“Don’t take me for a fool, Zeke, or it might be the last thing you do,” he threatens. “I fuckingsaved youwhen you had nothing and no one, and this is how you repay me? By going behind my back? Itrustedyou,” he spits, circling me on the stage.
We’re between the curtains now, on the portion of the stage where I bowed to applause after giving a performance I was so proud of only a short while ago. The stage is already reset for tomorrow’s performance, and something tells me I won’t get the chance to see it this way again.
It’s a new level of cruel to make me suffer here.
“I haven’t betrayed that trust, Derek,” I say, trying to remain calm.
Despite telling the truthagain, his next hit lands on my kidney, making my knees buckle, sending me to the floor.
“I’ve allowed you to continue your littlehobby, even though it’s time you could beworking,but now you’re invitinghimto your performances, invitinghimto your little after-party. Was ithimyou were hoping would fuck you tonight?”
“I didn’t invite him to the show, Derek. He brought his sister all on his own. And I certainly didn’t invite him out afterward. They had gone there to eat. He came to congratulateall of uson a job well done. He wasn’t there forme.”
“Oh, Buttercup, how wrong you are.”
“Stop calling me that,” I say through clenched teeth from my knees.
My tone makes Derek go still, and I know I’ve passed the point of no return. I don’t even have time to brace before his fist crashes into my temple and his boot strikes my stomach.
“I will call you whatever the fuck I want to call you!” he shouts. “You have been mine since the day I found your pathetic ass living in a parking lot!”
Oh, to have the freedom of that parking lot back.
“Now, I want the truth this time,” Derek says, feigning a calmness he doesn’t possess. “How long have you been sleeping with him?”
“Sleeping with who?” I wheeze. I’m poking the bear even though I know exactly who he’s talking about.
This time, he kicks me in the ribs so hard that I end up flat on my back.
“Do you really think now is the best time to be a smartass?” he seethes, standing over me.
Maybe if I can make him angry enough, he’ll kill me and endthis tonight. I’m not even sure what the point is anymore anyway. He’s right; Broadway is a pipe dream, always has been, and I’ll never make enough to escape this hellhole. To escapehim.
“Is there a better time I should consider?” I ask, spitting blood on the floor as he kicks me again.
“Goddammit, Zeke. You’re bringing this on yourself.”
“You’re right,” I say, unable to speak above a pained whisper or draw a deep breath. “This is all my fault.”
“At least we finally agree on something,” he says, pulling down his zipper and exposing himself.
I’m gasping for breath thanks to the kick to my stomach; meanwhile, he’s hard as stone.
“You want to convince me you’re not running around? Here’s your chance.”
And then, as consciousness threatens to evade me due to the pain, Derek’s words about who Talon showed up for come back to me…how wrong you are, Buttercup.
Talonwasthere for me. Ofcourse, he was.
Andthat’senough to make me utter the next sentence. Even if Derek kills me afterward, I’ll have said the words, and Derek will know he’s lost his power over me.
“I’m leaving you,” I rasp. “I’d rather die than spend one more minute pretending I give a shit about you.” It takes all my energy to utter the sentence, and it’s met with a grin so evil I don’t doubt the words that fall from his mouth next.
“You will never leave me untilIdecide we’re through.” He tucks himself away, grabs the back of my shirt, and hauls me to my feet. Pain sears through my body, and I can only tolerate the shallowest of breaths. “Let’s go home,” Derek says. “I don’t want you to bleed on this floor, and my dick doesn’t want to wait much longer.”
Derek practically throws me into his truck, and I steel myself for what’s coming the entire drive home. It’s hard not tothink about Talon and his offer, but what I told him is the honest truth.
I wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye if he knew how bad my situation is. Derek is nothing to me. If he thinks I’m a loser, I really don’t give a shit.
