Chapter Eighteen

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Wes ~

Leaving Gracie was like coming down from a high as my body slowly adjusted to her absence. I had tried every trick in the book to extend our time together, including messing up a few paragraphs of my essay on purpose, just so she'd lean in and correct them.

My steps were slow and filled with disappointment that she hadn't agreed to come to dinner with me, but then again I had agreed to friendship and friendship only. How stupid am I?

I'd never been shot down like that before and could usually charm and flirt my way through any situation in order to get the response I wanted, but Gracie was different. She called me on my bullshit and wasn't desperate or needy.

As my mind started rattling off all the things I enjoyed about Gracie, my phone vibrated in my hand, displaying the only name that I wanted to see.

With a grin on my face I slid my thumb across the screen and lifted it to my ear.

"You make it back to your car okay or do you just miss me already?" I said with a flirty tone that I wasn't sorry for, but the only response I got in return was silence and slight rustling.

Shit maybe I took it too far.

"I'm just kidding, but really did you make it to your car?" I said quickly trying to save face, but still - nothing.

"Gracie?" I said loudly, stopping my forward motion as my ears searched the silence for her voice.

"Gracie answer me." I said firmly as panic started to take hold of my spine.

Before I could say another word, the most heart breaking sound crashed through the phone and echoed off in the distance.

"Wes!" Gracie screamed through the phone with nothing but terror in her desperate voice.

My body physically rejected the sound and I immediately turned on my heel and sprinted toward the East Garage as fast as my legs could carry me.

I ate up the distance between the library and the garage, rounding the corner as my eyes landed on the two shadowy figures, concealed in the darkness of the garage.

"Gracie?" I yelled, running toward the tangled mess that only slightly resembled people on the ground.

"Wes!" Gracie's small voice cried out to me as I got closer.

Oh my fucking God, someone's on top of her.

Filled with nothing but unfiltered rage, I launched myself onto the back of the male body that was pinning Gracie to the ground, gripping his shoulders as I violently threw him off of her. Flipping him onto his back, I pinned him to the ground with my hand on his throat, letting my eyes settle in his face for the first time.

Colt.

"You okay Gracie?" I yelled over my shoulder, holding Colt firmly beneath my hand as he gasped and clawed to try and free his airway.

"Talk to me sweetheart." I said again with a little more volume.

"I'm okay." She said softly.

The sound of her voice let me know that she was at least breathing which was more than I could say for the asshole that I had pinned to the ground at the moment.

"You're a fucking deadman." I growled down at Colt who was turning a deep shade of red and purple as I choked the life out of him.

Colt's eyes started to roll back in his head as he barely clung to consciousness.

Fuck that. You're not getting off that easy.

I took my body weight off of his throat, allowing him to gasp and gulp for air as he coughed and gagged.

"Stand the fuck up." I ordered, watching Colt rise to an unsteady knee as he stood, wobbling back and forth, still searching for breath.

"You feel like putting hands on someone? Well I'm right fucking here." I seethed as I rolled my shoulders and clenched my fists, readying my body to deliver the punishment that Colt deserved.

Colt shook his head no, but still couldn't speak, falling back to a seated position as he feebly recovered.

"I don't think so." I said, grabbing the collar of his shirt and forcing him to stand.

"You're gonna stand up and fight me like a fucking man." I snarled down into his face.

Before I could give it a second thought my body took over, naturally responding by instinctively dropping my shoulder as I delivered a furious right hook to the side of Colt's face. The impact of my fist rippled through his body, breaking his nose and sending a spray of blood as he collapsed to the ground in a crumpled pile.

My shoulders rose and fell with furious breaths as I stared down at the unconscious coward that was sprawled out on the concrete.

As anger poured into my veins, I had every intention of continuing my assault on the bones of Colts face, but Gracies small whimpers pulled my attention away.

"Oh my God, Gracie."

