Thirty-Four

        Silence is golden but it sets my teeth on edge.

        Things had been quiet and I hadn’t heard nor seen Alex since the note incident. When I talked to campus security, they assured me that they would talk to him and his advisor. I should have been reassured but I had a bad feeling about the whole situation. It had my nerves on end.

        For Jensen’s sake, I acted like everything was fine and tried to move past the whole thing. I wanted more than anything to get back to my old routine and live my life without looking over my shoulder every time I found myself alone.

        After a few weeks without incident, Jensen agreed to let me drive myself to and from school again. It had taken a lot of convincing but I was tired of being chauffeured around like Miss Daisy. Besides, no matter how on edge I was, I wasn’t about to live my life in fear. That wasn’t living at all.

Easter was coming up and to my immense happiness, Jensen was coming home with me. I had been planning to drive and had asked Saw if she wanted to come and we could make a road trip out of it but she declined. Something about not being a roadtrip kind of person.

Jensen had overheard our conversation and asked if he could accompany me. He had taken me by surprise and I was thrilled for him to come home with me. My parents were eager to meet him. I knew they would love him.

“You going straight to work?” Saw asked, cutting into my thoughts.

“No, I want to go change. I had to rush out this morning and didn’t have time to make the effort.” Which is how I ended up in leggings, a hoodie and my combat boots. We won’t even discuss the mess that was my hair.

“Mack won’t care you know that,” she said.

“I know, but I think it’s good for business if the receptionist doesn’t look like a homeless person.” Saw rolled her eyes.

“Whatevs. Jensen’s not gonna be happy though.” It was my turn to roll my eyes.

“He’ll live,” I said, waving her off. “I’ll see you at the shop.”

She waved as she climbed into her car, then headed out of the parking lot.

I climbed into my Tahoe and headed for the apartment. Jensen would not be pleased about my pit stop. It was one of the conditions he had set when I started driving myself again. He didn’t want me going to the apartment alone between class and work.

Until I got my life together and started getting up early enough to dress for work before school I would be making pit stops to change. And I didn’t see that happening anytime soon. I really just wasn’t a morning person.

Once inside the apartment I rushed around like a mad woman. Jensen was going to be less than pleased once I finally arrived at work. If I hadn’t left my phone locked inside my car while ran inside, I might have sent him a quick message. Hopefully hearing it from Saw would suffice.

I was rummaging through my dresser looking for my pair of leggings to go when the dress that I had pulled on when I heard the front door open then close. My eyes went to the alarm clock beside my bed and I rolled my eyes. I’ve only been here ten minutes.

“You are so impatient!” I called as I headed into the hallway.

I sucked in a sharp breath and staggered back a step.

Alex stood in front of my door. The look on his face would haunt me for the rest of my life. His eyes were crazy as he looked at me like a predator looked at its prey. Terror seized me when I remembered I didn’t have my phone and he blocked the only exit.

Alex took a step towards me and I tracked the movement, taking a step back.

“What are you doing here, Alex?” My voiced wavered and I hated that it showed how scared I was.

“You know, this is all your fault. I didn’t want it to have to come to this but you are mine. Once I’m done with you, you will see. You’ll understand what I mean.” His voice was soft as if he was trying to sooth but it only unnerved me more.

“You don’t have to do this,” I begged. “Please don’t do this.”

He took another step towards me and panic took hold and I fled to my room. I managed to get the door shut, but before I could turn the lock he was there. He kicked the door open. The force of it knocked me to the ground.

I crawled away from him but he made no move towards me. He knew he had me cornered and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.

“I thought once you saw those pictures you would see how wrong Jensen was for you. It worked for a little while, but you didn’t run back to me like I had hoped. My plan was to bid my time, then try again but you had to go back to that piece of shit.”

“You sent those pictures?” I asked, trying to keep him talking. I hoped it would work in distracting him and buy me time until I could figure out how to get away from him.

“I’m good with photoshop,” he grinned. “They were convincing weren’t they? Probably the best I’d ever made. It’s a shame they only deterred you for a moment.” His eyes darkened, and he took a step towards me. “A fucking month. That’s how long it took him to talk his way out of it. I’m not sure if that says more about him or you. Is that it? Are you that easy? You dirty whore. I’m going to beat that nastiness out you, then we can start over.”

I didn’t see him move until his foot connected with the side of my face causing my head to bounce off my the bed frame. Stars exploded inside my head, my vision blurred and I’m almost sure I blacked out for a moment. The pain made my stomach heave but I swallowed it back.

Fingers dug into my ankle and he drug me towards him. I tried to struggle, but my head was still foggy and the most I could do was kick at him weakly. My efforts just made him laugh as he slid a hand up the side of my thigh and under my dress.

When he tugged my panties down, my brain cleared and I realised what he intended to do. My kicks were harder now, and I reached out, clawing his face.

“You fucking bitch,” he shrieked. He drew back and let his fist fly connecting with my stomach. The air whooshed out of me and I struggled to fill my lungs with air. “You’re mine, Freya.”

Tears streamed down my face and I begged him to stop but it only seemed to excite him more. Something hard pressed against my leg and I recoiled away. He tried to move between my legs, but I shifted at the last second and he ended up straddling one of my legs.

“Damn, girl,” he chuckled, his voice husky now. “You gonna make me work for it, aren’t you? That’s okay. I’m up for the challenge.”

While he was talking, I positioned my leg and when he moved his hips up, I thrust my knee up as hard I could. I missed my target but knocked him off balance. I managed to get to my feet and sprinted to the door. He grabbed at my ankles, tripping me. He reached forward grabbing hold of my arm and jerked.

