“Hey, Mel,” Sophie answered.

“Don’t say I told you so,” Mel whispered in a hurried tone.

“Mel? You’re scaring me.” Sophie stomach dropped.

“Last night he drank way too much. Surprise,” she ended with angry sarcasm. “It’s like he doesn’t stop.”

“Where are you? Did he hurt you?” Sophie’s words were rushed as panic tightened her throat.

“That ass keeps marking me up. How am I supposed to make any money covered in bruises?” Mel fumed but kept her voice low.

“Where is he?” Sophie questioned.

“He’s here. He’s all right now, begged my forgiveness and all that shit I’m tired of hearing. He thinks I forgave him. I want to leave but I’m scared that he’ll go berserk if he sees me trying to get my suitcases out the door. He won’t let me out of his sight even to go to the washroom. I think he has a feeling I might take off.”

“What do you want me to do? Can you leave your stuff?” Sophie asked hopefully.

“No, I need my things, and if I leave it he’ll probably burn it or something,” Mel protested.

“I’m gonna come and get you. Where is his place?” Sophie was determined to get Mel out of that situation.

“It’s that old shit hole on Merrill’s street. Thanks, Sophie, you are the one person I can always count on.”

“Always, be there soon.”

Sophie hung up her phone, knowing she needed to get to Mel as soon as possible. She walked across the hall to Ashton’s room and knocked on the door. She’d heard him come back earlier from his run. “Come in,” he called distractedly.

When Sophie opened his door he was on his computer. Whatever he was doing was demanding of his attention; he didn’t look up as she walked in. “I have to call you back, Gabe,” he said before ending his call.

“What would I have to do to let me borrow your car?” she blurted.

He looked up at her with a surprised scowl. “A lot…and don’t tell me you want to borrow my car to run off to a booty call with that Sam guy.”

“What?” Sophie was confused by his comment until she remembered telling him she had a thing for Sam from work. “No…I should have known better than to ask you.” Sophie sighed as she turned to head downstairs. She knew the bus came every twenty minutes.

“Sophie…wait!” Ashton called from the top of the stairs. He was pulling a sweater on over his head, his hair still damp from his shower.

“I don’t have time, Ashton, I gotta catch the bus.”

“Stop running away from me, please…why do you need my car?” His voice was pleading. “I can tell you’re upset about something. I wouldn’t have given you a hard time if I knew it was important.”

Sophie took a deep breath and stared back at him, unsure of her next move.

“I’ll drive,” he said before walking past her and heading for the garage. Sophie followed him quietly. She didn’t explain until she slid into the passenger’s seat. “My friend Mel is in trouble with an abusive boyfriend. I have to get to her.” Sophie felt a tear slip down her cheek. She was terrified for Mel.

“Where?”

***

Sophie knocked on Corbin’s apartment door. She felt better knowing that Ashton was with her. He looked intimidating standing beside her with his tall, solid build. A stern scowl weighed upon his features, making him look fierce. Ashton was a strong contrast to her own small, non-threatening presence. He made her feel braver walking into the situation.

No one came to the door but Sophie could make out muffled voices from within. Mel hadn’t answered her phone when Sophie tried calling back. She was getting worried the situation might have took a turn for the worse.

“Who did you call, bitch?” Sophie stilled when she heard the angry male voice break the silence.

“No one.” Mel’s voice sounded small. “I didn’t call anyone.” Her words were followed by a scream that caused Sophie to panic. She banged on the door frantically, screaming for Mel to open it. Ashton threw the weight of his body into the door. His shoulder met it with a resounding crack, giving way to the force of the blow. Sophie’s eyes immediately found Mel, her hand against her reddened cheek. Tears washed down Sophie’s face without restraint. She wanted to run to Mel, but Corbin stood between them. The shock of their intrusion melted from his face to show rage rolling off him in crashing waves. He threw his beer bottle against the wall, glass showering down to the floor.

“Who the fuck are you?” Corbin hollered with a raw voice. He looked bleary-eyed and his appearance was scruffy. He was no longer the well-groomed charming guy that had swept Mel off her feet. His true colors were shining through and they were far from beautiful. Sophie felt guilty for letting her friend fall so deep into this horrible situation.

“Get Mel and get out of here,” Ashton ordered Sophie, keeping his eyes on Corbin.

“She ain’t going nowhere with you. She’s mine,” Corbin sneered.

Ashton was a good half foot taller than him, but Corbin was too drunk to notice he was at a serious disadvantage. His unfocused gaze didn’t register the danger Ashton presented. The scale was tipped in Ashton’s favor, but Corbin was unpredictable—his fuse was obviously short and he had no sense of mind in his intoxicated state.

“Let’s get your stuff.” Sophie reached out for her. Mel shot a nervous glance toward Corbin before slowly moving toward Sophie. Corbin growled before taking an exaggerated swing at Ashton. He stumbled clumsily in his drunken state, allowing Ashton an easy opening. His fist met Corbin’s face, knocking him back onto the floor amongst the broken glass. Blood exploded from Corbin’s nose, running down his face and staining his white shirt.

Sophie hurried Mel down the hall to gather her things. The sounds of the struggle between Ashton and Corbin carried down the hall, fueling their steps. Mel threw all her things in her bag, zipping it quickly before running to the bathroom. Corbin’s bedroom was in the same cluttered, untidy state as his car. Clothes covered the floor and spilled from his closet. Mel slid all her things off the bathroom counter, dropping them into another bag.

Sophie took it from Mel’s shaking hands. “Is this everything you need?” Mel merely nodded. Sophie took her hand in hers and led her back down the hall.

Corbin’s unconscious body was sprawled out on the floor. The girls looked up at Ashton, who was shaking out the pain in his hand. “He wouldn’t stop coming at me. I had to put him out.”

Mel walked up to Corbin, giving him a kick in his side. “Goodbye, fucker. Hope you have a shit life.” Mel turned around and looked at both Sophie and Ashton. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Sophie crawled in the back seat of Ashton’s car, wrapping her arms around Mel’s shoulders. Mel was no longer shaking; relief allowed both of them to relax slightly. Sophie soothed her friend and waited for her to break the silence.

“From the look of you, you must be the guy that has been making Sophie act all weird lately.” Mel was the first to break the heavy silence.

“Mel.” Sophie’s eyes widened in disbelief. “She obviously doesn’t have a filter.” Sophie sighed, her eyes meeting Ashton’s in the rearview mirror.

“Are you going to tell me who the hot guy is?” Mel insisted.

Sophie could tell Ashton was enjoying this.

“I just started working for his grandmother. He offered to drive me,” Sophie explained, hoping Mel would not dig any further. “Enough about me. Are you okay?” Sophie could see fresh bruises forming on Mel’s arms and her lip was swollen.

“I’ll be fine. Just need to sleep.” Mel let her shoulders collapse into Sophie. “A motel would be heaven right now.” She sighed. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Sophie and knight in shining armor guy.”

“Anytime, Mel.” Sophie smiled. “I’m just glad it’s over. No more Corbin, right?”

“Right,” Mel confirmed whole-heartedly.