“I said no!” The strength in my voice isn’t wavering. I can do this. He wouldn’t dare try and hurt me in public, he knows better. Twisting my neck, I break the hold he has on my chin, and dig my feet into the ground, as darkness cloaks his features. His grip tightens, and I know there will be bruises where he’s holding me. He snarls and takes a step back, trying to pull me back down the sidewalk.
“Let’s go, bitch, we both know you want me. There’s no need to try and hide it now.”
“No!” I scream and try and tug my arm away.
“Shut the fuck up!” The evilness that only I have seen, paints his features and he rears his fist back to punch me, but stops mid-air, as the sound of heavy footfalls thunders against the pavement behind us.
“I will kill you.” Clark’s voice pierces the air, and relief floods my veins.
Rick releases his hold on me and takes a step back. I swear I see a trickle of fear flicker in his eyes before the mask he always wears falls back into place. “We were just talking…” is all he manages to get out before Clark is on him, smashing his fist into Rick’s face with a ferocity that has me cringing. Rick doesn’t get a single punch in before he falls to the ground like a ragdoll, but that doesn’t stop Clark from continuing his assault. No, I can see it in his body language, feel it in the air, the anger is rancid, and clogs my throat as I suck in a ragged breath.
“Clark stop, you’re going to kill him,” Remington’s voice cuts through the air, the authority of it is almost frightening. He appears in my line of vision the next moment, pulling Clark off a motionless Rick.
I’m so numb from all of this, that I don’t see or feel Vance’s hand coming to rest on my shoulder at first. Only when he starts talking do I notice his hand moving from my shoulder to circle my forearm tugging me away from the scene carefully.
“Are you okay? Where is Ava?” His voice sounds a bit frantic and I know he is worried about her.
“She… she just went back to get her phone,” I tell him, looking back in the direction of the parking lot.
“I’ll find her. Clark, get your shit together, Emerson needs you,” Vance yells over to Clark, who is still hovering over Rick, looking every bit like a predator that’s ready to attack again. His lips curls and his body visibly shudders the darkness in his honey-colored eyes terrifies me. I can hardly breathe… How did this happen?
As if something tells him to look at me, he pulls his gaze away from the ground and his eyes find mine. As soon as he looks at me, his expression softens, but it’s too late, I’ve already caught a glimpse of the darkness that resides inside of him. I didn't think it was possible for Clark to hold this kind of anger in his heart. Jules, Remington’s girlfriend, appears at my side, her brows pinched together in confusion as she takes in the scene before her.
“What happened? Are you okay?” she asks, her eyes darting between me and Rick, her voice concerned but also comforting. Her small hand rests against my back, rubbing gentle circles against it.
“He grabbed me. I told him to go… but he wouldn’t,” I say quietly and notice my lips aren’t trembling. You’re strong. The words resonate inside of me.
Clark, who looks more composed now, comes to stand next to me, extending out his hand. I take it, letting the warmth soothe my fears away.
“We need to call the police.” She turns to Remington and all but shouts. Remington looks conflicted, as he glances to me, then Clark, and finally to Rick.
“No! No, please, no police,” I almost yell. “I just want to go home.” When no one says anything, I start to panic. “This guy is a lawyer, he’s going to spin this whole thing around. I promise you, if we call the cops right now, it’s going to turn into us all being questioned.”
Remington’s gaze hardens and he looks to Clark.
“She’s not lying, this bastard will weave a web that will get all of us in trouble,” Clark spits the words with rage.
Jules shakes her head, and I can barely look at her. I can’t image what she thinks of me right now. How weak she must assume I am.
“We can’t let him get away with this. We need to call Sebastian, Remmy.”
“Who is Sebastian?” I pipe up.
“Rem’s brother, he is the new dean. He’ll know what to do,” Clark answers.
“You two get out of here,” Rem tells us. “I’ll call my brother, and we’ll take care of this.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you taking the fall out for something I did. You’ve been through enough.”
Remington only smiles and I wonder what his story is. “My brothers bailed me out of worse shit, this is nothing.”
Clark takes a hesitant step back and tightens his hold on my hand gently tugging me along. “Thank you, Rem, I owe you one.”
Hand in hand, we walk down the sidewalk and back toward the parking lot. Ava and Vance meet us a few feet away. Ava looks distraught and guilty.
“I’m sorry Em if I wouldn’t have…”
“It’s not your fault,” I tell her before she can finish apologizing. None of this is anyone’s fault. Vance looks between Clark and me, and then back to Clark.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m going to take Emerson back to the condo. If I don’t put some distance between myself and that fucker, I’m going to end up in prison.”
“Alright, well I’ll call you later,” Vance says, squeezing Ava’s hand in his. We part ways, heading back toward the parking lot well the walk in a different direction, Ava tucked into Vance’s side protectively. Clark is still tense as we walk and I can see how hard it is for him to walk away and leave Rick there, but turning him in, hurting him will only make things worse.
“I’m sorry, babe, that you had to see me lose control like that,” he finally says when we reach the car. I don’t want him to apologize, because he did nothing wrong. He stuck up for me, protected me like he always promised and said he would, but I don’t want him to get into trouble for me. To risk going to jail for me. We get into the truck together and start heading toward the condo. It feels like I’m walking on the edge of the knife, one slip and it could all be over.
“I’m sorry, Em, really, I am. You know I would never hurt you, and I didn’t mean to act out in such a violent way. I just…” His voice trails off, and my eye catches on the blood that stains his knuckles. We’ve been here before...and I can’t let him continue to do this for me.
“I’m not scared, or angry, or anything of that sort. I’m worried, but not for me, for you.”
“For me?” Clark sounds confused, and all I can do is stare down at my hands that sit in my lap. I would never give up what I have with him, but I wish more than anything that I hadn’t dragged him into this mess.
“Yes. I don’t want you to risk getting yourself in trouble for me. Rick will and always has won, nothing can stop him.”
“You can, you can stop him. All you have to do is say something, speak out, go to the police and tell them what you told me.”
“No,” I squeak. “No, you don’t understand, and I wouldn’t expect you to. I’m thankful that you were there and protected me, that you saved me, but there is nothing we can do against someone like him.”