“Elizabeth, that’s enough,” Cal says sternly in warning.

Snap.

That’s the sound of me losing my self-control. “No, fuck you, Callahan! Fuck yo—” I’m cut off by a strong backhand to the face. The force causes me to stumble slightly before I regain my footing. Immense pain explodes from my cheek, sending shock waves to my eye socket and through the rest of my head. The shock of what just happened renders me speechless as my mouth hangs open and I clutch my cheek. I blink several times trying to clear the tears in my eyes to regain focus. When I’m able to see and process what’s happening, I’m even more stunned if that’s possible.

Alex has Cal pinned up against the wall, his forearm against his throat. Cal’s eyes are as wide as saucers, but it’s Alex’s expression that causes me to pause. If there was ever a picture description of pure rage, this is it. His face is red, veins bulging out of his neck and forehead, eyes taking on a feral look as they bore into Cal’s, jaw is set tight as he talks through his teeth, and one hand is pulled back in a fist ready to connect with Cal’s face. I can only think of one word that depicts the way he looks right now.

Deadly.

“No!” I scream, running over to pull Alex off of Cal. “Stop!” Cal’s face is starting to turn red with the pressure being put on his throat, which is cutting off his airway.

“You piece of fucking shit. You want to hit someone, tough guy? Come on, hit me.” He grits out each word through clenched teeth. Alex is so close to him that their noses are touching. He’s seething and I’m not sure what to do. Cal starts coughing, struggling to take in air. I pull on Alex’s arm trying to get him to release him. “I should end you, you worthless son of a bitch. How dare you think you can treat her like that.”

“Alex!” I pull on his arm again with everything I have. “Please, stop!” His head turns in my direction; the anger in his eyes startling me. The warm, tender Alex is gone, and in its place is this raging monster. “For me, let him go,” I plead. Standing there holding my breath, I wait as he finally releases his hold on Cal. Cal lets out a huge gasp as he takes in air and falls to his knees.

“That’s it, you’re done, buddy. You too, Elizabeth. I think you forget who pays for things around here,” Cal chokes out, his voice raw. He clutches his throat as he coughs some more.

“Hey! Don’t you fucking threaten her! I don’t give a shit what you do to me. You lay your hands on her again I will drag you out in the middle of the goddamn street and beat the fuck out of you. Not even Elizabeth will be able to pull me off of you next time. You got it?” Alex’s voice booms and echoes through the kitchen, causing me to flinch. Cal hesitates for a moment, but then pulls himself off the floor, grabs his car keys and leaves the house, making sure to slam the door behind him.

My knees give out and I crumble to the floor, the reality of everything hitting me all at once now that it’s over. My hands shake as the adrenaline starts to wear off and my face begins to throb. A strangled cry comes from deep within me. Alex sinks down in front of me and wraps his arms around my body, rocking gently back and forth.

“I’ve got to call this in,” he says as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. I shake my head rapidly.

“No, you can’t do that.” I place my hand over his phone to prevent him from calling anyone.

“You can’t be serious, Elizabeth. He just hit you in the face.” He looks at me in total horror and disbelief.

“You don’t understand.” Tears streak down my face but not because of the physical pain, but for the emotional. I’m trapped in this hell with no way out now, and Cal knows it. He holds it over my head too, knowing that the people I care about are screwed without him.

“Fine, then go upstairs and pack a bag. I’m getting you the hell out of here.” He stands, lifting me up with him and starts toward the stairs.

“I can’t leave him, Alex.” I can’t even look at him when I say this. Here I am, face bruised and swollen, telling someone who cares about me that I’m going to stay with a man who abuses me. He doesn’t stop walking and doesn’t say anything. He just continues walking toward the bedroom. When he gets there, he gently lays me on the bed, his thumb stroking my uninjured cheek tenderly. I want to look away from the intensity and emotion of his stare, but I can’t. I really wish I would’ve met Alex under different circumstances. Maybe we would’ve had a chance.

“Talk to me, sweetheart. What’s going on in that mind of yours? I can get us out of here in ten minutes. Just let me take care of you. Please.” His pleading eyes search mine for the answer he seems to desperately want. My eyes close in relief that my Alex is back; the gentle, caring Alex. I never want to see him like he was with Cal again. Still, it makes it that much harder to deny him when all I want to do is give in and run away with him.

“Oh God, Alex, if I could I would in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t think twice about running away with you. But it’s not just me that I have to worry about.”

“Tell me so I can understand, because right now I can’t think of one damn reason to stay with a man that has more respect for a dog than his own wife.”

“My mom, she’s sick. So if a little disrespect from my husband helps keeps her alive, then so be it.”

Surprise flashes across his face. “Is she going to be okay? What’s wrong with her?” His face softens from the anger that was displayed moments ago. Now he just looks concerned.

“She has multiple sclerosis and she’s doing alright for the time being.” I take a deep breath and start to sit up. Alex leans up with me to allow me to prop myself up on the headboard.

“I want to hear this, but let me run down and get you some ice. You’re face is really swollen.” I nod and he jumps up and sprints downstairs. What will he think of me when I tell him why I stay? Will he see me as a gold digger? A woman who stays for some sort of monetary gain? I’m not sure why, but his opinion of me matters the most. A minute or so later, he returns. “Here. Hold that on your cheek.” I take the ice he has wrapped in a towel out of his hand and put it to my face. My face scrunches up with the pain of touching it. This must look horrible if it feels this bad. “You okay?” Again, I nod. “Tell me about your mom,” he says.

“My parents don’t have health insurance and the medicine required to slow the MS down is very expensive.”

“Most medicine is, but how expensive are we talking? A few hundred a month?” I actually laugh at his estimate. I wish it was only a few hundred a month. Hell, I’d be able to pay that on my own if that were the case.

“No, not even close. Do you know what MS is, what it does to the body?” He shakes his head, so I continue. “It’s an auto immune disease. Basically, the body attacks the coating around your nerves, which results in the body not being able to send proper signals to the brain. Things like walking, talking, touch, memory, they’re all affected depending on where the legions are. There’s no cure, so the doctor’s goal is to stop it from progressing and try to put it in remission.”

“Jesus, I’m so sorry. So she’s on a lot of meds to stop the progression?”

“Not really. She only takes three medicines, but they’re really expensive. She’s doing this treatment where she goes in to get an infusion one day each month until it either goes into remission, or she dies. There’s a forty-percent chance it’ll be put in to remission. It’s a new drug, so she’s only been on it for four months. Anyway, that alone is fifty-six hundred dollars a month. Add in the other two medications she’s on, and it’s almost six thousand dollars a month.” I notice his eyes widen when I throw that number out at him.

“Holy shit. That’s seventy-two thousand dollars a year!” I nod my head slowly. I’ve done the math countless times. I know exactly how much it is every year. “What happens if she doesn’t get the medicine?”