The neck of her t-shirt was stretched and torn, forcing her to hold it up with one of her hands so she wasn't exposed as she looked up at me with tears streaming down her face. There was a scratch on the apple of her cheek as if Colt had slammed her onto the pavement and the palms of her hands were raw and bleeding from clawing at the concrete beneath her.

I crouched down in front of her, too scared to touch her as my eyes surveyed the damage, wondering if the fucker had broken any bones.

"Where do you hurt, baby? Show me." I said, watching her shaking hands point to her cheek, palms, and the back of her head but nowhere else.

Every cell in my body wanted to rush to her and scoop her up in my arms, but she'd just been assaulted and might not welcome sudden physical advances from an large male at the moment.

Her small body shook violently as she pulled her knees to her chest, trying to make herself small as I lowered myself down to my knees in front of her with my palms out in a show of submission.

"I need to move you sweetheart, we need to report this to the police,"

I said cautiously, not daring to move until she gave me the okay.

Blood seeped from a scrape on her knee as she eyed me carefully, letting her adrenaline rush subside.

"It's just me Darlin'. I'd never hurt you." I soothed, testing the waters and extending one of my large hands out toward her.

She let go over her knees, letting her eyes dart from my hand to my face as if she were trying to judge my intentions.

That's it Gracie, you can trust me.

A simple nod of approval was all I needed to swoop in and lift her into my arms, standing with her effortlessly as if she weighed nothing at all.

"Okay sweetheart, I've got you." I crooned, letting her wrap her small arms around my neck as she buried her face against my chest.

You can hide there Gracie. Nobody's going to hurt you when I'm around.

At that point, several people had gathered to see what the commotion was about which I was grateful for at the moment so someone could call the cops to clean up the trash I left for them.

"Call the cops. That asshole just attacked her. I'm gonna sit with her right over here until they get here, but if he gets up you come get me." I growled at a random dude who looked wide eyed and eager to help or maybe he was just scared of me, either way I didn't care as long as he did what I said.

"Got it." He replied, pulling his phone out with his own hands shaking almost as much as Gracie's.

I found a spot away from the crowd and lowered myself down to a seated position with Gracie in my arms, feeling her shift her head so that it was buried in the crook of my neck. Her warm tears had soaked through the front of my shirt and were now dripping down my neck as she shook in my arms and I'd never felt so heartbroken and helpless.

I want to fix this. How do I fucking fix this?

"I didn't see him until it was too late." Gracie hiccupped and sobbed against my skin.

"Shhh. It's not your fault sweetheart." I soothed, pulling her tightly against my body.

"He lost is fucking mind, Wes. And the more I fought back the angrier he got until...I thought he was going to...I mean he tried to..."

I knew exactly what she was going to say, which explained why her shirt was torn and her shorts were ripped and just the thought set my blood on fucking fire.

"But he didn't. You fought hard Gracie and you held him off until I could get there. You did so fucking good."

My words seemed to sink in slightly and she lifted her head to look at me with tears still running down her flushed cheeks.

"When the cops get here, please don't leave. Please don't leave me tonight." She sobbed before lowering her head again, pressing it against my neck as she clung to me.

"I need you." Her words vibrated against the skin on my neck, causing me to tighten my grip on her as I put my lips right next to her ear.

"I won't leave you, Gracie. I'll stay right here with you when the cops get here and then you can come home with me, does that sound okay?" I asked, not sure if she'd be a fan of that idea.

"Yes, please." She said softly.

"Then that's exactly what we're gonna do." I confirmed, wanting to give her whatever kind of comfort she needed.

Blue and red lights started flashing from the distance, dancing across our faces as two police vehicles pulled up, shining their flood lights on the garage, illuminating the entire scene.

"The police are here darlin'. Up we go." I grunted, standing with her without moving my hands from her shaking body, using only my legs to force myself into a standing position as I held her. 

