Be with Me (Wait for You #2)(102)

I heard my cell phone go off in the next room and hope surged. Had an hour passed already? Maybe—-just maybe—-Cam was out of his final early. Or Jase had decided to go ahead and come over. Oh, please God, let it be one of them.

Erik didn’t seem to notice. He continued to pace the small room, grabbing fistfuls of hair. He stopped by the foot of Debbie’s bed and pounded his fists off the sides of his head. “You’ve ruined everything, and now look what’s happened. I have no choice.”

My cell went off again.

Please. Please. Please.

Drawing my legs to my chest, my muscles tensed in anticipation of bum--rushing the door. “You won’t get away with this.”

He lowered his hands, piercing me with a crazed glare. “Get away with what?”

“This.” I placed my palms on the carpet, ready. “Whatever this is, you won’t get away with it.”

Once more, my cell phone went off, and this time, he noticed. Erik glanced at the door, brows furrowing. “I’m not planning to get away with anything.”

I let out a breath. Maybe he wasn’t completely crazy. I’d be happy with just half crazy. “You’re not? Because we can forget this ever happened.” That was such a lie, because I was totally not forgetting that this happened. “We can walk out of here—-”

He shook his head. “I’m not planning to get away,” he said casually, like we were talking about finals. “I’m not planning to walk away from this.”

Whatever tiny smidgen of relief that had blossomed from his statement crashed and burned in a race car kind of crash. Not planning to walk away from this. “You sound like you’re never leaving this room.”

“I’m not.” He barked out a laugh as he turned to me. “Not unless it’s in a body bag.”

Horror exploded in my gut like a buckshot. Fuck the waiting for a good moment to go for the door. Instinct kicked back in and I lumbered to my feet, cursing my bad leg as I pushed off. I used to be light on my feet and fast. Not anymore.

He crashed into me, knocking me to the floor and pushing a scream out of my throat. Out in the suite, something smashed off the wall as Erik’s fingers dug into my shoulders, flipping me onto my back roughly.

As my wide eyes stared into Erik’s, time seemed to stop for a second. A horrible sinking feeling tried to drag me down through the carpet with the truth of what he was about to do.

Erik’s head jerked at the sound of someone banging on the bedroom door, and a wild look filled his eyes. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, I swung my arm off the floor. My fist connected with the corner of his mouth, snapping his head to the side.

He reared back, grunting as blood and spit flew from his busted lip. He grip loosened on my arms, and I twisted to my side and opened my mouth to call out.

“Fucking bitch,” he ground out, slamming his fist into my lower back. A perfect kidney punch that immobilized me.

“Tess!”

Jase—-it was Jase!

The door groaned as he beat it. “Are you in there? Are you okay?”

I reached out toward the door, my fingers digging into the carpet. “Jase—-” His name ended in a grunt.

Erik rolled me over, and I was suddenly staring into the eyes of someone who’d come unhinged. Eyes that I was sure Debbie had stared into countless times and were quite possibly the last thing she’d seen.

Terror caught me in an unbreakable grip and a scream tore through me, piercing the air and then cutting off abruptly as Erik’s hand circled around my neck, closing in.

The door rattled on its hinges. “Tess! What the f*ck? Tess!

Panic dug in deep with its sharp, icy claws. His grip was bruising, cutting into my windpipe. I opened my mouth to scream again, but there was no sound—-no air! Heart pounding, I slapped him and then caught his chin with my fist. He yelped, but his hold remained.

“Tess!” called Jase. The door rocked, sounding like he’d rammed it with his shoulder. “Goddamnit!”

Stars burst behind my eyes, and I couldn’t—-I couldn’t drag in enough air. I clawed at Erik’s hands, feeling his skin tear under my nails. The door shuddered again, but it wasn’t going to give in time.

“Stop it!” Erik lifted me up and then slammed my head back down. “Just stop!”

Darkness crept upon the corners of my vision, crowding my sight. A fiery burn flamed deep in my chest, spreading rapidly into my throat. I needed to breathe!

“Teresa! Baby,” shouted Jase, and the sound of his voice shot a bolt of desperate strength through me. The door shook and groaned. “Come on . . .”

Using everything in me, I beat on Erik’s chest—-his face and shoulders. I rolled my hips, trying to throw him, but he pushed down and down, and it felt like I was floating through the floor, slowly disappearing into the waiting abyss. I knew I shouldn’t let go, that I must not, but my hands slipped down, arms falling to my sides.

In the background, something shattered. Maybe it was the last of my oxygen--deprived cells. I didn’t know what, but Erik’s dark eyes latched onto mine, and I was sure that this was it. My lashes drifted shut. He was going to be the last thing I saw, just like Debbie. And it wasn’t fair. I hadn’t even begun to live life, to embrace this new future or to get Jase, because if I’d survived this, I wouldn’t let him walk away. Not anymore. But . . . but it didn’t matter now. My hearing dwindled until there was only a fine point, a roaring of blood.