A blood curdling scream erupted from me and I kicked my feet out, catching him in the face. Blood squirted everywhere and it was his turn to scream. He let go of my arm to cover his face and I ran for it again. His fingers tangled into my hair, but I didn’t stop. I jerked with all my might. My hair gave way, and I was free.

This time I made it out of the apartment and down the stairs. I tried to pull open my Tahoe door, but realized I left it locked and the keys were still in the apartment. There was no way I was going back in there.

I didn't even think, I ran.

The shop was a few miles away, but Jensen was there and he would know what to do. It didn’t matter that I was barefooted and only in a ripped, long-sleeved dress for coverage. I had to get to him and everything would be fine. He would protect me and take care of me.

After a few blocks the pain was gone, and I knew that was a bad sign. I couldn’t feel anything anymore and that spurred me to move faster. I ran like my life depended on it and at this moment I was certain that it did.

The shop door opened as I went to push it open and I fell forward and into someone's arms. Shaken, I struggled and shrieked to get away from whoever had me. My vision was blurred with tears and black spots and I couldn’t make out the face that was trying to look into mine.

“Freya!” I stopped struggling because I had made it. The person holding was Jensen.

I made it.

“Jensen.” I tried to say, but it came out a jumbled mess.

“Freya, what happened to you?” He demanded. I could hear the worry in his voice and I wanted to tell him it was okay and that I wasn’t in pain anymore but I couldn’t find my voice.

The darkness was taking me under and I wanted to tell him one last thing. It was important that he heard it. “Alex.” Was all I managed to get out before the darkness claimed me.

That steady beeping noise was annoying and I wished someone would shut that crap off.

I peeked my eye open and noticed the source of the annoying sound. It was coming from a machine that was monitoring my vital signs. My eyes popped open and I took in the room.

Clearly, I was in the hospital.

When I tried to set up, a gentle hand landed on my shoulder stopping me.

“Don’t luv,” Jensen murmured. His eyes were guarded, and it made my stomach drop. I must be really bad if he was hiding from me.

“Jensen.” The single work felt like it was being ripped out of my throat.

“Don’t speak,” he murmured, taking my hand. I didn't try again and whatever pain meds they were pumping in me were making my eyelids heavy. They drooped a little, but I snapped them back open, my eyes going to Jensen. “It's okay, luv. I’ll be right here.”

My eyes closed and this time I didn’t struggle. When I opened them again, some time must have passed because Jensen was still there but he was wearing something different. He wasn’t looking at me, so it gave me a chance to examine his mood before I talked to him. He seemed okay, so I gave talking a go again.

“Hey.” At least this time it didn’t feel like knives were scraping my vocal cords. There was only minor pain and I could manage. Jensen’s head snapped around and when he noticed I was awake a smile lit his face.

“Hello, luv.” He turned toward me and picked up my hand, giving it a kiss. “How do you feel?”

“A little doped up,” I said, trying to smile, but it caused pain in my face. “Ow.”

“You have a fractured cheekbone,” he informed me. The cautious eyes were back.

“Is that all?” I asked, and he shook his head.

        “Busted eyebrow and lip. Your arm was pulled out of socket. You’ll have to do a few rounds of physical therapy, but you’ll recover nicely.” He said, then a smile pulled at his lips. “Can’t same the same for Alex. I’m not sure his nose will ever set straight again. It’s the least he deserved.”

        My eyebrows raised. “They caught him, then?”

        Jensen snorted. “Bloody idiot came to this hospital to be treated for a broken nose. You did a bang up job, luv. Good work.” He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. His gaze searched mine, and I knew what he was going to say next would not be pleasant. “Without your consent, they wouldn’t do a rape kit.”

        I could see the worry in his eyes and I knew he would never ask, but I knew he wanted to know, so I put him out of his misery. “There’s no need. It didn’t get that far.”

        He let out a breath and his shoulders relaxed. “Thank Christ. When we brought you in and I realized you didn’t have any knickers on....” He broke off unable to finish his sentence. “I would have killed him for it. I was here when he came in and I reached him before the police. Derek stopped me before I could do any real damage. Said I should let the police handle it.”

        The thought of waking up here without Jensen because of something so horrible would have caused me worse pain than what I was already in. If I was to get through this I was going to need him by my side not behind bars.

        Tears slide down my cheeks and Jensen reached up to catch them.

        “Are you in pain, luv? I’ll call the nurse.” He reached for the button but I shook me head.

        “I’m sorry,” I whispered and his eyes snapped to mine.

“Don’t you dare apologize for this. This was not your fault.” His gaze burned into mine and I shook my head.

“I’m not apologizing for that. I’m apologizing because I should have listened to you. I should never stopped by the apartment. Because of my carelessness I could’ve of lost everything.” It was definitely not worth the risk.

“Yes, well, it’s a bit late for that,” he smiled, then squeezed my hand. “We’ll get through this, luv.”

“It was you, you know,” I said, softly. The drugs were clouding my head again and I could feel them taking effect again.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Getting to you was the only thing that kept me on my feet. I knew if I could get to you then I would be okay.”

“Oh, luv,” he murmured. “I’m so very glad you were okay. The sight of you when you fell into the shop, then when you fainted. I thought I had lost you too. I wouldn’t have been able to bare it, luv.” The rawness in his voice broke me. I couldn’t imagine what he went through seeing me like that.

I wanted to say something. To assure him that I wasn’t going anywhere but I was too far gone to say anymore. I fumbled for his hand and squeezed with all I had left in me. It must’ve been enough because he returned the squeeze and right before I drifted off I heard him tell me he loved me.