Friends Always Ch 01
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Meant To Be Ch. 08 free porn video
‘We’re home, love.’
I snuggled deeper into Nick, not wanting to wake up. He kissed my forehead and poked the tip of my nose. I opened an eye to look at him before gazing out the window of the cab.
‘And your mobile’s been buzzing,’ Nick added.
I stretched my arms over my head as the cab stopped at his building. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I saw several texts from Gwen. I read them while Nick and George got our bags, a frown growing on my face.
‘What is it?’ Nick asked as we walked through the lobby.
‘I don’t know,’ I told him. ‘It’s Gwen – something must have happened but she doesn’t say.’
I knew there wouldn’t be any reception in the elevator, so I fidgeted with my phone until we reached Nick’s apartment.
‘I’m sorry – do you mind if I call her?’ I asked him anxiously.
‘Of course not, love,’ he said, kissing my cheek.
‘Gwen?’ I said when she picked up, lying down on the loveseat facing the windows.
‘Oh, Cass,’ she said in relief. ‘I’m so glad you’re home.’
‘What’s going on? Are you okay?’
‘How was the trip?’ Gwen asked in a tight voice.
‘Gwen,’ I said firmly. ‘Talk to me.’
‘Well,’ she began. ‘The short version is that I fucked things up with Drew. I threw myself at him that night after my party – when he carried me into his guest room. God, Cass, I was relentless. I’m so embarrassed.’
‘Oh, hon,’ I said sympathetically. ‘I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.’
‘Oh, it was bad. Worse than bad,’ Gwen said angrily. ‘He hasn’t spoken to me since.’
‘Shit,’ I muttered. ‘I’m sorry. What exactly happened?’
There was a long pause before Gwen spoke.
‘I – I don’t know if I’m ready to get detailed. I just feel so stupid.’
‘Okay, we don’t have to talk about it,’ I soothed. ‘We just got back to Nick’s, but I can come home -‘
‘No, that’s okay -‘
‘Gwen,’ I interrupted. ‘You don’t sound like you want to be alone now. Besides, we’re overdue for some girl time. And I brought you gifts from England.’
She laughed. ‘Well, you don’t have to rush back here. Though – well, I left part of my portfolio at Drew’s that night and I haven’t had the nerve to ask him for it. Do you still have his apartment key?’
‘Yeah, I do,’ I remembered. ‘I have it with me. But what if he’s there?’
‘He’s out of town this weekend – I heard him tell one of our professors. I was hoping you could ask him if we could go get it? Tell him I won’t go into the apartment if it freaks him out or anything.’
‘I’ll give him a call,’ I promised. ‘I’ll call you back once I’ve talked to him.’
Nick joined me and I relayed the news, my heart aching at how miserable my friend sounded.
‘I’m sorry I’m going to have to kind of take off right after we got back,’ I said.
‘I understand,’ Nick told me, slipping his arm around me.
I leaned against him, closing my eyes for a moment. Drew and I played phone tag for the next several hours before finally speaking.
‘Aren’t you in London?’ he asked me.
‘We just got back. Listen, Gwen left her portfolio at your place and wanted to know if it was okay for me to use the key you gave me for us to pick it up? I can leave the key there before I leave,’ I added, feeling awkward.
Drew hesitated before speaking. ‘How is she?’
‘Uh -‘ I stalled. ‘She didn’t really tell me what happened, just that she’s embarrassed. And that you guys haven’t spoken.’
‘Yeah,’ Drew said quietly.
‘She said if you prefer she not come, I can pick it myself,’ I ventured.
‘No, I don’t mind if she’s there,’ he said. There was another brief pause. ‘I miss her,’ he added in a low voice.
‘Do – do you want me to tell her that?’ I asked timidly.
‘I want to see her,’ he said suddenly.
‘Oh,’ I said in surprise.
‘Look, I’m going to be back tonight, probably by nine. Do you think she’d wait at my place until I got home? Is that weird? Or presumptuous? I should probably go see her at her apartment,’ he went on as if talking to himself. He sighed. ‘Fuck, I am out of practice.’
I stifled a giggle. ‘I can get her to wait at your place,’ I told him.
‘Thanks, Cassie,’ he said in relief.
‘Doing a little matchmaking?’ Nick teased after the call ended.
‘Hardly,’ I said with a laugh. ‘So, I’ve got to get his key to Gwen and convince her to wait in his apartment for him to come home. But we have time for dinner before then.’
‘Let’s take Gwen out to dinner,’ Nick suggested. ‘Or bring some take away to your flat. She’s probably a bundle of nerves.’
