Page 19 of Flynn (Foxy’s Rent-A-Date #4)

Three hours later, Sofia, Kate, and I were all booked on a flight home for tomorrow.

Sofia was staying in Kate’s room, and Kate’s boyfriend was bunking with Ellis to make sure he didn’t go looking to annoy Sofia.

Thankfully, their rooms were on different floors.

Between myself, Chloe, and Sofia’s mother, we’d managed to cancel everything to do with the wedding.

Of course, it was too late to get back any deposits, but everyone now knew the wedding was off and to not contact the bride asking questions.

We gave everyone the same blanket statement explanation that things between the bride and groom came to a head with irreconcilable differences.

Trevor and Carol had both been to see Ellis and while they were disappointed in their son, they needed to make sure he was okay.

Last I heard, he was drinking his way to the bottom of a bottle of whiskey with his best man and groomsman.

I made it to my room and sighed. I hadn’t felt so tired in a long time, and it wasn’t over yet.

I had to pack up my things, shower, try to get a couple of hours sleep, and then we were on the first flight out tomorrow near midday.

As tired as I was, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sofia and all the awful things Ellis had said.

The truth about why they got together was so horrible, but the way she found out was worse.

I would have given anything to change that.

Pushing my door open, I hesitated a moment in the doorway, wondering if Flynn would be here, or if he’d packed up and left already.

He did say he would wait at the airport, but his flight wasn’t until closer to midnight and the sun hadn’t even set yet.

But standing there in the dim lighting of the room, it was obvious that Flynn wasn’t here, and neither were his things.

Sighing, I hesitated in entering. If Flynn hadn’t left yet, I could go to him and…

and what? I groaned. He’d already made his position clear, and I’d already accepted it.

What more was there to say? Going after him now would only make things messy, and the way we’d said goodbye was so cut and dry.

Why mess with that? Because I still didn’t feel like I had closure.

Looking down at my phone in my hands, I brought up our texts to each other and skimmed through them.

There wasn’t a lot really, mostly edited photos he’d sent me.

Going after him now would probably leave me crying and him upset to have hurt me again.

Sighing, I stepped into the room, my eyes on the photos he’d sent me.

The door closed quietly as I flicked through them.

They weren’t real, but I wished they were.

But it was time I let go of the fantasy we’d concocted and get on with my life.

I needed to pack, and I desperately hoped I could get some sleep.

My gaze caught on the last photo he’d sent me; the one that was real.

It was us in bed that first morning, his lips pressed to my head.

My heart clenched at the sight of it, drinking in the whole image.

Still looking at the photo, I kicked my shoes off at the end of the bed and turned toward the bathroom, eager for a shower, but came to a sharp stop when I saw Ellis standing in the bathroom doorway, his pale blue eyes were red-rimmed and searching my expression as if all the answers to the universe were on my face.

“Ellis?” “Why did you do it, Chiara?” I shook my head, frowning.

“Do what?” What was he even doing here? A wave of trepidation washed over me, and I looked toward the door just as he stepped out of the bathroom and blocked the short hallway to the exit.

Ellis looked at me as if I should know what he was asking and shook his head, arms falling to his side in exasperation.

“I want the real reason. Why break it off between us? We were good together. We were happy…or so I thought.” I took a step back, my gut tightening.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I had the most disturbing feeling that I wasn’t safe.

His hair was ruffled and unkept, as if he’d been running his fingers through it, and his tie hung loosened around his neck.

The stench of booze was so strong on him I could smell him from here.

“Ellis, we’ve talked about this already.

You need to go back to your room.” He gave a mirthless laugh and shook his head.

“No, because here I am, almost ten years later, and I don’t have a fucking clue how to move on.

I loved you, and out of nowhere you just…

ended it! Why?” I jumped at his suddenly raised voice and swallowed hard.

Without looking at the screen, I tried to press call on Flynn’s number and shook my head at Ellis.

A quick glance at my phone showed the call connected.

Hurriedly, I made sure to press the volume button all the way down, all without taking my eyes off the man before me.

“Ellis, I told you why.” “It’s bullshit,” he spat.

“You told me some bullshit story about not loving me anymore, but I don’t believe it.

A person doesn’t just wake up one morning and decide they’re not in love anymore.

” The anger on his face was alarming, sending a shiver up my spine.

Thinking quickly, I tried to figure out how to get help here faster.

Flynn didn’t know where I was, I had to give him something to go on and hope to God he sent help my way quickly.

“You wanted answers, okay. And you thought barging into my room to corner me was the best way to get answers?” “You’re never alone!

” he shouted, taking a step forward. “After what happened today, we needed to talk, but you’re always with the girls or with fucking Flynn!

