by Rose, Ashley
“Hmm,” he contemplated. “Almost, you say?”
She nodded and he pulled her to her feet, pushing her back against the sink like he had been. Her eyes widened when he sank to his knees in front of her. “Trav...”
He smirked and slid an arm under one leg to settle her knee on his shoulder.
She gulped. He’d never gone down on her before. She’d had it before but it had never been exceptional. She jumped when his lips brushed across her navel.
He looked up at her, teasing. “Hold still now.” His arms tightened around her hips and legs, holding her lower body in place easily.
He dropped his head and the instant his lips really touched her, she knew this was going to be better than any kind of oral she’d gotten before. He used his teeth lightly and she gasped. She would have fallen if not for her death grip on the sink behind her.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, she was in class, wishing she had taken another shower after Trav’s special attention. When she had a break between classes she headed back to her dorm. Of course, someone was already in the shower, so she grabbed her sketching materials and headed out. As she sat down near the coffee shop again, she pretended she wasn’t hoping to see Snickers.
Pushing the shades onto her face, she scanned the crowd. No go. He wasn’t here. Instead, her gaze landed on a girl who was chatting and laughing with her friends. She was pretty and from the look of her designer hand bag, she was loaded.
Jaz began with the basic strokes of her face, wishing that she’d stop moving so damn much. But what Jaz really wanted to get to was the hair. It was huge, puffy and static, over-teased and getting tangled in the slight breeze. Jaz arched the girl’s eyebrows too much and smiled a little, turning the portrait into a caricature. The blonde’s possibly collagen-enhanced lips became even larger once they were transferred into charcoal. The nose was tiny, and Jaz made it hardly more than a speck on the drawing. Tina—that’s what Jaz decided to call her—had huge bug-eye glasses on, and she drew them so they took up about half of her face.
The area of the paper that wasn’t taken up with the face and giant glasses she filled with the bouncy hair that looked like it’d been bleached one too many times. As Jaz drew, the girl reached up and smoothed her hair down, but it bounced back up, definitely over-teased. The caricature didn’t take long, since she didn’t bother shading it in, and as Tina left with her friend, Jaz flipped to a fresh page.
Craning her neck around, she looked for Snickers and then stopped herself. Why was she so interested? She turned back a couple pages and found the drawing. The sadness hadn’t faded. She sighed and turned back to the blank page while scanning the area for a new subject. As her eyes landed on an overly muscled jock, she put pencil to paper again.
But something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned and pulled the Ray Bans off. Snickers. She snapped the book closed and put the shades back on. Waiting until he was a good distance away, she stood up and followed him. He walked right past the coffee stand without stopping, going in the same direction he had yesterday. Following him around a corner, Jaz questioned why she was tailing him at all. If she wanted to draw him more, she’d have to find his hangouts. After a few minutes, she abandoned the pursuit as he left campus. As he crossed the street, he shifted his backpack and she got a glimpse of his back pocket. Another Snickers bar peeked out at her.
8
Rikke
Rikke pounded on her keyboard, letting out all of her anger, frustration, and fear on her characters. Adam had called her six times, and six times she’d ignored the call. The counselor had told her she needed to make a decision: go through the judicial system, the on-campus system, or do nothing. Rikke was still deciding. She couldn’t face Adam right now. She needed to think this thing over.
She had spoken to Anna for about an hour. With the story out there, it made Rikke start to think. Could Anna actually be right? Is Adam abusing me? Anna seemed to have no doubt, and that was just from what Rikke had told her. Anna also told her that if Adam wasn’t an abusive boyfriend, then Rikke would have no problem confronting him. It was more proof that chipped away at her denial.
No. She couldn’t face Adam. He could read her like a book, and then he really would be angry. He’d surely take it out on her.
Her classes for the day had come and gone, and she didn’t go to a single one. She hadn’t even left her room. All of her emotions were flowing out as words on her screen. It seemed to be helping, in some ways at least. She wasn’t any more comfortable with the situation, but it did feel good to have somewhere to channel her energy.
