"Fuck man, that's some heavy shit," Corey said and took a swig of his beer.
"I know," Baron sighed.
They were back at the bar that night and Baron had just filled Corey in on what was going on with Erin and her boyfriend. How she put up with it, he had no idea. He just knew he wanted her out of that toxic environment and straight into his arms where he would make her stay forever and never harm her in any way. Well, in any way that she didn't want. He twisted a little smirk, thinking back on the kind of pain that she did like.
"So where does that leave you?" Corey asked, snatching Baron out of his dirty thoughts.
"I don't know. I wish I knew but right now I have no fucking clue where I stand," Baron answered.
"Shit, man," Corey said and once again lifted the beer to his lips.
As if Baron sensed her the second she stepped into the bar, his eyes flew across the room and landed straight on her. Sexy as always, wearing a short black dress, taking his breath away. He was about to stand up, ready to go over to her, but the pleading look in her eyes made him stop. She shook her head just slightly and his eyes went to the small group of men standing next to her. A hand landed on her arm, dragging her with him towards the counter, telling him all he needed to know. That had to be the asshole boyfriend of hers.
She propped herself up on one of the high bar stools, her dress sliding up in the process. She quickly grabbed the hem of it and dragged it down, her scared look finding Baron's angry eyes. Too late. He had seen the bruise on her thigh.
"Son of a bitch!" Baron growled.
"You can say that again," Corey said with just as much anger in his voice, his eyes also drilling into the people at the bar.
She turned away from them, twisting her body around to face the bartender, writhing in pain as she did so. One hand quickly landed on her side while the other grabbed the counter as she tried to steady herself. She took a deep breath, straightened her body as much as she could and tried to relax.
A drink was placed in front of her and she quickly took it and emptied half of it, not caring what was in the glass. As long as it was alcohol, it was welcome. The taste gave away that it was rum and coke. She took a couple of breaths as the taste lingered on her tongue before she emptied the other half of the glass. She needed it to get through the night.
She could hear the three men next to her talk and laugh but whatever they were actually saying, she didn't try to make out. None of it mattered. She was just there as a trophy to him, not to actually be part of their night out. She sighed as she slowly slid down from the chair, mumbled an excuse about having to use the bathroom and walked away from them.
Each step she took caused her pain but she did her best not to show it. She found the bathroom and locked herself inside for a few minutes. She didn't actually have to use it. She just needed time to breathe. She looked in the mirror and had a hard time even recognizing herself. How had it come to this? She used to be a strong woman, she used to be a happy woman, she used to be the woman that Baron currently had brought back out in her. A small smile came across her face as he entered her mind. That beautiful creature that seemed to occupy her thoughts more and more these days.
She let out a sigh and looked down. She knew her place. She walked away from the mirror and back to the door. She had hardly unlocked and opened it before Baron pushed his way inside, locking the door behind him again. She stumbled backwards up against the wall.
"Show me," he said.
"Show you what?" She asked confused.
"Don't fucking bullshit me right now. Show me!" He demanded.
One of his hands landed on her thigh as he started to pull the dress up to see the bruise he had gotten a glimpse off earlier.
"Baron, please," she whispered.
Both her hands landed on his wrist as she tried to stop him.
"Just fucking show me!" He growled.
Something in both his voice and his eyes made her move her hands away and he continued pulling the dress up, revealing the bruise along the way. He growled in anger as the dress reached her hip but he didn't stop there. He pulled it up even further, revealing the bruise to continue up over her hip ending further up by her ribs.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw how big it was.
"What the fuck did he do you?" He asked in shock.
"Does it matter?" She asked.
She grabbed the dress and pulled it back down.
"Yes, it fucking matters! Tell me what he did!" He raised his voice.
She looked uncomfortable, eyeing the door behind him, just wanting to get out. He felt frustrated, angry and helpless at the same time. He wasn't mad at her but she was there so he slammed the palm of his hands into the wall on each side of her face while bowing his head down so he was right in front of her.
