Pulled (41 page)

“I’d love to.”

I couldn’t keep from rol ing my eyes. Nicholas was the ultimate charlatan.

Each of us sat at the table and fil ed our plates.

The mood was surprisingly light, even with Nicholas at the table. Mom and I were on a high because of the week we’d spent together and the smal breakthrough we’d made earlier that evening. Even Nicholas seemed to enjoy himself, adding smal bits to the conversation and acting as if he were a halfway-decent person. Mom had said very little to him the entire week, but with the light climate, she engaged him in easy discourse, chatting about his wel -known love of the game of golf.

“So, how’s work, Nicholas?”

I choked on the wine I’d just tipped into my mouth, forcing it down my throat, suddenly very uncomfortable with the change of subject.

“It’s great, perfect real y. You know I’ve been quite successful in the past, but this year we’ve exceeded al our goals.” His face glowed with pride, his eyes gleaming as he told her of the prosperity soon to befal him. “We just landed the largest contract we’ve ever had.”

“God, no. Please,”
I silently begged as I twisted the fabric napkin tightly around my fingers in my lap.

Mom smirked, Nicholas oblivious as she

patronized, “Wel , that is quite impressive, Nicholas.” He nodded vigorously, shoving another bite of turkey into his mouth before continuing, “Yeah. It’s this huge medical complex.”

I closed my eyes, praying for him to stop.

“A new oncology center. It’s pretty extravagant—

going to make us a ton of money.”

“Oh, what kind of oncology?” Mom feigned

interest, simply keeping up the conversation, unaware of the trap she was setting for me.

“Mom, please, stop.”
I struggled to think of some way to portray the words to her, but nothing would come.

“Breast cancer. Some big shots that came up with some new treatment,” Nicholas sneered, not covering his distaste. “The Montgomerys.”

Mom sputtered, turning swiftly in her seat to look at me. “Daniel?” Her eyes were wide from the impact of the name, growing into sheer panic when she took on my expression. Her throat bobbed, and she swal owed hard as if trying to reel his name back in.

Nicholas froze, momentarily dumbfounded by her words. He looked back and forth between the two of us before understanding dawned on his face.

“And just how to do you know Dr. Montgomery, Peggy?” Nicholas spat, his face red as he glowered at her from across the table.

Her eyes darted to mine, and she quickly shifted them to her lap, saying nothing.

Nicholas jumped to his feet, his hands flat against the table as he leaned forward, his attention now directed to me. “How the fuck do you know Daniel Montgomery?” he growled, seething.

I was going to throw up. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to find some sort of acceptable answer to give him.

He couldn’t find out, not like this.

His fist slammed down on the table, his voice booming. “Tel me!”

I recoiled into the chair, muttering the words into my lap. “He was my baby’s father.”

I didn’t look up until I heard his derisive chuckle.

“Wel isn’t that precious!”

He looked away, rubbing his fingers over his mouth as he gathered his thoughts before turning back to glare at me while speaking to Mom. “Peggy, I think you need to give me a moment with my
wife
.” I sat rigidly except for my hands that shook uncontrol ably under the table. I stared at the half-eaten plate of food in front of me. I could feel Mom’s eyes burning into me, asking me what to do. I was too terrified to acknowledge her. I felt her give up and rise from her chair, her footsteps soft as she walked from the room. An overwhelming feeling of dread consumed me, my chest convulsing in waves as I tried to hide my fear.

Right then, al I wanted was Daniel. I wanted him to break through the door and save me, to swoop in and rescue me. But above al , I wished I’d just listened to him when he had pleaded with me to leave in the first place. It was so stupid. Now, I’d placed us both in more danger than we ever would have faced otherwise.

I flinched when Nicolas suddenly moved, stalking around the table and grabbing my arm. He dragged me into the kitchen and pushed me up against the wal .

Tears sprung to my eyes, and I fought to hold them back. Showing him weakness was only going to make it worse.

“Suddenly that night makes a whole lot more sense to me. The way you fumbled al over yourself and acted like a complete fool—made me look like a fool.” His hand that restrained my arm pushed further into me, pinning me to the wal as his fingers dug into the skin. His jaw clenched and his hand traveled from my arm, across my chest, and stopped at the base of my neck. His hold remained light but threatening, his mouth twisting into an evil smirk.

“It would be a shame for something to happen to such a young, promising doctor, wouldn’t it?” His mock concern turned my stomach. My blood ran cold, and my mouth suddenly went dry as the pressure intensified around my neck.

“Besides, do you real y think he’d want you? You and your worthless body?”

I could barely speak with the flow of oxygen to my lungs restricted, making it difficult to produce the lie. “He didn’t want me then, why would he want me now?” He cracked a menacing smile, leering at me.

“That’s right.” Both of his hands came to my throat, squeezing, but not enough to completely obstruct the flow of air. It was a warning. His eyes narrowed as he spat through clenched teeth. “I was beginning to think maybe you’d forgotten who you belong to,” he ground out. “Don’t fuck with me, Melanie.”

“Oh my God.” My mother’s gasps echoed over the tile floor of the kitchen, leaving me feeling both relieved and ashamed at having her find me like this.