She sighed and closed her eyes, fingers stilling. Anna was right. If they were in a healthy relationship, she wouldn’t be afraid of him, afraid of what he would do to her.
Her phone hadn’t rung in several minutes so she took the opportunity to check her voicemail. Six messages, all from Adam.
“Why the fuck aren’t you answering? Come over to my place, I’m horny.”
“Answer your goddamn phone! You know I hate it when you don’t answer. Where the hell are you?”
“I’m getting tired of this. I know you’re not in class. Get your ass over to my place. I’m going to teach you a goddamn lesson.”
“You stupid bitch, if you get over here now, I promise I’ll go easy on you.”
“What is your problem! If I have to call you one more time, I’m coming over there and dragging you out by the fucking hair!”
“I’m coming to get you. I’m going to fuck you so hard, you are never going to ignore my calls again. Be ready for an ass kicking, stupid cunt.”
She paled at the last message and quickly checked the exact time of the call. Fifteen minutes ago. She wasn’t sure whether to be worried or relieved. If he was really coming, he’d be here by now.
She had only a moment to consider this before a loud pounding on the door confirmed her worries.
“Rikke!” Adam’s voice was pissed.
She gulped. The door was locked, the door was—
“I’ll get it!” Lily called brightly.
Rikke’s chair tumbled over as she leapt up and out of her door. She grabbed Lily just as she had her hand on the knob. Lily squeaked when Rikke jerked her away.
Rikke put her finger to her own lips, signaling her to be quiet. The pounding sounded on the door again, rattling it on its hinges.
“Open this motherfucking door, Rikke! I know you’re in there!”
Lily looked severely alarmed. “Who is that?” she whispered.
Rikke whispered back, “Nobody, just don’t say anything.”
Rikke didn’t realize she was shaking until she grabbed Lily’s arm to move them further away from the door.
Adam pounded on the door again.
“What the fuck is that?” Jaz demanded as her door opened.
Rikke tried to motion her to be quiet but the girl was pissed. Jaz assessed them quickly, and then turned to the door Adam was still wreaking havoc on.
“Who is it?” she called through the door.
The noise stopped. “I’m Rikke’s boyfriend. Let me in.”
“She’s not in. Get the fuck out of here.”
Rikke winced. No one talked to Adam like that.
“Bullshit! I know she’s in there, just open the fucking door, bitch!”
Jaz blinked and turned to Rikke. “Honestly?”
Rikke didn’t know what to do or say. Jaz just shook her head and picked up their landline phone and dialed a number.
“Hi, Ben, you’re the on-call RA? … Awesome. Look, we’ve got a guy at our door, demanding to be let in. …. I’m not sure. If I couldn’t get a hold of you, I just would have called the police. … Thanks. … No, we won’t let him in. I promise... all right, thanks.”
Jaz hung up the phone and turned to the other two girls. “Ben can hear the banging from downstairs. He’s on his way up, and he’s calling the police.”
Rikke shook her head. “No, not the polic
e. I mean, it’s not an emergency or—“
“I’m sure RAs have the non-emergency dispatch number,” Jaz said, looking more annoyed by the moment.
“Oh.”
The pounding was continuous now. Adam was really flying off the hinges.
Jaz looked at the door and then back at her. “Is that your boyfriend? The one you’re always disappearing with?”
Rikke didn’t answer. It wasn’t Jaz’s business.
The pounding stopped and they heard a second voice in the hallway. Rikke knew it was Ben. The voices were muffled by the door but they could hear what was being said.
“Hey, there. I’m Ben, the RA. You don’t live in this building.”
“Fuck off.”
“Visitors aren’t allowed in the building without an escort,” Ben said, his voice remaining calm.
“This is my girlfriend’s room. I’m just waiting for her to let me in.”
“Either she’s not in there, or she doesn’t want you in there.”
“Mind your own damn business,” Adam snapped.
“I’m going to ask you to leave.”
