Not wasting time, I grabbed anything and everything I could find and hurled it in his direction. The TV remote, an empty plate, a glass vase, pillows, and shoes, but nothing seemed to faze him. Although, the vase did make him flinch. When the only thing left on the coffee table was a can of beer that I’d taken maybe two gulps of, I committed the ultimate sin. I picked it up and launched it at him.
It wasn’t until I ran out of things to hit him with that I realized he was still in the same spot he was when he came in. He hadn’t moved or made any advancement toward me. I mean, it didn’t make me any less scared, but at least it didn’t escalate my fear.
While we stood in silence, staring at one another, the front door slammed closed. The sudden noise caused me to jump and hold my breath. The man in front of me glanced over his shoulder, as if expecting someone else to join him. That was when I abandoned my fight instinct and chose flight instead. I became hyper-aware of my surroundings, mentally plotting my escape, and felt that my best option was the French doors behind me. As long as this home invader didn’t have anyone around the side of the house, I could run through the yard and make it next door to call for help.
I spun on my heel and grabbed ahold of the handle, but as I pulled on it, the door didn’t budge. It was locked. I had so much adrenaline coursing through my veins that I was oblivious to anything going on around me. While I could hear voices, I wasn’t able to make out what they were saying, so the fact that one of them was calling out my name never registered until someone grabbed my shoulders from behind.
“Get off me!” I screamed, swinging my arms around as I turned to face my attacker. My blood pressure must’ve been high, because I couldn’t hear anything past the ringing in my ears, and while I had my glasses on, my eyesight had gone to crap because I couldn’t seem to comprehend the scene in front of me.
When he managed to restrain me by my wrists, I squeezed my eyes shut and chanted, “I’m not Tiffany,” even though the man in front of me repeatedly called me by my name, not Tiffany’s. Yet that fact didn’t register in my mind over the fear of being murdered.
“Tasha, calm down,” he cooed, which was the first time he was able to get through to me. His voice was comforting and familiar, not alarming or threatening. “It’s okay, it’s just Adam and me. We’re here to fix the situation.”
I opened my eyes, relieved to find Ty standing in front of me. But that relief was quickly replaced with anger. “What the crap is wrong with you?” I now slapped him for a completely different reason. “Stop sneaking up on people! One of these days, I’m going to seriously hurt you, thinking you’re a burglar.”
“Sorry!” He shielded his face with his arms and backed away, moving closer to the giant I presumed to be Adam King. “Just hear us out, please. You can be mad after I explain everything to you…it’ll save us a lot of time.”
I took that to mean that whatever he had to say would piss me off.
Conceding, I moved to sit on the couch and waited for them to join me. All the while, I studied Adam. This was the first time I’d ever seen him outside of a random picture on the internet that Dave found after we learned of his engagement with my sister. He was not at all what I thought he’d be. I’d imagined him as a total meathead, a total creep who had no respect for others. I mean, he did ask Tiffany to marry him, so I had a hard time picturing him as a good guy, even though he’d remained by her side through this whole plastic surgery fiasco.
“Before you speak your mind like we both know you will, just hear me out. Okay?” Ty acted afraid, which meant that he knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say. But rather than argue, I nodded in agreement, gesturing for him to continue. “Well, I’ve spoken to Tiffany about the situation with Serenity.”
I glanced back and forth between Ty and Adam, wondering how much the athlete knew.
And based on the intensity of Ty’s stare, I assumed it wasn’t much, and what little he did know was a lie. “We’ve agreed that the only way to squash the rumors was for Adam to come home for a couple of days. Seeing you two together in public should make Serenity think twice before accusing you of anything that could potentially harm others.”
“Let me get this straight…” I clasped my hands together and leaned forward. “Serenity is under the impression that my sister is cheating on her fiancé, and your brilliant idea is to bring said fiancé into the mix?”
“It’s clearly a rumor, and she’s only doing this to secure her place on the show. Even if she does try to start problems, Adam will be there to put an end to it before it gets out of hand. Something like this requires a strong personality to shut something down, and while you’re not a weak person, we just feel that you wouldn’t be able to put her in her place if you need to.”
While I didn’t necessarily agree with this, I didn’t want to throw Ty under the bus. He was just as much a victim in this as I was, so it wouldn’t be fair to let him take the fall. Regarding Adam, who continued to sit on the couch in silence, I contemplated how to handle this situation. “And you’re all right with this plan?” I asked him.
He nodded
