He looks at me but I don’t respond. I am choosing to handle this situation maturely and ignore it. “Ok well, he called me about ten minutes ago and I told him you were here, so you better ready yourself for that talk.”

Shit. Brian walks away before I can tell him he sucks ass.

What am I going to say to him when he gets here? Even thinking about having to face him makes me want to start crying. He shattered me last night. After talking to Jules, I went up to the guest room and cried until I eventually passed out. I thought he was it for me. My family. The person that loved me for me, and would never hurt me. He proved that was all a lie last night.

I know that the recent problems in our relationship were my fault. They came from my own insecurities and I take responsibility for that. I assumed he would hurt me so I had started to push him away. At this point, I can see that my assumption was right. My plan didn’t work, though. Pushing Hunter away didn’t make it hurt any less when he crushed me.

Jules comes into the kitchen and I can see the pity in her eyes. “How are you holding up?”

“Truth?” She nods. “I’m not. I was barely keeping it together this morning before Brian told me that Hunter knew where I was. Now that I know he is coming here I’m just—“

The doorbell cuts me off.

I know who it is.

A pit forms in my stomach as I think about seeing him again.

“Brian and I are going leave for a little bit. If you want to stay here again tonight, you’re more than welcome.” She gives me a hug before walking away. I hear the door open, and after a few whispered words, it shuts again.

I know he’s in the room. He’s standing behind me, but I can’t bring myself to turn around and face him. I feel his arms encircle me and I throw them off of me, my sadness quickly replaced with rage that he would dare to touch me. “Don’t you ever touch me again.”

I turn to face him, confused by the shock that is present on his face. “Sam, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“Are you fucking serious?” I can’t believe he just walked in here like nothing happened last night. Like he didn’t completely betray me. Like he wasn’t fucking another woman not even twenty-four hours ago.

“Yeah, I don’t get why you’re here. Why Brian gave me the look of death and Jules punched me. Why you are looking at me like you hate me.” His eyes seem to be searching for something in mine, but he will find no sign of love.

“Because I do.” I say this so low that I don’t know if he hears me.

“You hate me?” his voice is laced with hurt and surprise.

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? After what you did, I can’t even stand to look at your face.” My voice is strong but inside I want to scream how much I love him.

“Sam, what are you talking about?”

“I cannot believe you are still keeping up this innocent bullshit! You cheated on me last night! I had to walk into my hotel room to find you banging that damn bimbo! You looked right at me and kept fucking her! I had to see her smile and laugh at me like I was some pathetic loser! You promised me you would always be there for me! That you would never give up on me the way that everyone else did, but that was a damn lie. Things got tough and you went right back to your old ways.” I cross my arms over my chest in an attempt to hide my heavy breathing. My heart is beating so fast and adrenaline is pumping through my entire body.

His face pales. “Sam, I would never cheat on you. I love you. I don’t—“

“No! Don’t you dare ever say those words to me again! You don’t love me.” My voice breaks and I fight to hold back the tears. I need him to leave.

“I do love you, Samantha. I don’t remember anything that happened last night. Something is wrong.” His voice reeks of desperation. I can tell he wants me to believe him.

“You’re right, Hunter. Something is wrong. You’re still here. You need to leave. I am officially letting you go, you’re fired. And we are officially over.” I move to walk past him but he grabs my arm.

Before I know what I’m doing, I slap him across the face. “I said you are not allowed to touch me ever again.”

“Sam, please I don’t know what’s going on, but you can’t do this. You can’t just say that we are over and that you don’t love me. I know you do.” He is rubbing the spot on his face that is now red from my hand. His eyes bore into me, begging me for some sort of hope. He won’t find any.

“Correction, I used to love you. To be able to love someone you need a heart. Mine was broken and will never be the same again.” I run up the steps to the guest bedroom, locking the door behind me. A few seconds later, I hear Hunter banging on the door.

“Sam, please open the door. Don’t end us this way!”

I pull the covers over my head, hoping to drown out his voice. I start to cry again, releasing everything I held back as I was confronting him. I didn’t want him to see me cry, to see how sad I was. I wanted him to see my anger and only that.

The noises outside of the door stop and a few minutes later, I hear the door open and close.

I am so sick of being alone.

I wish he was still here.

I wish that we could still be together.

I miss him already.

Why’d he have to break us?

Chapter Twenty Seven

Hunter

Two months.

That’s how long it’s been since Sam ended things, and I still have no idea what the hell happened. I woke up that morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck with no memory of the night before. I have had a lot more to drink then I had that night and nothing like this had ever happened. I miss her so damn much, but she won’t take my calls.

I love her so much that not being with her hurts. She said she saw me with that other girl but I can’t believe it. Since I met Sam I haven’t even wanted to look at another girl much less touch one. None of this shit makes sense and she won’t talk to me so I can try to figure it out.

I took a new job in the industry just to try to be around her. I call her every single day and leave a message, but she never returns my calls. I miss her so damn much and I don’t know what else I can do. Everywhere she goes it’s like she is untouchable; I can’t get within a few feet of her. Tonight I will see her though. My client, Angela, has an award show to attend and Sam will be there too.

