TW: sexual assault (if this will trigger you, please skip this chapter – my shitty writing is not worth it.)

Ethan's POV:

I don't know how something; someone can be so effortlessly beautiful.

When Francesca came out tonight, I was more than surprised when I noticed the piercings. I knew she had her ears pierced because more often than not I have my mouth near or on them, so I could tell, but I never even knew she had the ones in her nose. A small feature makes her look so different, and it's making my dick strain against my jeans just thinking about how she looks tonight especially in that red dress of hers that's hugging every perfect curve in her body.

Hanna and Lauren have just dragged her away to the dance floor, and I won't lie, I want to be down there, watching their every move, but I know they'll be okay with each other for a while before I do steal her away for a dance of our own. 

"Get out of your head, she's fine." Kieran assures me, pulling me back to the reality.

"Shut up." I bite back, and he rolls his eyes at me, a glint of amusement on his face.

"You're totally whipped." He's pushing every last nerve on my body, and he knows it.

"Do you want to make friends with the floor?" I warn, and he just smiles. Dickhead.

"Finally, you're back." He says, and I look to my left to see Matt and Felix with the drinks.

Final-fucking-ly, I need this.

"You're nephew has anger issues and needs a drink." He says, and I swear to God, I'll punch his lights out.

"You're the most annoying prick I've ever come across." I say, and Felix practically shoves the bourbon glass into my hand.

"Drink." Felix urges, a smile on his face.

"So much toxic masculinity, Jesus, someone needs to paint their nails and put on a facemask now and again." Matt says with a chuckle as he slides into the booth side with Kieran. They're made for each other, they really are.

"Why are you even all tensed up about anyway?" Felix asks, taking a sip of his beer.

"Just some guys earlier." I don't know why it bothered me so much, and if my girl weren't there, I would have knocked them all out without even thinking about it. I care how she perceives me though, and I don't want her to be scared of the guy I can be.

"Who?" Matt's the one to blurt out, and for the first time, I've seen him become protective, and it somewhat shocks me but at the same time it doesn't because I know how much he loves and cares for Francesca.

"Around seven of them, all freshmen assholes, staring at her like she's an object and it fucking infuriates me." I mutter, taking a swig of my drink, finishing it before slamming it on the table.

"Okay, calm it Rocky." Kieran says and I glare at him. That's a new one.

"As much as you'll hate to hear it." Matt starts with a sigh, and I raise my brow at him. "Look, she gets it all the fucking time and she's used to it, not that I think she should be because she shouldn't have to deal with that shit. She knows how to handle herself; I've seen it firsthand. You just need to realize she's a hot piece of ass and men are going to try it with her – boyfriend or not."

"I'm not her boyfriend." I say, and they all laugh. Yeah, I'd laugh at that statement too if it weren't actually true, she's not my girlfriend and as much as I want her to be, we've never had the conversation or a conversation about what we're doing. And how does one even approach it? "You know what, fuck you guys. And them too, they can't just get away with this."

"You need to calm it. Take a chill pill." Felix says, and I sigh. The amount of anger I hold, not just for these guys, but for anyone that bothers her, is insane. I don't have anger issues in general, just when it comes to her. "Frankie is totally fine, she's dancing with the girls enjoying herself – if you want to fuck that up by starting bullshit with some random dicks, you do that, but she won't want that."

"She still doesn't know about that Shawn guy, does she?" Kieran asks, and I clench my jaw at the mere mention of his name.

"What happened?" Matt asks with a frown.

"Oh, only this guy knocked him out at a frat party, broke his nose and knocked out his two front teeth." He says casually. That I didn't know, and a sinister smile comes to my face at the mention of his injury's.

"He was going to have his way with Francesca and she was barely even fucking conscious." I say, and Matt blinks at me.

"She didn't tell me, when... when was this?" Matt asks, and I feel a little guilty for blurting out Francesca's business, and for Matt because he didn't even know.

"Tony's birthday." I tell him, the memories of that night in September flooding back to me. I think that's truly when things changed between Francesca and me. I was always attracted to her, and hated that friends were just our title, but that night changed the feelings I had for her. I started having actual feelings for her, and it wasn't just an attraction.

