Just as my eyes began to give in, the heaviness taking over, three loud knocks on my window startled me.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
My body stiffened, his voice echoing through the thin metal walls as I clutched the wooden bat at my bedside.
“Open up, Avery! If you aren’t going to answer my phone calls, you damn well better answer the door.”
He hardly made house calls. It was only as of recently—the more clients I took on in order to make more money, the higher payments I made to get this all over with sooner—that he started acting more erratically. A whimper crept from my shaky lower lip, hopeful that he would walk away and assume I wasn’t here.
“Answer me right now, Avery, or I swear I’ll break a window!” he shouted, likely waking up the entire RV park in the process.
“H-hold on!” My voice wavered.
Gripping my bat, I reached for the lock with every intention to meet him outside.
Unfortunately, he was quicker.
“What the fuck are you going to do with that? Huh?” His eyes traveled down my body and back to what protected me from him. “Scoot back,” he ordered.
He kept the door open as he sat on the edge of my bed, me on the opposite side, as far away from him as possible.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “What are you doing here?” I could only hope that the tremble in my voice didn’t sound as scared as I knew I felt deep down.
“I’m here to collect. You owe me and it’s the seventeenth. You’re two days late and I’ve been more than patient.” His dark eyes glared at me, glowing like a hungry wolf in the night.
Fuck. How could I forget the date? I was never late.
I did this to my fucking self. I should have known it would trigger this type of response.
“I’ll send the money in the morning. Just waiting for a check to clear,” I answered, praying my excuse would be enough.
“Don’t forget, if you’re late, the video I posted of you on the internet can easily stay there longer. Just think of all the men’s fantasies you’ll be able to fulfill in the meantime.” My stomachclenched at his manic laugh—a laugh that still felt so foreign to me, and the complete opposite of the carefree chuckle that used to slip out in our past.
Jax was my boyfriend for eight years. We moved here together to start a new life. Him and his mom took me in when I’d lost everything. Never in my life did I think that the video I allowed him to take of me, for his eyes only, would be used against me as revenge porn blackmail.
“You’ll have your money in the morning. Promise.”
Creeping closer to me, Jax reached his hand out; a devious smirk looking nothing like the smile I used to know grew on his face as he ran his thumb along my lower lip. A move like that used to drive me wild, only now, I flinched at the feeling of his hands on me.
“I have to imagine that whatever you’re doing to earn so much money, it’s perfectly suited for you. You always were an easy fuck, willing to do whatever I told you to do.” My insides boiled. The overwhelming urge to bite his finger off and kick him between the legs only made my grip grow tighter around the hard wood of the baseball bat.
My breathing picked up, but my words were lodged in my throat. As tears threatened to spill over, another sinister chuckle escaped his mouth.
“Send me my money first thing in the morning and add on another five grand for being late, or I’ll be right back here to greet you as you wake up. Got it?” he threatened.
After biting my tongue to argue about the extra money he tacked on, I offered a quick nod and watched as he left.
The stench of cigarettes was the only thing left behind, immediately sending my mind into a downward spiral of the past.
His engine roared as the noisy muscle car skid out of the RV park. The further he drove away, the more at ease I felt.But it didn’t stop the tears from soaking my pillow and the dark thoughts invading my mind as I tried to fall asleep.
As teenagers, Jax had his moments of rage. But it was never anything close to how he’d grown to be since the end of our relationship. Even in his worst moments, I remembered a kid who was like any other—emotional and hormonal. Sometimes, he’d get into it with his mom, he’d get mad. But on my worst days, he was happy and made my grayest days shine a little brighter. Jax grew up with a single mother. There wasn’t a man around to show him how to treat a woman. So even when he wasn’t the boyfriend of the year, he was still the closest thing I had to a best friend growing up.
Vegas was supposed to be our escape. Our new beginning. Getting out of our hometown was supposed to help us grow. I didn’t have a plan set in stone. I just wanted to get out. I’d get a job and let the pieces fall into place. Going to college and getting a general degree in business didn’t guarantee any job for my future, but it was a step in the right direction. Las Vegas was supposed to offer endless opportunities—maybe I’d work in the hospitality industry, who knows?
