Been You

Chapter 54: Get Away With Me

JUSTIN'S POV:

I hang up the phone, realizing that Tyler has her in the shed. I slap Za on the shoulder as I run towards the exit from the public safety station. Za stands dumbstruck at the check in desk, so I offer a quick explanation, still moving to save Ely. "I know where she is, I gotta go!" I yell as I run through the door. Za furrows his brows in confusion, but I don't have the time to explain. I need to get to Ely while I still can.

In less than a minute, I make it to the hockey house. I don't bother going through the house, I just jump the fence to get to the backyard. In the shed, I hear Tyler's voice booming. "Now it's time for you to seal the deal. Now, it's time for you to sleep with me."

Hearing this spikes my adrenaline and I'm running faster than I ever have before. I pull the shed door, but it's locked from the inside. Without thinking, I kick the door down, filled with rage. I quickly scan the area. I find Tyler on top of Ely on the floor, hands up her shirt. She's crying hysterically, her words incoherent. My face feels hot as I bound across the shed to grab Tyler up by the collar. I turn him around and press him against the wall. Behind me, I can still hear Ely crying. I hate that she's going through this. I can't be the guy to make it any worse for her. I look into Tyler's eyes with my teeth clenched. I'm not sure if his expression is fear, regret, or something in between. "Listen, you ass wipe: there's nothing I'd love more than to beat you to a bloody fucking pulp right now. Honestly, I'd like to beat you fucking dead right now. But, you see, my girl over there is already scared out of her freaking mind right now. And she doesn't deserve to be put through that ever. So your getting off easy. I'm only gonna hit you once. But make no mistake, idiot: if she or I ever see this ugly face of yours again, I swear to god I'll kill you dead. Slowly. Got it, bitch?" Tyler nods frantically, giving me the signal to end this. I punch him square in the jaw, knocking him out cold. I turn to Ely. She's still crying hysterically on the ground. I inch toward her, my hands out in front of me. I make my movements very obvious to avoid taking her by surprise and scaring her. "Ely?" I ask, afraid of her response. Is she ok? Is she mad at me for being violent when I could've been comforting her? I mean, there's no world where I could've let him get away like that, but would she understand that? Seeing her this way is the scariest thing I've ever seen. Once I reach her, she looks up at me, her face stained with tears, eyes tired. She puts her arms up to reach out to me, so I reach back, lifting her up. She wraps her legs around my hips and her arms around my neck, squeezing me tightly. I frown at this. I don't know what to do. Her trembling voice is clearer to me with her being so close.

"I'm sorry," she sobs repeatedly.

"What? Baby, no, no, don't be sorry," I whisper in her ear. "Shh, none of this is your fault, baby. Don't ever think that."

She sniffs, trying to stabilize her voice. "I dated him. I knew what he was like," her voice shakes and she sniffs again. Damn, I wish I could choke the hell out of that guy. "You told me," she hiccups. "You told me not to trust him, but I didn't listen. Why would anyone ever want to be my friend? I'm so stupid!" My heart breaks at the sound of her words. How could she think things like this? I frown, wishing I could make everything okay for her.

"Baby, no. None of this is on you. He took advantage of you. He's at fault here. Yeah, you believed in him, but that's because you're a good person, El. Don't ever take blame for this. This was all that asshole," I say pointing to Tyler's unconscious body. "He deserves to rot in hell for putting you through this. Believe me?" I ask, leaning my forehead on hers, looking deeply into her chocolate brown eyes. She nods, extracting a sigh of relief from my mouth. "Let's get you in bed, yeah?" She nods again before I carry her up to my room. I'm so scared; how am I supposed to be strong for her when I feel so helpless?