"Fucking hell, was she okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I brought her to bed, she slept the drugs off he had given her. We haven't spoken about it again, but I think she's okay." I say, hoping that she is and what he did or in this case didn't thankfully do, didn't affect her at all. I'd hate to think it has.

"Ethan you underestimate her, she tougher than you think. She can stand her own ground, and at times, she'll surprise you." He assures me, and I know that already. Francesca is one of the toughest people I've ever come across, and even though I don't know the things that are eating away at her on the daily, I know she's dealing with them and to do that you have to be strong. I envy her for her strength because I certainly didn't have it.

"Okay, how about we lighten things up. Ethan, calm down and get yourself another drink since you basically wasted that one." Felix says, and I mean, he's not wrong. I hardly even drank it, I just downed the contents of the glass in one go, it causing me no effect whatsoever.

"Wanna go dance?" Kieran asks Matt, and his face lights up. They both get out of their seats, and I smile at the two. I can tell simply by the look in their eyes that there's something there. I've known Kieran since I started college here, and I've witnessed him with a few guys; some flings, one relationship, and the way they look at each other is something more. But it's like they're both too scared to let it happen.

"I'm coming too, it is my birthday after all." Felix says, and I swear he's trying to mention it's his birthday a thousand times within the night. It's not even his birthday anymore. It was five days ago.

So, the options here are for me to sit here like an old man or actually enjoy myself with a beautiful girl on the dance floor. I don't know who would choose the former option, but that's certainly not me.

"I'm getting a drink." I say, letting them go their own way as I get out of the booth.

After ordering a shot of vodka at the bar, I down it before making me way through the dancing bodies. It's humid in here, packed with people, but I can see that red dress, olive skin color, brunette hair anywhere.

Francesca and Hanna are dancing together, their hands on each other, not much space between them as they yell the lyrics to the song that's currently playing, and the vision has me adjusting my pants again. My dick is going to hate me after tonight, I swear.

Using her moves from yesterday, I snake my arm around her waist and she squeaks out a scream, grabbing my hand before she turns around, and I raise my hand in defense. I may have forgot I taught her self-defense.

"Dickhead, don't sneak up on me like that." She lets out a breath, moving her hair out of her face.

"I'd lie and say it's part of your training, but it wasn't and I'm sorry baby." I whisper, and she whines, burying her head into my chest. I do kind of feel bad for sneaking up on her like that especially in this club. I'm such an idiot. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just don't sneak up on me like that." She says sternly, and I smile down at her pouty face.

She really has no idea how I feel about her, and how much I do.

With the song change, I turn her around, pulling her ass flush against me, and she leans her back against my chest, swaying slightly to the new song, a pop song but we don't care about the beat, or the people dancing around us.

"You look so beautiful, and it's becoming harder and harder to not pull you into the nearest bathroom and fuck you senseless." I murmur close to her ear, not even regretting the words that spilled out of my mouth without thinking more about them.

"Try, because I feel like using my legs tonight." She tells me adamantly, and at least she's agreeing that she won't be able to use her legs when we're done because I know for a fact she won't.

Around her I feel like a teenage boy again – boners protruding at any time and place at just the mere thought of her, dirty or not. She just has to smile and the little guy is awoke. I've never been in this situation before because not even as a teenager did I have a girlfriend or anything close to that, all I've ever done is sleep around with different girls, more than I'd like to admit. Some days there'd be more than one. I don't even know how many, but honestly, I don't even want to know my body count.

"You won't in the morning." I mutter.

"We have classes tomorrow." She says, and only now do I remember it's a Sunday.

"I think I have some persuasive skills in mind to skip those classes." I say and she tilts her head up to me with a little smile, and I lean down to kiss her at this awkward angle. She turns her body slightly, and I smile, cupping her jaw as I run my tongue over hers, capturing her mouth with mine.

I swear she was made for me, and for that, I thank God.