‘You’re so sweet,’ I said, kissing him.
‘I’m not that sweet – I’m just trying to prolong my time with you, darling.’ He winked at me. ‘Tell her if she doesn’t want me around, though, I understand.’
I ruffled his hair fondly before he stood, allowing myself the pleasure of watching him walk away before calling Gwen. She was grateful for the dinner suggestion but clearly hesitant about waiting at Drew’s for him. I agreed to go along and wait with her. I saw when we got home with dinner that Nick was right, she was anxious and tense. We did our best to distract her with stories of our time in London, talking nonstop in the hopes that we could make her stop worrying.
When we got to Drew’s, we all hovered awkwardly in his living room. Nick got a call from Abigail when she arrived in Chicago, but his phone kept cutting them off, so he excused himself to call her back from outside. Gwen was pacing back and forth in front of Drew’s couch. Deciding he wouldn’t mind, I found a beer in his fridge and handed it to her. I noticed her hands were shaking.
‘It’ll be okay, Gwen,’ I assured her. ‘He said he missed you.’
‘Cassie,’ she said in a small voice. ‘I basically yelled at him for brushing me off and turning me down. More than that – I yelled insults. I was out of control.’
‘He knows you were drunk, I’m sure he understands.’ I gave her a hug.
‘I just don’t know why I did it, drunk or not. I knew he wasn’t interested, why did I think that tactic would work?’ she said plaintively.
‘Gwen, you’re only freaking yourself out more right now,’ I said. ‘Stop beating yourself up about it. He misses you and wants to see you. I’m positive he didn’t want you here so he could rehash that night.’
We both looked at my phone when it chirped. I showed her Drew’s text, saying he was a few minutes away.
‘It’ll be okay,’ I told her with another hug. ‘And I’ll have my phone glued to my hand so you call or text me whenever, no matter how late. Okay?’
She nodded. ‘Thanks, Cassie.’
I hugged her again, leaving her with his apartment key and going out to find Nick. The elevator was taking longer than usual so I decided to take the stairs and when I didn’t see him outside, I wondered if he had gone back up to Drew’s. I was just getting ready to call him when I saw Drew approach.
‘She’s upstairs,’ I said with a smile.
‘Thanks,’ he said, looking somewhat nervous.
I couldn’t help a smirk as he went inside. Somehow I had a feeling that Gwen and Drew were going to be more than okay. It was a cold evening but I was still jet-lagged so my movements were sluggish. I sat on the picnic bench outside the building, leaning back against the table and looking up at the sky. It had just occurred to me to call Nick to see what was taking him so long when my phone rang. I answered without looking at the caller ID.
‘Cassie?’ a frantic female voice said.
‘Yeah?’ I said, confused.
‘It’s Abigail. Is Nico with you?’
‘Yes,’ I said instantly. ‘Well, I’m waiting for him outside a friend’s apartment. Weren’t you just talking to him?’
‘I was and we got cut off – Cassie, it sounded like…I don’t know, there was another voice. I heard Nico shout and then the line went dead.’
A chill ran through me. ‘What?’ I whispered, whi
pping my head around.
Just then I heard a shriek and looked up at Drew’s building. The hairs on my neck stood up. There was smoke coming from one of the apartments. Large, billowing clouds of black smoke.
‘Fuck, there’s a fire,’ I said. ‘Abigail, I have to call 911.’
I hung up without waiting for her response, but I was only able to dial the first two digits before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned in relief, Nick’s name on my lips. The chill returned when I saw Jason. There was a hard, blank look in his eyes.
‘What -‘ I started.
He didn’t let me finish. He clapped a hand over my mouth and wrapped his other arm around me, lifting me off the ground as he walked away from the building. I struggled and kicked at him but it wasn’t doing any good. I somehow managed to keep my grip on my phone, trying to get a glimpse of the screen so I could finish dialing 911 but it was useless. I looked around to see where we were going but suddenly I was being shoved into the backseat of a car.
‘Jason, what the fuck -‘ I yelled.
Jason moved too quickly for me to see him grab the knife, but in less than a second the cool blade was pressed against my neck. He leaned over me, speaking directly into my ear.
‘Do not move or make a sound,’ he growled.
My arms had been pressed under me and I tucked the phone into the back of my jeans, praying he wouldn’t look for it. Watching him with wide eyes, I nodded once and he removed his hand from my mouth.
‘Now, we’re finally going to have that talk,’ he said coolly.
I tried to think of something to say to appease him or distract him, but panic was making it difficult to breathe, much less speak. All I could focus on were his terrifyingly blank eyes and the pressure of the knife against my skin.
