Page 55 of Hold Me Down
My beautiful, perfect wife is at the stove cooking, still wearing her pajamas as if she did exactly as she promised and stayed downstairs. Her gaze meets mine in the blink of an eye, appearing angelic under the golden lights. She looks warm and comforting, like if I cuddled up beside her, we’d melt into an instant sleep. She looks like home. There’s nothing between us anymore—no doubt, fear, or confusion. I see her so perfectly. As she smiles at me, I feel faint. I’m drowning in her all over again, and I’ll happily sink to the bottom.
“Hey, how was…” She stops talking the moment she sees our haul, and her eyes widen. “Isallof that ice cream?”
“Hell yeah, it is!” Zeke nods as her wide eyes cut back to me in a worried squint. She can’t seem to help the smile trying to overtake her face, though.
“Diane insisted.” I shrug and smile back at her. She grimaces slightly, biting back a grin.
“Oh, okay. Well, Alex? You’ll be taking about ninety percent of that back to the Attic, right?” She laughs and turns back to the stove to stir whatever she’s making. Zeke starts taking the containers out of the bag, eyeing them like he’s trying to pick one out. The bags rustling against the counter draws Ashia’s attention again, causing her to look back and frown. “Um, absolutely not.” His gaze snaps to his sister. “I’m clearly making food. Put that in the freezer.”
“Alright,Mom. Damn.” Zeke sulks and starts putting it away. I lay the other bags, including the one with the blanket, on the counter next to him before walking up to my wife. She sets her spoon down and turns to face me, cradling her stomach in her hands as she leans back against the counter. Her lips curl in that perfect grin, like there was never a doubt in her mind that I would get through this—thatwewould get through this.
God, she’s never looked so pretty…
“How was it? Are you okay?” she asks like I didn’t call her in a panic.
“Yeah, I'm okay. I feel a lot better.” I lean into her, lowering my head to get closer to her face. “I’m sorry to keep you up. You didn’t have to do all of this.”
She shrugs and smirks, batting her eyelashes.
“I know, but I thought after all of that, you’d be hungry. And I wanted to wait for you to get home.” Her face falls into the sweetest look, her eyes softening with endearment. “I’d wait forever for you, you know that?”
My throat tightens.
“Yeah, I know.” I press my lips to hers, not wasting another moment to kiss her. As my arms snake around her, she grips the back of my neck with her hand, pulling me even closer. When we pull apart, it’s not for long. Because I’m a needy bastard, I nudge my face into hers, making her giggle.
I’ve been dying to hear that genuine amusement. She’s not trying to cover up some form of sadness with an empty joke or masking pain with humor. We’re just us right now. We’re existing in a world that we’ve made for ourselves and soaking it in. This is what we should’ve done. I should have taken every moment and held on to it as closely as I am right now.
A small thud startles us both, drawing our attention to the living room windows. My heart instantly races, and I pull Ashia against me, shielding her from the glass view. Everyone else’s gaze is locked outside as well. So, at least there’s some comfort in knowing that I’m not hearing something that isn’t there, but that ease vanishes in an instant. A small figure with dark curly hair stands from the grass and bolts down the hill, racing towards the gate.
“Is that Victoria?” I ask, already releasing Ashia and moving in that direction.
“That little bitch!” Zeke screams and takes off, sprinting out of the front door before the rest of us can even register what’s happening.
Alex, Carter, and I race after them, almost afraid of what he’ll do to her. Zeke’s hatred towards her has never been a secret, but my own anger starts to resurface. Why would she be sneaking out? We’ve made sure she’s taken care of, given her space and any necessities, and we’ve had plenty of open conversations. So why the hell is she running?!
Zeke reaches her before I can even step onto the front lawn, tackling her like a damn linebacker and sending them both tumbling down the bottom half of the hill. He lands on top of her and straddles her back, pinning her to the ground with a forceful hand behind her neck.
“And where the fuck do you think you’re going, little demon?” He pins her hands behind her back, holding them together with one hand while pushing her head into the ground with the other.Carter, Alex, and I finally reach them, standing over them to watch the struggle.
“Fuck you!” she shrieks at him and thrashes, trying to wiggle her way out. She looks like a dying fish under his weight and clearly doesn’t stand a chance, but she continues to jerk and buck regardless.
“What the hell, Victoria?! We had a deal!” I yell.
“Yeah, and you haven’t done shit!”
Zeke pushes his face towards her ear and jerks her head up, proving that he’s in control.
“You're going to need him in his right mind to get your sister! We needed a plan!”
“Bullshit!” She flings her head to the side in an attempt to hurt him, but he yanks her head back even further, stopping her before forcing her head into the grass once again. “You just want to use me to get to my father! I told you, I don’t care what happens to him! I just need my sister back and you're not doing a God damn thing!”
“And what are you going to do? If you give yourself up, do you really think they’ll just let her go? It’s not that simple!” I scream back at her and turn to Carter, knowing that I won’t be able to keep myself as calm I need to. “Tell Victoria the job.”
“We have images and surveillance of the house in Seattle, along with confirmation that it’s Elizabeth’s current residence. Danielle is there conducting the observation and mapping security’s patterns before our arrival tomorrow night. The jet is scheduled to leave at eight o’clock, and is already being prepared.”
“I was going to discuss it with youafterI had discussed it with my wife!” I turn back to her and meet her angry gaze. “All you had to do was fucking ask!” Her eyes thin into slits, like she’s not sure she believes me. After a few moments and deep breaths full of dirt, she cuts her eyes back at Zeke before looking up at me.
“Can you call off your dog now?” She grimaces, disgusted by his close proximity.
