Ache With Me

“Thanks for the ride Hunter. I really appreciate you driving me back and forth.” I said, unbuckling my seat belt.

“It’s not a problem, Lily. We gotta take care of you.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “I suppose I won’t be doing this for much longer though, huh?”

“Tomorrow is my last day of work and then I’m going on maternity leave. Not a moment too soon either, my back is fucking killing me.” With some difficulty, I heaved myself out of the seat and out onto the curb. I couldn’t wait to get upstairs and put on my ugly furry boots. All of my shoes squeezed my feet uncomfortably these days.

Cheshire greeted me at the door; my belly had grown so large that I couldn’t bend over to pick her up anymore. I’d even had to move her food on top of a counter so it would be easier to feed her.
Once I was inside I kicked off my shoes and clicked on the Christmas lights I hadn’t bothered to take down yet. The holidays had come and gone without Max and I speaking to each other. I assumed he’d gone back to England to see his family and hadn’t bothered to get in touch with him. Hunter had blessedly kept his mouth shut about any news of Max. I didn’t want to hear it unless it came directly from him.

At least the holiday celebration with my family had gone well. Mom had given Avery a stern talking to and Avery showed up at my loft a few days later to beg my forgiveness. She’d made it clear that she loved me and didn’t just care about the baby I was carrying for her. Things had been a lot better between us lately. Our phone conversations had gotten longer and had gone past the baby’s progress and how I was feeling. She’d even taken me shopping for some of the things she still had to get for the nursery.

James had done all of the painting and construction of the furniture, but there were still clothes and bedding and toys to be bought. None of us knew the baby’s sex so everything was as gender neutral as could be; the nursery was painted a soft mint green. Everyone who’d brought gifts to the baby shower I’d bailed out on had been instructed to not buy anything pink or blue. As far as I’d seen, everyone had been good about keeping to the rule.

I made myself a cup of tea and turned on the TV to relax for a bit. Tomorrow I would go into work for a half day and most of it would be a “going away” party of sorts. I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself for the next month. There was no chance for a social life, seeing as I’d broken up with my boyfriend and the only two friends I really wanted to see anymore were dating each other. I’d probably try to pick up painting if it didn’t remind me so much of Max. Maybe I’d just sit on the couch and watch YouTube videos until I was ready to let my little passenger off this ride.

After two episodes of “Say Yes to the Dress” I realized I was ravenously hungry and got up to see what I had to eat. I’d been trying to avoid ordering takeout, mostly because I couldn’t afford it but also because I was trying to eat healthier for the baby. A quick scan of my fridge told me I had everything to make a good pasta dish except the pasta, but that was an easy fix. There was a little grocery store down the block that I could make a quick run to. I didn’t bother changing out of the leggings and ugly boots I’d put on when I got home. I was eight months pregnant and going to the grocery store. Anyone who made a snarky comment would get vomited on.

The chill in the air prompted me to move faster. January in Seattle was incessantly rainy; I’d managed to get out during a break in the storm and I wanted to get back to my loft before the deluge started again. The grocery store was packed with tired looking office workers trying to figure out what they were making for dinner. I made a beeline for where the pasta was kept. Avery would probably be happier if I went with the whole wheat pasta, but I couldn’t find the shape I wanted in the whole wheat. I was still looking for it when someone bumped into me, nearly knocking me off my feet.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” It was a guy who looked like one solid slab of muscle with a shaved head. I felt like someone had dropped an ice cube down my back looking into his dark eyes. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, no, I’m okay.” Every instinct I had was screaming at me to get away from him and I wasn’t sure why. He meandered down the aisle and I grabbed the first box of pasta I could get my hands on and headed for the checkout lanes.

I found myself checking over my shoulder as I left the store. That cold slide down my spine got stronger when I noticed the guy nonchalantly head out of the store and down the sidewalk towards me. There was only so fast I could move with my belly so big and it didn’t seem fast enough to lose him. He was still following and gaining on me as I hurried down the street to my building. If I could just get into the elevator, I would be okay. There would be no knowing what floor I was on and I would be safe in my loft.

He was only a few people behind me when I scurried through the door of the building, making a mad dash across the lobby to the elevator banks. I ignored the strange stares I was getting from the people milling about. Luck was on my side and there was an elevator waiting. The doors slid closed just as the man entered the building.

I started to congratulate myself on making it back safely when I remembered that there was a floor reader on the wall above the elevator. The stretch of hallway between the elevators and my door had never seemed so long as they did now. My only thought was getting that steel door between me and the man and protecting my little passenger, who’d been kicking me in the ribs since he first bumped into me.

I fumbled with my keys for a heart stopping moment before I managed to get it into the door the right way. I had just gotten it unlocked when I heard the ding of the elevator opening. I slid through the gap of the open door and threw my weight against it to slam it shut.

The lock slid home and I tried to catch my breath. I was still leaning against the door when something slammed into it, shaking the whole wall. I let out a terrified scream before running into my kitchen to find something, anything to defend myself with. The first thing I found was a large kitchen knife, which was good enough for me. I scooped Cheshire up on my way to the bathroom. Its locking door was the only thing I could hide behind if he made it through that steel door.

The knife clutched in one hand, I scrabbled in my bag for my cell phone. I could hear him pounding on the door still as I dialed 911.

“911, what is your emergency?” The operator sounded so calm and collected it seemed absolutely bizarre.

“There’s someone trying to break into my apartment, he followed me home from the grocery store. Help me, I’m pregnant.” I didn’t realize I was crying until now.

“I need you to stay calm ma’am, what’s your address?” I rattled it off and I heard her typing something. “Help is on the way, I’m going to stay on the line with you until the arrive, okay?”

