Meredith
The furious faces of Eliot and Chase stand a few feet away from us. In seconds, Eliot is in front of me and landing a strong punch to Jack's face. Chase appears next to me moments later and crouches down to my level as I sink to the floor.
"Are you OK? Did he hurt you?" Chase asks cupping my face in his hands and scanning me from head to toe.
"No, I think I'm good." I whisper, closing my eyes in relief.
"What about the baby?"
My hands automatically feel out my belly. I don't remember falling on it or anything.
"Baby's good too."
I open my eyes as I hear a crash and I look over at Jack sprawled out on the floor, bleeding from his nose and lip as Eliot stands above him growling. He sends his foot straight into Jack's stomach causing him to cough violently. I just sit there and stare as Eliot beats him to a pulp. It actually makes me feel a little better knowing he's getting what he deserves.
"Come on, let's get you out of here."
"Is Eliot going to kill him?" I ask as Chase gently lifts me from the floor and begins carrying me out of the house.
"Do you want him to?" Chase responds, his eyebrows raised.
I shake my head. As much as I dislike Jack, I don't want him dead. I just want him to be taught a lesson. He sold my house, he keeps me prisoner in the house, he won't take me to see my parents graves or come to doctors appointments with me... maybe he needs a lesson beaten into him about respecting me.
"Then he won't. He'll just beat him till he's content." Chase chuckles.
I sigh, resting my head against his chest as he carries me over to his car. He opens the back door and gently places me on the seat.
"What happened?" Chase asks softly as he leans against the car.
"It's the anniversary of my parents' death today so I wanted to go to the cemetery and put some flowers down. But Jack wouldn't take me, said he was working so I asked if I could just call Emily and ask if she'll take me. He got so angry. He kept saying that he was sick of my new friends and that I wasn't leaving the house for anything." I explain as I draw patterns on my belly with my fingers.
Chase sighs while glancing back at the house. The front door is wide open but from the angle of the car, I can't see inside. I just about hear the grunts and growls coming from the two men inside but none of it tells me what's happening.
"He had you against the wall when we came in. You were screaming."
"I tried to leave. I was about to call Emily when he grabbed me by my hair and pulled me back. We struggled a bit and then when you knocked on the door, he shoved me against the wall and put his hand over my mouth."
Chase scans me from head to toe once again frowning.
"We'll get you checked out at the hospital." I begin to protest but he simply raises his hand at me. I give in.
"Fine."
Just then Eliot comes storming out of the house, his face like thunder as he approaches us. Chase moves away from me and then Eliot is next to me checking for injuries and muttering under his breath. I catch a few swear words and Jack's name so I assume he's cursing him under his breath.
"I'm fine Eliot. He didn't have the chance to hurt me." I tell him smiling reassuringly.
Eliot ignores me and continues to fuss, taking off his jacket and draping it over me. I giggle at his behaviour.
"Eliot. Thank you for the concern but honestly, I'm fine. You got here just in time."
"And if we didn't?" He snaps.
I swallow, my smile fading. I drop my gaze to my lap and bite my lip. I don't really want to think about what would have happened if they hadn't of turned up when they did. Anything could have happened. I hear Eliot sigh and then I feel his fingers tilting my chin up to look at him. Regret is clear in his eyes. He's hiding his anger quite well now that he's focusing on me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't like the thought of what could have happened if we didn't get here on time."
"But you did and you beat his arse so don't stress over something that never happened." He lets out a deep breath nodding at me.
"You're coming with us. You're not staying here with him."
I smile in thanks. I don't want to stay here anyway.
Eliot buckles me in and gently closes my door before climbing into the driver's seat as Chase gets into the passenger's seat. I relax a little more as we drive away from the house. The car journey is silent as I stare out the window at the passing trees while absent-mindedly drawing patterns on my belly again.
We must be driving for at least twenty minutes before the car begins slowing down and a beautiful house comes into view. It's massive and looks as if it should belong in a fairytale. Both men get out of the car and Eliot comes over to my side and opens the door for me. He unbuckles me and helps me out of the car. Just as he's closing the door, Emily comes rushing out of the house.
"Oh my god Mer, are you alright?" She rushes as she hugs me tight.
I squeeze her back.
"I'm good. Honestly." She lets me go and moves Eliot's jacket so it's wrapped around my shoulders. I smile gratefully and pull it tighter around me.
"Chase told me what happened. I swear I'm going to kill that man!" She snarls as her fists curl up in anger.
"I'm fine really. Eliot already beat him pretty bad." I tell her patting her arm in comfort.
"Why don't we get her inside babe?" Chase intervenes. He takes hold of her hand and pulls her towards the house, Eliot leading me behind.
"Right. Inside. She could probably do with sitting down." Chase hums in agreement, kissing her cheek causing me to melt on the inside. He loves her just as much as she loves him.
The inside of the house is just as beautiful and elegant as the outside and I find myself staring at the gorgeous paintings that hang on the wall as I'm lead down the hall and into a living room. Eliot has me sit down as Emily disappears somewhere. Chase flops down onto the sofa opposite me. As I catch his eye, he grins and lifts his feet up onto the table. Almost instantly, Eliot is knocking his feet off causing Chase to laugh. Clearly, that happens often and now Chase does it just to annoy him.
Emily comes back in with a mug in her hands. She places it down in front of me on the table and takes a seat next to me.
"Hot chocolate for the mummy to be."
"Thank you, Emily. You didn't have to." She waves my remark away and settles into the sofa cushions.
"Oh El, you should call Amber or Oliver." Chase tells Eliot as he fiddles with his phone.
"Why?"
"Who's Amber and Oliver?" I ask.
"So one of them can check over the little lady there." Chase motions over to me.
"I thought she wasn't hurt." Eliot panic's as he looks over at me for any signs of injury.
I roll my eyes and glare at Chase.
"I'm not. Who's Amber and Oliver anyway?"
"They're doctors." Emily answers me.
"And you just have them on hand for whenever you need them?"
All three of them glance at one another for a second and I narrow my eyes. Clearly, I'm missing something. It seems to be happening a lot lately.
"They're family doctors." Chase lies through his teeth. I know he's lying because he can't look me in the eye for too long, he glances to the left instead.
"Liar."
"Just call them Eliot. He shoved her against the wall and she's pregnant. You can't take any chances." Chase ignores my comment.
"OK, I'm calling them." Eliot leaves the room and I'm left in an awkward silence with Chase and Emily.
"Why do I always feel like I'm missing something with you lot?"
Emily offers me a smile and grabs the remote control to turn the TV on.
"Don't worry Mer, you'll soon know."
I frown. What will I soon know? Emily puts a film on and I reluctantly let the subject drop. A few minutes into the film, Eliot comes back in.
"Amber is on her way. She'll be here soon."
We all nod and continue watching the film as Eliot sits down on my other side. I rest against his side, letting my head fall onto his shoulder as my eyes start to feel heavy. I swear all I do these days is sleep. I feel his arm slip around my shoulder and pull me closer. As my eyes close, I catch Chase smiling at me and I manage a small smile back before falling asleep.
Pregnancy is exhausting.