“Bradley, it’s getting late. My parents are going to get worried,” I pointed out, even though I had called them and told them I was going to see Caleb so they were probably not even expecting me to come home for the night.
He plopped himself on the sofa opposite me. “What do you want to know?”
I swallowed the irritation. “Apart from what you said at the store what else is there? Where exactly did you get the information from? I checked online and there’s hardly any references.”
“Of course, there’s very little information about his crime. He was a minor then.”
“You said what you had to tell me was serious enough for me to sit down.”
“I did,” he said. Then he tried to get to his feet, but fell back twice before he could eventually rise. I watched him lurch towards a mini refrigerator. Holding on to the top of it, he pulled it open, and he grabbed a bottle of liquor from it. He poured himself another drink and I rose. It was clear to me then that coming here was a total waste of time.
“What I don’t understand is why you need to know all this shit. Surely, you don’t still want him.”
I slung the strap of my bag over my shoulder. “What?”
He looked at me incredulously, contemptuously. “You’re thinking of going back to him, aren’t you? I can see the look in your eyes.”
I gave him a hard look, and began to move towards the door. “Thanks for your help, Bradley.”
He suddenly smashed the glass on the floor and I froze from the shock. Realizing that he was about to lose control, I ran for the door. Just as I pulled it open however it was slammed back shut. I couldn’t believe he could move so fast. He seemed to be so drunk.
“Bradley!”
He was crowding me, his hand over my head and his body much too close to mine. I could smell the liquor fumes on his breath, and see the anger burning in his gaze, but what shocked me was how sober he seemed to be. Had he been pretending to be drunk to get me off my guard?
“Bradley, let me go,” I ordered.
“What is it about him?” he asked. “Is it because he’s rich? Come to think of it, haven’t you wondered where he got all that money from since he’s been in prison since he was fifteen years old?”
With my hands against his chest, I tried to push him away, but he couldn’t be budged.
“Answer me,” he snarled.
“Let me go,” I screamed, but he grabbed my forearms and shook me so hard my teeth rattled. “Fucking answer me! Is it because he’s rich? Because I’m not too bad looking, am I?”
He tried to kiss me then. His lips almost connected with mine but I sharply turned my head away.
I was panting and my heart was pounding so hard
He laughed bitterly. “I don’t deserve even a kiss? After all these years of putting you first? Bradley, can you come in an hour? Bradley, do you mind dropping my flowers off first? Bradley, it’s Saturday, but can you make a fucking delivery anyway? You’ve been treating me like a servant.”
“What are you talking about? I never asked you to do any of those things. You dealt with Sandra.”
“Yeah, but it was your shop. I was doing it for you,” he insisted.
“Bradley, I didn’t even know she was asking you for all those favors.”
He looked at me angrily. “You know what? Fuck you. I wanted to do them for you. And this is what I get.”
“I don’t believe this.”
“What is it about me that you loathe so much?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer and he grabbed my chin and crushed his lips to mine. Nausea immediately began to roil in the pit of my stomach. I summoned all of my strength to push him away, but no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t budge.
With tears in my eyes, I bit down hard on his lips, and with a shout he jumped away from me. I tasted the blood in my mouth as I collapsed to the floor. I couldn’t believe this was happening. The instinct for self-preservation kicked in. My mind became crystal clear and strength flowed into my limbs. I realized the window of escape I’d been given. I jumped to my feet and jerked the door open.
But it wouldn’t open.
He had locked it. I tried to turn the key desperately and just as it was beginning to catch and turn, I felt his presence behind me.
“You bitch!” he roared.
Then I felt his steely grasp lock around my neck. He pulled me away from the door and I screamed. I was thrown to the floor, and my head hit the floor hard. And then the weirdest thing happened. The ceiling of Bradley’s house disappeared and instead I saw a different ceiling. It was blue with little stars on it. It terrified the hell out of me. I blinked and then Bradley’s ceiling appeared again.