I Left My Heart In Huntington Beach

I gripped the arm rest as Brian sped through the streets of Huntington, swerving around each corner, his grip on the steering while tightening around each turn. His knuckles were now white and I could see he had lost some of the color in his face.

I felt faint, queasy even. A million thoughts ran through my head as my body tightened and my breath shortened. I sat on the edge of my seat, my anticipation building as my eyes darted back and forth to the clock on Brian’s dashboard,

“Fuck!” Brian growled, taking me from my thoughts. He smacked the steering wheel and slammed on the breaks. He quickly turned the steering wheel as the car made a u-turn in the middle of the thankfully abandoned road.

“Why are we turning around?”

“Turned down the wrong fucking road! Can you please just sit back and put your seatbelt on? You’re making me feel uneasy.” He barked, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Sorry,” I mumbled and rolled my eyes. Usually I wouldn’t take orders from Brian, but tonight didn’t seem like the night to disobey him. I closed my eyes after a few minutes and wondered how we hadn’t been pulled over by a cop yet. Maybe it was free doughnut night.

I scolded Shauna in my mind, wishing that she would have just let Bella stay with Brian and I. At least I would know she is safe. Bella doesn’t deserve what Shauna has put her through. She doesn’t seem to understand how much being with Rick not only affects her, but Bella as well.

My eyes shot open after a few minutes when I realized we weren’t moving anymore. I looked out my window to see we were in the airport parking lot. I threw off my seatbelt and flew out of my seat and through the tall glass doors. My eyes scanned the airport lobby, desperately trying to find my sister.

“They’re over there.” Brian said and quickly grabbed my hand, leading me to a section of seats facing a large window.

“Shauna!” I exclaimed as Brian and I began running towards her. She stood from her seat and wrapped Brian and I into a hug, letting out sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad you guys came,” She murmured with a small smile as she pulled away from the hug.

“Brian!” Bella smiled, jumping into Brian’s arms. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, looking like she never wanted to let go. I carefully inspected Bella. She looked fine to me, no visible bruises or anything. Shauna however, had flushed red cheeks and a black circle around her eye that was beginning to show through her makeup.

“Shauna, what did he do to you?” I breathed, carefully running my hand under her eye and over her cheek. She shook her head, breaking eye contact with me.

“I’ll explain later, right now we need to leave!” She stepped away from me, quickly grabbing her luggage off the seat and began a fast paced walk towards the parking lot. Her rush sent a shot of panic through my body. I quickly rushed after with as Brian and Bella followed closely behind.

“Do you remember the way home?” Brian asked as we reached the parking lot. I shook my head, not remembering much at the moment. He sighed and carefully set Bella in my arms.

“Here, hold Bella so I can drive.”

I smiled at Bella as she cuddled into me just like she had done to Brian. I kissed the top of her head, holding her closer to me with each step.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I set Bella on Brian’s lap and turned on the TV in my bedroom.

“Bella just relax in here with Brian for a little, okay?” She nodded, her bangs falling slightly in her eyes as she set her delicate hands on top of Brian’s. I smiled a little before shutting the bedroom door behind me.

Shauna sat timidly on the edge of the couch, staring intently at a spot on the carpet. I ran a hand through my hair and let out a sigh, knowing that the story I was about to hear wouldn’t be a good one.

“Do you want some tea or coffee?” I asked quietly after a few moments of silence. She shook her head, still not looking up from the floor.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the couch, taking a seat next to my sister. A tense silence fell over the apartment. Only the faint sound of the Spongebob Squarepants theme song coming from my bedroom could be heard. I soon found myself staring at the ground with Shauna.

“I lied,” I jumped a little as Shauna’s voice broke through the silence.

“What?”

“I lied to you Nicole.” She muttered.

“What did you lie to me about?” I asked, still not quite understanding what she was talking about.

Shauna took a shaky breath and set her head in the palms of her hands.

“Shauna, what’s going on?” I set my hand on her knee as she sat up and looked at me with tears sitting on the edge of her eyes.

“Rick,” She said and stopped to wipe a few tears that had escaped.

“I left Rick. He beat me Nicole.” She whispered as tears began falling at a more rapid rate.

“Me and Rick weren’t going to counseling. I left and came to you with Bella to get away from him. But he followed us and found me one morning when I was going to the grocery store.” Her voice cracked as she lowered her head.

I tried to calm my breathing as tears now fell down my cheek.

“How did he know to come here though?”

“He had remembered you told him at our wedding that you were moving here after college. He’d figured I’d be here too.” She whispered, shaking her head a little bit. “Rick is on a business tip for two weeks. I left last night, emptied my bank account and flew here. I’m just so scared he’s gonna find us again,” I pulled her into me as she sobbed into my shoulder. Running my fingers through her hair, I could feel her tears soaking into the sleeve of my sweater.

“It’s okay,” I cooed, trying to calm myself in order to keep Shauna calm.

“What if he finds us Nicole?” She bellowed and pulled herself out of my embrace.

“Shauna, Brian and I wouldn’t let anything happen to you or Bella. Especially Bella.”

She nodded thoughtfully, her tears now starting to settle.

“I’m going to go start looking at apartments here tomorrow,”

“Shauna that’s nonsense. You can‘t stay in Huntington, he‘s going to know you came here and then take you again.”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go Nicole."

“Maybe you should go stay in Los Angeles, until you can find a permanent place. He’d have way more trouble finding you there,” I quietly offered.

Shauna nodded her head. “That’s not a bad idea. Do you think you could drive us up tomorrow to look for apartments?”