‘We’re going for a short ride,’ he told me, sounding almost conversational. ‘If you move or make a sound…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be a good idea.’
I nodded again. As soon as he closed the back door behind him, I scrambled for my phone. My eyes darted between the phone and the sight of him walking around the car to the driver’s seat. I placed the call to 911 and hit the speaker button before shoving the phone back into my pocket. Jason turned to me briefly once he was behind the wheel and I hoped my jeans would muffle the operator’s voice.
Can they even track my phone? Or is that just something they show on TV? I wondered.
I tensed when I heard a distant voice on the phone, glancing at the back of Jason’s head. He didn’t move or seem to hear it. I nudged part of my phone out of my pocket and mentally crossed my fingers.
‘Where are you taking me?’ I asked, my voice squeaky with fear. ‘What’s going on, Jason?’
‘I told you not to speak,’ he said calmly.
‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered. ‘I’m just – scared.’
‘You brought this on yourself,’ Jason told me. His voice still sounded eerily casual. ‘I gave you plenty of chances to talk to me, but no. You forced my hand, Cassie.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I repeated, tears spilling onto my cheeks.
Very slowly, I propped myself up slightly so I could see out the window, desperately looking for landmarks. The car slowed and my panic increased. I had a decent view out the window but couldn’t concentrate on anything I saw. I forced myself to fight through the haze of fear as the car rolled to a stop, quickly reading the business signs in front of the car. Jason got out and I flipped to my stomach, pulling the phone out of my pocket.
‘Jaime’s pizza. Levinson Pharmacy. Franklin dry cleaners,’ I whispered frantically into the phone. ‘Please help me.’
The phone was knocked to the floor of the car when Jason pulled me out. He covered my mouth again, his other hand holding the knife to my neck as he walked us into an alley. It was dark and deserted, the stuff of nightmares. I was surprised when Jason strode to the end of the alley instead of entering one of the buildings. I realized he probably hadn’t planned this out in much detail. He shoved me against the brick wall and stood over me, pointing the knife at me.
I forced myself to keep my eyes open, blinking rapidly to fight off tears. Jason began speaking, a long diatribe listing all of the ways I’d wronged him. His cool facade was breaking and he was pacing, his voice becoming more heated. It was just as frightening as his casual demeanor, but I tried to take advantage of his break in eye contact to survey my surroundings. I knew I couldn’t outrun him, but it seemed that it was an advantage that we were still out in the open, though I was technically trapped in this alley.
I was just trying to decide if I would be able to kick the knife out of his hand when he stopped in front of me. Resting one hand on the wall, he leaned into me, running the knife’s pointed tip lightly down my cheek. I flinched, moving my head away instinctively.
‘Jason, I’m so sorry that I hurt you,’ I whispered. ‘But you don’t have to do this.’
He sneered, seeing right through my attempts to placate him.
‘Shut up,’ he growled.
He trailed the knife down my neck, flicking the blade against each coat button so casually it was terrifying. My coat hung open and he dragged the knife to the neckline of my shirt. I didn’t have time to react before he sliced easily through the fabric, cutting it down the middle. With another flick of his knife, he cut away the center portion of my bra. He stepped back to stare at me, bared open to him. I closed my eyes in terror, my arms instinctively covering myself. I heard a step and my eyes flew open. He shoved my arms away and leaned in, gripping one of my breasts.
Do something, I told myself. Kick him. Move. Run. Something.
I couldn’t decide quickly enough what my best option was, so I remained frozen as he pressed his body to mine. He pinched my breast roughly and I jumped. I could feel him watching my face closely and I told myself not to give him the satisfaction of a response. I looked around for his knife hand, still trying to assess the best way to get it away from him.
His fingers dug painfully into my breast then moved down my body. I squirmed when I felt him undoing my pants. The icy tip of the knife blade pricked my neck and I let out a whimpered protest. He forced his hand inside my underwear and I began begging him to stop. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to formulate a plan.
It was hopeless. I was hopeless. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I gave in to the wretchedness of my situation.
—
So deep in my despair, it took me a second to register that the chilly night air whipping around me meant his body was no longer against mine. I looked around numbly and saw two bodies tumbling across the ground near my feet. I saw the silvery flash of the knife blade and heard a piercing, hysterical scream. It might have been my scream, I couldn’t tell. Then there were several pairs of feet pounding down the alley and voices shouting. I slid down the wall and everything went black.
I was being shaken. Then lifted from the ground. There were voices, but they were far away. I couldn’t open my eyes.
‘Cassandra. Cassandra!’
