by Terra Deason
“Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes. “At least come for me. I get so bored by myself. It’d be nice to have someone to hang with.”
“You’re lucky I don’t work tonight or have any good excuses not to come,” she huffed.
“Yay!” I squealed and hugged her.
“Yeah, yeah,” She mumbled, then we headed off to class.
I thought class would never end. By the time we were finally outside, I impatiently pulled June towards my Tahoe. I was excited to spend the evening hang out while I worked and I couldn’t wait to see what happened when she and Tyler saw each other again.
“What’s that?” June asked as we neared my car.
There was something sticking out from under my windshield wiper.
“Surely I didn’t get a ticket. My parking sticker is visible on my back window.” We stopped beside my car and I pulled the paper out from under the wiper. As I read the words, my lungs seemed to shrink and there didn’t seem to be any air around me.
“What?!” June demanded, but didn’t wait for to answer. She pulled the paper from my fingers and read it.
The words played over and over in my head.
You fucking whore! You are mine! You will see soon enough and you will regret this.
June gasped, and I raised a hand to my mouth in horror. I could almost hear the words as if Alex had spoken to me himself. There was no doubt in my mind that this was from Alex even though it made little sense. He hadn’t contacted me in months. I thought he was over this but it would appear not.
My body trembled and I struggled to find breath. June turned and reached out to grab me but I was already swaying. I vaguely heard her tell me to calm down, but it was too late. The darkness was all around and I could feel it dragging me under.
Beautiful but worried green eyes greeted me when I finally woke. He slipped an arm under my back and helped me to sit up. I blinked around in confusion as I realized I was sitting on Jensen’s tattooing table. The guys, June, and Saw were all staring at me with concern.
“All right, luv?” Jensen asked softly.
“Y-yea,” I mumbled, rubbing at my face, then looking to him. “I think so.”
“That’s good,” he said.
I turned to find June. “I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t imagine how freaked out she probably had been.
“No worries. Saw walked up right after you went down. She helped me get you in my car and we brought you straight here. I managed to catch you so you didn’t hit your head or anything. I didn’t see any reason to take you to the hospital.” She walked to me and bent down, wrapping her arms around me. “We’ll figure this out okay?”
“Okay,” I answered.
She pulled back and winked, then headed out the door. Tyler gave me a small smile and went after her. At least something good was coming out of this. They were really cute together, so I hoped they worked out.
Saw came into view, bending until she was level with me. Her face was fierce.
“I’m going to castrate him,” she growled. She pulled me into a hug, then stepped back. She looked to Jensen and nodded before turning to the two lingering men. “Okay, she’s fine. Clear out.” She herded the guys out the door and it shut with a click.
Jensen was standing beside me and I could almost feel the anger rolling off of him. He was taking deep steady breaths and I could see how he was working to reign in his emotions. I reached out and took his hand into mine, ignoring how mine shook.
“Babe,” I called looking into his face. He didn’t answer, so I called to him again. His hand pulled out of mine and he paced the floor, running an agitated hand through his hair.
“I’m going to shove that bloody note up his arse, right after I break his fingers for writing it.” His voice was harsh and I could see he was working himself up now.
The last thing I wanted was for Jensen to do something that might get in trouble. Even if it was to defend me. I hopped off the table and walked over to him, reaching up to put both my hands on each side of his cheeks forcing him to look at me.
“He’s not worth it. I’ll hand the note over to campus security or the police and they will talk to him. He will get the message.” I tried to sound reassuring but I wasn’t sure if I even believe it myself.
“That’s not good enough.”
“It’s all we can do.”
“I don’t want him anywhere near you, luv. I won’t be able to stand it.” His eyes bore into mine and I reached up on my tiptoes to press my forehead against his.
“I haven’t seen him in months, Jensen. It’s unlikely that he’ll be near.”
He moved my hands from his face and wrapped his arms around me, pressing my head into his chest.
He held me for a moment then spoke. “I’ll drive you back and forth from school for now. That way I can keep an eye on you. While you’re at school, Saw and June can watch you.” I opened my mouth to argue but the shut it back. It all seemed reasonable.
“Okay,” I agreed and I could feel him relax.
“I love you, Freya,” he whispered into my hair.
“I know,” I smiled.
