Reunited

“Jordan!” She squealed, squirming in the strong arms that were wrapped around her stomach. “Let go of me!”

“What are you going to do if I don’t?” The tall blonde asked, picking his friend up so that her feet weren’t touching the ground.

“It’s not what I’m going to do if you don’t,” she said, continuing to move. “It’s what I’m going to do when I’m back on my feet.”

“You scare me a little,” he commented, letting go of her midsection. He watched as she fell to the ground, unable to land on her feet. As she stood up, Jordan took a large step away from her.

“You’re dead meat, Blondie,” she growled, dusting off her blue jeans.

“Them there are fighting words, Staalsy,” Max said as he entered the hallway, joining the group that had gathered. “She doesn’t look like the type of girl to back down either.”

“You expect me to fight her?” Jordan asked, wide-eyed. He continued to back away from the angry redhead. “You are all insane. I’d murder her.”

“We don’t fight the same, Jordan,” she told him. “You fight on skates.”

“Barely,” a voice coughed from behind her, causing the group to chuckle.

“I have a more dangerous way of fighting,” she snarled, keeping a straight face the entire time.

“Care to share you strategies?” Jordan asked, his voice suddenly holding some bravery. He took a step toward her, hoping to intimidate her with his height.

“Don’t even try that stunt. You know me well enough to know that your height means nothing to me.”

The statement made Jordan sigh in defeat. “Fine, Simone, you win.” A questioning look spread across his face as she burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“You totally fell for all of that crap,” Simone laughed. She took a deep breath, trying to stop her outburst.

“What?” He looked around the hallway at the other members of his team and their women. He noticed that they were trying hard not to laugh. “You guys are dicks. I can’t believe I fell for that.”

“We all knew you were gullible, Staal, but who knew you were that gullible,” Kris said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Jordan shook his head and grabbed his bag from the spot where he dropped it. “You need a ride, Simone?”

“Is that an offer?” She asked. “Or are you going to be pissy the entire way? If that’s the case I’m going to catch a ride from Kris.”

“I won’t be pissy,” Jordan said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get going. Zach is probably worried about you.”

Simone scoffed, but walked with Jordan out of the building, waving goodbye to everyone on the way.

“Zach called me before the game,” Jordan stated as the pair got into his rental car.

“And?” Simone raised an eyebrow at him.

“He was looking for you,” he told her. “He said that you were supposed to be at my place before the game.”

“That was my plan,” she shrugged. “Things change and I didn’t feel like going to your place. I was at Marc and Vero’s instead.”

“Next time you change your mind, could you let your boyfriend know?” Jordan glanced at her. “When I said you weren’t around, he marched across the hall, nearly knocked down my door, searched my apartment, and accused me of lying.”

“He accused you of lying?” Simone gasped.

“Yeah, he said I must have you hidden somewhere and accused you of cheating on him with me.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “He really said I was cheating on him?”

“Well, he said that I was banging you behind his back, so, yeah, pretty much you were cheating.” Jordan studied his passenger, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

“Focus on the road, Jordan,” Simone said, staring straight ahead at the car in front of them.

“What’s going on Simone?” Jordan asked, returning his eyes to the road.

“Nothing,” she said, snapping from her trance. “Why would you think there was something going on?”

“You zoned out when I mentioned that Zach thought I was sleeping with you.”

Simone sat quietly in the passenger seat of Jordan’s temporary BMW. Everything around her seemed to be a blur. The cars were like red smears of paint across her vision. “I think Zach’s been lying to me,” she blurted, causing Jordan to snap his head toward her. “Jordan, the road,” she whispered, staring out at the traffic again.

“What makes you think that?” Jordan asked, returning his gaze to the traffic once more. He turned the car into the parking lot and pulled into his designated stall. Putting it in park, he placed his hand on top of Simone’s as she went to unbuckle. “Talk to me, Simone. I can’t help or even begin to understand if you don’t talk to me.” He noticed the tears that rimmed her eyes as she looked up at him. Pulling her into the best hug he could from across the arm rest, he gave her a kiss on top of her head. “Stay at my place tonight. I’ll have Marc and Vero stop by with some ice cream, okay?” He felt Simone nod her head against his chest. “Then we can talk.”

