Something inside me snaps, and I yank my arm away. “Go fuck yourself, Justin! I will not be talked to like that. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, but if you think you can speak to me like that, you can have the damn hotel room. I’ll just get another one. For now, though, I’m going to gamble. Have a nice night.”
For a long moment, we stare at each other, and I suspect he’s as reluctant to take the next step as I am. I don’t know what’s causing him to behave this way, but this isn’t Justin.
From behind me, I hear a man’s voice say my name, and I spin around to see Marius King. As he walks toward me, Justinsays in a low voice, “You better go back upstairs and change right now. I’m warning you.”
I ignore him and say hi to Marius when he stops in front of me, but a second later, Justin grabs me by the hair and pulls my head backwards. Tears well in my eyes it hurts so much, and now on top of everything else, I’m embarrassed because Ava’s brother-in-law is seeing this whole thing happen right in front of him.
“Whoa, buddy. Leave the lady alone. She clearly isn’t interested in whatever you’re offering. Go get a drink and blow some money at the tables. Don’t do anything stupid,” Marius says.
Justin releases his hold on my hair and pushes me aside, now furious with another man instead of me. “Whoa, buddy yourself, dickbag. Who the fuck are you to tell me how to handle my girlfriend? Go back to whatever table you were losing your own money at and leave us alone.”
Humiliated Marius is seeing me like this, I lower my gaze and look down at the floor. How did this trip go so horribly wrong?
“Listen, man. I don’t want to cause you trouble, but I’m not going to let you treat Eden like this. I’ve known her since high school, so I guess you could say we’re friends, and friends don’t let friends hang with shitheads who are so clearly fucking below them. So shove off before this gets ugly.”
I don’t know what Justin’s face looks like as Marius says that, but a second later, he pushes me hard toward the wall. I look up just in time to see him lunge at Marius. Fists fly, and when I don’t get out of the way quickly enough, Justin punches me in the eye. I scream, and the two men go careening into the wall nearby. The security guards who were standing in front of the casino doors come running over, further adding to my humiliation.
They pull Marius off Justin, who continues to shit talk, and one asks me if I’m okay. I quickly assure him I’m fine because it’s bad enough I’ve been punched in a public place by my now ex-boyfriend. Strangers feeling bad for me would be too much to bear.
“Mr. King, do you need any assistance?” one of the security guards asks Marius.
He shakes his head and brushes a piece of lint off his black dress shirt. “I’m fine. That man physically attacked this woman.” All three men look at me, and Marius asks, “Do you want to press charges?”
All I want to do right now is crawl into a hole and hide. Pressing charges against the man I came here with sounds so awful I don’t even know how to answer.
When I shake my head, Marius and the security guards step aside to talk for a few moments. After they’re done, one of the men gives me a sympathetic smile before he and his fellow guard walk over to Justin and Marius comes to stand by my side.
“Sir, you’re going to have to leave. Now.”
“I’m a guest at this hotel, dammit! I won’t be treated like this,” Justin barks, attracting even more attention to us.
“Not anymore. Let’s go.”
As they escort him out of the hotel and he loudly complains the whole time, I bury my face in my hands, unable to endure all the stares from strangers passing by. Beside me, Marius slips his arm around my shoulders and pulls me against him in a hug I didn’t realize I needed so damn badly.
“Come on. Forget that guy.”
I drop my hands and look up at him with tears filling my eyes. “I came here with him. He reserved the room and everything. What am I going to do if they don’t have any more rooms?”
“You’ll come with me. They comp me a suite here whenever I’m in a tournament, so I have more than enough space. We’ll stop at your old room, grab your stuff, and take it all up to my suite. Easy peasy.”
Confused by his kindness since his claim about us being friends was a bit of a lie, I ask, “Why are you doing this? You barely know me.”
He smiles, and I swear it’s like all the bad that’s happened in the past hour disappears into thin air. “Not true. I know you and Ava are as thick as thieves, and if Ava is crazy about you, then I have to figure you’re all right. Now come on. We’ll get your stuff and get you settled in up at my suite.”
I nod, wishing I knew how to show him how thankful I am. We begin walking toward the elevator, and it’s only us when we get in and he presses the button for his floor.
We don’t say anything the whole ride up, but just as the doors open and we step out, he looks at me and winces. “I think we better get you some ice and fast. That eye looks rough.”
Could this day get worse?
I hurry back into the elevator and study myself in the gold, reflective walls. I look like some battered housewife. Jesus Christ, how did my life turn into this? Justin was never Mr. Right, but he wasn’t Mr. Beat The Hell Out of Me either.
All I want to do is cry. I look awful.
Marius pokes his head back into the elevator and takes my hand. “Let’s go, bruiser. You’ve had a tough fight today, but you came out pretty good.”
My head begins to throb as I let him lead me down the hallway. “You’re not funny. I look terrible. I feel even worse.”
