“WHILE YOU REGRESSED slightly, I’m glad you are standing firm,” Dr. Erin announced, smiling with palpable pride.
“I thought I could change him,” I said to Dr. Erin. It had only been a day since Eric confronted me at the hotel on the border of New York and Pennsylvania. I convinced Charlie I could return home in lieu of being sequestered in a hotel with one guard on constant duty. It failed once, and it carried a high probability of failing again. Eric hadn’t showed since I settled back at home. Instead, he hadn’t contacted me at all.
The guards whom watched me were made visible to ward him away, so far, it was a success—but it had only been going on for a day.
“It’s funny, when I felt him hurt me”—I shook my head—“it didn’t have the same effect anymore. All I worried about, all I could think about was the baby and keeping it safe.”
“What are your plans for the future?” she queried.
A disruption in the lobby area made us both pause and drew our attention toward the door. Dr. Erin immediately marched toward the landline that sat on her desk and called her receptionist, but she wouldn’t pick up.
Upon hearing the ire of a husky baritone voice, I picked up my phone and called Charlie. He would get the police here quicker than I could. On the cusp of listening to the other line incessantly ring without an answer, Eric burst through the door.
He didn’t look haggard or tired; he was a man primed for the spotlight. His meticulously groomed appearance was all too prepossessing. “So this is where you’ve been going to cover up the problems you think you have?” He marched toward me with his hands at his sides, clenched into tight fists. “I think I’ve given you enough time to think about things. I came to take you home. We need to talk about us…and our family. It’s very hard to do that on a whim since you changed the locks on the house.”
“You should leave,” I said quietly. “You’re not supposed to be within a hundred yards of me, and I’ve just called the police.”
His brows furrowed. “Funny you’re threatening me with the police, when once again, I have several stitches in my body because of you. Two can dance, baby.”
“Sir.” Dr. Erin stepped forward with indigence. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Eric’s eyes remained on mine, continuing on as if Dr. Erin didn’t exist, but directly addressed her when he demanded, “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
Dr. Erin never broke her professionalism and stated in calm manner. “You will not speak to me that way while standing in my office.”
His head turned without moving an inch of his body. “I can speak to you in any way my mood strikes me. Right now, I want to speak to you like the uppity bitch that you are. If you have an issue with it, can I tell you how much I don’t give a fuck?”
Dr. Erin gave him a warm smile, completely unscathed by his words. “I was told you had a problem with strong women. But truly, the problem is internal. Do I bring about sour memories for you? You’re more than welcome to make an appointment to get to the root of those issues.”
With his tongue darting inside his cheek, he glanced up at the ceiling, flashing a frustrated smile. “Don’t fucking move,” he said to me.
“If you touch her,” I threatened, “if you don’t leave…there is no coming back, Eric. I will have you arrested for assault.”
He faltered and softened. “It was a disagreement,” he explained with some semblance of an apologetic tone. “Rough patch. Why are you going off the deep end?”
“A rough patch? Eric? We’ve been headed for disaster since the moment you met me. Lucky for you, you met a Nikki who needed you. This one doesn’t. This one doesn’t want you anymore.” Every word that came pouring forth was an untruth said with so much conviction I aimed to make him believe me.
“You can’t let go of your habit of lying to me,” he countered, his voice smooth as silk. “I call it a habit, because you’ve been throwing lies at me like you’re a crack fiend sucking down a crack pipe. I see through you. I know you really don’t want to do this. You’re lashing out because I hurt you.” He cupped my face. “I’ll make it up to you, my twisted angel. I promise. You wanted me to learn a lesson. Got it. We can’t keep playing these games when we have a kid to think about. Let’s go home. Because whether you want to fight it or not, we still have a deal I haven’t released you from.” He slipped his hand in mine. “Your body, your mind, and your heart all belong to me, and I’m not letting any of those things go. What we have is something that only comes around once. Don’t take it for granted.”
I yanked my hand back and shook my head.
“Do you really want to do this, baby? Don’t make me pull a card.” He brushed his hands across my cheek and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “The game you put up was fun, but it’s time to fold. I know you don’t want to do this, because…you want me on your good side, Nikki. I know you killed your mother. I watched you do it. If say…her body was exhumed because of my allegations, what do you think they’ll find? I could mention something about your father, too. His death made a lot of people unhappy. Not to mention…you tried to kill me.
“You want to know how loyal I am to you? Vic wanted to know if you killed your father. I never told him the truth. I’m with him…for you. To protect you. Just as I’ve always said I would. Vic set us both up. I didn’t know until I’d already fallen for you. I’d be pretty pissed if my loyalty was rewarded with what you’re trying to do to me. Push me and everyone will know the real you. I’d prefer it if you didn’t give birth to our first child while you were in prison.”
His warnings reminded me of his desperation. I expected an asshole like Preston to go to such lengths, but never Eric. He was far too intelligent to fall prey to the same tactics. They worked once, and I would not allow them to work again. “You wouldn’t be so stupid as to do that, Eric,” I whispered. “Because questions will be asked as to how I got the drug compound.”
He blinked, looking taken aback. The glint in his eye told me he was searching for recognition in my face; he wouldn’t find it. “It was there when I got there. No one could trace it to me. I’m insulted you would think I’d do something traceable but not put you in a situation…that would add to my benefit, if pushed. Your mother. Your father. Preston. Angie. Do the terms manslaughter and accessory after the fact, mean anything to you?” He bit his lip as the corner of his mouth turned up. “Do you really want to keep pushing this, Nikki?”
It seemed my turn to falter, and I had a very hard time holding his eye contact. As the tears welled up in my eyes, he slowly smiled. I revealed myself and it was clear he knew he still had power over me.
The sound of police sirens shoved down and suffocated the version of myself I nearly failed to suppress.