He shoved at us. Thankfully, however, not with the knife.
I tackled him, my adrenaline surging, and the blade skittered across the ground. Elise jumped on it, holding it in her hand as her arm shook.
“Get Pacey. Call the cops.” I knelt on my dad, my knee on his back as I pinned him down. “Stop it. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I just needed a few bucks. She was there. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“Dillon?”
“Get Pacey.”
“She doesn’t have to. I’m here. Let me help, Dillon. The cops are on their way.”
Pacey rushed in, Tanner, Sanders, and Miles with him, and they all held Dave down. I ran to Elise. I didn’t care that she probably still wanted space. I saw the blood on her, and I couldn’t breathe.
“Elise?”
“I’m fine. He surprised me. I’m fine.” Her teeth chattered, and I could see each of our exhales. It was so fucking cold out, but she was okay. She had to be.
She leaped into my arms, and I held her close, dropping to my knees. We fell, holding each other, and I felt the hot warmth of her tears on my neck. I was crying, as well, not able to hold back any longer.
“You’re fine, you’re fine.”
“I was so scared, but you’re here.”
I kissed the top of her head and held her as my new friends and roommates pinned my dad to the ground, and Miles ran out to direct the cops.
I had no idea what the fuck had happened or how we had ended up here. But Elise would be fine, damn it.
Somehow.
I just hoped to hell she forgave me for what Dave had done.
Chapter 20
Elise
“Are you sure we should leave?” Mom asked, and I looked up at her and smiled. “I asked you to drop me off, and you did. I’m grateful, but I could use some time with them, okay?”
My parents stood in front of the couch, looking down at me, worried expressions on their faces. It had been a day since the attack, and unlike my home, I didn’t want to lose the ability to ever walk into Dillon’s again. Even if he didn’t forgive me and we ended up never being together, I didn’t want to lose that.
So, my parents had dropped me off at Dillon’s with the rest of my friends and their families and were now about to head out.
“I want to stay for a bit. Is that okay?” I asked, even though that had been the agreement when they drove me over here. I had a slight headache but didn’t have a concussion and would be fine. And I’d only needed two stitches. Apparently, wounds on your head bled easily and copiously, and that’s why I had been in the shape I was in while in the back shed.
“That’s okay,” Dad said, holding my mom’s hand. “We wanted to see the place. It seems like a nice home,” my dad added, looking around.
“It is,” Dillon said from behind the couch, clearing his throat. I looked over at him, and he put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it slightly. “You guys don’t have to go,” he said. “You’re welcome to stay.”
My parents looked at each other and then at Dillon, shaking their heads. “No, we’ll give you two some time. I know your brothers and their wives just left, as well as a couple of the other parents, but we wanted to make sure Elise was okay.”
“I am,” I said, self-conscious now.
“Well, just let us know if you want us to pick you up, or if someone else will. We’re here if you need us.”
I knew my parents were worried, but I had to do this. I needed to stop being scared of my shadow. Everything had happened so quickly, and I hadn’t realized what had been going on.
Dillon’s dad had been strung out on meth and had needed money to pay his debts. Somehow, in his drug-addled mind, he had convinced himself that Dillon would have it for him. And vowed he would get it no matter the cost.
I had just been in the way. He had seemed remorseful after, as if he hadn’t wanted to hurt me. At least at first. But then Dillon had shown up, and everything had changed.
Dillon’s dad would be in jail for a little bit and would hopefully get the help he needed, but he was out of Dillon’s life forever. Once again. And I couldn’t be more grateful for that.
My parents leaned down and hugged me, and I sighed.
“We love you,” Mom whispered.
“Yes, we do,” Dad said, and then they left, Miles leading them out.
“We’ll give you two some privacy,” Pacey said, and Tanner, Sanders, Mackenzie, Nessa, and Natalie all nodded before dispersing, headed towards the kitchen and study areas. I was pretty sure they could probably hear us unless we were in Dillon’s room, but they were trying to give us some semblance of privacy. And that’s how I found myself alone with Dillon for the first time in days.
He sat in front of me on the coffee table, his forearms resting along his thighs. “Hey,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard. “Hey.”
“I’m so fucking sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry he hurt you. I hope you can forgive me, but I’ll understand if you can’t. It must have been so scary. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t gone out to that shed, gotten there in time.”
I shook my head. “But you did. You were there. And this is not your fault.” I leaned forward, putting my hand on his. “It’s not your fault, Dillon. In all honesty, I came over here in the first place to apologize to you.”
He frowned. “Why would you need to apologize to me?”
“Because I pushed you away because I was scared. Because I couldn’t deal with my feelings. And, honestly, I’m not there yet.”
He pulled back, his face going blank. “Not where?”
I winced. “I’m not dealing with all of my feelings. But I need to. I already talked to Mom and Dad, and we’re going to start with me seeing a therapist. Because I need to talk about Corinne. It’s tough for me to do so, but I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I didn’t need to make things worse. I need... I don’t know what I need, but I didn’t need to do what I did to you.”
“I understood why you did it, though.”
“Well, I don’t. So that’s something I need to deal with.”
I sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“How about this? How about we stop apologizing to each other? Clean slate, or at least as clean as it can be.”
He moved so he sat next to me on the couch and then brushed my hair away from my face. He was careful of my wound, and I saw the way his jaw tensed. “I almost lost you. I don’t know what I would have done if you had been hurt any more than you were.”
“He could have hurt you.” I looked down at his arm. “You got stitches, too.”
“You’re right, I did. But I’m going to be fine. And so are you. I still blame myself for what happened.”
“Don’t. I’m fine. And you’re fine. We’re going to be okay.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to feel about losing Corinne, and that’s something that will take me a while. I’m broken inside, Dillon, but I want you to be by my side when I figure things out. Can you do that? Can you be here?”