God, what the hell do you see in that degenerate dick?

” “Ellis, let’s just calm down and talk about this.

How about I buy you dinner and we’ll talk, just you and me?

” I tried, hoping the offer of a meal alone would be enough to calm him down.

“No.” He shook his head and took another step forward.

“No, we’ll be interrupted again, and I am sick of not having answers.

Tell me now. What the fuck was so wrong with me that you couldn’t love me?

” I glanced around the room quickly, wondering if I could get out some other way, but the only real exit was the door, and he was blocking it.

“Answer me!” I jerked in fear and bit back a gasp.

“I already told you why. You just don’t want to accept it,” I answered quickly.

His face morphed into something ugly then, something twisted with disgust and disbelief.

“Liar,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

I shook my head. “Ellis, I didn’t want to hurt you.

I never did. It was a small town, and we lived across the road from one another.

I wanted to love you. I really tried. It’s why we were together for two years.

But I just—” “It’s because of him, isn’t it?

He got in your head, told you a bunch of lies.

He wanted me to be miserable and he turned you against me!

” “No one turned me against you,” I argued when he stepped closer again.

“Ellis, I loved you as a friend, but I was never in love with you, and it was unfair of me to keep you when you loved me in a way I didn’t love you.

I wanted you to be happy, so I let you go.

” “I was happy! We were happy. Flynn put himself between us. He couldn’t stand to see me happy, to have something that was just mine!

” I shook my head and put my hands up in a placating gesture, and he slapped the phone from my hand and send it to the ground with a thud and I jerked in fright.

Backing up, I tried to put more space between us, but I hit the glass doors leading to the small balcony.

“Flynn and I weren’t even talking back then.

I hadn’t talked to him since the night before he left,” I tried to explain.

“Liar!” “Ellis, I’m telling the truth,” I tried desperately, fearful now of the manic look on his face.

“With the exception of that kiss, there was never anything between Flynn and I but friendship. But when he left, that was it. We stopped talking, he was gone, and I was with you.” “Bullshit!” “I promise.” “He told you about the bet, didn’t he?

He told you, and you broke it off with me.

But I loved you, Chiara. The bet was stupid; it meant nothing.

I really loved you.” I frowned, shaking my head.

“No, he never told me. You know he didn’t.

” He sneered as if he didn’t believe me.

“The bet never mattered to me. I was in love with you, but I took the bet because I knew we were meant to be together.” I tried stepping slowly to the side so I could round the bed and get out, and he continued talking.

“He’s always been jealous of me and never wanted me to be happy,” Ellis spat.

He took another threatening step forward, his face screwed up in rage, and I ended up pressed deeper into the balcony doors.

“Everything I have, he tries to take for himself. He tried to take my parents, he took you, and now he’s taken Sofia.

He doesn’t want me happy because I burned that fucking photo album of his years ago.

I’m tired of losing out every time he comes back into my life!

” I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, and right at that moment, I didn’t care.

He was breathing heavily now, and he’d transformed into someone I didn’t even recognize.

I had to do something, but I had no idea what.

He was unhinged, totally off the rails and I didn’t know what to do to calm him down.

“Ellis, we can work through this, okay? Just come with me. We’ll go somewhere to talk.

Let’s go for a walk to the beach, okay?” I had no intention of going anywhere with him, but I needed him to believe that I was on his side and wanted to talk.

Silence fell for a moment, heavy and thick.

I barely breathed as I waited for him to answer me.

“No,” he answered, but this time his voice was calm, soft.

His face had smoothed out and his eyes took on a nearly glassy quality.

For some reason, that change scared me more than him yelling.

An eerie silence filled the room as he inched back the smallest bit, his eyes sweeping over my face before dropping lower, and lower, his gaze raking me over from head to toe.

Something unpleasant slithered up my spine, and a sinking feeling began in my stomach.

“No, I don’t think we’re going anywhere,” he said again, slowly reaching out to touch me.

I couldn’t help it; I flinched away from his touch.

There was a second where he paused before pain radiated up my cheek and jaw before bursting behind my eye.

I cried out, equal parts hurt and shocked.

It all happened so fast, and it took precious seconds to realize he’d just slapped me!

Before I could do more than raise my hand to my cheek, his hand came up to grip my jaw painfully, fingers biting, forcing me to look at him.

I couldn’t seem to breathe. I couldn’t take in enough air as panic tried to overwhelm me.

“We would have been good together, Chiara. You and me, we would have been fucking spectacular, but you never gave us the chance to find out,” he began, his eyes wide and showing far too much white.

“I saw you the other night. I saw you fucking that asshole in the club. You like it rough. I see that now, and I can give that to you,” he continued as I struggled to push him away.

