°24•Settle this

That little minx. Tch, the things I do for her. If she keeps this up, she’ll be the death of me. I have to say, though, I can’t wait to get her back for this. I already have something in mind. What can I say? I’m not a jerk for nothing. While I think of this, I can’t keep a smirk off my face.

I remember the first time she called me a jerk.

“Look, babe, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I’m not the commitment kind of guy. I can’t give you what you want.”

“What do you even know what I want? You don’t even know me.” Tory replies.

“I just wanted to give you a heads up. We fucked for one night, and it was just that, nothing more.”

She rolls her eyes. “I see you’re being a jerk again.”

“I prefer being a jerk than a liar.”

Who’s laughing now? I think to myself as I shake my head at the memory.

Fuck, I’m glad the bagel place is across the street from her apartment. She had to have it so desperately. Fucking bagel couldn’t wait till morning.

As I enter the little restaurant, my cell starts ringing, speaking of the devil. I smile when I see her name on the screen.

Before I can even say a single word, what I hear on the other side of the call has my skin crawling.

“What the fuck? So you think you can distract me so you can call him? HIM?”

And then the call ended. Was that fucking Davis? I wonder.

I don’t remember leaving the restaurant. One minute I’m answering the call, and the next, I’m in front of Tory’s apartment door. All I want is to get there as fast as I can, so I can beat the shit out of him. Rage has consumed me now.

As I kick the door, I don’t know if it’s the rage or adrenaline, but the door opens with one kick.

When I see what’s unfolding before my eyes, my blood boils. The rage that consumed me only a moment ago was nothing compared to what I felt at this moment. I had never felt such anger before.

That mother fucker is holding her by the neck, and his fingers are just about to enter her panties. Over my dead body, you fucker.

I jump over him before he can make another fucking move and shove him to the ground with brutal force. Once I’m above him, I don’t waste any time as I start to hit him, blow after blow after blow.

I can see the blood spread all over him and on the floor around his head.

“You dare touch what’s mine. You think a low life like you can touch someone like her? I’ll fucking kill you, you motherfucker.”

Then I feel her tender hand on my shoulder, which instantly stops me.

“Levi, please stop, don’t kill him. I don’t want to lose you.” She manages to speak. Even in her condition, I see she’s struggling to maintain her balance.

I grab him by the collar and bring his face closer to mine. That bastard still has his eyes open, but there’s only fear in them now.

“Be grateful she just saved your puny, useless life. If it weren’t for her, you’d be six feet under.”

I release my hold on him, going to the side of his face and kicking him. I showed this a hundred times when I was a kicker for my team. Finally, the fucker loses consciousness.

Lucky son of a bitch, he deserves much worse, but maybe death is too easy for him, I think as I take the bottom of his shirt to remove his blood from my hands.

I turn towards Tory and take her gently in my arms as I sit on the couch with her on my lap and envelop her on the blanket that is lying there.

I bring her against me as much as possible so she knows I’m here. When her head touches my shoulder, she starts to cry. I soothe her with gentle words as I rock her gently from side to side.

“Levi, I don’t think I can spend another minute here.” I tighten my hold on her even more than I kiss the side of her face.

“Don't worry, babe. You won’t have to.” I’m about to say more when two police officers enter the apartment. I knew one of the neighbours would hear the commotion going on in here.

While one of the officers went to see Davis, the other came to us and began taking statements.

I will take over from here. I explained that I had left Tory for an errand, and the phone call made me turn back here to stop him before he raped her.

When it was Tory turn to give her statement, what she said stunned me, and I should’ve connected the dots sooner.

After she left where she lived before, Davis had trouble letting her go. For example, he went to her parent’s house trying to find out where she had gone and ended up with a slap to the face courtesy of Tory’s mother. The way Davis acted when he saw me with her and couldn’t stop looking at us with jealousy and envy as he looked at our joined hands. When he insisted she goes and see Katy even though she lost their baby, then she told the officer how he went through Judy’s cell phone information so he could find her. He was at the bar tonight, watching us dancing and what happened in her apartment when I wasn’t here to protect her.

Mother fucker!

If it weren’t for the cops, I would be glad to show him how I feel about him over and over again.

Eventually, I called her parents to let them know what happened, and now here we are at the hospital waiting on her results to see if she has a concussion from the attack.

But the kicker in all of this? That mother fucker, Davis, is here at the hospital being treated by the doctors. The cop won’t tell us what room he's in, though. I’m not a fool. I just have to search for the room that is guarded by an officer, just as Tory’s room is, only she’s a victim, and he’s a person of interest.

She’s far more important to me than for me to go hunting him down like the pig he is. We learned Divis isn’t going to press charges against me because he felt ashamed of what he did to Tory once he sobered up.

“Levi, I can’t go back there,” Tory says, interrupting my thoughts.

“You won’t have to, babe. You’re coming to live with me indefinitely. Or we could look for our new place if you prefer.” I say without batting an eye. Finally, a smile appears on her face.

“Of course, I want that, Levi. I love you, but are we ready for that?”

“I don’t think anyone is ever ready. We just do it because that’s what we want and how we feel.”

“Ok, then it’s settled. I’m coming to live with you until we find our own place, but no rush there.” That’s more like it. It’s all I want every fucking day, my woman happy with a smile on her face.