Lovers of Yesterday

Chapter 33 • Beginning

The day was uneventful and passed by in a blur. Vivian still wasn't talking to me besides work related topics and Lynch was on dish duty so he popped up frequently to collect the dirty dishes. I was ready to go home by the end of the day but made sure to change out of the uniform and return it to the supply closet.

I walked back to Lynch's apartment with him, mentioning that I'd need to wash my uniform when we get back. He agreed and said he needed to wash a load of his clothes as well.

It felt oddly normal to be going to work with him in the morning and walk back with him in the afternoon. I haven't gotten any texts from Liam recently and I hoped he was busy doing something else. So far, my prayers have been answered but I'm not sure how long my lucky streak will last.

• • •

As per the new normal, I walked back to the apartment complex with Lynch. We asked each other questions and whatnot, slowly learning more about each other. He talked about his mother and the good memories he had with her. I, in turn, talked about my parents and some of what I got into as a kid. I explained with more detail how I climbed a tree and got the scar on my shoulder.

"So you didn't realize you cut your shoulder until your mom saw the blood?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I think I just thought it was a scratch because it stung a little but didn't really hurt. When I ran inside, she took one look at my back and scooped me up to take me to the hospital. I had to get ten stitches."

"Damn. That's crazy."

"Do you have any stories from when you were younger?" I asked.

He stared ahead of him, lost in thought. "There was one time I vividly remember. Probably because it's the happiest memory I have. At least, that I can remember.

"For a few weeks, every day after my mom brought me home from school, my dad and I would go out to the backyard and we'd work on this little clubhouse. It was relatively big but since I was younger, it probably wasn't as big as I imagined. So we would work on it every day after school until the sun set.

"When it was finished, we managed to convince mom to take a day off of work and let me stay home from school. Dad had already taken the day off. We spent the entire day in that playhouse doing whatever we felt like doing. Mom made lunch for all of us and we had a little cooler for our drinks and ice cream.

"I don't think I've ever seen mom smile so much in one day. There was nothing that could distract us. We were in our own little world that day."

I had stopped walking by now and just stared at him. He turned and looked at me with solemn eyes. When he offered a weak smile, I reached for him and hugged him. He hugged me back, cinching his arms so he crushed me in his embrace.

"She would've loved you," he whispered.

"I would've loved to meet her. Any woman would love to meet her if they knew you."

I felt him shrug. "I've known some women who I wouldn't want meeting her. It was only physical attraction and I'm not one to introduce someone to my parents if they'll only be around for a short amount of time."

I pulled back and he released me. "I can understand that. Besides my friends, Liam was the only guy I introduced to them." I shuddered remembering how that went down. "They weren't exactly fans of him from the beginning."

"I can see why."

"I wish I had seen it sooner," I mumbled.

He caught what I said. "From what I've seen, he's manipulative. He made you believe he was a nice guy. It's not something you would've noticed early on."

"Yeah, but I should've known when he told me to stop hanging out with my guy friends. I should've seen it when he had to know what I was doing and where I was going at all times. I definitely should've done something when he started threatening to hurt me. I played it blind because I wanted to believe he could be a good guy but I was wrong." I ground my teeth together, remembering everything he's said and done. I was so naive and stupid.

Lynch slid his arm over my shoulders and began walking again, forcing me to fall in step with him. "It's ok. It's better you realize what he's done is wrong now rather than later when he does something that you can't fix. You want out now. We just need to figure out how you can go about it and build up your courage further."

I nodded and walked with him. Dria's words slipped into my head and I didn't push them away immediately. What if I did consider a new relationship with Lynch? As far as I've known, he's taken care of me. He's never acted like he'd hurt me.

I glanced up at him. He was staring ahead of us as we came up to the apartment complex. He's never given me a reason to not trust him and I feel safe with him. It's not a terrible thought but it's not one I should be thinking about right now.

He unlocked the door and I stepped in, moving to the couch first. I sat down as he put his stuff up. Then he came and sat down next to me.

"I need to go pick up a few things from the store. Do you want to come with?" He asked.

"Um, no. I think I'll take a shower while you're gone." I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

He nodded, standing up. "I'll be back in a little. You know you're welcome to anything. Don't have too much fun without me."

I smiled up at him as he disappeared back to his room to change before leaving. He walked out a couple minutes later in jeans and a tee, shoving his phone in his back pocket. He said a quick see you later before walking out the door and locking it behind him. I sat on the couch for a few minutes after, scrolling through social media to see what was going on.

I stretched as I stood up and shuffled back to the guest room to grab so clothes to change into. I was only gonna take a quick shower. Stepping into the bathroom, I shut the door and turned the water on while I stripped. I stepped under the warm spray and set about scrubbing my hair.

When I stepped out fifteen minutes later, Lynch still wasn't back yet. I walked back to the bedroom and grabbed my phone off of the nightstand, looking through the few notifications that popped up while I was in the shower.

I froze where I stood as I stared down at the last notification on my screen. No. I clenched my fist until my knuckles turned white and my nails were digging into my palm. He wasn't... It was a lie. A trap. Gritting my teeth, I rushed back to my room to grab my shoes. I'm ending this now. I can't rely on my friends for protection anymore. I needed to grow a spine and confront him myself.

Baby I'm sorry for everything, I didn't mean it, please come back to me I love you I just don't want anyone to take you from me, just come back to me