Chapter Twenty-Eight

~McKenna~

“You have a good night now, try to get plenty of rest!”

“I will!” I called back, speed walking out of the doors of work so urgently I might as well have been running.

The second half of my shift seemed to have dragged on forever, and every minute just made the anxiety within me burn that much higher. I was constantly waffling between being adamantly sure that I wasn’t pregnant, to wondering if I could be. At some points my thoughts shuttled back and forth so much that I wondered if it was possible to get mental whiplash.

My commute wasn’t that easy either, but I toughed though it, getting off a stop earlier so I could hit the corner store only a small way from my apartment building. I stood there awkwardly in the feminine needs section, finding myself facing a situation that I had never had to worry about before.

Wow, all those scenes in movies and on TV really didn’t do it justice. My cheeks were burning, my hearts were pounding, and if felt like everyone and their mom was staring at me.

I grabbed it and shoved it into my pocket, not caring if they thought I was shoplifting, before heading to the snack aisle. No matter how this panned out, I was definitely going to need some comfort food when everything was set and done.

In the end I wound up with some candy bars, a pint of ice cream, several cream sodas, some chips and dip. It would completely ruin my diet for the next month, but at this point I didn’t care.

“Did you find everything you need, Miss?” The cashier asked, trying to look friendly but mostly just appearing absolutely miserable. I couldn’t blame him. Working retail sucked. I tried to shoot him my own pleasant smile, but I don’t think I fared that well either.

“Yeah, I’m good.” I put everything on the counter, saving the test for last. Quickly, I shoved it all towards him, looking around like I was dealing drugs rather than buying a simple feminine product.

To his credit, the cashier rang it up without comment and bagged it. “Can I help you with anything else today?”

“No, that should be good, thank you.”

“No problem, and good luck by the way.”

I hesitated at the last moment, understanding what he was wishing me luck on. I didn’t know why the kind phrase from a stranger touched me so much, but it definitely did, so all I could do was nod thankfully and slink out the door.

The fortunate part was my bladder was already reminding me that I needed to go the entire walk home. Part of me wanted to blame it on anxiety, but the other part was more than happy to remind me that frequent urination was a sign of pregnancy.

And also diabetes, but thankfully that was not on the consideration block today.

I pulled out my keys as I rounded the corner to my place. Of course, they got stuck in the lining of my pocket though, so I had to fiddle with them one-handed while my other arm made sure my groceries bag didn’t take an unintended tumble.

I felt that someone else was on the stairs as I walked up to the landing. At first, I figured that it was someone like me, keys being stubborn and all. The front door was also notoriously difficult to open, requiring pushing the door forward, jimmying the lock and sacrificing a cow in a volcano.

But as soon as my foot hit the first step, something cold raced through me. I froze in my spot and looked up to see none other than my ex standing at the front door.

I stared at him, eyes wide and mind reeling. No, no! He was supposed to be gone! What was he doing here!?

A quick scan of his face revealed the faintest shade yellow where his bruises had once been. How badly had Rafael beaten him, for there to still be evidence of it so many weeks later?

I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that I needed to be anywhere from here.

“McKenna!”

He reached for me and I stumbled backwards, nearly breaking my neck by falling down the stairs. I managed to catch myself on the rail but doing so made the groceries I had protected to dutifully fall to the ground, scattering everywhere.

“McKenna! Stop being dramatic. Here, let me help you pick them up.”

He moved past me and onto the landing, grabbing candy and drinks. It was then a cold panic washed over me as I realized what he might see.

“Bradley, don’t!” I cried, rushing towards him and trying to wrest the items from his hands.

“Relax, McKenna. It’s just groceries. I can-” He stopped cold and I realized that I was much to late. He held up the small, pink box and looked to me with a fury that made my very blood freeze.

“What the hell is this?” He bellowed, his face turning red.

It was right then that I understood that there was no avoiding what was about to happen. He had me alone, he was angry, and there was no one who was going to help. The way I saw it, I had two choices. I could cower to him, as I always did, or I could stand up for myself for once. After all, I had tasted what a real relationship was supposed to be like! I knew how it felt to be loved, valued, appreciated. If this monster of a man thought that he could come into my life and just ruin everything… well, I wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Was does it look like?” I retorted, rising to my feet and lifting my chin defiantly.

“Are you kidding me? This isn’t for you, is it?” He stood too, taking a step closer to me, rage radiating from his form. But I didn’t back down. I couldn’t.

“So, what if it is, Bradley? It’s none of your business! You need to get the hell out of here before I call the police!”

“You won’t call the police,” he countered, his face bordering on purple. “Because you know I’m right. You know that, deep down inside, there is no one good enough for you but me.”

“Oh, go suck a dick!” I screamed, absolutely done with this. I was done being quiet, I was done being scared. “I’ll call the police and I’ll take that pregnancy test and I’ll never, ever think of you again!”

“Huh, so it is for you then. Funny, after all that time together, I never figured you out as a common whore!”

“I am no whore!” I didn’t know what came over me. Sure, I was mad, but I knew better than to provoke him outright. Even though I knew that, I looked up at his face and spat right at him.

Time went into slow motion as my gob of saliva arched out and hit his cheek. It stood there a moment, glistening in the morning sun, and he wiped his face with a deliberate sort of fury.

“You little bitch!” he screamed, raising his hand to strike me.

I shrieked, I couldn’t help it, and cringed away, holding my arms up to protect myself, I should have run, maybe tried to kick him in the nuts, but I was so terrified that I was rooted to the spot.

Bradley could hit me, and it hurt, but I wouldn’t let him conquer me again. I would get up. I would fight him, and I would never stop until he was dead.

But the blow never came. I knew that time had seemed to slow down, but not that much.

Opening my eyes, I saw that Bradley’s arm had been stopped by a familiar, tanned hand. Standing only a few feet away from me was Rafael, protective rage in his eyes.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

I stared at the two men, and I could feel the tension ramping up between them. I knew, that without a doubt, one of them wasn’t going to walk out of this a whole person.