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  Zack looked at her, disgusted. "Gross, Brandi. You're so disgusting."

  "Zack, please," she moaned, turning her head to the side. "I really don't feel good."

  He sighed. "If I untie you and you try anything, I'll fucking kill you. I have nothing to lose."

  "Yes, fine. I promise I won't. Just untie me before I puke all over my hair."

  Zack untied the ropes and Brandi sat up, dizzy. She pulled the garbage can to her and put her head down. She took a few deep breaths and the nausea slowly passed. She raised her head. "It passed. I'm sorry."

  Zack rolled his eyes. "You’re such a drama queen. Lay down. We have at least an hour before your mom and that cop get home. I need to fuck you real quick."

  Brandi tried to keep from crying. "Ok," she whispered, laying back. He smirked at her, pushing her dress up over her hips. He pulled off her panties and sat back, studying her. "You still need to lose some weight. I'll keep you on a strict...fuck!" He yelled as Brandi kicked him hard in the face. "Oh you fucking bitch. You broke my fucking nose!"

  Brandi rolled on the floor and scrambled away. "Help!" She screamed as she ran down the stairs. She heard Zack right behind her as she grabbed a knife from the knife block. He grabbed her by the hair and she screamed, flying back and crashing into the wall. "Don't touch me!" She cried, clutching the knife in front of her. "Leave me alone!"

  Zack stared between her and the knife, blood streaming down his face. "Put the knife down, Brandi."

  "Fuck you!" She screamed. "Don't fucking move." She inched closer to the phone, not taking her eyes off of Zack. "If you move, I swear to god I'll stab you."

  Zack looked at her remorsefully. "I'm so sorry, baby. I love you."

  "No you don't," Brandi whispered. "You don't, and you never did." She picked up the phone and called the police. "There's a man..."

  Zack lunged for her and tried to knock the knife out of her hand. She dropped the phone and swung the knife around, slashing him in the arm. "FUCK!" He roared. "Oh you stupid cunt. I'm gonna kill you!"

  Brandi held the knife in front of her as he clutched his arm. "Fuck you, Zack. I hate you."

  He glared at her hatefully.

  "You think I ruined your life? Because you raped me and beat me to the point where I was in the hospital for two weeks? You sick, delusional piece of shit. YOU did this. And you're going to jail."

  Zack laughed a weak laugh. "You choose now to grow some balls? Please, Brandi. You're nothing but a fuck toy. That's all I wanted you for. And you weren't even good at that."

  Brandi heard sirens in the distance. "I'd tell you that you destroyed my life, but I think that'd just make you happy. So how about this. You're going to jail. I'm going to have an awesome life. And the only "fuck toy" is going to be you when some guy decides to make you his bitch."

  Zack glared at her. "You know what? That's great, Brandi. Guess what. You'll never be happy. Because you're a weak, pathetic little girl. The only thing you're good at is crying. Crying and spreading your legs.”

  Brandi shrugged. "Well, maybe. But I'd rather spend my life crying and spreading my legs for Eric than crying and getting bent over like you'll be doing."

  Zack narrowed his eyes at her. "Put the knife down, Brandi."

  "Not a fucking chance."

  His eyes went soft and pleading. "Baby, please. Look into my eyes and tell me that you don't still love me. I love you. We can be happy together."

  Brandi crouched down, staring into his dark eyes. The eyes she used to find sexy were now just scary. "Nope. Noth…" Zack kicked the knife out of her hand. It went flying across the room and Brandi lunged for it. Zack grabbed her and slammed her down. The sirens were even closer.

  "Come on, Brandi. Hurry." He hauled her up as she kicked and swung her arms. "Stop fighting," he said as he dragged her to the door. "You're just making it worse for yourself later."

  Brandi stomped on his foot as hard as she could. "Fuck!" He said, loosening his grip. Brandi slid out of his hold and turned around, smashing him in the face with her palm. "Ahh FUCK!" He roared. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "Fuck you, you bitch," he muttered, wrapping his hands around her throat. "You could have just come with me. Now it's too late."