"Tell me what he did!" He demanded in a hard tone.
"He was mad this morning when I came home," she said and bit her lip.
"I know that part! Just fucking tell me!" His tone was still hard and scary.
"He pushed me down the stairs," she said and looked down ashamed.
When he didn't say anything for a few seconds, she looked up again and met his eyes. He was shaking, trembling in anger, as the image of her going down a set of stairs entered his mind.
"Motherfucker!" He growled and turned around.
"No, Baron, please," she begged.
She was fast behind him, grabbing his wrist again, trying to hold him back. They both knew it was useless. If he wanted to go out there, he could easily shake her off, but he stopped when he felt her fingers digging into his skin.
"Don't do anything. Please," she begged.
He turned around again, grabbed her face and pushed her backwards up against the wall again before bowing his head down to kiss her demandingly.
"Leave him. Come with me tonight. I'll take care of you," he whispered in a sudden soft and begging tone.
"I can't," she said defeated.
He roared in anger as he stepped away from her, tilting his head backwards to look at the ceiling.
"How bad does it need to get before you finally wake up?" He asked as he looked at her again.
"I... I..." She stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"How many times will you allow him to throw you down the stairs? Or maybe through a window next time? Will you ever leave him or will you allow him to kill you? Because that's how it's gonna end, Erin. If you don't get out soon, you're never gonna get out alive," he warned her.
She didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. She was lost for words. She knew he was right but she couldn't admit it out loud. Instead she just turned away from him, walked over to unlock the door and disappeared out of it, leaving him alone in the bathroom.
He waited for a few seconds before walking out as well. He watched her walk over to the counter while he made his way back to Corey.
"It didn't go well?" Corey asked.
Baron just shook his head.
"I'm getting another beer. Want one?" He asked.
"Careful," Corey warned, knowing that the beer was just an excuse to go to the counter and get close to her.
Baron just nodded and made his way to the counter, standing a little away from the group but with his eyes solid planted on them, mostly on her. He caught her eyes and she looked down again, clearly still ashamed.
"Stop looking like a fucking pouting kid. You bring everyone's mood down," her boyfriend said.
"I'm sorry, Palmer," she said.
He grabbed her chin hard and forced her head back up.
"Fucking smile, will you?" He sneered.
She tried putting on a smile but she couldn't. He let go off her chin but instead grabbed both her arms in a tight grip and started shaking her.
"You fucking ungrateful bitch!" He sneered, not caring who saw or heard him.
"Hey!" Baron's voice towered above them both as he pushed in between them.
"Who the fuck are you?" Palmer asked.
"Please," she whispered so low that only Baron could hear her.
"It doesn't matter who I am. You don't treat a woman that way," Baron answered.
"Mind your own fucking business, dude," Palmer said in a threathening voice.
"Oh, you wanna take this outside?" Baron challenged as he moved his body around to face Palmer completely.
"Yeah sure, asshole. You against the three of us," Palmer laughed as he pointed backwards towards his two friends.
"He's not alone," Corey said as he suddenly stood next to Baron.
"Still only two of you and three of us," Palmer said, although his voice didn't sound as tough anymore.
"I bet you we can still beat your sorry asses. Wanna go find out?" Baron challenged again.
He felt her soft hand on his arm as she pushed him to the side.
"Guys, guys, no need to go macho on each other. It's fine. It's just a little misunderstanding, right babe?" She said as she looked at Palmer.
"Right. There's nothing here for you to see," Palmer said.
"If you don't mind, I've had enough of the testosterone going around tonight. Mind if I go home, babe?" She asked.
"No, it's fine. I'll see you later," Palmer answered, trying his hardest to put on some sort of caring voice.
She kissed his cheek and took off.
Baron and Corey moved away from the small group of men. Baron was about to follow her but Corey grabbed his arm and dragged him back towards their table.
"Not now, Baron. You're gonna make it too obvious if you follow her now," he said.
"But you didn't see what I saw out in the bathroom. It's bad, Corey, really bad," Baron said in a sad tone.