The Time Keeper

Chapter 1-3

‘Stop worrying about him; he doesn’t deserve it,’ Stacey whispered in her ear. ‘He’ll be over it by tomorrow and you can go back to being his happy little doormat.’

‘Hey!’ Emilia exclaimed, startled by the unexpected nastiness of the comment.

Stacey giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. ‘Oops! I think I’ve had a bit much to drink.’

‘Is that really what you think of me?’ Emilia asked, horrified.

‘I didn’t mean it quite how it came out. I think you let him get away with too much because you’re a naturally sweet person who avoids confrontation like the plaque. And he takes advantage of that, Em. You know he does.’

‘Yeah, I guess.’ She plucked a piece of grass and twisted it between her fingers, avoiding looking at Stacey. ‘I’m going to get a drink.’

She got up and headed to the bar for a soft drink. She’d had a couple of glasses of wine earlier and that was about her limit. She pulled a can of lemonade out of the ice bin and pressed it against her warm forehead, enjoying the sharp sting of the cold tin.

An arm slid around her waist from behind and she jumped in surprise. Justin whispered in her ear, ‘Come round the back with me.’

She twisted her head around so she could see his face. His eyes were a bit blurry, but he looked calm enough.

Turning, Emilia laid her palm against his cheek. ‘I’m sorry about tonight,’ she whispered. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’

He gritted his teeth, then let his breath out with a hiss. ‘Don’t ever embarrass me like that again!’

‘I’m sorry,’ she repeated quietly.

He swayed slightly and tightened his grip on her. Dropping his arm, he grabbed her wrist, plucked the can out of her hand and tossed it aside as he pulled her around behind the gazebo. ‘You can make it up to me here.’

He lurched drunkenly across the grass and all but collapsed at the bottom of an enormous tree, pulling Emilia down on top of him. She groaned as her stomach connected with his elbow, but he didn’t notice. He ploughed his fingers into her hair and kissed her hard, grinding his mouth against hers. He tasted like beer.

Rolling, he pinned her beneath him. Emilia started to squirm. Normally when Justin kissed her she got a nice fluttery feeling, but tonight he was hurting her. There was nothing loving or gentle about the way he was assaulting her mouth, jamming her lips roughly against her teeth.

She ripped her mouth away from his and pushed at his shoulders. ‘Justin, please… you’re hurting me!’

‘We’ve been together three months, Emilia, and I’ve been patient – too patient!’ He shifted slightly and wedged a leg between her thighs. ‘I’m horny and after your behaviour tonight, you owe me!’

‘Justin!’

‘Shut up, you little prude. Just shut up!’ he shouted in her face, enveloping her in the odour of stale beer.

‘Justin, you’re drunk, you’re not thinking straight,’ she pleaded desperately, tears gathering in her eyes. He was scaring her. Mostly because she didn’t know how far he was going to take this against her will.

He slid one hand between their bodies and squeezed her breast through the fabric of her toga. ‘Don’t want to think… just feel.’ He laughed at his own joke.

She shoved ineffectually against his shoulders – he was too strong. His wet mouth trailed down her chin and nuzzled sloppily against her neck. At the same time, his other hand reached down her leg and shoved up the skirt of her toga. When his fingers sought the waistband of her underwear, Emilia reacted instinctively, lifting her knee sharply and connecting where it would most hurt.

Justin howled and rolled off her, curling into a protective ball as he cupped his throbbing family jewels.

‘You b***h,’ he wheezed out.

But Emilia wasn’t sticking around to listen to his recriminations. She raced for the gazebo, straightening her toga as she ran, only slowing to a walk once she’d rounded the corner and was back amongst the other revellers. She made her way back to Stacey and Kevin, who were sitting on the grass, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Dropping to a crouch, Emilia lightly touched Stacey’s shoulder. Stacey turned and examined Emilia through slightly unfocused eyes. ‘Hey. What took you so long?’

‘Just sorting things out with Justin,’ Emilia evaded uneasily. ‘I’m going to head off. Are you okay catching a taxi with Kevin?’

‘You worry too much, Em. I’ll make sure my girl gets home safe and sound,’ Kevin teased softly. He started to untangle himself from Stacey. ‘In fact, to demonstrate what a gentleman I am, I’ll walk you out and make sure you get in a taxi okay.’

Emilia waved him down hurriedly. She needed to get away from everyone before she lost her composure and, much as she loved him, Kevin was still Justin’s best friend. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I’ll get the security guard to call me a taxi and wait with me. I’ll call you tomorrow, Stace.’

She jumped to her feet and started quickly towards the front of the house before either of them could argue with her.

‘Love you, Em!’ Stace called from behind her.

‘Love you too,’ she called back and hoped Stacey didn’t notice the strain in her voice.

As soon as she cleared the side of the house, the noise level dropped significantly and the party suddenly seemed far in the distance. The front lawn was eerily still, filled with the long shadows cast by the outdoor security lights. She hurried along the gravel pathway and through the side gate. A well-lit street had never been such a welcome sight.

‘Are you okay, Miss?’ The security guard materialised out of the shadows, startling her. ‘Would you like me to call you a taxi?’