I gave them my version of what happened to the first police officer that approached us, but he wanted to hear it from Gracie. He needed her statement so she could press charges on Colt who was being cuffed despite still laying lifeless on the concrete on the other side of the garage. 

"Can you tell me what happened miss? Take your time." The officer said as I sat her beside me and held her bleeding hands, avoiding the torn flesh to the best of my ability. 

"Deep breaths Gracie," I encouraged, loving the way she locked eyes with me as if no one else was around and followed my instructions immediately. Her chest rose and fell with big breaths as I over exaggerated mine to try and coach her. 

"Good, Gracie. That's good." I praised her, running my hand through her hair. 

"I was leaving the library and walking to my car when I saw Colt leaning against it...He um ran after me and grabbed me from behind, but I had dialed Wes' number before he was able to knock my phone out of my hand..." She sniffled and paused, not wanting to continue, but she had to and I hated that. 

"What happened next?" The officer said flatly. 

Instead of looking at him, Gracie looked at me, searching for strength to say the words out loud. 

"It's okay sweetheart, just tell me what happened, pretend it's just you and me." I said, shooting my eyes over to the cop who gave me a slight nod and started writing something down on his notepad as she started to speak. 

"He started pulling me toward his car, lifting me up from behind, but I was kicking and thrashing. It must have made him mad that I was throwing him off balance so he...he threw me on the ground. I tried to crawl away on my hands and knees, but he grabbed my ankles and pulled me backwards..." 

Her words got caught in her throat and she had to stop to catch her breath, squeezing her eyes closed, trying to run from the event she was having to describe and relive. 

"You're doing so good Gracie." I crooned, running my thumb down her cheek, trying to coax her eyes open again. 

"He flipped me over and tried to...pull my clothes of and force himself on me, but Wes heard me screaming and pulled him off of me."

Gracie said the words with her teary eyes locked onto mine with more gratitude and pain than I'd ever seen and it cracked my heart right down the middle. She didn't deserve this and it was tearing me apart to see her like this. 

"Alright I think I've heard enough. We're going to place Mr. Hopson under arrest, but you'll need to come down to the station to file a restraining order. We'll also need to take a few pictures of your injuries since you're pressing charges." 

"Okay." Gracie said softly, nodding her head as another officer approached with a camera, taking pictures of her hands, neck, legs, cheek and overall appearance. 

She was shaking and vulnerable and I used my body to shield her from the growing crowd of nosey college students that was starting to form, drawn to police lights like moths to a flame. 

"Okay Miss Wright. I've got all I need. Do you want us to call your parents?" 

"No, that's okay. I'll call them in the morning and let them take me to file the restraining order." Gracie said quietly. 

"Then you're free to go." The officer said. 

Thank God. 

Gracie was still using one arm to hold her tattered shirt up so her bra didn't show, but the fabric was loose and torn, barely hanging from her body. I instinctively reached up and pulled my own shirt off, shaking it out before I lifted it up over her head, helping her thread her arms through the sleeves. The shirt nearly touched her knees, but it covered her fully and she seemed grateful for the action, giving me the smallest smile I'd ever seen. 

"How about I get you out of here and hold you all night?" I whispered into her ear as I pulled her into my chest. 

"Yes please." she whimpered. "Thank you, Wes." 

I grabbed her back pack and threw it over my shoulder and let her take a few shaky unsteady steps before I stopped her and held out my arms. 

"You don't have to carry me, Wes." 

"I know that. But I skipped my workout this morning, so I figured you could help me out." I said with a grin that only got wider once I saw the corner of her mouth curl slightly. 

She smiled...I made her smile. 

I scooped her up into my arms, giving her a playful bounce to prove that she wasn't heavy as we started our walk across campus toward my truck. She clung to my chest and closed her eyes as we walked in complete silence, but I didn't mind. I would have walked a hundred miles with Gracie in my arms if it meant she'd stop crying. 

Don't worry Gracie. I've got you now.  

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