Freed

28

I couldn't read anything on Ethan's face and it was scaring me. His expression was stone cold, and it reminded me of the way he used to look at me a year ago when he acted like he despised me.

I pulled the duvet tighter around me as he took a seat on the edge of my bed, his gaze never leaving mine. His eye searched my face, and I noticed how they lingered on the blotches on my throat. I gulped and tugged the hoodie up higher to cover the bare skin.

Ethan said nothing for a long moment and I took the time to study him. My eyes dropped to his knuckles and I did a double take when I saw the raw scrapes on the skin. Before I had a chance to question it, he spoke.

"If you ever hang up on me again when I'm talking to you, I will never speak to you again."

My heart lurched to my stomach.

Ethan continued, unfazed. "Do you understand me?" His voice was hard, and I detected a tinge of irritation and anger. "You don't call me saying all the shit you did and then turn off your phone. I went out of my fucking mind, Izzy."

I stared at him utterly speechless.

"As for what you were saying to Caleb, you don't need to worry about it," he began. "You'll never see the motherfucker again. Unless you want to, which you'll decide soon. We made sure of it."

I paled. "What did you do?"

Ethan ignored me. "Did you hear me? He won't ever come near you again. No one like him will."

"Tell me what you did."

Ethan glanced away, his jaw locking as if he was thinking of something. "He got what he deserved. That's all you need to know right now."

I wanted to demand that he tell me everything, but I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't sure if I was in the right mental state to know. Before I could speak, Ethan did again.

"His hand was bandaged before I got to him," he suddenly blurted out and I met his gaze. Ethan studied me curiously. "Was it you?"

I nodded, pulling at a loose string hanging off the covers. "I used a hair straightener."

Ethan stared at me wordlessly, his expression giving away nothing. I shifted uncomfortably under the empty stare, debating whether I should break the silence, but his next action surprised me.

He grabbed my hand and yanked me into his arms.

The force was so sudden, my chin whipped into his strong shoulder hard, and I winced, but I didn't have time to recover because his arms were already winding around me.

"I'm so fucking proud of you," he murmured against the side of my head and my heart simply stopped from the shock. Ethan's arm tightened around me and only then did I snap back into reality. "So fucking proud, Iz."

I wrapped mine around his torso, and rested my cheek on his shoulder. He pulled away and I blinked in surprise when he firmly grabbed my face in his hands, letting his thumb brush against my cheekbone. "Do you know that?" Ethan said, his voice quiet in a way I hadn't heard for so long. "I know I don't say it a lot, but I'm always proud of you. Even when you can't get out of bed. You're the bravest fucking person I know for holding on."

I felt like I was dreaming.

Ethan brushed away one of my stray tears as they slipped. My lips wobbled and he pulled me back into his arms, this time, wrapping both of them around my head to keep me plastered to him. I squeezed my eyes shut against his chest, clutching the back of his hoodie like he was my lifeline. "And I'm so damn proud that you fought back," he whispered against my temple. "I'm sorry you were put in that situation in the first place. I'd take your place if I could."