Reflexively, Nicholas glanced over his shoulder to Mom, his hold around my neck loosening. His attention stayed on her as his grip continued to lessen, until he released me. My body crumbled and landed hard against the floor. He turned to her, his voice hard and without remorse. “I was just reminding your daughter of her place.” He leaned down close to my face, the smel of him making me sick as I gasped for air. “Until
death
do us part.” His voice lowered as he came in even closer, his mouth pressed into my cheek. “Don’t forget it.” I struggled, forcing out the very thing I wanted to say most. “I hate you.” It was hardly a defense, but I couldn’t go another second without him knowing exactly how I felt about him.

“Oh, I know,” he sneered, his mouth twitching. It was clear he experienced some sort of morbid pleasure in my misery.

He stood and strode from the room, brushing past He stood and strode from the room, brushing past Mom, leaving me in a pile on the floor, trying to piece myself back together.

I was furious. My hands fisted as angry tears flowed down my face. How had I al owed it to get back to here? How had I al owed him to get this control? I was worse off now than I had been when I’d started. The worst part was that Mom stood just ten feet away, her face pale, trembling, frozen in fear.

I felt the break, the way her mind snapped into action, and she rushed to me. “Melanie.”

I tried to pul myself from the floor, but it was harder to do than I had anticipated. My feet wobbled beneath me, and I had to reach out to steady myself on the wal . I was having a hard time making my limbs function, not because Nicholas had physical y harmed me but because of the emotional trauma he’d inflicted.

Mom reached to help me, her face stricken with grief. “Melanie,” she said again, “Are...” I put my hand out to stop her, feeling horrible for doing so, but I couldn’t handle talking about this with her yet.

I had to figure out what in the hel I was going to do. I had been thrown back to square one, and I had no idea where to go from here.

Slamming the door behind me, I fel onto the unmade bed and buried my face in the pil ows in an attempt to drown out my cries.

Nicholas’s threats played again and again in my head. I snaked my arm under my chest and up to the fiery skin, bruised at Nicholas’s hand, a concrete warning that his threats were more than just idle. Never had I felt so helpless.

I tried to ignore the tapping against the door but then my mother cal ed softly, “Melanie? Sweetheart? I’m so sorry.”

I tried to hide the hoarseness of my voice. “Not tonight, Mom. Please. I’m okay, I just need some time.” She was probably blaming herself for what had happened, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her yet. This evening was sure to have raised even more questions than the ones we’d had before, and there was no way I could talk to her now, especial y with that bastard stil somewhere in the house.

There was the quiet patting of the door, a soft soothing sound that promised she was there if I needed

her, fol owed by the sound of her retreating footsteps.

I fel into a restless sleep fil ed with nightmares where I would never be free to live my life with Daniel.

The sky was stil dark when I awoke, the house silent except for the distinct sound of the shower running upstairs.

I swal owed, bringing my fingers up to touch the sensitive skin at my neck, and I fought against the angry tears that pricked at my eyes.

I hated him so much.

The shower shut off, and Nicholas’s footsteps moved heavily on the floor in the room above. Soon, the sound traveled down the stairs, and I waited, tense. After what seemed like hours, the garage door opened and closed, and silence fel over the house once again.

I released the terrified breath I’d been holding.

I was scared.

Standing, I stretched my sore muscles and tiptoed across the floor to open the door just a crack and peeked into the living room. Mom slept on the couch, hugging the blue blanket from her room to her body.

A wistful smile played at my lips as I realized she’d slept there to protect me.

I closed the door, unwil ing to interrupt her sleep, and crawled back into bed knowing I’d never get any more sleep.

About an hour later, I heard movement and then rattling in the kitchen. I shuffled into the kitchen, abashed and unable to make eye contact with mom as I entered.

I had no idea what to say to her, how to explain how I’d ended up like this.

She fil ed two green coffee mugs as I took a seat atop a barstool at the island, and she slid the mug to me across the smooth surface of the countertop. I mumbled a quiet, “Thank you,” as I rubbed my eye with the back of my hand, trying to clear my head. Lifting the mug, I inhaled deeply and brought the cup to my lips.

Neither of us wanted to have this conversation, especial y after last night, but we were out of time. I just had no idea where to start.

Apparently, Mom did.

“Daniel?” she asked, her voice soft.

I made a little choking sound, my eyes wide as I jerked my head up. Mom waited patiently while she stared at me. Final y, I nodded, my voice cracking when I spoke. “I love him, Mom.”

“I know, sweetheart.” She sat on the stool across from me, watching me sip my coffee. Her expression was understanding and without judgment.

“Wil you tel me?” she asked.

I hesitated only for a second before I nodded.

“Yes. I need you to know.”

She listened silently while I told her of the fateful evening that had brought Daniel and I face-to-face, and everything we’d learned since. Her eyes grew wider, and I could see her guilt grow with each account. She seemed to stop breathing altogether when I got to the part where Daniel had gone to Texas.

“I’m so sorry, Melanie. I can’t tel you how badly I wanted to let you know that he came, how many times I picked up the phone to cal . I just couldn’t. It seemed that every time I tried to intervene in your life, I just messed things up more.”

“Like making me go home with you?” I tried to remain impassive, but there was a bite to my words. It stil made me so angry.

She sighed and nodded, looking out the window at the stil morning before looking back at me. “I never meant to hurt you, Melanie.”

“But you did.”

This was getting hard. No wonder we’d so

careful y avoided it the whole week.