Chapter 14
Elle
A rageful scream drowned out Elle's own shout, an attempt to get Troy to still himself. Troy was the one shouting over her as he ran towards Elliot, anger like she had never seen before on his face.
The shout seemed to paralyze Elliot, who would have normally be able to avoid the blow before it connected with his face. It snapped his nose into grotesquerie, blood falling freely from it down Elliot's face and into his mouth.
Troy got another punch in, close to the temple, before he backed off.
“Troy, please stop!” She cried. “I told you to wait!”
He spun on her, the venom in his eyes turning to pleading. “He was about to attack you. Can't you see that?”
“No, he wasn't...” she tried to protest.
“Wake up, Elle! Not everyone has goodness in them. This piece of shit? Deserves to feel some pain. After all he's done to you, after all he's put you through, he deserves some pain. He'll be fine once his nose heals.”
Elle hadn't seen Elliot stand back up, but she saw the sudden gush of pain across Troy's face as a fist connected with the back of his neck.
“You brought your husband? I warned you, Elle,” he clucked, watching Troy crumple to the ground. Elle fell with him, searching him for permanent damage, but she couldn't tell. She just couldn't tell. “Now I'm going to have to send those photos to your grandmother. You're such a whore that I bet you were hoping for that. You get off on humiliation, don't you?” He sneered, taking out his phone.
Troy grabbed Elliot's foot and pulled him to the ground, hitting first his chest and then his face again. Elliot struggled against him, trying to kick away from him, but his movements were too slow.
Elle watched in horror as Troy brought his fist to Elliot's face yet again, with a loud cry. "Fuck, you have a hard head!" Troy yelled, shaking his hand.
Elliot tried again to break free, but with a deft grip and twist, Troy flipped him over. "Elle, take the rope out of my coat pocket."
"What?" She asked.
He sighed. "Take the rope. It's in my right pocket. I can't reach it right now, because I have to hold onto his hands or he's going to cause more trouble for us."
Unsure, she moved forward. Elliot tried to kick out from under Troy, but Troy was the heavier one, and certainly more skilled in fighting.
Trapping Elliot's hands to his side and then dragging them together, Troy took the rope from Elle and tied her harasser's hands together behind his back.
Elliot let out a mighty cry, which Troy mocked and ignored. Then he looked up at Elle, still straddled on top of Elliot. "You okay?"
"Yeah, fights are just scary. Are you?"
"Fine. Might need to see a chiropractor about being hit in the neck like that, though," he said with a grin. He looked around, as if he was looking for something, and then he spotted it.
Elliot's phone.
Taking it, he stood and kicked Elliot onto his back. "So you're a fan of blackmail, huh?" Troy asked him. Elliot had started crying, snot flowing down his face.
Troy opened Elliot's phone (which conveniently, or stupidly, had no lock) and snapped photos. "Stop! What are you doing?" Elliot asked.
Troy ignored him, switching Elliot's phone for his own and snapping more photos. "Answer me, damn it!"
"It should be pretty clear what I'm doing. I see you have some Harvard numbers in here. Is that where you go to school? Oh wow, and info on a frat... very interesting. I'm going to keep these numbers," he said, entering them into his own phone. "If we ever hear from you again, for any reason, these photos go to everyone you know. From Dad to whoever Kimberley is. And we'll make sure they know what you did to Elle. We'll get the photos in the paper. We'll put them online. We'll ruin your life."
Troy crouched down next to Elliot, then, and gave him a hideous smile. "Do you understand, Elliot?"
Elliot whimpered, sobbed, but he nodded.
"Say it out loud."
"I'll leave you both alone. I promise."
"Good," Troy said. "Now, apologize to Elle for putting her through so much."
Elle shook her head. "It's fine."
"No, Elle, it isn't. Go on."
Elliot gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes. "Sorry."
"For?"
"Sorry for using those naked photos against you."
Troy nodded, then stood and messed with Elliot's phone some more. "Good. Well, I've taken all traces of Elle's photos off the phone, but I'm sure you have backups somewhere. You're going to go home and delete them. If you don't, and we find out about it? Well, you already know what we'll do."
Troy stepped up to Elle, throwing Elliot's phone at the tied up man. Offering her his arm, he guided her towards the bushes.
She cast an unsure glance behind them. "Are we just going to leave him?" He asked.
