Always and Forever || Evan Buckley || 9-1-1 (Book 3)

T-H-I-R-T-Y F-I-V-E

"The kitchen is one of my favorite parts of this house. I can see you baking in it for the kids' birthday parties and the holidays. I know how much you love doing that." He beamed. Yeah, he definitely has lost it.

"Ian, you need to stop," Shaking my head in disbelief, I managed to get my arm out of his grip. "We both know that this won't ever happen. This dream has been dead for years, and you need to accept that just like I have."

And just like that, I could see and feel something in him switching. His smile turned into a straight line, clearly having lost his patience with me.

Forcing myself to meet his eyes, I took a small step back at the sudden furious look in his icy blue eyes.

Without warning, he slapped me across my face with such force that I stumbled back. Before I could lose my balance and hit the ground, I quickly managed to hold onto the closest wall to steady myself.

"You see what you make me do?" He inquired, gently wiping the blood from my bottom lip with his thumb. "I don't want to hit you like this, but you are giving me no choice, Aggie. Why can't you, for once, let us be happy together like we deserve?"

I stayed quiet.

As tears rose in my eyes, I did not dare to look at him again. I could feel my hands shaking uncontrollably, knowing I was on the verge of a breakdown, but I tried to hold myself together.

If I had learned anything in my therapy sessions, it definitely was that there was no way I could let my abuser see how much power he still had over me. Even after years had passed, and as much as I hate to admit it out loud, Ian still had some control over me that I couldn't entirely take back, no matter how hard I tried. The thought of it infuriated me because the weakness I felt when I was near him was shameful and repulsive.

"I'm sorry, Aggie, but you must watch your mouth, especially when you say things you don't really mean." He added, caressing my cheek with his rough fingers.

Not wanting to be touched by him, I moved my face and took another step back. I wanted-no, I needed to get out of here. I eyed how far I was from the front door, but before I could run for it, Ian reacted quicker than I did, grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling my head back with force, making me cry in pain.

"If you-if you really love me, then why are you doing this to me?" I asked through gritted teeth. "If you really did love me like you say you do, you would let me go."

He pulled on my hair harder, throwing me to the ground. I winced after my hipbone made contact with the wooden floor. As I tried to pull myself to my knees, I felt Ian's shoe hitting my stomach, knocking the air right out of my lungs. Curling up on the floor, I tried to take deep breaths through the searing pain I felt.

Part of me knew what I was getting into when I made a deal with him earlier over the phone. Still, another part of me, a foolish part, was hoping that he wouldn't turn into the monster he turned into last time because I was not emotionally stable enough to experience that nightmare again, yet here we were.

"Let you go so you can run right into his arms?" Ian laughed, turning me onto my back with his foot before kicking me again. "I rather kill you than let him have you, Agatha." He added, taking something out of his back pocket.

I held my breath at the sight of his gun. Believing he did not have a weapon earlier was another stupid assumption I made.

Ian: 2. Agatha: 0.