letting you get away from me. You’re mine, and if you think you can just leave, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“Let me go!” Emily screamed again.
“Tell me who he is,” Scott replied, putting his hands in a chokehold around her neck.
“There isn’t anyone else,” Emily yelled, her voice turning from a yell to a whimper as Scott cut off her air supply. She started to panic as the world around her started to fade to black. She hadn’t thought this through. How far was Scott going to take this little show? He wouldn’t actually kill her, would he?
In that moment, Emily wasn’t so sure.
Just when she started to wonder if the gray walls of the apartment hallway would be the last thing she ever saw, Scott suddenly loosened his grip and howled in pain. Emily looked up, startled to see one of her neighbors standing behind Scott with a crowbar in his hands. Scott was limping off to the left, holding one of his legs in his hands. He pulled his hands away to reveal a splash or bright, red blood.
“Shit, man. What the hell,” Scott said, turning to his attacker. He lunged toward Emily’s neighbor, but the neighbor held the crowbar up, stopping Scott in his tracks.
“Not so fast, buddy,” the neighbor said. You take one more step toward me or the girl, and I’ll smash your head in. And trust me, it’s going to feel much worse than that gash on your leg. Now, get out of here and don’t fucking show your face around here again.”
Scott paused and looked at Emily, then looked back at the attacker. Emily gasped for air, trying to catch her breath and praying that Scott would just leave without making a scene. After a few seconds, Scott sneered again and headed toward the stairs.
“Whatever,” he said. “I don’t have time for this. But this discussion isn’t through, Emily. I’m going to find out who your new man is and tear him to pieces.”
Scott disappeared down the stairwell, and Emily felt a rush of relief flood her. Scott was a coward, when it came down to it. If someone showed up that he knew was bigger than him or had the upper hand in a fight, Scott would run away. He always said he didn’t have time for silly fights, but the truth was that he didn’t have the guts for a fight.
Emily turned to look at her neighbor, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment and shame. “Sorry,” she said. “I guess he got a little out of hand. Thanks for rescuing me.”
The neighbor huffed, and gave Emily a look that said he wasn’t fooled. “Seems to me, from the sounds of the fights you two are always having, that he’s always getting a little out of hand. Why don’t you get a restraining order against him? Or a gun. Or both.”
Emily shrugged. She started to say that he wasn’t usually that bad, but the words stuck in her throat. He was usually that bad, and Emily was tired of defending him. Besides, her neighbor had undoubtedly heard Scott flying off the handle numerous times. It was no use trying to pretend that it didn’t happen.
“I don’t really want to get the law involved,” Emily said weakly.
The man tapped his crowbar on the ground a few times. “Well, I understand that, I guess. I’ve got my own reasons for avoiding the cops. But I’m telling you right now, if that fool comes around again I’m calling the cops on him. I’m tired of hearing him beat you up. I don’t want to do nothing about it and have it on my conscience.”
“I understand,” Emily said. “Thanks again for your help.”
The man grunted again, and then disappeared into apartment 321. Emily hadn’t even introduced herself or asked for his name, and she got the impression that he wasn’t the kind of guy who was into small talk. With shaking hands, Emily picked up her gear bag from where it had fallen several feet away, silently praying that her camera wasn’t broken. She fished out her keys and opened her apartment door, then stepped inside and locked and dead bolted it behind her. Not that a deadbolt would
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