AN: I would like to thank MyTimeIsNow, TheRealChamps, and TrishOrton as always! You guys are absolutely amazing! As usual, reviews are appreciated! Here's the next chapter! Thank you for reading! Enjoy!
*Please note: There is talk of drug use in this chapter.*
Chapter 9
Trish's ears began to ring loudly and she started to see spots when she blinked. She knew she was close to passing out. Just as she started to fade, Jason's hand was ripped from her neck and she collapsed in a heap on the floor. She clutched at her throat as she gasped for air. After taking a few deep breaths in, the haze began to lift, the ringing in her ears stopped and she became fully aware of the commotion going on in the kitchen. She looked up to see Jason and John struggling with each other, both trying to gain dominance. All she could do was watch as Jason and John banged into the counters, knocking things to the floor. John gave Jason a hard shove back to give himself some distance from Jason. Jason crashed into the dishwasher. He regained some of his composure and stumbled towards John, swinging wildly at him. John ducked out of the way and came back with a right of his own landing squarely on Jason's jaw, instantly causing his lip to swell and a tail of blood to leak out. Jason stumbled back two more steps, and took another wild swing missing John completely. John swung back, but he didn't miss. He landed another punch on Jason's jaw. Jason again stumbled, but this time lost his balance and fell to the floor. All Trish could do was watch in horror at the two men fighting.
Jason reached his hand up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "So this must be your little pretty boy, isn't it slut?" Jason spat in her direction..
"Jas…" Trish began.
John filled with anger at his words and couldn't stop himself from kicking Jason in the ribs. "Don't you dare talk to her like that!" John warned, cutting her off mid sentence.
A sadistic smile spread across Jason's lips as he spat a mouthful of blood in her direction. "You must actually giving him some good ass if he's defending you like that. You don't deserve it. You're nothing but a trashy gutter whore anyway!"
"John and I didn't sleep together, Jason!"
"Yeah right! I know you did! Jeff saw you two at the restaurant and he told me all about the dinner you had together. How the fuck do you think I found out, you dumb bitch? Not because you told me. Girls like you don't go to dinner unless they're trying to give it up!"
John was infuriated by Jason's blatant disrespect for Trish. Anger cursed through his body and he cocked back ready to land another punch on Jason, but Trish quickly stepped between John and Jason and grabbed a hold of John's arm.
"Stop!" she yelled. John pulled back, not wanting to hurt her by mistake.
Jason pulled himself up off the floor. He stood there for a few minutes on wobbly legs trying to get himself together. "Let's go bitch. I'm leaving and you're coming with me."
"You're drunk and I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"Yes you are!" Jason growled as he reached over and grabbed Trish by the wrist, roughly pulling her towards him.
John quickly grabbed Jason by the arm, "Get your hands off of her!"
Jason gripped on to her tighter. "She's my property and I'll do whatever I want with her."
"Jason, you're hurting me! Let go!" Trish pleaded.
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you," John warned through gritted teeth.
Jason released Trish's wrist. "Fine, you can keep the whore for the night. I'm outta here."
John used his free hand to protectively scoot Trish behind him. "That's the best idea you've had all night."
Jason roughly brushed passed John, causing him to bump into Trish. John followed as Jason stalked into the living room. Jason flung the front door open causing it to bang loudly against the wall. He kicked the screen door open and walked out of the apartment. John followed to the door, watching as Jason jumped into his truck and drove off. John closed the screen door and the front door. He wanted to lock them to make sure if Jason returned, he wouldn't be able to get in, but he remembered Randy and Chrissy hadn't returned from their walk yet. He quickly turned around and ran back into the kitchen. He found Trish sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up and her head resting on her knees, sobbing.
He walked over to her quietly and crouched down next to her. He placed a hand gently on her arm and she instinctively flinched, bracing herself for whatever was coming next. "It's me," he whispered.
Her body relaxed but she didn't look up. His heart ached seeing her like this. He could see the faint bruises forming around her neck where Jason's hands had been and he could see the fiery red mark around her wrist where Jason had grabbed her. He sat down on the kitchen floor with her and gently took hold of her wrist, pulling her to him. After a soft tug, she came to him, and he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed into his neck. Feeling her tiny body tremble in his arms killed him.
"Shhh… It's okay," he whispered, trying to soothe her. "I'm here…" John rubbed the small of her back gently.
"What the fuck!"
John snapped his attention to the doorway. Randy stood in the doorway, surveying the mess in the kitchen. A few seconds later, Chrissy appeared in the doorway behind Randy. "Oh my god! What happened?"
"Jason," John answered softly.
Chrissy gasped and rushed over to Trish. She crouched down next to her friend and immediately saw the bruises around Trish's neck. "He did this to you?" she asked in shock as she glanced at Randy.
Trish just shook her head. She was still sitting on John's lap, clinging to him for dear life. Her crying had subsided and the trembling of her body had slowed. Being wrapped in John's strong arms made her feel safe.
"Come on. Let's get you to bed," John suggested. Trish nodded but didn't let go of him. He easily stood with her in his arms. He turned to look at Chrissy for directions to where her room was.
"Down the hall, second door to the left is hers," Chrissy answered, still trying to digest what had happened.
John walked down the hallway until he found her door. He shifted her weight to one arm and used his free hand to turn the light on. He walked into her room and over to her bed. He pulled back the blankets and gently placed her on the bed. He pulled the blankets up around her, covering her. "Try and rest." He gave her a soft smile and turned to leave.
Trish reached up and grabbed his arm before he could walk away. John stopped and turned back around to face her. "Please don't leave me alone," she pleaded.
John obliged and sat down on the bed next to her. "It's okay… I'm here."