He used his body to keep me pinned to the doors, his smile manic as he leaned in close to me and gave a small laugh.

“I’m tired of waiting for you to come to me, so I think it’s time I just show you how fucking good we can be.

” A cry ripped from my throat when he gripped my hair painfully with the other hand and he spun me around.

I stumbled, tears stinging in my eyes at his tight grip before I fell backwards.

The mattress broke my fall as I struggled to catch my breath.

I turned over and started scrambling away, adrenaline and fear pushing me faster than normal, but it wasn’t fast enough.

Ellis grabbed my ankle and yanked me back to the edge of the bed.

“No!” I screamed, shooting my hand toward him.

My nails scored down the side of his face leaving bright red tracks.

But my moment of satisfaction was short lived when he swore and shot out with his fist, slamming it into my face.

Stars burst behind my eyes and my whole body went limp.

For a moment, unconsciousness tried to take me.

I struggled to stay awake, reminding myself that I needed to keep my eyes open, that I needed to fight.

When I regained control of my faculties, Ellis was leaning over me, his knee pressing into my abdomen to keep me down as he yanked his belt free and loosened the button of his jeans.

Another jolt of fear cleared away the last of the haze in my head and I struggled again.

I managed to wiggle away from him, and this time when he grabbed my ankle, I was ready.

I kicked backwards with all my might, sending him off balance.

He staggered back and I made it to the other side of the bed where I grabbed the lamp from the bedside table, yanking the cord from the wall.

He charged at me with a roar, and I smashed the lamp down over his head.

Glass rained down on him, and he swore but was still moving and took me to the ground again.

I hit the carpet hard, the side of my head and shoulder clipping the corner of the wall.

I winced. Fear muted the pain, and I kept fighting.

He punched twice more. Once in my face, and another to my chest, my breath trapping in my lungs.

I struggled to breathe, but I didn’t stop fighting, scratching my nails up his arms and his face, digging them in and ripping as hard as I could.

Skin gave way, and my fingertips became wet with blood.

I bucked beneath him, trying to force him off as he tore at my shirt.

The second I regained my ability to breathe, I screamed as loud as I could, hoping desperately someone nearby would hear.

“Shut up!” he snarled, trying to punch me again, but I raised my arm to block.

Grabbing my arm instead, Ellis grunted and twisted my left arm hard enough that my screams for help turned into a yelp of pain.

“Stop fucking fighting!” he ordered harshly.

With the twist he had on my arm, he lifted himself off me and forced me over onto my stomach.

I tried to struggle, but his hold on my arm threatened to break it if I kept going.

The moment I was flat on my stomach, he shoved my skirt up.

I struggled, using my other arm to slap back at him, trying to get my knees under me so I could buck him off, but he was too heavy.

“Just give us a chance, Chiara. We can be good together. You’ll see!

” he continued to shout. I screamed again, tears burning in my eyes.

Please, no! He tore at my underwear and a renewed wave of energy slammed into me.

Gritting my teeth, I yanked my arm from his grip, feeling something rip painfully, but I got it free.

Crying out in agony, I forced myself to push aside the pain and rolled again, bucking so that he lost his balance, and I got to my knees.

He grabbed at my hair in a desperate attempt to take hold of me again, but I kept moving.

Strands ripped from my head, but I didn’t stop now.

I turned as I got to my feet and kicked out at him, feeling his nose crunch under the heel of my foot.

He swore and cried out, and I wasted no more time.

Launching myself toward the door, I yanked it open only to run face-first into a large chest. I opened my mouth to scream, confused, disoriented, somehow convinced Ellis was here too, and I was never getting away.

I started fighting at once, punching the chest, shoving and screaming, but the strong arms that wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my side were far too large.

I struggled to breathe, to think, and it was finally then that the scent of the man holding me sunk in.

This wasn’t Ellis. “Chiara, can you hear me? Christ, sweetheart, look at me.” That voice was familiar, safe, but my mind was still trying to urge me to run, to get to safety before Ellis caught up again.

“You got her?” another voice asked, and the sound of it so deep and thick with rage and disgust sent a shiver down my spine.

“I have her. You got your shit locked down?” the man holding me asked.

There was a pause. “I’ve got a handle on it.

” “Sweetheart, can you hear me? I need you to say something,” the man holding me said again, his low voice softening to something soothing.

Panting, I raised my gaze to the bushy beard and further up until I met the pale blue eyes so much like his son’s, only his were filled with horror and concern.

“T-Trev?” I stammered, my voice raw. “I’ve got you, honey, you’re safe.

” At those words, I burst into tears, my knees collapsing beneath me so that he had to take my full weight because it was safe to fall apart now.