Chapter 26

Andy's POV

“Miss me?” he whispered.

I sucked in a mouthful of air and with all the force I could muster, my elbow slammed into Jake’s ribs. I didn't have to wait long because his grip on me immediately relaxed as his face twisted in pain, allowing me to break free. I shoved him aside and swam quickly to the edge of the pool, my feet trying their best to stay afloat.

As I got out, my heart was pounding in my ears and my body was trembling from head to toe, and my breath was coming in sharp spurts. I could feel his eyes on me, but I was too afraid to look away. I had to leave. I had to escape.

As I ran, his voice called out lazily from behind, sending a chill down my spine.

"Take it easy, love. Don't fall" he said with laughter in his voice. He was mocking me.

My gut twisted at the carefree tone in his words. He seemed to be treating this like a game and didn't seem to care at all. It wasn't a game, though, in my opinion. It was a nightmare- one that I had thought I was begging to leave behind- that was now more dreadful than ever and had returned to haunt me.

I rushed towards the house, my chest heaving as my feet slammed against the wet pavement. I was unable to think or breathe. I simply needed to escape from him, the pool, and everyone else.

My skin was wet with sweat and water and my surroundings blurred as I staggered inside the home. My body moved instinctively, but my mind was racing, panicked and disoriented.I had to get upstairs. I had to be alone. I had to.

I hurried to my room, running up the stairs two at a time and hardly noticing my surroundings. With my back against the cool wood, I locked the for with shaky fingers as it slammed shut behind me, the sound resonating in my ears.

I thought I would feel safe but I still didn't. It was better than outside but I was panicking.

Really badly.

I could feel my hands shaking violently and my breath coming out in short, uneven gasps. I collapsed to the ground and clutched my knees to my chest as I tried to get my breathing under control again. But it wasn’t working. My chest tightened with each attempt at a deep breath, like though a thousand memories were pressing down on it. Memories of that night with Jake- the way he had cornered me, the way his hands-

I shouldn’t think about it. I couldn’t.

Despite me being alone, my room felt too small and suffocating. My eyesight became blurry as I tightly grasped my legs, causing my knuckles to turn white. I could still feel him. His hands on my waist. His breath on my neck. His voice whispering in my ear like it never left me.

It had been weeks since the incident, since he attacked me, and I still could not shake it away. I thought I could forget. I thought I could move on. But I was wrong. It was just too much to bear.

I buried my face in my knees, tears blurring my vision as my entire body started shaking. How could Marissa have done this? She knew. She had to have known what Jake had done to me, and yet she still brought him here. Still let him near me. Why? Why would she-

A knock on the door broke through my spiraling thoughts. It was tentative, gentle, and at first I hardly noticed it. I couldn't tell how much time had gone by- five minutes? Ten? It seemed to go on forever.

I heard another knock, but this time it was a tad bit louder.

“Andy?” As soon as Bree's voice emerged through the door, I could tell she was worried. "Andy, are you alright?"

My body was still shaking as I stumbled to my feet and rushed to the door as my breath stuck in my throat. When I opened it and unlocked it, Bree was standing there with worried looking wide eyes.

“I'm not okay,” I said as I collapsed into her arms, My voice breaking . "Bree, I can’t believe that she would do that. Marissa… she brought him here.”

I broke down, and Bree put her arms around me, holding me. Her body tensed in rage, and I could feel it, but she refused to release me. She just held me, her voice soft and steady.

“I know,” she whispered. “I know, Andy. I’m so sorry.”

I pulled back slightly, wiping at my tears, my breathing still uneven.
“She knew, Bree. She knew what Jake did to me, and she brought him here anyway.”

I could see the rage brewing in Bree's eyes as her jaw tightened.
"I'll manage it," she murmured, her tone becoming firmer.
"I will make sure Jake pays for his actions. And I’ll deal with Marissa too. This is on her.” she assured me.

She let go of me and swiftly dialed a number on her phone. My body was still trembling from fear and anxiety, my mind was still racing, I could hardly concentrate.

Bree waited for an answer while holding the phone up to her ear.

“Hey" she called when he eventually answered.

"We have a situation. Jake has been released from jail and he showed up at the house.” she said.

Jason's distant voice filtered through the phone and even though I couldn't make out the words, I still knew it was him.

I could see she was trying not to get worked up but I could still sense the desperation in her voice.

“No, this cannot wait. Didn’t you hear me, Jake is here. Yes? That Jake. He was at the pool. I don’t know how, but he’s out of jail.” Bree glanced at me, her face hardening even more.

“Yes, I know. I’m taking care of Andy. But you need to come home. Tomorrow. Please.” she said.

Another pause. Then Bree’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
“Thank you," she murmured. “I'll talk to you later.“

Her expression softened as she reached for my hand after hanging up the phone.

“He'll be back tomorrow. We'll work things out. We’re not letting Jake get away with this. I promise you, Andy.” she said.

I nodded, but the fear still hadn’t left me. Jake had been so close. Too close. And now the idea of waiting even one more day for Jason to come back felt like torture. How could I face this? Knowing that Jake was out there and had been close to me, right behind me, made it impossible for me to sleep.

"I'm so scared, Bree,” I whispered, hardly audible. "I can't- I can’t go through this again.”

Bree drew me into another hug and stroked my back in little circles with her fingers. “I know,” she murmured. “But you’re not alone, Andy. You have me. You have all of us. We’ll protect you.”

I wanted to believe her. I wanted to think that I was safe. But in all honesty, I didn't feel safe, despite Bree's best efforts to comfort me.Not after what had just happened.

We made our way to the bed, where Bree sat next to me and I curled up close to her while she kept her arm around my shoulders.

Except for the occasional muffled laugh from downstairs and the steady ticking of the wall clock, the room was suddenly quiet. The celebration continued, but it felt like an echo from a long time ago, a world away from the trauma I had just been through.

My mind was spinning with pictures of Jake as I stared at the ceiling- his hands, his voice, the way he had held me like he owned me. The thoughts would not go away, no matter how hard I tried to push it away and I clenched my fists. With his fingers digging into my waist as he stood behind me, he was always there when I closed my eyes.

“Try to sleep,” Bree gently murmured, her hand still resting on my back. “I’m here. I won’t leave you.”

I nodded, but sleep felt impossible. How could I sleep after what had just happened? How could I close my eyes without seeing his face?

But even with Bree holding me, even with the promise of Jason coming back tomorrow, the fear stayed. It clung to me and it was impossible to ignore it.

So I stayed awake, lying in the safety of Bree’s arms, waiting for the night to pass.