Haven Bound

6. Chelsea

6

Chelsea

It’s not long before we’re standing in line waiting to be let into the club, which seems to be as busy as ever tonight. Club Obsidian is fairly new, having only been open for a couple of years, but with the stress that comes from living in a big city, it’s nice to have somewhere to go where you can let loose and forget about your troubles for a night. Which was always Jason’s argument anytime he wanted to spend our date nights here.

My gaze travels over the crowd of people standing in line around us as Hailey rambles on about how she can’t wait to get out on the dance floor and maybe find someone to spend the night with.

I hate this. I hate crowds.

I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff in anticipation of someone shoving me over. Like there’s a vice around my chest and at any moment all of the air is going to be stolen from my lungs. Dread builds in my stomach at the idea of running into my ex, but it’s quickly erased when ocean-blue eyes collide with mine and my breath catches in my throat.

Austin.

Seeing him again definitely beats a night of comfort show reruns on the couch, even with the mixed emotions of unease and excitement coursing through me. My attention is yanked away from him when Hailey grabs my arm and pulls me forward with her, signaling that it’s our turn to flash our ID’s and head inside.

“Your brother is here,” I mumble as I slip my ID back into my small cross-body purse and follow Hailey in the direction of the bar. Various bottles of alcohol are displayed on black shelves with rope lights making the labels visible.

She looks back over her shoulder in the direction of the door, but they haven’t made it inside yet. “He’s probably staying with Ethan while he's in town.”

Her cheeks take on a pinkish hue when she says Ethan’s name, and I smile knowingly at her. “Or you just hope he’s staying with Ethan because then you’ll have an excuse to go over there.”

Hailey laughs and shoves my shoulder playfully, “Shut up! I do not.” She tucks a strand of brown hair behind her ear as the bartender approaches us.

Mhm. I bet that lie tasted super bitter.

Hailey’s had a crush on Ethan forever. He’s Austin’s best friend, and like me, he was constantly at their house when we were growing up. Ethan’s been as much of a constant in my life as Austin and Hailey and has become like a brother to me. He made it a point to be more present once Austin left. Yet I still haven’t told him or Hailey about all of the things I’ve been battling since I left Jason.

Turning my back to the bar, I find myself scanning the crowd.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.

What if he’s here? I should’ve just stayed home, out of sight.

Hailey thanks the bartender and spins to put her back to the bar, mimicking my stance as she hands me a Pi?a Colada, minus the rum, and takes a sip from what looks like a Raspberry Daiquiri. As delicious as some of the drinks sound, I can’t bring myself to partake in something that could potentially make me feel out of control.

“C’mon, let’s dance!” she shouts, doing her best to raise her voice above the sound of the crowd and the band that’s playing.

“You go. I don’t want—” I start to say that I don’t want to dance, but she’s already disappeared into the mass of writhing bodies on the dance floor. Heaving a sigh, I take a sip from my sweet pineapple and coconut cream drink and scan the sides of the room for an empty booth, but of course, they’re all full. Except… one of the larger corner booths that's occupied by Austin and Ethan.

Taking a deep breath, I make my way over to their booth. Over to Austin. His eyes immediately find mine as though he can sense me approaching. “Mind if I sit?” I ask, tapping his shoulder to get him to scoot over.

“Hey, Chelsea! You’re not covered in flour for once.” Ethan’s teasing tone eases the nerves coursing through my stomach as I sink into the booth beside Austin.

I laugh as I toss back, “Just be happy I’m not in sweatpants. Hailey made me change.”

For the first time in what feels like forever, I don’t feel riddled with anxiety. I feel like I can actually take a deep breath and enjoy being out with friends. Despite how long it’s been, it feels all too natural to slip back into the way things used to be between the four of us. Ethan, Hailey, and I hang out pretty frequently, but it hasn’t felt the same without Austin .

“Hailey did what?” She practically falls into the booth beside Ethan, across from Austin and me, with her drink in hand. Typical Hails, she must’ve been right behind me. As independent and lighthearted as she is, she’s always been fiercely protective of me. I’m sure my anxiety was painted as clear as day across my face earlier. I should have known she wouldn’t stay out on the dance floor for too long without me.

“Oh you know, Chels was just complaining about you,” Ethan teases, draping his arm across the back of the booth behind Hailey. Her eyes meet mine as she takes a sip of the drink in her hands. Her cheeks are a little pink, but whether it’s from dancing or Ethan’s arm nearly across her shoulders, I’m not sure.

“I was not!” I laugh, snagging a napkin off the tabletop and crumbling it into a ball before tossing it at him. Next to me, Austin shifts to sit up a little straighter causing his leg to brush against mine and goosebumps to pebble my skin.

Hailey laughs as Ethan pretends to be injured by the crumpled napkin, rubbing his chest with the hand that’s not currently resting near her shoulder and pushing his bottom lip into a pout. “I thought we were friends, Chels! How could you hurt me like this?” I smile and shake my head at him before turning my attention to Austin who’s being way too quiet.

