Igripped Helen’s hand, which was now trembling. Her shoulders were slouched like she was trying to make herself as small as possible.
“Do you want to go? You can head to the truck from the back doors while I pay the check.”
Helen looked back, her body in full-on flight mode. She began to nod her head, but just as she was standing, I heard someone speak up from directly behind me.
“Helen! Fancy seeing you here.”
“Um, hi Carter.” Helen refused to make eye contact with him, opting instead to look down at the table. I ground my teeth in fury. What had he done to her?
“That’s all I get? Just hi?”
“I—”
“Did you miss your dry cleaning pickup or something?” Carter interrupted her, looking her up and down.
Helen looked down at her casual outfit, horrified. I watched her remember that she wasn’t wearing an inch of makeup. Carter now rounded the table to stand next to Helen, grabbing the back of her chair and pulling it out from under the table. At this, I began to rise from my seat.
“Give me a proper greeting, baby.” He put his arms out as if expecting a hug.
“What do you want, Carter?” Helen asked, still sitting with her eyes down.
“It’s crazy running into you here because I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, Helen. I’ve missed you. I don’t know why I ever let you go.”
“You didn’t let me go, Carter. I left you.” Now Helen’s eyes were on his, staring daggers into him.
“Iran into Fiona the other day. She said you were living up in Oakville now.”
“Why would she tell you that?” Helen raised her voice.
“Don’t be like that, baby. Me and your sis always had a connection.”
“I’m not your baby!”
At that, the expression on Carter’s face changed. His cheeks grew red with anger.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, Helen? Do you think because some bastard uncle left you a few pennies and a little shack in the hills that you’re somebody? You were nothing when I met you, and you’ve been nothing since I left you.”
“And you’re about to be nothing if you don’t move your sleazy ass away from my woman.”
Istood to my full height, staring down at Carter who was just five-ten. I saw him back up a step or two as he looked up at me. His gaze moved from me to Helen and back to me.
“You’re welcome to her sorry ass. She isn’t even that good in bed, but I guess with her fresh millions, you’ll fake it, huh dude.”
Before I could control it, my fist shot out. I made contact with his cheek and he tumbled back. Helen stood quickly and grabbed my hand.
“No. He’s not worth it. Let’s pay the bill and go. Okay?” I turned around to face Carter once more. Despite his bravado, I could see that my punch had shaken him up.
“Goodbye, Carter. You don’t want to mess up that expensive face of yours, so I would leave now before I step aside and allow him to do as he pleases,” Helen said curtly before turning and pulling me away.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I just couldn’t stop myself when I heard him insult you like that.”
“It’s okay. Thank you for standing up for me.” She squeezed my hand.
“Did he ever hurt you?”
She sighed.
“Not in the way you think. But sometimes words leave more bruises and scars than fists do. I met Carter about five years ago. It was my birthday and I decided to make a weekend of it, so I invited two of my close friends out to dinner with me. We ran into him at the restaurant. He paid me a compliment that made my head spin, we exchanged numbers, and before I knew it, we were an item. He moved in with me six months later, and then the mask came off. At first, he started asking about my family and pleading for me to put in a good word for him with my father. I told him it was not like that between my family and me. As I said, he never laid a hand on me except in bed. But the things he said cut deep. The two years I was with him eroded my self-esteem to the point where I never thought I would amount to anything in life again. Luckily, I walked away from him before things got any worse.”