“Ezra?”
“Hi Jord, I’m sorry to bother you,” I breathe, relieved to hear her voice. “Can I come over?”
“Yeah, of course. I’ve been calling you for days. Are you okay?” I sniffle, unable to keep a hold of my emotions.
“No, I’m really not.” I weep, wiping away the never-ending tears. “I’ll be there soon, and I’ll explain everything.”
“Okay, sure. I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll get the tub of B&J out.” I nod and hang up the call and rest my head against the cold pane of the glass, and gaze out. The sky was beginning to lighten as the sun started to rise.
God, what if I just made a mistake? I wonder if Damien was up yet. I jump startled when my phone buzzes, and my heart begins to race when I see his name appear on my phone. I stare at the phone, and my finger is itching to hit that accept button just to hear what he has to say, but I decline the call instead. The phone buzzes again with a message this time. I look down and read the message.
Damien:
Ezra, answer the phone.
Damien:
You’re going to get yourself killed. Tell me where you are. Right now.
Damien:
EZRA! ANSWER ME!
My phone starts ringing again. Every time I decline the call, he calls back right away. I turn the phone off and place it in my purse. The car rolls to a stop, and I look up and see Jordin’s apartment building. I take out five hundred-dollar bills and hand them to the driver, and he looks at me questioningly. “You never saw me. Understand?” He nods and takes the cash before he gets out of the car and opens the door for me to get out. I walk to the building and push the buzzer to Jordin’s apartment, and she buzzes me in right away.
I pull the door and walk in, wiping the tears away before I get in the elevator. I press the button to the fifteenth floor and push the code to her apartment. She has one of those penthouse apartments where the elevator opens right into the apartment. Jordin’s family are in the publishing business and are just as wealthy as mine. The elevator stops, and the doors swing open. I see Jordin standing there in a pair of baby blue silk shorts and a tank top. Her face falls when she sees me.
“Oh, Ezra…” I choke on a sob, and she runs over to me and pulls me into a hug, and I lose it. I break down and cry like I never have before at the mess that my life has become. Hoarse sobs escape me, and I just wanted to scream, hurl anything I could get my hands on. I couldn’t breathe. I felt as though I had a giant elephant sitting on my chest.
“I left him.” I wail into her chest, and she brushes her fingers through my hair soothingly.
“Come on, let's sit, and you can tell me all that happened.” She says, pulling back and leading me to her living room. We sit on the large white L-shaped sofa, and she hands me a box of tissues as we curl up under a fluffy cream-colored throw. “What happened, Ezra?”
I told her everything. The truth behind our fake marriage, the kidnapping, everything. “…and he just looked me in the eyes and told me he’s not capable of giving me what I want and never will.” Jordin was looking at me, her mouth agape and eyes unblinking. “Jordin?”
“That is…a lot of information to process.” She mutters, scratching her head. “So this insanely hot guy kidnapped you for ransom, forced you to marry him so you can stay alive, killed a bunch of people to protect you, went all Mr. Grey and made you his sex slave, you fell for him, but he keeps telling you that you two can never have a future because he’s an assassin? Am I getting this right?”
I nod and shrug. “That’s the gist of it, I guess. It sounds way worse when you put it like that.”
Jordin frowns, “Ezra, why didn’t you come to me sooner? I would have found a way to help you. Damien is a fucking psychopath, and you did the right thing leaving him. He’s as toxic as they come, babe and that’s not love. Keeping you locked up, forcing you to marry him, or he will kill everyone you love? Are you kidding me? Does that sound like a healthy person to you?”
“Jordin, I know it sounds awful, but it wasn’t like that. If I didn’t marry him, he would have been forced to kill me. He did it so that I could stay alive. If it weren’t for him, I would have been dead right now. He took a bullet for me and almost died. I just—”
“Ezra, babe, listen to me. The fish is always last to see the water. What you have is a case of Stockholm syndrome. Sounds a lot to me like he manipulated, used, and abused you. God only knows how many girls he’s done this to.”
“No, no, he’s not like that,” I tell her, and she sighs and takes my hand.
“You left for a reason because deep down in your heart, you know that it wasn’t right. But you’re safe now. You can stay here with me for as long as you need to.” I shake my head and rub my temples.
“No, I can’t stay here. Coming here was a mistake. I just put you in danger by telling you. If they find out, they will kill you too. These people won’t stop coming after me, and without Damien, I don’t know how or if I’ll even make it through the day. I have to disappear for good.”
Jordin frowns and shakes her head. “Ezra, no, we’ll go and talk to the police. They can put you in protective custody or something. Change your identity, start a whole new life.”
“No! I can’t go to cops.” I squeeze Jordin’s hand. “You have to promise me you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone Jordin. Absolutely no cops, do you understand?” I plead, and she hesitates but nods eventually.
“I won’t say a word, I promise.” She reassures me and hands me the tub of ice cream. “But you’re staying with me for a few days till we can figure something out, okay?” I nod and stare at the ice cream in my hand. “You’re going to be okay. You’ll get over this.”
I shrug and poke the spoon in the ice cream. “No, I won’t. I’m in love with him, Jordin. I’ve never felt like this about anyone. I was ready to give up everything just to be with him. I accepted him with all his flaws and fucked up issues, but for some reason, he just can’t see us having a future. He doesn’t want me, and I don’t understand why! I loved him regardless of what he’s put me through.” I admit sobbing into my hand. “I just couldn’t make him love me back. I wasn’t enough.” I cry and wipe the endless tears that stream down my cheeks.