Twenty-Five

I was walking across Campus the next morning on my way to meet Saw at the Campus Cafe. My phone buzzed and I groaned pulling it out of my pocket. I had expected it to be Saw telling me to hurry, again, but to my surprise it was from Alex.

Alex: You still owe me an explanation.

I sighed and looked to the heavens for an answer, but there wasn’t one. I looked down at my phone debating on telling him about Jensen and me but thought better of it. He deserved better than hearing about it via text message. Without answering, I shoved my phone back into my pocket and continued on my way to the Cafe. I would just have to deal with Alex later.

“About friggin’ time!” Saw exclaimed as I took a seat next to her.

I rolled my eyes at her and took a sip of the lukewarm coffee she had ordered for me. “My class let out late. I practically ran all the way here.”

“You don’t look winded,” she observed, eyeing me.

“Okay, it was more of a brisk walk.”

“You sure you don’t want anything to eat?” June asked. “The food isn’t that bad today.”

I looked at the burger on her plate and shook my head. It looked like chewed meat. “No. I think I’ll just grab something later.”

“Who cares. Starve then, but tell us about Jensen first.” Saw was bouncing up and down in her seat. June raised her eyebrows at me.

A smiled played on my lips as I recalled the bet Jensen and I had made. I knew she wouldn’t waste anytime in hounding me for answers about Jensen. I totally called it. He said she would let the dust settle before she demanded to know anything. He knew her, so he should’ve known better.

I told them almost everything. Explaining what happened when I came home from my parents. I skipped over what he had told me about his wife, just saying he had been heartbroken for a while and was ready to move on. Saw looked at me, then and I nodded at her letting her know that he told me everything.

June clapped happily at the turn of events with Jensen and me. “I am so glad you guys worked things out!”

        “Me too. You guys are so perfect for one another.” Saw said, looking smug.

        “Know it all,” I grinned, shoving her in the shoulder playfully.

        I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time and cursed. “Crap. I’m going to be late.” Jumping to my feet, I waved to my friends. “I’ll see you later.”

        I really did run this time. My next class was all the way across campus.  I was halfway there when someone shouted my name. I came to a stop looking around, then frowned when I spotted Alex.

        “Freya!” He smiled, waving at me.

        “Hey Alex,” I said as he came to a stop in front of me. “I’m sorry, I’m super late and I know I need to talk to you, but could you find me after class?” I turned to continue on my way and he fell into step beside me.

        “It’s fine. I’ll just walk with you and you can talk.”

        “What do you want me to say?” I didn’t have a clue what to say.

        “Just tell me why you broke up with me. That’s as good a place as any to start.”

        I bit my lip nervously. “I was a complete mess, Alex and I wasn’t being fair to you. I wanted things to work with you, I really did, but for all the wrong reasons.” I was so ashamed at how I used him, I couldn’t even meet his eyes.

        I felt terrible for putting it so plainly, but I was never good at sugar coating things. Plus, it was better to be plain. That why there wasn’t any miscommunication. Though, I still couldn’t find the courage to tell him the full truth about what happened with Jensen.

        “It’s Jensen, isn’t it?” My head snapped up and I must’ve had guilt all over my face because his features tightened. He made a disgusted noise, then grabbed my arm pulling me to a stop.

        “Alex, I’m sorry, but can we talk about this later. I really am going to be late.”

        “Then be late!” He shouted.

        He was still holding onto my arm and when I tried to pull away his fingers dug into my skin, holding on.

        “Let go,” I demanded, but he ignored me.

        “He’s a user and he will break your heart then leave you like he did all the rest of the trash he slept with.” His words were harsh and I hated that I feared them. I tugged on my arm harder and managed to free myself.

        I took a few steps back, putting distance between us. “He’s worth the risk.”
        “I thought you were better than that. Guess you’re no better than the whores he usually associates with.”

        My mouth hung open at the insult. I couldn't believe he said that to me. I took another step back, but this time he stepped towards me, closing the distance between us. He reached out and grabbed my arm again and jerked me to him. We were nose to nose now. I looked around hoping someone would see, but we were alone.

        “You’ll regret this, you know. You’re mine, Freya.” He spat the words at me causing spit to it me in the face.

        Alarm bells were going off in my head. This wasn’t the same Alex I knew. This man was dangerous and clearly unstable. I needed to get away from him and I needed to do it right now.

