Taylor rolled over and grabbed her phone, looking at the screen. It was Alecia. She looked at Chloe's sleeping form under the sheets, and got out of the bed. Chloe told her Ryder had been more tense lately and yesterday he had demanded Alecia come home. Something must have happened. She walked into the living room, closing the door behind her, and answered the phone. “Hello, Alecia,” she said.
Alecia broke down into sobs, mumbling out broken sentences.
“Calm down,” Taylor whispered. “You’re making no sense.”
Alecia took a deep breath. “He made me stand naked in the middle of the room while he watched a game.”
Taylor gasped. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Through fragments of sentences, Taylor pieced together what happened. She ran a hand through her hair. Mr. Hendrix had done something like that before to his wife while they watched from around a corner. Her childhood friend was his father. There was no hope for Alecia. Guilt pierced through her. She should have warned her. But she had hoped Ryder would be different, but he never had a chance. His father had spent his whole life molding him into what he wanted, pushing his anger forward, and then forcing him to control it unless it was needed.
“Alecia, my dear, it will be alright, you’ve just got to learn to live with him. Learn to avoid his anger.”
“I want to leave him. I can’t stand this.”
Taylor wiped some tears from her face. “You can’t leave him.”
“Why?”
Taylor looked up at the ceiling and remembered the time when Ryder and her hid under the bed. Mr. Hendrix had held a gun to his wife’s head, saying he would shoot all that she loved if she didn’t behave. But she had done nothing wrong.
“They’re so dangerous. You have to learn to follow his rules.”
“They?”
“Him and his father. I shouldn’t tell you this. It will make it worse for you, but you should know what you’ve gotten yourself into.” Tayy stopped speaking as she walked to the guest bedroom of her apartment. She closed the door. “Mr. Hendrix beat his wife until he broke her spirit; threatened her with guns. Ryder, Chloe and I used to hide when he’d get so mad.”
“Ryder has never hit me.”
“He will, if you don’t lose your will now.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
Taylor shook her head. “Alecia, stop allowing yourself to be fooled. Did you ever think he’d make you stand in the middle of the room naked?”
“No.” Her voice died away.
“He will. He’s capable of it and he will to make you bend to him. Accept it, you are now his possession. If you run, he will track you down, and destroy you until you become a shell like his mother.”
“Oh no, help me.”
Taylor closed her eyes. No one could help her. The other end of the line went silent. Not even a small breath could be heard. Alecia must be trying to process what she had been told or blocking it out.
Alecia spent the day watching reruns on the game show network. She stole a quick glance at the clock. It was getting late. She hadn’t eaten all day and the thought of food didn’t seem appealing. She had almost left that morning, but fear drove her back in the hotel room. What would he do if she ran? She pushed the thoughts from her mind. She couldn’t think of them right now. Perhaps.…
The door opened and Ryder walked in with a bouquet of tulips. He smiled when his eyes connected with hers. She turned away. He walked over to her, and knelt down in front of the couch.
“These are for you,” he said as he laid the flowers on her breasts and caressed her cheek with his index finger. “Are you feeling all right?”
She took a deep breath and let it escape from her lips. Now she was worthy of flowers.
Every part of her felt tense, repulsed at his nearness. If she could only tell him to leave her be. But Taylor's words filled her mind. Would he really hit her? Put a gun to her head? He had shoved her against the door last night, and raised a hand to her. But he had hit the door as if that was a line even he wouldn’t cross.
Ryder placed the back of his hand on her cheek. “You want to go out to dinner; get out of here for a while?”
She shook her head. No, she wanted to leave. To walk out that door and never look back. He dropped his hand from her face and sat on the floor. “I’m sorry, Ally.”
She rolled over and looked at him. His lips were drawn down – his brows bent. “I was cruel to you last night.” He folded his hands in his lap and focused on them. “I wanted to hurt you because you hurt me.” He paused for a second. “I won’t do it again.”
Yes, he would. How many times had he apologized to her or tried to justify his actions? Hadn’t she learned in sociology class that this was the pattern of an abuser? If she had only paid attention to the signs earlier. He had always been possessive. But now she could no longer ignore the signs.
Ryder sat up from the floor, and leaned over her; looking down into her eyes. “I mean it, Alecia. There is no one else in this world I love.”
Smiling, he picked up the bouquet and took out one lone flower, dropping the rest to the floor. He placed the lone flower on her lips. “I love you,” he said.
“Will you ever hit me?” Alecia closed her eyes; her thoughts had materialized.
“No. What would make you think that?”
“I just wanted to hear you say no,” she whispered. She tried to roll over, but he grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back over, his face inches from hers. Deep lines formed between his brows. “Look at my eyes.”
Alecia gazed into the stormy gray eyes, which looked like they had when they first met. How could he really change his eyes to create a look that would fool her? Is that how this had all happened?
“Do you see anything in them?”
She shook her head. “I will never hit you,” he said. His eyes held a firm stare; there was no twitch, nothing. “Did you see anything?”
“No.”
“That’s because I’m not lying. I will never hit you.”