"You know what I have in mind?" She asks, pressing her lips together, her brows raised teasingly, and I gesture her to go on. "Graduation, Ethan, I want to graduate."

"It's a few classes. I promise you; I'll make it worth your while." I murmur, convincing her of the truth that she just won't admit yet.

"Mmm, you know... you're trouble." She says, and I smirk at her.

Oh baby, you don't know the half of it.

~~

It's later into the night, I'm more than tipsy but nor am I fucked up. I can still walk in a straight line, just slightly buzzed and feeling good. Francesca has put me on a temporary ban for the hour, and I'm not surprised because the shots and drinks were flowing, and it was getting a little messy. I'm actually thankful she did.

Felix is... totally smashed, there's no other word for it, but when I mentioned him to have water and sober up a little, he just flipped me off, yelling it was his birthday, and went back to kissing Lauren – which has happened during the night. I'm not surprised, in fact no one is. She's happy with it, so is he, and they're both as drunk as each other, so I really don't think anything will be happening tonight that hasn't already when they left for the bathroom together for ten minutes.

It's close to midnight, or past it now. We've been dancing together, slowly getting drunk, sobering up a little, sitting and chatting. It's been a really good night, and it seems to be far from over.

Walking out of the bathroom, putting my belt through the loop, I scan the dance floor for Francesca, expecting her to be right where I left her, in safe hands with Hanna. I squint my eyes but all I can see is Hanna dancing with some girl, and everyone else but no Francesca in sight.

I don't know what comes over me; I push my way through the crowd, and roughly grab Hanna's shoulder and she frowns, spinning around.

"Where the fuck is Francesca?!" I yell, and she blinks at me before looking around. "Hanna!"

"She was, she was just here. I swear, I thought we were dancing. What- maybe she's just in the bathroom." She says in a rush, and I feel a wave of guilt for yelling at her, but Francesca's safety is my only worry right now.

"Fuck sake. Where?" I ask, and she points towards the opposite direction to the male toilets.

She better be in there taking a piss or doing makeup or I'm going to go on a rampage.

I push my way back through the crowds, not stopping to apologize for shoving people, I honestly couldn't care less right now. There's no hesitation when I fly open the door and what is revealed has to be the worst sights I've ever witnessed.

Her stomach pressed against the sink basins, her dress is hitched up around her waist, and a guy, a long-haired punk has one of his hand tightly wrapped around her mouth, the other between her legs.

"Get the fuck off her!" I yell, marching towards the man towered over my girl, and he drops his hand from her mouth, and a sob comes from her. I grab his ponytail, dragging him in front of me and I swing my knuckle into his jaw, and his body goes limp, dropping him to the floor.

"Ethan." Francesca's voice is horse, and I look up to her, her mascara streaming down her face.

"Oh my God, baby, I'm so sorry." I whisper, wrapping my arms around her and she flinches slightly making my heart sink all over again. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry. Baby, I'm so fucking sorry."

I lift up her hand, cupping her jaw and she can't look me in the eye, tears falling down her cheeks. How can I help her? She doesn't deserve this. She does not deserve any of this, no one does, but especially not her. 

"It's okay, I'm here now, he's not going to touch you again, I promise. No one is going to touch you ever again." I say, and it's a promise.

"He-" She tries to speak, and I can't stand the pain in her voice.

"Shh, I've got you." I say, and she ducks her head into my chest, sobbing against me.

The door swings open, and when I look back, I see Hanna, Matt, Kieran, and a drunken Lauren and Felix, but the sight of ponytail on the floor soon sobers them up.

"What the fuck!" Matt yells, and Francesca flinches in my arms.

"I've got you." I whisper.

"Get him out of here, and I mean it, kill him. I don't care." I say, and it's not up for questioning.

"Okay, mate, calm down." Felix says, holding out his hands.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Get that mother fucker out of here, or I'll deal with him myself." I warn him, and Felix looks down at Francesca, and he already knows.

"Ethan, don't, it's fine." Francesca says, and I'm sure I didn't hear correctly.

