Persephone gets a new target after Penny and Amelia show up at Cora's Bakery begging for help. Emory, who knows Pete's type well, makes it her personal mission to bring his empire down. Chief of Police Beau Simpson has been on Jake's ass more and mo...
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"I can't do this anymore, Matt. I'm leaving." The words leave my mouth with only a slight tremble.
Matt barks out a laugh. "What was that, baby?"
I take a deep breath and steel my nerves. "I'm leaving."
"The fuck you are!"
Matt's statement is punctuated with a fierce blow to my cheek, knocking me sideways.
I thought that his recent lack of interest in me would have made this easier. I thought that maybe he was finally tired of me, that maybe he wouldn't care as much when I tried to leave. Clearly, I was wrong.
A kick lands on my ribs after I land on the floor, followed by a few more. I try to no avail to block them, only earning bruises and likely more fractures to my arms. He grips my hair to pull me up only to slam my head into the floor. My head spins as I feel blood pool beneath me. I'm barely conscious when he finally decides to stop, probably thinking I'm down for the count. I hear him grab hiskeys from their hook by the door but when I catch a glimpse of the hooks I realize it wasn't just his that he took, but mine too. Shit, that makes this more difficult. His stupid ass Camero revs in the driveway and the sound of his tires peeling fills the small house. I fight to stay conscious because I can do this.
I don't know how much time has passed when I pull every ounce of will and strength in my body and finally crawl onto my hands and knees.
I can do this.
It could have been minutes or hours since Matt left, so I don't waste a second.
I can do this.
I stumble out of the door and adrenaline floods my nervous system.
I can do this.
My bare feet carry me across the pavement and then through the woods across from the house. It'll hurt like hell later, but it's much shorter to cut through them to get to Birdie's house. This is a route I've memorized, having to sneak out to see my best friend when Matt eventually stopped allowing it. I can get there with my eyes closed, and it's entirely possible I do.
I eventually break through the tree line and push past the pain that's threatening to overwhelm my body. The light to the back porch is on, drawing me near like a lighthouse to the coast, and I stumble the last few steps to the door. I fall against the cool wood in a heap, frantically pounding my fist against it as darkness clouds my vision. The door opens underneath me and I let it take over, finally able to rest.
It's warm when I come to, a gentle voice rousing me. "Sweets, can you hear me? Shit, Jav! She's breathing and has a pulse but she's not responding to me."
I groan and try to peel my eyes open. That voice definitely does not belong to Birdie. It's not her husband Bob either, and that's what startled me enough to fully return my brain to my body. My eyes land on a face surely carved by Aphrodite herself.
