For Angie, Christmas break was wonderful. She'd forgotten how good it felt to have a mother taking care of her, not having to worry all the time and actually having regular meals, even if they weren't much.

She'd missed her full house, her siblings, the idea of a family. It was the best Christmas in recent memory. The only improvement she could think of was Tom being there, too.

It was amazing how in just a few months she'd grown so used to him. The world seemed so much more boring without his randomness and his smartass remarks. Without his passion and the heat of his body. She misses him more than she should. But in the relaxing family atmosphere, I didn't feel so tragic. It felt possible to have a huge crush on a great guy and make it work. Make everything work. School, money, love. She could have it all.

So she returned to Tucson with new hope and a smile on her face. She couldn't wait to see Tom on Tuesday evening. And she'd never wished she had a phone more. Maybe she should actually get one of those cheap ones with a prepaid card. But did he actually have one? She'd never seen him taking it out if he did. Weird, now that she stopped to think about it.

But since she couldn't contact him, she spent Monday's lunch with Ross and Lily, catching up on their latest shenanigans. Having friends to spend lunch with felt nice, too. And she should stop being so afraid all the time. Nothing bad was going to happen.

As she stepped into her biology class on Tuesday, she could hardly wait for it to be over so she could see Tom. She wore the bracelet he'd given her and she wondered if he would notice. It was a lovely present precisely because it was so honest and simple. She still hadn't gotten him anything, but she knew how to make it up. It was her turn to buy dinner.

Collins entered the classroom and Angie didn't even flinch. Her Tom butterflies were making her immune to that asshole which was a blessing.

"I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, but it's time to get to work." He clasped his hands and smiled warmly and Angie faught the impulse to gag. "First order of business. Here are your last tests..." And he began spreading them out.

She didn't even look at him as he placed the paper before her and moved on. When he was at a safe distance, she turned the page over. Her breath caught in her throat. Her vision tunneled and her pulse accelerated as she gawked at the little black bold letter.

F. There was no way. She'd aced the test.

"Sir, I think there might be a mistake with my grade," she said, voice trembling.

"Really, Miss Jones?" He walked over, a curious expression on his face. He studied her test. "No. You got most of the answers wrong. I was very disappointed. I know it was right before the holidays, but you should've studied."

Angie stared at the little black dots that marked her answers, strangled by panic. She couldn't remember each question and the choice answers. She needed the subject paper. Did she really mess up that bad?

No! You know this! He's screwing with you again. She wouldn't let him. Not this time. "I want a reevaluation of my test."

"Really now?" he asked interested.

She sensed the warning in his voice, but to hell with him. She wouldn't let him ruin her future just because he was pissed she didn't let him grope her.

"Yes, really now."

He sighed and shook his head. "Fine. Under normal circumstances, I would take care of this after class, but since it was multiple choice, a reevaluation will only take a few minutes. Follow me."

Angie grasped her failed test and followed Collins to the teacher's launge. Something inside her screamed that she was in danger, that he'd given in too easily, but she pressed on, determined to put an end to this. He didn't look at her or address her all the way there, which was both a relief and troubling.

When they reached the launge, she followed him in. There were a few teachers there who looked up curiously before returning to their papers. Collins made a beeline for an older woman grading some tests.

"Professor Fallon, could you help me out?" He stopped next to the woman and turned to Angie. "Professor Fallon is the head of the biology department."

Angie nodded toward the woman, taking in her graying hair caught in a ponytail, her professional grey suit and the interested look behind her rectangular glasses.

"Miss Jones here believes that I have misgraded her test." He searched inside a drawer and pulled out the subject sheet. He showed it to Angie. "Are these the questions you were required to answer?"

She gave them a quick read over and nodded. "Yes." Her voice came out croaky.

"Then, professor Fallon, if you please."

The woman frowned and took the test away from Angie. For five minutes, she only frowned and read. Angie's heart beat so loudly, she could hardly hear anything above it. Finally, after what seemed like years, the woman sighed and handed her the paper.

"I'm sorry, dear, but the grade is correct. Study harder next time."

The floor disappeared from under Angie's feet and everything seemed to be going down a dark vortex. "That's impossible. That's..." She took the question sheet and glanced at it and then at her answers. The first one was correct. The second and third were wrong on her sheet even if she was sure she'd answered them correctly. She knew this stuff. It wasn't even difficult.

Her hands trembled so hard, the pages fell to the floor in an avalanche of doom. No. He couldn't be that devious. But the little pencil dots laughed at her from the floor. He'd changed her answers. Very carefully, he'd erased her correct ones and filled out the wrong ones instead.