“So, how long are you in town?” I ask him, sitting back against the cushioned black faux leather seat. I don’t know which answer I’d rather hear; he’s only back for a short visit or he’s here to stay. Austin clenches his jaw and turns his body towards mine, his arm coming up to rest behind me across the seat, mirroring Ethan’s posture .

Before he can answer, Hailey damn near jumps out of the booth as “Don’t Cha” by The Pussycat Dolls starts to fill the space. “This is our song! We have to go dance. C’mon, Chels!” She’s practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waits for me to get up and join her.

Back in high school, Hailey and I used to say that this was our anthem. We would play it on repeat while creating our own choreography in her bedroom, but that was… before .

Before Jason.

Before he made it his mission to completely tear me down until there was nothing left.

“I don’t know, Hails. I’m not really in the mood.” I can see the disappointment written across her face. All she had wanted was for us to get out and have fun, and I’m ruining it.

“I’ll dance if you do,” Austin says, the deep rumble of his voice sending electric shockwaves through my body, goosebumps suddenly covering my skin. He taps my hips to encourage me to scoot out of the booth. Little does he know, that when he touches me, all I want to do is stay rooted in place and sink into him. Ethan’s already up and standing beside Hailey, waiting for us to slide out of the booth and join them.

“C’mon, Chels, we’ve got you,” Ethan says, offering me a sympathetic smile. He knows as well as Hailey does how much I struggle with crowds.

My therapist’s words play in my mind as my gaze meets Austin’s.

Do something that you know will cause an anxious reaction but in a controlled environment where you know you’re safe .

Okay, I can do this. The idea of being stuck among a mass of strangers makes me feel sick to my stomach, but I also know that no matter how long it’s been or how things have changed, I’m safe with them.

Before I can change my mind, I’m sliding out of the booth and following Hailey to the dance floor with Austin and Ethan trailing close behind. The chorus hits, and she turns to face me. Her smile matches mine as we both start to sway our hips and sing along. Ethan moves in behind Hailey. He’s not touching her, but he’s dancing close enough that nobody else has room to try and move in on her. The way he watches her has jealousy snaking through me, wishing that somebody would look at me the way he looks at her.

The song ends, and “Good Girls Go Bad” by Cobra Starship and Leighton Meester starts up. I throw my head back, hands in the air as my hips sway to the beat, for once allowing myself to not worry about my surroundings.

I’m safe.

Large hands cover my hips as Austin moves in closer to me, pulling my back to his chest. There’s a part of me that knows I should pull away and not let him get this close, but his touch sends heat coursing through me straight to my core. I can’t resist pressing against him. The lyrics fall from my lips as I sway my hips back and forth.

Nerves accompany the heat as I look at Hailey, hoping to gauge her reaction to her brother and I dancing so close together, but she’s not paying us any attention. Her focus is entirely on Ethan, her hands placed on his shoulders with his on her hips.

A deep groan hits my ears, and I can feel Austin’s heated breath against my neck, his head dipping down towards me as I grind against him. He’s been away for so long, and I know that I should demand answers from him before I get swept away, but I can’t help the pull I feel towards him. His hands on my hips grip tighter as he pulls my ass against him, and I can feel his hard length behind the denim.

The song changes again to “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris, and I find myself turning in Austin’s arms, moving one hand to his shoulder as the other comes up to brush my loosely curled waves away from my face. He doesn’t miss a beat, his hands falling to my hips to pull me as close as possible while still maintaining eye contact.

It’s always been this way between us. Even before we started sneaking around together, the magnetic heat between us was always unavoidable.

Entirely focused on one another, I can’t help but let my gaze slip down to his full lips. I run my tongue over my bottom lip and then tug it between my teeth ever so slightly before my eyes lock back on his. He mimics the movement, his gaze lingering on my mouth for a few seconds longer as he reaches up with one hand to cup my jaw. His thumb grazes against my bottom lip, and I swear my heart is ready to break free from my chest.

Fuck, this is so wrong. I can’t afford to fall into old habits with him.

Austin takes a step forward, our hips nearly touching now, my breasts mere inches from being pressed against his chest. “Chelsea…” His rasp of a voice is barely audible over the loud music, but I don’t have to hear him to remember the way my name looks on his lips. His face slowly lowers to mine, and just as I think he might kiss me, my gaze snags on a nightmare.

Jason.

His blond hair is shaved down on the sides and unnecessarily long on top, hanging down over his pierced eyebrow. His dark eyes are filled with anger, maybe even disgust, and locked on me. He’s leaning against the bar counter, a short glass of amber liquid in his hand. A smirk crosses his lips as he takes a sip of the drink.

I immediately drop my hands from Austin’s shoulders and step away from him, putting some much-needed distance between us. “I’m, uh… gonna run to the restroom. I’ll… be right back.” I can barely get the words out as a wave of dizziness consumes me, my stomach churning like the waves of a storm-riddled sea.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Just breathe, Chelsea. In…2, 3… Out… 2, 3…

This can’t be happening right now.

