Handsome was literally an understatement. I could not find the words to describe him. Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and pink lips set against tan skin, that looked like he had been somewhere that had beaches and sun.
He was hot to say the least but also very beautiful.
I quickly looked away before he caught me staring.
"No way. Let me see you off further. They could easily follow you" he said and I shuddered at the thought.
"Fine. Just a little further" I said. He saved me, yes but I could not have a stranger knowing where I lived.
We settled into silence.
Once we were at a safe distance from the alley, I stopped and removed his jacket and gave it back to him.
"Thank you, I'm fine here" I said and he sighed in defeat.
"Fine" he said and I nodded.
"What's your name?" He asked, his stare heated.
"Andrea" I said softly and he nodded slowly.
"I'm Jason" he said and I nodded.
"Thank you Jason" I said again, truly appreciative but not strong enough to wait any further.
"I should get going now" I said and he nodded in understanding.
"Yes, sure. Take care of yourself" he said and I nodded.
"I will, thanks" I replied as I walked away from him.
I stopped to turn around and see if he was still there and he was.
He waved at me and I awkwardly waved back before I walked away and hurriedly made my way to my apartment.
I typed in the code and quickly threw the door open, sighing as soon as it closed behind me.
"Andy?!" A voice called out and I almost jumped out of my skin, before I realized it was just my roommate, Briana.
However, I found myself tongue tied and I couldn't say anything.
"Andy?" She called again as I heard her walk towards where I stood.
Once she saw me, she gasped.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" She asked as she hurriedly walked towards me and there and then, I couldn't take it anymore as my legs gave away and I fell to my knees and burst into tears, my heart breaking as my entire body trembled with fear and shock.
She wrapped me in her arms and smoothed her hand over my hair as sobs racked my entire body. She cooed as she tried to calm me down.
Eventually, after minutes that seemed like hours, I calmed down and she helped me off the floor and led us to the couch. When I was comfortably seated, she disappeared into the room before coming out again with a box of tissues. I took it from her with an appreciative smile.
A minute of silence passed between us as she watched me with worry etched on her face. I could tell she was extremely worried but I also knew I had some explaining to do. I took a deep breath in as I clutched the tissue in my hand, nervous as hell.
"What happened, Andy?" She finally asked me and I let out the breath I forgot I was holding.
A humorless chuckle escaped my lips as I sniffed.
"I broke up with Peter" I explained and she froze.
"Wait, what?!" She asked and I nodded weakly.
"Why?! What happened? Didn't you guys have an exciting day planned today or something like that?" She asked and I sighed as I thought of the wonderful day I was having that violently went downhill from the moment I touched his phone.
"He was cheating on me" I said and she gasped in shock.
"No way! I thought he… With who?!" She exclaimed, clearly shocked. I shook my head and I swallowed past the dryness lodged in my throat.
"Rosalie" I whispered softly, my heart breaking at just the reality of it all.
She gasped and the sheer horror on her face mirrored the one in my chest. It was almost unbelievable. Rosalie and I were like two sides of a coin, we've known each other since high school and we've been inseparable since.
The slow rising numbness in my chest reminded me of what all these really meant.
I rubbed a hand across my face as I tugged on my wet clothes, the crawling of hands over my body returning with full force.
"And on my way here, I- I almost got raped" I said as a wry, humorless chuckle escaped my lips.
Briana stared at me in shock, like I had suddenly grown two horns.
"Wait, how?!" She asked and I sighed as another shiver ran down my spine.
"I decided to walk from Peter's apartment and-" I started to explain and paused to sigh, when she cut me off with a gasp.
"The alley" she said, as realization coated her features and I nodded.
"Andy, what the hell were you thinking?!" She asked, clear worry seeping into her voice.
I shook my head and bent it downwards as I played with my fingers.
"I wasn't" I said and she sighed and held my hand, urging me to go on.
I took a deep breath in before relaying the whole thing to her. From how I was almost out, to how I was corned, to how I was pushed to the floor and then finally, to how a random man saved my life.
By the end of everything, I was crying and tears brimmed her eyes as she watched me.
Then, she shuffled closer to me and hugged me, drawing a soothing hand across my back.
"It's okay, it's all over now" she said, occasionally repeating it.
By the time I calmed down, I felt relief wash over me because yes, I was almost raped but thankfully, it didn't happen. Most girls did not have the luxury of that.
Even though that did not erase the fact that I was assaulted or make it less traumatic, I knew I had to be strong.
I took a deep breath in, causing Bree to pull away from me.
I smiled as she stared at me.
"Thank you," I said and she gave me a sad smile in response.
I stared at my body. I needed a shower.
And so I told her. And she agreed, telling me to call on her if I needed her help.
Bree was sweet like that. We've never had any issues for the three long years we've spent in college as roommates. She was an absolute angel as much as she was the strongest person I knew.