"Babe, none of it is fine." I say, and for the first time she looks me in the eyes. She looks so broken, empty and I hate to know this prick has done that. I look back at Felix, and he looks pale as he stares at the guy. "Just get him out of here – we're going home."

"Okay, we're on it." Matt says, and both Kieran and Felix share a nod.

The girls step over the prick on the floor, and they envelope Francesca into a hug, me being in the middle of it, but I'm not leaving her side.

"Hey baby, did he do anything else?" I ask, and she closes her eyes, her lip trembling. "I know baby, but I need to know."

"Ethan, bring her back to the dorm, we'll get some coffee on. It's a little too soon, he's literally on the floor." Hanna whispers to me, so low that I don't know if Francesca can even hear, and I nod.

I don't know what to do in this situation, how can I console her when she's so inconsolable?

"I'm going to go book an Uber, or at least try." Lauren says, and I bless her liver for the future, she's smashed right now.

I don't know how long ponytail is going to be knocked out for, but I hope long enough for the guys to get him outside because he's not a small guy, very tall with a lot of muscles. The sight of him doing that to her made me physically sick, and if my rage didn't overpower the nausea, I would have, without a doubt, thrown up. 

Time somewhat goes very fast but it felt like I was in slow motion. We were once inside the bathroom at that club, then walking back into the dorm room, everyone still in shock.

The guys had got him out, and then the girls and I left the club, waiting outside for the Uber. The guys were quite a while, so I'm hoping they beat him back and blue, I only wished I was there to witness the scum quiver and scream in pain.

The drive home was a journey, Francesca was sick as I expected, and I just hated seeing her in the state she was in. Having a nice driver was a bonus, whom of which didn't mind if the window was down and she was throwing up in a bag.

I just wish I could take this pain from her.

Everything she's gone through that has caused her pain; I wish to take from her.

She doesn't deserve this.

Walking through the front door, I go to take my jacket off from around Francesca's shoulders but she shakes her head, tightening her grip, pulling it around her. Whilst we were waiting for the taxi, I had given her my jacket since she was shaking so much.

The tears from her beautiful eyes never gave in, until now where she just looks numb. Her face is emotionless, and it's even more heartbreaking to see.

I hate to wonder what she's thinking in this moment. I hate to know she was alone, scared like that, in there with him, and he did that to her. I don't know if that was it, or he did something else. I'd hate to think he has. I want to kill him as it is.

I've never felt the actual need to kill someone – but him and what just happened has pushed buttons that I didn't even think existed inside of me.

"I'll get the coffee on." Hanna says, walking straight into the kitchen.

"Hey baby, do you want to get changed?" I ask Francesca softly, and she looks up at me, nodding eagerly.

"And a shower, I need a shower." She says, and I look back at Hanna. In hushed tones in the taxi, Hanna told me if Francesca wanted to report it, she couldn't shower, but right now I don't know how to breach the subject with her since she's in such a vulnerable state.

"Frankie, um, are you wanting the police involved?" Matt asks delicately, and I silently thank him for doing it instead of me.

"No, no, I just want to forget it. I don't even know his name or what he was wearing. Can we just forget it?" She asks everyone, her voice breaking as she speaks.

As much as I don't want him to get away with it and for her to report it, Francesca comes first and what she wants matters to me more.

"Okay, Ethan help Fran with the shower." Matt says to me, and I nod as he directs his eyes to the drunken couple. "Lauren, Felix, you guys need to sober up more, or sleep it off."

"I think I am sober." Lauren mutters, but in that moment she stubbles over.

"Coffee, water, condiments." Hanna says, opening the fridge which I'm guessing has bottles of water in.

I gently guide Francesca with me down the hall to her bedroom, and I can hear her anxious breathing when we go into the dark, so I quickly open her bedroom door, flicking on her light.

"I'm sorry about tonight." She whispers, and I frown, tilting her chin up to me.

"Don't ever be sorry about how tonight went. Nothing that happened was your fault, I promise you that." I say sternly, and her lip starts to tremble again.

"The guy, he said some-" I cut her off.

"Don't listen to what that bastard said to you." I say, and she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me into a hug. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

"You didn't know." She whispers.

