Saving Us by Wendy Million

Chapter Forty-Seven

Istepped to the side of the kitchen table. He could pin me against it or on it. There was still hope he was too dumb to use the pepper spray. Maybe he’d stay too far away for it to work well.

“You don’t want to touch me. Any of them will come after you, laws or no laws.” If I could get past him and dash along the hall, I might be able to reach my room and lock the door before he got there. Or I could race to the kitchen and grab a knife from the block on the counter.

“I’m going to lose everything anyway,” he said. “Might as well go out swinging.”

“You don’t know that.” I tried to keep the edge of desperation out of my voice. I needed to make a decision soon—kitchen or bedroom. “You could get off. If you hurt me, you’ll have no chance.”

When he glanced at me, his blue eyes were hollow. “She remembers. Who in their right mind won’t believe her?”

“You could get help. Take a plea. A shorter sentence.” I threw out ideas.

Johnny shook his head. “There’s no plea for me. Jail kills my career. There’s football or there’s nothing.”

When he stepped forward again, I sprinted to the hallway, running to my bedroom. Behind me, Johnny chuckled.

“The thrill of the chase,” he called out, laughing. “At least you’ll make this interesting.”

My heart raced, painful in my chest. I hit the door with my shoulder to get in faster. As it sprung open, Johnny grabbed me, yanking me back.

Closing my eyes, I let my self-defense and kickboxing classes take over. I brought my heel down on the top of his foot hard, twisted and elbowed him in the side at the same time.

His grip slackened, and I surged forward into my room. Throwing my weight against the door, I didn’t have a chance to get it locked. He pushed back, his shoulder against the wood. He’d had far more practice at this than I had. While he put pressure on the door, his arm came around, spraying. I ducked my head, and the pepper shot across the room, missing me.

I was glad for my bare feet, which were gripping well on the hardwood floor, but I wasn’t sure how long I could sustain the pressure. My phone mocked me on the nightstand. Letting go would mean I wouldn’t get to it, but if I kept up this losing game, I was a goner anyway. Either way, I was screwed.

“You don’t want to do this.” I leaned harder, digging my feet into the floorboards.

“I’ve wanted to do this for months.” His voice was hard. “Now, I have no reason not to.” He eased the pressure on his side, throwing me off balance. I stumbled. He slammed the door with a blast of power, knocking me off my feet, and sending me sprawling across the floor.

He stalked toward me, and I crab crawled backward, searching for some distance so I could stand up, scanning for anything I could use as a weapon. Somewhere, I’d dropped the pen.

In the corner, one of Sebastian’s helmets sat. I lunged for it, and Johnny snagged my foot. Using my momentum, I swung around, trying to smash the helmet into Johnny’s head. I hit him, but only in the shoulder.

He chuckled and sprayed me square in the face. My eyes lit up, and everything went black. Through a haze of pain, I was aware of him tugging at my clothes. I tried to keep moving, squirming, kicking, anything I could do while my eyes burned. Touching my eyes would make the burning worse, but I wanted to press the heels of my hands into them.

Twisting and grunting, I scratched at him. Any part of his body near my face, I tried to snap, bite, wound.

“Nat!” Annika called from the front door. “I’m back!”

Johnny stilled over me.

“Annika!” I screamed while squirming underneath him. “Get out of here! Johnny’s here!”

He rose off me, and his footsteps retreated. I prayed he didn’t take the pepper spray with him.

Crawling on my hands and knees, I tried to make my way to the door. My eyes hurt so much. They wouldn’t open.

“Anni,” Johnny said, his voice calm. “I was hoping we could chat.”

“Where’s Natalie?” Her voice was full of tension.

“In her room, I think. I’m not sure. I was waiting for you.”

“Annika, he has the pepper spray,” I called. Hopefully, he wasn’t close enough to use it. If we were lucky, he left it in here somewhere.

“I don’t have the pepper spray.” I pictured him holding up his hands.

“Good,” Annika said.

