l**t In Between

Chapter Two

I gave a grin and a slight nod. "Do not place the call at this time." My voice could be described as having a gravelly quality.

"Would it be possible for you to refrain from calling an ambulance?"

I took a deep breath and c****d my head to the side as I did so. "Please refrain from making any phone calls. I beg you not to call the authorities. Thank you.

He appeared to be gazing out over the entirety of the seat while his mouth was slightly open in an open-mouthed position. "Am I mistaken, or did this guy just try to r**e you—" I recoiled at the vulgar word as it was said to me "—and so you're explaining... The moment I looked in his direction, he slammed his hand over his mouth, shook his head once, and then looked at me once more. "Or did I stop something that I really shouldn't have,"

I sputtered, and I noticed that my eyes were beginning to swell up. “N-no. However, all I really want to do is head back to my house.

Conall groaned loudly before rolling over onto his back and settling there. He muttered, "Fuuuck," but he didn't open either of his eyes, despite the fact that at least one of them was probably swollen shut.

My savior had a tight jaw as he worked and looked down at him with disgust. He shifted his weight from side to side and rolled his shoulders before rocking his head to one side and then the other. “Fine. I'll drive you."

I gave a slight smile and a slight nod. I wasn't about to put myself in danger by trying to avoid being attacked again by doing something as stupid as getting into a car driven by a complete and utter stranger. In a fit of irritation, I yelled out, "I can drive myself." My attention was immediately drawn to my bag, which was wedged against the center console of the vehicle, and the contents of which were strewn all over the ground on the passenger side of the vehicle. He cast a cursory glance over the disorganized collection of my personal belongings before stooping down to rummage through the mess in search of my keys.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you were looking for these earlier," is what I'd say if I had to guess. As I became conscious of the fact that I had not moved any closer to him, he began to dangle them from his fingers.

It wasn't until I licked my upper lip for the second time that night that I got my first taste of blood. I took care to keep my skirt pulled down as I inched my way forward into the dim light cast by the solitary bulb hanging from the ceiling. As I did so, I noticed that the light was beginning to fade. I was overcome by a wave of dizziness as I came to a full awareness of what had come perilously close to taking place, and as I reached for my keys, my hand started to shake. As I came to a full awareness of what had come perilously close to taking place, I was terrified.

He grimaced and shook his head before making a fist around them, after which he lowered his arm to his side and frowned. "I can't let you drive." Because he gave me that look, I can only assume that my face was a complete mess at the time.

I blinked and pretended to grab the keys that he had just taken away by holding out my hand as though I were going to grab them. “What? Why?”

He enumerated three distinct explanations by counting them off on his fingers. "Your shaking indicates that the assault had an effect on you, which makes sense given the circumstances. There is no way for me to determine whether or not you have suffered any injuries as a result of this. And I'm guessing that you've been drinking."

I yelled angrily back that "I have not" in response. "As the designated driver, you can rely on me to get us home safely."

He arched the outermost part of his eyebrow and looked in every direction. "Who is it exactly that you are tasked to serve in this capacity? By the way, you could have avoided getting into trouble tonight if you had been accompanied by another person at the location. You, on the other hand, choose to ignore everything going on around you and venture out into the dark parking lot by yourself. You did not pay the slightest bit of attention to anything that was occurring in your surroundings. Real responsible."

I was taken aback at how angry I suddenly became. Kevin has my wrath for breaking my heart two weeks ago and for not being here with me tonight to accompany me as I make my way to the safety of my truck. I am furious at Kevin for both of these things. I'm irritated with Sophie because she was successful in her attempt to persuade me to attend this pointless party, and I'm even more irritated with myself because I gave in and went. As I got closer to the unconscious scumbag who was drooling and bleeding on the concrete a few feet away, I found myself becoming increasingly infuriated. And I was seething with rage at the strange man who was holding my keys hostage while berating me for being an i***t and a careless person. He was holding my keys hostage while he was berating me for being an i***t and a careless person.

"So what you're saying is that I'm to blame for him attacking you?" I ignored the fact that my throat was raw and powered through the pain in order to finish this. "It's my fault that I can't walk from a house to my truck without one of you trying to r**e me. " "Is it my fault that I can't walk from a house to my truck without being r***d?" I hurled the word back at him to show that I was capable of handling what he was going to give me.

