Trish, Just Trish (10 page)

“I would love to, but you don’t understand.
He’ll never trust me.”

“You have to make him, honey. And don’t
worry, he will,” she said. God I loved her.

After that, it was Lex and she was on a
rampage. “Why the hell am I just now hearing from you?” was her
greeting.

“Because Tony and I got into a fight on the
way here last night. He kind of threw my phone in a field off the
freeway so I haven’t been able to call.”

There was a long pause, and then, “Why would
he do that?”

“Because he said some hurtful things to me
and I called Adam.”

Silence.

“So, he tossed your phone because you called
Adam. Is that it?”

“For the most part, yes. Tony called me a
whore. I called Adam and then jumped out of his truck before he
could snatch my phone away. He caught me, he was pissed and he
tossed my phone. Now, if you want to talk to me, you have to call
this number until my babysitter can take me into town to get
another one.”

“Is that all that’s happened so far?” she
asked suspiciously.

Silence.

“Trish, tell me what happened.”

I sighed.

“Nothing, really. After the phone incident,
we talked a little. I thought things were going okay until we
arrived here and Bobbie Jo showed up. Apparently they’re dating.
Tony told me so. She spent the night while I slept in the other
room. I had a nightmare and they both heard it. I met another
Veterinarian outside this morning, his name is Shane and he has the
sexiest freaking accent I’ve ever heard; he’s Australian. Then, I
saw Tony kiss BJ goodbye. After that, Shane was going to show me a
sick horse, but Tony walked up and started acting like an asshole.
He dragged me to the stable, into a stall and we fooled around.
Larry caught us and that was it. I told Tony that it was never
going to happen again. He said he’d never be able to keep his hands
off me. That’s it.”

Silence.

“Hello,” I said.

“Okay, I didn’t catch all that, but just
give in to him now, Trish. Don’t fight it. It’s going to happen
anyway,” Lex said and I was completely taken aback.

“Did you not just hear me say that he had
another woman spend the night last night?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Lex, you really think I should let him do
what he wants with me after he had some other woman in his bed?
Just last night?
Really
?” She was out of her mind if she
thought that.

“Do you know if she actually slept with
him?”

Silence.

“Trish, do yourself a favor and don’t make
assumptions like I did with Landyn. You’ll only hurt yourself and
probably Tony in the end.”

On that note, I hung up and jumped when the
phone rang not a second later.

“I’m coming to get you,” I heard barked in
my ear. There was no mistaking that baritone, gravelly voice.

“Adam? How’d you get this number?”

“Trish, I’m a cop,” he growled like that was
supposed to answer everything.

Ugh!

“What’s do you want, Adam?” I said through a
sigh.

“Pack your shit. I’m so fuckin’ mad at you
right now. I can’t believe nobody told me what a fuckin’ mess you
were in… and I’m a cop!” he shouted, “How the hell does your
dumbass ex think he’s keeping you safe… and what the
fuck
does he think he can do to fix things with Zacharias? I know who
this guy is, Trish, and he is not good,” his voice trailed off
before he started again.

“I made a few calls to the Sherriff’s
department there--” I cut him off because he had no right to
interfere!

“It has nothing to do with you, Adam, so
stay out of it!” I shouted back. No telling who that sheriff was.
He could be in cahoots Zaharias for all anyone knew.

“Trish, you’re my business and I’m not
taking any chances. I get off in an hour and I’m coming to get you.
I already put in for vacation so I can stay with you.”

“Why is everyone trying to run my life? I’m
not leaving! I’ll stay until this is taken care of, however it’s
taken care of and you need to mind your own damn business!” The
thought of actually leaving Tony was making me anxious.

“Trish, I know I jack around with you, hit
on you, but if something happens to you I’ll never forgive myself
for letting you stay there. Please.”

Seriously
?

“I’ll think about it, Adam. Just give it
some time. I’m fine here. I’m out in the country. There are people
around all the time and Tony refuses to let me leave the house. I’m
fine.”

“Yeah, well you damn well better be. Put him
on the phone,” he ordered. I inhaled deeply to find my inner
calm.

“I’m not letting you talk to him.”