“With Vero and Marc?” Simone squeaked. It was obvious she was trying not to cry.

“If you want them to stay,” Jordan nodded. “They don’t have to if you would rather just talk to me.”

“I’ll have to tell Vero eventually,” she sighed. “What am I going to tell Zach?”

“Tell him you are having a movie night with Marc, Vero, and me,” he suggested.

“Do you think he will believe it?” She asked, raising her head from the blonde’s chest.

“Probably not,” he replied, shaking his head. “Not after the way he reacted earlier.”

Simone nodded and unbuckled her belt. “Well, he’s going to have to,” she said, stepping out of the car with a new found confidence.

Jordan smirked and followed her into the apartment block. “Are you going to stop there before coming over?”

“Yeah, I’m going to grab some pajamas and something to wear to work tomorrow,” she told him as they approached the doors to their apartments. “Send Vero over to get me if I’m not over when they arrive.”

“I will,” Jordan said, pulling her into another hug. He gave her one more kiss on the forehead before letting her enter her apartment.

As she closed the door behind her, she noticed that the heels that had been there earlier were no longer sitting on the mat. Sliding off her own shoes, she made her way to the bedroom door, which was closed. She slowly opened the door and tiptoed into the room, trying extra hard not to make any noise.

She was about to open a drawer when a light turned on beside the bed. She turned her head toward the bed, knowing that she probably had the deer in the headlights look going on.

“Where the hell have you been?” Zach asked, getting up from the bed.

“You scared the living daylights out of me,” Simone said, placing a hand over her now racing heart.

“Answer me, Simone. Where the hell have you been?”

“I was at the hockey game, Zach, you know that.”

“Do I?” Zach asked, his nostrils flaring with anger. “Or were you just saying that you were going to the game?”

“Excuse me?” Simone asked, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

“Don’t act dumb,” Zach snapped. “I know that your buddy from across the hall told you all about my visit. At least he would have if you were at the game.”

“Yes, he did tell me,” Simone said, putting her hands on her hips. “And you had absolutely no right to do anything like that.”

“You lied to me.”

“I changed my plans and figured it wouldn’t be a big deal since you weren’t coming to the game anyway,” she said as calmly as she could. “I was over at Vero’s and then we went to the game.”

“Why would I believe you now?” Zach asked, eyeing the red head in front of him.

“I’ve never lied to you about anything, Zach,” Simone tried to convince him. “Why would I want to lie to you about anything?”

“You tell me.”

“No, I’m going over to Jordan’s. I don’t need to deal with this shit.” Simone turned to the dresser and pulled open the drawer. She started grabbing anything that she thought she might need for the next couple of days.

“Like hell you are,” Zach barked, grabbing a hold of her wrist. He pulled on her wrist, turning her around to face him. “You are not going anywhere near him or his apartment.”

“Who died and made you my boss?” Simone asked, trying to pull her arm out of his grip. “Let go of me, Zach.”

“What are you going to do?” Zach gave her a push, causing her to step backward.

Her back was met the front of the dresser. She could feel a bruise forming on her wrist and knew that fighting him any longer would probably end in more bruises. “Zach, you’re hurting me, please let go.”

“Why would I go and do something foolish like that?” Zach asked, taking a step toward her. “If I let go of you, you’re going to run over to your hockey fuck and there is no way I’m going to let that happen.”

“I’m going over to watch movies with Vero, Marc and Jordan,” Simone whispered, trying to hold back the tears that were forming. “I’m not cheating on you, Zach, and I’m definitely not sleeping with Jordan.”

“There is no way you can prove that,” Zach said, pulling on her arm.

She stumbled forward, tripping. Crashing into Zach, she felt his arms go to her hips, holding her tight to his body. “Please let me go. We can talk about this tomorrow after I’m finished work.”

“I don’t think so,” Zach shook his head. He pulled her toward the bed and threw her onto it. “I’m not letting you leave my sight.”

Simone sat up and looked at Zach with wide eyes. She stood from the bed, hoping that he wouldn’t come after her.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, taking quick steps to cover the distance between them.