"Nah. I'm going to text his dad to come pick him up once we leave." He was looking woozy, his footing unsure.
"Okay," she agreed, and he slumped over. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I guess that blow to my neck messed with me more than I thought. I'm not good to drive my motorcycle back."
"Oh no. What are we going to do?"
"Call your grandma."
Elle gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. "I can't do that!"
"Elle, you either call her or we walk home. Which do you prefer?"
Grumbling, she took out her phone and dialed her grandmother. Grandma Rosa was, as always, understand and aghast, ready to nag them for getting stranded at such an ungodly hour. “Get ready, she's in full grandma mode,” she said, sitting next to Troy on the ground. Glancing back at Elliot, she saw that he was trying to sit up. “Thank you,” she said.
“Of course,” Troy answered. “I will always be there to protect you.”
She smiled, warmth filling her. “So what are we going to do about your bike?”
“I guess we'll leave it until tomorrow morning. I could probably get Sam to bring me back out here if I'm feeling up to it, or we could get it towed.”
“That makes sense,” she said, leaning into him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
The ride with Grandma Rosa was long, and involved explaining the whole story. All of it. It was an extremely cringeworthy situation, but Elle had no reason to worry about losing her inheritance over something stupid she did as a teenager.
“Oh my, I sent my fair share of racy photos to your grandfather! I think everyone does,” Grandma Rosa said.
Only one thing was still nagging at Elle. One last secret she was keeping from her grandmother. “Grandma, I have something to tell you.”
Troy
Once Elle said she had something to tell her grandmother, she immediately regretted it. Troy had no clue what she was holding back, and he wondered if it would be news to him.
“What is it?” Grandma Rosa asked.
“Never mind. Sorry.” Elle sounded guilty as she looked out the front passenger window at the starless night sky.
Grandma Rosa shook her head. “Oh no, you know that isn't going to work on me, dear. You tell me.”
Elle's face remained emotionless. Troy watched her intently, observing her for anything that would give away what she was about to reveal. “I'm pregnant,” she said.
His shoulders relaxed. Of course that was it.
“What!” Grandma Rosa shouts. “When?! How?!”
Elle chuckled. Troy laughed, too. “I think the how is pretty obvious,” Troy answered. Elle glanced at him through the rear view mirror, their eyes connecting.
“Yes, I suppose so,” Grandma Rosa said, giving him a wink in the mirror. “I'm so happy for you! When did you find out?”
“Earlier today, so it's still really early on. Please don't go talking about this until we're out of the woods.”
“What do you mean?” Troy asked. “What's wrong?”
“Geez, did you not get sex ed as a kid?” Elle asked, then reached back to hold his hand. “In the early weeks, the chance of miscarriage is really high.”
“Should I be worried?” He asked. Elle shook her head, and so he relaxed. He had to trust that she knew what she was talking about.
“I have so much to learn,” he admitted. “I don't know anything.”
Grandma Rosa blabbered on, offering advice and asking how Elle intended to announce the pregnancy. Elle, thankfully, kept her grandmother entertained so that Troy could think.
He let his mind wander to thoughts about the future. Where they might be in the next year. In a few months they would (probably) have a child. A few months after that, their one year would be up.
When they pulled up to the house, Grandma Rose took Elle's hand. “If you need any help, at any time, tell me. And if anymore boys like that Elliot comes to mess with you, I'll make sure they pay.”
“Okay, Grandma,” Elle said with a laugh. The both got out of the car and waved as Grandma Rosa drove away, then they went inside.
Troy felt thoroughly tired, down to his bones. Exhausted. He just wanted to fall into bed and sleep for a long time, but Elle pulled him in for a hug. Feeling her close to him was enough to awaken at least some parts of him. “Thank you for saving me again. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't met you.”
“Here, still, and with a lot less trouble in your life.”
She laughed, then nodded. “I guess you're right. But I wouldn't trade a boring life for this. Not at all.” Raising up onto her tippy toes, she plucked his lips with hers. His head swam with her scent.
Elle took his hand and led him up the stairs, then pushed him onto the bed. He tried to pull her down with him, but she pulled away. “Let me do something for you,” she requested. “Something nice.”
“Ooh,” he said. “This sounds exciting.”