  Brandi gasped for breath. Her vision blurred as Zack's angry face loomed above her. She scratched at him until she found her target.

  Zack screamed as Brandi dug her fingers into his sliced arm. He let go of her neck to try to swat her arm away. Brandi coughed and wheezed but refused to let go. She sat up, pushing Zack back into the wall. The door burst open and two officers ran in the kitchen, pointing their guns at Zack.

  Brandi fell back, sobbing. "Fuck you!" she yelled at Zack. One officer cuffed Zack and hauled him up. "I need a hospital," Zack snapped at the officer. "That bitch cut me."

  Eric ran through the door and saw Brandi on the floor. "Brandi!" He exclaimed, running to her. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"

  She shook her head, slowly standing up. "Why did you come back?"

  "Ben called me after you called 911. Him and your mom are on their way."

  Zack watched them, furious. "I knew it," he muttered. "You lying slut."

  Brandi kissed Eric as Zack’s face turned red. "Thank you for being here."

  "I’ll always be here, Brandi. I love you."

  Brandi looked into his eyes. "I love you too, Eric."

  Before the officer had a chance to stop him, Zack lunged at Eric. Eric punched Zack in the face as hard as he could and knocked him out cold. "Self defense," he said, smiling at the wide eyed officer. "But that felt really, really good."

  Brandi watched as the officers carried Zack out of the house. "He was in the basement," she said softly. "He saw us on Thanksgiving. I don't know how long he was there for. Probably the whole time. He was right there..." she broke off, tears forming in her eyes. Of all the ways that Zack had violated her, this somehow felt like the worst. The whole time she was terrified that he would come back, and he had been in her house.

  "Shh, it's ok," Eric said, holding her. "It's over now. He's gone."

  "It's over," Brandi repeated. Saying the words out loud did little to reassure her that Zack was really gone.

  "Did he hurt you?" Eric asked again quietly, dreading the answer. Brandi had to think for a second. The last ten minutes were such a blur that she hasn't even noticed if she was hurt. "No," she finally answered. "He tried to choke me, but I fought him off. And he threw me into the wall. But that's it. I'm ok."

  And with those words, she felt a small hope that maybe she would be.

  I'll Take It.

  Brandi stood in her backyard behind her mom, tears falling down her face. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, smiling.

  "And do you, Ben, take Lynn to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

  "I do," he said quietly, beaming down at Lynn.

  "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

  Brandi jumped up and down and clapped with everyone else as Ben and her mom kissed. They walked down the aisle giggling like teenagers in love and Brandi watched them, smiling.

  Paul came up to her and hugged her. "You look beautiful, honey. And I'm so proud of you."

  "Thanks, dad," she said. She had graduated college three days ago, and had a job lined up in public accounting where she would work until she could take her CPA exam. "Doesn't mom look beautiful?"

  He nodded, smiling softly. "Yeah. She does."

  Michelle came up to them with Aiden, who was almost five. Every time Brandi saw him, she couldn't believe how big he was getting. "Hi, Michelle. Hey, little buddy," she said, scooping up Aiden. "When did you get so big?"

  Aiden squirmed in her arms and she put him down, laughing. Michelle rolled her eyes and chased after him.

  "That kid has way too much energy. I'm glad Michelle stays home all day. By the ti
me I get home, he's all worn out and tired," Paul said. Brandi watched as Michelle tackled Aiden and swung him around. She still had trouble connecting with Michelle on a personal level, but she was able to get along with her. After all, everything had turned out for the best.

  "How's Eric?" Paul asked. Brandi smiled. "He's..."

  "Great," Eric interrupted, putting his arm around Brandi. "How are you, Mr. Warner?"

  "I'm good, Eric. And I told you, you can call me Paul. How's school going?"