The first time I make an attempt to let loose, and I can’t even enjoy more than a few songs on the dance floor without his threats hanging over my head. Instead of heading for the bathroom, I’m making my way to the exit doors at the front of the club, trying to move quickly without drawing attention to myself.

The chilled night air hits me and acts like a shock to my system when I step outside of the club, my lungs fighting to take in a deep breath. The fear and anxiety coursing through me are all-consuming. It’s taking every ounce of energy that I have to not fall to pieces as my back presses against the wall of Club Obsidian. With my eyes closed, it’s a little easier to drown out the thumping bass of the music coming from inside as well as the noise from the street and the line of people still waiting to be let in.

Okay, 333 rule. I can feel… my feet aching from these damn ankle boots, the chilled night air, and the lace inset of my top against my skin. Three things I can hear… music, people talking as they wait to get into the club, and…

“Chelsea,” Jason’s voice startles me and forces me to open my eyes. He’s walking towards me in a way that has me wishing I could disappear. There’s no way for me to get away from him now, at least not in a way that wouldn’t involve him chasing me down. I push off of the cool brick wall and face him.

“Leave me alone, Jason.” I do my best to keep my voice calm and steady, but it trembles as if the ground is quaking beneath my feet. Beads of sweat begin to dampen my forehead as I wring my hands together, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

“Not a chance. What the fuck do you think you’re doing here with someone else?” He’s standing directly in front of me now, his arms folded across his chest as he examines me with narrowed eyes.

“Well, I was trying to have fun with my friends. In fact, I think I should get back to them before they come looking for me,” I snap back as I move to walk past him. Before I can even step around him, he reaches out a hand and grabs my wrist to pull me against him.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart. You’re mine, remember?” A deep sick feeling roils in my stomach as the overwhelming scent of his cologne fills my senses. Bile rises in my throat as dark memories of being at his mercy cloud my mind.

“Leave me alone, Jason,” I repeat, struggling to pull my wrist free from his grasp.

Ethan, Hailey, and I have been going to places like shooting ranges as a way to relieve stress and anger for years, but for some reason, it’s just now occurring to me that I’ve never taken an actual self-defense class. I’m a fairly decent shot, but I have no idea how to safely get out of Jason’s hold.

“Doesn’t seem like your friends are missing you. I bet they don’t even realize you’re no longer in there. How about you quit being a fucking tease and come home with me?” he sneers, leaning in close.

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you!” I shout, again trying to rip my arm out of his grasp.

He jerks my wrist toward him, a yelp escaping me as he pulls my body toward his. My brow furrows when Jason's hand is suddenly ripped away from my wrist, mind racing to piece together what just happened.

Austin has one hand braced above Jason’s head and a forearm pressed firmly against his chest, pinning Jason to the wall. A deep scowl is painted across his face as he glares down at Jason and growls, “Do not fucking touch her.”

Jason manages to push forward against the pressure of Austin’s arm, but he doesn’t make it more than a few inches before Austin shoves him back against the wall with a loud thud . “Who the fuck are you?” Jason says, anger radiating off of him as he matches Austin’s glare.

“Somebody you don’t want to fuck with,” Austin says in a deep tone that would have me feeling a little hesitant to be around him if I didn’t already know who he was.

“I was just trying to take my girl home,” Jason lies, and I can barely contain the tears that are threatening to fall from my eyes as Austin looks over his shoulder at me.

“Do you want to go with him?” he asks, his grasp on Jason unwavering as he holds my gaze .

“No, I told him to leave me alone. I was trying to come back inside to find you when he grabbed me,” I say softly, dropping my gaze to the ground. Just when I was beginning to think that Jason may have moved on and forgotten all about me, he comes storming in and claiming that I’m his. I thought I was safe, I thought I had gotten away from him.

I moved out. I blocked his phone number and his social media accounts. He doesn’t even actually want me. He just doesn’t want anybody else to have me either.

“She told you no, and you were still harassing her? You’re fucking lucky that I’m here with friends tonight. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be making it home in one piece.” Austin’s words should probably frighten me, but out of all of the emotions that are currently battling inside of me, fear isn’t one of them.

If anything, I’m thankful that he came looking for me when he did.

“Do not fucking talk to her. Don’t look at her. Don’t even think about her.” His forearm is pressed firmly against Jason’s throat now, and I can see the beginning tint of red creeping up Jason’s face as he nods his head. “Leave,” Austin growls, grabbing the fabric of Jason’s shirt and shoving him away. Jason nearly trips over his feet in his effort to quickly walk away. I fight back a giggle at the idea of him tripping and falling in front of us.

“Are you alright, Sunflower?” Austin walks slowly towards me. He reaches a hand out to me as though he’s seeking permission to touch me after that interaction. I nod and take his hand, letting him pull me into him before my arms wrap around his torso and my face buries into his chest. “I am now, thanks to you,” I mumble. His arms wrap around me as he presses a gentle kiss to my temple.