“What are you, a damn hall monitor?”
“I heard the banging and yelling. The campus police are on their way.”
Adam seemed to have had enough so the pounding started up again. He had never cared for police.
“Stop.” Ben’s voice was closer now. “You need to leave.”
“Back the fuck off of me.”
“I’m not going to let you harass these girls. Do yourself a favor and leave before the police get here.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Rikke pressed her eye to the peephole. She recognized that tone. Adam was about to get violent.
“I’m saying that you need to leave,” Ben repeated.
Adam shook his head slowly. She couldn’t see Ben, but she saw Adam’s fist suddenly fly out of her vision and heard the sound as it connected with some part of Ben, probably his face.
“Ben!” She wrenched the door open without thinking. Ben was pushing himself away from the opposite wall, a red mark already forming on his face. She was so focused on Ben that she didn’t see Adam until he’d grabbed her by the arms and flung her across the hall too.
She cried out as her skull hit the wall with a dull crack and she slid toward floor. Adam grabbed her hair and hauled her back. “Why the fuck didn’t you answer your phone!?”
He backhanded her hard and let her hit the ground this time. She looked up, vision blurry, and saw Adam leaning down toward her again. She tried to scramble away from him.
Suddenly Adam was jerked backwards. Ben had grabbed him by the arm and collar of the jacket, yanked him back and pitched him to the ground several feet away. Ben knelt down beside her and helped her to sit up.
“Stupid fucker.” Adam tried to stumble to his feet but Jaz had joined the fight. She swung one foot out and took his knees out from under him. He landed on his back hard, just as two cops entered the hallway.
They looked slightly puzzled at first, and Ben was too busy making sure Rikke was conscious to talk to the cops.
“What’s going on?” the older cop demanded.
Jaz didn’t wait for Ben to speak up. “Arrest this idiot,” she demanded, pointing at Adam, who was still flat on the floor.
“Excuse me, miss?” the young cop asked, waiting for Jaz to explain.
But the older cop looked at Rikke. “Is anyone seriously harmed?”
Rikke shook her head, partly because she was answering him, and partly to attempt to clear her vision.
“This stupid fucker came banging on our door, looking for Rikke.” Jaz pointed at Rikke. “He was cussing and shit. Then Ben came and tried to get him to leave but this idiot punched him. And he threw Rikke against the wall and backhanded her. Then Ben threw him on the ground...oh, and I kicked him too.”
It was as if Adam hadn’t even seen the police officers. He started to get up again, more slowly this time, and glared at Jaz. “You cunt. You cock-sucking, piece of shit, ugly ass cunt.”
Jaz just laughed, which amazed Rikke. “Ugly? Are you blind or just stupid?”
Adam stood up to his full height and glared at her dangerously.
“You don’t scare me. I’ll put you on the ground again, dumb shit,” Jaz said.
Adam hauled back a fist but one of the cops grabbed it and used to it spin him around and slam him head first into the wall.
“Get off of me!” Adam yelled, shoving at the cop. “Rikke, tell them this is a mistake. You’re fine. Tell them I’d never hurt you.”
The cop shoved him against the wall harder. “Doesn’t matter what she says, pal. You gave her a bloody lip from what I can see, as well as verbal and nearly physical assault on the other lady.”
“I didn’t do it.” Adam glared at Rikke as the side of his face was smashed against the wall. “Tell them I didn’t do it. You know I’d never touch you.”
Now he was just downright lying but she couldn’t say anything, not with him looking at her like that. She couldn’t face this. She dropped her head and let her hair serve as a barrier from his gaze.
“Rikke! Don’t be a fucking retard! Tell them!”
She flinched at his tone.
The other cop stepped in his path of vision. “Sorry, sir, it doesn’t matter.” He pulled a paper out of his pocket, which Rikke surmised had his picture on it. “You’re on our watch list. Between what we’ve seen and heard from your own mouth, and the fact that you technically shouldn’t be in the building, we have enough to arrest you even without a story from any of them, though I’m betting that this young lady will be more than happy to give us a detailed report.” He nodded to Jaz, smoothly turning the heat off of Rikke.