The sharp staccato of the Taser as it made contact with Johnny filled the silence. His body thumped to the ground, and his deep groans reached my ears as I stumbled toward the doorway.

“Call 911,” I said to Annika. “I can’t see. My eyes…” I trailed off.

The sharp staccato sounded again.

“Annika, are you okay?”

“You bet,” she said. “Johnny’s body parts might be burnt. I want to do it again and again.”

His groans filled the hallway, and Annika’s footsteps approached me. The beep-beep-beep of her phone hit my ears before she crouched beside me.

Thank God, she’s calling 911.

“Hi, yes, we have an intruder, an armed break-in in progress.” Annika helped me stand while rattling off our address.

“Grab the pepper spray,” I said, bracing myself against the door. “The Taser might not keep him down.”

She raced into the room, footsteps brisk across the floor, while talking to the 911 operator. “Got it.” She took my arm and led us down the hall.

“We need to get out of here.” I groped for her in the darkness.

She latched onto me and guided us around Johnny, who was groaning and banging his heels. I understood his pain but had no sympathy.

I stumbled a few times on the way out the door, and I was glad for Annika’s tight grip, even if her guidance was terrible.

In the distance, sirens blared.

“Are you okay?” Her voice was unsteady.

“Other than wanting to rip my eyes out of my head, I’m okay.” I clutched her arm. Judging by the route we’d walked, we should be standing in the parking lot. “I’m not sure I would have been if you hadn’t come home when you did.”

She squeezed me tighter. “I know it’s not my fault. But I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I brought him into our lives.”

“His choices aren’t yours to apologize for. I mean that. He can’t stand losing on or off the field.”

She hugged me and nodded against my shoulder as a police car pulled up, sirens blaring, followed by another set of sirens, identical to the first.

“Ms. Babu?”

“Officer Bradley,” Annika said, relief in her voice. “Johnny. Johnny’s in the house. He—he attacked Natalie.” Her hands gripping my arm shook.

“He’s armed?” The snap of his gun being released was loud to my ears.

“Maybe a Taser or pepper spray.” Annika turned away from me.

His footsteps raced up the path, along with another set from an officer who hadn’t spoken. I missed being able to see. With some hesitation, I tried to open them. The sun was too bright, and I had to close them again.

“Nattie?”

Sebastian’s voice caused me to whip my head in his direction. “Sebastian?” His name caught on a sob.

“Oh, Lord, Nattie. What happened?”

In a heartbeat, his arms came around me. He prodded my face.

“I don’t know if you should touch it. It’s pepper spray.” My voice wavered with unshed tears.

“How’d that happen?”

“Johnny,” I whispered.

With that, the officers pounded along the path. Chancing a look, I squinted in their direction and could make out the three forms. Sebastian blocked me from Johnny with his body.

“I told you to stay the hell away from her.” His rage was palpable.

Johnny scoffed. “She ruined my life. I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.”

“Nah, man. You ruined your life. My girl smelled your rotten soul before the rest of us.” Sebastian held me tight against his side. “You’re not worth anyone’s time anymore. You’re done.”

We watched them stuff Johnny into the rear of the police car.

I squeezed Sebastian tight. “I have to call my dad. My eyes hurt so much.”

“I’ll call your dad to tell him what happened,” Annika said. “I searched pepper spray treatment. Soapy water. Maybe use the dish soap? Isn’t it supposed to clean oil spills off animals?”

“Are you okay?” With my head pressed to Sebastian’s shoulder, I couldn’t see her face in enough detail to be sure.

“I want this to be over. I’m so tired.” Annika tucked her phone against her ear.

“Can someone tell me how the hell this happened?” Sebastian swept me up into his arms.

“I can walk,” I protested.

“You were attacked and pepper sprayed. I’m gonna take care of you. If I’d gotten here before the cops, I would’ve killed him.”

I wanted to press my face into the hollow of his neck, but I didn’t want pepper spray on him. “Annika saved me,” I said. “She saved us.”