Chapter 16
1092 Words
Livia’s POV
I knew exactly how long I’ve been stuck in my room. I counted the days. The hours. Even the seconds.
I slept most of the time, daydreaming about Ford coming in to save me. The fantasies all started in different ways but ended the same way—with David and Tyler subdued and me running into Ford’s arms.
It was all fiction and I was aware. That’s why I let my imagination run wilder and wilder. Until everything felt so real that I couldn’t even notice the minutes passing and bleeding into days.
But now, I’m hearing Ford’s voice.
“You’re going to let us in and show Livia. You don’t want authorities getting involved, do you?”
Those words have never been a part of any of my fantasies.
I lift my head from my bed and look around. It’s already close to dark. The last rays of the sun are filtering into the dim bedroom. The remnants of the pity meal that Tyler slipped into my bedroom is still on the floor. I pause, trying to decipher if my mind just elevated my imagination, but David’s voice comes up.
“Are you threatening me?”
My heart stops.
Ford is here.
It’s all real.
I get out of bed. I try the door but it’s locked. I swallow hard. My throat is dry. Is Nadine with him? Would they even hear me if I scream?
David sounds angry, even though I can still picture his sarcastic little smile. I clench my fists, hoping against hope it doesn’t evolve into fighting….
“Back off,” I whisper, as though Ford can hear me. “Back off. Please don’t get hurt.”
Now that I know it’s real, I realize I can’t stand it. I can’t deal with the very real possibility of Ford getting hurt because of me.
“Leave,” I murmur. “Please just leave….”
But Ford seems to stand his ground. “Yes, I am threatening you. I can and I will call the cops if you don’t cooperate. But I can deal with you easily myself.”
David laughs, the sound filling up the place like some kind of tear gas. I push against the door but it won’t budge.
What do I do? Do I make a sound? What if Ford gets reckless when he hears me?
“What are you going to do, pretty boy?” David mocks. “You’re going to get your fancy cashmere sweater dirty?”
“No,” Ford says confidently, almost casually. “But I will knock back your teeth until you swallow all of them. Don’t make this difficult and just show me Livia.”
To my horror, Tyler also wedges himself into the situation.
“What the hell is happening here?” Tyler paused. “Wait, that’s the girl who kicked me!”
Oh, no. Nadine is here too.
“No!” I breathe out, sweat trickling down my back.
“That’s the one that hurt you?” Instead of sounding angry, David seems disappointed instead. “She’s tiny. What the f**k have you been doing?”
Tyler doesn’t answer. I can almost see him slinking back into the shadows of his own cowardice.
“I told you,” David says, addressing Ford again. “The girl isn’t here—”
“Then you won’t mind me looking around,” Ford says, bulldozing over his words.
I hear the front door swinging open. Ford’s footsteps reach the living room. I can hear David following him, stomping around. No doubt about to hit a blow.
The idea of Ford getting jumped by David with Nadine helpless with a target on her back fills me with so much objection that I find myself taking one of my heavy trophies and smashing it against the doorknob, breaking the lock.
The door swings open, and I come right out of the hallway.
With shaking knees, I stumble into the living room, just in time to witness David’s malicious act.
He rushes at Ford, his fist poised over his head like he’s about to smash Ford with it. Nadine has her back turned. Ford also isn’t looking.
A warning clings at my throat and almost expels from my lips, but Ford suddenly wheels around and catches David’s wrist.
That stops him dead.
Ford’s hand tightens around his wrist, veins sticking out all over his arm.
The force must’ve been so extreme, because the anger on David’s face suddenly becomes alarm.
“Let me go!” he barks, his fist turning purple. “You’re… you’re hurting me!”
A wave of satisfaction washes over me, hearing him echo the words I’ve said to him many, many times.
Ford’s face doesn’t even flicker. He looks as calm as ever. But his hand is still tightening.
I step forward. The movement catches Nadine’s attention.
She gasps. “Livia!”
Nadine rushes over to me and encloses me in a hug. I can’t help but let out a low groan when her body presses against the fresh bruises on my body. Still, I lift my heavy arms to hug her back.
Only then does Ford stop.
He releases David. His eyes find me, and that’s the only time I see his expression change.
From complete calm to utter relief.
“Livia.”
My name flows out of his lips like a promise.
Nadine stands aside and Ford walks over to me like he’s forgotten everything else, wrapping me up in his arms tenderly. I close my eyes, resting my head against his chest, feeling his fast heartbeat slow down in real time.
For the first time in a long time—probably my entire life—I feel safe.
“Oh, God.” Ford releases me but holds me close, his hands cupping my face. “What happened to you?”
I open my mouth to answer. But then I catch sight of David behind him. His eyes bright. Predatory.
It’s a known fact that David rubs shoulders with the worst people in this town. Probably in the whole city.
Ford might be rich and somewhat influential, but David is dirty.
I need to protect Ford from him.
I smile up at Ford. “I just fell and then I got sick. My brother and I had a fight, but that’s just what siblings do.”
Ford looks unconvinced. He leans in, his eyes intent on mine, his voice low.
“I can take you away from here. Just tell me the truth.”
- Writer