Emilia pulled out her phone and waved it in his direction. ‘I’m fine, thanks. I’ve got the taxi company on speed dial.’

‘No problem.’ He melted back into the darkness of the wall.

Emilia forced herself to walk calmly down the last couple of feet of driveway, but when she rounded the corner of the wall surrounding the property, her legs gave out and she slid down to the sidewalk, her back pressed against the warm concrete wall.

She swiped open her phone, but was shaking so hard she couldn’t press the buttons to find the taxi company’s number. Dropping her head to her knees, she gasped for breath. Her heart was pounding, her stomach was rolling queasily – she’d never been so freaked out.

Footsteps, sharp and rapid on the pavement, came running towards her and her head jerked up. She tensed, expecting to see Justin and was surprised to see Seb instead. He dropped to his knees beside her, unconcerned he was landing on concrete, and gathered her gently into his arms… arms that felt so safe and strong.

‘What happened, Em?’ he asked gruffly, with so much concern Emilia was startled out of her shaking fit.

‘You never call me Em,’ she mumbled against his t-shirt.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. ‘No? Well tonight seemed a good time to start.’ His gaze swept over her pale features and wounded eyes and the smile abruptly disappeared. ‘What happened?’ he repeated.

‘Nothing. Can you please take me home?’

Seb wanted to argue, to force her to talk, but she looked fragile enough to break, so he held his tongue. With a curt nod, he lifted her into his arms and strode towards his SUV.

She didn’t protest, which worried him more than anything else. Something had shaken her up badly enough that she was accepting his help, and his touch, without question. He thought about going into the party and demanding an explanation from Stacey or the loser boyfriend, but that would mean leaving Emilia alone. His track record with damsels in distress was dismal, but he could at least get her home safely.

He shifted his hold so he could open the car door and settled her into the passenger seat with as much care as he would give a newborn baby.

Emilia rested her head back against the seat, closed her eyes and… relaxed. The tension drained out of her body. While he’d held her against his chest, Seb’s heartbeat had felt so reassuring and she knew while he was there, nothing bad could happen. He might not like her, but he’d never hurt her.

Seb climbed into the driver’s seat, closed the door and started the car. As he drove she wanted to ask him why he was always so brusque and unfriendly towards her. Because tonight she’d discovered he wasn’t as unfeeling and rude as she’d always thought. Surprisingly, he was capable of incredible gentleness and kindness. Chances were, he’d probably stop talking to her again if she asked him that. So she turned her head towards him and asked another question instead.

‘What were you doing there? Outside the Halvorsten’s, I mean.’

A strange look crossed his face and she thought for a moment he wasn’t going to answer. ‘This is going to sound odd, but I had this strong feeling something wasn’t right and I couldn’t shake it. So I drove back about half an hour ago. I figured I’d keep out of sight unless you needed me. And, well…’

‘I did need you and you were there,’ she whispered. She smiled shyly at him. ‘That’s very sweet. Thank you.’

He scowled. ‘Yeah, well don’t read anything into it, okay?’

‘You’ve rescued me twice in one day – we’re obviously destined to be together. Can’t you feel it, Seb?’ she deadpanned.

His head spun towards her, his expression a mixture of dismay and shock. And Emilia couldn’t keep a straight face for a second longer; she laughed so hard tears rolled down her cheeks.

‘If you could see your face,’ she chortled. Bantering with Seb made her feel like herself again and the fear had thankfully dissipated.

Returning his eyes to the road, Seb’s expression relaxed into amused chagrin. ‘You’ll keep, Angel.’

They rode in silence for a while, but as they neared her house, Seb glanced quickly at her.

‘Are you going to tell me what happened?’ he asked quietly.

Emilia looked down at her lap and twisted her fingers together. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

Pulling up the driveway, he shut off the engine and turned in his seat to face her. ‘I know I haven’t exactly given you much reason to confide in me, but you need to talk about it and I promise I won’t betray your trust.’

He paused. He’d had time to think on the trip back and what he’d come up with he didn’t like one bit. ‘Did Justin do something to you?’

Emilia glanced up at Seb and then looked back down at her hands. ‘Not really. He… he was drunk and he tried to push things further than I wanted to go.’

A slight movement caught her eye and she looked over to see Seb’s fists were clenched and the muscle in his jaw was pulsing angrily.

‘It’s no big deal… really. He just frightened me. I, uh, kneed him pretty hard before he could do anything and then I ran. And that’s all, truly.’

A reluctant smile tugged at Seb’s mouth. ‘That’s good, Em; that’s really good.’

He insisted on walking her to the door, but before she could say good night he put his hand out to hold the door open. His face turned serious.

‘Any decent guy, and even those of us who aren’t quite so squeaky clean, knows that No means No,’ he said carefully and precisely. ‘Don’t ever feel pressured to give out more than you want to, Em. And if the guy won’t respect that, he’s not worth your time.’

His arm dropped away and turning, he jogged lightly down the porch steps.

‘Seb,’ she called after him. He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his brow lifted in silent enquiry. ‘Thank you for being there tonight; it meant a lot.’

‘You’re welcome, Angel,’ he said quietly, his turquoise eyes sombre. ‘Catch you later.’