Chapter Forty-Two
Tyler
When I got back to the house, everything seemed ridiculously strained and quiet.
My stepfather was watching television and didn’t even look at me when I walked in, and I couldn’t find my mother.
After searching downstairs, for I have no fucking clue what, I started to make my way upstairs, when I heard my stepfather’s voice yell, “If you’re looking to fuck my daughter again, she’s gone.”
There were about a million different responses roaming around inside my head that I didn’t say, because believe it or not, I really didn’t want to start a fight, especially if she was gone? I knew that if I fought with the bastard, I would have little to no chance of getting the information that I wanted. Gone fucking where? I thought, but didn’t even say that.
Instead, I moved back downstairs and in front of the television. I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to make myself look impressive before I squinted my eyes at him. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”
“You heard me…” my stepfather answered in a gruff tone.
I felt my muscles tense as I tried my best not to knock him the hell out. Instead, I just took a deep breath, let it out and asked, “Okay, fine. I did hear you. The part that I want to know is, where did she go?”
At this, Ashley’s father stood up and ran at me. Oh shit… I thought as I automatically moved to block myself.
He swung, stupidly and without the least bit of form. I blocked it easily and even though I wanted to hit him, I resisted, knowing that I could easily kill him and that would only escalate the situation.
I certainly didn’t want to kill another supposed father figure, after all, no matter how shitty he was at it.
So I just grasped him around the shoulders and shoved him back into the padded chair.
When he looked back at me, his eyes were bloodshot and irate. “You son of a bitch!”
“Yeah, but you fucking married her,” I answered. He insulted my girl. I wasn’t below insulting his, even if she was my own mother; it wasn’t like I didn’t have the same opinion.
At this, Ashley’s father snarled and rushed at me again. I expected this and put my hands up to protect myself. Once again, I grasped him and pushed him back on the couch. “Fucking stop!” I screamed, “I just want to know where the hell Ashley went! If you’re not going to tell me, then fuck you. I’ll find her myself.”
I backed away, but continued to keep a close eye on him. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be above taking a cheap shot at me, but as much as I would have liked to beat his face in, I knew that I shouldn’t. Besides, my body was physically and mentally exhausted.
Right now, all I wanted was a fucking nap. I didn’t have time for this shit, but instead of taking a nap and ignoring everything that was going on around me, I decided that I wanted to find Ashley no matter what.
I took this as improvement.
So, I backed up toward the door.
“Get back here, you worthless piece of shit!” my stepfather screamed, barreling toward me in a sloppy manner.
I was never one to run from a fight, but in that moment, when I realized that I had a choice to make — stay and continue this charade with this asshole, until I got hurt while trying not to hurt him, or he became seriously injured when I lost control, or get away so that I could find Ashley quicker — I decided that my real fight was to try to get Ashley back. To hell with her father.
So I turned quickly and ran out of the house. My legs immediately began to scream and I wondered briefly what would happen if they gave out on me, or if I passed out, but I didn’t dwell on that thought. Instead I just ran, trying my best to get where I needed to go instead of wasting more of my time.
Thankfully, I naturally ran faster than her father, so I was able to make it to the front door and slam it in his face before he came close to catching me.
It was just about then that my adrenaline kicked in and I was able to continue running, which was a good thing, because it didn’t take long for my stepfather to open the door and tear off after me.
I was able to outrun him fairly quick, but I still didn’t want to take any chances. I continued to run down the driveway and the first side street, before curving back down and going into an ice cream parlor that was filled with people. I ordered something because I was starving and tried to text Ashley while I waited, hoping to get lost in the crowd.
I would have liked to think that everything would have been okay, even if he had caught me, but I really couldn’t have been sure. Ashley’s father had a sense of crazy in his eye that I knew I didn’t particularly want to mess with. I knew that I could take him, that wasn’t exactly the issue. I just didn’t want to take him. I didn’t want to hurt him and I didn’t want to get so caught up in that line of thinking that I let him hurt me.
I wondered if he would make an effort to find me, or now go after Ashley, since he really did appear to have gone slightly insane, but I couldn’t truly think about that right now. I just wanted to focus on getting back with Ashley and making things right.
There was no need for either of our parents to approve, especially if they were going to act like that. In a way, I was surprised and kind of happy that her father showed me he actually had a backbone and was willing to stand up to me. But he had chosen the wrong fucking time to get his tail out from between his legs and take a stand.
If we were supposed to be together, then it didn’t matter what they thought. It wasn’t like their love-life was filled with spotless marital bliss.
So, I waited for Ashley to text me back, but she never did. I tried calling her phone when I was almost finished with my ice cream, slightly hesitant over who was going to answer, but that went right to voicemail. I felt a tremble of fear cascade through me.
What if her father found her…As crazy as he is being…I thought at first. Then, I thought, or what if she’s really gone?
I shook both thoughts out of my head and realized that the only way I was going to find her was to get out and look for her. I left the ice cream parlor and made my way back toward the house.
Her car is still there… I remembered, so unless she took a bus, she couldn’t have gotten all that far…
I made my way back on the beach, knowing that being spotted here was a possibility, but also realizing that this was the most likely place for me to find her.
It was getting dark though and I knew that visibility would take a nosedive as soon as the sun went down.
As I walked along, I continued to try to call and text her phone, but there was no answer.
So as I made my way toward the back of the house, fear began to build inside of me. What if something happened to her…What if her father made her…go away…Dammit! I should have fucking been there. I shouldn’t have waited…
When I reached the back of the beach house, I decided I should search around the property, just to make sure that a fit of rage didn’t claim Ashley’s life.
After all, the dude was pretty fucking quick to resort to violence… My mind egged my terrible thoughts on as I snuck my way back onto the property. Was the dickhead trying to tell me something? He did offer the information that she had left. Maybe it was his sick way of gloating. “Shit!” I muttered to myself as I quickened my pace toward the back of the house.
I looked at the yard and decided that there was no signs of a fight. For as many fucking fights as I have been in, I should know.
Once I was satisfied with the way the yard looked, I noticed a piece of clothing hanging off of the house. It was lacey, but it looked as though it was discarded in a hurry.
I moved closer to what I soon figured out was a thong and went to go pick it up, when I heard noises coming from the garden shed behind me.
I wasn’t sure what the grunts sounded like, but I felt a bad vibe rocket throughout my body and I knew that I needed to get over there quickly. I didn’t know what was going on, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that people shouldn’t be making those noises in a shed.
Without thinking, I tore open the door, ready to fight, and heard a woman scream.
I moved over to the man, who seemed to be on top of the woman and in the dim lighting, it took me a moment to realize who the people were. I pulled the man back, but turned around to see my mother with wide, terrified eyes.
Not sure yet what I was thinking, I looked over at the other person and realized that it was not my stepfather.
In an instant, everything clicked.
“Oh my God! Tyler please…I’m going to leave Fred. It’s just a fling, but I know it is wrong…Please don’t tell him…Let me tell him,” my mother was saying, even before I had actually registered what was going on.
When I did, I glared at my mother hard, until she stopped talking and stared at me.
“Mom, I really don’t give a fuck,” I answered before I walked out, closed the door and made my way back out onto the beach to find the one person in the world that I did really give a fuck about.