Chapter Four
Maya
Jake –Answer the fucking phone, Maya! You’re pathetic.
Jake –You can’t hide from me.I’m at the cabin. Waiting.
Well, that’s me not going home tonight.
Tears well in my eyes, not knowing what to do. I went out for four hours, and this is the response I get. Don’t get me wrong, he has been controlling before, but never to this extent. Never to the point I’m scared to be near him.
I can’t go home.
But where else is there to go?
My full body is shaking as if I’m going into shock. I can’t have a panic attack in the back of a taxi; the poor driver doesn’t need this shit to deal with.
I decide to call Fallon, she is the one person that I know for a fact would drop whatever she is doing to be there for me.
She answers after the third ring, loud thumpingmusic greets me as she speaks.
“Hey girl, what did you leave here?” She asks merrily, assuming that’s why I called.
“Oh, er, nothing. Fal, something happened. Do you mind if I crash at your place tonight? I don’t think it’s safe for me to go home.” I try with all my might to keep the sound of anguish out of my tone. I can see the driver eyeing me warily through the mirror. The shake in my voice must be too noticeable to ignore.
“I’m on my way, I’ll meet you there.” All the humour has drained from her voice. She waits a breath, then whispers. “Are you safe now?”
“Yes, I’m fine for now. I’ll explain everything when we get to yours. I’ll see you in ten,” I tell her. Words can’t describe the gratitude I feel for my best friend. “And Fal… thank you for this.”
I hang up the phone and lean forward towards the driver to tell him the new address. Apologising repeatedly for messing him around.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your phone call, but will you be okay going here? I can take you to the police station if you want me to?” He asks as we pull up outside Fallon’s apartment.
Just the kindness in his voice has me tearing up again.
“Yes, I will be now that I’m here. Thank you so much, though. I really do appreciate it,” I say as I hand over the cash and then hop out of the taxi. I run straight up to Fallon’s front door and don’t stop until I see her, standing at the door with herarms wide open, ready to pull me in.
“Maya, what the hell has happened?” She leans back from our embrace to look me over. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Honestly, I don’t even know what the fuck is going on. It’s probably easier if I show you.” I grab a hold of her hand and drag her towards the couch, dropping down into it. I hand over my phone to her. “Read this and tell me if you’d be a little freaked out.”
I watch the roller coaster of emotions flicker across her face as she reads each message. Once she has read the last message, her expression fills with rage.
“Is he taking the piss? Who the hell does he think he is!” She fumes. Her own hands shake as she hands the phone back to me.
“I know. I couldn’t go home, Fal. After reading those messages… I have never been scared of a man before like that,” I end on a whisper. It’s a lie, though. I have feared men like that before, just not for a very long time. It’s something I have always kept from her.
Tears stream down my face that I didn’t even realise had started, and she leans over to hold me tight again, like I’m going to break any second.
“I knew we weren’t right together. I was going to end it tomorrow. I just never expected this.”
“Oh, Maymay. You’ve done the right thing coming here. You aren’t going to see him again, and you’re staying here until we know he hasdefinitely fucked off the scene.” Her temper rises again with each word she says. “I always knew there was something off about him. I should have mentioned it sooner.”
She looks so remorseful, like him treating me like crap is her fault.
“Hey, this isn’t on you. You can’t take the blame for him being a dick to me. This is my own fault. I’m the one who jumped into a relationship with the first man who showed me an ounce of attention. I knew he wasn’t the one from the start,” I tell her as I wipe at my eyes. I lean back into all the soft decorative cushions she has scattered on her couch. Her apartment is so modern and pristine, just like her. I’m almost too scared to touch anything in case I make a mess. I know she doesn’t care about any of that, though; she isn’t precious over anything, it’s just her style.
“What are we going to do?” she says, her kind eyes holding mine. I love how she takes on my issues like they’re her own. I just wish she didn’t have to. “You’re going to have to break things off with him.”