“If that fucker touches you, Trish, you have
no idea what I’ll do to him. Your ass better come back a
virgin.”

“How dare you?” I breathed.

“I dare say whatever the fuck I want, and
what I want is for you to come back untouched. I’ll wait for your
call.”

Click.
He hung up on me.

I slammed the phone in its base.

I was shaking with fury. I was going to
punch Adam in the face the next time I saw him.

I was awake. I knew I was awake, but I
couldn’t make my eyes open. Not when the hand that touched my face
felt so sweet.

“Trish, I know you’re awake,” Tony said.

Damn it to hell
!

I opened my eyes, “What time is it?”

“It’s almost four thirty,” he said and I
jolted upright in bed. I looked at Tony who sat on the bed at my
side.

“I can’t believe I slept that long. I’ve
never slept that long during a nap before.”

“A lot’s happened since you got here. Why
don’t you get dressed and I’ll take you to town so we can get
something to eat?” At that, my stomach growled. I was starved.

Tony’s hand touched my stomach and all my
muscles tightened.

His eyebrows met and he asked, “Did you
eat?”

I shook my head.

“Why haven’t you eaten?” he asked, sounding
very disappointed.

“I don’t know. I forgot. I wasn’t hungry
before I feel asleep, I guess.”

“Come on.” He wrapped a hand around my waist
and lifted me off the bed like I weighed nothing. “Don’t dress up
because we’re only going to the diner. I need to take a shower
before we leave… can you be ready in ten minutes?”

I nodded as I drank him in. I’d been
drinking him in since the moment my eyes opened. He was dirty
again, but not in a, “I’m bloody because I’ve just been in a fight”
way, but in a, “I’m every bit of macho man, I work outside and I
know exactly how to use my hands” way. I wanted to lick him… clean
or dirty, didn’t matter to me.

“Trish, if you don’t want anything to happen
between us, you’re gonna to have to stop lookin’ at me like you
want to take a bite outta me,” Tony said and I instantly became
confused. Earlier, in the hay, he’d said he wouldn’t be able to
keep his hands off me, but now he’d be okay with it not touching
me?

“Sorry,” I whispered.

“I meant right now. You’re not ready for
anything to happen between us now, but you will be.”

And with that, he walked out the door.

I tried not to let it bother me and I
concentrated on getting dressed.

On my way to the kitchen, I heard the phone
ring and I ran to it. I thought it might be Lex or my dad, but when
I said, “Hello,” I heard a woman on the other line.

“Hi. Can I talk to Tony, please,” BJ asked
hesitantly and light, but she at least had the decency to say
please. I was about to tell her that Tony was unavailable, when he
walked in. I didn’t say a word as I held the phone out for him.

His face was filled with confusion.

“Hello,” he said.

“You never call the house, what happened?”
Tony asked. Then, out of nowhere, he stiffened.

“He did what?” he growled, and even I
stiffened.

“I’ll be right there,” he told her and then
slammed the phone down. His eyes closed and when they reopened, he
looked torn.

“I have to go. She said her ex showed up and
destroyed her place. I’ll have Larry come stay with you until I get
back. I don’t want you alone. I’m sorry,” he finished. He didn’t
look sorry though. He looked furious and I couldn’t do anything but
nod and watch him walk away to go protect his girlfriend, or
whatever she was to him.

As much as I hated BJ because of her
relationship with Tony, I would never want anything bad to happen
to her.

When Larry arrived, I made us both dinner.
Not only because I was starved, but to keep my mind busy. I was
worried about Tony. I wondered what he was doing. I wondered if he
was comforting BJ at that very moment. I wondered if he planned to
bring her back here. I figured he would. With the way he rushed out
of here, I was pretty sure he cared a lot for her.

When five o’clock turned into six and six
turned into ten, I excused myself to my room while Larry was laid
out on the couch watching some John Wayne movie.

Not soon enough, I fell asleep.

My back was pressed into something hard. I
moved to sit up, but the arm around my waist squeezed and prevented
me from moving.

“Go back to sleep,” Tony grumbled in my ear.
I looked at the alarm clock. Four-twenty a.m.

“Where’s Bobbie Jo,” was my soft response.
His arm tightened even more.

