Lovers of Yesterday

Chapter 31 • Yelling

It only took two rings for Lynch to pick up. "Hey, I'm heading back now, what's up?"

"I think Liam's here." My voice shook as I curled up next to Dria in the corner of the room.

The engine roared in the background. "Five minutes."

He hung up and I pulled my phone away from my face, staring at the screen. Holding it against my chest, I heard someone bang on the door again. Dria sat silent next to me and I looked up at her. Her eyes were blank but when she looked at me, I saw the vaguest trace of fear. Wrapping one arm around her shoulder, I squeezed her hand with my other one.

We sat in the deafening silence for two more minutes before I heard someone join whoever it was outside. I couldn't tell what they were saying but now I knew it was another man who was standing outside the apartment. A few minutes passed by and I heard the door open and someone walk past the guest room outside.

The door shut and it was quiet for a second before Lynch knocked on the door. We scrambled to get up and I unlocked the door, pulling it open to look up at him. His jaw was tight and he seemed angry but the look disappeared when he saw us.

"It was him. He was lookin' for you again. I told him you might be out with Alexandria somewhere." He looked up at Dria. "He was pissed and I don't like the way he said he was gonna find y'all."

"So what does this mean? Why is that fucker hellbent on finding Ry?" Dria looked more annoyed than scared now.

I winced when I realized I forgot to mention the texts. Lynch looked at me and I rubbed the skin between my thumb and index finger while I answered her. "Um, he kinda...threatened to kill...me. I forgot to mention that 'cause Lynch deleted the texts."

Right as Dria opened her mouth to respond, her eyes blazing in anger, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out and my eyes widened at the caller. I rushed to answer it and on a whim decision, I put it on speaker.

I didn't have a chance to say anything before he was screaming at me. "Where the fuck are you, you whore!? You haven't been home all fucking week and now I have to learn from that dickless asshole that you're out with friends? You should be at home! Not going out with that slut! Get your ass back here and I'll make sure to tear you a new one. You'll fuckin' regret it. You'll fuckin' regret every goddamn mistake you ever made."

He hung up without another word which I'm glad he did. My hand was trembling too badly to even click the end call button. My phone fell from my hand and my knees buckled under me. Lynch was quick to grab me and haul me against his chest, keeping me upright. I sucked in a rattling breath, trying to slow my heart rate. Dria's hand was on my back, rubbing in soothing circles.

"Wh-When will it be o-over?" I hiccuped quietly.

Neither answered but I already knew the answer. It'd be over when I finally have enough spine to stand up for myself and I'm not sure when that'll happen. I'm too pathetic to do anything around him for fear of messing up and being berated. It was stupid to think that I could live in this little bubble of bliss for the past few days. I knew reality would come crshing in soon enough and yet I held onto the shread of hope that maybe it'd all just go away.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

It'll never go away as long as Liam is in my life. I don't know how to kick him out. I've been beaten down so much that I don't even know where the exit is. If there is one at this point. I've been backed into the tightest corner and surrounded from all other angles that the only plausible way to get out is if I let him have what he wants.

I don't know when I blacked out but my body finally shut down from the overwhelming situation. When I opened my eyes, I was curled up on the couch with my head in Lynch's lap. I blinked to try to clear my blurry vision and struggled to push myself upright. His hand came down on my shoulder and gently nudged me down so I was resting on his legs again. His fingers brushed through my hair but I refused to be lulled back to sleep.

My stomach growled and I realized I never ate anything. "'M hungry. Is there still a slice of pizza?"

"Yeah. I'll get you one. Just don't eat it too fast. I don't want you to get sick." Dria's voice came from the other end of the couch, somewhere near my feet.

"Here you go, sweatheart."

I managed to push myself up so I was sitting next to Lynch and took the napkin with a slice of pizza on it. It was still warm and I forced myself to take slow, deliberate bites despite wanting to scarf it down. Lynch passed me a soda and I took a sip before handing it back to him. I finished the slice of pizza and wanted another one but also wanted to let this on sit and make sure I wasn't gonna puke it up.

Dria stood and I looked up at her, collecting her things. "I need to go home now. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Thank you for keeping me updated on everything that happened and I'm sorry I wasn't there."

I stood up with her and hugged her. "I'm sorry this couldn't ba a normal evening."

"Babe, it's ok. Hopefully soon we'll have one but don't worry about it right now. Oh, and I'm gonna tell Ember about this. I know she's been busy but both her and Dakota will have your back when the time comes."

She walked to the door and I followed, giving her one last hug. "Figure things out with Lynch. I wish you had seen the look on his face when he carried you out to the living room. He's worth it," she whispered in my ear before releasing me.

After saying goodbye to Lynch and thanking him for having her over, she left and I locked the door behind her. Her words continued to fester in my head while I turned and walked back to the couch. I sat next to him again, leaving a little more space in between us. He handed me another slice of pizza and I took it gratefully, eating it faster than the last.

"How're you feeling?" he inquired, studying my face.

"Not as hungry," I joked, trying to make the mood lighter.

"Ryder, you were just yelled at and threatened. I want to know how you're handling it."

"Ok, being completely honest, I'm not as shocked as I probably should be. He's done this before, just on a quieter scale. He knows how to scare me and I've become accustomed to it. It's stupid but it's true."

"No, it's not. It's what you've had to live with for- how long have you been together?"

"Five years, probably closer to six," I answered quietly.

"Y'all 've been dating for close to six years and this has been going on for about as long so I'm not surprised that you're used to it. I hate it that you had to get used to it but it's just how it happened."

I nodded silently and he continued. "But, now that we know what you're scared of, we can work to fix it and get you help. We're gonna get you help, Ryder. We're gonna save you from him."