Page 122 of Accepting Fate
My spine steels.
No. Please no. Not today. I plead to myself.
My phone is still pressed against my ear. I barely register Grayson asking if I’m okay.
Turning around,I’m met face to face with the demon that I have been running from for eight years.
He’s standing in front of me and this time, I’m not trapped in some nightmare. It’s real.
His face looks the same, but he lost a lot of weight. He was big before but now, even though I took classes to prepare for this situation, I know I’m no match for him.
Mike steps in closer to me and I lose the grip on my fudge, causing it to fall from my hands. The container hits the ground with a loud thud, and I hear Grayson screaming my name from the phone I have clutched in a death grip.
Tears well in my eyes but I refuse to let them fall. I will not let this asshole see me this way.
Straightening up, I steal my expression and say in a level tone, "You need to leave, Mike.”
He steps in closer, and I take a step back. I can’t let him back me into my car. He will smash my head against the window in an instant.
By the looks of it and how much muscle he has on his six-foot frame, I know I can’t hold him off very long if and when he attacks. I just need to keep him talking until Grayson gets here.
Mike tilts his head back and laughs, his breath still reeking of stale beer. "You’re just as stupid as your mother. You think you can tell me what the fuck to do with my property. At least with you, I got to have some fun when you hit back. Don’t you miss our games, Princess?”
This man is fucking crazy. Maybe it’s the alcohol that has fried his brain so much that he is delusional enough to think I was playing games with him.
Trying to control my breathing, which is getting faster and faster by the second, I try again. "Mike. Just go. My friend will be here any minute and you don’t want her to see you.”
Before I can react, his hand swings and a hard slap hits my cheek, causing me to stumble back.
"You don’t tell me what to do, you stupid whore,” he screams in my face.
That’s it. I didn’t survive this long to go through the same thing twice. I’m done being pushed around by this stupid abusive piece of shit.
A car passes by on the road, and I use his moment of distraction to make a fist around my keys and punch him as hard as I can in the face.
Mike’s head whips to mine and I bolt. I don’t get far before his hand wraps around my arm. I swing around and send my knee straight into his dick. He winces and I expect him to fall to the ground, but he lunges forward and takes me down with him, my phone flying out of my hand.
My back hits the concrete and I lift my head at the last second, so it doesn’t hit the ground. I can’t be knocked out. I need to fight long enough for someone to hear me or Grayson to get here.
I scream as loud as I can, but Mike slams his hand over my mouth, muffling my cries. Bucking my hips upward, I try to knock him off of me, but he doesn’t move.
My hands fly up and punch him in the face again. Pain radiates down my arm, but I can’t give up. My fist connects with his lip, creating a small cut.
Mike lets out a growl and spits in my face. Bile rises in my throat and pure anger fills me, and I go to punch him again. He leans back and I miss.
"I love it when you fight me. It really fucking turns me on, Princess.”
Before I can react, he punches me hard in the ribs and I feel a crack.
Pain spreads across my chest and I try to stay still. I know he broke at least one rib. If I move too much, the bone could pierce my lung and I refuse to go out from asphyxiation.
I’m distracted by the blinding pain and his hands go to the side of my face.
Fuck. No. No. No. This isn’t happening.
Mike smiles down at me, the same creepy yellow smile that has haunted my nightmare for the past eight years.
Without saying anything, he slams my head down hard on the concrete. The tears I’ve been fighting stream down my face from the excruciating pain.