“Damn right,” Jaz snapped. “I’m suing this piece of shit either way. This was assault, and that’s a gross misdemeanor. Don’t even bother getting a lawyer, buddy, ‘cause my mother is going rip you a new hole to shit out of.”
The younger cop hid a smile as he pulled out his handcuffs. “You have the right to remain silent...”
Rikke was distracted as a hand touched her face and she looked up. Ben was still kneeling over her.
“You’re bleeding,” he said softly, touching her chin.
She reached up and touched her lip, which was throbbing. Her fingers came back with blood on them. “I’m sorry.” She turned her head away and wiped at the blood.
“No, here, let me help.” Ben looked up at Jaz, who disappeared into the room, returning a second later with a box of tissues.
Adam was cursing loudly, though it was mostly a jumble of words. Rikke could pick out key cuss words and her name several times. The cop was still going. It took a while because he demanded Adam confirm his understanding after each sentence. “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, the state will provide one for you. Do you understand?”
The second cop crouched down beside Ben. “Are you all right, miss?”
Rikke nodded and dabbed at the blood with a tissue. Something cold was pressed into her hand—an ice pack wrapped in a towel from Jaz. She looked up at the roommate that she had never particularly gotten along with. “Thanks.”
The dark-haired girl nodded and shot a glare at Adam.
“They said you got a crack on the head. Do you need medical attention? I can call an ambulance.”
Rikke shook her head. Her vision was clearing. Ben’s fingers slipped under her hair and prodded gently at the back of her head. “She got thrown against the wall...no cut, just a bump. Rikke? Do you remember everything that happened?”
She looked at him. She did, but it was a weird question to ask. The cop was also looking at him.
“Oh, I’m Pre-Med, a certified EMT.” He quickly pulled his wallet out and flashed some card that the police officer seemed to recognize.
Ben looked back at her. “Rikke?”
“Yeah...yeah, I remember fine.” It hurt to talk. She pressed the ice against her lip h
arder.
“Can you tell me?”
“He was yelling and cussing, and then he punched you and threw me and hit me and stuff.”
“Blurry vision or stars?” he asked next, peering into her eyes closely. She noticed how gorgeous his were, so dark brown they were almost black, with the longest lashes.
“A little blurry, but it’s mostly gone.”
“Does your head hurt?”
“Just where I hit it...and my face,” she admitted.
“But no headache? What about dizziness or nausea?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Ben looked at the cop and pointed to the little flashlight in his uniform pocket. “May I?”
The cop handed it to him and Ben flashed the light into her eyes quickly before giving it back to the guy. “Pupils are fine. Let’s get you up. I want to make sure you can stand.”
With the cop’s help, he pulled her to her feet. Once she was up, she could stand ok, but Ben kept a hand on her elbow just in case.
“Sick or anything?” Ben asked.
“No, I feel fine, just my head.” She touched the bump forming on the back of her head.
Ben nodded and looked at the cop. “I think she’s okay, just a little shaken up from the situation. There are no signs of a serious concussion, but I would like to get her to sit down.”
Jaz led them back into the room, where they sat her down on the couch, Ben sitting beside her, hand still on her arm. Rikke caught a glimpse of the younger cop pulling Adam along as he continued to bad mouth all of them.
The cop sat opposite her, on the edge of a chair. “Are you feeling up to a statement?”
Rikke blinked and looked up. “Statement?”
“He did assault you, correct?”
“He yelled and hit me, but—“
Jaz touched her shoulder. “The yelling was assault, and the physical contact was battery. Rikke, they’re both crimes.”
She had nothing to say. Jaz was right. She dropped the ice pack and put her head in her hands. Anna had been right about everything. Why hadn’t she noticed? Why had she let it go on for so long?
Ben squeezed her shoulder. “Rikke, it’s al—“