Chapter Twenty-One
"Leave her alone," the voice demanded.
"This is my house. I can do whatever I want," Stu told him.
"Bennett, I'm warning you. I will come up there and kick your ass. I'm not afraid of you," his southern accent was thick with anger.
Hearing his voice, Elizabeth tried to look down at him. A million thoughts raced through her mind.
"If you take one more step, I'll pick her up and throw her down those stairs, Miller. Don't you think I wont," Stu told him.
"Let her go. You can't control her anymore. You don't control any of us. This ends now, it ends here. You realize that your career is over right?" Heath said.
"No."
Both men looked at her, disbelief written on their faces. Neither could comprehend what she was saying no about. She looked up at Stu, begging him with her eyes. He didn't care, those eyes had stopped affecting him long ago and he wasn't going to fall for it now. He kicked her again, harder than the last few times. He dragged her to her feet and shoved her against the wall, holding her there.
"How about we take a little trip down memory lane? Sounds like fun to me. What do you think, Elizabeth? Should we continue the conversation we were having before your knight in shining armor showed up?" Stu asked her.
"Stu, please don't do this. Please," she begged him.
"How about we think back to about five years ago? I think that's when it was right? The first time we kissed? It was in that ratty old barn where your father used to train you and PJ," he saw the tears form in her eyes; she knew where he was going with this conversation.
"Does he know who you had sex for the first time with? Does he know who took your innocence? Does your brother even know?" he demanded.
She shook her head as the tears fell silently. She couldn't do anything to stop him from telling Heath everything. The parts of her life she had wished to forget about, the parts that she hadn't even told her brother. She heard Heath gasp; she could feel him looking at her, waiting for her to deny what Stu was saying. She couldn't look at him; she couldn't face the disgust, the disappointment on his face.
"Bee, what is he talking about?" she heard her brother ask. She didn't even notice him standing next to Heath. She didn't trust her voice; she could only stand there, being held against the wall, look down at the floor, and shake. She wasn't shaking because she was cold though, it was something she did when she was upset, and when she knew her life was going to change dramatically.
"They really don't know. Wow, it must suck for him to find out that I was your first that he got my sloppy seconds. Do they know that I asked you to marry me?" he demanded again.
"Stu, please stop. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I told you no. I wasn't ready. I didn't want to settle down yet. I didn't want to get married so young. I didn't want to make a mistake," she whispered.
"A mistake? Did you hear that guys? She didn't want to make a mistake. That's why she told me she wouldn't marry me three years ago. Was our whole relationship a mistake?" he shouted.
"He asked you to marry him?" PJ choked out.
"Stu, please," she begged, "I just, I-"
"You just nothing," Stu yelled again.
Elizabeth couldn't keep the tears from falling any more. She just wanted to escape, be anywhere but there. If she could just distract Stu somehow, she would have enough time to get downstairs. She needed to grab her bags too. There wasn't enough time to think about an escape plan. She felt Stu plant his fist into her ribs again, the ones she was sure he broke earlier. All the air in her body left her, she couldn't breath at all. She gasped, trying to cling to any oxygen she could get.
Stu was so focused on Elizabeth that he didn't see PJ and Heath running up the stairs until Heath tackled him to the floor. Heath started throwing lefts and rights, not caring where he was hitting, just as long as his fists were connecting. He felt a hand on his arm, stopping him from his assault. Heath looked up and saw PJ standing over him and pointing to Elizabeth's bags. He got off Stu, grabbed her bags and walked downstairs after the siblings.
Elizabeth didn't say a word as they ushered her outside and into PJ's Escalade. She didn't say a word as they made their way back to PJ's condo and she didn't say anything when Heath pulled her out of the vehicle and carried her inside. She felt safe in his arms and curled to him, knowing this would probably be the last time he held her. She buried her face in between his neck and shoulder, letting her tears fall onto his skin and shirt. He set her down on the couch in PJ's living room and was about to follow PJ into the kitchen when he felt her grab at his shirt. He looked into her eyes, begging him not to leave her. PJ gave him a knowing look and nodded.