"This is not my test," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Collins asked with perfectly feigned confusion. "Is it not your name on the test? Is it not your handwriting?"

He had her. He'd thought of everything. Could she even prove he'd altered the test? Or had he done it immediately to make it look like all possible marks were just her stupidly changing her mind?

"Yes," she whispered again, her voice trembling.

"Well, then. Take Professor Fallon's advice and study harder next time, Miss Jones."

She felt physically ill. She had to focus with all her might not to throw up as she followed the perverted bastard out of the teacher's launge and back towards the biology lab. He waited for her to fall into step with him.

"I told you not to mess with me, little girl," he growled, hardly moving his lips, a fake pleasant smile plastered on his face. "This is what you get for trying."

"You sick bastard," she growled back.

"Watch your mouth or I'll give you something to plug it with. Something that might help you improve your grade."

Angie stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. She couldn't do this. Couldn't walk side by side with this pervert and pretend nothing had happened. He made her sick. All she wanted was to kick him in the nuts as hard as she could. Or throw up. She whipped around and hurried to the nearest bathroom. He made no move to stop her.

She burst into a stall and kneeled next to the bowl, but could only dry heave, even if she could feel the taste of vomit in her throat. Tears ran down her cheeks as she crumpled on the floor. What could she do? Her future had been destroyed.

You can't just lay next to a dirty toilet either. So she stood, washed her face and exited the bathroom. But she had no idea where to go either. So she sat on the floor, burried her face between her knees and cried. Maybe if she got it out of her system, she'd manage to figure something out. She couldn't just drop the class. It was basic curriculum. Change teachers? That wouldn't fix what was already broken. Report him? Who would believe her? Now there was an extra witness. Give in? Never.

"Angie? Angie!"

A distant voice called her name, vaguely familiar. It warmed her up a little for some reason. A pair of hands gently forced her face up and she found herself staring at her own pitiful reflection in Tom's sunglasses.

"Babe, talk to me. What happened?" He looked so worried. So caring. So hot. "Is it that Collins asshole?"

She wanted to deny it, push him away, handle it herself, but she couldn't. With a trembling hand, she pushed the test still clutched in her fist towards him. His frown deepened.

"This is bullshit."

His trust in her pushed the next words out. "He erased my answers. He's never going to quit. Just because I wouldn't let him grope me."

Tom's hands tightened around her arms. The focus on his face was a little scary. "Did he touch you?"

Her first impulse was to deny it, but she realized Collins was relying on that to keep abusing her. And god, she needed to get this off her chest. So she nodded instead. "And he implied that it could get better if I give him a blowjob. If not, it will get a lot worse."

Tom let her go and got to his feet, his fists clenched, his teeth gritted together. She could see the tension in his jaw, the shadow descend on his face... And that's when she realized her selfish mistake.

Before she could scramble to her feet, he'd turned and headed for her biology class, his steps firm and quick.

"Tom, no!" she called out after him, but it was too late.

He reached the door and slammed it open. She stopped in the threshold in time to see the shock on Collin's face right before Tom's fist crashed into it. He was one head taller and broader. The teacher fell backwards over his desk and disappeared under it. Tom circled the desk. Collins scurried towards the white board on his hands and knees and punched the fire alarm. Blood dripped from his broken nose. Water poured from the sprinklers all over them and a deafening wail filled the air.

Students got up from their seats, hurrying to break up the fight. Tom managed to grab Collins by the colar, lift him off the floor and punch him down again before getting immobilized.

"If you ever touch her again, I swear you'll regret it!" he yelled, struggling to break loose. "You sick fuck!"

And all Angie could do between raining water, wails and screaming was watch. Watch Tom stop struggling and stand tall, Collins crawling away, students milling about. Watch this god of war who had decided in a split second that her honor was more important than his future. And it broke her heart because they were both screwed and it was all her fault.

But as she looked at Tom's confident and powerful stance, a weird feeling of safety engulfed her. He hadn't hesitated one second to jump to her aid and do what needed to be done. The only thing that could be done to make her feel better.

She lowered her eyes, ashamed of the satisfaction she was feeling, of the relief and sense of justice, because she knew what followed. Police, expulsion, more abuse for her. She was completely fucked and she'd dragged him down with her.

🔱🔱🔱

So here we have it. The shit has officially hit the fan. I'm very interested in how this chapter made you feel since it's a very important turning point. Did I get the feels across?

How do you feel about what Tom did? Should Angie have anticipated it and kept her mouth shut? What do you think will happen next?

Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote and comment.