"I should have been there." I say.

"No, no." She pulls away, and I look at her. "I should be able to go to the bathroom on my own without some guy following me. You shouldn't have the need to be with me the whole time because of a guy."

"You're right, I shouldn't have to be with you the whole night, and you should be able to go to the bathroom in peace, but for some fucked up reason, I know that you shouldn't have been alone. And I'm so sorry that you were." I say, cupping her face and she rests her head into my palm.

"Thank you for saving me." She says, her eyes tired and worn out.

"Don't thank me." I say, feeling the guilt that I weren't there beforehand.

"No, you saved me. I don't know what he was going to do. I was terrified, I tried to scream but he- he wouldn't let me, and he was taunting me with words about how he was going to do things to me, and I was just so scared, Ethan. Then he started touching me, and I really thought that it was it, that he was actually going to hurt me. It felt like an hour, but it can't have been more than a minute before you walked in. You saved me and I've never felt more relief when you knocked him out. I felt safe, and I can't thank you enough for that. I'm here with you, and I feel broken but I'm okay. I know I'm okay and safe with you." She says, tears streaming down her face as she cups my face like I'm the one who needs consoling.

"He shouldn't have touched you at all, and I can't get the vision out of my head of his hand- I'm so fucking sorry, I really am." I quickly apologize when she flinches at my words. "I just want to help you; how can I help you?"

"Shower with me, get me clean – I feel so dirty and I just need to get his touch off me." She grimaces.

"Of course, but are you sure you want me in there?" I ask hesitantly.

"I don't want you to leave me." She whispers.

"Then I won't, I'm not going anywhere. How- how do you want to do this because I don't want to overstep any boundaries?" I ask, and she gulps audibly, shrugging off the jacket.

"Unzip me slowly." She says, putting it down on her bed, and I nod walking around the back of her.

When my fingertips skim the skin of her back, she flinches slightly and she whispers a 'sorry', and I continue to unzip the back of her red dress, my heart hurting and my head soaring at how someone had made her feel like this, hurt her like this.

"He- He, um, he ripped the underwear I had on." She whispers, and I stop unzipping as she exhales deeply. "I wore it for you, and I just want you to know that it was for you and no one else. He said that I was asking for it – dressed how I was dressed and came to the conclusion that because I was wearing nice underwear, that I was prepared for it."

Apparently, it is possible to get angrier.

"I don't mean to anger you or anything, but I just need to get this out. Bottling things up has never been great for me, and the things I have bottled up have become such a big problem to me that I can't even talk about them. So, I figure if I speak about this now, that- that it will be okay, and I'll be okay." She seems unsure, and I shh her, wishing to hug her, kiss her and console her in the only way I know how.

"I'm here for you to talk to." I assure her.

"Can we get in the shower first, I feel sick wearing this dress." She says quietly, it coming out horse.

I slip the little straps off her shoulders, and the red fabric pools at her feet. My jaw clenches yet again when I see the underwear she's wearing – she looks perfect nonetheless, but he's quite literally ruined the panties she's wearing, though the bra is still intact.

"I'll be careful." I whisper, gently unclasping her bra and she sighs as it comes loose, pulling the straps down and dropping it to the floor. "Do you want me to?"

She nods, her breathing becoming a little heavier, and I know she's scared, so to help her out, I walk to the front of her.

"Open your eyes, keep your eyes on me. It's just me, I'm just taking these off." I say and she reaches her hands out, holding onto my shoulder when my hands come to her waist. I gently pull them down her legs, and her lip trembles when I do, but she complies and lifts her legs up one after the other, stepping out of them. "See, you're doing so good. Here."

I grab my jacket from the bed, wrapping her up in it so she isn't cold. Usually when she's naked in front of me, I take her in, tease her, but right now I can't. She's just so broken, so I cover her up, not seeing her as anything but Francesca right now. 

"Do you want me to get undressed or stay clothed whilst I'm with you – I don't mind either way." I tell her, and I'd do anything to make her comfortable right now.