Simone closed her eyes, readying herself for a push that would put her back on the bed. She opened her eyes slowly, noticing that the push hadn’t come. Just as her eyes were fully open, a large hand landed on the side of her face. She took a step back from the unexpected force, losing her balance as the back of her leg connected with the edge of the bed.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Simone asked, raising a hand to her cheek once she landed on the floor beside the bed.

“What’s wrong with me?” Zach questioned, looking down at the red haired girl. “What’s wrong with you? Did you really think you would get away with it?”

“Get away with what?”

“Banging the guy that lives across the hall?”

“I told you, Jordan and I are just friends,” Simone screamed at him. “Nothing more, nothing less. I have never slept with anyone except you in the past three years.”

Zach opened his mouth to reply, when a knock came from the door. “I bet that’s him now, isn’t it?”

Simone pulled her hand away from her cheek as he walked to the bedroom door. She looked down at the blood that had started running between her fingers.

“Don’t think about going anywhere,” Zach said before leaving the room. “We are not finished here.”

“Like hell we aren’t,” Simone muttered, standing from her spot at the end of the bed. She slowly made her way to the bedroom door and listened to find out who was at the door.

“Simone’s staying here tonight,” she heard Zach tell the guest. “She’s already asleep.”

“Oh, Jordan said she was coming over to watch movies with the three of us.”

Knowing that it was Vero who was at the door, Simone stepped away from the bedroom door. She looked around the room, trying to decide her next move. Quietly, she shut the door, locking it in the process. She struggled to move the dresser with her bruised wrist, but managed to get it there just as Zach returned to the room. She heard him jiggle the handle and curse.

“Unlock the door, Simone,” he called through the door.

Instead of replying, Simone pulled her phone out of her bag and sent a message to Vero. “Come on, Vero, help me out here,” she muttered and started to move the night stand over toward the door. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to move anything else without doing some kind of damage to her wrist, she sat against in the corner farthest from the door.

She looked down at her phone, finding a reply from Vero. Smiling from the relief that Jordan and Marc were trying to find a way to get her out, she started to inspect her wrist. A blue discoloration had already begun to form in a ring where Zach had been holding her.

A loud bang came from the door, causing Simone to look up worried. She brought her knees to her chin and hoped that Zach wouldn’t be able to break through her barrier. She could hear him cursing through the door as another loud bang sounded.

The pain on the side of her face was beginning to give her a headache. Raising a hand to her cheek, she tried to ease the pain. Her skin was hot and had a sticky feeling to it. Pulling her hand away, she noticed that there was a trace amount of dried blood on her fingers.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and closed her eyes as Zach continued to attempt to get through the door. She knew it wouldn’t be long before he was able to break through the weakening lock.

The next crash Simone heard didn’t come from the bedroom door. It was too far away for it to be the bedroom. Raising her head from her knees, she looked at the door, half expecting Zach to have finally broken through the makeshift barricade. When she realized that the room was still intact and the attempts to break through had stopped, she unfolded her body from the ball it was in. She slowly got to her feet, grabbed her phone, and took a couple of steps toward the door.

“Simone, are you in there?” Vero’s voice came through the door.

The red haired woman opened her mouth to speak, but found that no words were leaving. She quickly made her way to the door and tried her best to move the furniture from the doorway.

When she was able to get to the doorknob, she unlocked it and pulled it open. She began crying at the sight of Vero, Marc and Jordan. Vero took a step toward her and pulled her into a hug. She rubbed Simone’s back, trying to calm her down.

“Shh, Simone, it’s going to be okay,” Vero whispered. “The police took him away. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Simone nodded her head in response and looked up at her friends. “Thank-you,” she whispered, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Anything for you, Simone,” Jordan said, walking up to the two girls. “Come on, we better go get you checked out by the paramedics.”

Simone nodded again and walked beside Jordan, Marc and Vero in tow. They stopped next to the paramedic who was standing at the door. “Are you ready to go?” The uniformed man asked.

“Where am I going?” Simone asked, finding her voice.

“I’m taking you to the hospital for a full check up,” the man told her.

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Simone tried to argue.

“You have to,” the man said. “You have no say in the matter.”

“I’ll be right next to you,” Jordan told her.

“You promise?” Simone asked.

Jordan pulled her into his side and kissed the top of her head. “I promise.”