Page 8 of The Final Say
I grabbed Cameron, stopping his short. “I’m telling you this for the last time. He’s not going to listen. The one thing I know about him better than anybody is how he gets when he feels betrayed. Any slight against his character can result in a tirade. Hitting me was a last resort. He was more content with emotional torture than leaving any marks. He subjected me to his many mood swings. It was hard to walk around on eggshells trying not to say something that was going to set him off.” I prattled on nervously realizing that I was talking a little too fast without letting Cameron get a word in edgewise.
“Nobody should make you feel like that. It might sound hypocritical, but at least I’m trying to make up for my past. This time there is going to be little doubt when I finally get it through his thick skull you don’t belong to him. You don’t belong to anybody. I sometimes make that mistake but I’m trying to remember to be more respectful,” Cameron stated still holding the poker until we were at the front door with his hand on the handle.
The very idea of him standing on the other side waiting sent a cold chill of ice water through my veins. Clinging to Cameron’s arm made me feel like I was a damsel in distress looking for a big strong man to come to my rescue. It was nice to have him by my side, but I was through cowering literally or metaphorically.
Cameron wasn’t the only one done with these theatrics, but I had to commend him for taking action when I wanted to run in the opposite direction.
“I know I’m going to regret this, but I’m with you every step of the way. He can’t be allowed to make the same error in judgment over and over again. Nobody is willing to stand up to him. Fighting him wasn’t the best option, but he left you little choice,” I said with a glance over my shoulder to see there was another entry point.
It was supposed to be a selling point to have all of that glass looking out to a beautiful landscape in every direction. Instead, it was a nightmare wondering where he was going to show up next. It was good to be able to see everything, but somewhat deceiving to think that gave us any advantage. Bryan was consciously using the shadows to conceal his approach.
A loud bang was heard simultaneously with exploding glass in the kitchen. Shards shattered over the counter and into the sink. He was taking potshots to scare the living hell out of us, and it was working.
My hand clamped over my mouth to stifle any gasp sound that would feed the rush of his addiction at seeing me in fear. This time it was going to be different. No longer was I going to run when facing my problems was preferable over the alternative.
Another gunshot shattered another window, this time closer to where we were standing at the front of the door. The number of bullets he had in the chamber and what ammunition he might be carrying were all unknowns.
We couldn’t afford to make the mistake of confronting him on his terms when he was holding all the cards.
“I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it. He thinks I’m the cause of what happened back at the house and wants me to pay for it with my life. I can’t believe I’m going to say this. I’m not even sure that I can say the words without choking on them.” I took a deep breath to settle my nerves before continuing. “I’m willing against my better judgment to become live bait to lure him into a trap. You need to make yourself scarce. I don’t like it any better than you do, but I think you know it’s the only way this is going to end,” I gasped, my palms clammy and my head screaming at me to run while I still had the chance.
The gravity of the situation maybe the deepest I’d ever been.
My pulse was reacting with not so gentle thumps. I was out of my mind and overwhelmed with fear, but letting it cripple me into doing nothing wasn’t going to be what they wrote on my epitaph.
Cameron squeezed the metal poker in his hands. “Absolutely not,” he warned.”
“It’s the only way, Cameron. Otherwise we’re just sitting ducks for a bullet.”
“I wish I had a better idea. Letting you do this goes against everything I have been taught about being a man. It goes to show you how things have changed. You don’t need me to protect you, but that is exactly what I’m going to do with the very best of intentions.” Cameron moved away from me.
I felt instantly sick to my stomach again, wondering how I was going to face the man that had turned my life into a living hell. Especially since the man was wielding a lethal weapon.
Those days were nightmarish never knowing how he was going to respond to something I did. Nothing was ever good enough.
It didn’t matter how far I went to please him in and out of the bedroom. He always got suspicious and jealous thinking that I was stepping out on him but I never had the chance when he was always spying on me. The neighbors and hidden cameras installed in the house made me feel like a prisoner sentenced to house arrest with a warden watching my every move.
The man was quite demanding walking through the house when he got home after work to find even the slightest speck of dust. The home had to be immaculate especially when he had friends over watching the game.
Catering to them made them feel special but they had no idea the feeling of having his police-issued shoes metaphorically pressed against my throat.
I sometimes broke something, but he never reacted when they were around. It was always when they left that he turned and gave me a few choice words. I could still hear him no matter how much I tried to drown him out after leaving without any forwarding address.
Standing there wasn’t going to solve anything. It was my decision to sit down on the couch and wait for him to make his appearance. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off was only going to feed into his unhealthy attachment to me. Hiding to make him angry was going to make him anxious to get his hands on me.
Suddenly, I felt his hot breath against my neck. “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you,” Bryan whispered into my ear while I was sitting there contemplating what to say.
“I think we both know that’s not true. If you are expecting me to beg for my life, then you are going to be waiting a very long time. I’m through being afraid of you. It was interesting to see that fake smile directed at me. I almost gave you the benefit of the doubt, but then you showed your true colors. You always do that. Maybe it’s time you tried something different. I would suggest an extensive amount of therapy to deal with your mommy issues.” I battled with my words, no longer content to be my old, introverted self when dealing with him.
“I’m not the one that has the problem. You just can’t help yourself from dangling the carrot in front of their eyes. Cameron is no different. He’s exactly the same, but this time he got the upper hand. He should have finished the job while he had the chance. I’m going to create a lasting memory. Nobody will dispute my claim that he was the one stalking you and not the other way around. I’ve already begun to schematically put the pieces in place,” Bryan stated, his eyes bright, and his words conveying his insidious plot.
“I’m not sure that I like the sound of that. What have you been up to?” I inquired with a hard swallow.
I was trying not to move to keep him from doing something rash.
“Let’s just say that I have been busy shining a light on Cameron. It won’t come as a surprise when they arrive to find you both dead. I haven’t decided if I’m going to intentionally injure myself to make it look more heroic. Suffice it to say, I’m going to come out the victor, and both of you will suffer the consequences for your actions,” Bryan stated, his hot breath next to the cold steel on my neck.
“I always thought you were my end and my beginning. I risked it all by giving you my heart. I saw the flaws, but I convinced myself you were just a little rough around the edges. I gave you everything and you gave me nothing but disrespect in return. I pity the next woman that crosses your path.” I defended myself in an attempt to make him see the truth before it was too late.