I take a deep breath before exiting the limo and helping Angela out. My eyes scan the crowd, searching for Sam. I finally see her and her slime ball father. There is something up with that guy. The first time I met him, I knew that he was up to no good. The excuses he was feeding Sam were ridiculous.

I study her as I walk with Angela into the building. There is no smile on her face. No light in her eyes. There is no trace of the girl I knew. The girl I still love. She looks like she’s lost weight and I worry that she relapsed and fell back into her old habits. I need to get to her tonight, even if I have to sneak into her hotel room.

I will get to her.

***

The event ended and I made sure that Angela got back to her room. Ryan reluctantly had his guy hack into the hotel’s system and find out what room Jules is staying in. Now that I’m walking toward her door, I’m getting nervous. Joe is outside, which is strange, considering he is only her driver. He sees me coming and his eyes widen in surprise.

“Hunter, what are you doing here?”

“Joe, I need to talk to her. I know that your job is to keep people out but I need to see her, please just—“

“Go.” I look at him in confusion. “Go in there. She hasn’t been the same since you two parted and I hate that father of hers. Try to bring back whatever part of her you can.”

Joe’s words have me even more worried for Sam than I was before. “Thanks.” I give him a nod before he slides the key card in and opens the door.

“Sam?” The suite is silent and I don’t want to piss her off by walking in on her getting dressed or something. As much as seeing her like that again would make me so fucking happy, I want this to go well. I call her name a few more times before hearing a loud crash and a scream. Everything that is going on right now is giving me a bad feeling.

I text Ryan, letting him know our location and that if he doesn’t hear from me in five, that I might need back-up. I race into the room the noise came from to find Sam on the floor. I run to her, dropping to my knees and checking for a pulse. Thank God she has one.

“Sam? What happened?” I stroke her face, trying to wake her up.

I hear a gun being cocked behind my head. “Don’t move, motherfucker.” I put my hands up as Sam starts to wake up. Her eyes go wide as she looks up at me. “Stand up and move over to the bed. Take that little bitch with you.”

I help Sam up and the way that she winces as she stands makes me want to kill whoever hurt her. I turn around and see none other than her father holding the gun. “I knew you were a lying piece of shit.”

“Yeah, you did. Too bad dumb ass here wouldn’t listen to you. All I had to do was say a few nice words to her and poof, she chose me over you. That and setting you up helped some too.” He smiles at me.

“What the fuck do you mean?” My anger is building.

“He means that we made it so my dimwit daughter would catch you in the act and leave you. Our plan never would have worked if you were still in the picture.” I look to the entrance of the bathroom and see Sam’s mother. Holy fuck.

“You coming here tonight is actually pretty perfect. We weren’t planning on killing her for a few more weeks but everyone loves a Romeo and Juliet story.” Her mother walks over to where her father stands. The smile on her face shows that she is proud of herself, sick fuck. A chill of fear runs through my body, not for myself but for her. What if I fail? What if I can’t protect her like I promised her I would?

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” Sam clings to me from behind and I can feel her body shaking. “This is your daughter. You should love her and treat her like she is the most important thing in the world to you. Instead, you make her life hell and then scheme to, what? Kill her for money?”

“Don’t make it sound so easy, dear. Convincing that waitress to spike your drink and finding a girl who would willingly sleep with you, was no easy task. Unfortunately, since you ruined the stalker plan, we had to take drastic measures.” I hear Sam take a quick breath, in what I can only assume is shock. I fucking knew it. I knew there was no way I would have ever done that to her. These assholes think that they can just fuck with everyone’s life and it makes me sick. “It’s actually good that you came here. I had a feeling if we got rid of her you would have been a problem. I can’t tell you how entertaining it was to listen to your messages too. Sam, I love you. Sam, please talk to me. Sam, I’m not me without you. You are absolutely pathetic.” Sam’s hands grip my sides harder; I thought she had gotten the messages and never responded. Little did I know the she-devil was back and worse than ever. I have never wanted to punch a bitch in the face so much. This woman is the damn devil incarnate.

I’m praying that Ryan got my text and is already on his way. Judging by their faces, it won’t be long until these two lose the tiny grip they have on reality. I wish Sam would have found some way to reach out to me. I would have found a way to get her out of their clutches. I would have saved her. Fuck it.

I turn my back on them and hold her face between my hands. For their plan to work, a bullet in the back would be hard to stage. I hear them telling me to turn around but my eyes are connected with Sam’s

“I love you so much. Whatever happens here, know that you are worthy of being loved. That these two sickos aren’t something to measure your worth by. You are the most incredible person I have ever met.” I kiss her but then I hear footsteps coming up from behind me.

I turn quickly to see her father approaching and swing my right fist into his cheek. It feels so good to drive my fist into him that I don’t stop I follow his body to the floor, laying into him again and again.

I hear a loud bang.

Ryan and everyone are here.

Sam’s mother turns and points the gun at her.

I run not thinking of anything else but keeping her safe.

A pain spreads through my chest.

The blackness envelops me as I sink to the floor.