Stay Close, Don't Go

He answered about a minute ago, but due to my hysterics, he was still unable to tell where I was, what I needed, and what was wrong. By the time I finally calmed myself down, I could tell he was already in the car, waiting for me to give him the instructions.

“Oliver, please.” I whispered into the phone, “I don’t know where I am, the sign says Oleander, but I have no idea where that is. Please come get me, and please, don’t bring Tom.”

No questions asked and he said he was on his way, speeding and Tom-less, while I sat in the shadows outside of a vacant building. I felt completely exposed to this neighborhood that I had never been in, and it was a completely horrible feeling.

The moment I heard the familiar sound of Oliver’s car coming down the street, I hopped up off the ground and sprinted towards his car, opened the door and practically jumping inside.

Oliver still didn’t ask any questions, instead he started to drive off and kept his mouth shut. I had never been more thankful for Oli right now, and each moment of silence made that grateful attitude towards him grow.

By the time his car started to approach my neighborhood, Oliver decided it was time to get me talking. He pulled into my driveway and idled his car, sitting in silence for a moment.

I sighed. “Whatever you’re going to ask, can you please just ask it?” I asked, fidgeting in my seat, “Just get it over with, I’m sleepy.”

Oliver nodded but didn’t speak right away. I knew he was trying to get his thoughts in order. “One, why did yeh leave the party with that douche bag?” He asked, his voice slightly angry. It changed though, “And what the hell did that bastard do to yeh? How bad do we ‘ave to fuck him up?”

I nervously played with my hands as I replied. “I left with him because I saw Tom and Mercy together, and Jack offered me a ride home.” I felt tears prickle in my eyes, “Damn it, I was so stupid. I have no common sense Oliver.”

“We all make mistakes,” Oli said, assuring me. He looked in my direction with a forced smile on his face. “Your judgment was impaired, we all make mistakes in those situations, but yes, it was very stupid on your part. Answer the next one, please?”

Oliver was acting like I’d never seen before. It was a perfect mix of angry, disappointed, concerned, and completely pissed off. Again, I was thankful for him at the moment. I don’t know what I would be doing without him right now.

“He, uhm…” I paused, thinking of the right way to word this. If I said it wrong, Oliver and the guys might murder someone. “He locked me in the car, and forced himself on me. I got away, keyed his car pretty bad and-”

“I don’t care what yeh did after,” Oliver snapped, “I fuckin’ care about the fact that he tried to take advantage of yeh, rape yeh, and he thinks he can fuckin’ get away with it. Hell no.”

“Oliver, don’t do anything stupid, please?” I begged, not wanting to make things any worse than they already were. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow. In the mean time, let me handle things. Don’t do anything stupid.”

With that, I thanked Oliver and got out of the car, completely ready to pass out in my bed. I made my way into the house, up the stairs, and to my bedroom. I stripped down completely and got into the shower, keeping the water cold. Teeth chattering and lips blue, I slipped into underwear and crawled into bed. I couldn’t wait for this day to be over.

&&

The next morning, I was rudely awoken by the sound of the doorbell. It rang, not once, not twice, but three fucking times before I was able to get up out of bed and run downstairs. Forgetting I was only in a tank top and underwear, I pulled the door open to face Tom.

“Madison I think we need to talk…” He said, his voice indicating he had probably planned out his entire side of the conversation. What he didn’t plan on was me being half naked answering the door. Unless Oliver mentioned something, this probably looked very bad on my part. “Oh, wow.”

“Sorry, come in, I just woke up and the doorbell sounded frantic.” I rambled and stepped aside so he could walk in. We awkwardly tip toed around each other for a moment. “Let’s go up to my room.”

The walk up the stairs was excruciating. There was no talking and the tension inside the air was following us all the way to my room. Once inside, the silence continued as Tom sat in my desk chair and I fished through my dresser for a pair of shorts.

Once a little more dressed, I turned to look at him, catching his eyes. They weren’t their usual icy blue color, instead, they were a cloudy, almost over cast sky color. What was worse, was I knew was the reason for it.

“So…” I trailed off, hoping he would start of the conversation so I didn’t have to.

Tom ran a hand through his hair nervously. “So, last night.” He started, chewing on his lower lip.

We just started at each other for a while, no one really wanting to be the first to talk. I know that he had more right to be mad at me, since I actually left the party, which made me think that he should have to go first.

I guess Tom thought so to. “I might as well just get this out there,” He started to say, looking up at my ceiling. “Oliver already told me everything he knows, but what I want to know is why the hell yeh would think I was chasing Mercy, and why the hell yeh would even think about goin’ anywhere with that creep.”

He was a little more blunt than I thought he would be, and it was hard to respond right away. “I… I don’t know, okay? I saw you two together and freaked. She was standing close, you were smiling, and she was doing that stupid hair flip. What was I supposed to think? And its not like I left with the intentions of getting with Jack, I wanted him to take me home.”

“And how did that turn out for yeh?” He breathed bitterly, totally ignoring the first half of my explanation. I was slightly surprised at his lack of concern about me.

I bit the inside of my mouth, refraining from yelling or crying. Backing up, I sat on the edge on my bed and stared at him, wondering why he couldn’t just look up from his hands and find a way to comfort me.

Tom rubbed his face and then ran his fingers through his hair again. He was frustrated and awkward, completely unsure of where to g from here.

“Madi, I would never pick Mercy over yeh. I would never even consider her, don’t ever think that I would.” He started to explain, “She was tipsy, and I was just talking because I didn’t want to seem like a douche. I had no idea about the stunt she was goin’ to pull. I’m sorry.”

“I should have known.” I admitted with my voice low. I hated to admit when I was wrong. “I should have known it was probably all a set up, but I didn’t. And I sure as hell didn’t know what would happen when he would take me home, you can’t think I was wanting to be with him.”

“Are you alright though?” He asked, finally seeming concerned for me. Tom stood up out of the chair and stepped over to me, sitting on the bed next to me. “Did he hurt you?”

I shook my head. “Not really, more like scared me. I think I hurt him more than he hurt me. I just feel so stupid.” I groaned and let my head fall into my hands.

Tom responded by wrapping his arm around me and pulling my body into his as I tried not to cry. I felt stupid, like everything was all my fault. If I hadn’t over reacted then everything would be fine, but since I had a typical girl moment, everything was screwed up.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered as I melted into his embrace. “Gah, I’m a horrible girlfriend.”

Tom kissed my temple, letting his lips linger for a moment. “No, you’re not. We just have horrible ways with dealing with things.”

Nodding, I leaned away from him and wiped the stray tears from my eyes. “Speaking of dealing with things badly, what’s Oliver planning?” I asked, remembering he mentioned something about hurting Jack last night.

“Who knows.” Tom said, not seeming to care. “I hope he beats the shit out of Jack.”