  Brandi chuckled. Eric was too respectful to call her dad by his first name.

  "Really good," Eric said. "Hopefully only four more years till I get my PhD." He started talking about nuclear physics and Brandi put her hand up. "That's my cue," she said. "I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna go find Kayla." Brandi walked away, laughing to herself. Although Eric had grown even more handsome as he got older, he was still a nerd.

  Eric watched as Brandi walked away, admiring the way her soft curves filled out her dress. He tried not to think about what was underneath her dress as he turned back to Paul. Two years ago, Brandi had finally felt like she was ready for sex again. And to Eric's surprise, she was insatiable. He shook his thoughts away and glanced back at Brandi, making sure she was far enough away that she wouldn't hear him. "Thank God," he said to Paul. "I don't want to talk about physics. I want to ask you a question."

  Brandi and Kayla stood by the appetizer table. "This is so amazing," Brandi said, eating another bacon wrapped scallop. "Why are we standing here? Let's go sit somewhere before my dress bursts at the seams."

  "Not a chance," Kayla said, grabbing another pig in a blanket. "Baby wants carbs and sugar. Sorry, but I have no control over what I eat anymore. Little Adrian runs the show now." She rubbed her very pregnant belly and Brandi laughed. "I can't wait till he comes out. I'm excited to be an auntie."

  Kayla had gotten pregnant by accident, before she had a chance to finish college. Luckily, she only had one more semester to go after Adrian was born. As soon as Kyle found out she was pregnant, he proposed to her. They didn't have a wedding date set yet, but Kayla still spent all of her free time looking at bridal magazines and wedding planning.

  "Mom!" Brandi cried, spotting her across the room. She ran over and gave her a hug. "You look so beautiful. And Ben, you look handsome. Are you excited for your honeymoon?"

  Ben grinned. "Can't wait. Don't trash the place while we're gone."

  Brandi laughed. "Yeah, you know me. Such a party animal."

  Ben and Lynn continued making their rounds as Brandi watched them. Her mom and her had never had a better relationship than they did right now, and she owed it all to Ben. Lynn still worked part time at the hospital and Ben was a few years away from retirement.

  Zack was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Brandi finally felt like she could close that chapter of her life. She wasn't too afraid of him getting out on good behavior. Somehow, that didn't seem likely. She left Kayla at the snack table and went outside to find Eric. "Hey," she said once she found him. "What did you and my dad talk about?"

  "Nothing, really," he answered. "You look stunning today, sweetie."

  She hugged him close. "You look handsome as always. Do you think anyone would notice if we snuck upstairs?"

  Eric laughed. "Not if we go separately. I'll meet you up there in five, ok?" He kissed her and made his way inside, trying unsuccessfully to look casual. Brandi laughed, falling even more in love with him in that moment.

  Eric kissed Brandi goodbye after the wedding was over. "I'll be back later. I just have some errands to run."

  Brandi yawned. "Just come in when you get here. I'm gonna take a nap. You kind of wore me out."

  He grinned at his ego being stroked and left, wondering how he got so lucky to end up with a girl as smart and sexy as Brandi Warner. He thought about his conversation with Paul and smiled. Brandi was in for the surprise of her life.

  He drove to the jewelry store and took a deep breath, shaking out his nerves. He must have looked lost, because he was approached right away. "I'm looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend," he told the older man. "She's pretty, simple and classy."

  The man smiled at him. "That's great. How long have you been together?"

  "Technically? Almost five years. But I've loved her for much longer than that."

  "Lucky guy," the salesman commented.

  "You got that right," Eric said. The salesman showed him a few rings. As soon as Eric saw the third ring, he knew it was perfect for Brandi. White gold with a princess cut diamond. Simple, classy and beautiful. "This is the one," he said, breaking into a slow grin. He looked up at the salesman. "It's perfect. I'll take it."

  Thank you all for reading my book. Please rate my book and like me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CelistarProductions for more information and news about upcoming books!