John kicked his sneakers off and swung his legs up on the bed. He leaded back against the headboard, stretched his legs out, and crossed them. Trish scooted closer to him and John reached over and pulled her close to him. She laid her head down on his side and he wrapped his arm around her. John sat with her for until she fell asleep and even after she fell asleep, he stayed watched her sleep.
About two hours had gone by and Randy finally appeared in the doorway. "She okay?" Randy asked softly.
"Yeah. She's sleeping."
"You wanna get ready and head out?"
John nodded. He gently slid himself out from under Trish and off of the bed. He stood there for a few minutes to make sure she didn't wake back up. When he was confident she would continue sleeping, he picked up his shoes and quietly followed Randy down the hallway and back to the living room.
"Is she okay?" Chrissy asked.
"Yeah, I think so. She's sleeping."
"I feel so bad that I wasn't here. Thank god you were. Thank you for saving her."
John nodded. "Let me help clean up the mess in the kitchen before I go."
"It's okay. I helped Chrissy clean it up already." Randy gave Chrissy a hug and a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll see you later babe." I want you to lock the screen door, the front door, and I want you to deadbolt it too. Call me if you need me, okay?"
Chrissy nodded. She followed them to the front door. "I will."
John followed Randy out the door. Randy stopped and turned back around. "Close the door and lock up now babe."
The two men stood outside and listened for the door to lock. When they were sure Chrissy had locked up, they turned to head towards the car. Randy looked at John as they walked towards the car.
"You okay man?"
John nodded. "He's lucky Randy… So lucky… If she hadn't grabbed on to me, I would have fuckin killed him… There's absolutely no doubt in my mind… I would have killed him…"
Randy patted John on the shoulder. "I know man… I know. He's lucky I wasn't here too or that I didn't come in when this shit was going down… Between the two of us, there wouldn't be anything left. I haven't liked the scumbag since I heard him talking to her on the phone."
The guys walked up to the car. Randy walked to the driver's side door and John to the passenger's side. Randy unlocked the doors and they climbed into the car. Randy put the key in the ignition and started the engine and pulled off.
John turned his head to look at Randy. "I hope to god she hasn't been dealing with this shit their entire relationship."
"He's always talked to her like that from what I understand," Randy answered.
"I mean physically… Verbally is bad enough, but I swear to god if I find out he's been putting his hands on her the entire time… I'll snap his fuckin neck."
There was a loud bang at the door. Trish stirred slightly at the sound. Light poured through the blinds in Trish's bedroom. She rolled over groggily and looked at the clock. 2:00 pm it read and then she heard another bang bang bang at the door. Trish slowly sat up in her bed. She stretched her arms out to either side of her to steady herself as the room spun around her.
"Ugghhh," she groaned. She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. Her head was pounding and she felt dizzy. She waited to see if Chrissy would answer the door, but the house was silent.
BANG BANG BANG
The bangs at the door were now becoming louder. She drug herself out of bed and towards the front door. I guess Chrissy is out, she thought to herself as she walked to the door when she noticed the TV was off. She got to the front door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. She looked up and saw Jason standing in front of her. Trish jumped back, trying to close the door but Jason was too quick. He put his hand up and stopped her from closing the door.
"Baby please wait," Jason begged. "I just want to talk to you. Please baby."
"I don't have anything to say to you, please just leave."
Jason took his sunglasses off his eyes and looked at her. He looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in days. Tears were streaming down his face. "Baby I'm so sorry about last night. I was drunk... I was wrong... Wrong for what I did... Wrong for what I said... I know I can't take it back, and that's a guilt I'll have to live with for the rest of my life but please baby... Please let me fix this... Let me make it up to you. Please, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. It was the alcohol, it wasn't me. You know I've never done anything like that before."
"Jay... I... I..."
Jason took a step towards Trish and lightly grabbed on to her hand. He got down on his knees and wrapped his other arm around her legs. He rested his head on her stomach. "Let me fix this... Let me make it up to you baby. You know I love you Trish. I didn't mean to hurt you. It was the alcohol and the... the... drugs..."
"What drugs?" Trish asked, confused.
"I was on my way to your house yesterday when I was done work. I missed you so much, I wanted to see you but Alex called me and told me to stop by the bar to have a beer with him for his birthday. I told him no because I just wanted to get to you but he started raggin on me. So I told him I would stop for one quick beer and then I was out of there because I was on my way to you... And then... One beer turned into two beers which turned into three beers and before I knew it I was there for an hour. Alex told me to come to the bathroom with him so I did and that's when he took out the coke and made two lines. I told him no, I was clean... I stopped doin that shit for you baby... You know that... But he insisted. He kept on and kept on and I caved. I caved baby. I wasn't strong enough to fight it... I'm so sorry baby... Please forgive me..." Jason wrapped his arms around Trish's legs and squeezed her tight, sobbing into her stomach.
"I... I..." Trish couldn't help but to feel sorry for Jason. "I'll think about it, but right now you need to leave."
Jason abruptly stopped sobbing and looked up at her. "Why is your..." Jason cut himself off and stood up. "I'm sorry baby. It still hasn't gotten all the way out of my system."
"I'm not feeling well Jay. My head hurts really bad and I really just want to lay down."
"I'm so sorry for that but that's fine. I'll go now but I want to see you tomorrow. I'll be sober then and I want to start making this right." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. Then turned to leave. Trish stood at her door watching Jason walk to his truck.
Jason does love me. He's been with me for three years now... That has to mean something, right? That's the first time I've ever seen him cry. Maybe he's serious this time, she thought to herself. Oh well... I need to lay down right now. Trish closed the door and locked it then walked back down the hall towards her bed to try and sleep her massive headache away.