She shook her head in amusement. “Well, remember this will be my first time, so if it sucks… I don't want to know. Got it?”
He saluted her, then put his hands behind his head. “Got it.”
Climbing atop him, she showered his head and face with kisses, even his eyes. Slowly, she moved lower, from his chin to his neck, then to his collarbone and chest. Pulling off his shirt, she pressed her lips to his nipples, then softly fluttered kisses on his abdomen. He groaned in appreciation as she again moved lower, to his Adonis Belt. She paid special attention to that spot, driving him wild with her soft, warm lips.
Reaching down, he touched her face. Elle grabbed his hand and kissed his fingers, one by one, then set to work undoing his pants. First, the button, and then the zipper. When she tugged on the top of his pants and boxers, he lifted himself so that they would pull away from him more easily.
He was already hard and hot for her. Wrapping her hand around him, she kissed all over his package, then licked it up and down. Then she opened her mouth, and her full lips pressed down and then pulled back up. She took as much into her mouth a she could, then pulled up again. What she couldn't fit into her mouth, she stroked with her hand, moving it in time with the bobbing of her head.
She pleasured him like that until he was close to losing it, but Troy didn't want to end the night with a blowjob. He forced himself to hold off his orgasm, clenching his abdomen when he got too close, and then touching her face. “Stop,” he commanded, and then in a second he was up and upon her, flipping her onto the bed.
She laughed, surprised, and instinctively opened herself to him. He pulled off her pants in an instant, throwing them to the side. As he came back up to her, his tongue skimmed her inner thigh. Then, cupping her ass, he lifted her.
Standing between her thighs, his erection cushioned against her slit, he found that she was slick and ready for him. Her breath was coming fast, her face red and her eyes half-lidded with desire. “Do it,” she said. “Fuck me, please.”
The aching tension between them built with a stroke up and down her slit, but he didn't enter her immediately. Grinding his cock against her, he forced a moan out of her. Grinning, he grazed her inner thighs with his fingers, coaxing her into complete sexual abandon.
And then he entered her. His erection quickly bumped against her cervix, then pulled away as she gasped, her hands grabbing fistfuls of the blanket below her.
His erection pulsed inside of her as he fucked her slow. Troy wanted the moment to last, the moment where he had control and she trusted him. He leaned over her, kissing her as his hips moved ever so slowly.
“Mm, is your goal to frustrate me?” She asked, pouting into his mouth as he showered her in kisses.
He chuckled, then thrust in deep, forcing a gasp out of her. “Perhaps.”
She was given a long, slow ride of delight as he fucked her. His hands explored her body, gripping her hips or massaging her breasts. Pinching her nipples or sliding against her smooth lips. Though the sex was slow, her orgasm was building up. They were both close to completion.
His strokes became more violent, his mouth caressing her nipple as he finally released himself into her. Tensing, he groaned, and then her orgasm hit her. She convulsed below him, and once she had finished, she pulled him down on top of her for a tight hug.
“I hope we can make this work,” she said. “I love you.”
Troy was silent. Rolling to her side, he held her hand. They stayed together on the bed, naked, for a long time. “I think it will work, as long as we both try.”
“I'm going to try my hardest.” She paused. “Do you think I'll be a good mom?”
“Well, let's see. You're hard working, driven, and generally honest. You're not very social, but we can work on that together. Plus, you've been able to put up with me… I'd say yes, Elle. You'll be a wonderful mom.”
She smiled. “It still doesn't feel real.”
Troy sat up, then, and placed a hand on her stomach. “I'm going to do everything I can to provide for you two. A child shouldn't grow up without learning hard work from their father, right? So can you help me? Maybe my psychiatrist can give you some tips.”
“Of course!” She exclaimed. “Of course I'll help you!”
He smiled and stared into her eyes. He loved her, more than he even knew when he first admitted it to her. If he was going to spend his life with one woman, he was glad it was Elle. Even though they met under bad circumstances, he wouldn't have changed anything. The hardships helped him to understand her better, to understand himself better. He felt like an actual adult for the first time in his life.
“You know what I've been thinking?” She asked.
“Hm, what's that?”
She fidgeted with the ring on her finger, then looked into his eyes. “I think we should renew our vows when the year is up. We should get married for real. Not because we have strings attached to us, but because we love each other.”
I couldn't think of a better idea if I tried.