CHAPTER TWELVE 

CASSIE

My whole body froze as Mark slammed the front door and stomped into the house. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me, cradled against Rylan's chest with his arms wrapped protectively around me. 

"Of course," Mark sneered. "Of fucking course you would run off to this douchebag the first chance you got. After everything we went through together!"

His words slurred and he swayed on his feet. Fresh panic rose in my chest. Did he drive drunk? Did he actually go to work like that? 

Rylan moved me behind his back as he turned to face Mark squarely. They stood a good ten feet away from each other but the aggressive energy already crackled through the air. A feeling of dread sank to the pit of my stomach. 

"Cassie's just getting her things," Rylan said calmly. "If you just chill out Mark, we'll finish here and be on our way."

Mark let out a biting, scathing laugh that sounded like a feral animal. 

"Chill out? Nah, you're the one who needs to chill out! Swooping in on my woman and pretending to be a damn fucking Prince Charming." 

He took a few swaying, lumbering steps forward. Rylan gently pushed me further back behind him. If my bookshelf were still in the room, I would have hidden behind it. 

"Cassie isn't your property," Rylan said firmly. "We're getting her things and leaving." He glanced at me over his shoulder and mouthed, "Call the police." 

My eyes widened with fear as he jutted his chin out at me, saying do it now. 

I pulled my phone out with trembling hands and shakily dialed 911. 

Oh shit, this is really happening, I thought in a panic.

"Nobody is leaving!" Mark yelled at the top of his lungs. "She lives here so she's staying here with me! You can get the fuck out of my house, bro." 

"This is your last warning," Rylan said firmly but keeping his voice calm. "Do not come any closer, Mark." 

Just then, the emergency operator picked up. 

"911, what's your emergency?" asked a sharp, female tone. 

"Um, I'm trying to move out of my ex's house," I said, my voice shaking. "He's intoxicated and threatening my friend and me." 

"Who the fuck are you talking to?" Mark bellowed. 

He charged forward like a bear on two legs, his fists raised and I flinched, curling up into a ball in the corner of the room. But Rylan stopped him, shoving him back toward the living room. 

"Yeah, get the cops over here!" Mark continued yelling like a madman. "Get these fucking thieves and trespassers off my property!"

My throat felt so tight and dry, I didn't know how I was able to get words out. But I somehow relayed the address to the woman on the phone and she assured me the police were on their way. 

Rylan and Mark wrestled just outside the door while I watched helplessly in a stunned panic. Every time Mark tried to charge through, Rylan shoved him back.

"I don't want to fight you, dude," Rylan said calmly as Mark huffed and puffed and got even more pissed off. "We can settle this like grown men, alright?" 

"FUCK YOU!" Mark screamed as Rylan continued to hold him back from me. 

Out of nowhere, Mark pulled back a fist and punched Rylan squarely in the ribs. 

"No!" I screamed, horrified. 

Rylan stumbled and doubled over for a split second but recovered quickly. He delivered one solid punch to the center of Mark's stomach and another to the jaw. 

"Ma'am, what's going on?" asked the dispatcher. "Are you hurt? Can you get somewhere safe?"

"I'm okay but they're fighting!" I sobbed into the phone. "My ex hit my friend first! He's trying to get to me!" 

A loud thump reverberated through the hardwood floors. My eyes squeezed shut as I curled into an even tighter ball, but I could only imagine that Mark went down from Rylan's blows.

It felt like hours but had to be mere minutes of listening to groans, curses, thumps, and punches before I heard voices shout, "Police! Back away with your hands in the air!" 

Only then did I dare to crack my eyelids open. 

Rylan did as instructed, his hands outstretched and walking slowly away from Mark, who lied crumpled and rolling around on the floor. But panic stole my breath again when one officer grabbed Rylan's wrists, pinned them behind his back and slapped metal handcuffs on him. 

"Wait, no!" I pleaded, running out of the room and right into another officer's strong arm blocking my path. "He protected me! He didn't do anything!" I cried as I struggled. 

"Calm down, ma'am!" said the uniformed officer who restrained me. "We're just gonna talk to everyone and figure out what happened." 

"He's right, Cassie," Rylan said calmly as the other officer led him away. "Everything'll be alright, sweetheart. Don't worry." 

He winked at me just before the cop led him out the front door. Two more officers cuffed Mark on the floor and pulled him up to standing. He seemed disoriented and even drunker, stumbling as they guided him by the arms out to the garage.

The siren lights from outside painted the walls in hypnotic, flashing red and blue. 

None of this seemed real. How could it be? When would I wake up?

"Now then," said the officer holding me, a middle-aged man with a salt and pepper mustache and kind blue eyes. "Would you like to sit down and tell me what happened?" 

He loosened his hold on me and brought me a glass of water, which I gulped down greedily. As if in a trance, I told him everything-- starting from when I first left Mark to right before the police arrived.

My brain seemed to shut off as I spoke, everything just tumbling out automatically. I didn't want to think about anything, I'd done too much of that in the past few days. I was tired of it. 

The officer barely spoke except to ask a few details such as how I knew Rylan and if I was certain that it was Mark outside of Beth's house.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there with the officer but my heart seemed to stop when he got up and asked me to wait there. 

I stared at the door longingly, like a lonely dog waiting for his human to come home, for what felt like hours. 

When Rylan finally walked through, his hands free, I sobbed with relief and ran to him. 

"Shh," he whispered into my hair, smoothing his hands across my back as I sobbed into his shirt. "It's okay." 

I felt like a dam breaking at that point, releasing all the stress and worry I'd been holding since we arrived at the house.

"We're placing Mr. Wells under arrest for aggravated assault," said one of the officers. "You don't have to decide now, but I suggest you get an attorney if you want to press charges." 

"Thank you, officers." Rylan's voice rumbled from deep in his chest and against my cheek. 

Distantly I heard the sounds of cars driving away, but I didn't want to look. Didn't want to see or feel or hear anything anymore except this man who I held onto like a giant rock in the middle of the ocean.

"Hey." His lips brushed gently against my forehead. "Want to get out of here?"

I nodded. 

I didn't know or care where I wanted to go, as long as it was far away from this house. 

And as long as I was with him.