He pulled back, then bent down scooping me up into his arms.
“Come luv. Let’s get you home.” He strolled over to the door and pulled it open.
“But we have work,” I objected. “Plus, I have plans to hang out with June.”
“Work can manage without us today and June will just have to come back another time.” He walked down the hall and into the waiting area. Everyone was standing around talking.
“I’m taking her home. I have a few appointments today, so they will have to be rescheduled.” Jensen said to Mack who nodded.
“I’ll take care of it, man. You take care of your gal here.” Mack looked to me and smiled. “You don’t worry. We have your back.”
“Thank you,” I smiled in return.
“Saw? Can you grab her things and carry them to the car?” Jensen asked, looking to her.
She jumped to her feet and jogged down the hall, returning in moments with my stuff. Jensen moved to the door and Derek held it open for us. Saw went first and as Jensen and I passed, Derek grabbed my hand and squeezed.
“I’m gonna rearrange his face if I catch him at my gym again.” My mouth dropped open at Derek’s words.
“Please don’t get yourself into trouble. He’s not worth it.” He gave my hand one last squeeze then released it.
“But you are. Your family now and nobody messes with family.”
I had to turn away before the tears fell. The fact that they considered me part of their little family made my heart swell with happiness. I felt the same about them.
“Call me if you see that bastard,” Jensen whispered then carried me to his car. The cold air bit at me and I shivered.
“Almost there, luv.” He assured me, rubbing my arm.
He stopped beside the passenger door and Saw held it open for him. He sat me in the seat, then slammed the door shut. Jensen spoke to Saw. She looked to me, then nodded before jogging back to the shop. Jensen climbed into the car and the engine roared to life.
“Let’s get you home, luv,” he said, pulling out onto the street.
A few minutes later we pulled into the apartment complex parking lot. Jensen turned off the car but he didn’t move to get out. He sat there staring out the windshield gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
“Jensen?” I called, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “What’s the matter?”
“This is all my bleeding fault,” he said low.
“What? No, it’s not,” I said incredulous.
“The worst part is that I had heard the rumors. Rumors of him being territorial with a few of the women he had been with. People talk and I thought it was all rubbish. Something about him always put me off and I never could put my finger on what it was.
Then you came along and Saw practically threw you in his arms in hopes of getting me out of my head. If I hadn’t of been so m
essed up still then you would’ve never went out with him. So, yes luv. This is all my fault.” His head dropped in defeat and I felt as if my heart would break all over again at the sight.
I reached out and wrapped my arms around him.
“No Jensen. This isn’t your fault. No matter how much people talk you could have never foreseen this happening. You being all in your head is not the problem. After what happened to you it’s understandable you were a little messed up. Something like that could rock even the strongest person. There is nothing wrong with that and it doesn't put you at fault for what Alex is doing. Don’t you dare blame yourself, okay?”
He had turned his head to look at me and I gave him a hard look. I made sure he could see the truth and love that I held for him there. There was no blame coming from me. I didn’t even blame Saw for what was happening. This really wasn’t their fault. It was Alex’s. His alone.
Jensen leaned forward and kissed my forehead, then rested his against mine.
“Christ, I love you,” he murmured. “I can’t lose you too.”
“You won’t because I am not going anywhere.”
He reached up and caressed my cheek. “I’ll hold you too that, luv.”
“I’ll be happy to uphold my promise.” I smiled at him and pulled back. “Now, let's get inside.”
We walked into our apartment hand in hand and once the door was shut, I let Jensen put my bags down, then I leaped at him. He caught me no problem and I wrapped my legs around his waist and bent my head down to whisper in his ear.
“Take me to bed, baby.”
He stepped over my things and strolled down the hall and into my room without hesitation. He sat me on the floor beside my bed and we stood there staring at each other. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, then dropped it to the floor. He copied me and slowly we undressed ourselves taking turns pulling off our clothes.
Once we both were stripped bare in front of each other, Jensen stepped towards me and pushed me back onto the bed. I scooted to the middle and followed me, hovering over me when I lay back. He reached up and tucked a stray hair behind my hair and smiled down at me.
“You’re luscious, pet. I could just eat you up.” He gave a devilish grin, then trailed kisses down my stomach.
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.
