Chapter 122: Explosion.

Nerissa’s POV

By the time I return from the restroom, my mood has officially gone to shit. And sitting across from me is the primary reason.

I consider turning around and walking straight back into the restroom. Maybe I could climb through a window and escape.

It would certainly be easier than dealing with him.

Unfortunately, I’m not a woman who abandons perfectly good ice cream just because her husband is an insufferable bastard.

So I return to my seat.

Thankfully, my ice cream hasn’t melted completely. I pick up my spoon and dig in, determined to salvage whatever remains of my peaceful afternoon.

The first spoonful is delicious, the second is even better, by the third, I’ve almost managed to forget that Lysander is sitting opposite me, watching my every move as though he’s waiting for me to commit a crime.

"Are you going to stare at me all afternoon?" I ask without looking up.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether you give me a reason to stop."

I close my eyes.

Lord, give me strength.

I shove another spoonful into my mouth before I say something that might get me arrested or divorced.

A few minutes later, Victoria joins us, carrying her own bowl of ice cream. She settles into the chair beside me and immediately launches into a story about a customer who tried to convince her that chocolate wasn’t a real ice cream flavor because cocoa was technically a bean.

I laugh so hard I nearly choke.

I’m actually enjoying myself. Victoria is good company. She knows how to make me laugh without trying too hard.

We talk about her shop, her latest ridiculous customer, and a new flavor she’s considering adding to the menu.

Meanwhile, my husband looks as though he’s contemplating committing a massacre. Every time Victoria leans closer to tell me something, his jaw tightens, every time I laugh, his expression darkens.

And when Victoria reaches over to steal a spoonful of my ice cream, I swear I hear his teeth grind together.

I glance at him and he glares back.

I smile sweetly.

He looks like he wants to throw the table at someone.

This is wonderful.....Truly, a beautiful afternoon.

Except it isn’t, because I can feel my patience draining away with every passing second, and my period cramps aren’t helping matters.

I want to enjoy my ice cream, i want to talk to my friend without feeling as though I’m sitting between two people preparing to start a war and

most importantly, I want my husband to go somewhere else and be miserable.

Preferably far away from me.

"Can we leave already?" He finally asks.

Victoria pauses halfway through a sentence.

I sigh and set down my spoon.

"You know you can leave whenever you want, right?" I answer. "I didn’t bring you here. Hakeem can drive me home."

"Hakeem, is it?"

My eyes narrow.

"Yes. Hakeem."

"Already on a first-name basis, I see."

I stare at him as though he has grown another head.

"You know what? Let’s leave. It’s apparent I’m not getting a single moment to myself here."

I push my chair back and stand.

Victoria rises with me, and I wrap my arms around her in a quick hug.

"Thanks for having me. Next time, I’ll come alone so I can actually enjoy your company."

She chuckles, hugging me back.

"You’re always welcome, baby girl."

I pull away and glance at Lysander.

"You can put the bill on my dear husband’s account."

I put particular emphasis on the word husband before giving him a scathing look.

Victoria laughs.

"Of course. I’ll make sure he pays extra for all the trouble he’s caused."

"Thank you."

Lysander mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like a threat.

I ignore him.

After saying goodbye to Victoria, I head for the entrance with Lysander following close behind.

When we step outside...

"You know," I begin, turning slightly toward him, "you really didn’t have to follow me around like some deranged...."

"Shit! Nerissa!!"

I barely have time to register the panic in it before his hand closes around my arm. Pain shoots through me as he yanks me backward with enough force to pull me off balance.

"What the hell are you...."

My feet leave the pavement and for one disorienting second, I’m suspended against him, my thoughts scattered by the sudden violence of his movement.

My head snaps toward the road to see a battered car tearing toward us.

It’s moving far too fast. It’s tires scream against the asphalt as the driver mounts the curb, sending a shower of broken gravel flying. The car swerves wildly, its front end lurching toward the ice cream shop.

Toward the entrance.....towards us.

My blood turns to ice.

One second, I’m standing outside Victoria’s shop, arguing with my infuriating husband. The next, Lysander is dragging me across the pavement.

He twists his body around mine, forcing us toward a thick concrete pillar supporting the shop’s front awning. My shoulder slams against the hard surface, and a cry tears from my throat.

Then the car hits into the ice shop, in the exact spot we were standing at a few seconds ago. The impact is monstrous as metal shrieks against concrete and glass, a sound so violent it seems to rip through my skull. The shop’s front windows explode inward, scattering glass across the pavement as the car crashes into the building.

I stare, unable to comprehend what I’m seeing.

The hood crumples, the windshield shatters as the car’s engine roars once more, then dies with a horrible metallic groan.

"What the hell was...."

The explosion swallows my words as a deafening BOOM tears through the street.

Heat slams into my face as the world erupts in orange and black as flames burst from the wreckage, a fireball punching upward through the shattered windows. The blast throws debris into the air, and the force of it sends people screaming in every direction.

Lysander wrenches me down, dragging me to the pavement as he throws his body over mine.

My back hits the ground hard as his weight presses against me, one arm wrapped around my head, shielding my face as the explosion roars above us.

For a moment, I can’t hear anything except the ringing in my ears.

I can’t breathe, I can’t move. All I can feel is the scorching heat against my skin and the frantic pounding of my heart beneath my ribs.

Then the sounds return. People scream across the street, someone is crying, glass crunches beneath hurried footsteps and inside the ice cream shop, amidst the smoke and flames, more voices rise in terrified screams.

I’m screaming too.

I don’t even realize it until my throat begins to hurt.

My fingers clutch at Lysander’s shirt, gripping the fabric as though it’s the only thing keeping me anchored to the earth.

His body is still covering mine, his breath is hot against my cheek and somewhere beyond his shoulder, fire continues to devour the wreckage of the car that almost killed us.

I stare at the flames, my mind refusing to accept what has just happened.

Someone just tried to run us down.