“Of course. And you guys can stay here tonight, I’ll stay with Brian.”

“Sis, I can’t have you do that, we can just get a hotel room.”

“You’re my sister and this is my apartment. I want you and Bella to have it for as long as you need.”

Shauna pushed a little smile onto her face before pulling me into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” She whispered into my ear.

“You’re welcome.” I smiled and pulled her closer to me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I walked into my bedroom to see Brian and Bella still watching cartoons.

“Brian, can I talk to you outside?” I asked, pointing down the hallway.

He nodded and set Bella down on the bed, telling her that he’d be right back.

We walked down the hallway as Shauna made her way to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. I carefully shut the sliding glass door behind me and turned to Brian who was casually lighting a cigarette that was loosely hanging from his lips.

I found smoking to be absolutely disgusting, but even I had to admit that it looked damn good on Brian. I shook my head as I tried to remember my train of thought.

“Okay, I need you to do me a huge favor.”

“Shoot.” He said as he turned his head to the side, blowing his cigarette smoke up into the air.

“I need to stay over at your place for a while. My sister needs my apartment.” I bit my lip, still trying to process everything that Shauna had told me, and the sudden urge I had to throw Brian into one of the chairs on the balcony and rip all of his clothes off.

“Why, what’s wrong?” He asked with a concerned tone coating his voice.

“A lot,” I sighed, not feeling like giving Brian a recap. “But they’re going to look for apartments in Los Angeles tomorrow and I’m letting them borrow my apartment. So can I please just stay over at your place?”

“Of course. Please just at least tell me Bella is okay,” He asked with deep concern in his voice.

“She is now.”

He nodded and took a long drag from his cigarette.

“Thank you.” I said while playing with a flower that sat on the table outside.

“No problem.” He said before putting out his cigarette and pressing a small kiss on my cheek.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Okay so everything should be on this list. If you have any problems finding anything just call me okay?”

Shauna nodded as I handed over a list of the objects in my apartment and their locations.

“I’ll come over tomorrow to grab my clothes. Please borrow anything you need.” I said over my shoulder as I walked over to Brian who was holding a sleepy Bella.

“Bye Bells,” I whispered as I placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She reached out a hand and lightly set it on my cheek. I smiled down at her and placed a quick kiss on her hand before setting it back on Brian’s chest.

“Thank you so much again Nicole.” Shauna said.

“Don’t even worry about it,” I said, pulling her into a hug. I pulled away from the hug as Brian set Bella in Shauna’s arms, kissing her cheek in the same spot I had and wrapping my sister in a one armed hug.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” I smiled at my sister as she nodded. I knew she was trying her hardest to believe me. I kissed her cheek again before grabbing my purse off the couch and following Brian out the door.

I stared out the window as the scenery flew by, everything mixing together to become a colorful blur. I had never knew how much you could despise a person until today. I also couldn’t believe Shauna had put herself in such a situation. She always had the good boyfriends growing up, or at least I thought she did.

I closed my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose, I wished that I could open my eyes and all of this would be sorted out. We could all just be happy and not worry. At least I had Brian. I knew he would never do anything like that to me. I’m so glad I can trust him.

I set my purse down on the island in Brian’s kitchen, noting how warm his house felt. It smelled like he had been baking chocolate chip cookies. I turned around to see a plate of cookies sitting on the counter. I let out an involuntary giggle.

“What are you giggling about?”

I smiled a little as I felt Brian wrap his arms around my waist and pulling me into his chest.

“I didn’t know you could bake.”

“My mom taught me.”

I stepped out of his arms, reaching for one of the cookies and taking a bite out of it.

“She taught you well.” I nodded and took another bite of the cookie.

He smiled a little as he grabbed my cookie from me and took a bite.

“Tell me about your mom,” I asked as I grabbed another cookie.

He leaned against the island as I took a seat on the counter. He took a few bites of his cookie and glanced down at his shoes.

“What do you want to know?” He asked, looking up from his shoes.

“What’s she like?”

His eyes locked with mine as he smiled a little. “She reminds me a lot of you.”

I let out a gleeful laugh and set my hand over my chest, trying my hardest not to choke on my cookie.

“What?” He chuckled.

“Most girls don’t like hearing that they remind their boyfriends of their own mothers.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” He said as he rolled his eyes. “She’s just a very smart, strong woman who knows what she wants. She doesn’t try to fit in, she’s better standing out.” I stared down at my lap as I felt my cheeks turn red and a smile start to creep onto my lips.

“I think you’re mom has a much better grip on her life than I do,” I said as I looked up to see Brian now in front of me.

His smile widened as he shook his head and set his hand on my cheek.

“You’re much smarter than you give yourself credit for.”

“Well I can’t be that smart, I mean I am dating you,” I smirked with a little shrug.

Brian titled his head back as he let out a deep laugh.

“Oh, you’re so funny,” He mumbled before pulling my lips onto his. I looped my fingers through his belt loops, pulling him closer to me as he opened my legs and settled between them.

He wrapped my legs around his waist as he began planting kisses down my neck. I wrapped my fingers through his hair and let a soft moan pass my lips, tugging slightly on the hair just below his neck. I giggled as he growled in response and removed his lips from my neck.

“You’re gonna get it now,” He smirked before attacking my lips once again and lifting me up off the counter, his hands gripping my ass. He ran up the stairs as I bounced up and down in his arms. I smiled into the kiss and he chuckled as our lips kept getting unattached.

“Please, don’t let me fall,” I whispered as he kicked open the bedroom. He softly laid me on the bed and hovered over me, looking down at me with a soft smile.

“I wont,” He whispered back.