“She went to stay with her parents,” he
answered, sounding exhausted. I didn’t want to ask, I shouldn’t
have asked, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Did you ask her to come here and stay with
you?” His arm, if possible, tightened more. “You’re hurting me,” I
whispered. He loosened his arm instantly, but that little movement
was answer in itself.

“Can you please get out of my room?”

“No. Just go back to sleep.” He didn’t sound
so sleepy anymore. I pushed against his arm hard enough to move it
away and I sat up.

“You ask your fucking girlfriend to come
here and stay with you, she declines and you have the nerve to come
into my bed? To touch me? I’m not your whore!” I shouted. He jolted
up right then, his hair a sexy mess, his eyes narrowed
dangerously.

He got right in my face.

“I never treated you like a whore until you
became one,” he growled.

I slapped him. The action was uncontrollable
and the sound boomed in the half empty room. I shook out my hand
and managed to jerk away from Tony to jump off the bed.

I didn’t get far. His arm wrapped around my
waist and he threw me to the bed.

“Let me go!” I shouted as I fought, but he
was too big.

He towered over me and pinned me to the bed.
I didn’t think he’d retaliate, but when he captured my wrists in a
tight grasp above my head, I started to panic.

“You want to play rough? I’ll give it to you
rough,” he growled.

Keeping a firm hold on my wrists, Tony
leaned over, reached down the side of the bed and pulled up a belt
from the floor. I was terrified, on the verge of hyperventilating.
This was too familiar. I had nightmares about this.

“I’m sorry I slapped you. Please don’t do
this,” I begged through the tears that clogged my throat, but Tony
ignored me.

“Please stop,” I whispered, my voice shaky.
But he didn’t stop.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, but I
didn’t hear him over the roaring in my ears. He kissed me and
twisted my mouth from his. When I felt his hand working against my
wrist and when the belt touched my skin, I struggled.

“Stop!” I screamed, my tears falling hot and
heavy. I was trembling and I had no idea how he couldn’t feel it.
When Tony lifted his head to look down at me, I turned my face
away.

“Please don’t hurt me. Don’t touch me. I’m
begging you.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Tony
shouted, and I winced. Not until he threw himself away from me did
I look at him. His body vibrated with rage.

“You’re a fuckin’ bitch, you know that? One
minute you act like you want it, the next you won’t even let me
touch you. I haven’t the slightest idea why I wasted my fuckin’
time with you!” He shouted and it was too much to bear.

My tears were uncontainable.

“You scared me,” I cried, but he didn’t
care.

“Just stay the fuck away from until I can
get rid of you,” he finished and the door slammed behind him when
he left.

The heart-wrenching, body-wracking sobs that
were forced from my body left me in so much pain that I actually
lay in bed considering alternative ways to ease the pain. I wasn’t
suicidal, but I hurt.

I had nobody.

I never went back to sleep. How could I? My
world was shattered. My whole body ached, even my eyes hurt. It was
my fault, really. Lex was right when she said I needed to tell him
about my past. If I would have taken her advice, this never would
have happened.

I had no idea how much time had passed
before I calmed down enough to think straight. I realized that what
had happened with Tony wasn’t all my fault. Yes, I should have told
him about my past, but he had no right to treat me like shit. I had
no idea how he couldn’t tell I was terrified.

I considered packing up all my stuff and
calling Lex to come get me, but I couldn’t put her in danger. I
considered calling Adam, but I had a gut feeling that he would only
make things worse. Not that I assumed Tony would actually care
anymore, but if Adam found out the horrid things Tony said, he
might just kill him.

So, I decided I was going to do exactly what
Tony asked. I was going to stay as far away from him as possible. I
really didn’t have much of a choice, and whatever miniscule shred
of fight I had left in my body had just been ripped away.

By six-thirty a.m., I managed to get out of
bed. I went through my morning routine, except this time, I skipped
the coffee, tip-toed to the bathroom, dressed in sweats, put my
hair up in a messy pony tail and went for a jog. I almost wished
for Zacharias to find me. It’d save Tony the hassle of having to
deal with me anymore. I didn’t want to deal with myself
anymore.