"I want you naked in there with me, I'll feel better that way." She says, and if we weren't in this situation, I'd make a joke here, but this not the time nor the place to do so.

After stripping, we make our way into the bathroom, risking anyone seeing us like this when we do, but I don't think any of us care about that right now. Francesca turns on the shower and she takes my hand, leading me in with her.

Watching her in so much emotional torment is killing me, but I hope as she said, talking with me will help her.

The last shower we took together, only yesterday which was solely driven by so much pleasure, is the total opposite to what this is now as I carefully wash her back, watching my every move, hoping I aren't overstepping or being too brash with my circular movements of the loofa.

"I want to talk, can I talk?" She asks quietly, looking up at me, the water running through her hair as she tilts her head up in my direction, my arms delicately around her.

"Of course you can." I tell her, and she looks so beautiful right now, broken, but so beautiful.

"I don't know where to start but the beginning." She says, and I nod, gesturing her to continue. "You had just left, so I decided whilst everyone was dancing to go to the bathroom as well. After being at the club for hours, I felt comfortable with the place and I'm so stupid-"

"No. No, you aren't blaming yourself for this." I tell her adamantly. It's no one's fault but ponytail prick.

"Why did I go off alone?" She asks me, her voice breaking.

"Shh, you can't think like that. You can't retrace what happened tonight because it's going to hurt you further." I say, and she sighs, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I went to the bathroom, peed, but he was there when I came out – I thought I might have gone in the male bathroom by accident, but I hadn't. I was already scared at this point. He then started flirting with me, I guess trying to have something consensual, but when I mentioned I had a boyfriend because I didn't know what else to say, you know. Then it was like he changed. I hated the look in his eye, it was evil." She takes a breath, and I swear a blood vessel may pop in my forehead. I'm trying my very best to not get angry, especially whilst Francesca is in this state. "He grabbed me, shoved me towards the sink, and I felt nauseas because of the impact, I felt so ill. Um, then he started saying these things, awful things, like what he wanted to do to me, how I would feel and- sorry, I can't repeat that."

"Hey, you're doing so good. You don't have to repeat anything you can't." I whisper, cupping her face and she bites down on her lip, sighing.

"He wanted me to go down on him, but I couldn't, I couldn't do that to you, so that made him angry. This all happened so fast but it honestly felt so long." She says, and I nod, keeping my composure. I won't be surprised if I break a bag at work tomorrow. "That's when he lifted my dress up... told me I was a slut for wearing it and that I was asking for this. Then he ripped my underwear, and I thought that he was actually going to hurt me. And I got more scared when he touched me because all of his taunts weren't just empty threats, he was actually doing something to me. It hurt, he wasn't gentle at all, and it felt like it was never going to stop... until it did."

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry that he did this to you. And I'm sorry that I weren't there. I wish I was, and I could take it all back because I would if I could." I tell her, and she nods, wiping the tears from her face again.

"Everything was getting better – the nightmares were becoming less frequent or easier to deal with, and the panic attacks were becoming rare. I just felt like it was getting better, but nothing ever good can happen to me. It feels like punishment – I just feel like things got good and something else had to happen." She mumbles, and I sigh, shaking my head.

"If God is real, he's one sick fuck because no one deserves that. You don't deserve this, Francesca. And I am so sorry that it did happen." I apologize once again, needing to because I feel so sorry for her.

"Please stop apologizing, you really don't have to." She whispers.

"Let's get you washed, and I'll take your makeup off after." I say, and she smiles slightly at that.

After the shower that we took longer than I originally expected in – washing each other, whispering and just checking in on each other, just trying to make her feel comfortable – we got dressed, her into a t-shirt of mine that she's somehow stolen at some point, and some joggers, then I got dressed into some joggers of Matt's, stealing one of his shirts also.

She's tired, totally worn out and I'm not surprised, but she needs something to eat and a drink because she was really sick tonight before getting into bed. I'm really apprehensive about sleeping with her tonight because I really don't want to freak her out, but she's assured me twice already that she's safe with me and that she trusts me.

