Freddi

After watching my best friend finally get a boy who didn't just want her for meaningless sex, Axel and I left the movie theater.

Zach was taking Heather home in Axel's other car, so the two of us went back home in his green car.

Funny. I hadn't even been there for an entire day and I was already calling it home.

We rode in relative silence, we only spoke when we made a wager on a bet based on how long Heather and Zach would last.

Although I had faith in their relationship, Axel seemed to believe that Heather would leave him because he was a prude.

"No, she wouldn't!" I exclaimed as Axel attempted to convince me that they would only be together for a week before Heather dumped Zach.

"Have you met your friend?" Axel asked incredulously. "She has been with so many guys just for sex," he yelled through his chuckles.

"Are you talking about her, or yourself?" I asked defensively, narrowing my eyes as he parked his car in the garage.

"Freddi, have you ever seen her with a guy for more than 2 weeks?" Axel asked.

"No, but–" I began before he cut me off.

"But I'm right?" Axel finished teasingly.

I narrowed my eyes at him as we stepped out of the car. "Why do you even care?" I asked earnestly.

"Because... Zach isn't his brother. He's not a douchebag. So, he's kind of sensitive," he explained as we stepped into the kitchen.

"Sensitive?" I replied suggestively. I didn't think I had ever heard him speak so kindly about another person.

"He cried when I beat him at 2K!" 

"Oh, so what I'm hearing is, you care about your stepbrother," I elaborated with a raised eyebrow. I was purposely teasing him.

"Nope," he denied, shaking his head defensively.

"Whatever," I acquiesced. Glancing around, I noticed that the kitchen was completely cleaned of any evidence of— the party.

Cringing as I glanced at the counter, remembering the events of last night, bile rose in my throat.

Axel's eyes immediately flitted to mine, full of worry and concern. Not exactly something I had expected from the school's bad boy.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Axel asked, his voice suddenly hoarse.

"Not here," I replied, my voice cracking slightly with unshed tears.

As soon as the words left my lips, Axel grabbed my hand and led me to the third level of the house and then into his bedroom.

Sitting down carefully in the middle of his bed, pulling my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around my knees, I took the time to examine the room.

His room was relatively neat, considering what you would expect from the average high school boy.

With dark blue blankets and pillows, as well as walls, aside from the small grey desk in the corner, and a grey bookshelf not far from the door, it didn't seem like anyone stayed in this room at all.

Posters of sports players and musicians covered the walls, all black and white to match his color scheme. 

From the titles on the spines that I could read, his bookshelf had some of the world's most renown literature works, filling it's shelves, piquing my curiosity about the boy who had supposedly created the 'F' honor roll.

"Are you sure you wanna talk about this? I mean, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable," Axel said, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'm sure," I managed to reply, coming out more confident than I felt. "It was Jack, and two other guys," I managed to begin before the sobs finally escaped me. 

Immediately Axel came to sit next to me, rubbing my back gently in an attempt to console me. He never said a word, simply comforted me. As my breaths begin to calm, I continued.

"I was so scared. They pinned me to the counter," I seethed as tears poured down my face. "They were gonna–" I started again before cutting myself off, as my stomach churned at the thought of what they were going to do to me.

"I can't believe the three of them would–" This time I was cut off by Axel.

"Neither can I baby girl, but you would be amazed what some jackasses would do," he growled angrily, as I laughed at his choice of wording. Jackass.

"Also if it makes you happy, I kinda broke Jack's face," he offered with a slight smile.

At this, I laughed again, before a thought occurred to me. "How did you know to come to look for me?" I asked, playing with my fingers in my lap.

"Zach told me that he saw a few guys follow you into the kitchen. Said it seemed suspicious," he replied, although unconvincingly.

"Thank you," I whispered quietly, knowing there was more to the story that he was telling me, but not wanting to push the matter.

"No problem," he amended quietly "And about what happened at your house..." he trailed off.

"I think one emotional conversation is enough for the day, don't you," was my instant reply. It came out rude, but I couldn't bear to have that conversation with him just yet. It had been four years.

"Another time then?" Axel asked gently, prompting me to nod in reply. He began to look around the room as if avoiding my gaze, as we sat in an increasingly awkward silence. "So, what do you want to do today?"

I glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand, it was 6:35 PM and today was a Sunday. Nothing interesting played on TV and there wasn't not much else for us to do.

"I think I'm just gonna get settled in my room," I said quietly before slipping out of his king-sized bed.

He nodded thoughtfully, "Do you need help getting your things out of the car?" he asked.

"No, I've got it," I responded quickly.

I couldn't get attached to his kindness. If I did, the inevitable heartbreak would only feel worse. I couldn't go through what I went through with Jack again. I knew, if we ever ended up as a couple, Axel's rejection would feel much, much worse.

The type of worse you couldn't just recover from.

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Published: 01/03/17
Edited: 12/31/17

And again on: 09/22/18

—Halo