Nick. My eyes snapped open and I saw his face inches from mine. His face was ghostly pale and there was blood drying on one side of his face. His eyes were full of anguish.
‘Nick,’ I whispered, then immediately burst into tears.
He crushed me to him. It took me a minute to realize he was walking as he carried me. I heard more voices. When I felt another set of hands on me I panicked and began struggling, bucking wildly in Nick’s arms.
‘Cassandra, it’s the paramedic,’ I heard Nick say. ‘They need to check you.’
‘No!’ I shrieked, my arms flailing.
Nick sat down with me in his arms. I heard him speaking but couldn’t comprehend the words. He wrapped his arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides. Trapping my legs between his, he tightened his hold, making
soothing sounds until I stopped struggling.
‘Pet, they’re going to check you now,’ Nick said gently, stroking my hair. ‘I’ll be right here the whole time, I promise. No one’s going to hurt you.’
I studied his face for a long time before nodding in resignation. He helped me to my feet and I gripped his hand. The paramedic began to lead me to the back of the ambulance and I pulled Nick with me.
‘Don’t let go,’ I demanded vehemently. ‘I don’t care what they have to do. Do not let go of my hand.’
I saw Nick exchange a look with the paramedic before they both turned to me. I could only imagine what I looked like – wide-eyed and frantic. I didn’t care. I honestly believed I would lose my mind if Nick let go of my hand.
‘Can you let go long enough to put this on?’ the paramedic asked me quietly, holding up a scrubs top.
I glanced down and was reminded of my ripped shirt and bra. I nodded sullenly, too paralyzed to be embarrassed. I slipped the top on and Nick instantly took my hand. We sat next to each other in the ambulance, each with our own paramedic tending to us. When they were finished, we sat on the curb answering an officer’s questions.
The sequence of events started to fall into place as I listened to Nick and the officers. Apparently when Jason had followed me to Drew’s the day before Gwen’s party, he’d assumed we were dating. The policeman speculated he’d been waiting for us to be there together again. He knocked Nick out when he was outside on the phone, likely to avoid having a witness and not because he suspected Nick knew me. He set a fire in Drew’s apartment, barricading the door with Gwen inside. Drew managed to pull her out but she was in the hospital suffering from minor burns and smoke inhalation.
The officer believed Jason expected me to be in the apartment and when he’d discovered me outside, he’d impulsively grabbed me. Nick had regained consciousness in time to see Jason shoving me into the car. Fortuitously, one of Drew’s neighbors arrived at that moment and saw the same thing. She called the police and let Nick take her car to follow us. He arrived just before the police, tackling Jason moments before the officers got there. I simply nodded repeatedly as all of the information reached my ears, still too dazed to really digest any of it.
One of them drove us to Nick’s, where we brushed aside George’s look of concern and finally entered the sanctuary of the apartment, our hands still tightly clasped. We stood in a stupor, staring into the room.
‘Gwen,’ I said suddenly. ‘I need to see her -‘
‘Drew and her parents are with her,’ Nick said. ‘The paramedics said she’ll be fine. We’ll go tomorrow.’
‘Wait – Drew – his apartment -‘ I stammered.
‘I gave him my key to your flat if he needs a place to stay – I didn’t think you would mind,’ Nick murmured.
‘Of course not,’ I whispered. ‘Thank you.’ My lips began trembling. ‘God, all of his work -‘
‘I’m certain he’s not concerned with that,’ Nick assured me.
I nodded faintly. It was impossible to process everything.
‘Abigail!’ I cried out. ‘I was on the phone with her when I saw the smoke -‘
‘I texted her to let her know we were all right,’ Nick told me, pulling me into his embrace. ‘I’ll ring her tomorrow, but she knows we’re fine.’
My whimper was muffled as my face was pressed into his shirt. He smelled of smoke and sweat.
‘Darling, why don’t you take a shower?’ he suggested. ‘I’ll make some tea.’
My body sagged against his and I nodded in relief. A shower did sound good, though I wasn’t sure I had the energy to stand. Nick led me to the bathroom and turned on the water, pausing to ask if I could manage before giving me privacy. I undressed slowly, my limbs aching. Looking down at the ripped shirt and bra in my hands, my stomach lurched and I stumbled to the toilet, expecting to be sick, but nothing came up. I shoved the ruined clothes into the trashcan, piling toilet paper on the top so I didn’t have to see them. I got under the hot stream, standing there until I began to get dizzy. Sinking to my knees, I hugged myself and waited to feel clean. I jumped at movement on the other side of the glass door. Nick opened it a crack and gave me a worried look when he saw me seated on the shower floor. I just stared at him.
Nanette
- 12.06.2020
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