Masked Mayhem (Fright Nights)

Chapter Six

That asshole Adam deserves to have his teeth knocked in, and I’m itching to do it. I would love to go back to that bullshit house and give him a lesson in manners, but that wouldn’t help anything right now, except my own anger. Liam said if I go start shit I’ll just give Adam fuel to use against Zoe and he’s right. He normally is but it’s beyond annoying sometimes.

The whole ordeal took less than an hour. Forty-five minutes, two duffle bags, and here Zoe is sitting on our couch again looking lost.

This is a pivotal moment in her life. This is where she either falls apart and goes back to that dipshit, or she forges a new path for herself. I would love to wrap her up in my arms and take care of everything for her, which is honestly a new feeling for me. Something about her makes me want to take care of her, but she needs to do this herself. After everything she’s been through she deserves to do this herself. Otherwise, she’ll never be able to move on, and that’s what’s important here. I can put my feelings aside, for her, no matter how hard it is.

Something about Zoe has gotten under my skin. She’s always been special, even back in high school she had this warmth about her. It’s still there, but it’s dimmed. Living under that bastard's control for so long took something from her, and I hope she gets it back.

She’s been holding Nate’s phone in her lap for the past ten minutes, staring at the little device like it holds the answers to all of her problems, honestly it might. Her mom passed away years ago, which we knew already, but from what she told us she and her dad aren’t on speaking terms and haven’t been for a long time. Adam cut her off from any friends she might have had and surrounded her with his friends so she was completely alone, but she still has a sister. Whitney is a few years older than us; she moved away right after she graduated, and I don’t think she’s been back since.

Zoe said there’s bad blood between her sister and her dad too, but they still talk occasionally, just enough so Adam was sure Whitney wouldn’t get suspicious. They aren’t especially close, but I don’t see how anyone could just turn their back on their sibling. Especially when that sibling is Zoe .

When she finally moves her fingers across the screen to dial her sister’s number Zoe stands up and excuses herself as she steps out the back door for some privacy. I’m sure that’s going to be a painful conversation, I wouldn’t want an audience for it either, but I hate that she’s out there alone. We keep an eye on her through the window, not listening in but just to make sure she’s ok, until she finally wipes the tears from her cheeks and comes back inside.

Her blue eyes are red and puffy when she hands Nate his phone back, but none of us comment on that. She’s entitled to her feelings. With everything she’s been through in the past twenty-four hours I’m surprised she hasn’t had a complete breakdown.

“I told Whitney everything, she’s going to come pick me up and help me file for divorce. She said I can stay with her and her husband while I get things figured out, so I guess I’m going to Walport.”

I’m so proud of the way she’s handling this, she isn’t giving up, she’s fighting back and setting herself free. I just wish her sister didn’t live so far away. “She said she can be here in a day or two, depending on how soon she can get on the road, if you don’t mind me crashing a little longer.”

We already told her she can stay as long as she needs to, so I remind her of that. “As long as you need, Red.”

The garage isn’t open on the weekends, so we all stayed around the house on Sunday, but today someone had to go in to keep the business running. After a few games of rock paper scissors Liam and Nate grudgingly went to the shop. I won back to back against both of them, so I get to stay with Zoe. Her sister should be here this evening, but we don’t want to leave her alone in the house. Adam knows she’s with us and we wouldn’t put it past him to show up or try to start something.

She never unpacked her bags, she’s just been pulling out what she needs, so after getting dressed for the day she has her two little duffle bags waiting by the front door. Whitney got a hotel room for the night, after she gets to town Zoe will go with her, and then tomorrow they’ll leave. Simple as that.

So why doesn’t it feel simple?

Getting away from here, away from Adam, is the best thing she could do right now. But a dark, selfish part of me doesn’t want her to leave. Once she gets in her sister’s car I’ll probably never see her again. She’s basically a stranger, it shouldn’t bother me, but it does.

I guess the stupid crush I had on her in high school never really went away.

After making sure all the doors are locked and secure I take a quick shower, rubbing one out like a teenager pining after the homecoming queen. This takes me right back to our time in high school. I spent so much time in the shower back then it’s a miracle I’m not part fish. Even then there was something about her, just being near Zoe affects me more than any other woman ever has.

Wrapping my towel around my waist I step into the hallway only to come face to face with a startled Zoe who is now frozen in place. Her big blue eyes widen as she takes in my lack of clothing. I’m not used to tiptoeing around skittish women, I should have gotten dressed in the bathroom, but I didn’t think about taking any clothes with me.

A soft blush colors her porcelain cheeks as she checks me out, but I’m enjoying having her attention so I don’t call her out on it, she can look all she wants. After a moment her eyes comically squeeze shut, like she can erase the last thirty seconds if she closes them tight enough.

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, excuse me.” I like how flustered she is, the way her blush deepens as she adorably spins around in an effort to get away from me as quickly as possible. It’s cute she’s embarrassed from checking me out. If she even knew half of what I was just imagining in the shower she might have a fit.

Unfortunately, the pink from her blush just accentuates the dark coloring of the bruises that are still trying to heal. Her perfect skin shouldn’t be marked that way, the only marks she should have should be from consensual pleasure, not taking abuse from a man with a God complex. My hands ball into fists but I keep my anger under control and push aside thoughts of that asshole Adam. She doesn’t need any more angry men in her life right now, the last thing I want to do is scare her .

“No worries Red, let me throw some clothes on and I’ll be right out.” My tone is more casual than I expected considering the murderous rage I have to force down every time I think about how hard he must have hit her to bruise her the way he did. Bastard.

She squeaks, darting down the hall to the living room and I let her make her escape. If I had things my way she would be staying in town and Adam would be six feet under. Where he belongs. I brought up the idea to the others, but Liam used logic and reason to shoot down my idea. No one ever listens to me.

By the time I get my clothes on and wander out to the living room I find Zoe taking up as little space as possible on the couch. It’s like she’s afraid to even exist. Like she doesn’t know she’s the sun and the rest of us are lucky to even be around her.

She offers me a small awkward smile and I toss her the remote. We only have a few hours left before her sister gets here, but I want her to be comfortable.

“You can put on whatever you want.” I don’t watch a lot of television, and my attention isn’t going to be on the tv anyway.

“Oh, um, ok… thanks.”

She casts a nervous glance my way every time she clicks on something, gauging to see if it’s going to piss me off or not, so I very pointedly paint a smile on my face. I don’t just sit around smiling, ever, but I’ll do whatever I need to do to put her at ease.

Our afternoon is blissfully quiet. Adam never shows up and after a while Zoe relaxes enough to settle on a show she likes and even laughs occasionally. Getting away from him is the best thing she can do for herself. That’s what I have to remind myself when the guys and I watch as she drives away with her sister.