She took a deep breath and dropped her gaze to lap. “I slept late, then got up, made coffee, and had some toast. Then I cleaned and did some blog work, before I had a bath and read for a bit. When I came back out, they were on the counter, and that’s when I sent you a text.”
When she finally looked at me, my blood began to boil. Utter defeat plastered her face, and the Ashlyn that began to reappear over the past few weeks had been stolen.
“It was Lachlan, wasn’t it? He was in here,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with me, yet contradicting themselves. One minute she looked like she was begging with me to tell her that he hadn’t been here, but then she was begging me to confirm her biggest fears.
“Who has keys to your apartment?” I stammered over my words. I already knew the answer, but it was the only way I could confirm her fears without saying the fucker’s name. If I said his name I knew I’d completely lose it, and losing it was something I couldn’t do while Ashlyn was on a one-way course to losing it herself.
“He could have come into the bathroom.” She shot up from the couch as the reality of the situation hit her. Her face clouded with anger, and her eyes, once fearful, now simmered with hatred and complete frustration. “Josh, he could have come into the bathroom while I was in there. I was here on my own. Shit, I didn’t even have my phone with me.”
She stormed out of the living room, hips swinging, hair flying behind her like a sheet on a windy day, and disappeared down the hall like a woman with a score to settle.
“Where the fucking fuck are you?” She growled in frustration. It was evident in her emphasis of the word fuck that she was beyond pissed.
Tentatively, I stepped into her bedroom to find her ripping at her bedding and throwing pillows to the floor. She was like a woman possessed, like a tornado on a mission to completely destroy anything in its path.
“Ashy, you’ve got to settle down.”
Immediately it hit me that I’d made a mistake when her body went rigid and she whipped around and offered me a hellish glare.
“Settle down?” She scoffed in disbelief. “He came into my house, Josh, and put the flowers I hate on my counter like it was some kind of prize. Worse still, he made me think they were from you, and in that moment I fucking liked roses because they were from you. You, Josh, not my psychotic ex-boyfriend, or whatever the hell he was, because apparently we weren’t dating when he put his cock in another chick’s pussy. I am seething mad. No, it’s beyond that. I am livid, and when I find my phone I will be telling him exactly that. This shit needs to stop. Now I’m not going to be able to take a shower or bath without thinking someone is walking around my apartment. He doesn’t deserve that control.”
What could I possibly say to that? I leaned against the doorframe, crossed my arms over my chest, and waited. Even though I knew she was ready to rip Lachlan a new asshole, I also knew that she would break when reality finally hit her, and I would make sure I was here to pick up the pieces.
With a hoot, she found her phone and waved it frantically at me like she had discovered gold. I pushed off the door and headed toward her before she could dial. My hand grabbed hers and halted her movements. She looked at up me, her wide eyes shimmering with indecision and contemplation.
“Let me do this, Josh,” she whispered. The fierceness in her had all but dissolved.
“I’m staying in here while you call him,” I stated, and took a seat on the edge of her bed.
Ashlyn began pacing as she held her phone to her ear. “He isn’t answering,” she hissed in frustration with a scowl etched firmly on her face. Even when she was beyond pissed, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world. “Why won’t he answer? See, that just pisses me off even more. Right, I’m leaving him a message.”
The caveman within me couldn’t wait to come face to face with him again. I’d enjoy every fucking part of destroying him. The fact that he had come into Ashlyn’s house without her knowing fucked with my head. What kind of asshole does that, and why? What did he honestly think he would achieve by putting fear in Ashlyn? He was an absolute mother fucker, and he would not be getting anywhere near her again. As soon as she was done with this call, we were heading to Lowe’s and getting new locks. That would be step one.
“Lachlan. This is Ashlyn. I would appreciate if you did not step foot in my apartment again. You do, and I will be calling the police. My brother, his best friend, and Josh’s uncle are all in the force, so think about that. Yes, this is a fucking threat. Do not come into my fucking apartment a-fucking-gain. Forget me, because I am quickly forgetting you.” She jammed her finger on the screen and then dropped her phone to the floor.
I shot up from the bed and wrapped my arms around her, and she didn’t fight me. There was no way Lachlan would have answered the call. He was playing with her. He was making sure he had the upper hand. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to absolutely, without a doubt, destroy him. First the engagement party debacle, and now this. I couldn’t let him have another opportunity at her. She was mine to protect and, although I would forever want to comfort her, I didn’t want to have to comfort her due to the fucked up mind games of Lachlan Johnson.
“Let’s take a trip to Lowe’s,” I said softly.
Her head lifted from its place on my chest. “Lowe’s?”
“You are about to see my handyman skills on display. I’m changing your locks and getting you a deadbolt. No one but me and you are getting into this apartment without an invitation.”
Her smile was a welcome sign. “It’s very confident of you to think I’d give you a key, Joshua.”
“Do you really want to get out of bed in the middle of the night to let me in? After a night out with Duke, I may want to come and spoon.”
“You want to spoon?” She laughed as we made our way to the door.
“Tonight we spoon and, if you’re lucky, tomorrow we might spoon again.”
“Josh, there are rules.”
“And I told you, I’m all about breaking your rules.”
“You are impossible,” she said with a shake of her head.
I counted that as a win.
An hour later, after one trip to Lowe’s, two arguments over the positives of spooning, and three new locks, I was back in Ashlyn’s apartment, changing the locks on her door while she was on the couch with her kindle. During our trip to Lowe’s, she never left my side. She fell into moments of silence before she’d offer me a small smile and come back to me. I told stupid jokes, which caused her to giggle and tell me I was an idiot. I had never been more thankful to be insulted in my life, because it meant that Lachlan and his fucked up actions weren’t winning and the carefree Ashlyn was still with me.
“Why do you think he is doing this?” Ashlyn’s voice sounded behind me.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, before I shoved the screwdriver in my back pocket and turned to face her. The feisty woman that held my heart in her hands now looked like a meek little girl, desperate for reassurance and answers. It pained me to no end.
I crossed the living room and sat on the couch beside her. She shifted slightly closer to me, then lifted the blanket that was covering her legs and offered some to me.
I covered my bare feet, and replied with the only answer I could come up with, “He is realizing the mistake he made of letting you go.”
“There are a billion better ways of saying sorry than breaking into someone’s house and giving them their most hated flowers.” She sighed in defeat. “What would you do? I mean to say sorry.”
I didn’t even need to consider my answer, because there was only one response. “If I had you, Ashlyn, there is no way in hell that I’d do anything to hurt you. I certainly wouldn’t be putting my dick anywhere near another chick. To have you would be the greatest gift.”