When we walk back into the living room, everyone goes silent, looking at Francesca and I instantly feel bad for her. But she doesn't look particularly phased by it, taking my hand as she walks us over to the kitchen. Matt and Kieran are sat, cuddled together, Hanna looks to be in her own head, and Felix and Lauren are nearly asleep together under a blanket on the sofa.

"What do you fancy?" I ask.

"Is there any food?" She asks anyone who is willing to answer.

"Pizza in the fridge." Matt says, smiling gently at her.

"Want some pizza?" She asks me, and I nod, seeing her open the fridge. "Warm or cold – and please answer this correctly."

"There's a correct answer?" I ask, and she raises her brows at me, a smile tugging at her lips. "Okay, cold."

"Thank fuck, I thought for a second I'd have to break things off with you." She sighs, and I roll my eyes as she rips off some paper towels from the roll.

"Hey, Frankie, how are you feeling?" Hanna whispers.

"I'm okay, just trying to get past it. I don't want to continue talking about it though, you know. I just want to forget that portion of the night. I'm just glad Ethan came in when he did." She says, distracting herself by getting some waters out of the fridge.

"Hey. You're okay." I calm her, and she sighs, nodding slowly.

"Sorry." She mutters.

If she says sorry one more time, I swear, I may pull my head off.

She has nothing to be sorry about.

"We're going back into my room for the night, I'll speak to you all in the morning." Francesca tells them all, passing me the slice of pizza and a bottle of water. I don't think there's a better combination for after a night out.

"Night guys, sleep tight." Lauren mumbles, and she's almost definitely going to have a nightmare hangover in the morning. I almost feel sorry for her, but she and Felix were drinking the bar dry tonight – I'm surprised they're still semi-conscious.

After shutting the door behind us, we get on her bed and we eat our pizza together. I broach the subject about sleeping together which she was totally fine with, she said she'd feel more comfortable with me there with her. Then after eating, we brushed our teeth, got into bed and I massaged her scalp until she finally fell asleep a whole hour later.

The evening started out so well, us teasing each other, endless makeout sessions on the dance floor, and so much laughter shared, and then it just turned for the worst, and here I am in bed laid next to her, a girl broken once again. I just hope she's going to be okay. I know she's strong, but she was so scared tonight. Seeing her face so distraught was the most heartbreaking thing I've seen, she was so terrified, but also relieved I was there.

I hope she knows how much I care about her.

I'm never going to leave her; I know that for sure. Whatever happens in the future, I am never leaving her, and if anything were to happen, she will have to be the one to leave because I'm not going to.

~~~~~

A/N

I'm so fucking sorry, and no, I'm not okay.

I aren't going to just put in this story line and neglect it by just leaving it as it is because that's not realistic. The trauma she's dealing with right now (from the incident) is the main plot, the assault on top of that will cause her some more problems but won't be massive – there will still be the romance between her and Ethan, and things will still happen.

I needed something to happen to cause a stir of the good in her life – like as she said everything seemed to be getting better. I could have easily used a simpler route but this is also raising awareness, and it's sexual assault month. I stand with all victims, and my heart goes out to every single one of you guys, you're the strongest people out there.

Please note that this book is coming to a close sooner than you most likely think. It's currently the 8th of December in this book, there's 17 chapters left and that is over the course of just December, and the beginning of January. The rest of the book is happening within this month (in the book, and most chapters are leading into each other).

Life update: I have work in the morning and it's 11pm, so I'm going to go to sleep, and get some beauty rest – but honestly, I need to adjust my plan for this book because things have gotten a little out of hand with my plan lately.

I hit 150K on my book 'his little tease' and I'm so happy! As much as I don't love that book anymore, and I really need to edit it, I love you all so much for reading it because it's built me a platform on Wattpad and I'm so lucky.

Question of the chapter:

Have you ever smoked?

Yes, and I won't say I'll never again because I really didn't mind it, it just didn't do much for me.

I hope this chapter was okay!

Thank you for reading! Please comment your thoughts, vote by pressing the little star, and if you want, you can follow me too. Xx

6137 words!

~B