Going For Gold (Providence Gold 4)

Just then, the light beside the bed was flicked on, and through the dancing spots in my vision I saw Eric – freaking cheating, snorting, fuck face Eric Retter – glaring down at me.

The way he was squeezing my throat meant I was getting a tiny bit of oxygen in but not enough, nowhere near enough.

Lifting up a knife I recognized from my kitchen, he turned it from side to side. “I’ll only use this if you make a noise.”

Then suddenly his hand was gone, and I was able to take a gulp of air and another one. Rolling onto my side, I did my best to get off the bed, but the shock, the fear, and the oxygen deprivation all worked against me meaning that I had no co-ordination and didn’t get far.

“Calm the fuck down, Charlotte,” he snapped, reaching over and grabbing my ankle, using it to pull me back toward him. “We need to talk.”

I wasn’t exactly sure I agreed with that statement, especially not after what he’d just done and the knife that I figured was still in his hand, if not close by.

Still, I turned over to look up at him, doing my best to be as still as possible. Irate people made bad choices, bad choices included knives, knives killed people… I needed to keep him calm.

I almost cried with the pain when I swallowed, but I managed to just let out a whimper. “Why are you here?” I croaked, giving in and reaching up to hold my throat. Fuck me that hurt.

Looking genuinely perplexed by the question, he repeated, “Why am I here? Why?” Throwing his arms up in the air with the knife still in one hand, he roared, “You left me. I was doing great, I had it all, and then you fucking left. Do you know what I have now, Charlotte?”

There was no way to answer that question, because the truth was – I obviously hadn’t even known him. At least, not the real him. I would never have imagined him doing what he’d just done, or snorting drugs off Amber, or even waving a knife around.

Still, I went with a suggestion. “Amber?”

Sneering at me, he began pacing back and forth and I took the opportunity to sit up at the edge of the bed. I couldn’t jump up and run if I was lying down, could I?

“Don’t be obtuse, Charlotte. I’m talking about the deal I had with Raquel and Ed. The money, the respect. Then you had to fucking ruin it, and now I don’t have anything.”

I thought I’d been hurt when I’d heard my parents talking. I’d even considered the possibility that Eric had been paid off by them, too, and had almost convinced myself that they had. But hearing it being confirmed? It opened up a raw wound and poured acid and salt in it.

Sliding slowly up to the top of the bed next to where my phone was charging, I waited for him to start talking again and grabbed it off the table, hiding it under the pillow before he saw what I was doing.

Unlocking it with my thumb, I aimed for the bottom left corner to open up my calls and hit the screen. It could only really be one of a few people – Levi, Lily, Tate, Ariana, or Dahlia. They were the only people that I spoke to outside of texting.

Pulling my hand back out, I listened to what Eric was saying now. “…now I’ve got nothing, Charlotte. Your parents were going to get me a job at the hospital with them and pull some strings so their clients used me. My parents won’t give me money, they say I’m a liability and a waste of space. The only thing I ever did that made them happy was dating you.”

Crossing my hands in my lap, I tried to look as relaxed as possible when he turned back to face me. “So, why did you break into my apartment, Eric?” I rasped, only just stopping myself from reaching back up to my throat again.

Looking at me like I was the crazy one, he frantically rubbed at his nose, sniffing as he did it. “I’m taking you back with me. If I’ve got you, then they’ve got to get me that job, and I can get rid of my parents. Do you know what it’s like to be invisible to your own mom and dad?” he shouted, scratching his arms now.

“I do.”

“No, you don’t. You don’t know what it’s like to not exist to them and never be good enough for them.”

“Yes, I do,” I assured him softly, but he was in full on rant mode now, so he probably didn’t hear it.

“Always being told you’re not good enough, how someone else’s kid is better than you. And when you do what they want, you’re not doing it properly. Then your mom offered me the deal, and I pictured their faces when I told them I’d got that job and telling them to shove their congratulations up their asses.” When he looked up at me this time, I got a good look at how glassy his eyes were.