“How would I even know you were down here?” I asked. “I was having lunch with a friend.”
“That guy?”
“Again, not that it is any of your business, but no. I was having lunch with Rebecca,” I said.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “From the diner? The last time I was in there, she said she hadn’t seen you and didn’t know where I could find you.”
“We haven’t seen each other in a while,” I said, stretching the definition of “a while” but not caring in the least about my shaky honesty when it came to my ex. “And you need to leave her alone. She doesn’t have anything to do with you and me.”
“So, you still do think there is a you and me,” he said, his eyes brightening up.
“No.” He was easing ever closer to me, and it was making me both angry and nervous.
I looked around for someone to intervene, but no one was paying attention.
“But there could be. Lauren, you need to come back. We should be together. We’re meant to be together. You have to see that.,” he said.
“I see nothing of the sort, Ashton.”
“You don’t have to feel shy or play hard to get. I want to be with you. And I know you blocked me because it hurts you too much to hear from me because you miss me so much. I know that now. And I understand. It’s hard to think about going back and worrying that we aren’t going to make it, but we are. I promise we are. And you don’t need to worry about this guy you’re seeing. I know you work together, and that makes it awkward, but he can’t control you.”
“Ashton, I don’t want to be with you,” I said slowly and deliberately. “I blocked you because I don’t want to hear from you.”
He had been balancing on a delicate, narrow edge, and that comment was enough to push him over. Anger rolled across his face, and his jaw hardened.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that,” he said in a low growl. “You need to show me some respect. What the hell happened to you? Whatever it is, you need to get over it damn quick and stop being such a bitch, so we can just move on with our lives.”
Before I had a chance to react, his hands shot out and grabbed my arms. I gasped, trying to pull away from him, but he held on tight.
“Let go of me,” I said.
“Not until you tell me you hear what I’m saying to you and that you’re over this little phase of yours.”
I tugged on my arms, growing more afraid by the second. I suddenly wished Carter was nearby, but I knew he was at home on the mountain. That was much too far away for him to get to me, even if I somehow did manage to get in touch with him.
“Ashton, let go of me right now. You’re hurting me, and there are people staring at us,” I said.
Finally, he released my arms, and I ran to my car without a second of hesitation. As I drove past, I saw him still standing there like he was in a daze. I didn’t stop until I was at Carter’s cabin. He opened the door as I stumbled out of the car and ran toward him.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s going on?”
I threw my arms around him and buried my head in his chest. He held me close for a few seconds until I was ready to tell him what happened. When I got through the story, I could see the vein on the side of his neck pulsing and his jaw twitching as he gritted his teeth.
He reached for my arms and gently pushed my sleeves up. Bruises were forming where Ashton had held me. Carter gently ran his fingers over the spots, then gave me an intense look.
“You need to let me handle this now,” he said with fury in his voice.
“You don’t need to do that,” I said. “I will go to the police. I’ll tell them what happened and find out what can be done to stop him.”
Carter agreed and got me into his truck so he could drive me to the police station. They took my report and told me that sounded like more than enough to petition the courts for an emergency protective order. I’d hoped they would be able to put something in place right then, but they told me things like that weren’t up to the police. A judge had to make the decision about a restraining order. Fortunately, emergency orders could often be processed very quickly.
I went back to Carter’s house, and we spent the evening curled up in each other’s arms on the couch watching TV. I was happy to be there with him, feeling so much safer, but my heart was still aching. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and I didn’t like how that felt.