“Okay.” I scrubbed my face with the back of my hand, the knife still clutched in my hand in a white knuckle grip. After what seemed like an eternity, the pounding stopped and everything was silent. I didn’t dare leave the bathroom or put down the knife. I screamed again when there was a knock on the door.

“Ma’am? Are you in there?” With some effort, I got myself off the floor and tried to walk as quietly as possible to the door of the loft. A peek through the peephole showed me that there were three police officers in the hallway.

I opened the door slowly, letting them into the loft. One of them stayed out in the hall to assure my neighbors that everything was fine and see if they’d seen or heard anything. The other two, Officer Dickinson and Officer Rodriguez, came inside to talk to me.

“What’s your name?” Dickinson asked, his tone gentle and soothing.

“Lily Ashworth.” My heart was still pounding so hard I could barely hear.

“Can you give me the knife Lily? You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you or your baby.” He held out his hand for the knife. I hadn’t realized I was still holding it. I had to pry my fingers loose from the handle to give it to him. He set it on the table and continued asking me questions. I gave them a description of the man and a full account of what had happened.

“Is there someone you can call so you don’t have to stay here alone?” Rodriguez asked. She’d been quiet for most of the conversation, taking notes on the description I’d given them.

“Yeah, I’ll call them right now.” I knew if I called Avery she would lose her mind with worry. Eden would still be at work. I dialed Hunter’s number, praying he wasn’t too engrossed in his work to hear the phone ringing.

“Hey little sister, what’s up?” It seemed like years had passed since he dropped me off, although it had barely been two hours. When I finished telling him everything, the other side of the line was dead silent.

“Hunter?” I asked, wondering if he’d hung up on me.

“I’m still here. I’m going to come get you right now okay? Pack a bag.” He hung up before I could argue with him.

The officers waited with me until there was another knock on the loft door. Rodriguez got up and answered it for me. I wasn’t facing the door, so when I heard someone with an accent speaking with the officer I craned my neck to see who it was.

“Lily!” Max nearly vaulted over the couch to get to me. At this moment, I didn’t care that we’d been fighting. I just wanted him to hold me. He wrapped me up in a tight hug and for the first time since that man had bumped into me, I felt safe. The officers told me they’d be in touch before leaving.

For a long while Max and I didn’t say anything, we just sat there clinging to each other. I didn’t realize he was shaking at first. I pulled back to look at his face, which was pale and drawn. His injuries had healed up well, although he had a rakish scar splitting his eyebrow now. I thought it made him look more interesting.

“I missed you.” I said, burying my face in his shoulder.

“I missed you too. I’m so sorry Lily, if I hadn’t left you alone this never would have happened. I’m so fucking stupid.” I could hear the pain and guilt in his voice.

“Max, what the fuck is going on?” He kissed the top of my head before letting go of me.

“I’m going to make us a pot of tea and then I’ll tell you everything.” While the water was boiling I heard him talking softly to Cheshire about how much he missed her. Then he came back out with the pot and two cups. He waited until I was settled back against the cushions and comfortable before launching into his story.

“Do you remember when I went to Spokane back in September to meet a dealer who wanted to buy a couple of my paintings? We agreed on the pieces I was going to sell and the price I wanted for both of them. I sent the paintings and I never got the money we’d agreed on, so I tried to get a hold of him to clear it up, see if there’d been some kind of mistake. I guess in one of the last messages I left I told him if I didn’t get the money we’d agreed on I was going to go to the police. He got scared and he sent some guys to kick the shit out of me.”

“That was the night you came home all beat up.” I interrupted, touching his cheek gently.

“Yeah. I didn’t tell you what had happened because I didn’t want you to worry. I thought I was going to get it cleared up without ever having to involve you in it. That night at the restaurant, Hunter was telling me if I didn’t come clean you were going to leave me and I’d be even worse off. So when you came out looking so upset because of something I did, I left right then to sort it out. The same guys showed up and nearly killed me and they told me if I ever brought it up again they would-” he paused, trying to force the words out of his mouth, “they said they’d fuck you bloody, cut the baby out of you, and let you die in my arms.”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. They’d told him that and then I’d said all those awful things to him while he was in the hospital. “Oh Max, I’m so sorry.”

“I thought that maybe if I stayed away from you they’d think we’d broken up and they’d leave you alone. So I laid low for a while, went back to London to figure out my next step. Everything was quiet until I guess we made it too obvious that we were poking around what had happened and they came after you. I don’t know if he was going to kill you or just scare the absolute shit out of you but either way you are not staying here anymore.”

I was quiet for a minute, just trying to process everything he’d just told me. It sounded like something from a TV show and I wasn’t sure I wanted this to be my reality. But the more I thought about it, the more it kind of made sense. It explained why Max had been so secretive and why Hunter was so adamant about me not going anywhere alone. He’d spent more than one night on my couch when Eden was working late.

“So what do we do now?” I said finally, putting my cup down so I could snuggle into his side.

“You pack up what you need for a few days and then you, Cheshire, and I get into the car and go to Hunter’s house. One of Alex’s boyfriends is a cop and he’s been hanging around during his off hours as a favor to us. I think we’re supposed to be doing commissions for him once this is all over.”

“What about Eden?” She was just as likely a target as I was.

“Eden should be getting to Hunter’s house any minute. He’s supposed to fill her in as soon as she gets there.” He cupped my face in his hands gently. “I’m going to protect you and your little passenger. This is going to be over soon, I promise.”

“I love you.” He smiled and kissed my forehead.

“I love you too, Lily. Come on, let’s get you packed and let’s go.” He made me sit on the bed and direct while he packed all my things for me. He made a couple crude jokes about the size of my bras these days and I didn’t mind a bit. Now that I knew what had been going on I was less angry with him and more worried about all of our safety. Hopefully now that we were all under one roof we’d be able to protect each other.