"One of you," you said? Are you seriously going to put me in the same category as that worthless piece of garbage? However, his eyes never left me the entire time, even though he made a motion in the direction of Conall. "There is absolutely no comparison between us," she said. At that point, I became aware of the delicate silver ring that was buried in the left side of his lower lip. It was there the entire time.

Great. I found myself in a parking lot by myself with a stranger who had insulted me and had facial piercings, and he still had my keys. The parking lot was empty except for us. I didn't think I could make it through another second of this night. In spite of the fact that I was doing everything in my power to keep my composure, I couldn't help but let out a sob. "Would it be possible for you to lend me access to my keys?" I extended my hand and willed the shaking to stop at the same time as I did so.

After clearing his throat, he continued to look at me, and I returned his gaze, gazing into the sparkling eyes that were looking back at me. In the dim light, I was unable to determine the color of their eyes, but I did notice that they offered a striking contrast to the dark color of his hair. His tone was kinder and less menacing than I had expected. Do you consider your room in the dorm to be your home? Let me drive you. After I walk back over here to where I started, I will be able to catch my ride."

I gave him a brief smile before nodding and moving my bag out of the way so that he could pass, and I told myself that there is no more struggle in me. He helped me gather the items that were scattered about the floor, such as my lip-gloss, wallet, tampons, hair ties, pens, and pencils, and place them back in my bag. Some of the items that we found on the floor included the c****m packet was the very last thing he took from the shelf before putting his hand back down. After he had finished clearing his throat, he handed it to me so that I could examine it. I recoiled and muttered, "That does not belong to me." as I did so.

He appeared to be frowning. "You sure?"

I clamped my lips together tightly as I made a concerted effort not to become enraged once more. “Positive.”

He looked over his shoulder briefly in Conall's direction. “Bastard. There was a good chance that he was going to..." He appeared to be frowning as he looked between my eyes and Conall's eyes several times. "Uh... hide the evidence," was the phrase that she said.

To even consider doing something like that was incomprehensible to me. The rectangular package was crammed into the pocket located on the front of his jeans by the man. I am going to throw it away because there is no way in hell that he will be able to get it back. After getting back into the driver's seat of the truck and starting it up, he turned his attention back to me while his brow continued to furrow in concentration. "Are you absolutely certain that you do not want me to report this to the authorities?" "Are you sure about that?"

Laughter could be heard coming from the back door of the house, which prompted me to smile and nod in response. Kevin danced with his arms around a girl who was wearing a white outfit with wings and a halo that was sheer in places and had a low cut neckline. The scene was beautifully composed within the window in the middle of the room. Perfect. Absolutely not a single flaw.

I don't know exactly when it happened, but at some point during my fight with Conall, I lost the devil-horned headband that Sophie had forced onto my head while I was sitting on the bed complaining that I didn't want to go to a stupid costume party. I don't know exactly when it happened, but at some point during my fight with Conall, I lost the headband. I don't know exactly when it happened. Without the accessories, I was nothing more than a girl wearing a skimpy red sequined dress that, in any other context, I would never dare to be seen wearing.

"I'm sure."

Conall came into sharp focus as the headlights of the car illuminated him just as we were pulling out of the parking spot. He tried to sit up while simultaneously covering his eyes with his hand as he attempted to roll over into a sitting position. Even from that far away, I could make out the split in his lip, the misshapen nose, and the swollen eye that he had.

It's probably for the best that I wasn't the one driving at the time because I would have made some poor decisions. If I had been driving, there is a good chance that I would have hit him.

After providing the name of my dorm room in response to a question about it, all I could do in the passenger seat of the car was stare out the window, unable to think of anything else to say as we traveled across the university's main campus. I did my best to conceal the shivers that were rippling through my body every five seconds by wrapping my arms around myself tightly like a straightjacket and trying to keep a straight face. I exerted all of my effort to keep him from seeing what was going on, but I was helpless to prevent it from happening.

The parking lot for the dormitory was nearly completely full; all of the stalls that were located in close proximity to the entrance were taken. As I was sliding out of the passenger side of my own truck, he maneuvered the truck into the back space and hopped out before turning the vehicle around to come around and meet me. After he had activated the door locks, I took the keys from him and followed him into the building. At that point, I was on the verge of losing it and breaking down completely.