It doesn’t take long for things to get a little crazy. Even I’m not comfortable with all the testosterone waves pulsing off each of these men. All I want to do is grab Izzy and get back home to our safe little nest.
Beck stands his ground for a few minutes, nods his head, and takes a step back next to me, effectively making my wall of resistance against Axel one body longer. Not once does he remove his arm from my waist. I’m too busy trying to figure out my body’s reaction to this man, so I don’t notice when Axel’s anger hits a breaking point.
“FUCK!” he roars. Literally roars. Goosebumps break out across my body, and each hair stands on end. He is nothing short of terrifying. “Get out of my goddamn way, Woman!”
Axel’s last outburst must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Before Axel can even continue his tirade, a spitting mad Greg pulls open the door supporting my back. One look at his face, and I know that he’s reached his breaking point, too. Honestly, I figured he would bust out the door the second that Axel screamed for ‘Isabelle’. After I right myself from losing the door that I had been leaning against, Beck and I calmly move to the side to get out of his way. I’m trying to keep my shit together, but inside, I’m anything but calm.
A million questions are running through my mind. Who has Izzy? Is she okay? Does she need me? Did I do the right thing keeping Axel away from her? Where is she?
I zone out with my worry when they start their pissing contest. I know Greg has Izzy’s best interest at heart, but part of me wonders if we’re doing the right thing by keeping these two apart. Something in my gut is telling me that things aren’t what they seem.
I know I’m not the poster child for relationships, or hell, even a supporter of them, but there is something to be said about getting some closure. I just want her to be happy, however she gets there, and by whatever she needs to do to achieve it.
When I hear the door slam shut, I focus my eyes back on the tall man standing before me. Shoulders hunched, hand rubbing the back of his neck, and now with the fury dimming slightly, you can feel the waves of confusion pulsating off of him. I feel the arm around my hips tighten slightly, and I look up into Beck’s concerned, chocolate brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” he whispers in my ear.
“Not really, but it’s not me I’m worried about.”
“Let me see your phone.” I don’t even question him. I pull my phone out of my back pocket and hand it to him. His large hand enveloping my iPhone makes it look like a tiny Lego. His long fingers hold me in a trance as he unlocks my phone and moves them across the screen in a slow dance that has my skin prickling with awareness. I jump slightly when I hear another phone ringing. He hands me back my phone, and with a twisted smile, and a gleam in his eyes, pulls his out of his front pocket.
“Will you call me when you get home? Let me know you’re okay, and that everything else is okay?”
I just nod my head, my heart pounding so violently in my chest, and my mind screaming at me over and over to run. There are times in my life when I want so desperately to let my steel-enforced walls down. To let a man in. To believe that they won’t hurt me. But then, I remember all the pain in the past, and all the pain they have ever caused me, and those walls just get thicker and thicker.
“You think maybe you can give me the words?” His smile grows when I nod again.
“Uh… yeah. I’ll let you know.” Because really, what else can I say here? If anything else, maybe in a few weeks when things calm down with Iz he could be a welcomed distraction. A way to relax and remind myself to enjoy life a little more.
The spell is broken when Axel takes a few steps back, and then drops to the floor in front of the closed door. As if even knowing she is in there is keeping him rooted to this very hallway. The handsome, blond man that arrived with them just shakes his head a few times and leans back as if settling in for a long stay. Beck mimics his move and sighs deeply. Of course, these men know something bigger than us is happening here. They just silently wait to help whichever side needs it.
I can’t keep my eyes off of Axel. He sits there on the floor with his head resting against the wall, eyes closed, but body so tightly wound that there isn’t a possibility he is relaxed. I want to hate him. I want to think he is this heartless bastard that just up and left Izzy and ignored her letters. I want to blame him for the series of events that followed. The ones that have had her thinking he has been dead and gone for the last decade plus. I want nothing more than to walk up to this man and kick him in the nuts for all that it’s worth.