A/N: I've been waiting to publish this part and I would've waited until tomorrow but I'm too excited to. So, here you go!
Ellie
With tears running down my face I rushed through the streets trying to get to a safer place. He was hot on my tail and I was so scared at this moment. I tried ending it this time, I was ready to let him go, but he wouldn't let me.
My eye was starting to swell shut and my face burned. I was trying to keep calm but it was hard to when a mad man was literally on my tale. I quickly called Leo so that he'd know I was coming.
"Ellie?"
"He's gone crazy! He-He just snapped! I'm really scared." I whimpered, my body shaking
"Where are you?" He asked urgently
"In my car....and he's following me." I swallowed
"How far away are you?"
"I'm a few minutes away-"
CRASH!
I felt a violent push from the back end and felt my car swerve. screaming, I fought to control it the best I could, barely avoiding crashing into a tree. I got back onto the road again and pushed my foot onto the gas as hard as I could.
"Ellie!? What was that noise, you there? I heard Leo yelling
I grabbed the phone that miraculously landed on the passenger seat and put it close to my ear with shaking hands.
"He just hit the back of me."
"How far are you!?"
"I'm around the corner." I said shakily
I literally turned the next bend on two tires and raced up Leo's drive way. I hit the brakes hard and quickly cut off the car, rushing out of my drivers side not even bothering to shut the door. Leo was running towards me. I ran into his arms and he hugged me tight to him. I was shaking uncontrollably and could hardly breathe.
"Shit, what did he do to you? What happened" Leo asked horrified, holding me arm's length ahead of him
"I tried breaking up with him." I said faintly
Soon I heard tires squeal behind me and the trembling only intensified.
"Get behind me." He said sharply.
I complied quickly.
I heard a door slam shut and cowered behind Leo as if his very presence could make me disappear.
"I won't let him hurt you." He murmured to me
"Of course you would run to him. Bitch, you never cease to disappoint me."
"Don't talk to her that way." Leo said grimly, pushing me more behind him
"This doesn't concern you Leo. Now move out of the way." Chris slurred
I heard the shift of gravel as Chris got closer.
"Take one more step and you'll regret it." Leo growled
"Move out of the way! What I do with my woman is none of your business."
He reached around Leo to grab me, but Leo in turn punched him and he staggered back, clutching his nose
"Shit that hurts!"
I peeked around Leo and saw that Chris' nose was running like a faucet
"Get the hell off of my property you piece of shit! Don't come back or come near Ellie again."
Chris laughed humorlessly.
"So what, you think being a hero is gonna get her back huh?"
"That's not what this is about. You're a fucking bitch that couldn't make it in the army so now you decide to beat on your own girlfriend?"
"I left the army with honors!" He yelled
Leo laughed mockingly.
"Honors!? No, I looked into you, and you were discharged for getting your fellow Sergeant killed."
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
"I do. Your drunken ass stepped on an IED, and he had to save your sorry ass from getting blown to bits! That man, your best friend, had a family to go home to. All you had, was some liquor!" Leo taunted.
"Shut up!" Chris barked
"Leo." I said in warning, hoping he'd stop
But he ignored me and started walking closer towards Chris and I tried stopping him, but he kept going.
"So let's count off the list: disgraced discharge, alcoholic, abuser. My, you surely aren't trying to better yourself." He taunted
"I said shut up!"
As I watched this go on back and forth....ok, one sidedly, I couldn't help but notice how broken Chris was in this moment. He was starting to lose it, losing his grip even more on his sanity and reality. Finding out that his best friend died differently than what Chris told me dissolved all of my feelings for him. From being treated like a whore, to being his own personal punching bag, I was done with it all and I finally found my voice.
"We're over Chris."
Any taunting that Leo was presently doing stopped dead in it's tracks as my small yet strong voice was heard.
"What the fuck do you mean!?" He yelled, about to lunge for me
Leo straight armed him and kept him back.
"Do you want a broken eye socket to match that nose of yours? If you don't, I suggest you don't take another step." He said grimly
He pushed and Chris stumbled back and fell, too drunk to stay in control of his simple motor functions. Over my better judgment, I slowly walk over to Chris. Getting close to him and seeing the blood on his face just made him look all the more unsettling.
"I'm done with you. We're no longer together."
He sat up quickly and I took a step back.
"You're not leaving me! I need you!" He growled, reaching for me once more.
His eyes were bloodshot and he looked around with a feral scowl on his face, like he was more animal than human at this point. No longer the sweet man I had come to appreciate being with.
"I am." I said with finality
"The lady has spoken."
"Ellie, please. Please don't do this." He begged
His eyes filled with drunken tears.
"Chris-"
I stopped talking when Leo stepped in front of me as if to shield me.
"The lady has spoken. Now, take your sorry ass home. Don't come back."
"I will have you Ellie, this isn't over!"
After a few tense minutes all I heard was the crash of glass, the slam of a car door, and then the squealing of tires and the smell of burnt rubber.
"He's gone." Leo said softly
"Thank you so much for that."
"It's no problem. Let's get you inside."
"N-no, that's ok. You've done more than I expected. I won't make myself a burden."
I'm not letting you go home tonight. And I'm calling Josh right now to tell him about this so that Brandi is also protected. You're safe here. And tomorrow we're going to sort everything out."
"We have work in the morning."
"No, we're taking the day off. There are some things we need to talk about."
"What kind of things?" I asked
"We'll discuss this in the morning. Now, come on, we need to get you taken care of."
He led me into the house leaving all of the chaos outside as the door closed shut behind me.