My fucking father.
He tried wrangling some girls over to our table, but I stood up. Andy watched me and tried to mimic my movements, but stumbled the second his feet hit the damn floor. He went toppling into another waitress before he tried grabbing her ass, and she slapped him right across the face.
The look in his eye made me shiver. I knew that look.
It was the look I got from my father before he pulled his fist back.
“I need to go get some sleep,” I said.
“I’ll look ya up soon,” Andy said.
“Don’t bother,” I said, underneath my breath.
I went up to the bar and apologized profusely for his behavior. Then I settled my tab as well as his. They needed to cut him off, but I knew a bar like this would never refuse service. So settling his tab to close it out was all I could do. I also knew Andy would stay good to his word of looking me up, and I didn’t like that at all. The last thing I wanted was somebody around that reminded me of the shitty memories I had of this town. Especially when it came to my father.
I tipped the waitress well, trying to hide it from everyone else before I made my way out into the street.
Anton’s house was walking distance from downtown. At least, it was walking distance for me. Four miles wasn’t anything I’d turn down. It was a leisurely stroll in my world. I was tired though, and a little tipsy. Ready to fall asleep and put all of this behind me. I leaned against fence posts for a minute when I needed to, then took a few deep breaths and kept plugging on. Andy’s face kept flashing through my mind, substituted intermittently with that of my father. I could hear his voice morphing into my dad’s. Seeking the solace of the home that had sheltered me in my youth, I started jogging, stumbling along the side of the road until I finally got to Anton’s.
Once inside, I headed straight for my room and almost immediately fell asleep.
Chapter 4
Michelle
“Andy, what the fuck? Are you k—get off me!”
“Come here, you stingy bitch.”
“No! What are—you’re drunk.”
I put my hand on his face to shove him away, but he grabbed it and twisted it around my back. He pinned me to the wall and licked up the nape of my neck with that disgusting tongue of his. I cringed, as tears welled in my eyes.
“I’m not taking no for an answer tonight.”
“Andy, fucking cut this shit—ow! You’re hurting me!”
“Stop it, Michelle.”
“No! You stop it!”
He pawed at me. Pushed my night shirt up and ground his cock against my ass. It made me sick, his touch on me. He bit into my skin and held me to the wall. How the hell was he so strong when he was drunk? I kicked my feet back as he struggled to get his dick out, and it gave me the chance to wrench away from his grasp.
“Get the hell off me!” I exclaimed.
I pushed him away from me and he stumbled into the television. It went over with a crash and went busting to the floor. He tumbled on top of it and I ran to our room, tears streaming down my face. I pushed our dresser in front of the door as he started pounding on it, my hands shaking with terror.
“Open this door, Michelle! We’re not done talking!”
“We weren’t talking in the first damn place!”
“The perk of having a girlfriend is supposed to be getting laid!”
“Yeah, and the perk of having a boyfriend is to be loved. Not tossed around and raped!”
He banged on the door as tears streamed down my cheeks. What a fucking loser I was. I’d been an idiot. A musician working on an oil rig for extra cash? What the hell had I been thinking? He was an idiot, and I was an idiot for falling for him. For loving him. For taking a chance on him and moving states away from everything I knew in order to be with him. I shoved as many clothes as I could grab into my empty duffel bag before I removed the false bottom in my underwear drawer.
Then, another crash came down onto the door.