        I shoved at him with all my might and he stumbled back, releasing me. “Go fuck yourself!” I screamed and turned on my heel, sprinting away from him. I didn’t stop until I reached my class and once I was there I couldn’t bring myself to go in. Sinking down onto the ground outside the door, I put my head on my knees, trying hard to calm myself.

        When I reached my Tahoe later that day, I was on the brink of losing it. I wrapped my arms around my middle in a effort to hold myself together, but it was no use. A sob choked out of me and I had to lean onto my Tahoe for support. I was no longer steady on my feet.

        I was so lost in my breakdown I hadn’t noticed Saw until she wrapped her arms around me and when she did I shrieked away in fear.

        “Freya?” she called, holding her hands out in a calming gesture, but she didn’t make anymore to come near me. “Freya, talk to me.” I couldn’t speak yet. I could only stare at her in horror as I tried to wrap my mind around what had happened.

        After a beat, I rushed at her. She wrapped her arms around me tight and held me as a new round of sobs racked me. She didn’t try to get me to talk anymore. Instead, she held onto me letting me get it out while rubbing my back and muttering soothing words.

        “Alex,” I cried. “He stopped me on my way to class. He wanted to know what was going on. He guessed about Jensen and said some really mean things, then grabbed me.”

        Saw pulled back to look at me in anger. “What do you mean he grabbed you?”

        “It was awful, Saw. I thought for a second he might try to hit me or worse, but I managed to shove him off me and ran like hell.” I pulled my coat off and examined the areas he had grabbed and sure enough there were red marks on my upper arms. I would have some nasty bruises.

        Saw leaned in, looking them over. “That bastard! I think you should call the police.”

        I shook my head.

“No. I made it clear he better stay away from me and if he doesn’t then I’ll call the police.”

        I pulled my coat back on, then walked around to the driver side of my Tahoe and climbed in as Saw climbed into the passenger side. I started the engine, but didn’t make anymore to back out. Instead, I turned to look at my friend. She looked at me with questioning eyes.

        “Let me tell him, okay?” Jensen was going to lose it over the marks and I was hoping I could keep it a secret until we were in the apartment. I didn’t want him to cause a scene at the shop.

        “Okay, babe,” she said, nodding.

        I smiled gratefully and backed out of the parking lot and drove to the shop. On the drive over I tried to think of ways to avoid Jensen seeing my arms, but unless I wore my coat the entire time he was sure to notice.

        My phone buzzed as we were walking into the shop and I hit the reject button when Alex’s name popped up. Just as I was shoving it back into my pocket, it buzzed two more times. I looked to the screen and saw I now had a new voicemail and a new text.

        I opened the text.

         Alex: Freya, I’m so sorry. Please don’t do this. We need to talk. Call me.

         Ignoring the text, I pushed my way into the shop where Jensen was waiting for me. His face lit up at the sight of me and when I tried to return the smile it faltered. I knew he would see right through it. As I walked over to where he and Derek sat behind my desk, his eyes seemed to zeroin on my arms.

        He missed nothing. “Are those fingerprints?” He demanded climbing to his feet and walking around the desk to stand in front of me. He took my arms into his hands and examined me. “Who the fuck did this?”

        I pulled away and he released me. I looked to the ground, then back up to his angry eyes. “I’m afraid to tell you.” Tears clouded my vision, the hold on my emotions was crumbling.

        His face softened and he pulled me into his arms, hugging me. “Don’t be afraid, luv. I want to make sure that this never happens to you again. No one should ever handle you in such a manner.” He kissed my hair and rubbed soothing hands along my back.

        “It was Alex,” I muttered and Jensen’s body stilled. “He confronted me before class. He knows about you and me now and he said some really mean things and grabbed me.”

        “Bloody bastard,” Jensen growled. “I’ll break his fingers for this.”

        “That asshole trains at my gym. I’ll grab Tyler and we can go pay him a visit. He needs a lesson in manners.” Derek had came to stand beside us and you could almost feel the blood lust coming off him.

        “Please don’t.” My voice sounded small, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of them getting into trouble for me. “I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

        Derek looked to Jensen, and it was as if some unspoken message went between them. Derek nodded and reached out to chuck me on the arm playfully. He winked down at me, then disappeared down the hall.

        “I have to get to work, luv,” Jensen said, wrapping me into another hug. “We’ll talk soon.”

        “Okay,” I said, reaching up on my tiptoes to kiss him.

        He disappeared down the hall and I sat down behind my desk. Saw had ran for her room as soon as Jensen noticed my arms, so I was all alone. Despite what had happened I was okay with that. I was safe here. Alex would be a fool to try to come here.