Elizabeth cried herself to sleep as Heath held her. He sat there, trying to process the information that had just been so rudely given to him. He wasn't sure what to say, what to do, or how to react. It was a lot to take in, so when he knew Elizabeth was for sure sleeping he walked into the kitchen of PJ's condo.
"What the hell?" Heath said under his breath, "Did you know about them?"
"I knew that she loved him. I didn't know how serious they were," PJ whispered. He was just as shocked as his best friend.
"I, I don't know what to say to her. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to say," Heath admitted.
"Does anything you just found out change the way you feel about her? Does it make you love her any less? Does it make you want to rethink your relationship?" PJ asked him.
"No. PJ, I love your sister. Nothing in the whole world could change that. It's just that, we've always told each other everything when it came to past loves; at least I thought we did. They were serious, really serious. He asked her to marry him, PJ. What am I suppose to do with that?" Heath told him.
"Honestly, man, I don't know. We need to talk to her when she wakes up. God, how did I not see that? How was I so oblivious, again, that something was going on between them?" PJ said frustrated.
"I don't know how she does it, but she is pretty good a hiding things. She bottles her feelings up and she keeps things to herself. Has she always been like that?" Heath asked.
"No," PJ told him flatly, "She used to be open. She used to have these crazy emotional roller coaster rides, on a daily basis. But, uh, when our Dad was killed, I think I scared her. I went crazy one night. I just lost it. She had never seen me so angry before. I think she became afraid that with her ups and downs and crazy emotions, she'd lose it one day too. Ever since then, she hasn't opened up as much. Not when it comes to how she is truly feeling at least. I wish I could take that day back though. I wish I could take a lot of days back."
"I just want her to be okay. I wish I could know what she is thinking. Did she say anything to you on your way back here?" Heath asked.
"Can you guys please stop talking about me?" Elizabeth was standing in the entryway that led from the kitchen to the living room. They hadn't heard her walk in and didn't know how long she'd been there.
"Babe, I thought you were asleep," Heath told her.
"I've gotten pretty good at faking that," she replied, "I had to."
"Do you think you can answer a few of our questions, Bee?" PJ asked. She shook her head before starting to speak.
"No. I don't want to answer questions. You shouldn't have to force it out of me, so I'm just going to tell you. But first I need to apologize. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any of this before. Some of it I'm ashamed of and some of it I just want to forget ever happened."
"You don't need to apologize, pretty girl," Heath said as PJ nodded in agreement.
"Okay, before I start, I need you to promise you wont interrupt. I want to get everything out at once. Then if you have any comments, questions, or concerns you can announce them when I'm done," she laughed, trying to joke.
"Not funny," they said in unison.
"Here it goes. Eight years ago, PJ brought Stu to our house in South Africa. At first, we were just friends. I was attracted to him, a lot, but I was 17 and I didn't know any better. We had been talking a lot and when he came back to South Africa when I was 20, we kissed. We started dating and it got pretty intense. We, uh, we ended up having sex and uh, he was my first. I thought I was in love with him and I thought he was in love with me. Then a few years later he asked me to marry him. It was so romantic. We were in Florida and it was just before my 23rd birthday. We went for a walk and he asked me. My head and my heart were conflicted. My head told me that he would be able to take care of me, that he would be able to provide for me, and that he would love me. But my heart told me that there was something more out there, something that wouldn't require me to give up my dreams. Daddy always told us to follow our hearts, not our heads. Whenever he'd say that to PJ I knew he wasn't talking about the head on his shoulders, but he meant it for me. I wasn't ready to start a family and my heart was telling me that Stu wasn't my soul mate. He wasn't, isn't the man I'm suppose to spend the rest of my life yet. Looking back, I'm so glad that I told him no. I've had amazing opportunities since then, and I'm pretty sure that I've found my soul mate. I honestly cannot imagine my life without you, Heath. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry I didn't tell either of you."